ABC (Mon., Aug. 10, 10 p.m. ET)
We were worried that this special—highlighting memorable romances on All My Children, One Life to Live, General Hospital and Port Charles—would be sticky-sweet. And our concern seemed justified when we saw the clip of One Life to Live's Bo (Robert S. Woods) constructing a chocolate sundae on the tummy of his fun-loving wife, Nora (Hillary B. Smith). But if you're the type whose gag reflex is stimulated by an All My Children flashback of Cliff (Peter Bergman) reading Shakespeare's "Sonnet 116" to his beloved Nina (Taylor Miller), you'll be encouraged to know that this diverting hour also contains scenes of vintage soap opera discord. AMC's Hayley (Kelly Ripa), after listing the lesser sins of a no-good former husband", hits him with her best shot: "And exactly when did you start sleeping with my mother?"
The show includes interviews with past and present soap actors, most of whom analyze their characters' emotions quite seriously. To hear OLTL's James DePaiva define "passion" and "obsession," you'd think he was advertising Calvin Klein fragrances. But the ice cream scene isn't the only light moment. We were amused, and impressed, by Susan Lucci's ability to rattle off the married names of her much-wed AMC character, Erica Kane. At the end, you'll learn which love story was picked as the all-time favorite in a viewers' poll. It's all blatantly promotional—as if soap fans will care.
Bottom Line: Ah, there's nothing like suds on a summer night
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