Worlds Without End: The Art and History of the Soap Opera

Rating:
Summary: Essential for all die-hard fans of the afternoon serial.
Review: A beautifully illustrated book with plenty of information on the history of soaps, this book may be as interesting to sociologists as it is to soap fans. Most noteworthy, is the way itdifferentiates the soaps from one another in terms of issues that each tackles and why. It isinteresting to trace how soaps such as "PaintedDreams" began on radio and what appealed (and didn't) to various audiences throughoutthe decades. Eg: Isn't it hard to believe that"Guiding Light" (On Cable In Sydney) wasorginally a 15 minute radio serial about four ministers? Many soaps mentioned in the bookwill probably be unknown to younger Sydneyaudiences such as "Search For Tommorrow"and "As The World Turns" which haven't been on the air for years (decades?) but there isgood coverage on todays lineup as well. If you like this book you may want to check out A book by Jean Rouverol called"Writing For The Soaps" (1984) and "Soapbox" (1990) Hopefullya television special of a similar nature to this book could be done because the archive material itself would be priceless viewing.