Soap Opera Time Machine: How Far Back Would You Go?

There have been attempts to re-air defunct and past soaps. SoapNet had Ryan’s Hope reruns for a while. ABC released Best Of video collections focusing on Luke and Laura’s heyday, among others.

Procter & Gamble set up a YouTube and AOL channel for repeat airings of Another World, Texas, Search For Tomorrow, As The World Turns, and Guiding Light. Sci-Fi had Dark Shadows, and The Doctors recently made a brief return.

But if soaps were to come back and start regularly broadcasting reruns, which era would you be most eager to relive?

In The Beginning…
It’s no fun unless you start from Day One, 43% of you insisted. You want to hear Nancy say, “Good Morning, dear,” on ATWT, and Erica complain about Pine Valley not being the corner of Hollywood and Vine on All My Children.

You wouldn’t even care if none of your favorites were on yet. You’re completists!

No, Thanks
Then again, 27% wouldn’t tune in at all.

What’s the fun of watching when you know exactly where every story is going? (Spoiler: The Brooks and Fosters eventually pretty much all disappear from The Young and the Restless. So don’t get too attached.)

The Swinging 70s
The clothes alone would make 8% of you want to go back to the 1970s. Plus, you can see Days Of Our Lives Doug (Bill Hayes) and Julie (Susan Seaforth Hayes) in their romantic heydey, instead of as the cute, buttinsky older people they are today.

80s-Mania
The 80s were when soaps really went hog-wild with the supercouples, from General Hospital’s Luke (Anthony Geary) and Laura (Genie Francis) adventures, to DAYS’ Bo (Peter Reckell) and Hope (Kristian Alfonso) on-location glitz, and 7% of you would love to relive those glory days!

There were also some votes for the 60s and 90s, each of which had their charms. So let’s hope someone makes this happen — stat!