But he's the most feared soap opera watcher in America today.

That should be reason enough to not vote for him.

Wow. I didn't see this one coming.

Does that mean we will have to listen to "Nadia's Theme" during Rice's HOF induction this summer?

Young and the Restless? Wow, that's really, really pathetic.

Now I want to vote for him. that kicks ass.

That last Miss Chancellor quote probably would have gotten him my HOF vote, if I had one. I honestly don't think I'm kidding, because he was very borderline for me, and that's just awesome. I've always loved him on NESN, but "It's all incredible stuff" is too good not to reward.

If only pitchers from Rice's era had known... they'd have been too busy laughing to fear him.

Before this show, did Jim Rice watch General Hospital? If so, were his stats affected by the Luke & Laura wedding? (Assuming it occurred during the season.)

Things I didn't know until very recently:

Luke raped Laura.

Seriously, that's how they scripted it. It's ###### up.

I wonder if Rice vacations in Genoa City, WI.

How do we know they didn't bury the real Jim Rice and this is a look-alike?

heh. in college one of my friends - a star on the basketball team - got obsessed with some blonde actress on that soap. before long it became ritual for five or six of us -- morning classes, grab lunch, head back to the dorm to watch TY&TR;. yeah, we used the acronym.

Rice is right -- that ####'s addictive.

Things I didn't know until very recently:

Luke raped Laura.

Seriously, that's how they scripted it. It's ###### up.

I'd forgotten that. I now realize, though, that a lot of present-day Marvel & DC writers obviously grew up on that show.

good lord. the object of my buddy's obsession is still on the show, 20 years later. and still playing the hottie, apparently.

melody thomas scott

bio says she's been in the role for 28 years... call it good surgery, Dorian Gray or an old picture, but that's remarkable.

Hey, Michael Gross from Family Ties is on that show!

/He used to go to a horror convention near me, and was really nice to the vendors, even guys like me who had books instead of t-shirts or bootleg DVDs...

Things I didn't know until very recently:

Luke raped Laura.

Seriously, that's how they scripted it. It's ###### up.

In the soap opera universe, that's actually not that bizarre. For every two characters, one is undead, and the other is both the child of and the parent of the first one. A celebrated love story between two people whose first meeting was a sexual assault, well, that's just filler.

Hey, Michael Gross from Family Ties is on that show!

Michael Gross will never surpass the 100% unadulterated awesomeness of his supporting role as a survivalist gun-nut (married to Reba MacEntire!) in Tremors. God I love him in that movie.

/He used to go to a horror convention near me, and was really nice to the vendors, even guys like me who had books instead of t-shirts or bootleg DVDs...

And he was in Tremors, Tremors 2, Tremors 3, Tremors 4, and Tremors: The TV Series, so he's officially the greatest man in history.

In the soap opera universe, that's actually not that bizarre. For every two characters, one is undead, and the other is both the child of and the parent of the first one. A celebrated love story between two people whose first meeting was a sexual assault, well, that's just filler.

The problem with the rape story is not that it's bizarre or implausible. It's that it's morally reprehensible.

Don't a lot of ballplayers get into soaps? They play at night, and are often in a strange city during the day, so that fills their time. (And there weren't a whole lot of channels when Rice played)

Heh, I remember one time during a Red Sox game, Jerry Remy spotted someone from one of his favorite soaps in the crowd and trying to verify it and get her into the booth became the running theme for the rest of the night. As an aside, I have a hard time imagining a better team than Remy & Sean McDonough for making blowout games so entertaining.

Don't a lot of ballplayers get into soaps? They play at night, and are often in a strange city during the day, so that fills their time. (And there weren't a whole lot of channels when Rice played)

I remember reading about this in the book Baseball Confidential published at the end of 1987, which was based on interviews with hundreds of players. At the time, soap operas were huge among ballplayers. As you mention, it may not be the case now since there are so many more channels and other electronic media for the ballplayers to pass the time with, but back then, it was huge.

Heh, I remember one time during a Red Sox game, Jerry Remy spotted someone from one of his favorite soaps in the crowd and trying to verify it and get her into the booth became the running theme for the rest of the night. As an aside, I have a hard time imagining a better team than Remy & Sean McDonough for making blowout games so entertaining.

I remember that game -- it was an actress from Days of Our Lives. And I agree with you on the Remy-McDonough entertainment factor....

"Dark Shadows" is the only soap opera that I would waste my time on (and it has been off the air for almost 40 years).

However, since we only had one television when I was growing up until '79 in my house, I saw my share of "Another World," "Somerset," "Days of Our Lives," "All My Children" and "Search for Tomorrow" when I was bored out of my mind and my mother wouldn't give up control of the tuner. Hell, I recall "The Secret Storm," for cryin' out loud.

Miss Chancellor? God, she was on there when i was watching it in college with the other guys on the hall...we were totally into to the three sisters on the show at the time. She must be 100 years old by now.

I actually think the concept of these shows lasting for 20, 50 years, characters growing up and getting old, is kind of cool. Certainly there's been many regular shows (or movies) in which I wanted to know what happened to the characters, or what they had been like before. Unfortunately, in reality the soaps are just unwatchable. There was an interesting article in the New Yorker a while back about one of them that's been on for like 50+ years now. The woman who said the first lines on the first episode is still playing the same character. I wonder if some of these actors get personality disorders and forget who they really are.

Michael Gross will never surpass the 100% unadulterated awesomeness of his supporting role as a survivalist gun-nut (married to Reba MacEntire!) in Tremors. God I love him in that movie.

That is so awful it isn't even funny. And Kevin Bacon! Ughh...

That movie was one Tina Yothers performance from being a contender for a Razzy that year.

That movie was one Tina Yothers performance from being a contender for a Razzy that year.

You may not know it yet, but you're going to get absolutely ripped for your criticism of Tremors.

That is so awful it isn't even funny. And Kevin Bacon! Ughh...

That movie was one Tina Yothers performance from being a contender for a Razzy that year.

Well this is just insanity. Tremors is one of the greatest self-consciously "B" horror movies ever made. It's genuinely funny and compulsively rewatchable. I'd never pretend it was great art or anything, it's just a lot of fun.

("Hey, you ever seen anything like this before?"
"Oh sure, everybody knows about them, we just didn't tell you.")

I don't think I've ever met a person who didn't like Tremors. I had considered it to be one of those things that unites all humanity, like the precariousness of bodily life and the deliciousness of brownies.

I <3 Tremors...

My wife and I recently watched 4(?). It's the one where it's still the old west. Good ####.

That movie was one Tina Yothers performance from being a contender for a Razzy that year.

That movie was so much fun! Short of the Evil Dead movies, but definitely one of the highlights of the genre.

You may not know it yet, but you're going to get absolutely ripped for your criticism of Tremors.

That's fine. I get that it "knew" that it was bad. Shoot, I've sat through it once or twice and Reba alone is gawd-awful in an endearing way. As for "B" movies - it is great - but I just don't know how the actors keep a straight face in some of those scenes.

I just don't know how the actors keep a straight face in some of those scenes.

It's called acting.

But it's not _bad_ - it's good at being what it's aiming for. Army of Darkness, not Glen or Glenda.

My wife watches TYaR. DVR's it when she can't watch it live. She won't let me watch with her, because I mock the characters, and that annoys her.

"Wrong Vic, wrong. Nikki doesn't even love you. C'Mon, Vic. Jeez, Vic, Wake up! She already buried one husband!."

Every time you mock one of the characters, a small part of your wife's heart dies inside her.....

General Hospital would be starting the instant I got home from elementary school/Jr. high for YEARS, and I was completely and utterly addicted to it in the early 80's. Something about Genie Francis, Demi Moore, Janine Turner, and Emma Samms may have had something to do with it as well.

Enjoyable camp B movies...

Tremors
Evil Dead II (but not Army of Darkness -- it's too obviously a comedy*)
Flash Gordon
Batman (the 1966 movie)

Sure, they're no The Bicycle Thieves (or The Bicycle Thief if you prefer), but they aim a bit lower and (in my opinion) hit their target. Others will likely disagree, but I'd also add Hudson Hawk, Demolition Man, and what I remember of Split Second. Your mileage may vary.

What others am I forgetting?

(*) Army of Darkness doesn't have that air of "You know, I'm not quite sure if this is unintentionally funny or intentionally so" about it. To qualify for the list I think you have to have wondered that at some point before settling in to just enjoy the ride (at least as I'm defining it in my mind).

I would not include, say, Mommy Dearest. That was clearly unintentional, sadly.

What others am I forgetting?

You're forgetting the incredible Big Trouble in Little China.

What others am I forgetting?

Snakes on a Plane tried to be in this group, but I think it just flat out sucked myself.

No, I thought Snakes on a Plane was just plain bad. Friends who saw it in packed theaters enjoyed it, but I think they're the only ones. (For which I don't blame them: I saw the second of the new crappy Star Wars movies in Mann's Chinese Theater -- the theater was huge and packed to the gills with people ready to make fun of the movie, and the movie provided ample opportunity).

I agree Big Trouble in Little China qualifies, though it's not my favorite.

Not sure whether Adventures in Babysitting qualifies, but it's at least a guilty pleasure movie. I don't think it inspires the same "Is this intentionally funny or not?" questioning that some of the others do, but I'm always surprised how many people like it more than it would at first glance seem to deserve.

B movies that are way better than expected:

Big Trouble in Little China
Tremors
Adventures in Babysitting
The Last Dragon

Wasn't Brandon Walsh's boss at the beach club in 90210 also a big The Young and Restless fan? Him and Jim should hang out.

(*) Army of Darkness doesn't have that air of "You know, I'm not quite sure if this is unintentionally funny or intentionally so" about it. To qualify for the list I think you have to have wondered that at some point before settling in to just enjoy the ride (at least as I'm defining it in my mind).

That was actually the first of the trilogy that I ever saw. Didn't know what to expect then, but I thought it was terrific. Oh, and Bruce Campbell is a god.

"Tremors" was a lot of fun, too. BTW, any "Re-Animator" fans?

Add the two Fletch movies to better-than-expected B movie flicks.

Shaft, anyone?

Emma Samms. Mmmmmmmmmm.

See, I see Tremors and AoD as in the same camp (both overtly comedies), distinct from Flash Gordon (assumedly intentionally camp, but not really trying to be that funny) and that ilk. Big Trouble in Little China - I'm not sure what to make of.

Does Fletch belong in the discussion at all? Were they B movies?

The Last Dragon, ha! Nice one.

Bubba Ho-tep

Elvis (Bruce Campbell) and JFK (Ossie Davis), both alive and in a nursing home, fight for the souls of their fellow residents as they battle an ancient Egyptian Mummy.

I was a little disappointed in Bubba Ho-tep - great premise, nice interplay b/w the leads, but the last third kind of wilted.
Supposedly, there will be a sequel.

The Days of the Week is the Best soap ever.

Eh, I don't know, I think Flash Gordon is pretty (intentionally) funny in a silly sort of way.

Dale Arden, as Flash struggles to overcome a stranglehold in the middle of a fight-to-the-death:

Flash, Flash, I love you, but we only have 14 hours to save the earth!

Prince Barin to the earthling, Hans Zarkov, as both are chained to a wall, awaiting execution:

Tell me more about this man, Houdini.

And this exchange at Ming's wedding (because OF COURSE he wants to have an official marriage to Dale Arden):

Zogi, the High Priest: Do you, Ming the Merciless, Ruler of the Universe, take this Earthling, Dale Arden, to be your Empress of the Hour?
The Emperor Ming: Of the hour, yes.
Zogi, the High Priest: Do you promise to use her as you will?
The Emperor Ming: Certainly!
Zogi, the High Priest: Not to blast her into space?
[Ming glares at Zogi]
Zogi, the High Priest: Uh, until such time as you grow weary of her.
The Emperor Ming: I do.
Dale Arden: I do NOT!

I dunno, I find them funny. There are plenty of other moments as well.

I was very disappointed by Bubba Ho-Tep. I thought Ossie Davis was good, but didn't love Bruce Campbell in it (blasphemy!). That said, I'm glad some friend made me listen to his audio commentary track as Elvis -- I liked that much more than the actual movie. (Among other silly bits, he gets hungry mid-session and goes to grab some potato chips, which he proceeds to eat noisily during a five minute section of the commentary).

I was a little disappointed in Bubba Ho-tep - great premise, nice interplay b/w the leads, but the last third kind of wilted.
Supposedly, there will be a sequel.

Supposedly, it will also not star Bruce Campbell.

We have movie threads all the time, soap operas is at least an original topic.

Flash Gordon - admittedly, I last saw it in middle school... I'm willing to surrender that point.

Supposedly, it will also not star Bruce Campbell.

Really! What do they intend to do? (I'm not a frequent visitor to the Campbell-verse, but he can be a lot of fun.)

Sounds like a straight-to-DVD kind of deal if you ask me.

1969: I thought MacDonald Karay narrating the intro for DAYS OF OUR LIVES was the voice of God.

Supposedly, it will also not star Bruce Campbell.

Really! What do they intend to do? (I'm not a frequent visitor to the Campbell-verse, but he can be a lot of fun.)

It will, apparently, be set in Elvis's younger days and star Ron Perleman as the King (and Paul Giamatti as The Colonel).

And I agree with you on the Remy-McDonough entertainment factor....

That's why I miss McDonough the most. Orsillo tries, and it's not his fault that he's stuck with the late-model self-promoting Remy as a partner, but it's not the same.

Still, perhaps the most hilarious Remy/McDonough game was one where they were smart enough to give their guest just enough to keep going and stay out of the way the rest of the time. It's got a bad rep now, but I don't think I've laughed so hard at a nondescript game as the time I messaged my family to "turn on the game - Ben Affleck is in the booth and I think he's been drinking!"

Enjoyable camp B movies...

Tremors

I have a hard time thinking of Tremors as campy. It's got plenty of jokes, but part of why it's so enjoyable is that it's got genuine affection for its characters and never looks down at them, even if they are eccentric or not so bright. The practical effects still stand up pretty well, so it doesn't look schlocky (the HD DVD looks surprisingly good).

It's also got a bunch of unusually high-quality direct-to-video and TV spinoffs; usually those things are made by people with no relation to the original that the studio hired to work cheap, but the original writers and producers were involved in everything.

In the same vein I thought Evolution was enjoyable.

Big Trouble In Little China, Tremors and Evil Dead II are three of my all time favourite films

We have movie threads all the time, soap operas is at least an original topic.

I'm going to give some love to the telenovelas from South/Central America. Betty La Fea (the original, Columbian version) was very enjoyable to watch, and my Spanish is pretty lousy. The actresses on your run-of-the-mill telenovela make American soap opera actresses look like farm animals.

Big Trouble in Little China - I'm not sure what to make of.

Big Trouble in Little China is sui generis. An incredibly subversive movie in a lot of ways, blows quite a few Hollywood cliches out of the water. As John Carpenter put it, "This a movie about a guy who thinks he's the action hero when he's really the comic sidekick."

Snakes on a Plane was awesome.

And soap operas, dentist appointments, and steam cleaned furniture? Ball players don't live the life I imagined.

Flash, Flash, I love you, but we only have 14 hours to save the earth!

TERMINATOR X!