If you are reading this you may wonder what is a “proximity pairing” and why someone is railing against this kind of coupling. I define a “proximity pairing” as a couple that is put in proximity of one another and we are supposed to accept the duo is right for each other even if they barely are focused upon as a couple. Sometimes there is no bias and the only reason for the couple is they are both free and in the same story. Other times, it is based on factors such as age or race. In this entry, I am going to focus on stories where the pairings made sense, and overcame the label so they don't exist only in a bubble. I’m not saying all couples that are put together for this reason are poor or that soaps need not do this, just that I find they can be extremely frustrating. If there were terminology, for what I am describing, I’d love to hear it. Hopefully this post isn’t too preachy.
The Teen Scene – Young Adult Characters
A soap opera has four young heterosexual characters, two male and two female. Originally it is a quadrangle, but one of the pairings takes off, and the show goes with that couple. The other characters are left over and they are automatically put together just because they are the only young people left. Instead of trying to see if they fit with other cast members who are slightly older, they ignore them. This is a typical set up I’ve seen over the years with young characters. Sometimes it works (like Guiding Light’s Phillip, Rick, Beth and Mindy or with five characters—though not technically a quad on Days of Our Lives’ Belle, Shawn, Mimi, Philip and Chloe). As the years went on these characters spun out past their original grouping and more people were added to the story creating more story for the show to explore. When it doesn’t work (a recent example is on Days Will, Chad, Gabi, Mia) usually some if not all of the characters are recast or written off the program.
The “Old Folks”
A soap opera has two unattached (usually older meaning over 40, having adult kids, or having been on a show for longer than 10 years) characters. These two people are automatically paired romantically even if the main thing they have in common is their age. Due to the history of the characters, the lack of writing for the characters, the pairing doesn’t make much sense. If the show perhaps put some effort into the pairing, they may have a chance to be good. The only thing that is going for it may be the actors. If anything it feels like a cheap cop out, as they would rather focus the show’s energies on other players.
When a show is invested in the long time performers, sometimes they will take the effort to write for them, and give them a decent love story. How Charlie and Viki fell in love on One Life to Live is a recent example as they brought Charlie in specifically to be Viki’s love interest or what is going on with Victor and Maggie right now on Days. If they aren't we get barely developed situations, that could have been fun if written for (like how a few years ago on GL, Alex and Buzz started dating by just going up to a hotel room. We saw nothing beyond them deciding let's go upstairs and get a room. That was the entire courtship. They did a better with Buzz and Lillian, but still it felt like they were treating them with kid gloves based upon age.) Sometimes they will put the performers with a younger co-star usually it is a male performer some examples are on The Young & the Restless Victor Newman and the late John Abbott, OLTL’s late Asa Buchanan. General Hospital’s Monica Quartermaine bucked the trend and had affairs with more than one younger man. GL in the 1990’s cornered the market on these kind of relationships as nearly every over 40 became romantically involved with someone at least 10 years there junior.
The Race Issue with Pairings
Race is a delicate topic, so I am going to try and tread lightly. Back when soaps had a lot more characters that did not fall into the generic white and from Middle America, pairings among members of the same racial group were a lot more prevalent. Yes there have been some really well known and popular duos that were really great, but unfortunately others were not. I find it offensive when people are treated like secondhand characters based upon their race and all they are given is a proximity pairing. In my years of soap viewing, I’ve felt that way more than once. When a show does treat a non-white couple with respect and are written for well, I am glad. If not, I feel some kind of resentment and take offense as if the show is wasting my time. That said I do know not every couple works even if on paper they are thought to be a good idea. Two examples of successful and popular African-American pairings are All My Children’s Angie and Jesse and The Young & the Restless’ Drucilla and Neil in their early years together. I'd love to list successful couples between people who are both of Hispanic/Latino or of Asian decent, but sadly I cannot think of one that matches that description and I've been watching soaps for over 20 years. As a viewer, I have no idea if this statistic will change or if it is a case of my mind doing a complete blank, but I'm waiting.
What a different world it was when back about 25 years ago, it was a huge deal that Santa Barbara paired blonde heiress Eden Capwell with Mexican police detective Cruz Castillo. Of all the couples on that program, they were seen as the most popular. They were not part of the show’s original plan and the actors had a lot to do with the creation of the couple. There were others before them, but they were the first interracial couple to be leads on their particular US soap opera. Other soaps have also had popular interracial pairings like AMC's Noah and Julia (African-American/Latino), As the World Turns' Jessica and Duncan (African-American/white Scottish guy), General Hospital's Tom and Simone (white guy/African-American woman.) On OLTL, pairings among people who are of different races are so prevalent that seldom does the show even make an issue out of it. Layla is African-American, Cris is Latino, Jessica and Natalie who are white were both involved with Cris. Nora has a biracial daughter Rachel, though she is off canvas. African-American Destiny wanted to date Matthew whose mother Nora is Jewish. The downside is other than currently Todd and Tea, there is not much attention paid to these characters.
Wrapping it up in a Bow
Perhaps my biggest issue with “proximity pairings” is that some are solely for lip service or even to fill a quota. I don’t want pairings just because they match a specific demographic. I don’t want soaps to discriminate or use only stereotypes. What I do want is to see people involved who fit even if it is an unconventional pairing. I wish for a well-written shows that are diverse. Stories are multi-generational as unless one is in a setting with mainly peers (like a summer camp), as most people interact with people of various ages in their daily lives. As always, I want great dialogue and plots played by talented performers. I don’t want to be told what to like, but to discover some unhidden gem of a pairing.
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