Books about TV: The Soap Opera Slaughters

In another addition to my entertainment book collection, I purchased a used copy of "The Soap Opera Slaughters", by Marvin Kaye. The mystery novel came out in 1982, and is about the behind the scenes at a fictional New York based soap opera. Below are my thoughts on the book.

This book was very much a time warp, due to the era it was written. It wasn't the first story in the series, though with hints I could follow the action. The author went behind the scenes at both "Ryan's Hope" and "Another World" thanking Louise Shaffer (Rae) and Beverly Penberthy (Pat) specifically. (The touch about still missing Mary Ryan was appreciated.)

The main character is a detective named Gene from Philadelphia, who gets roped into helping an investigation at his favorite soap "Riverday". He became addicted due to having a VTR (they use that term instead of VCR, which I find kind of interesting.) Weirdly enough the star who he enjoys watching most, is the cousin of his on again off again girlfriend. They look very much alike, and he had no idea Hilary's cousin Lainie was Lara. (The book says that the women both look like Deidre Hall in the notes.) They met at a soap opera event at a mall, and the story continues. The show's head writer is dead, and the "bible" outlining the series for the next few months is unfinished, so the program is screwed. Other people get injured and/or die, and there is the requisite backstabbing, nudity and sex. Though it is not written in a salacious manner it happens.

I don't want to give too much away, but the book describes what sets look like stacked up and other things behind the scenes. One part I really appreciated was how there was a discussion of how a character would be phased out of the fictional program. Everyone knew the reasons that one of the male characters was popular, so over a course of months, they planned to take away the attributes that made this man appealing to the audience, so they wouldn't mind him being written out of the story. Anyone who has watched soaps a long enough amount of time, has probably experienced this and gotten frustrated by it, but seeing it in print was a bit edifying. Also there is discussion of how the teleprompters of that era worked, and it wasn't computerized, but a foot pedal mechanism, and that you can't act if you are reading all of the dialogue.

Anyway, if you like reading older books, enjoy mysteries in first person with a male point of view which are rather short (under 200 pages), this may be something to try and locate. It was a fun read and since due to SoapNet I watched Ryan's Hope, I could go back into that era without too many issues.