Between switched babies, bouts of amnesia and the occasional otherworldly visit, soaps have it all – from the plausible to the impossible. Here are our picks for the best and brightest from decades of deception, devotion and dynasty.
1. Katherine's Cosmetic Surgery
The Young and the Restless
In 1984, Katherine/Kay Chancellor (played by Jeanne Cooper, veteran actress and mother to actor Corbin Bernson) had her real-life facelift written into the storyline of the popular daytime drama "The Young and the Restless." Cooper was filmed, bandages as all, as she had the surgery and recovered. This was the first time such a merging of fiction and reality occurred on television. Years later, in 1997, Linda Dano would follow Cooper's lead when she had her facelift procedure written into the storyline for her character, Felicia Gallant, on "Another World."
2. Marlena's Possession
Days of Our Lives
In a storyline that was often mocked yet still fascinated viewers, "Days of Our Lives" took a page from "The Exorcist" when Dr. Marlena Evans' body was taken over by the devil in 1994 and 1995. During this time, Marlena (Deidre Hall) was prone to levitating and having her eyes turn green. Luckily, the love and priestly skills of Marlena's better supercouple half, John Black, prove enough to save her from the dark side.
3. Erica's Visit to the Clinic
All My Children
In 1973, infamous soap character Erica Kane (Susan Lucci) was an up and coming model who found herself with a dilemma – her career was taking off, and she was pregnant. Unbeknownst to soap husband Jeff Martin, Kane decided to terminate the pregnancy, and the first legal abortion was addressed on daytime television. In 2005, history was made again when Josh Madden showed up in town, and it was revealed that the doctor who supposedly performed Kane's procedure in 1973 had actually transplanted her fetus to his wife who carried the baby to term. Through a medically impossible procedure, Erica Kane had a long lost son. Now, that's a soap opera for you!
4. Noah and Luke's Kiss
As the World Turns
Hot button social issues are nothing new to daytime. In 1987, a woman suffering from AIDS made her first appearance in Pine Valley on "All My Children." In 1992 on "One Life to Live," a gay male teen named Billy Douglas (portrayed by Ryan Phillipe) stirred things up in Llanview." "All My Children" made headlines again in 2003 when the first romantic kiss between female characters was aired. Yet, it wasn't until this year that "As the World Turns" made soap history with a liplock between Luke Snyder (Van Hansis) and struggling-to-come-out-of-the-closet Noah Mayer (Jake Silbermann). Once you throw Noah's strict military dad into the mix, you've got the recipe for great daytime drama.
5. Luke and Laura's Wedding
General Hospital
True Luke and Laura fans have trouble picking out the top moment for the supercouple that puts all other supercouples to shame. These two have certainly had their lows – there's Luke's rape of Laura in 1979, the discovery of Laura's son by a Cassadine in 1996 and Luke's attempt to account for the rape to the couple's confused son, Lucky, in 1998. But, their highs are just as great – misadventures on the run from Frank Smith, the birth of Lulu, a reunion in 2006. Yet, the crowning moment for Luke and Laura will always be their 1981 nuptials. With millions of viewers and a cameo by Elizabeth Taylor, this moment in soap history is hard to beat.
6. Reva's Dip in the Fountain
Guiding Light
As the indomitable Reva Shayne Lewis on "Guiding Light," Kim Zimmer has wowed audiences and taken home four daytime Emmy awards. Despite years of plot twists and turns, Zimmer is probably best known for a 1984 scene in which the actress stripped down to her skivvies for a dip on the patio of the country club where she "baptized" herself the "slut of Springfield." Zimmer's performance is incredible, but it's the combination of formal wear and biblical imagery that makes this moment truly special.
7. Karen's Testimony
One Life to Live
Some soap moments are great for their outlandishness; others feed our fantasies of love or comeuppance. And some captivate us for their humanity. Such is the case with the 1979 testimony of Karen Walek (Judith Light) on "One Life to Live." Walek is married to kind-hearted, unsuspecting Dr. Larry, when she is forced, under oath, to admit her past as a prostitute. The cold-hearted drilling of the D.A. stands in stark contrast to the desperation and self-loathing of Light's character as she watches her world unravel before friends and family. Light's performance amazes, and this is a television moment that truly leaves the audience breathless.
