Premiere and Critical Reception
Soap premiered on Tuesday, September 13, 1977 at 9:30PM. The show was preceded by a disclaimer that the show "was part of a continuing character comedy" that included adult themes and that "viewer discretion" was advised. The disclaimer, the first in network television history, was both written on the screen and read by Soap announcer Rod Roddy. It would remain throughout the first season then subsequently dropped.
Much of Soap's controversy, among liberals and conservatives alike, ironically actually helped to sell the series to the general public. Fueled by six months of pre-show protests (as well as a solid lead-in from the hit shows Happy Days, Laverne & Shirley and Three's Company), the first episode swept its time slot with a 25.6 rating and 39 percent share (39% of the national audience). Although ABC received hundreds of phone calls after the premiere, executives at the network described initial public reaction as "mild" with more calls in favor of the show than in protest. A University of Richmond poll found that 74% of viewers found Soap inoffensive, 26% found it offensive, and half of those who were offended said they planned to watch it the next week.
Initial reviews-somewhat clouded by the controversy-were mixed, with negative reviews predictably focusing on the show's racy content. The Los Angeles Times called the show "a prolonged dirty joke" that "is without cleverness or style or subtlety. It's sex jokes are delivered by the shovelful, like manure." Variety called the show "forced and derivative," "bland" and "predictable and silly" while conceding that the sex is "no more outrageous than daytime soapers, no more outspoken than Three's Company."
Time magazine praised the "talented cast" and singled out Jimmy Baio and Billy Crystal as "sharp young comedians," but felt the show suffered from "nastiness" and "lacked compassion."
On the more positive side, TV Guide gave the show a good review saying that there was "a heap of talent" in the cast and asking "It is funny? Yes it is...and I guess that constitutes redeeming social value."
Harry F. Waters' 1977 Newsweek review proved prescient of conservative reaction when the following year, the National PTA declared Soap one of "ten worst" shows in television. In spite of this designation, Soap ranked #13 for the 1977-78 season and went on to garner positive critical reviews and high ratings over the rest of its four-year run.
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