Introduction Page


History of the Page:

In the fall of 1995, I was supposed to be looking up stuff about artists on the Internet for a class at school. Somehow on the way there I discovered The Spot. What can I say, I fell in love. I loved the goofy diary entries, as well as all the other stuff. I'd been watching TV soaps for years, and I liked how this soap was both shorter (instead of slogging through an hour of taped soap, I could read through journal entries- it went a lot faster) and gave a lot more character development. I didn't have Internet access at the time, but I started reading The Spot as soon as I got it. I also started checking out Steve Merlin's Guide to Soap Operas on the Web. I liked his idea of reviewing Web soaps, but I thought that maybe the reviews could go a little further.


How Things Work Around Here:

I review sites by reading through the character introductions (if available) and at least 2-3 episodes (no matter how bad it is). The better the soap, the more of it I read. Sometimes I start reading at the opening episodes, but if I can't get to them or if there's a huge amount of entries, I sometimes start reading from the most recent entries. The better the soap, the more of it I read. If there are any other features at the site (chat, audio, etc) I'll mention them.
Limitations:


Stuff That Won't Be Reviewed:

I'm not too interested in corporate-takeover-type soaps, so don't look for reviews of those here. I also don't review specifically gay/lesbian/bisexual soaps (I'm straight, so (and I know this sounds stupid, so please don't be offended by this) I don't feel qualified to review them) or the horror/pornographic sites. I don't check chat rooms or read soaps that I have to pay for.

Other Stuff:

I'm a college student, so I don't exactly know when I'll be able to update the page (Hey, at least I'm giving you fair warning- some of the soaps don't even do that). I don't really care for e-mail soaps (soaps in which the plot is told through e-mails between characters), but I will review them. I also will review "dead" soaps (soaps that haven't been updated for months or are on "summer hiatus"- which I think is a euphemism for "dead soap," as I've noticed that these soaps don't seem to EVER come back from hiatus)- hey, someone might want to read through old episodes. (Except for The Spot, which I can't bear to review- and I haven't decided whether or not to review any Amcy soaps as yet.) If I can find on the site how often it is updated, I'll mention it in the review.
To the index page
If you have any comments, e-mail me at jdrutherford@ucdavis.edu
Web Soap Review by Jennifer Rutherford
Page last updated: December 12, 1998