Luke and Laura.  Sonny, Brenda, and Jax.  Robin, Jason, and Carly.  Bo and Nora. Todd and Tea. Patrick, Marty, and Dylan. Edmund and Maria. Erica, et al.  These are our ABC couples and triangles, and in this week's spotlight focus, we're going to examine who they are, and why we love them like we do.

            They are this century's answer to Romeo and Juliet, Anthony and Cleopatra, even Bonnie and Clyde. Their love spans decades.  It's marred by betrayal, heartbreak, and even death.  Yet through it all, they survive, and in spite of the things that keep them apart, they never stop loving each other, and we never stop loving them. So what is it that inspires a soap fan to grow to love any couple, any side of a triangle?  Is it two beautiful people who exude chemistry like Sonny and Brenda?  Could it be the high romanticism of Jax and Brenda, or the adventures of Luke and Laura?  Could it be the tenderness of Robin and Stone, the fun of Bo and Nora? The excitement of Todd and Tea?  Or is it none of these things, but simply the right lighting, a good storyline, talented actors and just plain luck? 

            However you see it, whichever couples have been your favorites down the line, we all have been willing victims of the soap opera triangle.  It's what divides families right down the line, and pits brother against brother.  Many a message board war has broken out over the right woman for General Hospital's Jasper Jacks.  Ultimately his one true love, Brenda Barrett, won out.  But could the same be said for Brenda?  Is Jax her one true love?  Was Sonny the only man who would ever hold her heart?  Or is it possible to love two men at the same time?  Likely, Brenda would say yes.  And likely so would All My Children's Gillian.  Does she go for the passion she has with one-time husband and long time love, Ryan Lavery, or does she stay in a marriage that she doesn't want to be in, out of gratitude and loyalty?  The answers to these questions couldn't be fairly answered in this spotlight.  I'm forever a Jax and Brenda Angel, and there's no man for Gillian other than Ryan. But every soap fan doesn't see it that way, and there's a fine line to be drawn for the people who pen our favorite daytime dramas.  Where do they draw the line, and when do they finally make a decision to end that triangle? When the man in that triangle has children with both women? Or when the woman with the decision to be made has been down the aisle at least twice with each potential suitor? One would think the answer is simple--when people get tired of taking sides.  Well that'll never happen--Luke and Laura have been the most popular couple for 20 years or more, yet her history with Stefan Cassadine goes back almost as many years, and though I'm not one of them, there are some individuals who are still holding out hope.  That triangle, along with Jake, Gillian and Ryan, for their fans, will never be over.  And let's face it--we really wouldn't want to be. The best kind of drama stems from that of broken hearts, unrequited love, and that familiar sigh that comes with "Together, at last!" 

            Erica Kane and her husbands could probably use a spotlight focus all their own, but for now, they'll just get a paragraph.  Whether you preferred Dimitri, the runaway favorite, or the least likely reunion with the now late Travis, or the steady contender Jackson Montogomery, there has got to be at least one of Erica Kane's husbands that is your favorite.  Erica Kane would never pick just one, so neither will I.

             Let's take a step away from the triangle now, and look at the bonafide couples. Todd and Tea's fans from One Life to Live affectionately call themselves TnT, and their faith in this popular duo remains unwavered.  But Todd's been back in town for months, and it doesn't look like Tea is going to make a reappearance anytime soon.  But don't tell their fans that.  They'll hold on to the end.  And not to mention the tenacity that Edmund and Maria's fans still have, though that union has been over for nearly four years.  And Bo and Nora? Let's not even get their fans started on how long these two have been apart. 

            So why the faith? Why do people fight tooth and nail to get their point across, when trying to convince someone else why they love their couple and why their couple is set to beat the odds?  Because quite simply, they do.  The odds have been against them from the beginning, and we feel, after spending an hour a day with them, that we're as much a part of the relationship as the characters, themselves.  And when Jax and Brenda came thisclose to reuniting this past August, their fans felt like an eventual on-screen reunion was all the more likely.  And don't tempt the Jason and Carly fans with a possible reunion should Jason Morgan ride back into town. They only need a morsel, a crumb of truth to re-inspire them to write letters, make calls, and renew those magazine subscriptions. 

            Yes, I do believe we've finally answered the secret to soap opera triangles, and soap opera couples.  It is the people that lie at the very heart of it all, the fans. We are what make couples work, a la Carly and Sonny, and we are the ones that have the potential to shoot couples down before they even get off the ground, a la Stefan and Chloe.  Of course, every character everywhere, and every pairing from Pine Valley to Port Charles has a following in some corner of the world.  We're what makes the soap opera world go round.  It is the faith inspired by Jax and Brenda's undying love, and tears drawn from Patrick's poetry to Marty that make these couples and triangles popular.  Every day the writers try to give us what we want, without actually satisfying that need in us. And finally, to quote my favorite character from Designing Women, "Dash Goff, the writer," "[soap couples take us] on a rip-roaring, firecracker of a ride, and we are all the better for having bought a ticket."

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Gillian Andrassy

Luke and Laura Carly Benson

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Sonny Corinthos

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            Luke and Laura.  Sonny, Brenda, and Jax.  Robin, Jason, and Carly.  Bo and Nora. Todd and Tea. Patrick, Marty, and Dylan. Edmund and Maria. Erica, et al.  These are our ABC couples and triangles, and in this week's spotlight focus, we're going to examine who they are, and why we love them like we do.

            They are this century's answer to Romeo and Juliet, Anthony and Cleopatra, even Bonnie and Clyde. Their love spans decades.  It's marred by betrayal, heartbreak, and even death.  Yet through it all, they survive, and in spite of the things that keep them apart, they never stop loving each other, and we never stop loving them. So what is it that inspires a soap fan to grow to love any couple, any side of a triangle?  Is it two beautiful people who exude chemistry like Sonny and Brenda?  Could it be the high romanticism of Jax and Brenda, or the adventures of Luke and Laura?  Could it be the tenderness of Robin and Stone, the fun of Bo and Nora? The excitement of Todd and Tea?  Or is it none of these things, but simply the right lighting, a good storyline, talented actors and just plain luck? 

            However you see it, whichever couples have been your favorites down the line, we all have been willing victims of the soap opera triangle.  It's what divides families right down the line, and pits brother against brother.  Many a message board war has broken out over the right woman for General Hospital's Jasper Jacks.  Ultimately his one true love, Brenda Barrett, won out.  But could the same be said for Brenda?  Is Jax her one true love?  Was Sonny the only man who would ever hold her heart?  Or is it possible to love two men at the same time?  Likely, Brenda would say yes.  And likely so would All My Children's Gillian.  Does she go for the passion she has with one-time husband and long time love, Ryan Lavery, or does she stay in a marriage that she doesn't want to be in, out of gratitude and loyalty?  The answers to these questions couldn't be fairly answered in this spotlight.  I'm forever a Jax and Brenda Angel, and there's no man for Gillian other than Ryan. But every soap fan doesn't see it that way, and there's a fine line to be drawn for the people who pen our favorite daytime dramas.  Where do they draw the line, and when do they finally make a decision to end that triangle? When the man in that triangle has children with both women? Or when the woman with the decision to be made has been down the aisle at least twice with each potential suitor? One would think the answer is simple--when people get tired of taking sides.  Well that'll never happen--Luke and Laura have been the most popular couple for 20 years or more, yet her history with Stefan Cassadine goes back almost as many years, and though I'm not one of them, there are some individuals who are still holding out hope.  That triangle, along with Jake, Gillian and Ryan, for their fans, will never be over.  And let's face it--we really wouldn't want to be. The best kind of drama stems from that of broken hearts, unrequited love, and that familiar sigh that comes with "Together, at last!" 

            Erica Kane and her husbands could probably use a spotlight focus all their own, but for now, they'll just get a paragraph.  Whether you preferred Dimitri, the runaway favorite, or the least likely reunion with the now late Travis, or the steady contender Jackson Montogomery, there has got to be at least one of Erica Kane's husbands that is your favorite.  Erica Kane would never pick just one, so neither will I.

             Let's take a step away from the triangle now, and look at the bonafide couples. Todd and Tea's fans from One Life to Live affectionately call themselves TnT, and their faith in this popular duo remains unwavered.  But Todd's been back in town for months, and it doesn't look like Tea is going to make a reappearance anytime soon.  But don't tell their fans that.  They'll hold on to the end.  And not to mention the tenacity that Edmund and Maria's fans still have, though that union has been over for nearly four years.  And Bo and Nora? Let's not even get their fans started on how long these two have been apart. 

            So why the faith? Why do people fight tooth and nail to get their point across, when trying to convince someone else why they love their couple and why their couple is set to beat the odds?  Because quite simply, they do.  The odds have been against them from the beginning, and we feel, after spending an hour a day with them, that we're as much a part of the relationship as the characters, themselves.  And when Jax and Brenda came thisclose to reuniting this past August, their fans felt like an eventual on-screen reunion was all the more likely.  And don't tempt the Jason and Carly fans with a possible reunion should Jason Morgan ride back into town. They only need a morsel, a crumb of truth to re-inspire them to write letters, make calls, and renew those magazine subscriptions. 

            Yes, I do believe we've finally answered the secret to soap opera triangles, and soap opera couples.  It is the people that lie at the very heart of it all, the fans. We are what make couples work, a la Carly and Sonny, and we are the ones that have the potential to shoot couples down before they even get off the ground, a la Stefan and Chloe.  Of course, every character everywhere, and every pairing from Pine Valley to Port Charles has a following in some corner of the world.  We're what makes the soap opera world go round.  It is the faith inspired by Jax and Brenda's undying love, and tears drawn from Patrick's poetry to Marty that make these couples and triangles popular.  Every day the writers try to give us what we want, without actually satisfying that need in us. And finally, to quote my favorite character from Designing Women, "Dash Goff, the writer," "[soap couples take us] on a rip-roaring, firecracker of a ride, and we are all the better for having bought a ticket."

E-Mail Leigh

View Archived Spotlights

Old Soap Operas

Gillian Andrassy

Luke and Laura Carly Benson

Edmund Grey

Sonny Corinthos

Read Leigh's Profile