Writer: Richard Kelly
Director: Richard Kelly
Cast: Billy Crystal, Robert Guillaume, Katherine Helmond, Jennifer Salt, Roscoe Lee Browne, Richard Mulligan, Jimmy Baio, Arthur Peterson, Diana Canova, Cathryn Damon, Robert Mandan, Ted Wass, Jay Johnson
Rating: Not Rated
Studio: Sony Home Entertainment
Release Date: June 10, 2008

When I heard Soap was coming out in a complete set I could hardly contain myself. I was excited though I now realize that I had no idea what to expect. Growing up, I had heard numerous times how utterly hilarious this show was. In fact, when my mom heard that I was getting it for review and found out that I had not yet seen it, she chastised me for not watching it previously. After I reminded her, I was into Sesame Street when this was on television she forgave me, but told me to watch it right away. So, I tried to do as I was told.

Soap was pretty controversial for a number of reasons. As a 30-minute comedy, masking as a soap opera/drama there were plenty of topics that would be brought up in the four seasons the show had that were not brought up anywhere else on television. Well, at least not at the time in which Soap originally aired. There was sex, thug life, alien babies, and Jodie Dallas (played by Billy Crystal – When Harry Met Sally), one of the first openly gay characters on television. The show was said to be so controversial that before the end, the FCC would attempt to ban nearly every decent storyline that the Soap writers came up with. Still, the four seasons and 90 episodes were some of the best, original television that you could hope to find.

Release Information:
Soap opened with a bang, long before it even showed up on television. A few journalists got a chance to enjoy an advanced screening and one of them absolutely hated the show. In fact, he felt that it was too much about sex, even hinging on a pornographic mindset. Of course, anyone that has seen the show knows how far from the truth that is. However, advertisers at the time weren’t sure how things were going to work out with the show and a number of them pulled their ads. One of the only ads willing to stick with the show was for Slimfast, a relatively new product at the time.

Sony Home Pictures released the complete collection of Soap on June 10, 2008. This set is not at all necessary for anyone that owns the other sets. Its primary purpose is meant to be a less expensive alternative for someone that cannot afford the previous box sets. This set is made cheaper than the other sets. In fact, rather than having the standard box set, this 12 disc set uses a spindle to stack all of the discs from all of the four seasons. You can pick this set up just about anywhere, including Amazon, where it is available for $46.99.

The Soap: The Complete Series Plot
Anyone that has had a chance to enjoy this show knows that it’s about as crazy as can be. Take soaps, double the drama, and you have Soap. Sure, by the end some of it became so crazy and some of it felt a little sell-out-ish due to the censors not approving nearly as much as they did in the beginning of the series, but the creators tried to find a way to make it work, minus a huge cliffhanger with no resolution. However, if you’ve seen shows like soap operas you know that the most important thing is character development. After all, plotlines can become so outlandish, if people didn’t love the characters, there would be no hope.

Soap begins with two sisters and their separate families. Mary Campbell (Cathryn Damon) and Jessica Tate (Katherine Helmond) are both married and living very different lives. While Mary is on her second marriage, Jessica has been married to the same man for years, who she loves almost as much as the tennis pro, but we will get to that later.

Mary’s first husband and the father of her two children was a gangster that ended up being murdered. She then married Burt (Richard Mulligan) who loved her even while she was married and might have had something to do with her husband’s death. Mary is the mother of two grown men. Danny (Ted Wass) is a tough guy gangster that’s not quite as tough as his father, but he’s still a gangster nonetheless. Of course, Danny isn’t real right bright if you know what I mean. And then there is Jodie (Billy Crystal). Jodie’s problem isn’t that he’s openly gay and madly in love with a man in sports; a man that has to keep his homosexuality a secret. It’s whether or not he’s willing to become a woman for said sports god. Although, I will admit it was hilarious seeing him decide to become a woman one day and then seeing him in the hospital the next, I wouldn’t exactly call his character or this storyline “realistic”. Only on a soap opera.

Now, if Mary was the only one that had kids, maybe things wouldn’t be so bad, but Burt has a couple of his own sons, too. Chuck (Jay Johnson) is a ventriloquist who is obsessed with his dummy Bob (he gets offended when you don’t talk to or feed Bob) and Peter (Robert Urich) is a tennis pro that has a thing for mother/daughter combos, and everything in between.

The Tates are not only connected to the Campbells because Mary and Jessica are sisters, Jessica also has an affair with Mary’s tennis pro stepson, Peter. This is the same man that her middle daughter moves in with, but we will get to that shortly. Let’s start things off with Jessica’s husband. Jessica is married to Chester (Robert Mandan). For Jessica, the sun rises and sets with Chester. Little does she know (at least in the beginning) that Chester is a cheap, conniving womanizer, who would sleep with a tree if it put out.

Together, Jessica and Chester have three children. The oldest daughter Eunice (Jennifer Salt) is an upstanding, uptight do-gooder that begins the show by having an affair with a senator. She ends up lowering her standards accordingly though and eventually ends up with an escaped convict. Next up is the middle child, Corrine (Diana Canova). As mentioned earlier, Corrine moves in with the tennis pro, but she doesn’t really love him. Instead, Corrine is in love with Father Tim (Sal Viscuso). Eventually, he gives in to his demons and admits his lust for Corrine. The two have a beautiful life together including a marriage and a baby that’s possessed by the devil (fitting as he used to be Father Timothy and all).

The lone son of the Tate house is named Billy (Jimmy Baio – yep! Scott’s cousin!). He is a young teenager who is just old enough to begin dating. He’s horny, sarcastic, and probably one of the more sane family members in the bunch. Billy is always good for a laugh whether it deals with his witty commentary, his teacher-student relationships, or his risky kidnappings by cults. Billy just always seems to have something going on.

When it comes to family, the last one in the bunch is Jessica and Mary’s father, who is called, The Major (Arthur Peterson Jr.). The Major is one of the funniest characters in the lot. Suffering from severe dementia, The Major believes he is in enemy territory in WWII. He often spends his day trying to bomb the next door neighbor or going on raids, much to the chagrin of Chester and the rest of the family.

The last character worth mentioning is Benson (Robert Guillaume). Believe me when I say that he’s a character! Benson is Jessica and Chester’s butler. The only problem is that he doesn’t particularly like taking orders. He hates Chester, so he purposely defies him every single chance he gets and he’s known for having the best sarcastic lines out of all of the people on the show. Benson is simply hilarious.

The show begins with such themes as infidelity, impotency, blackmail, sex changes, and attempted murders. It goes on to explore such topics as student/teacher hookups, hookups with aliens, demonic possessions, kidnappings, revolutionaries, prison, and so much more. It can easily be said that Soap is definitely one of the craziest 30 minutes to ever hit television.

Storyline/Plot: ★★★★☆
Replayability: ★★★★★
Acting: ★★★★½
Directing: ★★★★½

Audio/Visual:
The video quality for Soap is offered at an aspect ratio of 1.33:1. Considering the age of the series, the quality is not bad at all. There are some soft moments, a few grain spots, and the usual issues that crop up with a series that hasn’t been filmed in more than 30 years. Even in the moments where slight problems crop up the series is still enjoyable and the problems never sway from the enjoyment of the show. I don’t recall an unwatchable moment even with the questionable spots.

The audio is as decent as you would expect for a show on television that is as old as this one is. Presented in Dolby Digital Stereo, the audio did not require much toggling at all. The sound was not overly dynamic, but for a television show it worked just fine. There were parts where the age was apparent, but overall the dialogue was always easy to hear and the music sounded fine.

Visual: ★★★☆☆
Audio: ★★★☆☆

Bonus Features:
Surprisingly, there are absolutely no bonus features in this set. I am not sure how well the other season box sets fared in terms of bonus features, but here things come up empty.

Bonus Features: ☆☆☆☆☆

Bottom Line:
Soap: The Complete Series is definitely one of the most entertaining shows in television history. This set is only necessary for people that do not already have the other box sets. While you might be able to pick up one box set for around $40, you can grab this complete set for just a few dollars more. While this set is devoid of bonus features, the episodes make the purchase well worthwhile. If you don’t own Soap yet and you’re looking to save a little money then I would definitely recommend purchasing this complete box set.

Overall Rating: ★★★½☆

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