One Life to Live Fangirl

I remember the first time I tuned in to “Fraternity Row.” I was hooked instantly. I needed to know what would happen next to these fascinating people. Would the hero and heroine find their way back to true love? Would the villains get their comeuppance? Or would their crimes go unpunished? Would loving families overcome their obstacles or would their troubles prove too difficult to surmount? 

Ultimately, that’s what soap opera is about — families. Close families. Rival families. Even families that are unexpected. Or the ones we choose for ourselves. And when a show is lucky enough to be on the air as long as “Fraternity Row” has been on, these families become extensions of our own. The audience might be upset when a favorite actor leaves… but they’re always willing to welcome a new one, even when that new cast member is quite different than the one being replaced. After all, this is a place where people come back from the dead, go off to grade school in the morning and come home from high school in the afternoon. Because for every new face, every new couple, every new family, there are long-familiar faces… some who have grown up before our very eyes and a few more we hope to watch grow up.