Super People

Like it or not, naysayers, Soap Operas are a genre, an art form. The once derogatory term has been acceptable for quite some time now, but it actually refers to a continuing story. Soap operas are at their best when they focus on relationships, be they couples, families, friendships, antagonisms or work. Although the genre has hit dire straits it remains a staple of the love in the afternoon crowd and is still allegedly remaining character driven, although there are strong arguments against that. What drives a good Soap is the network involving the above relationships.

A pivotal classic relationship in this network is what has been deemed the
"Super Couple" -- no matter what is cooked up in the backrooms, a Super Couple cannot be manufactured or forced, it simply happens. True Super Couples are few and far between. Erica Kane on All My Children has had memorable couplings but has not really been part of one. The character itself is too Super. Greg and Jenny early on were a prototype from that very show, which was before the Superest Couple of all, Luke & Laura -- the one that reinvented the genre and brought it to the forefront of public awareness.

A good Super Couple is something that happens almost without fanfare. There have been recent obvious failed attempts: Tad & Krystal (AMC), John & Natalie (OLTL); missed opportunities: Sam & Lily (AMC), Max & Roxanne (OLTL); flubbed stories: Al & Marcie (OLTL) but there is one that seems to be blossoming because the actors involved have risen to the occasion and above the writing: Kendall and Zach on All My Children. There are other great actors on the show, still the couple that gets the juices going is the one portrayed by Thorsten Kaye & Alicia Minshew. Here's hoping that the powers that be don't drop the ball on this one.