Soap
Episode 79
TV Flash files “Episode 79” as hour 79 of 90 in the TV Flash guide — Soap (1977–1981) on ABC, season 4, episode 10, aired 1981-01-21, 30 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S04E10: listed hour 79 of 90 in the Soap guide, hour 10 of 21 in season 4. It aired 1981-01-21 (30 min). The listed hour before it is “Episode 78” (S04E09). Next is “Episode 80” (S04E11).
Catalog log
Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.
After Jessica announces that she's now officially divorced from Chester, he announces his engagement to Annie; Jodie and Maggie confirm their relationship; a bullet meant for Gwen hits Danny instead.
Viewer FAQ
Where does Episode 79 sit in the Soap guide?
S04E10 is listed hour 79 of 90 — hour 10 of 21 in season 4, season 4 episode 10.
When did Soap S04E10 air?
Episode 79 aired 1981-01-21 and is listed at 30 minutes.
Do I need daytime-soap literacy first?
No. Harris's recaps and serial plotting teach the parody in motion. Knowing soaps adds flavor; the jokes still land as outrageous prime-time serial.
In the series
Why this series still plays
Susan Harris's primetime soap parody smuggles murder, aliens, possession, and Billy Crystal's Jodie past boycotts and Standards. Katherine Helmond's Jessica, Robert Guillaume's butler, serial recaps as scripture. The boldest network satire ABC greenlit — scandal as marketing, structure as the secret.
So about the pre-air group chat that tried to sink the show before episode one: boycotts, advertiser theater, and then Billy Crystal's Jodie, Katherine Helmond's Jessica, and a mansion full of murder, affairs, and demonic possession made ABC's Soap (1977–1981) the primetime spoof that bit hardest. (I said spoiler-free, mostly. It is a satirical serial. The recaps are scripture. You are already in it.) Susan Harris roasted daytime soaps while smuggling boundary-pushing characters into network laughs — four…
Filed against
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- Billy Crystal as Jodie Dallas
Billy Crystal’s Jodie Dallas walked Soap past boycotts and Standards — Susan Harris’s primetime soap parody smuggling murder, aliens, possession, Katherine Helmond’s Jessica, Robert Guillaume’s butler, serial recaps as scripture. The…
- Richard Mulligan as Burt Campbell
Richard Mulligan’s Burt Campbell survived Soap’s murder-and-aliens recap scripture — Katherine Helmond’s Jessica, boycotts, Billy Crystal’s Jodie — then moved next door to the Golden Girls as Empty Nest’s widowed pediatrician. ABC’s…