Soap
Episode 80
TV Flash files “Episode 80” as hour 80 of 90 in the TV Flash guide — Soap (1977–1981) on ABC, season 4, episode 11, aired 1981-01-28, 30 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S04E11: listed hour 80 of 90 in the Soap guide, hour 11 of 21 in season 4. It aired 1981-01-28 (30 min). The listed hour before it is “Episode 79” (S04E10). Next is “Episode 81” (S04E12).
Catalog log
Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.
Burt vows to make Tibbs pay for his crimes; Jessica makes an unsuccessful attempt to seduce El; Danny's critical injury requires a kidney from a blood relative.
Viewer FAQ
Where does Episode 80 sit in the Soap guide?
S04E11 is listed hour 80 of 90 — hour 11 of 21 in season 4, season 4 episode 11.
When did Soap S04E11 air?
Episode 80 aired 1981-01-28 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
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- 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…