Soap vs Censors: The Fight Over TV's Most Controversial Sitcom

It's important to go back and document this history now. Maybe especially right now. Younger people need to know just how much work was done to establish the rights we eventually had. And see how there can be a way in the future to get them back again, if need be. Lies and propaganda cannot be left unchallenged, when the lives and freedoms of people are at stake.

The first time I heard the word "bisexual" was on the Star Trek episode "The Trouble With Tribbles," written by David Gerrold. Dr McCoy says: "They (tribbles) are bisexual, meaning they can reproduce at will. And brother, have they got a lot of will." (In retrospect, Gerrold said he knew that was not scientifically accurate, but it was the only term NBC censors would accept.) IRL, David Gerrold has documented his journey as a gay single father in his novel The Martian Child.

Star Trek went through similar "teething pains" with the character of Spock. You can see that in the early episodes Leonard Nimoy is still finding his way with the character, just as Billy Crystal was with his character Jodie. Eventually, after about ten episodes in each case, the characters became established. And IMO a huge part of that was Jodie going into hospital for the sex change operation and meeting Barney Gruber (Harold Gould)--a warm-hearted, sympathetic and grandfatherly figure. With humor.

"Being compared to Hitler and Mussolini--not bad for a Mississippi boy." I feel like Dick Smothers when he used to say to his brother Tommy, "That was not a complement."

I love this show!!!!

Went to a parochial school. Had a "parent letter" which said if we watched, we endangered our souls. Sunday Mass had the priests condemning the show. Of course we tuned in and laughed. The show was a spoof of daytime soaps. Funny how they never condemned them.

Good memories

SOAP was hot!

Bi erasure is still frustratingly going on. "Grace and Frankie" which is a great comedy that deals with hiding yourself and finally coming out. But Sol one of the gay characters is clearly bi, but it not addressed. It is super frustrating. At the beginning ir makes sense for him to identify as gay, but as the seasons go on it clear he actually was/is attraction to his ex wife. He doesn't need to come out as bi, but it could have been discussed. Or they could have brought up pan. I still recommend Grace and Frankie though.

My family was conservative, but had and has a sense of humor and saw the humor in Soap.

I remember a Billy Crystal comedy album where he's talking about people recognizing him from Saturday Night Live, and how is was better than when people would recognize him from Soap and hurl slurs at him.

Our local affiliate blocked it airing in primetime for four years.

Bi erasure was huge really until fairly recently.

I absolutely loved this show I was a teenager at the time, it educated me

That preacher sounds like US version of dear old Mary Whitehouse our own self appointed moral guardian.

The great idea of a character who can only speak through his doll is brilliant.

This may well have been the best TV show of its type ever. It was amazing... and I want the last episode. Billy Crystal can narrate the catch up.

A sample of differing mores in different countries was told to me by parents. They were visiting England when it first aired. What shocked the English was Benson, the butler, tripping Mr Tate his employer

"If they gave (moral majority leader) Jerry Falwell an enema before he died, they could have buried him in a matchbox" -Christopher Hitchens

You write a story about a bunch of people living their lives and being who they are, and that makes people mad. What’s that tell you about people? People need to learn how to abide. That said, the writers probably needed to reflect more on their characters. Or tried. Maybe that’s abiding.

Why would anyone listen to "Uptight Nazi's for Decency"? Blocking such shows or characters, like sticking one's head in the sand, won't make homosexuality 'go away'...

I'm 3 years late to the party, but at least I made it.

To the backwards, willfully ignorant, terminally stupid religious conservatives: Please note, there are two knobs/buttons on your TV. One of them changes the channel, the other turns it off! Take one of those two options and keep your religion based hatred to yourself.

As for conservatives and keeping their religious nonsense and opinions to themselves... Whenever religion gets involved progress stops. Right after 9/11, the then President Bush said, "Our god is the god who named the stars." Not only did he miss the fact, "Allah," is the same god as the Judeo-Christian god, he fully missed the fact that 2/3 of all named stars have Arabic names! But that leads us to the point. When you say, "God did it. End of conversation," curiosity stops. You no longer search for answers and progress comes to a full halt. Once upon a time, the Arabic nations and Islam were the leaders in math and science. They created algebra and the even the numbers we use are called, "Arabic numerals." But, sometime during the 12th century, a religious nutbag - by the name of, Imam al-Ghazali - showed up. This moron made statements condemning the, "manipulation of numbers," as being, "evil and the work of the devil," and claimed the reason things in nature occurred was due to the will of God. Why and how does a bird fly? Because God wills it.

Consider: the most advanced society in the history of the world - at the time - now has more than 1.3 BILLION people. Meanwhile, the Jewish people - who were considered backwards at the time - now has a global population of about 15 million people. If we look at the recipients in the history of the Nobel Prize, nearly 50% of them are Jewish. In the history of Nobel, only 3 Muslims have won the award... and one of those awards was in economics. This is the result of conservatism and religion.

Lastly, 'Soap,' was not the only controversial show... In the 1950s, 'I love Lucy,' was being boycotted because Ricky and Lucy shared the same bed. Despite being a real life married couple, the show's bedroom all of a sudden adopted separate twin beds. 'All in the Family,' and, 'Married with Children,' saw their fair share of controversy. But what was truly amazing was the boycott over Elizabeth Montgomery and, 'Bewitched.' TV channels all thru the Bible belt refused to air the show, as, "Witchcraft is a sin and the work of the Devil." This gives proof to why that same area of the country is also called, "the heartland." It's because the brain certainly isn't there.

I will be looking for the DVD box set. Is this project related to shampoo? I am too young. I was born in 1975 but I have heard about this.

As Airplane! is the funniest movie ever, Soap is the funniest (American) sitcom ever made

Confused? You won’t be.

One of the best shows ever!

Jodie holding Wendy and cooing at her so softly is so frickin adorable oh my goodness.

Billy was a surprisingly attractive woman

Rest in piss Anita.

I used to love watching this on my b/w telly in my bedroom.Mum and Dad of course watched all the "serious" soaps and just didn't like the parody.Strangely,they had zero issues with Benson.
Billy Crystal rocked as a comedian.Nearly as funny as Kenny Everett.

Soap was a program that brought out everything that was not allowed on T.V. stuff people either knew about and things that were hidden not talked about done in comedy format. You either hated it or like the show back in 1977

Bob and Chuck, OMG, Bob and Chuck.

Soap was f'ing awesome.

This show was shown in the UK on a Friday night at 10:30pm back in 1978. I was 15 at the time, mum and me loved it dad on the other hand said bloody stupid American show. It was repeated in 1982 and i recorded it all on VHS. It has never been released on DVD in the UK, well not all 4 seasons anyway. I waited years to be able to get it imported from America. Just wish i could get all the spin off show on DVD that being Benson.

Man, I'd forgotten about that show! We used to watch that every week :D Such a silly yet funny show.

This show deserved a final season to wrap things up.

Hahaha guess who wants control of the airwaves now? 😆 We live in an upside down world.

Just goes to show there are sex grifters as well as race grifters.

Very straight forward. It was a story for THAT time. It will not work today.

It’s so distracting how you throw your head around randomly while reading the script. Otherwise I really enjoyed this retrospective.

Gosh - I don't think anyone in the UK thought that having a gay character in this was particularly controversial. There were so many characters to like. It was very popular over here.

I loved the ventriloquist scenes. The dummy was coming out with his own lines. Very funny.

Funny thing, the hetero sex antics were more salious. Sex with aliens? Coriane? Jessica? And there's Chester.... Another World would have been envious of the writing.... oh and the demon baby!

Funny thing, the hetero sex antics were more salious. Sex with aliens? Coriane? Jessica? And there's Chester.... Another World would have been envious of the writing

SOAP was ground breaking. And absolutely fantastic.

Great series

At the same time the catholic church was attacking tv shows it was hiding widespread pedofilia in its ranks.

When I was a kid, my friend told me about gay people. I thought he was just making stuff up. I didn't know he was any such thing. anyway. along. came soap a couple years later. That's how I found out. There really is gay people.😄

My impression is that Jodi was a gay man who became convinced that the best way to have a relationship with his boyfriend was with a sex change. Then, he convinced himself that he had always wanted a sex change.