Soap is an American sitcom television series that originally ran on ABC from September 13, 1977, until April 20, 1981. The show was created as a night-time parody of daytime soap operas, presented as a weekly half-hour prime time comedy. Similar to a soap opera, the show's story was presented in a serial format, and featured melodramatic plotlines including alien abduction, demonic possession, extramarital affairs, murder, kidnapping, unknown diseases, amnesia, cults, organised crime warfare, a communist revolution and teacher-student relationships. The show starred Katherine Helmond and Cathryn Damon as sisters/matriarchs of their own families. The cast also included three former soap opera actors. Robert Mandan (Chester Tate) had previously appeared on Search for Tomorrow as a leading man for Mary Stuart, and Donnelly Rhodes (Dutch Leitner) had played the first husband of Katherine Chancellor on The Young and the Restless. Arthur Peterson Jr. ("The Major") played Rev. John Ruthledge in the radio version of Guiding Light. Plot Soap is set in the fictional town of Dunn's River, Connecticut. In the opening sequence of the first installment, the announcer says "This is the story of two sisters—Jessica Tate and Mary Campbell". The Tates live in a wealthy neighborhood (the announcer calls it the neighborhood known as "Rich"). Jessica Tate (Katherine Helmond) and her husband, Chester (Robert Mandan), are hardly models of fidelity, as their various love affairs result in several family mishaps, including the murder of her sister Mary's (Cathryn Damon) stepson, Peter Campbell (Robert Urich). Even though everyone tells Jessica about Chester's continual affairs, she does not believe them until she sees his philandering with her own eyes. While out to lunch with Mary, Jessica spots Chester necking with his secretary, Claire (Kathryn Reynolds). Heartbroken, Jessica sobs in her sister's arms. On later occasions, it becomes clear that Jess has always known on some level about Chester's affairs but never allowed herself to process the information. The wealthy Tate family employs a sarcastic butler/cook named Benson (Robert Guillaume). Benson clearly despises Chester, but has a soft spot for their son, Billy (Jimmy Baio). He also gets along with the Tates' daughter, Corinne (Diana Canova) as well as their mother, Jessica; but doesn't speak to the other daughter, Eunice (Jennifer Salt), although that later changed. Benson became a popular character and in 1979 left the Tates' employ to work for Jessica's cousin, Governor Gene Gatling, on the spin-off series, Benson, wherein his last name, DuBois, was revealed. The Tates had to hire a new butler/cook named Saunders (Roscoe Lee Browne), whose attitude is similar to that of Benson, but has a more formal personal ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfVYv_vWX1A

Terry and June is a BBC television sitcom, which was broadcast on BBC1 from 1979 to 1987. The show was largely a reworking of Happy Ever After, and starred Terry Scott and June Whitfield as a middle-aged, middle-class suburban couple, Terry and June Medford, who live in Purley. Most of the 65 episodes were written by John Kane, with seven other writers also contributing some episodes. Production Terry Scott and June Whitfield began their television partnership in Scott On in 1968. On 7 May 1974, a Comedy Playhouse pilot called "Happy Ever After" aired on BBC1 with Scott and Whitfield playing Terry and June Fletcher, a middle-class couple whose grown-up children have just left home.[1] This was commissioned into a series of the same name, and five series and two Christmas specials were broadcast, ending on 25 April 1979. John T. Chapman, one of the original writers, said that the programme had run out of ideas and had to come to an end. BBC Comedy, however, were unwilling to end a popular show, and so brought in fresh new writers. Legal complications meant that the name and setting had to change, and so on 24 October 1979, Terry and June was born. The characteristics of Terry and June remained largely similar. However, the character of Aunt Lucy and her mynah bird, a popular ingredient of Happy Ever After, were dropped.. Despite being seen as "cosy" and even somewhat "dated" even upon its original broadcast, and lampooned by contemporaneous alternative comedy programmes, the show nevertheless attracted large viewing figures. The series never came to an 'official' end, with Series Nine in 1987 not planned to be the last, but, according to main writer John Kane, the series "just sort of petered out in the end", after Series 8 (1985) already having been "buried in an early tea-time slot", with the BBC "slightly embarrassed of their 'safe and cosy' sitcom but one which still commanded strong audience figures". Several scripts for a proposed Series Ten were submitted, but in the end the series "simply wasn't renewed". During filming of Series Nine, Terry Scott commented that he felt the programme's format had started to become tired and that he was keen to do something new. In 2004, it came 73rd in Britain's Best Sitcom, jointly with Happy Ever After. In The Listener at the end of its run it was described, not unaffectionately, by Andy Medhurst as "a Macmillanite sitcom" to which Thatcherism was as alien as socialism.[2] Cast Main characters Terry Scott – Terence 'Terry' Medford June Whitfield – June Medford Reginald Marsh – Sir Dennis Hodge Terence Alexander – Malcolm Harris (series 1 and 2) Tim Barrett – Malcolm Harris (1980 Special to series 7) John Quayle – Malcolm Harris (series 8 and 9) Rosemary Frankau – Beattie Harris Joanna ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4to3ZTiNiw

Home to Roost is a British sitcom produced by Yorkshire Television between 19 April 1985 and 19 January 1990. Written by Eric Chappell, it stars John Thaw as Henry Willows and Reece Dinsdale as his teenaged son Matthew. The premise is that Henry Willows, who is 40-something has been divorced from his wife for seven years and is perfectly happy living alone in London until his oldest child, Matthew arrives to live with him after being thrown out by his mother. The episodes generally revolve around Henry's annoyance at having his solitude disturbed and the age gap between father and son. Henry employs two cleaners during the show's life; first Enid Thompson and in the third season, Fiona Fennell. The show's theme tune is Lionel Bart's "Consider Yourself" from Oliver!, arranged in a jazz style by Peter Knight. Main cast John Thaw as Henry Willows - Henry is a divorced middle-aged man who lives by himself, but when his son, Matthew, turns up on his door step, expecting to be waited on hand and foot, his life is turned upside down. Reece Dinsdale as Matthew Willows - Matthew is a teenager who gets himself into trouble, and is obsessed with girls and money. Elizabeth Bennett as Enid Thompson - Enid is Henry's first cleaner. She is nosey and appears to be attracted to Henry. Joan Blackham as Fiona Fennell - Fiona is Henry's second cleaner. Rebecca Lacey as Julie Willows - Julie is Henry's daughter and Matthew's sister. Despite living with her mother after her parents' divorce she appears to be a daddy's girl. Sheila Hancock - Sue Willows - Henry's ex-wife. She only appears in one episode. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Home_to_Roost ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=70LCGUcGTWs

Soap is an American sitcom television series that originally ran on ABC from September 13, 1977, until April 20, 1981. The show was created as a night-time parody of daytime soap operas, presented as a weekly half-hour prime time comedy. Similar to a soap opera, the show's story was presented in a serial format, and featured melodramatic plotlines including alien abduction, demonic possession, extramarital affairs, murder, kidnapping, unknown diseases, amnesia, cults, organised crime warfare, a communist revolution and teacher-student relationships. The show starred Katherine Helmond and Cathryn Damon as sisters/matriarchs of their own families. The cast also included three former soap opera actors. Robert Mandan (Chester Tate) had previously appeared on Search for Tomorrow as a leading man for Mary Stuart, and Donnelly Rhodes (Dutch Leitner) had played the first husband of Katherine Chancellor on The Young and the Restless. Arthur Peterson Jr. ("The Major") played Rev. John Ruthledge in the radio version of Guiding Light. Plot Soap is set in the fictional town of Dunn's River, Connecticut. In the opening sequence of the first installment, the announcer says "This is the story of two sisters—Jessica Tate and Mary Campbell". The Tates live in a wealthy neighborhood (the announcer calls it the neighborhood known as "Rich"). Jessica Tate (Katherine Helmond) and her husband, Chester (Robert Mandan), are hardly models of fidelity, as their various love affairs result in several family mishaps, including the murder of her sister Mary's (Cathryn Damon) stepson, Peter Campbell (Robert Urich). Even though everyone tells Jessica about Chester's continual affairs, she does not believe them until she sees his philandering with her own eyes. While out to lunch with Mary, Jessica spots Chester necking with his secretary, Claire (Kathryn Reynolds). Heartbroken, Jessica sobs in her sister's arms. On later occasions, it becomes clear that Jess has always known on some level about Chester's affairs but never allowed herself to process the information. The wealthy Tate family employs a sarcastic butler/cook named Benson (Robert Guillaume). Benson clearly despises Chester, but has a soft spot for their son, Billy (Jimmy Baio). He also gets along with the Tates' daughter, Corinne (Diana Canova) as well as their mother, Jessica; but doesn't speak to the other daughter, Eunice (Jennifer Salt), although that later changed. Benson became a popular character and in 1979 left the Tates' employ to work for Jessica's cousin, Governor Gene Gatling, on the spin-off series, Benson, wherein his last name, DuBois, was revealed. The Tates had to hire a new butler/cook named Saunders (Roscoe Lee Browne), whose attitude is similar to that of Benson, but has a more formal personal ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EgI-XP08SbA