he name Irna Phillips probably doesn’t ring any bells, but she is to the world of
soap operas as George Washington is to the U.S. government. The writer of the first soap operas on radio and some of the first televised soap operas, Phillips worked as the head writer of "The Guiding Light," a soap opera that started on the radio in 1937 and ended in 2009 after a 72-year run. Originally, 15 minute-long serial narratives, the soap opera genre survived the transition from radio to TV and gradually turned into half hour or hour-long episodes.

But what are "serial narratives" exactly? They are stories told through a series of individual installments linked together by the narrative, or plot. They typically run on the weekdays, and Friday episodes have a tendency to end with a cliffhanger to bring viewers back on Monday. American soaps are usually open-ended, with no definitive outcome, while soap operas in other areas of the world (for example, most countries in Latin America) are usually "closed," or moving towards a specific end-point.

Soaps, so-called because the early ones were sponsored by soap companies, have been a major part of American daytime entertainment since the Great Depression when they were first put on the radio and have dominated daytime television since the technology became common during the 1950s.

Sophomore Johann Thairu’s mother introduced him to soaps about two years ago.

"The plot- lines aren’t really that well developed," Thairu said, but "they are hilarious."

Senior Arielle Hynes has been watching soaps since she was in the fourth grade. Her soaps? "One Life to Live" and "Passions" (before it got cancelled). For her, soap operas are a source of entertainment.

"People think soap operas are bad, most of the time, because of what they’ve heard and not what they’ve seen," Hynes said. "Soap operas develop stories in a way that no other program can (they’re on every day). They may not always be the best writing or the best acting, but I think they do their best with the amount of time they have to make another show."

But the unique approach of the genre may not be enough to save it. With the loss of "The Guiding Light" after 72 years and "As the World Turns" after 54 years, the genre has now been limited to only six soap operas on the three major networks: CBS, ABC and NBC. The failure of soaps to gain more viewers from the intended demographic of the advertisers (women aged 18 to 49) has threatened the future of the genre.

"I’m scared. My soap means a lot to me," Hynes said. "I’m close to the stories and I love it. I definitely am not ready to have to say goodbye to another soap."