History Main / ExplainingTheSoap

* Cam tries to explain a telenovela to ''the pizza boy'' in an episode of ''WesternAnimation/Detentionaire''. [[spoiler:It's meant to show how he [[GoMadFromTheIsolation went mad from isolation]] after being suspended and grounded.]]

See also DaytimeDramaQueen.

* In the third book of ''Literature/{{Temeraire}}'' series, Temeraire's group spends an evening as the guests of a bunch of wild dragons. Temeraire watches a story being told through a combination of language and dance, and when he tries to translate it for Lawrence it comes off very soap-opera-esque with romantic intrigue, greed, battles, and a whole lot of characters. Lawrence doesn't get it.

* Happens in the LesLuthiers song "Radio Tertulia".

See also DaytimeDramaQueen

* Done briefly in a cutaway in ''Film/{{Zombieland}}'', where, under the rule that driver of the car gets to choose the music and coversation topic, the pre-teen girl Little Rock puts ''Theatre/{{Wicked}}'' on the soundtrack, and tries to explain the premise of HannahMontana, much to Tallahassee's dismay.

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* Played with in the gamer comic ''Webcomic/DorkTower'' when Carson asks Igor about ''Series/BabylonFive'' and gets an eight-panel wall of text about the conspiracies, universal issues, and civil wars and ancient chessmasters. When Carson comments that it's a lot for a single season, Igor corrects him -- it all happened in the previous ''episode.''
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* Played with in the gamer comic ''DorkTower'' when Carson asks Igor about ''Series/BabylonFive'' and gets an eight-panel wall of text about the conspiracies, universal issues, and civil wars and ancient chessmasters. When Carson comments that it's a lot for a single season, Igor corrects him -- it all happened in the previous ''episode.''

Alice is a big fan of a SoapOpera. Barbara foolishly asks her about it. This is the cue for a long plot summary that is utterly meaningless, often serving as an excuse to lampoon any soap tropes the writers can think of, and generally serves to show how far Alice has gone. Compare SoapWithinAShow.

As a common variant, an AlwaysFemale cast member is [[SoapWithinAShow addicted to soaps]], when she meets another female cast member who ridicules the SoapOpera when the first female tries to explain the plot. GilliganCut to a week later and the two of them are now ''both'' addicted to the soap opera. In walks female character number three, who repeats the explanation followed by the ridicule of Soap Operas, GilliganCut. Eventually all the women are watching Soap Operas together- additional props include tissues, pillow hair, and bathrobes. For extra funny, [[GenderFlip make one of them a man]].

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* Parodied on ''That70sShow''. Red loses his job and is afraid of looking emasculated, but ends up watching the Soaps during the day anyway and explaining them to a guest at a party in a condescending manner.

* Mihoshi from ''TenchiMuyo'' does this, and in later variations she gets all the female characters addicted.

* In the third book of ''{{Temeraire}}'' series, Temeraire's group spends an evening as the guests of a bunch of wild dragons. Temeraire watches a story being told through a combination of language and dance, and when he tries to translate it for Lawrence it comes off very soap-opera-esque with romantic intrigue, greed, battles, and a whole lot of characters. Lawrence doesn't get it.

* The ''Series/{{Castle}}'' episode "One Life To Lose" features a murder of the head writer of a soap opera, and gleefully embraces, lampshades, parodies and otherwise plays with this trope. Castle himself spends most of the episode imagining increasingly over-the-top and ludicrous soap opera plots for the crime, only to be disappointed by the [[WrongGenreSavvy inevitable mundanity of what's actually going on]]; Beckett's revealed to be a closet fan of the soap (and Lanie a less-closeted fan) by revealing too much information about the absurd plots, and even Esposito recounts the crazy plot of a Latino 'telenovela' he used to watch with his grandmother,

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* ''GilmoreGirls'': Paris spends a week in bed watching soaps, and delivers one of these to Rory when she comes around to visit.

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* Sweetheart in ''SkinHorse'' [[http://skin-horse.com/comics/09152011/ tells Tip all about her soaps]] ''without'' being asked.

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* In one episode of ''AsToldByGinger'', [[SensitiveGuyAndManlyMan Carl and Hoodsie]] are helping to clean houses in exchange for some extra money. Hoodsie is watching a Spanish SoapOpera, and Carl changes the channel.
--> '''Hoodsie''': "Hey, I was watching that! Carla was just about to get the results of her pregnancy test back!"

* Parodied in the Literature/{{Discworld}} book ''Discworld/ReaperMan''. Mustrum Ridcully asks the High Priest of Blind Io (who happens to be Mustrum's brother Hughnon) what the gods of the Disc have been up to, as a possible explanation for the poltergeist activity plaguing Ankh-Morpork. Hughnon's description of the antics of the gods sounds like a cross between Greek mythology and the soap opera {{Recap}}s that used to be done by BBC announcers in TheSeventies, against still images from previous episodes. Mustrum brushes it off by saying "I've never been able to get interested in that stuff, myself."

* Once you get her to open up, Sable in ''AnimalCrossing: Wild World'' will describe ''Pointed Love'', her favorite soap, in this manner.

* ''{{Webcomic/Homestuck}}'': [[http://www.mspaintadventures.com/?s=6&p=006612 Karkat explains the plot of a troll romance novel]]. Also without being asked.

* ''{{Homestuck}}'': [[http://www.mspaintadventures.com/?s=6&p=006612 Karkat explains the plot of a troll romance novel]]. Also without being asked.

* Happened once in ''TheNanny''.
* Parodied in ''[[Series.DeadRingers Dead Ringers]]'': It was the characters themselves saying this sort of thing. Long-lost relatives or people turning out to be relatives were often discussed.
* On one ''{{Psych}}'' episode Shawn is investigating a murder on the set of a Spanish-language SoapOpera. Every now and then someone would try to explain the plot of the SoapOpera, which made less and less sense the more it was explained.
* ''TheFreshPrinceOfBelAir'' did this one once, with Uncle Phil for added hilarity.

* Parodied on ''MalcolmInTheMiddle''. Francis is jailed with a full view of where the police and their relatives inexplicably come to enact their affairs, shady business deals, discuss their sister's recent [[MagicPlasticSurgery change in appearance]], and other assorted soap opera plots. Naturally, Francis is released right before they reveal who the sinister figure sabotaging their upcoming land deal was and ends up begging to stay in jail until he finds out.

* TheBBC Radio Times' [[http://www.radiotimes.com/ListingsServlet?event=10&channelId=92&programmeId=84531117&jspLocation=/jsp/prog_details_fullpage.jsp descriptions]] of soaps, a round-up of the week's stories that doubles as an AffectionateParody of the genre and its tropes.

---> '''Hoodsie''': "Hey, I was watching that! Carla was just about to get the results of her pregnancy test back!"

* In a ''ComicStrip/FoxTrot'' strip, Peter gets this reaction (eyes glazing over and repeating "uh-huh") when Paige explains the plot of ''MelrosePlace'' to him, but Paige had exactly the same reaction when Jason explained the premise of ''HighlanderTheSeries'' to her. It's even more amusing in retrospect, given one of ''[=H:TS=]'''s [[MrFanservice biggest fanbases]].

* In Creator/KimNewman's ''Literature/DiogenesClub'' short story "The Serial Murders", Richard Jeperson (who refuses to watch {{ITV}} because commercial television was created by [[BigBad Derek Leech]]) needs the plot of ''The Northern Barstows'' explained to him by his sidekick Vanessa. He then recalls that the night it was on, she said she couldn't go on a ghost hunt because an old schoolfriend was visiting. Over the course of the investigation, he finds himself getting addicted, and realises that this effect is exactly the psychic energy the villain is feeding on.

A ''male'' frequenter Of ''Frank's Place'' would update the other patrons on soaps on a regular basis. The audio of this was used on morning radio.

As a common variant, an AlwaysFemale cast member is [[SoapWithinAShow addicted to soaps]], when she meets another female cast member who ridicules the SoapOpera when the first female tries to explain the plot. GilliganCut to a week later and the two of them are now ''both'' addicted to the soap opera. In walks female character number three, who repeats the explaination followed by the ridicule of Soap Operas, GilliganCut. Eventually all the women are watching Soap Operas together- additional props include tissues, pillow hair, and bathrobes. For extra funny, [[GenderFlip make one of them a man]].