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Late 1970s sitcom on [[ABC]] that both parodied and emulated the serial storytelling style of the [[Soap Opera]]. It was perhaps the first [[Sitcom]] to include a [[Story Arc]] of any significance, and as such is still a rarity even today.
''Soap'' followed the misadventures of the wealthy Tate family, and the equally bizarre misadventures of their relatives, the far less wealthy Campbells. Over the course of a few years, they face adultery, a murder trial, abduction by aliens, demonic possession, cultists and mental illness (several times). The cast consisted of a large ensemble, including Richard Mulligan, Katherine Helmond, Robert Urich, Billy Crystal, and Robert Guillaume as Benson, the cynical housekeeper to the Tates, who would eventually be spun off into [[Benson|his own show]] (in which he would eventually become [[Ascended Extra|lieutenant governor]] of his state
It is also notable for being one of the first major series to feature a homosexual major character. Also notable in that said character managed to [[Bury Your Gays|survive]] [[Gayngst|relatively unscathed]] throughout the entire series.
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* [[Adolf Hitler]]: Now apparently making a living as a waiter in South America.
* [[Affectionate Parody]]: Of the [[Soap Opera]] genre.
* [[Alien Abduction]]:
* [[Black Belt in Origami]]: Billy threatens his girlfriend's ex with Tai Chi.
* [[Bolivian Army Ending]]: The last episode sees
** {{spoiler|A later ''Benson'' episode has Jessica appear in "ghost" form. However, she tells Benson that she's not dead, just in a coma in a South American hospital
** {{spoiler|Susan Harris has indicated that had the show gone to a fifth season, the rifles that shot Jessica would have had blanks in them.}}
* [[Breakout Character]]: Benson.
* [[Bungled Suicide]]: Chester's [[Played for Laughs]] suicide attempt at the end of Season One when Jessica is getting arrested for Peter's death and
* [[Bury Your Gays]]: An early and fairly spectacular aversion.
* [[The Butler Did It]]: Discussed. During the murder investigation the Chief of Police puts Benson down as a suspect because "We all know, in many, many cases like this [[The Butler Did It]]."
* [[But Not Too Black]]: Polly Dawson.
* [[But Not Too Gay]]: Justified. The show was made in the 70s. The closest any homosexual relationships got was romance with hugging and subtext.
* [[Camp Gay]]: Jodie was ''extremely'' camp at the very start of the show but after a few episodes this softens down a lot.
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* [[Chick Magnet]]: Inverted with Jessica, who attracts a good collection of the men around her.
* [[Cliff Hanger]]: Many, but arguably the voiceover at the end of the last episode of the first season was the most memorable. Just after Jessica is found guilty images of Chester, Burt, Corinne, Jodie and Benson appear on screen.
{{quote|'''Voiceover:''' Jessica Tate did NOT kill Peter Campbell. One of these five people... DID. Who killed Peter Campbell?}}
* [[Cloudcuckoolander]]: Jessica.
** Burt could be considered one too.
** Major takes this [[Up to Eleven]].
* [[Coincidental Broadcast]]
* [[Comedic Sociopathy]]: The lifeblood of the show.
* [[Construction Zone Calamity]]: Burt owns a construction company and brings stepson Danny into the business. At one point they're up on the high iron talking and accidentally knock over a bucket full of rivets.
** In one episode, Danny accidentally drops an apple. The cop was okay.
** One of Burt's co-workers falls off a girder after seeing Burt sitting next to
* [[Creator Cameo]]: Susan Harris appears as a prostitute in episode
* [[Cut Short]]: Susan Harris had written out a five-season arc for the show, but the network pulled it after
* [[Dad the Veteran]]: The Major.
* [[Dead Baby Comedy]]: Murder, suicide, racism, homophobia, and mental illness (among other things) are all fair game for jokes. That said, racists and homophobes were nearly always played as fools, if not the butt of the joke.
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* [[Escalating Brawl]]: One of the several openings shows a brawl that starts with Burt trying to get in front of Chester for the family photo, but ends up involving all except the Major (who is too out of it to notice), Billy (who considers himself the [[Only Sane Man]] in his family, and sits watching amused by it all) and [[Only Sane Man|Benson]] who steps back and shakes his head disapprovingly as they fight.
* [[Evil Twin]]: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8laJD6yZS8w Burt] and the {{spoiler|space alien sent down}} to replace him.
* [[Expy]]: Susan Harris tried to update the formula in the "''Soap'' meets [[Dynasty]]" 90s sitcom ''[[Good And Evil]]''.
* [[Fictional Counterpart]]: The "Sunnies", a cult led by Reverend Sun, standing in for Sun Myung Moon's Unification Church (known colloquially as "Moonies").
* [[Follow the Leader]]: ''
** ''Soap'' itself was the prime-time answer to the previous season's hit ''Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman'', a daytime soap opera parody from Harris's former boss [[Norman Lear]].
* [[Food Fight]]: Fairly common in the first season, almost always involving Burt (although he rarely seemed to start them).
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* [[Interrupted Suicide]]
** [[Played for Drama]]: Jodie's, after he takes a lot of pills after his boyfriend breaks up with him.
** [[Played for Laughs]]: Chester's, after Jessica is getting arrested for Peter's murder and his business is failing. He fails to write a note (not knowing how to spell "suicide" and presumes people would get the idea) Burt keeps interrupting him, not
* [[I Want My Beloved to Be Happy]]: An odd variation. {{spoiler|Alice chooses to leave Jodie when Carol's mother says she isn't comfortable with a lesbian being with her baby granddaughter. Alice refuses to let Jodie pick between his [[Platonic Life Partners]] and his daughter so she makes it simpler}}.
* [[I Was Young and I Needed The Money]]: {{spoiler|Sally had done a pornography film and this was how Ingrid was blackmailing her to break up Mary and Burt}}.
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* [[Luke, I Am Your Father]]:
** Corinne's real parents are her uncle Rudolf and the ex-maid, Ingrid.
** In Season Four, {{spoiler|Mary reveals that Danny's real father is Chester
* [[The Mad Hatter]]: Burt and the major.
* [[The Mafia]]: Mary's first husband was secretly part of the mafia and, after his death, Danny joins. Burt spends the first part of the show convincing him to leave because it's dangerous. After Danny refuses to kill Burt at the mafia's order he "goes into hiding" (aka. he wears unusual clothes around the house). He's told he'll be forgiven for not obeying them if he marries [[The Don]]'s daughter, Elaine.
** [[Mafia Princess]]: Elaine.
* [[Mood Whiplash]]: After episode 7 or so, Jessica occasionally does this in the most
** This also happened with Jodie's suicide attempt when the family get told the next episode they're also being robbed and every other line flips between comedy with the robber and rushing to get to the hospital.
* [[No Bisexuals]]: Jodie defines himself as gay, and experiences a minor crisis of identity after enjoying sex with a girl, unable to decide if he is gay or straight. Apparently there is no third option.
* [[Noodle Incident]]: After Jodie tries to commit suicide, his friend and mother tell him that everybody has five stupid things that they do in their life that they can never tell anybody else, his suicide being his first. Mary tries to think of stupid things she's done but each time ends up laughing and saying she can't possibly tell him ''that''.
* [[Only One Name]]: It was wasn't revealed if Benson was his first or last name until the character had moved to his own [[Spin-Off]], ''[[Benson]]'' (full name: Benson DuBois).
* [[Only Sane Man]]: Billy Tate, and arguably Benson as well.
** To some extent, Mary and Jodie are this too.
* [[Parental Incest]]: At the end of
* [[Penultimate Outburst]]: This happens in the first season during Jessica's murder trial, since her entire family disturbs the court.
* [[The Power of Love]]: Jessica Tate invokes this in a successful {{spoiler|[[Hollywood Exorcism]] on Corinne's baby}}.
* [["Previously On..."]]: "Confused? You won't be.... after this episode of ''Soap''."
* [[Quest for Identity]]: Chester goes on one after he loses his memories in Season Two.
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* [[Rape Is Ok When It Is Female On Male]]: The first time they meet, Elaine pulls a gun on Danny and forces him to have sex with her. This is [[Played for Laughs]].
* [[Rooftop Confrontation]]: Mary's first wife decides to kill Burt, to kill the competition, on top of a skyscraper he was then building.
* [[Rule of Three]]: Juan One, Juan Two, and Juan Three.
* [[Servile Snarker]]: Benson.
* [[Shell-Shocked Veteran]]: Major.
* [[Shoot the Shaggy Dog]]: In one episode, when Burt is feeling down, he talks to his priest about how worried he is and tells him the story of a man who worked extremely hard in his life and survived a lot of health issues (multiple heart attacks, etc
* [[Spiritual Successor]]: ''[[Arrested Development (TV series)|Arrested Development]]'' has almost too many similarities to ''[[Soap]]'' to be this by accident. [http://www.cracked.com/blog/was-arrested-development-remake-70s-sitcom/ Luckily Cracked already did all the legwork so we don't have to.]
* [[Story Arc]]
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** The Major isn't exactly a bright bulb either.
* [[Ventriloquism]]: Chuck and Bob.
* [[What Happened to the Mouse?]]: In one
** This is most likely a leftover from the original plan of Chuck (and/or Bob) being Peter's murderer and showing a darker side.
* [[Whole-Plot Reference]]: When Danny asks Burt how to deal with Elaine, Burt says they should follow the plot of an opera (the name of which he can't quite remember) which is an adaptation of ''[[The Taming of the Shrew]]''. {{spoiler|It works
* [[You Look Familiar]]: Ingrid Swenson would return as a different character for the show's [[Spin-Off]] ''[[Benson]]''.
* [[Your Cheating Heart]]:
** In Season One, Eunice was having an affair with a married Senator. {{spoiler|He chose his wife when she threatened to ruin his career
** Peter had affairs with every single one of his female tennis students (some of them being married as well).
** Chester was known for having multiple affairs with various women while still being married to Jessica and was getting blackmailed about it in Season One.
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