Soap opera rapid aging syndrome (SORAS) is the practice of accelerating the age of a television or film character (usually a child or teenager) in conflict with the timeline of a series or the real-world progression of time. [1] [2] This allows, for instance, storylines around a pregnancy and birth to be relatively quickly followed by storylines around the travails of that child as a teenager or young adult. [1] This is usually accomplished by recasting the actor playing the part, [3] although in some cases the character is not shown onscreen, only mentioned, until after they have been "rapidly aged".
The process originated (and is most commonly used) in daytime soap operas, [4] though it is also sometimes used in prime time shows. On sitcoms, a newborn infant character is sometimes aged quickly into a kindergartener, for greater comic potential, as was done with the character Chrissy Seaver on Growing Pains in 1990. [5]
The term was coined by Soap Opera Weekly founding editor-in-chief Mimi Torchin in the early days of the magazine, which began publishing in 1989. [6] It is now widely used in soap operas [7] and is sometimes used as a verb as well ("the character was SORASed"). Torchin has jokingly called it "my one greatest contribution to the world of soap operas." [6]
The practice of rapidly aging characters dates back to the early years of television soap opera. [8] In As the World Turns , Tom Hughes was born onscreen in 1961. By 1970, he had been to college and fought in the Vietnam War. [2] [8] Subsequent recasting exhibited a reverse phenomenon, keeping him in his 30s for 20 years, with Tom hitting his 40s in the 1990s. [8] Dan Stewart, born onscreen on As the World Turns in 1958, reappeared as a 26-year-old doctor in 1966. [9] A 1993 secret history storyline on All My Children established that lead character Erica Kane had been raped immediately before the series' 1970 debut. [10] [11] In this retcon, Erica represses all memory of the assault until 16-year-old Kendall Hart, the child conceived during the rape and put up for adoption by Erica, appears in 1993. [10] [11] Viewer reaction to the discrepancy created by Erica having a 16-year-old daughter as the result of a 24-year-old rape prompted the series to immediately adjust Kendall's age to 23. [11]
On the sitcom Growing Pains, the character Chrissy Seaver was born in October 1988. She was an infant for the remainder of season four (1988–1989) and a toddler (played by twin sisters Kelsey and Kirsten Dohring) in season five (1989–1990). However, for the final two seasons (6–7), Chrissy was rapidly aged to five. She was played by seven-year-old Ashley Johnson. [5]
The repeated use of SORAS on Days of Our Lives led to characters Tom Horton and his great-great-grandson Scotty Banning both working as doctors in the same hospital at the same time. [12]
Jersey Boys uses SORAS for Frankie Valli's daughter, Francine. Through the first three quarters of the musical and film, she ages in real time with the narrative, then jumps several years ahead while the story remains in the late 1960s, to the point that her 1980 death occurs at roughly the same time of the narrative as Valli's 1967 hit solo record "Can't Take My Eyes Off You." [13]
All My Children is an American television soap opera that aired on ABC from January 5, 1970, to September 23, 2011, and on The Online Network (TOLN) from April 29 to September 2, 2013, via Hulu, Hulu Plus, and iTunes.
Growing Pains is an American television sitcom created by Neal Marlens that aired on ABC from September 24, 1985, to April 25, 1992. The show ran for seven seasons, consisting of 166 episodes. The series followed the misadventures of the Seaver family, which included psychiatrist and father Jason, journalist and mother Maggie, and their children Mike, Carol, Ben, and Chrissy.
One Life to Live is an American soap opera broadcast on the ABC television network for more than 43 years, from July 15, 1968, to January 13, 2012, and then on the internet as a web series on Hulu and iTunes via Prospect Park from April 29 to August 19, 2013. Created by Agnes Nixon, the series was the first daytime drama to primarily feature ethnically and socioeconomically diverse characters and consistently emphasize social issues. One Life to Live was expanded from 30 minutes to 45 minutes on July 26, 1976, and then to an hour on January 16, 1978.
Susan Victoria Lucci is an American actress and television host. She is known for portraying Erica Kane on the ABC daytime drama All My Children during that show's entire network run from 1970 to 2011. The character is considered an icon, and she was called "Daytime's Leading Lady" by TV Guide, with The New York Times and the Los Angeles Times citing her as the highest-paid actor in daytime television. As early as 1991, her salary had been reported as over $1 million a year. During her run on All My Children, Lucci was nominated 21 times for the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series. She won only once, in 1999, after the 19th nomination; her status as a perpetual nominee for the award had attracted significant media attention since the late 1980s.
Agnes Nixon was an American television writer and producer, and the creator of the ABC soap operas One Life to Live, All My Children, as well as Loving and its spin-off The City.
Erica Kane is a fictional character from the American ABC Daytime soap opera All My Children. The character was portrayed by actress Susan Lucci from her debut on January 16, 1970, until the last broadcast television episode on September 23, 2011. Lucci was expected to guest star on Prospect Park's continuation of All My Children in 2013, but the appearance never came to fruition due to the show's second cancellation.
Dimitri Marick is a fictional character from the American ABC soap opera All My Children. The role has been most notably portrayed by Michael Nader, previously famed for his role on Dynasty. Former head writers Agnes Nixon and Lorraine Broderick created the character in 1991, designing him as a brooding and mysterious character based on heroes from gothic literature, such as Maxim de Winter from Daphne du Maurier's novel Rebecca and Heathcliff from Emily Brontë's novel Wuthering Heights. The character's introduction raised All My Children in the Nielsen ratings and was credited as the "saving grace" of the unpopular Natalie and Janet storyline.
Lucky Spencer is a fictional character from the ABC Daytime soap opera General Hospital. He is the son of Luke and Laura Spencer. His birth having been announced on-screen in 1985, a ten-year-old Lucky was cast in 1993, played by newcomer at the time, Jonathan Jackson. Jackson left the series in 1999, and the character was played by Jacob Young and later Greg Vaughan, who was let go in 2009 to allow Jackson to reprise the role. Lucky's characterization changed throughout the different portrayers; originally a street-smart con artist, Lucky develops an edge during Young's tenure and more drastically changes during Vaughan's portrayal, as Lucky becomes a struggling police officer. With Jackson's reprisal, Lucky begins showing some of the character's original quick-witted qualities, but after a series of harrowing storylines, Jackson left the series in December 2011 and the role was not recast. Jackson briefly reprised the role in July 2015.
Thomas Todd Manning is a fictional character from the American daytime drama One Life to Live (OLTL). Created by writers Michael Malone and Josh Griffith, the role was originated in 1992 by actor Roger Howarth. Todd was a college student and fraternity brother to Kevin Buchanan, Zach Rosen, and Powell Lord. In 1993, following a storyline in which he becomes acquainted with Marty Saybrooke, he initiates a gang rape on her with the help of Zach and Powell. The storyline was considered groundbreaking by television critics. Its main players—Howarth, Susan Haskell (Marty), and Hillary B. Smith —won Emmys in 1994, as did Malone and his writing team. Howarth left the role in 2003; it was recast with Trevor St. John, physically altered by plastic surgery. In 2011, Howarth returned to OLTL; it was disclosed Todd had been taken hostage and St. John's version of the character was really Todd's identical twin brother, Victor Lord, Jr., conditioned to assume Todd's place.
Soap Opera Weekly was a weekly magazine covering American daytime soap operas. It featured onscreen and offscreen news about the series, interviews with and articles about performers, storyline summaries and analysis, and related promotional information. Launched in November 1989 by News Corporation with Mimi Torchin as editor-in-chief, Weekly began as a sister magazine to Soap Opera Digest. News Corporation sold the magazine to K-III in 1991. K-III was renamed Primedia, and sold its magazines to Source Interlink in 2007.
Megan McTavish is American television actress and soap opera writer. McTavish is best known for several head writing stints on All My Children.
Elizabeth Hendrickson is an American actress. Her big break came when she was cast as character Frankie Stone on the daytime drama All My Children. Her equally popular role of Maggie Stone, the character's identical twin, launched the character into iconic status as one half of supercouple Bianca Montgomery and Maggie Stone.
Kendall Hart is a fictional character from All My Children, an American soap opera on the ABC network. The character was portrayed by Sarah Michelle Gellar from February 24, 1993, to July 3, 1995, and by Alicia Minshew from January 2002 until the show's series finale on September 23, 2011. On March 7, 2013, it was announced that Minshew would guest star on the Prospect Park's continuation of All My Children. She appeared on the second July 8 episode.
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Joshua "Josh" Madden is a fictional character from the American daytime drama, All My Children. He first came to Pine Valley on June 17, 2005, and was originally portrayed by actor Scott Kinworthy until September 15, 2005. Following Kinworthy's departure, he was portrayed by actor Colin Egglesfield from September 2005 until January 2009.
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Michael Corinthos is a fictional character on General Hospital, an American soap opera on the ABC network. Introduced in 1997, the role was portrayed by several child actors—most notably Dylan Cash when the character was rapidly aged in 2002. In 2009, the character was aged again when Drew Garrett stepped into the role. Garrett was replaced by Chad Duell after one year with the series.
Fenmore Baldwin is a fictional character from The Young and the Restless, an American soap opera on the CBS network. Created by former head writers Lynn Marie Latham and Kay Alden as the son of Michael Baldwin and Lauren Fenmore, the character was born during the episode airing on October 13, 2006. Initially portrayed by various child actors, including Robbie Tucker, the character was rapidly aged to a teenager in 2012, with Max Ehrich assuming the role through 2015. In 2018, the role was recast with Zach Tinker.
Bianca Montgomery and Maggie Stone are fictional characters and a supercouple from the American daytime drama All My Children. Bianca was portrayed by Eden Riegel, and Maggie was portrayed by Elizabeth Hendrickson.
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On daytime soaps, children often jump ahead in age, suffering from SORAS -- 'soap opera rapid-aging syndrome.'
