The term "soap opera" was coined by the American press in the 1930s to denote the extraordinarily popular genre of serialized domestic radio dramas, which, by 1940, represented some 90% of all commercially-sponsored daytime broadcast hours. The "soap" in soap opera alluded to their sponsorship by manufacturers of household cleaning products; while the "opera" part came from the fact that they were about dilemmas and other dramatic or melodramatic situations.
　　“肥皂劇”這個(gè)詞是20世紀(jì)30年代由美國媒體創(chuàng)造的，用來指風(fēng)靡一時(shí)、到1940年已經(jīng)占據(jù)了約90％的日間商業(yè)性廣播時(shí)間的家庭類系列廣播劇。“肥皂劇”中的“肥皂”一詞暗指它們的贊助商多為家庭洗滌用品生產(chǎn)商，而稱之為“劇”則因?yàn)樗鼈儽憩F(xiàn)的往往是人所面臨的困境以及其他戲劇或情節(jié)劇般的情形。
　　The Appeal of the Soap 肥皂劇的魅力
　　Many people watch soaps because it pleases us to see and hear other people’s problems, which in turn distracts us from our own. However, a soap opera has no real victims as the characters, of course, are fictional. However, we like to make guesses about their actions and reactions based on our knowledge of them. We like to see them develop as we get to know them and we enjoy learning about the complex relationships between characters.
　　許多人喜歡看肥皂劇是因?yàn)槲覀儤酚谥獣运�人的麻��，由此轉(zhuǎn)移我們對(duì)自身煩惱的注意力。然而，肥皂劇中的受害者并不真正存在，因?yàn)槟切┤宋锖翢o疑問都是虛構(gòu)的。盡管如此，我們還是樂此不疲地根據(jù)我們對(duì)他們的了解來猜測他們的舉動(dòng)和反應(yīng)。在熟悉他們之后，我們就喜歡看著他們一步步走下去，樂于了解人物間復(fù)雜的關(guān)系。
　　We become semi-experts on our favourite soaps, and our encyclopaedic knowledge of them, fuelled by the above points, gives us great pleasure. In a voyeuristic manner, we like to watch other people’s lives, as, in the case of soap operas, they are just like ours, but more interesting.
　　我們成為我們所鐘愛的肥皂劇準(zhǔn)專家，對(duì)他們?nèi)�方位的了解給我們帶來了極大的樂趣。我們喜歡窺視別人的生活，因?yàn)樵诜试韯≈�，他們的生活就是我們生活的寫照，只是更有趣些而已�?br /> 　　From the point of view of broadcasters, soaps are good because they are very cheap to produce, yet have huge audiences and can, therefore, generate huge revenues. They can often run for years without coming to an end--Days of Our Lives is more than 40 years old. Sets are used again and again, special costumes are not required and little or no location filming is ever needed.
　　對(duì)電視臺(tái)來說，肥皂劇的受寵是因?yàn)樗鼈兊闹谱鞒杀竞艿停�但卻擁有龐大的觀眾群，因此能帶來巨額的收入。它們往往可以連續(xù)播放好些年還不結(jié)束——《我們的生活》就已演了四十多年。布景被不斷地重復(fù)利用，不需要特制服裝，外景拍攝很少或根本沒有。
　　They are also quick to produce--each minute of recording taking only one hour to film. This may sound like a lot, but on film sets, it can often take days just to successfully direct a mere few seconds of action.
　　此外，它們所需的制作時(shí)間很短，一分鐘的錄像僅需拍攝一小時(shí)。這聽起來似乎很多，但實(shí)際上，如果是拍攝電影的話，成功拍攝一個(gè)幾秒鐘的情節(jié)常常要花好幾天的時(shí)間。
　　Channels maintain an unspoken agreement that their soaps are not scheduled for the same time. This is because a planned ratings war would not help either broadcaster, as has been proven by past experience.
　　各頻道之間有一個(gè)心照不宣的共識(shí)，即它們不在同一時(shí)間播肥皂劇。這是因?yàn)�，過去的經(jīng)驗(yàn)已證明，各電視臺(tái)間收視率的比拼對(duì)大家都沒好處。
　　Advertising slots in soaps are expensive to purchase, but guarantee large numbers of viewers seeing the advert. There are also numerous opportunities for the programme makers to sell themed items based on their soap; this merchandising can be expected to have a very large market.
　　在肥皂劇中插播廣告的費(fèi)用非常昂貴，但能保證大批觀眾看到廣告。另外，制片商還有無數(shù)的機(jī)會(huì)去銷售以該肥皂劇為基礎(chǔ)的衍生商品，而這種營銷方式也將會(huì)占據(jù)很大的市場。
　　The Appetite of the Audience 觀眾的需求
　　Soap fans are notoriously loyal, but even loyal fans are enraged when they feel that they are being talked down to by networks. In an age where reality television still rules the ratings, fans of daytime television want to see more reality infused into their soaps--and that means fewer resurrections of characters that have died years earlier.
　　肥皂劇迷們是出了名的忠誠，但當(dāng)感覺被電視網(wǎng)耍了的時(shí)候，再忠誠的劇迷也會(huì)火冒三丈。在這個(gè)電視真人秀仍主宰收視率的年代，日間電視迷們希望看到肥皂劇中融入更多的真實(shí)因素，而這就意味著他們不愿意看到那些早已去世的人物被重新搬上銀屏。　
　　While ultimately an asset, soap opera viewers can also be a major liability to the soaps. Procter & Gamble has often found its products the target of boycotts by viewers who were dissatisfied with decisions made on its soap operas.
　　從根本上說，肥皂劇迷是財(cái)富，但有時(shí)他們也會(huì)成為電視劇最大的束縛。寶潔公司就經(jīng)常發(fā)現(xiàn)自己的產(chǎn)品成了那些對(duì)劇情不滿的觀眾們的抵制對(duì)象。
　　Fanatical viewers flood studios, magazines and web sites with mail stating their disinterest in certain storylines or romantic pairings. Networks execs may then change the course of a storyline based upon this fan mail. However, this mail is often generated by a far smaller percentage of the viewing population than it would appear. As a storyline is changed to appease the minority, the viewing majority then ends up disappointed.
　　狂熱的觀眾會(huì)向電臺(tái)、雜志和網(wǎng)站發(fā)去鋪天蓋地的郵件，表達(dá)自己對(duì)某處劇情或劇中戀人配對(duì)的不滿。電視網(wǎng)的監(jiān)制們往往會(huì)根據(jù)這種劇迷來信改變故事情節(jié)的發(fā)展�？墒牵�這類郵件看似代表眾多觀眾的意見，但卻通常出自極小部分觀眾之手。情節(jié)改編后，那個(gè)少數(shù)群體得到了滿足，多數(shù)觀眾卻非常失望。
　　With some soaps having been on the air for more than 30 years, some viewers wonder if the soaps haven’t told every story that there is to tell. It is often very true that storylines are rehashed over and over, just with different characters. Soaps need to remain contemporary: life and society are both constantly evolving. There will always be stories to tell. But the soap opera genre is about more than just about telling stories--and if that is a widely-held belief, it needs to be changed.
　　有些肥皂劇已播了三十多年，一些觀眾開始懷疑它是否已經(jīng)把所有能講的故事都講完了。很多情況下，故事情節(jié)的確被重復(fù)了無數(shù)遍，區(qū)別僅僅是經(jīng)歷的人物不同而已。生活和社會(huì)都在不斷變遷，肥皂劇也需要跟上時(shí)代。故事總是層出不窮的，但肥皂劇不能僅限于講故事——如果這一觀念被廣泛認(rèn)可的話，那么我們就得換換腦筋了。