SoapLand - The Battle Of The 'Caught In The Act' Moments - The Result

[Richard Channing]

It was hard to keep secrets or get away with much for long in Soapland, as the chances of you getting walked in on or overheard tended to be much higher than they would be anywhere else. Soap timing meant that getting caught red handed, or somehow synchronistically scuppered, was not only highly likely, but more or less inevitable.

So we are looking for those moments where secrets were exposed, either by someone walking in on something or overhearing something shocking. It's an age-old soap trope, so there should be plenty of moments to chose from!

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[Willie Oleson]

May I suggest the clause that we all should ignore the Frankie/Jason and Frankie/Philip scenes because this could easily turn into a smear campaign while in fact it never was what it looked like.

Thanks!

 

[Richard Channing]

May I suggest the clause that we all should ignore the Frankie/Jason and Frankie/Philip scenes because this could easily turn into a smear campaign while in fact it never was what it looked like.

Thanks!

lol. Ok, well why don't we let people decide for themselves whether it was what it looked like, cause it certainly looked like it was what it looked like.

Hope you haven't inadvertently started a smear campaign just by bringing it up. But maybe she had it coming....

 

[Willie Oleson]

But she's in bed with her own husband!

 

[Richard Channing]

But she's in bed with her own husband!

And the night before she was in bed with her sister's husband, who also happens to be his brother, and her fiance!

 

[Willie Oleson]

Then I'll refer to the wisdom of Jenna Wade that you can't turn on/off emotions like a faucet. That makes it a soap rule, Richard.
Ha! I just knew this would come in handy some day!

 

[Richard Channing]

Then I'll refer to the wisdom of Jenna Wade that you can't turn on/off emotions like a faucet. That makes it a soap rule, Richard.
Ha! I just knew this would come in handy some day!

Does she have any advice about keeping clothes on/off that might be helpful for Frankie?

 

[Willie Oleson]

^
Are we really still talking about Frankie, or is there something you want to share with us?

 

[Toni]

My choices:

1- Sue Ellen finds JR in bed with Holly (Dallas: Season 5)

2- Donna finds Ray in bed with Bonnie (Dallas: Season 4)

3- Melissa finds Lance in bed with Dina (Falcon Crest: Season 6)

4- Karen (and Val) finds Abby and Gary in bed (Knots Landing: Season 3)

5- Angela finds Lance in bed with Jordan/Monica (Falcon Crest: Season 5)

 

[Angela Channing]

1. Olivia innocently picks up the phone and overhears Greg telling Abby he knows about her involvement in Val's babies being kidnapped. - KNOTS LANDING

2. Sue Ellen walks in on JR shagging Holly Harwood. - DALLAS

3. Karen confronts Gary and Abby about their affair but are unconcerned about her what she has to say until unexpected by all of them, Valene arrives catching Gary and Abby post coital. - KNOTS LANDING

4. Melissa sees and overhears Angela paying the illusionist for his work to make Melissa think she is going crazy. - FALCON CREST

5. At the party to celebrate Fielding winning the election to become senator, Constance goes outside to find her husband and catches him with his tongue down Lane Ballou's throat. - FLAMINGO ROAD

 

[Willie Oleson]

1. Alexis accidentally witnesses LB being "abused" by "Krystle" - DYNASTY

So funny!

2. Sable, to her dismay, accidentally witnesses Frankie and Jason in the pool house. But wait! That's not Jason! - THE COLBYS

The drama, the glamour!

3. Sammy Jo accidentally overhears the argument between Steven and Alexis regarding Fallon's dubious descent - DYNASTY

How thrilling!

4. Maggie accidentally walks in on Chase and Connie - FALCON CREST

It's devastating!

5. Olivia accidentally overhears the shocking phone conversation between Greg and Abby - KNOTS LANDING
Shocking!

 

[Daniel Avery]

Sable, to her dismay, accidentally witnesses Frankie and Jason in the pool house.

The drama, the glamour!

….and that BMW headlight attached to her finger!

 

[Jimmy Todd]

1. Sue Ellen catching JR with Holly. Linda Gray's acting here, as well as for the rest of the season is, imho, her best work on the series. The look on her face was heartbreaking. It was also when things still had urgency on Dallas. JR wasn't just a scoundrel. His behavior actually hurt people. Dallas

2. Valene catches Gary with Abby. So good! The adultery had been sizzling for a while, and the writer's knew exactly when to let it reach its crescendo. Knots Landing

3. Lute-Mae catches Michael with Constance(Lute-Mae's own daughter). Ok, he wanted to be caught as part of his plan of revenge, but still, poor Lute-Mae. Constance callously twisted the knife with her, "Haven't you gotten rid of her yet?" line. Poor Constance didn't know what Michael had in store for her! Flamingo Road.

4. Maggie walks in in Chase and Connie.
The seemingly rock solid marriage came to this! When the show first began I would have put them under the John Forsythe "no affairs" rule. Also, Chase was once described by Angela herself to Terri as "unseduceable." Susan Sullivan is always so sympathetic, and that just adds to the tension. Chase, how could you? Some men don't realize how lucky they are. Falcon Crest

5.Laura gets caught working for Appolune. Mack sets a trap and his prey is someone he never suspected. Laura's on the side of the bad guys(or bad women, considering it's Abby's company.) In a season of twists and turns seeing Laura walk out of the post office with that big package indicating her guilt was one of the more memorable ones. We viewers already knew she was working for Abby, but Mack didn't. His reaction was wonderful. Knots Landing

Honorable Mention: I guess I'm cheating a little by sneaking these two in. I hope I don't get caught in the act! a. Gary walks in on Abby in bed with Peter. Gary gets a taste of his own medicine, but handles it a tad less emotionally than Val had done a few seasons earlier. He calmly asks Abby which tie he should wear. The looks on Abby and Peter's faces is hilarious. Knots Landing

B.Abby is caught by Greg and Karen as being the owner of Murakame. "Karen's "I knew it! I knew it! You are going to jail!" and Abby's defiant look toward Greg were so them. Knots Landing

 

[Willie Oleson]

Laura gets caught working for Appolune. Mack sets a trap and his prey is someone he never suspected

I really like this one.

 

[Jock Og]

1) J.R. the bad b**t**d: Knowing that Sue Ellen would be around Mr. Dallas has a bit of 'rumpy pumpy' with a business associate and what a one. Hell yeah Holly Harwood is in town - DALLAS.

2) A love remembered: Blake is suffering from amnesia, after the oil rig explosion in Asia and of course he is putty in the hands of Alexis. He thinks it is decades earlier, spurred on by his first wife and then the second Mrs. Carrington appears to put matters into perspective - DYNASTY.

3) "I've had enough of you, to last me my life time!": Maggie walks in on Chase and Connie making more than wine, in the winery. The bearded vintner is well and truly in the dog house - FALCON CREST.

4) Jock talks business and Ellie hears everything: "A woman's place is in the bedroom, it sure as hell ain't in the boardroom." speech to J.R. leaves Ellie unamused. Mama Ewing walks in as Senior and Junior talk about a woman's place in business. Ellie fires back "You think a woman's place is two steps behind the man!" and that the pair of them sicken her. The D.O.A. versus Takapa storyline is provided with a fresh impetus - DALLAS.

5) Do you wed? Oh no you can't: It was too good to be true. Could the ba of the Channings really be happily married. Vince Karlotti has a plan. He shows up out of the blue and tries to become best friends with Chao-Li. Dwayne had died in the earthquake providing a chance for Karlotti. He convinced Emma into marrying him, on the strength of being a spiritualist. Yeah right! Along comes numerous wives to tell their story, at Emma's chapel wedding to him - FALCON CREST.

 

[Daniel Avery]

1. Karen, then Val walks in on Gary and Abby in their love nest, Knots Landing. I especially love Gary's facial expressions. In seconds, he goes from that "You annoying busybody" look toward Karen to "Oops, I crapped my pants" when Val turns up.

2. Mack spots Laura with the package he sent to Apolune, breaking the investigation wide open, KL. An excellent turning point for Laura's character, the bridge between the good guys and the bad guys at that moment.

3. Lilimae arrives on the rooftop to see Joshua about to jump with Cathy in his arms, KL. This leads to Lilimae's famous "You are a monster" speech/diatribe, one of the series finest moments.

4. Olivia finds out about Abby's role in the twins' kidnapping, KL. But you have to admit it was fun to see Olivia blackmail Abby afterward.

5. The double-whammy of Olivia and Abby arriving at the club to dead Peter on the floor---and assuming the other person killed him, KL. Olivia saw Abby drying her hands, and since blood was everywhere, Olivia naturally thought her mother was 'cleaning up' after killing him. Abby had walked in to see Olivia in tears, crouched over Peter's body, so naturally she thought Olivia had killed him. Very well-directed, staged and acted.

 

[Willie Oleson]

The double-whammy of Olivia and Abby arriving at the club to dead Peter on the floor

That's a good one too!

This leads to Lilimae's famous "You are a monster" speech/diatribe, one of the series finest moments.

 

[Richard Channing]

1. Sue Ellen walks in on JR and Holly

The long awaited culmination of a season long story arc and the catalyst for a series of cataclysmic events. It's a classic.


2. Abby walks in on Greg and Laura

Ah the poetic justice of it all. Abby had previously bedded Laura's husband and now Laura bags her lover. And all on the same day Abby got sent packing by Gary too. Poor Abby.


3. Krystle watches as Blake and Alexis embrace

Although perfectly innocent, this embrace is very significant. It's the first time we see any tenderness between these two and it's an early signal to the audience, and Krystle, that Alexis could potentially pose a very real threat to her marriage.


4. Gary and Abby are busted by Lilimae, Laura and Karen (2.13)

Suspicions are confirmed and the cat is officially out of the bag. Knots Landing being all about community it's rather nice and fitting that they should have half the cul-de-sac be a part of this 'caught in the act' moment.


5. JR eavesdrops on Sue Ellen and Peter

Peter finally gets to talk to Sue Ellen after her miscarriage and tells her that he is sure the baby was his. The camera pans up to reveal JR listening on the balcony. Wonderfully staged.

 

[Victoriafan3]

1. Stephanie in RTE, dressed in her Princess Teletha robes, unmasks her face to let her dear friend Bill know she is still alive and Jake sees them. Such fabulous tv and one of my favourite television freeze frames

2. Pam, on her wedding day, overhears that that very annoying character is pregnant to Bobby

3. Sue Ellen walks in on Holly and JR

4. Krystle walks in on Blake comforting Alexis. Alexis and Blake made such a more interesting couple, sorely under-utilised together

5. Alexis walks in when fake Krystle is caught out with LB. Funny

 

[Alexis]

Then I'll refer to the wisdom of Jenna Wade that you can't turn on/off emotions like a faucet. That makes it a soap rule, Richard.
Ha! I just knew this would come in handy some day!

Yea and Jenna couldn't turn off her tears like a faucet either. So what the hell did she know. Frankie was caught being a whore. Now stop being silly.