131 out of 131 people found this review helpful.
Read it for the articles!
Date of Review: Jun 8, 2000
I have been subscribing to Soap Opera Digest for about 3 months now. This was a subscription I chose free from enews.com as a way to earn points through the Mypoints program.
I have to confess that I am not a soap opera addict, I only watch As The World Turns, but I do watch it religiously. However, I used to watch a couple of other soaps off and on and I thought that Soap Opera Digest would be a good way to see what was happening on the shows without watching them, with a preschooler and a toddler there isn't much time to get addicted to many soaps, LOL!
I have found that this magazine seems to arrive in my mailbox a little later. Often things that I read are going to happen, have actually already happened. I have also found that I can get the same "spoilers" and upcoming storylines faster on the internet. There are several webpages out there devoted to the many soaps and they always seem to have the late breaking news updated regularly. Since they don't have to worry about "press times" and "going to print" they can get that information out there much faster. If I am looking for spoilers or late breaking news I tend to turn to the web pages before relying on Soap Opera Digest.
However, for the articles Soap Opera Digest is pretty good. They do have interviews with the actors and actresses which are good.
Some of the features that I like in Soap Opera Digest are:
Where are they Now This feature highlights different actors/actresses and tells what they are doing since they left their last role. It is interesting to see what different paths people have chosen.
Round-Up In this feature they ask one question of a several different actors/actresses. It can be almost anything ..."who was your first kiss", "What character on your soap would you like to play", "Are you friends with actors from other shows". It is fun to see what they say.
Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down In this section they give thumbs up or down to certain storylines or characters. It is nice to see my soap getting a thumbs up every once in awhile.
It's only my opinion In this feature the writer gives her opinion on almost anything. The opinions are fun and sometimes controversial, as readers tend to get riled up if she gives an opinion they don't agree with. I love this!
VCR Alert Very helpful if you are waiting for a certain event to happen. This feature tells you exactly when to see your VCR so you won't miss it. I love this feature, but since I have a tendency to get my magazine late this is often outdated and I do find I get the information sooner from the web pages.
Comings & Goings Tells you who is leaving the show or who is coming back. Also informs you of who has renewed their contracts.
All in all I think that Soap Opera Digest is good for the articles. There are some good interviews and some good feature articles. If you are interested in getting this magazine for the spoilers, save your money, you can find them on the internet much faster. Most of the websites even have newsletters you can subscribe too.
This magazine is fairly expensive if you are not a subscriber. I believe the cover price is nearly $2.99 per issue. The subscription form in my current issue has two subscription options. The first is 25 issues for $1.59/issue ($39.75) or 50 issues for $1.56 per issue ($78). This is a little too pricey for me and if I had not received the free trial subscription I would not subscribe to this magazine. The magazine is good, but pricey and the information is readily available for free on the internet. If you want to read it for the interviews and special features then it is a good magazine.
