Supernatural Soap

by Debra Auspitz

We all know the basic plotlines that have sustained soap operas for decades. Boy meets girl. Boy loves girl. Girl loves another boy. Other boy turns out to be first boy's long-lost brother. Girl dies of mysterious illness. Such well-trodden fare is also present on NBC's Passions. But what separates the residents of the ironically-named Harmony from, say, the residents at General Hospital is that those tired plot devices are accompanied by the most over-the-top, hilarious storylines imaginable. Trouble is stirred by a local witch and her large, creepy doll (though respect is due to the late Josh Ryan Evans, who actually gave Timmy the doll a lot of heart). A scorned woman freezes her rival in a block of ice. Even cliched soap events are treated with Passions' unique flair. Recently, three main characters were trapped in an elevator: The episode ended not with a wide-eyed tearful look from one passenger's lover, but with said lover screaming like a banshee and leaping onto the elevator cord to save her man. Passions is the self-aware soap, making it very clear that it knows its place as fluff and, damn it, it's going to have fun in the process.

The other accomplishment that Passions can boast, aside from loud proclamations that the show "saved" daytime TV, is its commitment to avoiding the other typical characteristic of soaps -- a propensity to relegate characters of color to token supporting roles; many of Passions sweeps storylines focus on the Russells, an African-American family central to the show. The actors who portray two of the Russells and the man they both love -- sisters Simone and Whitney (Chrystee Pharris and Brook Kerr) and Chad Harris (Charles Divins) -- will be in the area this weekend. Meet the trio at the Granite Run Mall, or catch them at the AIDS Walk on Sunday. On Friday, local station WPHI 103.9 FM is giving away a private lunch with the trio -- just don't get caught in the middle, things are complicated enough already.

Chrystee Pharris, Brook Kerr and Charles Divins appear Sat., Oct. 18, 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m., Granite Run Mall, Rtes. 1 and 352, Media, Pa., 610-565-1650.