Soap opera rapid aging syndrome
<templatestyles src="Module:Hatnote/styles.css"></templatestyles>
Soap opera rapid aging syndrome (SORAS) is the practice of accelerating the age of a television character (usually a child or teenager) in conflict with the timeline of a series and/or the real-world progression of time.[1][2] This allows for, 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 preschooler, 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 the soap opera media,[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]
Contents
Examples
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 on screen 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]
On the situation comedy Growing Pains, Chrissy Seaver was born on the show in late 1988. She remained a toddler for the remainder of that season and the season after, but in 1990 the character was aged to five with the role being recast with Ashley Johnson.[5]
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 Young and the Restless, Billy Abbott was born in 1993 but was age 16 by 1999.[12]
Another soap where SORAS is a common condition is Neighbours. In 2001, newlyweds Libby Kennedy and Drew Kirk gave birth to son Ben. Ben returned in 2007 as an eight-year-old. The primary reason for this was that a child actor playing the part of Micky, age 11 at the time, had a younger brother whom the producers wanted to cast in the show. It was much easier for the writers to write storylines for an eight-year-old than a six-year-old. Now, when referenced, the show states than Ben's year of birth is 1999. Although SORAS most commonly occurs when a character is recast, the show featured a notable instance of a character being "aged" without a change of actor. When the character of Hannah Martin departed in 1999, she was said to be 15, despite having been just six when introduced in 1992 (and her parents meeting for the first time in 1985 in an earlier storyline).[13]
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ http://www.perfectblend.net/neighbourhood/bio/martin-hannah.htm
