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5 wackiest storylines in soap opera history

<p>Soap operas aren’t everyone’s cup of tea, but they’ve been around for long enough to have earned large, enthusiastic fan bases around the world. Predictably, when a show airs five days a week for decades, some of the storylines are bound to get a little wacky. We’ve chosen some of our favourite kooky plots from soaps.</p> <p><strong>1. Bouncer’s dream – <em>Neighbours</em></strong></p> <p><em>Neighbours</em> is usually pretty good at keeping their plots away from the sport of shark jumping, but this particular story is just odd. You may remember the time when Bouncer the dog (a Labrador retriever with soap star good looks) dreamed that he married the dog from next door.</p> <p><strong>2. Timmy the living doll – <em>Passions</em></strong></p> <p>Now, in all fairness, <em>Passions</em> was just one big kooky mess of weird storylines, punctuated by men removing their shirts and causing the women in town to swoon. But the weirdest storylines were usually saved for Tabitha (Juliet Mills), the town’s resident witch, and her living doll, Timmy. Tabitha would almost always enter a scene with another character holding an enormous doll. When the other characters were gone, the doll would be replaced by an actor (Josh Ryan Evans), and the two would plot and scheme new ways to mess with the town of Harmony.</p> <p><strong>3. Killer clone – <em>The Guiding Light</em></strong></p> <p>Sometimes, when your wife dies in a plane crash, the only option left to you is to clone her, right? Right. That’s just what happened when Reva’s plane went down. Except when it turned out she didn’t really die, her clone tried to finish the job.</p> <p><strong>4. The lovesick orangutan –<em> Passions</em></strong></p> <p>In the town of Harmony, many of the town’s elderly residents were cared for by a nurse who just happened to be an orangutan – Precious. As was bound to happen, Precious fell in love with the strapping Luis (Galen Gering) – a painfully one-sided affair. Eventually, Precious left Harmony for good, letting go of her love for Luis by throwing his photograph out of a train window. Closure.</p> <p><strong>5. Marlena’s possession – <em>Days of Our Lives</em></strong></p> <p>There comes a time in every doctor’s life, when they are possessed by the Devil, as happened to Dr Marlena Evans (Deidre Hall). She went on to set fire to a church, transform into a jaguar, and was eventually saved by her ex-husband, who remembered he was ordained as a priest.</p> <p>Which wacky soap opera plotline is your favourite? Tell us in the comments below!</p>

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The storyline that killed off “The Nanny”

<p>In a recent interview with <em>Studio 10</em>, former star of <em>The Nanny</em>, Fran Drescher, has dished on all the secrets from the set of this hit '90s sitcom, including the storyline she believes led to the show’s demise.</p> <p>The now 59-year-old appeared on Ten’s morning show on Wednesday with her ex-husband (and close friend) Peter Marc Jacobson, reminiscing about her time on the program. According to Drescher, the romance between protagonists Fran Fine and Maxwell Sheffield was ultimately what killed the show.</p> <p>“When a show is built around a love that can't happen, sexual tension, you have to keep it that way,” Jacobson, co-creator of <em>The Nanny</em> with Drescher, explained. “As much as you want the people to get together, as soon as they do, people start tuning out.”</p> <p>And, if you look at the ratings, it’s hard to argue with her. The show, which ran from 1993 to 1999, experienced a sharp decline in ratings after the storyline was introduced. Ironically, the drop came right after the producers succumbed to the network’s threats of cancellation after experiencing a small dip in ratings.</p> <p>As for the possibility of a <em>Nanny</em> comeback? Drescher hasn’t ruled it out. “We wouldn’t do it for the money,” she said. “We would do it because we cracked the code on how to tell the story 20 years later.”</p> <p>“And make it interesting. I set a very high standard. At this stage of my life, it has to make my heart sing. As Peter said, once the sexual tension is gone, now she is the wife, there went the series. So, to go back... We would have to figure out where we are starting from and what it is.”</p> <p>If you're wondering what the cast got up to after the show finished and what they look like today, <a href="http://www.oversixty.com.au/entertainment/tv/2016/12/where-is-the-cast-of-the-nanny-now/" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>click here</strong></span></a>.</p> <p>Were you a fan of <em>The Nanny</em>? Would you like to see it return to our screens? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below.</p>

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Surprising storylines these TV shows almost had

<p>TV shows are constantly evolving, developing new plots and introducing new characters, and usually these choices make the series even better. However, every now and then, the writers and producers behind the world’s hit shows reveal what might have been. Here are seven storylines that could have completely changed the course of our favourite series, and they will surprise you.</p> <ol> <li><strong><em>Friends</em> </strong>– Ross and Rachel may have been the core couple of the iconic ‘90s sitcom, but that wasn’t always the case – Monica and Joey were supposed to be the show’s main love story! However, after the roles of Ross and Rachel were cast and the producers saw the chemistry between Jennifer Aniston and David Schwimmer, they decided to switch paths. And thank goodness they did! We can’t imagine it any other way.</li> <li><em><strong>Lost</strong> </em>– The role of Jack, the show’s main character (played by Matthew Fox), was originally meant for Michael Keaton. Additionally, <em>Lost</em> creator J. J. Abrams planned on killing off the character in the pilot episode and making Kate (Evangeline Lilly) the main character. Anyone who’s seen the show will know just how different it would have been if this had happened.</li> <li><strong><em>24</em> </strong>– Fans of this thrilling, fast-paced action series starring Kiefer Sutherland will be shocked to learn that <em>24</em> was originally going to be a romantic comedy. Yep, producers originally wanted a series about a couple planning a wedding over <em>24</em> hours. Frankly, we’re glad they went with plan B!</li> <li><strong><em>E.R.</em></strong> – Julianna Margulies’ character was going to die from a drug overdose in the pilot episode, but after producers received very positive feedback for her from test audiences, they decided to keep her and pursue a storyline with George Clooney’s character as a love interest.</li> <li><strong><em>Cheers</em> </strong>– Sam was going to get AIDS in an effort to tackle one of the biggest issues of the ‘80s. Instead, the producers went with alcohol addiction, believing it would resonate with more of their audience and be a less dark plot line than a life-threatening medical condition.</li> <li><strong><em>Breaking Bad</em> </strong>– The hugely popular series had a few axed storylines that would have changed it forever – including killing off one of the main characters, Jesse – but it almost took an even darker turn. Showrunner Vince Gilligan had planned on a plotline featuring Walt kidnapping and torturing a drug dealer in his basement, leading to the death of his son Walt Jr.</li> <li><em><strong>Star Trek</strong></em> – An axed episode idea had the Enterprise turning into a giant baby. Yes, you read that right – the ship hit some mysterious space debris and became possessed by the soul of a newborn baby. If it had gone ahead, we think it would be a strong contender for the show’s wackiest storyline.</li> </ol> <p>Which of these shows was your favourite? Let us know in the comments below.</p> <p><strong>Related links:</strong></p> <p><a href="/entertainment/tv/2016/09/tv-auditions-gone-wrong/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>TV auditions gone wrong</strong></em></span></a></p> <p><a href="/entertainment/tv/2016/08/best-tv-shows-according-to-the-queen/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>The Queen’s favourite TV shows revealed</strong></em></span></a></p> <p><a href="/entertainment/tv/2016/07/2016-year-of-tv-reboots-and-remakes/"><strong><em><span style="text-decoration: underline;">2016 is the year of TV reboots and remakes</span></em></strong></a></p>

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