Mark Teschner

This ABC/PEOPLE television special highlights the impact of the soap opera. In today's shifting television landscape, "The Story of Soaps" traces how female creators migrated from radio to television to become the dominant force in daytime for more than three decades. Today, the legacy of the soap opera continues all over prime time and reality t.v. An extensive look is taken at this iconic, impactful genre.

An assassin is hired by a businessman to avenge the murder of his daughter by white slave traders in Thailand.

An archeology professor unearths a dangerous artifact, unwittingly releasing a creature that is able to kill with the power of its bone-splitting scream.

Due to political pressure from the American public, the Air Force has decided to allow two well-known reporters limited access to the most secretive base on the planet. But when one of the base’s “long-term visitors” exploits this unprecedented visit as a chance to liberate himself and his fellow alien captives, Area 51 turns from a secure government base to a horrifying destination of terror.

A group of friends stranded near a desolate cornfield find shelter in an old farmhouse, though they soon discover the dwelling is the center of a supernatural ritual.

Seth and Jonah are twins with a dangerous ability: telekinesis. Things start to spiral out of control as their classmates die in twisted and bizarre ways. Jealousy begins to divide them and soon they can no longer trust each other, leading up to a horrific battle against themselves.

Emily and Nate Weaver leave the city for the rural comfort of Nate’s ancestral home in the country. Once there, Emily is plagued by horrifying visions and haunted by the ghosts inhabiting their isolated new home. When Nate’s behavior undergoes a strange and fearful metamorphosis, Emily fears she might be the latest target in a murderous tradition.

Amber dreams of escaping her small town existence and persuades her friends to accompany her to find an apartment in the big city. When their transportation breaks down, she and her friends gratefully accept a ride in the back of a semi. But when the driver refuses to stop and they discover the cargo is hundreds of cartons of blood, they panic. Their panic turns to terror when the truck disgorges them into a dark, abandoned warehouse where blood-thirsty creatures learn to hunt human prey, which, the friends realize, is what they now are... Written by Svetlio Svilenov

Jesse is charming, romantic, and he knows how to pop the question; he just can't face marriage. So, when he and Hannah split up during the same week that a former fiancée dies, he decides to figure things out. He visits each woman about whom he's been serious to ask what went wrong. His teen flame, an independent woman who sometimes sleeps with him, and a group of lesbians give him advice, as does Anabeth, dead but lively in his dreams. One ex remains furious, but with the help of her inventive colleague, the level-headed insomniac Laura, Jesse even gets to talk to her. It's on to Anabeth's funeral, where he'll see Hannah, and maybe grasp what has been eluding him.

Upon arriving Israel on her first foreign assignment, American photojournalist Faye Milano is greeted by David, an Israeli officer and writer who's also the nephew of Jerusalem's mayor