Episode 85,the last of five one-hour Monday broadcasts that brought the series to an early close,begins with Gene and the Governor imploring Burt to abandon his crazy family if he wants to become Senator; the unsuspecting Burt receives a tip about a huge drug bust(the bait for a trap)from an informer planted by an angry syndicate mob."Julius"(the still-hypnotized Jodie)comforts a teary-eyed Mary,depressed over what a mess her lonely life has become(Mary:"you're still the same...Jodie,Julius,young,old,you've still got the same heart..." -our final image of these two characters).Danny confesses to Burt that he's in love with his stepmother,which Burt believes must be a sickness; after 3 days in bed with Annie,and neither of them feeling tired,both are surprised by the unexpected return of Chester,now so distraught about his life that he wants to kill himself...until discovering his son in bed with his wife,turning the gun on them instead...(cliffhanger).General Luis Sandia(Luis Avalos,previously a doctor in episode 23)and Private Esquivo(Barry Vigon,one of the 8 writers during this final season),leaders of the Communist regime in Malaguay,break into Jessica's bedroom and abduct her,in the hope that El Puerco will come after them to try to rescue her(waiting on a phone call for instructions from the kidnappers,Chester answers the first ring- "what? no! it was Bob,he wanted to know if Chuck was here!") El Puerco is given 36 hours to decide if his revolution is more important than the life of someone he loves; Jessica spends her final hours sending her last meal back to the kitchen,then stands before a wall to face the firing squad(we hear the shots and see her react with a flinch...our final image of SOAP,and another cliffhanger that has never been explained).The show was conceived as a five year project,we just never got to see that fifth season.Katherine Helmond made a brief appearance as Jessica on one episode of the spin off show BENSON,otherwise,no one else ever played these characters again.85 episodes on the ABC network,a total of 93 half-hour shows in syndication(not including the 3 recap entries that preceded the 2nd,3rd,and 4th seasons).The fourth season must have seen a drop in the ratings,and the whole El Puerco revolution tainted the entire season,but the writing was still sharp,even if many popular characters were dropped or became less interesting(for instance,once Billy dumped Leslie,his character had nowhere to go,a potentially intriguing storyline involving the kidnapping of Jodie's daughter was mercilessly dragged out to an unsatisfying conclusion,Eunice was nearly always portrayed throughout the series without any likable qualities,and potentially interesting characters like Annie and Gwen weren't given much to do).I don't think the critical backlash was the reason the series was cancelled(they equally despised the beloved THREE'S COMPANY as well),since SOAP lasted 4 seasons without any real problems; I just think the network,the audience,and perhaps Susan Harris,simply lost interest.The characters deserved a more fitting finale but the powers-that-be simply would not permit it.Even the finale of BENSON left an unsolved cliffhanger dangling,as to whether or not he won the Governorship over his former employer.Susan Harris(born 1940)went on to create THE GOLDEN GIRLS and EMPTY NEST,using many of the same actors who first appeared on SOAP,so her legacy of success continued.
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