Jung und Leidenschaftlich - Wie das Leben so spielt

The number of nominations this soap opera received at the 2001 Daytime Emmy Awards is just one indicator of how excellent this show has been lately. The writing has been especially good, and the acting seems much better than most daytime fare. Of particular interest is the dual roles of long-estranged twin sisters Lily/Rose played to perfection by the talented Martha Byrne. Her scenes opposite herself are brilliant.

This soap opera's best feature, though, is the pace at which story lines move along. There is no spoon-feeding the audience. You have to watch consistently to get involved in the plots: there are no recaps of the past month's twists. Conversely, there have been incredible flashbacks and memories using real original footage from as far back as the series first season (1956). This really adds a warm sense of continuity for characters like Nancy Hughes, played since the beginning by Helen Wagner.