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Arizona Daily Wildcat April 3, 1997
From daytime to online: The attack of the cybersoap
From the devils in "Days of Our Lives" to the STDs of "Melrose Place," human curiosity about the evil things people can do has reached its peak. Fortunately, Cinebank has helped computer addicts who are also soap addicts to get their fix by creating an online cybersoap - "Confessions.""Confessions" gives its viewers the chance to learn about the skeletons in the closets of Brairwood, a fictitious community that lives by the dictates of the Catholic church and its confessions. A person can click their way through this online soap, paying attention to the characters of their choice. Not only is a picture of each character included, but with enough RAM and the right hardware, you can hear their voices too.
These characters create yet another ongoing story of sex, violence and scandal. To start off your cybersoap addiction, take a look at the pictures lined up in front of you. Clicking on Preston Hewitt's photograph reveals his involvement as a real estate developer. Then you can listen to his 30-second confession, or find out his entire story through a video subscription. His wife, Madonna Hewitt, is the subject of the next picture. The name "Madonna" says it all. Third in line is Phillips, Preston's mistress. She makes her living by "getting around" among the businessmen of Briarwood.
Every soap opera must have a psychic, and that would be Daphna. She's not supposed to talk to parishioners in Briarwood, but of course, nobody is going to listen to that rule.
Father Kennedy is "campaigning," as the cybersoap puts it, to be a bishop. Like most of Briarwood's society, he too carries his own secrets - one being his heart problem that may be fatal someday.
The only innocent is Helena Broderick, the widow of a man who ran a multimillion-dollar construction firm. Not only was he successful, but he was able to leave his wife with the trouble he caused before his death.
As in any soap opera, the priests are corrupt and the characters are all interwoven. If the story line can be figured out by someone bored enough to sit in front of a computer and click buttons, I'm sure it can be interesting. All you need is the patience to listen to the short quotes the characters offer and the time to figure out how their quotes are related to the story - you may want to make a flowchart for that one.
"Confessions" is just like any daytime soap opera, the only difference being that it costs about $20 a month to log in at home, and they send you a free "Confessions" condom on request. With every television network playing more than one soap, or at least one show based on sex and the lives of other people, I personally don't see the need for yet another one, located on the Internet.
On the other hand, this cybersoap is obviously getting attention if it is still online. So try clicking your way through "Confessions" story to see if you like its plot. If not, you can always return to daytime television, or just check out the daily news for all the sex, murder and scandal you desire. Don't forget - "Days of Our Lives" and "General Hospital" will always be there for you.
Confessions Cybersoap:
