Partly because of her concern for three-dimensional characters, Agnes Nixon's shows are among the most popular on daytime TV. (p. 13)

More than anyone else, Agnes Nixon has let reality into the claustrophobic sound studios of soap operas. Not too much reality, of course. Certain subjects, such as homosexuality, never come up in soap-opera conversation. Family anguish and romantic misalliances still dominate the plots. Yet, over the past couple of years, viewers have been exposed to information on VD, drug-rehabilitation centers, child abuse, Pap tests and racial discrimination. These subjects had all been treated on television before they surfaced on Mrs. Nixon's soaps, but in most cases she was the first to bring them to daytime drama.

Other soap writers have begun to realize, through Mrs. Nixon's example, that social issues can have a leavening effect on ratings…. There are the makings of a trend here.

Mrs. Nixon has...