Most people remember the 1970s for disco and bell-bottoms, but if you were glued to a television set in the spring of 1981, you probably remember something much weirder. I’m talking about the end of the line for one of the most controversial, bizarre, and genuinely funny experiments in network history. Soap TV series Season 4 wasn't just another year of a sitcom; it was the chaotic, cliffhanger-heavy finish to a show that had been under fire from the moment it was announced.
It’s hard to explain to someone who wasn't there how much people hated Soap before they even saw it. Religious groups were protesting outside ABC offices because they heard rumors the show featured a priest losing his faith and a gay character—played by a very young Billy Crystal—who wanted a sex change operation. By the time the show reached its fourth and final season, the controversy had cooled into a sort of cult-like devotion, but the writing was on the wall. The ratings were slipping. The energy was frantic.
Honestly, Season 4 feels like the writers knew the axe was coming and decided to go out with the loudest bang possible.
The Absolute Chaos of the Final Year
If you try to map out the plot of Soap TV series Season 4, you’re going to need a corkboard and a lot of red string. We started the season with the aftermath of Jessica Tate’s supposed death. Except, in classic Soap fashion, she wasn't dead. She was being held captive in El Puerco’s revolutionary camp. Katherine Helmond played Jessica with this airy, oblivious grace that somehow made being a political prisoner look like a mild social inconvenience.
Then you had Burt Campbell. Oh, Burt. Richard Mulligan’s performance in this final stretch is some of the best physical comedy ever put on film. He starts the season as a local hero after being appointed Sheriff, but quickly spiraling into a paranoid mess. He's convinced that enemies are everywhere.
And they sort of were.
The show was juggling a dozen balls at once. You had Jodie Dallas dealing with a custody battle that felt surprisingly grounded for a show that once featured an alien abduction. You had Danny Dallas falling for a woman who was basically a mob princess. It was a lot. Maybe too much for a thirty-minute time slot.
The El Puerco Factor
One of the weirdest additions to the final season was El Puerco, the South American revolutionary. He was played by Gregory Sierra, and his chemistry with Jessica was undeniably charming. But looking back, this storyline is where the show really leaned into the "telenovela" parody that inspired its name. They were poking fun at the very idea of high-stakes political drama.
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It’s a bit jarring to watch now. One minute you’re laughing at a joke about Burt’s impotence, and the next you’re watching a group of revolutionaries plan a coup. But that was the magic of the show. It refused to stay in one lane. It’s also why the Soap TV series Season 4 ending is still a sore spot for fans decades later.
Why the Cliffhangers Still Sting
We have to talk about the finale. Airing on April 20, 1981, the episode "Episode 93" was never meant to be the end. The creators, including the brilliant Susan Harris, fully expected a fifth season. Instead, we got one of the most brutal "To Be Continued" screens in history.
Here is what we were left with:
- Jessica Tate is standing in front of a firing squad in a revolution-torn country.
- The commander gives the order.
- The soldiers fire.
- Burt Campbell is walking into an ambush, surrounded by gunmen.
- Chester is about to fight a duel.
And then? Nothing. Silence for forty-five years.
ABC pulled the plug. The show was expensive to produce, and the moral majority groups had successfully scared off enough advertisers that the network decided it wasn't worth the headache anymore. It’s a tragedy of the medium, really. We never got to see Jessica charm her way out of a rain of bullets. We never saw Burt wiggle his way out of that alleyway.
The Spin-off Consolation Prize
The only closure we ever got came from the spin-off, Benson. Robert Guillaume’s character had already left the Tate household to work in the Governor’s mansion. Years later, in a Benson episode, Jessica Tate appears as a ghost.
Wait, a ghost?
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Yeah, that’s how they confirmed she actually died in that firing squad scene. Or did she? The show later hinted she was just in a coma or that Benson was dreaming. It was a mess. Even the "fix" was confusing. It didn't provide the emotional payoff fans wanted after investing four years into the Tate and Campbell families.
Technical Brilliance Amidst the Script
For all the talk about the plot, people often overlook how well-made Soap TV series Season 4 actually was. The lighting was moodier. The sets for the El Puerco storyline were surprisingly detailed for a sitcom.
The acting remained top-tier. Robert Mandan as Chester Tate managed to make a serial philanderer seem almost sympathetic in his patheticness. Jay Johnson’s work with Chuck and Bob—his ventriloquist dummy that he insisted was real—remains one of the most unsettling and hilarious bits of character work in TV history. In Season 4, Bob (the dummy) actually becomes more of a character than some of the humans.
It was meta-humor before meta-humor was a thing. The show was constantly aware of its own ridiculousness.
The Lasting Legacy of the Soap TV Series Season 4 Finale
When you look at modern "prestige" comedies like Barry or The Good Place, you can see the DNA of Soap. It was a pioneer in the serialized sitcom format. Before Soap, most comedies were "reset" every week. You could watch episodes out of order and it wouldn't matter. But with this show, if you missed a week of Season 4, you were completely lost.
That was a huge risk in 1980. There were no DVRs. No streaming services. If you weren't home at 9:30 PM on a Tuesday, you just missed the plot.
The show also broke ground on social issues, even if it did so through a lens of extreme satire. Jodie Dallas was one of the first recurring gay characters on TV where his sexuality wasn't the only joke. He was a father. He was a brother. He was a person dealing with a messy life, just like everyone else in the house. Season 4 saw him struggling with his identity in a way that felt remarkably ahead of its time.
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Where to Find it Now
If you’re looking to revisit the madness, the series has been released on DVD and occasionally pops up on niche streaming services like Tubi or Rewind TV. It’s worth the hunt. Watching it now, the laugh track feels a bit dated, but the jokes mostly land. The satire of the wealthy Tate family and the blue-collar Campbell family still feels relevant, especially the way they both fail to handle the chaos of the modern world.
Moving Forward With Your Soap Rewatch
If you’re planning to dive back into the series or watch it for the first time, don't just skip to the end. The buildup throughout the year is what makes the final collapse so fascinating.
Watch for the subtle shifts in tone. You can almost feel the writers realizing they aren't going to be renewed around halfway through the season. The jokes get darker. The situations get more impossible.
Focus on the Campbell family dynamics. While the Tates get the flashy revolution plot, the Campbells' domestic struggles in the final episodes are much more grounded and, arguably, more heartbreaking.
Ignore the Benson "answers." Honestly, the best way to experience the finale is to accept the cliffhanger for what it is: a giant middle finger to the censors and the critics who tried to kill the show from day one. It’s a perfect, albeit frustrating, monument to a show that refused to play by the rules.
Go find the DVD sets or check your local retro-TV listings. There has never been another show quite like Soap, and there likely never will be again. It was a lighting-in-a-bottle moment where talent, controversy, and 1970s weirdness collided into something unforgettable.