But today it is down to the likes of Jordan and Cheryl Cole to provide common ground between people because they all know who they are and are interested in the ongoing soap opera of their lives," she says.
Latest twist in the ongoing soap opera: Janus founder Thomas Bailey announced in mid-June he's stepping down as the fund group's leader.
The tech sector was mixed as investors digested the latest turn in the ongoing soap opera of Microsoft and Yahoo! (See: "Ten Questions Yahoo! Shareholders Want Answered").
In one ongoing soap opera, Linda is being "emotionally abused" by Vince and falls into a "coma".
He likes to portray himself as an anti-establishment loner, and yet he's become deeply entangled in the Lakers organization, in part because of his relationship with Jeanie Buss and in part because the team has not been able to establish an identity since Jackson left; it seems as if every plot twist in the franchise's ongoing soap opera somehow involves him.
In this sense, it felt absolutely right that the announcement of its end should come, not via a conventional press release, but through a leak on tmz.com, precisely the kind of sensationalist tabloid blog that didn't exist when Pitt and Jolie first got together but has thrived in the sunshine of their ongoing soap opera.
Rose tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee in last year's playoff-opener against Philadelphia, sending the top-seeded Bulls toward a first-round exit, and his recovery has been an ongoing soap opera, particularly in recent weeks.
With regard to the ongoing soap opera of WikiLeaks and Julian Assange, many commentators are calling this whistle-blowing.
The eternal, ongoing soap opera that is England's national team continues, with a stop in Ukraine in the city founded by a Welsh businessman.
"It was an ongoing soap opera," said Ken Powell, of Glen Ridge, who followed the thread on eGullet.
