Staying Tuned: Contemporary Soap Opera Criticism examines serials. Broadcast first in 1926 on radio and since 1956 on television Monday through Friday 52 weeks a year, soap operas provide a clear promise to continue for as long as mass medicated entertainment exists. Over the last sixty years, billions have happily suffered along with the gallant men and women of the afternoon.     A growing body of scholarly literature exists now to provide insights and suggest answers to the question of why so many continually return to the routine tragedies of daytime drama. Each of our chapters explores an aspect of soap opera which contributes to the endurance of the genre.