How did we get from the word "soapumentary" to "soupumentary"? Is the latter a truly postmodernist pastiche or simply a misspelling, a telephone chain game mistake, or a Rosanne Rosannadanna (Saturday Night Live) misunderstanding? Perhaps documentary and dramatic fictional categories are so mixed up that the concept of soapumentary or even soupumentary makes sense. But if we are concerned about the fate and treatment of the people presented in An American Family or other documentary series of this type, isn't it because we believe that they are neither public figures (right to privacy, etc.) nor fictional characters/actors? What precisely do these series and soap operas have in common? Aren't the conventions as well as the audience assumptions and beliefs concerning these programs radically different from daytime soap operas?