Soap Opera Scribes

PUC (pukes) abbr. previously unknown children. “I’ve lost track. Is this Lexie Stefano’s fourth or fifth puke?”

ET abbr. evil twin; vicious alter ego of hero or heroine who sleeps with best friends, etcetera, in order to create dramatic upheaval.

PSA storyline abbr. derived from public service announcement; public information-oriented stories, often short-lived, that deal with issues such as breast cancer, alcoholism or AIDS and are designed to increase public awareness.

TBD abbr. story element “to be determined” by production staff. “Hope’s cage is suspended over a bed of knives or a vat of acid, TBD.”

3B-R abbr. body burned beyond recognition; employed to avoid positive ID of a character temporarily written out of a show. “We’ll probably recast later, so kill him or make him a 3B-R.”

U/5 abbr. non-contract player, often a waiter, nurse or thug, with under five lines per episode.

wonder years n. the rapid aging process that takes a child character from preschool to high school. “We need a love interest for Austin. Let’s send Sami through her wonder years.”