My mother used to turn on CBS and let the soap operas play, one after the next, for the entire afternoon. Fortunately, I was in school most of the time and they relented at around 4 p.m. when I could watch the 4 o'clock movie where I was treated to reruns of stuff like Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein, House on Haunted Hill (with Vincent Price), and the usual run of B movies that often included spacemen or supernatural threats. So I'm fine with trash tv. Later, I'd watch As the World Turns because the actors seemed to love the show for its kitsch value. Most of them lived in NYC and often would show up on Law and Order as guest actors. I remember seeing one soap star walking down the street when I lived in Manhattan and it was kind of a weird experience. He was oddly familiar, but, since I didn't know him, I left him alone. He'd played an alcoholic doctor on one show, maybe The Edge of Night or something. It must be strange to start a career as an actor and end up on a serial like that.
Jack Ryan needs to develop a sense of humor. But, that aside, it's about what I expected and I'm grateful to have something to watch, given the current state of the entertainment industry with strikes, etc. Harrison Ford is a good actor, but he has only one speed: taciturn/serious. So he's perfect for such a role.
