It's a Pleasure

Guilt truly is the gift that keeps on giving. In our first Guilty Pleasures package (#395, Sept. 5) we bared our most embarrassing pop-culture obsessions and asked you to do the same. And boy, did you ever! More than 500 letters and E-mails have poured into our offices, and after sifting through the responses, all we have to say is, you should be ashamed of yourselves! The letters ranged from the hilarious to the humiliating, with Olivia Newton-John's Xanadu, Mr. T, and Full House topping your guilt-o-meters. Needless to say, we feel guilty that we can't run 'em all, but here are some of the more outrageous missives. Oh, the shame!

Okay, you got me. now that you've found the skeleton key, go ahead and open my pop-culture closet. Turn the light on and you'll find my tapes of Luke and Laura. Yes, both volumes. While other boys my age grew up with the macho-ness of The Dukes of Hazzard and The A-Team, I spent my allotted TV time glued to General Hospital. Throughout the '80s, I cheered and cried over the daily news from Port Charles. When Tony Geary's and Genie Francis' characters were finally reunited on the show in 1993, I set the VCR so I could watch GH during my midnight dinner. I bought the series' scrapbook and simply had to buy the Luke and Laura cassettes capsulizing their glory days. I actually remember seeing Richard Dean Anderson, Richard Simmons, Demi Moore, Janine Turner, John Stamos, and Emma Samms before anyone knew who they were. Guilty as charged.
BUTCH MAIER
Brooksville, Fla.

The premise of The Mirror Has Two Faces is ludicrous; the climax, a sham. And director-star Barbra Streisand shows no restraint whatsoever. But we love it anyway. It pushes all our buttons — shamelessly — and we (shamelessly) swoon. It speaks to a certain kind of woman — too smart by half about the world — but hopelessly muddled about herself. Plus, the stars are gorgeous, New York looks wonderful, and it's not as stupid as it seems (there is, after all, a joke about naming names before a Senate subcommittee). It's the guiltiest of pleasures. Yes, the mirror has two faces, and we love them both.
JENNIFER ROBINSON AND SUSAN GROSS
New York City

Reruns have proved my sense of taste was formed when I was 10. The Dukes of Hazzard had everything a prepubescent boy could ask for: Daisy's short shorts, the interchangeable Cletus and Enos, the healthy love between Sheriff Roscoe P. Coltrane and his loyal hound Flash, Tom Wopat (the smart Duke), and the soothing voice of Waylon Jennings, asking us during each gravity-defying jump made by the General Lee how we thought the boys would ''get outta this one.''
ANDREW LYONS
Los Angeles

So, you wanna know my guilty pleasure? I can't believe I'm going public with this, but my guilty pleasure just happens to be Full House. Yes, I was one of those who scoffed in front of friends, but with shades pulled and doors locked, I was a Tanner every Tuesday night. The show offered the opportunity to let my brain relax, and, thanks to syndication, it is the perfect way to unwind after a long day. So there! It's out in the open, and I feel much better. It's almost like my very own Ellen coming-out episode.
JEFFREY WOOTEN
Grifton, N.C.