Like so many, I was floored when ABC cancelled “All My Children” and “One Life To Live.” Of the remaining soaps on the air, these seemed “safe” under the network television umbrella, because unlike “Days of our Lives” and “The Young and The Restless,” they weren’t owned by independent production companies. They belonged to ABC lock, stock and barrel, which surely meant they’d be protected at all costs.
Unfortunately, ownership also meant ABC could ax them at anytime and indeed, that’s exactly what happened. However, a shaky glimmer of hope soon appeared in the form of Prospect Park, a production company who vowed at the very least to move the shows online and at the most, find them a new home on cable. Many have likened this turn of events to when the radio shows of the 1950’s morphed into popular television shows. It was new, unchartered territory that everyone was sure would fail. Which of course, we know, it didn’t. The Internet could herald the next frontier of entertainment, which means that once again, “All My Children” and “One Life To Live” would be pioneers.
Admittedly, while I’ve watched most of the current crop of soaps on a regular basis over the years (except “The Bold and The Beautiful, which I’ve never been able to get into), my heart always belonged to the ABC Daytime lineup. From “Ryan’s Hope” to “General Hospital” and everything in between, “my stories” were ABC stories. And none more so than “All My Children.” I always had a special place in my heart for Pine Valley. “All My Children” would be the one I stuck with through thick and thin, the one I never gave up on, no matter how ludicrous it got. The one soap I always said I’d want to have a starring role on (why couldn’t I have been the daughter Erica gave away?).
There were so many reasons I loved Pine Valley: Erica Kane and her myriad of lovers (Mike Roy and Dimitri Marick being her hands-down best matches), Tad the Cad, the famous “summer” story where Jesse and Jenny ran away to New York, the greasiness of pimp Bill Clyde Tuggle, the machinations of Palmer Cortland and later Adam Chandler, the accusations of “trollop!” bandied about by Phoebe Tyler Wallingford to just about every woman in town. As the 90’s dawned, the show entered its second “golden age,” with the introduction of Erica’s daughter, Kendall, the addition of the popular Santos family and the gothic romance of the “Wildwind” storylines.
And of course, there were the supercouples. Soaps like “Days of our Lives” and “General Hospital” were supercouple factories, but “All My Children” was hot on its heels. Sweet Jenny and her doomed romance with Greg, the fairy tale love story of Cliff and Nina, the intoxicating tale of Tad and Dixie, the fiery Trevor and his “doll” Natalie, the tortured Hayley and Mateo, the oh-so-sexy and romantic Edmund and Maria, Angie and Jessie, soap’s first African American supercouple and my own personal favorite, Nico and Cecily (I faked being sick so I could stay home to watch their wedding), were just a few of the countless couples that ignited viewers imaginations.
Long after I had ceased to watch “One Life to Live” and “General Hospital,” I remained true to my beloved “All My Children.” Finally, in about 2005, after an unbroken run as a faithful viewer for almost 25 years, I lost hope in Pine Valley. Too many new characters I didn’t care for, uninspired storylines and couples that just didn’t do it for me, caused me to bid Pine Valley adieu (fortunately, I missed that whole ‘poisoned pancakes’ nonsense.) Still, like many of us, I always expected “All My Children” would be there.
The show has made an indelible mark on so many of us, including the actors who got their start there. It’s quite telling how many big stars have clamored to come back for cameo appearances in the show’s waning days: Josh Duhamel, Carol Burnett, Eva LaRue and Sarah Michelle Gellar are just a few of the superstars who asked to be included in Pine Valley’s network TV swan song (I don’t remember Meg Ryan or Marissa Tomei making pit stops in Oakdale when “As The World Turns” went off the air in 2010, though kudos to Julianne Moore for making a final appearance on the show that played a hand in launching her amazing career.)
This past weekend, SOAPNet ran two marathons of classic “All My Children” episodes, episodes so good, they brought more than a few tears to my eyes: Tom ends his marriage to Erica after finding out she’d been taking birth control pills behind his back, Erica’s drug-fueled breakdown, Tad and Dixie’s reunion after he was presumed dead, Cliff and Nina’s magical first wedding. The writing was on-point, the characters enthralling and the romance spilled off the screen. It was, as they say, good soap opera.
I don’t know if I’ll tune back in to “All My Children” when it migrates on line in 2012. But I will be watching this week, relieving the glory days of Pine Valley and being glad for the joy, the sorrow, the tears and the laughter that was “All My Children.”