This column comes to us from Rebecca Johnson, a long-time soap fan (and big fan of TV in general!) who we hope we’ll be seeing around these parts more in the future.
Even though I’ve only been watching All My Children LIVE since January 2009, I’m not a new viewer to soap operas.
In fact, I’m a multi-generational fan (for sixteen years) of The Young and The Restless, passed down from my maternal grandmother (who referred to Y&R as “her stories”) to my mother, and then, to me. I understand that soaps aren’t just crazy stories with over-the-top acting (even though they are). They’re shows that are shared within families over decades, which is why the end of All My Children’s run on ABC is so sad, yet important.
I came to Pine Valley as I have with all the soap operas that I’ve watched over the years: because of a big event. When I started watching The Young and The Restless, it was the summer of the “Who shot Victor Newman?” storyline (where for art thou, Mari Jo Mason?). I got into Days of Our Lives during the Salem Stalker insanity (just thinking about Marlena on the rooftop, being tracked by helicopters still makes me giggle).
When I found out that All My Children was planning Daytime Television’s first lesbian wedding, I thought I’d seen everything on soaps (seriously, I once saw Phyllis on The Young and The Restless put a squid in someone’s honeymoon bed), so my curiosity got the better of me and I thought I’d check it out.
The scene I remember watching that first time I tuned in was during the show’s New Year’s Eve episode when Reese is crying to Bianca about her worries in their relationship and I was so impressed with Tamara Braun’s pretty crying, I kept watching. What makes me laugh about that is that, at the time, I had no idea that the brunette in that scene (Bianca Montgomery) would eventually become my favorite Daytime character of all-time.
Soap operas require much of their viewers. Episodes air five days a week. Family trees have twisted branches of complicated character histories. But with All My Children, it was easy for me to jump in. After a while, I learned who people were and how they were connected. Thanks to YouTube, I could research and watch clips from years ago, which helped me understand how everyone got from where they were to what I was watching at the time.
After Bianca and Reese’s nuptials (which was handled in a traditional and classy manner, resulted in a divorce, a quick custody battle, and eventual Happy Ending in Paris…or, so it seemed), I stayed with the show. Even though my beloved Bianca was gone, I fell in love with couples like Jake and Amanda and Madison and Ryan and JR and Marissa. I revelled in the antics of Crazy!Annie. Erica Kane’s loveable ridiculousness made me feel ashamed for all the years I joked on Susan Lucci losing so many times at the Emmys. I had developed a love for David Hayward, the Town-Villain-Who-Just-Wants-To-Be-Loved (who I contend to this day is the REAL hero of the story).
I was no longer watching All My Children for the big event. I became a fan for life.
Over time, Bianca was successfully recast, Scott Chandler went in and out of prison, Marissa adopted her dead twin sister’s son, Kendall returned to find her best friend (who she accidentally ran over) alive, Annie was romantically linked to three Chandlers, Adam killed his sweet twin brother (but, it’s okay, he resurrects later) while hopped up on drugs, Zach died and came back to life, Erica survived a plane crash and a crazed fan taking over her life, Ryan and Madison lost a baby, Angie got pregnant and went blind, JR fell off the wagon, and Amanda beat a cancer scare.
For almost three years, I’ve watched faithfully. Sometimes, it was exciting and sometimes, it was slow, but All My Children was always there when I came home from work. I may have watched The Young and The Restless for a longer period of time, but I actually have more love for the folks of Pine Valley. I can actually admit (in true melodramatic form) that there will be a part of my heart that goes away on Monday, September 26, 2011 when the reality of the cancellation sets in.
I’ll miss Bianca, a true soap heroine in every sense of the term. I’ll miss Kendall, who gets to say awesome things like “I don’t need permission to hate you! I only have to look at your stupid face!”. I’ll miss drooling over my old man crush, Jackson. I’ll miss the pitchforks being lit when people get upset with David Hayward. I’ll miss the women of Fusion acting like they actually do work. I’ll miss Tad’s laugh. I’ll miss Opal’s jingly-jangly bracelets. And, I’ll miss the iconic Erica Kane, who can pick and win fights with bears through the power of who she is.
The good news is that I may not have to miss them forever.
Prospect Park is planning on continuing All My Children online, starting next year. I was unhappy about that at first because I wanted All My Children to go off the air with finality and Happy Endings (what every Television series should have, but very few get), but now that it has ended on ABC, I’m glad for the show’s chance to continue telling stories. I’m especially excited to know that Agnes Nixon (All My Children creator and writer) will be involved with the online version. Since she has returned to the show in the last few months, as a viewer, I can tell there has been a change for the better. The stories were being told with more quality, bringing back a greater sense of family, and resulting in Agnes Nixon’s trademark socially-relevant storytelling.
The ending of All My Children is an important part of TV history. More than other soap operas that have been cancelled before it, All My Children is a part of pop culture that has been told it is no longer relevant. The average person may not be able to name characters on Guilding Light, Another World, As The World Turns, or One Life to Live, but I’m willing to bet they know who Erica Kane is. The Kane Women on All My Children should’ve lived on Broadcast Television forever, but were let go because they were (as ABC claims) too expensive and unnecessary to have on the air.
The final episode of All My Children aired today with Erica Kane proclaiming, “This is not the ending I want!” Good thing for fans of All My Children, it’s not the end. I’m not sure if I think Prospect Park’s plan to take Pine Valley to the Internet will work. It could be a massive failure. Or, it could be the next step in transition the genre has done in the past from Radio to Television.
No matter the medium, I’ll be following All My Children wherever it goes and look forward to staying tuned to find out what’s in the next chapter of the family album.
