Steve

I just hated KWAK! I didn't like her with anyone.

Why is Erica hearing voices?

I think she was remembering Jeremy & Natalie's voices entwined together telling her they'll get married because of Nat's pregnancy, which was actually Jeremy's father Alex's kid, Timmy.

If Susan Lucci signs on to a rebooted AMC, I'll watch. Even without her, I'll still watch if there are other characters on there I like. Right now the big one for me, aside from La Lucci, is Vincent Irizarry as David Hayward. I'd even consider watching sans David if they had other really good cast members like David Canary and Julia Barr.

I will not, however, watch a reboot that is all about a teenaged Emma Lavery, Ian Slater, and AJ Chandler. That has no interest for me.

I could see MEK, Julia Barr, Jill Larson, and maybe David Canary for the older vets.

Sincerely, I think Lucci has moved on. She obviously doesn't need the money, is busy with her business ventures, and can easily get other television work.

For me, it's still All My Children, if in name only. I will undoubtedly check it out and continue to check in even if it's not really doing anything for me. I associate it to the last decade of the show where there were long gaps with storylines and new characters that didn't interest me. But it was still AMC, the home of Erica Kane, Adam Chandler, Brooke English, et cetera, a show I loved, so I continued to check in.

I'll also check in at the very least. I can see MEK signing on, hopefully with Cady McClain, Jill Larson, David Canary, Julia Barr and Debbi Morgan and Darnell Williams if, as I believe, the latter are no longer on Y&R. I suspect Susan Lucci will eventually come on when she has time with her other obligations. In my wildest dreams, Erica pops into Pine Valley a few months after the show debuts online and is shocked to learn Jack is dating Opal and nobody dared to tell her.

Merry Christmas, everyone:

http://youtu.be/EmHaczAE4f0

As long as they didn't go all Moldavia and open with a bunch of bodies sprawled about Adam's parlor, I think they'd be okay. Firstly, I would want them to acknowledge the passage of time anyway, which they could convey very well with just audio of shots and screams in somebody's memory. The show could even open with J.R. in an asylum or something. Wow, so funny to even be talking about the, er, prospects again. Then of course it raises all these questions like, would J.R. even be on the canvas any longer, would JY leave B&B to come back (doubt it), would they kill off or recast J.R. (Mark Lawson still gets my vote), et cetera?

ITA, if only one person were shot and they open the show up months later, I'd be perfectly fine with it. My vote is for Randi to have been shot in the head, kept alive on life support long enough for the baby to be born via C-section and then taken off life support, leaving Frankie as a single father. I'd pick up the show on the day JR was released from Oak Haven with the focus on the other characters' reactions to his return.

Guess I'll be spending my Saturday night watching those Xmas episodes. Thanks for sharing, Steve.

You're welcome!

Well sh*t, he ended up marrying her! I always though it was far fetched that he would fall for Janet. I hated it.

I hated it too! Trevor forgiving Janet was one thing, but marrying her was just stupid.

I found two Christmas episodes on YouTube that I hadn't seen since they first aired:

1986

1987

I'm glad that RC has had such longevity playing Skye on three soaps, but damn, just make her Adam's daughter again. They reversed it with Iris and Mac in one freaking line of dialogue when Carmen Duncan joined AW, they can do it with Skye too.

ITA. What was the point of having Rae cross over to all 3 shows if Skye's paternity wasn't going to be revealed? They might as well just say it was really Adam (or Stuart) after all.

That would officially make me think Rae had a turnstile in her bedroom.

Well given that she didn't know who Skye's father was, she sort of did, imo.

I don't think P&G did any daytime advertising at ABC in the 60's.They were the perennial third network and I don't think P&G thought it was an effective use of their ad dollars.

I might be wrong about this, but I thought I read somewhere that ABC was sponsored by P&G's rival Colgate-Palmolive and those two companies each exclusively advertised on the networks they chose.

I felt like David Hayward was sort of being set up to be the next generation of Adam Chandler - he was charming, he was wealthy, he was villainous, but he was capable of bringing such emotion to some of his work (like the basement scenes with Erica when the story of why he hated his mother came out or when Leora died) that you felt for him and you understood what motivated him. He was brought to the brink a few times, where you thought he might be written off for good, and yes he did leave for a while, but there was enough of interest there to keep him around.

I always enjoyed watching VI and DC on camera together, and I would have loved for them to interact more or even team up to take down someone else.

I hated the Dixie obsession, I hated that they killed off Leora. I hated that they rewrote history to make him Babe's father and had him betray Bianca like that, who he loved and adored as if she was his daughter. It almost felt like the whole David/Babe twist was set up because someone thought it would be fun to watch David and Tad on the same side to protect their kids. I get that, I do. VI and MEK had good chemistry together, but it was a crap storyline.

The problem though with AMC in its later years, among many other problems, is that characters like David were pushed to their worst extremes, and "good" characters - people like Tom and Brooke who were flawed but were essentially decent people who tried to do the right thing - were pushed off the show altogether. There was no balance there.

I agree with most of this, except I didn't mind Leora's death because I thought it was well done and gave David another reason to hate the Martins.

Brian Frons envisioned ALL MY CHILDREN as daytime's answer to "Sex and the City;" and really, if he had bothered to watch the damn show, or talk to people who did, he'd have known AMC wasn't that kind of show at all.

I don't think Frons knew anything about AMC or Sex & the City, other than that the HBO show was popular with younger women. The Fusion girls talking about their sex lives was nothing like Carrie & her friends.

I never thought of Erica and Adam as a romantic love - more like frenemies.

ITA, Erica & Adam's relationship was never romantic on her part and shouldn't have been.

Omg, It's officially been a year since All My Children went off the air, and, I'm still not over it. I miss this show SO DAMN MUCH. Even when it was bad, something about it still felt like home to me & I [~!@#$%^&*] loved it. I will never forget ALL MY CHILDREN *crying*

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KxrxH_WwLrs&feature=related

AMC was the only soap that always felt like home to me, too. So I know exactly what you mean.

I still have a gut feeling that we will have a TV special or something. It isn't pie in the sky or wishful thinking. I know something will happen sooner or later.

I'm not expecting anything on TV, but I think eventually either ABC or another company similar to Soap Classics will put out DVDs and probably have Agnes or Lorraine explain their original ending and include anything they taped for the finale that didn't air.

Not sure if anyone else follows Television without Pity, but their staff picked AMC as the Most Painful Series Cancellation in the Tubey awards: http://www.televisionwithoutpity.com/show/tubey-awards/tubey-awards-2012-scripted-tv.php

I'm pleasantly surprised to see how much this thread keeps growing. Thank you, AdelaideCate, for all the great photos! Also thanks, Pine Charles, for the articles!

I hope someday we get DVDs of AMC from the 1970s and 1980s, when the show truly was like a Mercedes Benz.

That review is interesting. I thought AMC was seen as hitting a rough patch by mid-1985.

Yeah, surprising review from Alan Carter who I thought never really liked All My Children.

I think 1986 was considered a really bad year by most.

Maybe Alan Carter just preferred the show pre-McTavish.

I wonder how long Father Tierney was on the show. He was a part of Tom and Erica's wedding (can't remember if he officiated or if he did the homily) in '78. I'm guessing he was someone that Tom confided in.

Father Tierney was one of those recurring characters like Dr Clader, the obstetrician, who were around throughout the 1980s and I think stopped popping up in the 1990s. I suspect budget cuts at some point caused the show to drop them along with the maids like Myra and Ms. Valentine.

I really do not know much about the Chuck/Donna storyline except that Donna was a hooker and was beaten up. Anyway, I think they could have had them return to the series when Bianca opened up "Miranda Center". Donna could have she been a counselor or something?? I think it would have been interesting for her to see her interact with Randi's storyline and Madison's storyline.

I also wish Mark would have returned full time at one point. I know the show felt different when Brook left because the "Balance of Power" was no longer there but was still there a void missing before she left?? I wish they never got ride of Mark because Erica deserved to have a sibling/direct family member to confide with besides friends like Opal. Why did they get rid of his character anyway??

Donna was quite a major character. After Chuck rescued her from her pimps, Tyrone and Billy Clyde, she took over the Glamorama from Opal. She later became Natalie's best friend. Imo, it was better that she didn't come back full-time since she and Chuck had their happy ending and left Pine Valley together.

Donna would have had to be a recast then - the actress left the show in the early 90s to get married and move to Arkansas. I would have LOVED to have Mark come back full time, with or without Ellen. Especially after Mona died, I think Erica needed her brother around more often.

ICAM that Mark should've been around more often. I wish he and Ellen had come back for the ending.

It looks like Romney chooses Ryan. I can't wait for the debates!

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/mitt-romney-announce-vp-pick-saturday-032140054.html

June 1970 Afternoon TV

That's so bizarre that they hired her just to turn the page! I wonder how long she kept that job before it was taped.

I was so happy when some of the actors started trashing their storylines or talking frankly at the show's end - Darnell said he thought the dead baby/baby switch story was stupid, Thorsten Kaye said he hated the Satin Slayer storyline, Walt Willey griped about Jack/Carmen and how him complaining about that resulted in him getting fired for a while, MEK complained about poisoned pancakes and how the writers didn't know what to do with him. Even La Lucci came out and said that people went to Pratt and Frons and complained that the storylines were OOC and made no sense.

I really hoped that once the Prospect Park deal fell apart that more actors, writers, and others from AMC would give frank opinions about the show, the stories, etc., and sadly, it hasn't happened. I desperately want some good tell-all books, people!

Has it been confirmed that Agnes Nixon is writing a book? I would love for her to tell us exactly what she thought of all the headwriters!

Sort of a random question, but what ever happened to Erica's company, Enchantment?

Brian Frons. He wanted to emphasize the young women running Fusion instead.

Oh look, it's that weak version of Silver Kane. There isn't a lot of Silver on Youtube is there?

She was a much better actress than the first Noel/Silver, though! This was when Silver was trying to scare Natalie into believing there was a rapist in their building, which led to Nat shooting her with Palmer's gun.

I still wish the faux Silver/Connie had been Erica's doppleganger.

We caught up with Ben Monk (formerly Ben Jorgensen) last night in case anyone is interested. He had quite a bit to say about AMC and his storyline as Kevin.

http://www.welovesoa...05/benmonk.html

I wanted to add my thanks, Roger! He looks hotter now than he did on AMC, imo.

These are some clips leading up to Laura's death. I know the clip of her leaving the house has been around but I think this is the first time we've seen Josh's lead up. I never actually even knew they showed this part of it - I always just thought Josh was some bit player who happened to run her over.

Uh, no. As you can see by all the great clips you've posted, Josh was a recurring character for quite awhile before Laura's death. I'm not sure why it took so long for these scenes to show up on the internet, but this isn't the first time some of us have seen them because they aired on the show! Seeing these scenes again reminds me of how disappointed I was when the story of Brooke dating Josh was dropped so quickly; imo, it really had the potential to be a story of redemption and forgiveness for them both since she later killed Jim as a vigilante and Josh's running over Laura was an accident.

Thank you for posting these clips and please post anything else you can find from that era!

I'm also most interested in the earliest stuff you have.

I loved Natalie during the saga with Jeremy. I thought Kate Collins did the vapid, selfish blonde thing very well. Once Natalie was paired with Trevor, I lost interest in her. I liked Janet, especially when she was being crazy in a humorous way - but I found it hard to believe that both women were THAT into Trevor Dillon. Uncle Porkchop just didn't seem all that appealing to me.

I just didn't see anything appealing in Trevor. Sure, every soap occasionally needs an odd and quirky character, but I found it hard to believe Natalie would go from men like Adam and Alex and Jeremy to Trevor. Dimitri definitely seemed her "type" - rich, powerful, domineering, handsome. I didn't think she had great chemistry with Michael Nader though. Susan Lucci and Finola Hughes were definitely his best pairings.

It would have been interesting to see the sophisticated cool blonde Natalie (the one before Trevor got his hands on her) with someone like Jack, and given how much Erica and Natalie disliked each other, Natalie with Jack could have been fun. If they hadn't killed her off, Natalie with Caleb Cortlandt could have been intriguing as well.

ICAM! I loved Natalie & Jeremy. I know some people thought Nat lost her edge after the rape, but I think she still had fire until she was paired with Trevor. I never got their appeal as a couple.

Natalie & Jack would've been great and it seemed like they were heading in that direction after her divorce from Palmer but sadly it never happened. I can just imagine how upset Erica would've been with Jack if it had!

I read that KC gave an ultimatum: that either JK leave or she left and they choose JK because he got more fan mail, apparently. That shocked me. IA that they should've kept KC and gave JK the boot.

I know that this was a well recorded incident. I believe Kate left on maternity leave and the Producers came up with this idea. Based on the collected mail, it was decided who would stay and who would go. James and Kate were forced to work together in the next weeks in some of the most passionate Natalie/Trevor moments with the conclusion of the Carter Jones story, ending with Trevor rescuing Natalie from a fire in their home.

I do not know why people were so enamored by Kiberd and Trevor. He was getting billing as top star of AMC with much press and screentime. Then, as soon as Collins was gone and the Natalie recast fizzled, it was clear that Kiberd was not leading man material. Kiberd had contributed to his undoing as Trevor would not have a successful romance or popular front burner storyline. His hubris had been his own undoing with AMC as he would not have as popular a screen partner, man or woman, since Collins.

I wonder if the animosity was ongoing as Kiberd and Collins never shared 1-on-1 scenes in any of Collin's returns as Natalie.

Unlike Kiberd, Natalie had multiple popular pairings and floated through the canvas seamlessly. She started out as the spoiler in the Jeremy/Erica romance, then phased through the Cortlandt, Marick, and Chandler family storylines. To me, Collin's equity to the show was clear.

I knew KC didn't get along with JK but I didn't realize she gave TPTB an ultimatum. Too bad they chose to get rid of her instead of him.

Palmer... maybe. There was a relationship there. I think she realized that it was not love after the marriage. She cared for him after he was shot by Adam's thugs, and they had built a sincere rapport. Let's remember, Palmer was quiet the charmer when wanted to be. That was how he married so many women half his age.

Yeah, Natalie did love Palmer but I don't think she was really in love with him, which is why she found herself drawn to his son, Ross.

You know what I think hurt Kate Collins on AMC more than anything? Candice Earley's departure. As captivating as KC's beauty was, there also was the sense that she was ... frigid ... emotionally. Natalie's friendship with Donna, though, seemed to warm the character and make her more accessible. Once THAT was gone, well.....

I loved Natalie & Donna's friendship and how it evolved from Nat barely tolerating her to Donna becoming the only person she could open up to.

I want to say that Erica was the one who found the letter and told Ryan the truth. I thought it was lame. I didn't like Chris, but I did like the idea of Ryan being his son, even though Erica + Chris and Kendall + Ryan was sort of a repeat of Erica + Dimitri and Kendall + Anton.

Thanks! I hated that they undid the Chris Stamp stuff for her Lavery story which was unnecesary. Ryan was still blood related to Jonathan via their mother and felt responsible for his mental issues after abandoning him. They could have written all of the anger adn guilt he felt w/o undoing the Stamp story. I guess she did it to make Spermgate more viable but that in and of itself was stupid.

I thought the whole story of Chris being Ryan's father was stupid and pointless in the first place. I don't understand why people always need to be related. Nothing of interest came out of those two non-actors yelling at each other.

I also liked the idea of Ryan being Chris Stamp's son. Yes, it was a redo of Anton/Kendall/Dimitri/Erica, but that mixture of parents and kids fighting works for me on soaps! McTavish's decision to bring on Ryan's younger siblings, whom I don't recall every being mentioned when Ryan & Braden were initially discussing their past, was one of the worst ideas in AMC history, imo.

And thanks for the Erica pics, Cheap! I love the last 2 especially.

I can't speak for Khan, but for me, Natalie in the well was the beginning of the end for Natalie. Trevor had no idea that Janet wasn't Natalie, to the point that he fathered a child with Janet. Natalie then got into a blah relationship with Dimitri, Janet murdered Will, and then Natalie had to deliver Janet's baby. And we were all supposed to just go along with the idea that sure, Natalie would get back together with Trevor and live happily ever after raising the child conceived as a result of all of this.

I liked the b*tchy, scheming, selfish Natalie who fought with Erica over Jeremy. I felt like her character was so watered down to be with Trevor in the first place, so the whole Janet storyline just really ruined Natalie for me as a character by making her seem so weak, and it made me hate Trevor even more. I never really liked him, but that just sealed the deal for me.

Yes, I think you could say that, as that is where her victimization began. Though I still enjoyed Natalie up until the Trevor period, which she became even more transparent to justapost the 'crazy' Janet.

Depriest did have some weird OTT plots during her brief stint, I was just assuming Khan was talking about the shift from Nixon to McTavish, as thats when AMC lost its 80s vibe.

To me, although I haven't really seen anywhere enough to say, the show lost that vibe when they dumped Broderick after 1988. The 1989 episodes I've seen (again, few and far between) are, in some ways, quite shocking and alien.

I think McTavish had a lot of ridiculous stuff and too much shock value, too much short term (like Will raping Gloria, Will being murdered), but I think it still manages to have something of a sense of AMC.

With all the love for the Natalie in the Well story on this board, I thought I was the only one who felt that way! I loved Natalie when she was fighting Erica for Jeremy and when she was involved with Palmer & Ross but I hated how weak she was in the Janet storyline.

In 1989, AMC went through a change in focus, but imo it still felt like AMC. The big difference for me in 1989 AMC and what came later with McTavish was how dumbed down all the characters got under McT. The worst example for me was Brooke who was smart enough in 1989 to dump Adam and use the money she got from him to open a women's shelter, but with McT head writing years later, Brooke was too stupid to call either Tad or Trevor when she went to confront Jim Thomason.

I remember watching when Harold first kidnapped Brooke. I was in college in the Student lounge and when Harold started playing "Every Breath You Take" we were all "Oooohh"

<iframe width="480" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/yuYhN7aucOU" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Harold was sooo creepy!

Glad you watched! I'll get the third (and sadly last I have) Masquerade ep tomorrow or Wednesday and the May 1980 ep a bit after.

Oh yes! god this is a tantalizing brief, good quality clip... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rejHXWbLiZc

Thanks for posting that! It's weird to see the show in color back then because so few color clips still exist.

I MISS THESE DAMN PEOPLE!

Me, too!!!!

Ughm the whole Devon/Wally/Betsy truiangle was annoying lol. Devon had an affair with Sean Cudahy I think.

Devon was also engaged to Cliff Warner at one time.

I did like Dan Kennicott, the actor was very handsome imo.

Random memories here.....

Donna and Tom were enaged at one time.

Wasnt Jeremy invovled with Sky? And I think they briefly flirted with Sky/Travis

I had almost forgotten about Wally & Devon. I think she worked better as a lesbian.

I remember Jeremy & Skye and I think Skye met Travis while they were both at Oak Haven.

OK re your question about where Erica was (I think it was you and not SFK) I assume they did say she was on a modelling shoot in NYC (and I think she was on maternity leave--wasn't this around the same time Slezak was replaced due to her maternity leave on OLTL?). The famous Cliff/Nina wedding episode is from later 1980 (I want to say Summer--anyone know for sure?) and in it Tom and Erica have a fight because she wants to stay in New York to some fancy dinner with Brandon Kingsley.

I'm pretty sure Cliff & Nina were married around Labor Day 1980, so early September.