AMC: RPG "Goodbye Springfield, Hello Pine Valley!"

[NYC123]

Sunday, March 9, 2008

Goodbye Springfield, Hello Pine Valley!

Hello my faithful friends and extended family,

This is a time of great change, it feels like everything is changing, but only for the better. Last Thursday was my final episode of Guiding Light, my final scene as Gus, saying goodbye to Harley forever. Lunchtime at CBS felt like the last supper. All of our crew, production staff, cast, and security all gathered together in the rehearsal hall to break bread and say goodbye. It is hard to believe that I won’t be walking back into the Guiding Light studio or my old dressing room again, but life goes on….

I was and have been a fan of ABC Daytime Television for a very long time, they really seem to do an amazing job, and I’m thrilled at the opportunity to become a part of the ABC family. I’ve actually been watching all of their shows. This will be the first time that I will be re-creating a character as opposed to creating him from scratch, but I’m excited by that challenge. I have never seen any of Jake's previous portrayers and he hasn’t been on the canvas for over half a decade, so in actuality, the only thing that I will be working with that I’m not used to…is his onscreen history created by others before me. It’ll be my job to erase all those memories and "de"construct him in my own image. If that was hard to follow, what I’m saying is…he won’t be like any Jake Martin you’ve known before.

But I can’t and I don’t want to do it without YOU. I don’t want to go to Pine Valley by myself. I want to take you all with me. It’ll be like a road trip, it’ll be like us all jumping on a bus together or a ship, I just want us all to take the journey together. So I’m going to ask that you search within yourself, and start watching ‘All My Children’, so you can learn the history. Personally I think it’s a great show. There is an actor on there named Michael E. Knight who plays Tad Martin, my brother. It’s obvious that he is quick, witty, and makes the dialogue his own. I get the feeling that he does a lot of improvising, and I love that about him. I have a good feeling about working with him. There is another actor on that show named Billy Miller, who plays Richie, probably my favorite character to watch, he’s very inventive. Thorsten Kaye plays Zach Slater, who seems to be the rock of the show, and I’m looking forward to getting into the perverbial ring with him. Cameron Mathison who plays Ryan is probably the nicest, most genuine guy I’ve ever met and that comes through in his character.

When it comes to the women of ‘All My Children,' they are all quite beautiful and charming to watch. Alicia Minshew plays Kendall, the daughter of Susan Lucci, and has all the beauty and grace of a Jane Eyre heroine. Rebecca Budig who plays Greenlee is sassy, feisty, and has the sexiest bedroom eyes on television. She called me the night I accepted the offer to congratulate me and it was at that moment, that I realized that I was really moving over to ABC. I would be proud to work with either one if these talented ladies.

So I consider myself lucky to step onto their set. If you take this journey with me from the beginning, I’ll be able to share all of my experiences with each and every one of you. Everything from ‘All My Children’s’ rehearsal process to their extravagant sets, from their high production values to their Super Soap weekend at Disney, who knows, maybe eventually I’ll be able to take you on a studio tour. Now I know that for those of you who don’t watch ‘All My Children,' to ask you to start watching is probably asking a lot, but look at it this way, now you have somebody who is working on the inside and can fill you in on any and all of your questions. This is going to be the first installment of my weekly blog, I will log in every Sunday to do another, so check back every week!

I start filming on or about the week of March 31st, which means I will be airing towards the end of April. So start watching as soon as possible, tape it, DVR it, TiVo it, whatever you have to do. I know you won’t be disappointed. Weekdays 1pm ET/12pm PT or check your local listings!

ABC does not have an email system for its actors, so I need you to write to me via snail mail at:

Ricky Paull Goldin

c/o ABC TV

77 West 66th St.

New York, NY 10023

Tell me all your thoughts and ideas and I will respond as fast as I can. You will be added to my mailing list. Who would you like me to get into a relationship with first and how would you like to see it happen? For viewers that already know this show, I’d love to hear everything you have to say about Jake Martin, what you loved, hated, missed about him, and what you wished would have happened with him. It’s going to be fun bringing him back to life for you. So that’s it for now, I look forward to all of your input, I’ll see you in Pine Valley.

Love, Ricky

http://rickypaullgoldin.blogspot.com/

[skiman12082004]

I am really excited for him and I hope he is a major success on AMC. Good luck Ricky!

[LeClerc]

I bet Carruthers is absolutely giddy over his praise of AMC's production values lol. Just remember where he's coming from Julie!

[Y&RWorldTurner]

LMFAO! I know! After GL, AMC has the WORST production values on daytime. Aw, but he came from the worst and is now heading to the second worst, so...

[stenbeck212]

I get it now. He's the element which signals a show's jumping of the shark. If GL goes the way of AW, he'll be on his way to a hat trick.

[Laurie]

Good read. Love what he wrote about Thorsten, Alicia, Michael and Billy. I'm taking a break from AMC(just watching clips here and there) but I'm definetly going to watch his 1st day

[R Sinclair]

Anyway, he's got his work cut out for him. In my opinion, Jake Martin has not been missed, especially after the lousy end of the J. Eddie Peck version (Simone catching Jake cheating on Mia with a nameless tramp in a janitor supply closet during the Fusion Grand Opening party, and then bolting town immediately afterwards, giving Mia a "Dear John" letter), and the last thing AMC needs is yet another hypocrite running around town spouting moral platitudes. Jake was notorious for that, as is his brother Tad and we also have Ryan Lavery. It's going to take more than a recast to make the Jake character likeable in my eyes -- it's going to take GOOD WRITING, which we don't have on this show under B&E.

[dragonflies]

Awww I just adore Ricky

Love what he said about TK, AM, MEK and BM

[Noel]

I wish him well. I remember I got an e-mail from Laura Wright (how she received my e-mail address in the first place I'll never figure it out) when she made the big change from leaving Guiding Light and heading to General Hospital. She said something about the viewers to not turn off THE LIGHT because fans could see her on General Hospital as fiesty Carly Corinthos on the SoapNet channel. She also listed her new address and said that her e-mail address for Guiding Light would be no longer. And then she started talking about her hair and what hair care products she uses. It's been a long time ago, but I think that's what she said if my memory serves me correctly.

I think a friend of mine wanted to play a joke on me, but he still refuses to this day that he sent Laura Wright an e-mail and that he put my e-mail address on her fan club list. But, I've played a lot of pranks on all of my friends, so one of them is guilty of this past heinous crime. And they will get theirs--- sooner or later.

[RoseVioletDaisy]

AMC production values may be the second worst in daytime but GL's are far worse, especially after the disastrous change in format that he was rumored to be livid about. AMC might be a Ford Focus instead of a BMW, but GL is the Yugo of daytime.

[Jonathan]

All My Children isn't that bad. Guiding Light, on the other hand, whoa...I'm telling you, pop in any XXX movie and you'll get the same quality. Actually, those movies would probably be a step up.

[DaytimeFan]

That's true...compared to GL, AMC is going to be a visual heaven for RPG. That being said, AMC looks AWFUL (especially Erica's 'penthouse')... let's not even go there...However, the writing still sucks, so RPG, you're still screwed.

[Jonathan]

At least the hospital set looks great! Although, I question the fact that in the waiting room, one of the windows looks directly into one of the patient's rooms, which is a privacy issue IMO.

[~bl~]

I didn't understand why AMC didn't have a curtain on that patient room, but I agree the hospital set is nice. RPG praising the production values on AMC is totally understandable. You can actually hear the actors on that show.

[DevotedToAMC]

Ricky seems excited to be on AMC...too bad none of us are excited to watch