AMC: Jake's return is Goldin opportunity

[NYC123]

THanks Jonatha at [sITE NAME NOT ALLOWED]

Jake's return is Goldin opportunity

Jake Martin resurfaces on "All My Children" next week as a wounded hostage in Darfur, Sudan, now played by soap vet Ricky Paull Goldin (ex-Gus, "Guiding Light," ex-Dean, "Another World").

"Jake is found on a dirt floor, a hostage of rebel fighters," says Goldin of his new character, who went to Africa in 2003 as a volunteer for Doctors Without Borders (when he was played by J. Eddie Peck).

"They find out this Dr. Martin guy is funded by the high-profile Cambias Corporation, which has very deep pockets. Since they need money, they figure, 'Let's kidnap him and demand a ransom of $5 million.'"

Word gets back to Cambias honcho Zach Slater, who dispatches new head of security Aidan Devane to Africa to rescue Jake.

"The thing that's cool about Jake is, he's been in this war-torn country, so he's used to this stuff," says Goldin. "He's the type of guy who could be operating on somebody and have a bomb go off 100 feet away. He might flinch, but he'll keep working."

Indeed, Jake is ordered to operate on a rebel leader while being held captive. The rebels say that if the man doesn't pull through, Jake will be executed. "No pressure!" cracks Goldin. "They force him to operate on their leader with guns to his head. He's a good doctor. He's got a bit of a 'House' quality to him."

Needless to say, since Goldin has a long-term contract, Jake will make it out of Africa during May sweeps. "He gets to Pine Valley but is in the hospital," says Goldin. "He's got a deep, dark, secret. You're seeing somebody come back from a war. He's seen atrocities, and they're going to haunt him - and I have no plans to do that in the typical soap opera way."

Look for scenes with Jake's brother Tad, father Joe, rescuer Aidan and "Greenlee [Rebecca Budig], for the first time, after all this time. I'm just lying in a hospital bed as, one by one, they come in."

Goldin is circumspect about his recent exit from "Guiding Light," where he reportedly differed with bosses on the show's new direction, which involved location shoots, hand-held cameras and quick, MTV-like scenes.

"It's tricky for me to compare 'All My Children' to 'Guiding Light' without getting into details about 'Guiding Light' and what path they're on," says Goldin. "But there's a beautiful sense of professionalism over here [at "AMC"].

"The production quality is really high. They want to make every scene beautiful. Besides their Steadicams and their lighting, the sets are pretty extravagant. It feels like a fantasy."

As for the rumor that former co-star and best pal Beth Ehlers (Harley, "Guiding Light") is going to follow him to "AMC," Goldin will say only, "Beth is going to have no shortage of places she can go. Sometimes you've got to take a couple of punches before you wake up."

Comings and goings: Natalia Livingston's last appearance as ghost Emily on "General Hospital" is May 7. ... Forbes March exits the role of Nash on "One Life to Live" in May. ... Ambyr Childers is out as "All My Children's" Colby. She'll be replaced by Brianne Moncrief, whose first air date is May 7. ... William deVry departs the role of Storm on "The Bold and the Beautiful" next week.

Don't touch that dial: Todd finds out his teenage daughter has run away with Cole next week on "One Life to Live" (ABC, 2 p.m.). Oh, that's not going to go over well at all.

[LeClerc]

If B&E want to have an alcohol stash in the writer's room that's their business. But they should be responsible and lock it up.

[Dani]

Jake's story sounds great! RPG is going to ROCK this role. I'm counting down the days and looking forward to his first scenes with Tad, Joe and Greenlee!!

[jcar03]

That kinda seems like a slam at GL doesn't it in term of production quality.

[NYC123]

Anything compared to GL is better. Thats not saying alot.

[MarkH]

Well, Roger Newcomb's recent interview confirmed something I had been perceiving: GL is going for the "Friday Night Lights" vibe.

FNL seems fine...production values are acceptable, and the show is enjoyable.

So, why does it work for FNL and not GL. What does GL need to do to bring itself up to the FNL standard? (Besides writing...I'm only talking about production values now). Is it lighting? Is it sound? Is it skill with the cameras? Is it that FNL uses digital video, but in HD?

I seriously would like to know. I hope this not too off-thread.

[DevotedToAMC]

I am looking forward to Jake coming back and hope they do an Aidan/Greenlee/Jake triangle

[Darn]

It's like the difference between newborn baby s.h.i.t. and adult s.h.i.t., one might smell slightly better than the other but at the end of the day they're both still s.h.i.t..

[DevotedToAMC]

LOL exactly Darn...AMC's production values haven't really been good since 2002 I would say

[dragonflies]

ANYTHING is good in comparison to GL. GL gives me a headache from the shaky cam

[DevotedToAMC]

AMC had that shaky cam for some time. Thankfully they got rid of it

[Drew]

Using Darfur as a backdrop for this is in such poor taste.

[Adam]

They still whip it out from time to time I have noticed..... which still bugs me.

[Adam]

Depends on how it is executed. Back in the day Agnes Nixon always would take real life events and incorporate them into her stories (i.e Vietnam)....

This whole thing also leads me to suspect she is consulting in some way.

[LoyaltoAMC]

The colors on AMC are almost too bright and artificial, kind of like those computer wallpaper images of the sky or the ocean that are just too blue! I'm enjoying the Erica storyline, but if it doesn't end soon, I think I might start dreaming in orange!