If ABC cancelled All My Children, would CBS acquire it?

[Dr. Jay S.W.]

I think that maybe Agnes would cancel OLTL before merging the two, but Frons is another story. He'd cancel AMC first by far.

[Adam]

Whichever one he cancels first, the other one won't be far behind..... Year tops.

[MarkH]

Bingo.

I'm thinking, when ABC decides to shrink the daypart, they will cancel both shows. GH will remain the Oprah leadin for just a while longer after that.

That said, WHILE I DO NOT BELIEVE the shows (AMC/OLTL) would be merged, I do believe that they might keep one, and move a few key characters over from the other.

E.g., if AMC were cancelled, maybe Ryan and Aiden and Jake would go over to OLTL for a few months...like ATWT with AW's Jake...to try to bring over some audience.

[SFK]

Now that I would bank on, but sadly it probably wouldn't be any of the characters I care about like Viki, Dorian, Bo, et cetera, the "seniors". But one never knows. Look at Linda Dano. Which brings me to another point, we don't want some sad AW/ATWT fiasco. They'd have to be very careful, if one of the shows was cancelled it'd be hard enough already, we don't need any salvaged characters being ruined on their transplant soap.

Although it can be fun to hypothesize, this kinda talk makes me feel a little *icky*, like getting all excited about planning your own funeral.

[EricMontreal22]

Umm Agnes isn't cancelling anything...

[DaytimeFan]

Bang on. When ABC decides to axe either AMC or OLTL they'll both die at the hands of the same sword. 2 soaps just doesn't work, it didn't work on NBC and it won't work at ABC either.

I also agree that some of the more popular characters from AMC or OLTL would migrate over to GH somehow, just as ATWT imported Donna, Jake and Vicky to carry over the audience from AW. Whether or not that works is debatable. Especially at ABC which is the fan base network from hell. Who would go to GH? All of Frons' pets would simply overcrowd the clusterf*ck of a cast that exists at GH. And I'm almost certain that Vicki, Dorian, Adam and Erica would not be a part of the action. Once AMC or OLTL ends none of those vets will ever land another soap, which is OK, they're all rich.

It's interesting that none of those AW characters lasted longer than a 3 year contract on ATWT and really, the soap hopping only happened because Tom Eplin had it written into his contract that if AW was canceled P&G had to pay him out, so they brought him over to ATWT to put him to work.

Anna Stuart wasn't even on contract, she was recurring as Donna and jumped ship to AMC the second she got an offer to play Mary Smythe which was a FABULOUS role.

One final note: GH working as The Oprah Winfrey Show lead in won't be lasting for much longer, Ms Winfrey will be leaving syndication at the end of her contract (which is in 2011 after 25 years on the air) and move her show, in a retooled format I believe, to OWN (Oprah Winfrey Network). 2011 is going to be a VERY interesting year for daytime.

[Khan]

More than likely, Frons would cancel AMC and OLTL simultaneously, then have Michael Easton, Thorsten Kaye, Cameron Mathison and Alicia Minshew join GH. Zach Slater would takeover ELQ, eliminating the remaining few Quartermaines (namely, Edward, Tracy, Monica and GhostAlan); Kendall would come with the kids, but end up in a quadrangle w/ Sonny, Zach and Alexis; John McBain would supplant Mac Scorpio at the Port Charles PD; and Ryan Lavery would be a new love interest for Maxie, Lulu, Sam and Carly (while not wearing a thong).

ETA: Oh, and Susan Haskell's Marty would show up, too, as Jason's new love interest, b/c, brain-damaged birds of a feather do flock together.

[Jonathan]

Can we please close this thread? So much doom and gloom.

[EricMontreal22]

"Anna Stuart wasn't even on contract, she was recurring as Donna and jumped ship to AMC the second she got an offer to play Mary Smythe which was a FABULOUS role. "

I wish we'd get her back--a surprise at Greenlee's wedding?

[SFK]

It's a shame that we haven't seen her even once since Greenlee came back. You know, RB looks nothing like AS, I guess Greenlee favoured Roger. AS and Wendy Moniz would make for a good mother/daughter pairing. **And I just realized that they would have on GL had the timing been right.

I can't think of any cast member under 50 that I'd follow to GH beyond the first week of curiosity, but that's just me. I know these younger stars have large fan bases. I also find the Port Charles crossovers contrived, the Llanview/Pine Valley ones seem natural to me.

But really, soaps just aren't big enough to take on other shows' big stars. Zach AND Sonny (AND Ryan)... Kendall AND Carly, et al. We'd need 90 min., and we all know how that turned out. Maybe the network could adopt some serialized/parallel universe format where characters from different shows wouldn't have to interact but the stories of their lives would relate on a deeper level. Am I thinking of Carolyn Hinsey's "Love Actually" example? It really wouldn't be too different from how soaps work now, just that these characters might never know one another or meet up unless there was something big the writers wanted to unite them for. I think my brain is leading to how Texas started. Maybe that could work if reexamined by the right minds (p'shah).

I think Skye is the finest example of a crossover character, she seems more like a OLTL kinda girl to begin with. She worked and looked great with the Q's. But Skye came alone, it's not like a rack of characters invaded another show.

If AMC is ever cancelled, I have a feeling that Cameron Mathison would try his hand at hosting again before another soap gig.

[All My Shadows]

I don't see Lucci going to another soap either. Once AMC is done, she'll just sit back and be fabulous for the rest of her life.

[CassieFan]

And don't forget.. Rebeca Budig as new character who eventually turns up to be Greenlee

[SFK]

She, David, and Erika will retire, Robin Strasser will move to Paris then change her mind and go to Hollywood to work as a character actress in sitcoms, then move back to New York, then Paris again...

If soaps are scrapped, I think the networks owe us some form of daytime drama. Like soapy miniseries, short -arc novellas, Kraft/Studio One/Playhouse 90-type teleplays, SOMETHING, often starring our favorite daytime stars from the past. Does anyone remember those little taped teleplays that used to air on Sunday mornings, or randomly during the week?

[DeeeDee]

Erica Vs. Dorian must happen!