The Current State Of All My Children

[BadBoy93]

I want to know your thoughts on The Soaps In General.

With the decline of Soap Opera i want to know the fans thoughts on the current state of the soap.

Which Characters You Like?

Which Character You Hate?

Which Characters are unneeded or undeveloped and need to go

Recent Storylines

The Creative Department

What WOuld You Do To Fix The Show

Just personal thoughts.

Thanks.Hope people reply.

All My Children

As The World Turns

The Bold & The Beautiful

Days Of Our Lives

General Hospital

Guiding Light

One Life To Live

The Young & The Restless

[quartermainefan]

I tried to watch it again starting with the day Stuart was shot, but it took less than three episodes to see the true story: The show is still Kendell, Ryan and Zach all the time. I cannot stomach her so I cannot watch.

[Jonathan]

All My Children is very important to not only the soap world but also to pop culture. However, I don't believe that in its current state, that it is living up to its reputation.

When I heard that Charles Pratt was hired to become the show's head writer, I was extremely sceptical because I didn't think that he could write compelling daytime drama. I was wrong though, sort of. He started out with a riveting umbrella story, the tornado, which really jump started the show. Characters like Erica and Opal were reborn again and the actresses playing these roles were given some great material.

Now however, there are just too many holes in the storytelling. A few story points have been twisting in the wind like Dixie's cold case, Greenlee's death, etc. What exactly was the point of bringing Alexander Cambius back just to announce that he did not kill Dixie? Why did we have a random scene of an envelope being switched at the hospital containing Greenlee's DNA? And who was nurse Gayle secretly tending to, was it Greenlee?

Moreover, the mortality rate in Pine Valley is higher than the world average. Babe, Josh, Greenlee, Stuart, North, etc. Death on this show used to be rare and when it was done, it was written with angst and sorrow. Now when someone dies, there's maybe two tears, a handkerchief, and poof, it's time to plan Bianca's wedding shower.

These are just some of the things that are wrong with Pratt's writing. While I place partial blame on Pratt, really the reason why this show is in such disarray is because of TIIC who don't let creative people do what they're supposed to be good at doing.

[CSF]

It's said, it really is. What made All My Children such an icon of American television were it's stories of love, passion, great friendships and strong bonds. It was a show that educated viewers about serious, socially relevant topics, and addressed those from both sides of the spectrum. All My Children was a show where we saw good people, the character's we've grown to love, do wrong things for the right reasons. It was a show about humanity, the promotion of friendship, and about people, just like us. That's what All My Children was. If TIIC could find writer's who could bring this show back to it's roots, it would blow every other soap out of the water (and we know all soaps are floating at the top of the fish tank). What's really significant about All My Children was that it was always real. Agnes Nixon chose to write a socially relevant soap, a soap that may help to close the gaps of inequality, to help the average viewer grasp a stronger concept on things such as acceptance and it's importance among society. Social issues never get old. There isn't anything this show can't tackle gracefully, and I hope one day, it will be back on track, where it once was, a staple of not just daytime television, but television in general.

[DRW50]

The show has lost all heart, all sense of family, most of its humor, most of its eccentricity. The show is dominated by thugs who only need mob ties to make them at home on GH. The show is dominated by paper-thin characterizations motivated only by whatever whim Pratt feels at the moment. It's a horribly schizophrenic show. Zach has a baby with Bianca, Zach loves Reese, then it's as if Reese and the baby never existed. Josh is killed and forgotten. Stuart is killed and is almost forgotten. Liza returns in name only and is given center stage because Pratt worked with an actress 10 years ago and wanted to give her a job. Annie has so many personalities I lost track long ago.

If you ask a fan what they remember about the past 3-4 years of AMC they would probably say, "Dead people and dead or believed to be dead children."

[cara mia]

AMC is the rare show that when it's good, I love all the characters. I like seeing the families represented: Chandlers, Kanes, Martins, Hubbards, etc. I miss classic characters like Brooke. I want to see the return of Bianca, Jamie, Reggie, Lily and other core characters.

I don't hate AMC characters. The only time I hated characters was during the Babe baby-stealing era. I hated Babe forever, so I was glad she was killed off. I forgave David, Krystal and Jamie a long time ago, so I don't hate them.

I don't hate Ryan but I find him a bit overexposed. Now that Annie's POV is being given equal weight to Ryan's, I find him much more tolerable.

Zach's super appeal mystifies me. I think he's fine, just not as amazing as Tad, Adam or Angie. He could do with a touch less airtime.

The only character that kind of sticks out as not needed is Taylor. Everyone else fits in well on canvas, even newbies like Brot and Madison.

Killing of Stuart was a terrible idea. I hate AMC making Jesse into a dirty cop, yet again.

Pratt needs to go. I would even take back McTavish. I am a fan of Richard Culliton, so he's welcome.

The single best way to get fans excited again is to bring back Bianca. With Reese. Bring on another lesbian female, a bad girl, who tries to steal Binky from Reese.

[LeClerc]

IMO there are several indicators that ABC is not invested in AMC anymore, which leads me to believe that its time is almost up. It's not a matter of whether it will be around 2 years from now or not, but whether it will be allowed to reach its 40th anniversary.

Why haven't they replaced Brianne Moncrief or Denise Vasi with actual actresses (or gotten rid of Randi altogether). Randi has been a flop, the Frandi pairing has dragged Cornelius Smith (who could have been a great lead male) down, and yet they just continue along with it as if there's no point in trying to do anything else. Colby Chandler should be a central character and she could be if they cast a dynamic young actress in the role. But they don't bother; they don't see any point in doing so. Why?

Why no teen scene this summer? Why didn't they have Pete in a fun summer story to potentially get the attention of some younger viewers? I think that Petey and a good little actress playing Colby could have been the first successful teen summer story this show has had in a long long time. But what do they do? They marginalize Daniel Kennedy's role on the show, and it's only a matter of time before the recurring actor pulls a Billy Miller and accepts a juicy role on another soap IMO. OLTL has a strong teen set and it's clear that GH was mandated to install one, but not AMC. It seems very unlike Frons to allow that, unless AMC's fate has pretty much been decided, in which case there's really no point in developing a teen set.

Then there's the obvious fact that Pratt is not required to craft and submit story plans for AMC. He makes everything up on a month-by-month, week-by-week or even day-by-day basis (which, ironically, he criticized soap writers for doing in one of his early interviews. Classic projection). The whole Zach/Resse/Binks/Gabrielle thing was one of the biggest messes I've ever seen. It was a different story every day depending on who the scriptwriter was. What exactly was the point of bringing on Babe's twin? She gets along great with Krystal, David and JR. Where exactly is the story? What the heck was the point of the Hubbard/Rebecca/Natalia non-story? To introduce the oh-so-pivotal Natalia? I've never seen a headwriter so uninterested in his own character creations as Pratt is (remember when he basically said that Taylor was boring!?). With OLTL and (although to a lesser extent) GH I can see that the writers at the very least have a general idea of where they are going in several months. I don't see that at all with AMC. And if ABC's attitude in regards to AMC is "Whatever. We don't care, just make it up as you go", that's a really bad sign. IIRC Guiding Light was no longer required to draft and submit story plans.

[CSF]

If that's the case, than that's very said. It was ABC daytime that put ABC on the map, but more importantly, it was All My Children that wrestled that Daytime crown away from CBS.

[Faulkner]

I stopped watching AMC a couple months ago, but I was a viewer on-and-off since around 1989. My mother and sisters got me started on Y&R, AMC, ATWT, and GL, and when ATWT and GL got bad after Marland's death and Nancy Curlee's departure, Y&R and AMC were my two core shows- and they couldn't have been more different. Although I was pulled in by Bill Bell's slow, psychological style on Y&R, I was intrigued by the possibilities of the social vision of AMC. I wished I had seen it in the '70s and early '80s.

I always wanted to be a soap writer, and I knew I could never write like Bill Bell. His style was too idiosyncratic, and I understand how even his protegees struggle to write like him. But AMC was a show I could imagine crafting. It was smart, witty, bold, and a little out-there. As my "dream" show, I watched always considering what I would do differently, and I held AMC to a much higher standard than I did the other shows. Viewing AMC has caused me much frustration over the years, but finally, it became too much for me to bear.

Erica, of course. I find the dichotomy between the high glamour of Erica and the working-class hamlet of Pine Valley to be interesting.

I adore Angie and Jesse. Brooke had been written poorly over the years, but I saw the potential in her. Krystal has become a great tortured heroine, and Annie has been a lot of fun.

Zach I dislike intensely, and I don't think whiny, self-destructive Alpha males are compelling soap opera characters. AM's Kendall is a major shrew, but the writing has done her no favors. I can't say I missed David Heyward when he was gone. I liked the David/Angie rivalry before it became cartoonish and made Angie look like a fool. David simply needs a more formidable rival. He's just so much "smarter" than the rest of the canvas.

Tad needs some major writing changes if he is ever to become a viable character again.

J.R. needs a re-think. Frankie needs someone - maybe a black male friend - to put him in his place. He's too childish, and there needs to be a counterpoint to him. Jake? Amanda? Taylor? Colby? LunerLiza? Marissa? Scott? Randi? Natalia? Eh. Some of the actors who play this characters are good, but the writing for these people has been so generic that I can't bother to get worked up about any of them.

Honestly, the stories have been so shrug-worthy that I can't find the energy in me to list them. DEATH AND BABIES. DEATH AND BABIES. The show is lazy.

Maybe Kendall's absence at the time helped, but Pratt started the show with such promise. He almost seemed un-Pratt. Was he ACTUALLY recognizing Erica - not Zach, not Kendall, not Ryan - as the star of the show? Were Angie and Jesse ACTUALLY getting a great story? Were we ACTUALLY getting a lesbian story with hot sex and drama that didn't feel contrived?

Seemed too good to be true, and it was.

Hmmm, in a perfect world in which soaps weren't as effed as they currently are...I'd be aiming for a tone similar to David E. Kelley's Picket Fences...quirky, sexy, folksy, a little ballsy. With a dab of Coronation Street.

But who are we kidding? Daytime soaps as we once knew them are dead, and they aren't coming back. If I had hope for this show, I'd still be watching it.

[All My Shadows]

AMC is fast becoming what I call a "dead soap." A dead soap is basically a soap that has absolutely no energy when you watch it. There seems to be a shortage of characters (even when there isn't). Generations are wonky. There's no sense of unity at all. The storylines are consistently dreary and depressing. There's only two or three storylines that are dominating the show, and absolutely nothing else. There are many characters who really have no ties to enough of the other characters. People just don't care about it anymore. GL was pretty much a dead soap up until they decided to cancel it. It's come alive a little bit over the last few months, but that won't stop it from leaving in two months. I'm afraid AMC is gonna end up the same way. It's sad because as much as ATWT has sucked the last few years, I've never gotten a dead soap feeling from it, but AMC has been giving me that.

[CSF]

I felt like Guiding Light became a dead soap in 2003 with Conboy/Weston ripping it apart. However, that show was given a chance to turn around and Wheeler failed. Hopefully, those at ABC will realize that with Pratt and replace him and JHC with people who care and are competent enough to breathe life back into it.

[detroitpiston]

Great post, ICAM.

While I occasionally find myself enjoying some of the episodes, overall, I just don't care anymore(felt the same way about the last season of Melrose Place, which Pratt was the co-show runner of). The stories start off interesting, but get boring fast, and tend to drag on forever. Doesn't help that only a handful of actors seem to be putting any real effort into their performances.

[sudz4u]

There's a writer who was at "All My Children" for ten years or so who seemed to really understand what made "AMC" so special, Frederick Johnson. Why not bring him back?

[CSF]

I think he writes on OLTL, doesn't he?

Why not bring back Wisner Washam who was the protege of Agnes Nixon. Wisner was to Nixon what Kay Alden was to Bill Bell.

[R Sinclair]

All My Children started going to hell in a handbasket during the horrid run of 'the writer' in 1997-1999, and it's been on a fast tracking journey ever since.