How would you save ALL MY CHILDREN?

[BingCherry]

I would give Erica a viable age-appropriate love interest that isn't a wet towel like Caleb or Jack, who as much of "soulmates" as they are have about an 18-month expiration date as a couple. Give her someone who she can spark with, someone who gives as good as he gets and can handle all of Erica's issues.

I'd bring Cady McClain back, but not as Dixie or a Dixie lookalike. As a matter of fact, I would put her as far away from the Martinsphere as humanly possible. I'd make her a lawyer or a prosecutor, a foil for Liza. Something that would give Jamie Luner something to do other than ogle/sleep with guys half her age.

Tell Darnell Williams to tone it the hell down!

Keep Cara and get rid of Griffin and the rest.

Bring back Trey and pair him up with Cara. Say that the two of them have a bit of a history.

I know these ideas seem a bit far-fetched, but they're my ideas.

[DRW50]

What about Mike Roy?

[AllMyDaysatGH]

LOL. Yeah I see what you're saying. There are moments/periods of time sometimes though where they do actually work. People hated these things, but i LOVED Fusion Green, Bella, Charm, etc....i like when they do things like photo shoots and ad campaigns. The nude photoshoot with Natalia last year, most recently the new line Madison has thought up for pregnant women (an idea that I actually despise, but love that the show is putting effort into). I just like when soaps put effort into things like this and AMC does it the most and i'd hate if they stopped....that's why I'll never stop defending Fusion!! LOL

Trey needs to be back in PV! He is lurking out there somewhere, he is no doubt out of jail by now. I would love if they brought him back....though I love Tad/Cara, Trey/Cara isn't a bad idea either. AMC could also explore Trey's biological connections to both Kendall & David.

[Kylie]

It's to bad they had David play a part in the babyswap, and ruin any chance of them ever reuniting; because he and Erica could BRING it together. Last year, they had La Kane all puckered up and ready/willing to let him kiss her, so they could still go there...it's just no more viable than her and Jack or her and Caleb.

He'd be my next choice. Didn't he just leave go do more spy stuff? I can remember them making out in Adam's cabin, and Jack catching them...but I'm a bit rusty after that. He'd totally make jaws drop if he came back.

There's always Dimitri. Personally, after the last go round I see him as being as toxic for her as Jack is, BUT if they went back to the first two weddings Dimirti and Erica...it could work.

I really do think she needs to be out of Jack's orbit and Caleb's (unless they want to give it a real go, because it could work).

[SFK]

-If they insist upon keeping Ryan, and they do, I would give him a personality overhaul making him goofier, endearingly flawed, not some know-it-all Dudley Do Right. Ryan needs a little more Tad in his mix. He is just too obnoxious and arrogant to have as much airtime as he does.

-Similarly, make Greenlee lighter but let her humor be more situational and less snarky...

-Bouncing off of that, hire new dialogue writers who don't try to bite off of primetime with 1990s coy dialogue that seems so forced and is really off-putting for me

-Work in a lot more "just sitting and talking" scenes... these scenes are the best when it comes to revealing character in an organic way. I'm not talking about exposition, but people talking about what's going on with them in a relaxed setting where it doesn't feel like we're playing viewer catch up or taking story shortcuts. I would love to see a scene where Erica, Kendall, and Bianca are sitting around the dining room table just chatting, Erica holding one of the babies on her lap while she and her daughters talk in that way that real people do, spelling [!@#$%^&*] out so the kids don't necessarily get what they're talking about, Erica giving sound advice without it sounding so scripty... realism. More of that. I feel like the Hubbards soar at this when given the chance and I would totally give them more opportunities for this. It's a shame that they lost Shannon Kane because she was especially good at naturalism in those situations. How about a scene where Brot and Jesse just sit and talk as men, about Brot's relationship with his daughter with that organic mix of respect, awkwardness, and male bonding, just more slice of life stuff.

-Use the gift of the show's rich history more to its advantage... there are unseen characters out there who could add such warmth and depth to the show if only in brief appearances: Mark, Mary, Pat, Wilma, Marian, Enid, Greg, Barbara. All My Children has always been a family show and boasts some of the most memorable, charismatic characters in soap history. I don't think a couple dashes of nostalgia could hurt at all.

[All My Shadows]

Here are some of my story ideas. I've been thinking a lot about AMC in the last few weeks because of all the AMC-related discussion threads, so here goes some of the stuff I randomly typed up while watching. I'm no good at "from this moment in time..."-type plotting, so all of the current stuff would be tied up and out of the way (for the most part), leaving room for these developments. All I have so far is my vision for Erica and company:

Jack and Erica are together again, but not married. Erica decides to make her next business venture a new hotel, and so she gets into various situations dealing with the planning, funding, opening, and operating of the hotel. There's some sabotage drama in there as she does battle with a rival hotelier who doesn't want to compete with the Erica Kane. Jack is heavily involved in this, and it's sort of an old school "supercouple saves the world!!!!!" story, but not over-the-top or cartoonish. Mark and Ellen would return as recurring characters and work with Jack and Erica at the hotel, possibly being minority shareholders, and they'd also be involved in the mystery of the sabotage. The saboteur would end up being Trey, who's been thinking of ways to plot revenge on the Kane/Montgomery family since his release from prison.

In the midst of all this, a stubborn young man, Cory Harris, shows up in Pine Valley claiming to be Erica's cousin on Mona's side, which Erica immediately refuses to believe because, as far as she knows, no one on Mona's side is around anymore, and then there's the fact that Cory is black. Drama ensues, but Erica eventually accepts it. Cory gets a job at the hospital and meets Frankie, becoming enamored with him in no time. He schemes to get Frankie away from Randi, but his new friend Peter Cortlandt gets wind of this and urges him to stop. Cory comes to his senses and exposes himself to Frankie, who has a hard time but eventually forgives him. Cory finds comfort in Peter, who doesn't turn away when Cory leans in for a kiss. The two decide to take it slow and see where it goes.

Bianca and Marissa happens. Erica thinks its hilarious that she of all people has two gay relatives. JR is furious because he still wants Marissa and doesn't make it a secret that he doesn't his son raised around Bianca. Over time, it becomes a full-blown triangle, with Marissa's affections and AJ's custody being at the center of it all. In the end, JR gets AJ, but Bianca gets Marissa, but there's all kinds of juicy tension involved.

Fusion folds, and Kendall and Greenlee leave town together to do some mutual soul-searching in Hawaii. Ryan moves closer to Jonathan. Mark and Ellen move back to Pine Valley but appear on a recurring basis, working with Jack and Erica at the hotel.

Sean Montgomery comes back to Pine Valley and gets a job at Tempo. Fresh off of a break-up, he runs into Colby and wonders out loud if they could give it another go. Colby's with Asher, but Sean's persistent, especially as he and Asher clash immediately upon meeting each other. The two busy themselves outdoing each other in attempts to win Colby's love, but all they're successful at is turning her off from both of them. The triangle comes to a climax when Colby accompanies Sean on a work-related trip. The two are kidnapped, and it's up to Asher to rescue them. In the process of saving both their lives, however, he gets shot and goes into a coma. Sean has a new respect for Asher, but he's not about to pass up this opportunity, and Colby's feelings are very vulnerable. She discovers she's pregnant just as Asher wakes up, and the next phase of this triangle begins, with a classic WTD story. This becomes even more of a mess (not only for Sean/Colby/Asher but also for Jack/Erica) when Barbara comes back and enters into a marriage of convenience with Caleb (convenient becomes she likes money and he likes tang).

I'm still not sure what I'd do with the Chandlers, Martins, and Hubbards, or how I'd revive the Cortlandts. The only thing I'm sure about there is that Skye would return to Pine Valley on Adam's request and regularly piss in JR and Scott's Cheerios.

[SFK]

I feel like Jack won the Erica Kane lottery and has lasted perhaps longer than he should have. At least as a character so firmly caught in Erica's orbit. As my mom used to say, "See, I like Jack with Brooke." I also prefer Dimitri to Jack for Erica. Caleb is fine, he just needs more spark, his energy is too laid back. I think MN plays his material with Asher very believably. He just needs more forward energy with Erica because he totally seems like he could take her or leave her at the end of the day, he isn't exactly a passionate person, he's got that, "Girls come to *me*" thing but it's not really working here.

I've said this before, but I'd like to see Erica and her girls involved in some sort of family caper. Kind of like the Kane women's answer to the Cramer women's Canton s/l on OLTL. Nothing like Mona was hookin' and Nick was her pimp, but something with all the intrigue of Kendall's original s/l, maybe involving Erica's grandparents or an aunt or uncle, I don't know, just something that didn't involve one of them losing their heads over a man (or woman in Bianca's case).

[DRW50]

This is what I miss most with AMC, and with other classic soaps. These people can add to the show so much, as they did in the past. .

[SFK]

AMS, I was typing when you posted, but we both agree that the Kanes could use some more family to shake things up.

[DRW50]

Trey was such an important character, it was ridiculous to write him out.

You make a lot of good points about Fusion. I guess when I think of Fusion I think of the poledancing, or when they had the stupid fantasies early on.

[Kylie]

If it's Kane drama, I want them to do it without any men. Let them be strong and unbreakable together.

I agree with the bringing Trey back sentiments. Why not, he should be out of jail soon. LOL David and Kendall sharing a brother was always interesting. (Not as interesting as them getting thisclose to making Eric Kane Leo's father, before pulling back)

[All My Shadows]

IDK if Kelsey had another kid, but of course she and Bobby had Sam. For a long time, I wanted Sam to come back and connect with his Martin side and be the rebellious hell raiser that that family's always needed (not lovable Tad the Cad, but something darker). It could be similar to Kelsey's original story.

LOL! And the funny thing is, my idea for the Cory character would most definitely be shrouded in that whole "mysterious family secrets" thing. I don't like the idea of Mona purposely keeping a deep, dark secret from Erica, but it could be something like...Mona had a sister who vanished when they were young, <The Waltons>before Erica was even a twinkle in her mother's eye</The Waltons>. Of course Erica knows about it, but it's such a "normal" thing that her aunt, who she's never met, disappeared and is presumed dead that it's never been a huge thing for her to deal with or talk about. But BOOM, this guy shows up, he's about 21 years old, and he introduces himself as her first cousin twice removed. And so she and Bianca (and I guess Kendall would still be around) delve into Mona's side of the family history (and GASP, after 41 years we actually learn Mona's maiden name!).

He was sentenced for five years in 2003, so even using soap time he's definitely out or ready to be out.

[DRW50]

I think including men in the family just adds to the family. Mark, Sean Cudahy (more for Bianca's story than the others), Trey. I do agree that more love interests aren't needed. That's why I would just put JR/Kendall together once and for all and move on from Kendall relationship dramas. I'm not sure about Erica - I'd like to see her with Mike one last time.

I meant Tara - I thought she and her husband had another child after Kelsey.

[Kylie]

I agree, JR and Kendall could work. They should try that again, after she's chewed up Griffin and spit him back out. I almost like the guy enough to want him to run from that before it can even start.

[SFK]

Re: Mona's maiden name, Seriously! Little things like that, it's really amazing to me how relatively little Erica's family has been explored over 41 years. Two hitherto unknown half siblings, but not so much as an aunt/uncle or first cousin?? BTW, does anyone know what Silver's (Connie Wilkes) intro was like? Did she just show up on Erica's doorstep?

This could probably be said for all the soaps but I'm biased so I'll say this was true of AMC in particular, but it used to be such a charming show and it's not so charming anymore. I feel like Cheap's Valerie/The Hogan Family credits he made are everything the show is missing. What something like Joe and Ruth's quick visit did for the show's vibe. In 1994 I wasn't watching wishing the show was like how I remembered it in 1984, I enjoyed the progression, I lived for the "today" but I feel like the show has plateaued in terms of my interest and the last few years have just sort of bled together as one big blase period for AMC (with a couple exceptions like funerals, holidays, anniversaries, and Jesse/Angie stuff).