Then Sarah Michelle Gellar left and the show got weird. It became overrun with twins, doppelgangers, ever legacy character after Erica had some illegitimate son or daughter - Opal, Myrtle, Marian, etc., Let me ask you, do you think Erica would/should/could have just settled down by now? I mean seriously, stringing Jackson along since the day they met it actually discredits them both in my mind. Thank God Agnes and Lorraine are there to end her properly.

Erik

The time line is just a little off... Gellar left just after the first McTavish rash of lookalikes (Tad / Ted; Will / Justin). Nixon was interim writing at the time of SMG's exit, shortly before Broderick returned to the show. I really noticed the change... more heart, stories from character, contemporary issues.. That's what really had me realize (hindsight being 20/20, as they say) just how off-course AMC had drifted by late-1994 / early-95. It was like a moment of "oh, yeah: THIS is the All My Children I know, but haven't quite seen in a few years."

Edited April 18, 201114 yr by YurSoakinginit

Perhaps even as "All My Children" actors were uprooting themselves and moving from New York to Los Angeles when the show was relocated the decision had been made. Everyone connected with the show had two choices — don't come to Los Angeles or take a major pay cut. At a time when the real-estate market was at its worst, many actors sold their homes for below value. They paid the expense of moving. Children were pulled out of school.

And that's what is both so [!@#$%^&*] sad and funny about AMC's situation. Chances are, if actors had known before the move how likely the show was going to be canceled, even less would have agreed to it. So, in the end, let's give David Canary & Ray MacDonnell credit for being smart enough to stay put.

Edited April 18, 201114 yr by Khan

That's what really had me realize (hindsight being 20/20, as they say) just how off-course AMC had drifted by late-1994 / early-95. It was like a moment of "oh, yeah: THIS is the All My Children I know, but haven't quite seen in a few years."

On the one hand, I don't want to begrudge anyone who enjoyed the AMC of the early '90's. And yet - there always an "and yet" w/ me, isn't there, lol? - I knew even as those years were unfolding that something amiss was going on, that the AMC I had known and loved throughout much of the previous decade was eroding. That's why Felicia Minei Behr is never high on my list of favorite EP's. (All my favorite EP's - Robert Calhoun, Joe Stuart, Jorn Winther and Jackie Babbin - knew how to keep a show "fresh" w/o throwing away everything that made it wonderful in the first place.) When FMB crowed about bringing the show into the '90's @ AMC's first Emmy win for Best Drama Series, I just knew we were in for it.

Edited April 18, 201114 yr by Khan

I'm sorry, but I disagree with Khan. Scripted entertainment, serialized drama will always be with us, and it will be back. It can't not be. If it has to rebirth itself in more film or online, it will, but it will do alright. Everything is cyclical. People used to love The Gong Show too.

I'm sorry, but I disagree with Khan.

Girl, don't be sorry, lol! I'm actually praying you're right. Otherwise, I've gotta figure out another line of work to break into.

Personally, I am getting a bit irked that given the cancellation of both shows the emphasis in the media is on ALL MY CHILDREN.

Erik, I agree completely, but lets not go down that road. It leads us nowhere.

In regards to Courtney and Reinholdt joining OLTL and boosting the ratings ,here are figures for that time frame.

74/75

AMC 9.3 (5th) OLTL 7.4 (11th)

75/76

AMC 8.1 (6th) OLTL 6.8 (11th)

76/77

AMC 8.2 ( 6th) OLTL 7.3 (8th)

77/78

AMC 8.4 (3rd) OLTL 7.2 (7th)

78/79

AMC 9.0 (1st) OLTL 8.0 (6th)

So actually OLTL's ratings went down after they joined.

Of course,there are many other factors to consider-lead-ins ,competition and change of time periods.

In regards to Courtney and Reinholdt joining OLTL and boosting the ratings ,here are figures for that time frame.

74/75

AMC 9.3 (5th) OLTL 7.4 (11th)

75/76

AMC 8.1 (6th) OLTL 6.8 (11th)

76/77

AMC 8.2 ( 6th) OLTL 7.3 (8th)

77/78

AMC 8.4 (3rd) OLTL 7.2 (7th)

78/79

AMC 9.0 (1st) OLTL 8.0 (6th)

So actually OLTL's ratings went down after they joined.

Of course,there are many other factors to consider-lead-ins ,competition and change of time periods.

Look at those ratings numbers compared to what they are now. I have wondered why the soaps at the 1.7, 1.8 numbers could survive

on the air. That is the ratings basement and quite honestly, it's no wonder they are being cancelled. Port Charles was at

those low numbers when it was cancelled.

Don't know if this has been posted already, but...

http://www.businessinsider.com/oprah-winfrey-own-ratings-rosie-odonnell-tina-fey-2011-4

Among the suggestions to fix OWN's downward spiral? Save ABC's soaps.

Erik, I agree completely, but lets not go down that road. It leads us nowhere.

Actually it kind of initiated a series of helpful posts, so I am glad I did

hmm Wendy Williams didn't say a word yet about the cancellation

And that's what is both so [!@#$%^&*] sad and funny about AMC's situation. Chances are, if actors had known before the move how likely the show was going to be canceled, even less would have agreed to it. So, in the end, let's give David Canary & Ray MacDonnell credit for being smart enough to stay put.

Not just them. Debbi and Darnell both commute and I'm pretty sure Minshew and family didn't give up their place either even though they got a place in LA. Then there are the ones who moved but basically used it just to get a foothold in the LA scene: MCE, Shannon Kane, Finn Wittrock. They moved because it was good for them, not the show.

I guess at the end of the day, ABC is no different from any Corporation X in Anyplace, USA...lying, heartless, soulless. You can be an actor or a telemarketer, it seems, and the way you're treated by the higher ranks is the same. You're there to generate revenue for them, and when you dry up as a source of income, you no longer serve any purpose...you're considered a useless piece of [!@#$%^&*] and are discarded as such.

Edited April 18, 201114 yr by LoyaltoAMC

Eobin Strasser: Butt smoocher award goes to JP Lavoisier, who says "Thank you" to Frons for "amazing talent and decision making". Extricate lips, use brain.

http://twitter.com/#!/robinstrasser/status/59987456522588160

And that's what is both so [!@#$%^&*] sad and funny about AMC's situation. Chances are, if actors had known before the move how likely the show was going to be canceled, even less would have agreed to it.

There is absolutely no way that most of these actors would have rather be unemployed than move to LA and work steadily for two more years. The AMC actors got damn lucky, luckier than the crew that was fired and left behind in NY. Also, outside of the theatre, LA is where most of the acting work/auditions, etc. so they would have had to move there anyway if they intended to stay in the business.

Someone mentioned the UK soaps, a totally different soap model. Those soaps are not solely dependent on ad revenue and most of them are 30 minutes per episode. EastEnders does not even have a Wednesday episode.

Edited April 18, 201114 yr by Ann_SS