AMC moving to LA and going HD, OLTL planned to go HD and then all of the sudden it was cut.... I think definitely the network was more interested in trying to make a case to preserve AMC and let OLTL go... you could be onto something their Carolyn. I think ABC execs assumed the move to LA would invigorate life into the show, and it did... for the first few weeks or so which coincided with Lorraine Broderick at the helm. But post David Canary and the lack of vision that seemed to dominate Lorraine's run and the bulk of David and Donna.... it was a losing battle.

I agree with you both that ABC was probably putting its eggs in the AMC basket between the two shows but I don't think it really mattered. As others have pointed out in this thread, it's simply too expensive to stay in production in return for demo ratings hovering around 1.0 and households around 2.0. I doubt that the network sees much difference if any in advertising revenue between a .6 and a .8 demo and maybe networks' view now is that those ratings are the new standard for daytime no matter who's writing or producing. Ratings have been decreasing for years. If that's the case, then they'll just go cheap. There is precedent. Prime time Saturday night was very successful in the not-so-distant past. Mary Tyler Moore, Bob Newhart, and Carol Burnett shows in the 1970s on CBS, then "Love Boat" and "Fantasy Island" on ABC in the late '70s/early '80s, to "Golden Girls," "Empty Nest" and others on NBC through the rest of the decade, finally back to CBS with "Dr. Quinn". Now it's just reruns and news shows.

I hate to see these shows end. I watched ABC back in college in the late '80s and enjoyed them all. But the economics just don't work anymore for a 5 days a week, 52 weeks a year format.

True! I was mainly just thinking of a nice way to tie in Erica and Mona's relationship.... that's got to be part of any ending of Erica Kane's arc....

Absolutely. One of the things McTavish did a lot of in 03-04ish that I loved was upping the presence of Mona and her memory. They even had a brief moment in one of the Christmas episodes were Bianca placed a rose next to a framed picture of Mona.

No matter how much history they could destroy or take away from the rest of the show, one thing is clear: there's no such thing as Erica Kane without Erica Kane's history, who she is, why she is, and how she is. An Erica fan knows Erica, and so an Erica fan knows Mona and what the two of them went through. You can't gloss over that.

But see, I don't see Erica having a "I did it!"/"I made it!" type of scene. I kinda picture her strolling along either Hollywood or Vine with Jack (or Bianca or whoever she's strolling with), reaching the corner, waiting for the traffic to pass, and casually catching a glimpse of the street signs. The audio, and just the audio, of that scene plays. "Pine Valley isn't exactly the corner of Hollywood and Vine." "Yeah, well I been on that corner, it's not all it's cracked up to be." "I"d like to find that out for myself." And then she smiles, chuckles a little. The other person asks, "What's wrong?" "Oh, nothing," she says. "I just remembered something a dear, dear friend once told me. He was seldom wrong."

Exactly!

However, from experience, Hollywood & Vine is kinda trashy so I'd much rather be in Pine Valley.

And then maybe after passing Hollywood & Vine, Erica can go to the Hollywood Walk of Fame and come across a certain star.

Edited April 16, 201114 yr by Jonathan

I agree with you both that ABC was probably putting its eggs in the AMC basket between the two shows but I don't think it really mattered. As others have pointed out in this thread, it's simply too expensive to stay in production in return for demo ratings hovering around 1.0 and households around 2.0. I doubt that the network sees much difference if any in advertising revenue between a .6 and a .8 demo and maybe networks' view now is that those ratings are the new standard for daytime no matter who's writing or producing. Ratings have been decreasing for years. If that's the case, then they'll just go cheap. There is precedent. Prime time Saturday night was very successful in the not-so-distant past. Mary Tyler Moore, Bob Newhart, and Carol Burnett shows in the 1970s on CBS, then "Love Boat" and "Fantasy Island" on ABC in the late '70s/early '80s, to "Golden Girls," "Empty Nest" and others on NBC through the rest of the decade, finally back to CBS with "Dr. Quinn". Now it's just reruns and news shows.

I hate to see these shows end. I watched ABC back in college in the late '80s and enjoyed them all. But the economics just don't work anymore for a 5 days a week, 52 weeks a year format.

CBS did just renew a show that was hovering around a 1.0 in the demo, B&B, a show they don't even own...and now it's dropped to a 0.8 in that demo. And NBC still has DAYS, at 0.9, through 2013.

So OLTL was a goner no matter what...but then AMC's ratings tanked so bad that there was no justification for keeping it over OLTL. So they ditched both. And they're keeping the one on longer that will get them better ad rates (which are set during the upcoming May sweeps) during those four months OLTL lingers after AMC.

Maybe that stupid bastard Frons convinced ABC to cancel OLTL, then they looked at AMC's lower numbers and said well if we made the decision to cancel a higher rated soap, then lets cancel AMC too.

then again, why did the March rumors only mention AMC as being cancelled? because OLTL was only added in April it appears like ABC decided to cancel AMC, then later OLTL as well. Maybe that bimbo was the one who added OLTL to the list, since she is rumored to wanted

to cancel GH too, I suspect its possible Frons only proposed to cancel one soap and she made him cancel two.

Edited April 16, 201114 yr by CCCapwell

Perfect AMC ending:

Erica is talking to Bianca and Kendall and says "There's something I need to do." The show fades to commercial. When it comes back, a few other scenes play, but the LAST scene shows the Hollywood sign and Erica walking down Hollywood Blvd.

Then the flashback of "Pine Valley isn't exacctly the corner of Hollywood and Vine" plays, and when that ends, Erica is standing at the corner of Hollywood and Vine...She smiles and whispers "I made it."

What AMS said. Not so much "I made it! " but "I made it. And I never really needed it", more musingly, because of course Erica "Made it! " YEARS ago. Plus, it's a double moment because we get to acknowledge Nick. I'm all for packing in the moments, however brief they are. It's like Brooke having the throwaway line about Phoebe joining Langley up yonder, it needed to be established and by that point that was perhaps the best way how.

I know I'm lame-as-hell, but thinking of the endings of either show actually gets me teary eyed. I just can't imagine the world without Victora Lord and Erica Kane.

So I read Mario Batali told soap fans to "get over it" way to win people over asshat

I guess Sweeney said all calls about the show will be deleted and the numbers and addresses have been removed from the medianet site

*shudders* If Frons ends upo somehow running ABC Primetime, I shudder to think what he'll do to Desperate Housewives, it'll be misogynistic central

Edited April 16, 201114 yr by dragonflies

So I read Mario Batali told soap fans to "get over it" way to win people over asshat

I respect his opinion, but I also think it's another example of people who don't want soap fans to watch their shows. If he doesn't want them to, he should just say it. Frons has been saying it for years.

Mario Batalli is a gross-ass gingery, sweaty, dough-y motherf*cker.

I can't stand him. Never could.

He also said, "It's not as if I voted them out"

Well when ABC votes out your Cooking Show #5001 don't cry the blues, prick.

Edited April 16, 201114 yr by SoapBoy94

Perfect AMC ending:

Erica is talking to Bianca and Kendall and says "There's something I need to do." The show fades to commercial. When it comes back, a few other scenes play, but the LAST scene shows the Hollywood sign and Erica walking down Hollywood Blvd.

Then the flashback of "Pine Valley isn't exacctly the corner of Hollywood and Vine" plays, and when that ends, Erica is standing at the corner of Hollywood and Vine...She smiles and whispers "I made it."

In one of the tribute threads I said this

I don't think the end of AMC should be Erica living happily ever after to be honest. That flies in the face of the whole Scarlett O'Hara motif the character has been built on. Tomorrow is another day and I think the final shot of Erica needs to be Jackson telling her he doesn't give a damn (in so many words) and Erica melodramatically promising herself she is going to get him back. Then the actual final scene I would have with the actually happy Martins, Dr Joe leading his family in a dinner with all the various Martins and hangers on situated around the table while he recites the AMC poem in lieu of saying grace. Very Norman Rockwell for Joe, Tad and crew, and very Margaret Mitchell for Erica Kane.

I think ending with Dr Joe and Ruth makes a more satisfying period at the end of this sentence.

I know I'm lame-as-hell, but thinking of the endings of either show actually gets me teary eyed. I just can't imagine the world without Victora Lord and Erica Kane.

Haha, love it SFK.

Chrishell tweeted this video