Jump to content

All My Children Tribute Thread


Toups

Recommended Posts

  • Members

Yes, but I wouldn't have done the Liza/Tad affair.  I didn't think Liza would have gone back to the guy who'd once slept with her mother.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 10.4k
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Top Posters In This Topic

Posted Images

  • Members
Posted (edited)

Frankly, there was a point when AMC was asking too damn much from everyone, let alone from people who'd watched the show for years and years, lol.

Edited by Khan
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

The lovely Jill Larson was in the studio audience at Live! with Kelly & Mark this morning. K&M talked to her within the first three minutes of the show, a sweet exchange. In my market, the show reairs at 2:35am, check your local listings.

I remember Kelly saying in a SOD interview back in the early '90s that she and Jill were dressing room buddies as they were both smokers at the time and stationed in the smoking section. Unheard of these days.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members
Posted (edited)

Believe me, I called the show just that on many an occasion, lol.

There really was a point when I would watch an episode and think, "You'd have to be certifiable to think this [!@#$%^&*] is any good, or is in keeping with what AMC is supposed to be about."  And that was BEFORE Chuck Pratt hit the scene. 

Please register in order to view this content

 

Edited by Khan
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

I was just going to say, among the major prime time soaps anyway (and shows that were specifically primetime soaps, so not serialized dramas like the Herskovitz/Zwick shows which were all character) Knots Landing--at its best--was the one that had the most in common with that daytime soap opera tradition although that was increasingly lost in later years (notice to that in later show the show started to bump up the glam quotient.) 

Henry and the Chinese restaurant--which we learned had LONG been one of Joe Martin's fave lunch joints.  Who knew!  I mean honestly that had potential, and I actually thought (I know I'm in the minority) some of the Adam and Liza therapy sessions with Lysistrata were genuinely funny.  But the show really was *odd* under Rayfield (when Cascio joined it slightly improved) not that they had much time to prove themselves, but it somehow often felt more like a... dramatic sitcom?  I remember when McTavish came back (with a fourth of July episode I believe) to her credit the show *suddenly* felt much more like Pine Valley.  That did not last very long, but...

(And to give Brian Frons some unearned credit, when he returned to ABC Daytime he did make some decisions that looked good on paper.  According to Lorraine Broderick herself, she was asked to return to AMC but at the time was burned out--I guess her last stint had been the odd co-HW era at OLTL which leaned into camp--and so Frons looked at who else had written successfully for AMC in the past couple of decades and chose McTavish.  For OLTL he hired Griffith who finally convinced Malone to join him.  All decisions that made a LOT of sense--but without the infrostructure that those regimes had when they were at their best in the early 90s it of course wasn't the same--not the least because of Frons' own interference.  Still, I thought McTavish's first year had a lot of good stuff, despite things like her immediately trying to replicate her Who Killed Will mystery with the similarly plotted Michael Cambias one...)

Are you watching on YT>?  I couldn't find the episode--but would like to revisit more of the Margaret DePriest brief era, which it's been fun following in your summaries.

Culliton actually seemed quite interested in revisiting (in a way) history--I remember he had a hunky recast of Timmy show up (at the hospital?) with some mystery and then (typical of the stories of this time) that was just all dropped.  I wish he WOULD talk more about his year on the show, but whenever it comes up in Zoom interviews I've seen he genuinely seems to just blank lol

I agree with you abotu McTavish's first year.  And yes what's amazing about the Rayfield era with all those newbie actors is... none of them seemed to show ANY potential at all, (wasn't MBJ actually McTavish though?  Or am I wrong?  at any rate I think he DID show instant potential.)  Seyfried whose character (Joanie?) was dating Jamie also showed potential so it seemed a mistake to sideline her storyline as merely supporting to the teen story of JR and Alex Daddario's character (Laurie??)  Laurie's storyline seemed another attempt to play short term social relevant stories (sorta like Gottlieb and Malone tried when they first started at OLTL with a wife abuse story) with Laurie having an abusive drunk of a father.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

I'm not sure how many viewers were bothered. Greenlee was bitterly anti-gay and some fans sure loved her. I think Becca was just a copy of a copy of a copy of Nixon tropes, and she had no real chemistry with Scott. Once that pairing tanked, the show lost interest. 

The biggest failing was that the whole class structure Nixon had in mind just didn't feel organic to 2000. There were still class struggles, but focusing on the country club set and garden parties just didn't pack the same punch it would have in the '70s and '80s. The spark was gone.

That's so nice. Thanks for letting us know. Always glad to hear about Jill - so underrated.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Which tracked with Brian Frons' stated vision for AMC as daytime's answer to "Sex and the City," a show about four, white, self-involved women from NYC with highly disposable incomes, which had absolutely zero in common with AMC.  (If you wanted SATC on your network's lineup, Mr. Frons, you should've just aired the reruns and then called it a day).

I always break it down like this: you watch DALLAS and KL for the acting and the writing; DYNASTY, for the wardrobe and hair; and FC, for the simple fact that you can't find your remote.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Well 18 year old me LOVED all that (yes, kinda antiquated) class structure stuff.  It's not my reality, but I thought it fit the show in a way the later yacht club etc didn't.  I also loved early Greenlee (I know we disagree on this DR

Please register in order to view this content

that's ok, we can disagree sometimes.)  But Greenlee was not being presented as a character whose views we were meant to relate to or agree with, there's a big difference between her being homophobic and Becca being.

I'm always amused on Broadway message boards when younger members are AGHAST to find out that their heroes were smoking (or sometimes still smoking) well into the 90s. 

We get the show repeated later as well so I'll see if I can check it out.  I think I've told the story on here (probably several times) of literally bumping into Jill Larson when I was at LaGuardia Airport about 8 years ago and how gracious and lovely she was, especially when I recognized her (and went into "stammer" mode.)

I know you were a long time AMC fan and came from a completely different perspective than I did, but I still think compared to virtually every show, it kept its identity the best throughout the 90s.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Joanie started off as Laurie's side kick and/or kind of the Liza of the new batch.. and I think that's why she ended up lasting a bit longer because of Seyfried.

I was bummed that Reggie/Joanie was short changed when the two had serious chemistry, and it was the only youth story line that the show seemed to write that worked.

 

Agree.  Even by 1989/1990, the garden party/country club structure had fallen out of vogue.

The early 90s teen scene (Hayley, Brian, Terrence, Taylor, An-li, later Julia) worked so well because it wasn't about garden parties/country clubs.  For example,  Taylor/Terrence had conflict due partly to class differences, but also due to race with An-li being caught in between the two.   

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

My introduction to Cecily was when she was brought back for Christopher Lawford's Charlie Brent, who already was a character that baffled me.  At the time I had friends who had been watching AMC longer because their mom was a fan, and they said how the Charlie he replaced was so cute (I don;'t think Christopher Lawford's looks were exactly something 14 year old girls--or 13 year old gay guys--would find appealing.)  And then Cecily, who, yes, seemed very annoying, came on without much of an explanation of how she was tied to the show...  They were going for a cutesy Nick and Nora thing with the two of them after, and I hope I remember this right, a very early You Got Mail rip off storyline where they didn't realize they were talking to each other, but I remember even as a relative soap newbie and a teen never thinking it worked (and then they were written off anyway...)  Cecily certainly would have been more appealing if they were able to give her more interactions with Phoebe and maybe that was down to the health issues Ruth Warrick was having off and on by that point.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Cecily's return, working with Charlie at the detective agency, didn't pop as I recall. Rosa Nevin was a charismatic presence back in the Nico, Julie, Charlie Era, and as Eric alluded to, a classic example of recasts making characters feel like totally new people. I remember watching the He‐Man movie and my mother warmly spotting Charlie, her first and perhaps only reaction to the movie. The new Charlie who Erica dated was so different, and then Lawford... did we get another Charlie after him? I don't think so.

By the way, AMC talk with you old familiar avatars is giving me the warm and fuzzies, much appreciated in these uncertain times.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members
Posted (edited)

I felt like we were meant to sympathize with Greenlee even then (weren't we already getting the poor Greenlee's parents don't love her routine then?), which I know I should appreciate as Liza also got that type of writing when she was in the same story, but Budig is no Marcy Walker for me. I do respect that many loved her.

I do appreciate that Nixon was trying to give the show its old identity back as best she could with the class element.

He was the last Charlie.

The story was panned - I think SOD named it as one of the worst of 1995. It didn't help that McTavish brought Cecily back and was fired not long after, so they likely had no real plans for her. And beyond Charlie I am not sure if she even interacted much anyone else most of the time.

Edited by DRW50
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Unfortunately, your content contains terms that we do not allow. Please edit your content to remove the highlighted words below.
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.



  • Recent Posts

    • How did I never notice how tall Colton was?

      Please register in order to view this content

    • They didn't need to have some slutty gay dude as their representation. Just a 'normal' guy getting involved with another guy or two (or three). Just like the straight characters. Thinking about it, they missed the boat by not having a few other single charcters at the beginning. Maybe Naomi or Ashley could be shown meeting Derek/Jacob and  we could follow their romance. Too many characters were coupled up at the start. As a tattoo hater I was surprised to see Tomas so inked. Don't find it attractive or sexy. I'm surprised an actor would do that as it's definitely a statement and may not be appropriate for some roles. Suppose they can cover if necessary. I didn't buy Kat being all girly and then paying off Darius to get into Eva's room. Way too cliche. She should have just come along when the housekeeping was leaving and breezed in saying it was her room. And her smug looks in the hotel room and 'Now I've got you!!' talks to herself at Orphey Gene's...no.  
    • Omg I was so annoyed. Like girl calm down. Coming on way too strong. Omg I forgot about this

      Please register in order to view this content

    • I thought it got stale before Jocks death lol. His death picked things back up for me.
    • 1976 Pt 5 Tony is summoned to the reading of the will in the Llanfair library,as he’s a principal in the will. He tells Joe there’s not a chance of coming to terms with Dorian, as he is sure she brought about Victor’s death by torturing him emotionally when he was her helpless prisoner after his stroke. Ironically, Chapin hand delivers to Viki a letter her father wrote before his stroke, praising Dorian and asking Viki to befriend and support his widow when he was no longer there. Viki feels a responsibility to her father’s wishes and vows to try with Dorian. Victor’s will leaves the expected amounts to members of his family and staff, with the lion’s share of his stock and property going to Dorian. Victor’s will explains that his son Tony expressed the desire that he not be “bought from the grave,” and, in keeping with his son’s wishes, the only bequest to him is the knowledge of his father’s love and respect. Tony is deeply moved. Dorian’s first attempt to use her new power is the recommendation of Peter as head of the Merideth Lord Wolek hospital wing, claiming that naming Larry would be virtual nepotism. Peter, who has devoted considerable time and effort to helping Jenny get over Tim’s death with gentle, affectionate support, is happy at this suggestion, but Jenny points out Dorian is merely using him to hurt Larry. Viki disregards Dorian’s ingenuous assurances that she’s not trying to wield her new power but is merely putting Peter up for consideration for a future opportunity, if not this one, and tells her she won’t be able to fulfill her father’s desire that they be friends unless Dorian stops interfering. Larry, fully understanding Dorian’s personal motives, warns her he’s going to fight for the appointment no matter what. Realizing that she has made a tactical error, Dorian announces that she won’t even attend the board meeting but will give her proxy to Jim. She admits to Matt McAllister, still her confidant, that this was humiliating, but it was a necessary protective tactic. Dorian manages to win her next round at Joe’s office when, after he praises her decision to yield on appointing Peter, she expresses concern for Viki “at a time like this.” Joe, of course, jumps on her words, and Dorian, pretending great distress at having mentioned something she shouldn’t have, is “forced” to explain that she knew about the congenital heart condition Megan had and that any child of Joe’s is likely to inherit it. She overheard the doctors discussing it at the time of the accident, she continues, and naturally assumed that Joe already knew.  Joe arranges a meeting at home with Viki and asks her how she could live a lie like this; how she could go through their lives as if everything were fine while every moment was a lie. He is further upset when, in trying to explain that it was out of her love for him that she kept the truth from him, she mentions that Jim and Larry also know but Cathy still hasn’t been told. Viki tells Joe that Dorian deliberately told him this way to hurt their marriage, and she is very upset when he starts toward the door, pleading that they have always talked things out in the past. Joe coolly points out that she didn’t do that when she learned about Megan and continues out the door.  A tearful Viki is shaken and when Joe later returns, having spent several hours in a bar drinking only soft drinks,she breaks down, crying that she was convinced he’d left her. Joe assures her they can get through this despite everything, because their relation is based on love and mutual respect. 
    • If you think about it, DALLAS and DYNASTY grew stale right about the same time, even if the ratings were slow to reflect that.  FC and KL, on the other hand, tried to stay fresh, but KL was way more successful at it, I think, than FC.  (That [!@#$%^&*] with The Thirteen does not hold up well, lol).
    • GH 1976 Pt 8 Heather takes advantage of the situation by asking Jeff to come and look at Tommy. She uses sympathy, compassion, and her own feminine wiles, together with his misery and his pills, to lure him into bed. Later, sober, he apologizes. Learning from Pearson that Monica has seen a divorce lawyer, Jeff confronts her, and she insists it’s a lie. Avoiding his attempts to kiss her, she musses her hair and tears her blouse, then rushes to Rick’s, claiming that she can’t stay with that maniac any longer. They wind up in Rick’s bed, and after making love he confesses he always loved her. Rick replies to her question of whether he wants to marry her by saying he has to talk to Jeff. Monica insists that Jeff not bear any pressure from their problems. As she leaves, Rick gives her a key to his apartment. Jeff, having spent the night drinking, misses his surgical assignment, and Steve, informing him that his personal life can’t interfere with his profession, puts him on suspension. Rick can’t persuade Steve to reverse his decision, but Mark, sensing what’s at the heart of Jeff’s problem, convinces Steve to lift Jeff’s suspension and transfer him to Mark’s service. Rick asks for his key back, telling Monica they can’t do anything as long as she’s under Jeff’s roof. So she has a duplicate made and moves into intern’s quarters, explaining that Jeff’s violence drove her out. She tells Jeff she needs privacy to work things out, and tells Rick Jeff wanted her out. Thinking that this is the preliminary to a divorce, Rick tells her she can come to his place. In New York, Leslie’s abortion is delayed by a mix-up in scheduling, and she calls Terri to commiserate. Rick overhears Terri’s conversation and forces the whole story from her. He flies to New York to stop Leslie, feeling responsible for pointing out how evil Cam was, and arrives to find that she has decided she can’t deny her child the right to live. Monica, meanwhile, expecting that Rick will be home, uses her key to let herself into his apartment and is shocked to find Mark there; knowing that Mark was uncomfortable at the hotel, Rick offered Mark use of the apartment in his absence. Monica is upset to learn that Rick is in New York with Leslie, and Mark doesn’t know why. Mark does advise Monica to play fair with Jeff, but she resents his interference. The next day, while covering for Leslie at the clinic, Monica discovers Leslie’s lab test report and jumps to the conclusion that the baby is Rick’s. When Rick and Leslie return, Monica wastes no time in accusing him. He is dismayed to see that she is still as suspicious and possessive as she was before he went to Africa, and points out that her making a duplicate  key proves she hasn’t changed. Terri encourages Leslie to see Rick in a romantic light and then suggests to Rick that Leslie is interested in him. Rick likes this idea and tells Mark he’s growing ‘unwilling to cope with Monica’s unreasonable demands. But Monica immediately recognizes the threat Leslie represents and decides to attack. She goes to Leslie and tells her flatly that she and Rick are having an affair and he’s her exclusive property. Leslie, who realizes she has been falling in love with Rick, is hurt, and Rick is mystified when he feels Leslie pulling away from him. Monica’s big moment comes when she brings Rick a housewarming gift and seduces him into letting her stay overnight. She is in the bedroom when Leslie stops by to apologize for refusing his dates, and makes a dramatic entrance into the living room draped in Rick’s bathrobe. Leslie turns and runs out. Rick later informs her he’s disappointed in her, because she prejudged Monica and him rather than giving him the benefit of the doubt. Heather tries to arrange another tryst with Jeff, but he replies that he still loves his wife. Heather decides there’s only one way to get Jeff to be pregnant with his child. She manages to overhear Monica putting Jeff down by telling him he no longer turns her on and should look for someone he does. Heather goes to Jeff and tells him that she heard Monica and that she is the one he’s looking for. She manages to get him into bed again, and sweetly assures him this is right. She then sets the stage for future meetings. Steve, meanwhile, offers to help Monica and Jeff work out their problems. Jeff is willing, but Monica turns the idea down. Instead, she presses Terri to convince Jeff to end the marriage. Terri now knows that Monica isn’t a good wife for Jeff and promises to try. But Jeff makes it clear to Monica that he still loves her and won’t let her go. She is bitter and upset, as she has already implied to Rick that she will soon be free. Audrey is upset to find that Florence Andrews has been inquiring about Tommy and herself. She goes to Florence’s home and finds she’s away now. Florence has gone down to Mexico to sign a sworn statement that she purchased a false death certificate for Tom, to protect his son after his wrongful conviction. Tom, learning from her that Steve and Audrey are to be married and Steve is planning to adopt Tommy, tells  Florence not to do anything, as there’s still no assurance that he’ll ever get out. But the judge does accept the statement, and, ironically, on the day that Steve  and Audrey are married, Tom is released from prison.
    • 1976 Pt 12 Final part Laurie agrees with Stuart that Peggy is rushing into marriage to prove that the rape didn’t ruin her life.  She points out that the only way Peg can be sure is to make love with Jack before the wedding. Stuart admits she’s right but points out that he can’t suggest that to Peggy. As the wedding approaches, Peg seems happy that Jack’s become close to the family. However, her happiness is shattered by a nightmare in which her loving bridegroom turns into a leering Ron Becker, forcing her to cancel the wedding. Jack reassures her he’ll wait as long as it takes, and Chris confides that she and Snapper didn’t consummate their marriage on their wedding night because of her own rape experience, but Peggy tells Chris she might never be ready.  Despite her desire to keep Karen as her own daughter, Chris helps a police artist create a sketch of Nancy so it can be printed in the newspaper as part of a search for her. When the attempt proves fruitless, however, Chris asks Greg to file application for permanent custody of the child. Greg points out that adoption is the only way to prevent Ron from returning and claiming the child, and that it will take quite a while. Meanwhile, a nurse in the psychiatric ward sees a resemblance  between the newspaper drawing and her autistic patient, Mrs. Jackson, but since “Fran” doesn’t respond to the name Nancy and no one else sees the similarity, she fears she’s mistaken. Jill is horrified to overhear Kay, when brihging baby Phillip a Christmas gift, telling the child she remembers the night he was conceived. Kay has to then admit to Jill she saw her with Phillip in the bunkhouse that night. Jill is aghast to realize that Kay new the truth all along and put her through such agony in spite of it, denying her baby his father’s name. Lance tells Laurie they’ll marry on Valentine’s Day. He laughs that it’s corny but agrees, secretly wishing it were sooner, as Vanessa has vowed to prevent it. Indeed, Vanessa makes an unprecedented venture out of the house to visit Brad, telling him to rebuff any advance Leslie might make to him, as she’s reaching out to him only from a sense of duty. But Laurie then makes a concerted effort to reach Vanessa. Without being sure why she’s trying so hard, she tries to assure the woman she’s not losing Lance and she, Laurie, will help her find a plastic surgeon somewhere who can help her. Grudgingly, Vanessa seems to be reconsidering her view of Laurie, and Laurie is delighted when Lance offers her a choice between two diamond necklaces, explaining that her preference will be Vanessa’s Christmas gift. Learning from Les about Brad’s blindness, Stuart tells Brad he could have turned Leslie away only out of great love. Knowing that Les is going to see Brad again, Laurie warns him not to bring the baby into their discussion, as Leslie will come back only she’s convinced he loves her, not for the babies sake. Leslie finds Brad disheveled and sloppy, and proceeds to straighten the apartment, stating that she can't respect him if he lets himself go. Realizing that neither Brad nor Les will make the first move, Laurie hurries things along by refusing to help Brad with his grooming, saying he should ask his wife. Then, having learned  that Brad offered Les the use of their piano, Laurie untunes the Brooks' piano forcing Leslie to accept his offer. By refusing to cater to his  blindness, Les manages to get Brad to stop wallowing in pity, and by the time Leslie’s Christmas braille message of her love and her need for him arrives, they are husband and wife again Lance takes Laurie on a business trip on New Year's Eve, and tells her, on board his plane, she won't be  won't be able to call him “Mr. All Talk and No action” after tonight. When Laurie protests that waited this long and will continue to wait until married, Lance delights her by instructing his pilot to land in Las Vegas, where they are married immediately.
    • Yeah, not sure why Jack and Jen didn’t rush to Marlena - or even Carrie - to offer their condolences. A few flashbacks would've been a nice touch too. Instead, we got a whole episode of them talking about Chad and Abby? Come on. On the bright side, I loved Anna’s scenes with Marlena and Carrie - sweet and heartfelt, felt like a real 80s throwback.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy