All My Children Tribute Thread

[Wendy]

Just some clarification: David Hasselhoff was hubby #2! Per Google, she was married to another man in October 1981 and divorced him in 1982. So, Michael E. Knight was hubby #3.

Here I thought Vincent Irizarry was still married. Shrug. Maybe he dated Hickland in between her marriages to MEK and hubby #4, Todd Fisher? (Yes, brother to Carrie and son of Debbie Reynolds...)

[Wilsoky]

It must have been sometime in the early 80's. VI said he first heard about Marj Dusay's talent from CH. Hickland worked with her on Capitol.

[alwaysAMC]

Can we talk about how iconic the 1994 tornado was on AMC? I was scanning through old episodes last night and came across this episode. The tornado was epic and the storylines/aftermath were so good (Julia's scar/Noah!; Jenny/Ray/Nola/Jesse in heaven with Tad, etc). 

For 1994, these special effects and budget for this big event were amazing. 10 out of 10!  The only thing missing is Erica!  I can't recall where Erica was at the time, but I really wish she had been involved in this storyline.

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[Soaplovers]

Susan Lucci was on bereavement vacation because her on screen mom had recently passed away so she was off canvas when this tornado occurred.

[DRW50]

Watching this longer clip I truly am impressed with the effects but also the direction - the moments of fear in the ballroom before the blast are wonderful. What I appreciate most here is the lack of a montage and the lack of aggressive editing. 

This all looks better than quite a bit you could find elsewhere at the time, let alone now.

Julia should have avoided weddings.

[Vee]

The loooong pan around the room that ends in actual action with Maria and Edmund vs. just silently surveying the damage is very technically impressive. I don't think I've ever seen more than bits and pieces of this; my viewing was very spotty early on in '93/'94. I mostly remember the aftermath.

Edited yesterday at 02:46 AM by Vee

[alwaysAMC]

Ahh ok, that makes sense. Gosh, I didn't remember Frances passing in 1994. I thought she was with us longer than that. She was such a sweet lady and character.

Yes, so good and I'm so happy there is a quality version online. I looked it up and AMC won the Best Directing Emmy for 1994, so I have to assume they submitted these episodes. I'm not sure how to find out to confirm, but would only make sense.

I still get chills watching it because I remember it so vividly as a 10 year old. Of course the drama of it all to see what happens to your favorite characters pre-spoiler days, but I grew up in the Midwest so tornadoes were a real, scary thing that. We had monthly tornado drills in school, so this made it seem very real to me.

Very impressive. It makes me want to go find and compare the Mardi Gras explosion scenes and their second tornado many years later (although I think I remember that being a lot of CGI perhaps). I don't think I've seen those since they first aired. But for 1994, this was very well-done.

Ahh - this was the start of Noah! And so many other great things - I really loved AMC from 91-96. 

Edited yesterday at 03:30 AM by alwaysAMC

[DemetriKane]

The '94 tornadoes were incredibly well done. A true Umbrella that helps push already great stories forward. The Gloria/Adam, Janet/Kendal were highlights, and Tad's dream sequence, of course.  I agree, the direction was top-notch. I remember Francesca James saying how the special effects were a first for Daytime at this time.

@alwaysAMC I know it's controversial to say, but I think having Erica be M.I.A. during this big event was a plus for me. It showed how healthy the show was outside of Erica/Susan Lucci and as a show in general. Like you, I loved the 2006 Mardi Gras ball too. 

[alwaysAMC]

Very true - AMC was a good ensemble show in the 90s (until Kendall/Zach/Greenlee/Ryan took over in the mid-2000/2010s).

Glad you liked the 1994 tornado and 2006 Mardi Gras ball too

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  I'll have to go watch those Mardi Gras ball scenes this weekend. I think I actually have them on VHS somewhere in some boxes haha, but I don't have a VHS player anymore.

Edited yesterday at 09:06 PM by alwaysAMC

[chrisml]

To her credit, I don't think Lucci ever demanded that she be front and center the way other lead actresses did. If she did, she wasn't listened to. She also had other side projects and that probably helped out a lot. When Erica was maternal Erica, she added to the show. As time wore on and they were still writing her as if she still in her twenties, it didn't work and it harmed the show. I know Lucci wanted to do the showgirl storyline which was a mess. I've also read (don't know how reliable it is) that a lot of her bad decisions came from her husband's advice. That included her ridiculous choices for Emmy submissions and the terrible t.v. movies. There have been a lot of talented daytime actresses who didn't get their due, and it is rather annoying that Lucci was nominated so often in years when she didn't deserve it and when her material was truly awful.

[DemetriKane]

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