All My Children Tribute Thread

[DRW50]

That's why I think not having Jeff, or Bobby, around more often was a waste, to contrast Tad with the others who were raised by Joe. I'm not saying one of those awful stories about how being adopted means you still aren't a "real" part of the family, but just to reinforce that Tad had a lot of demons compared to apple pie and picket fences. Tad as the main representative of the Martin family, even as he listened to a man choking on his own vomit - I don't think it worked.

[KMan101]

I guess I meant 'replaced' in terms of age-range, etc. not really them being similar characters. just 'in the sense' replaced each other.

I also agree overall about Tad.

And considering ABC was bought by Disney in 1996/1997, I agree it was ageism. Disney buying ABC was really probably the true beginning of their (the ABC soaps) downfall. You can just see the shift. That and Brian Frons recycling terrible head writers and producers who weren't really invested in the show.

Richard Shoberg's words speak volumes in that interview once Disney bought ABC. Without that 'connection' I can see why Disney just never cared about the soaps, and of course they appeal to families and teens and children so that makes them probably care even less. I'm glad to see some level of respect by ABC to GH but I still think the show is eventually doomed and it's a shame.

Edited October 12, 2012 by KMan101

[danfling]

Tom and Gloria Marsh should have been paired and become neighbors of Ruth and Joe. With Mary Fickett or Lee Meriweather not being shown as much, she could have filled the role of the nurse at the hospital, while he could have remained a business owner. Of course, if that had not happened, I have long wanted Tom to have moved to Pine Valley with Skye. There, he would have been her confidant. He could have even been the father of Kelly and Paul - Dorian could have hated him in the same way that she hated Larry and Peter.

[DRW50]

[AMCHistory]

I gave that interview! Dick could not have been more awesome.

[cct]

This didn't surprise me at all. After all, Tom, as a character, had two major elements that affected his character during this "boring" time in the early nineties. One, he was Catholic; and two, he was a recovering alcoholic. Both of these factors mean that peacefully protesting at an abortion clinic and invoking God to help someone through troubled times was completely within Tom's character.

So...the 2008 election could've been an interesting storyline, if Tom were to have been a McCain supporter and Livia stumping for Obama, eh?

One of the things I liked about Tom's character, that I found missing in AMC towards the end and in today's society, is that Tom was a man of his beliefs, but didn't always try to foist them on others. I also never felt as if Tom were pandering or syrupy or holier-than-thou as latter-day characterizations of these "moral tentpoles" would become. And...I actually enjoyed Tom, despite my penchant for "grayer" characters (Gloria Marsh; Edmund), more colorful characters (Opal, Marian, Trevor) and outright villians (Adam, Arlene, etc.).

IMHO, no way did Edmund replace Tom, but perhaps Zack did replace Edmund for Most Likely to be a Moody Summab*&$h. However, Zack had nothing on Edmund for those brooding eyebrows.

[EnglishTea]

While I think Adam could be villainous, IMO he was a gray character. DC wouldn't have lasted on the show for almost thirty years being all dark.

Zach definitely seemed like a replacement for Edmund, but it seemed like the show was done with JC shortly after his reunion with Maria, and it was reunion that was always intended to be short-term - Edmund's paralysis interfered with his ability to be a real husband, and then, Zach's arrival.

Maria's back from the dead storyline failed for many reasons, but one of the biggest problems was that Edmund seemed to be the least important character in the equation - and it was the beginning of his character assassination. Edmund came off as a jerk throughout most of it.

[DRW50]

I would say Edmund had stopped working as a character years before Maria's return. The Kit pairing was a bomb, so was the pairing with Alex, and the last few years of Maria/Edmund the first time around weren't that great either. They either should have kept him with Brooke, or had Maria alive and Edmund leave town with her. Maria never should have been brought back.

[Pine Charles]

Well said.

My "Romney" reply about Tom was in jest, of course. I wouldn't agree with Tom (if he were real), but I would respect him. He wasn't a bully and was respectful of others. He was a peaceful protestor outside the abortion clinic and condemned the violent protestors (like that psycho woman who attacked Julia physically). AMC @ it's best. I really do wish Tom could have stayed.

[EnglishTea]

Tom & Livia would have been an interesting in the political arena, and it could have fit nicely into the story as Livia moved up the judicial ladder.

It seemed liked they kept Edmund on the canvas purely to lure ELC back to the show, and IMO, she wasn't that big of a commodity. For that matter, ELC and JC actually seemed to become more of a liability at the end when their real life relationship became a factor. Although I also believe the show put too much emphasis on real life romances in stories with Edmund/Maria and Mateo/Hayley in the '90s.

The structure behind Maria's return was monkeyed up from the beginning - when no one comes out a winner, why would anyone want to watch it?! It is like no one in the writers' room ever asked that question.

The show should have skipped the Alex/Edmund/Anna mess (Richard Culliton was at least smart enough to pair up characters with chemistry and conflict), and had Brooke and Edmund reunite after the fiasco with Eliot. It was a prime moment to take the leap of bridging Edmund and Brooke's friendship back to a romantic relationship. Comfort leads to something more, and then Brooke and Edmund spend the next few months wanting more, but both are afraid to admit it. They could have married them off in May of the next year, and then the following May, in pops Maria to cause the happily married couple some grief - and conflict, which is needed for happily married couples.

[Khan]

I'll say this much: Tom Cudahy might have been "boring" in TPTB's eyes; however, in the long run, you need characters like him on a soap. You cannot have a soap filled with just eccentric characters and villains; otherwise, everything is off-balanced, and no one is there to serve as a virtual advocate for the audience.

[EnglishTea]

So very true!

[DRW50]

Susan Lucci has a short interview in the new Parade.

[ellabelle]

I felt like David Hayward was sort of being set up to be the next generation of Adam Chandler - he was charming, he was wealthy, he was villainous, but he was capable of bringing such emotion to some of his work (like the basement scenes with Erica when the story of why he hated his mother came out or when Leora died) that you felt for him and you understood what motivated him. He was brought to the brink a few times, where you thought he might be written off for good, and yes he did leave for a while, but there was enough of interest there to keep him around.

I always enjoyed watching VI and DC on camera together, and I would have loved for them to interact more or even team up to take down someone else.

I hated the Dixie obsession, I hated that they killed off Leora. I hated that they rewrote history to make him Babe's father and had him betray Bianca like that, who he loved and adored as if she was his daughter. It almost felt like the whole David/Babe twist was set up because someone thought it would be fun to watch David and Tad on the same side to protect their kids. I get that, I do. VI and MEK had good chemistry together, but it was a crap storyline.

The problem though with AMC in its later years, among many other problems, is that characters like David were pushed to their worst extremes, and "good" characters - people like Tom and Brooke who were flawed but were essentially decent people who tried to do the right thing - were pushed off the show altogether. There was no balance there.

[Khan]

Brian Frons envisioned ALL MY CHILDREN as daytime's answer to "Sex and the City;" and really, if he had bothered to watch the damn show, or talk to people who did, he'd have known AMC wasn't that kind of show at all.

Edited October 15, 2012 by Khan