All My Children Tribute Thread

[Vee]

Oof, I had no idea she did that and I still barely understand who those people are.

[DRW50]

 

David was also tangled up in the Ceara story, as she was a gold-digger who went after him and then Jeremy seduced her to get her away from his son, which led to them falling in love, etc. Genie Francis has said repeatedly that her work in the Ceara incest story was the work she felt most proud of and she resented having to give it up. This was also Nixon, I believe. 

 

(it was not that well-received at the time - by the soap magazines, anyway)

 

This was also around the time Travis and Barbara had a baby to give Bianca a transplant, which ended her marriage to Tom, because he was repulsed at the idea of having a baby for parts.

Edited February 23, 2021 by DRW50

[slick jones]

Mark Daton's mother was Maureen Teller, Erica's obviously Mona's, and Silver was Goldie's making the three equal step-siblings.

[Khan]

 

I know this much (from reading Soap Opera Digest at the time): under her predecessor, Maggie DePriest, AMC had fallen to sixth place in the ratings.  So, essentially, then-EP Felicia Minei Behr and the network brought back Agnes -- who, in turn, convinced Wisner Washam to return as associate/breakdown writer -- to bring the ratings back up.

 

 

You're talking about Kim Delaney, right?  Yeah, that's the story I've heard over the years: KD was high on cocaine when she fell off, which prompted then-EP Jacqueline Babbin to basically tell the cast to cool it on the drug use.

Edited February 23, 2021 by Khan

[ghfan89]

Cindy/AIDS and the Laura hit and run stories were under Lorraine Broderick. 

 

1981–82	Agnes Nixon & Wisner Washam
1982–86	Wisner Washam
1986–87	Wisner Washam & Lorraine Broderick
1987–88	Lorraine Broderick
March 1988 – August 1988	1988 Writers Guild of America strike
August 1988 – January 1989	Lorraine Broderick
January 1989 – March 1989	Lorraine Broderick & Victor Miller
March 1989 – November 1989	Margaret DePriest
November 1989 – May 1992	Agnes Nixon

[DRW50]

 

I guess DePriest had been seen as a success at DAYS and AW, but she was never a good headwriter. Was she the one who had the silly Marisa story and broke up Natalie and Jeremy after years of them being built up?

[ghfan89]

Yes. David/Lanie was started by Broderick, but continued with Depriest. They were still around after that, but I think Agnes's next attempt at a young love story after she returned was Emily Ann and Joey, which also coincided with the return of Billy Clyde.

[DRW50]

 

Thanks. I guess that makes more sense as Emily Ann was repeated in some variation by Becca a decade later (sort of).

 

I guess Nixon did the Charlie/Erica pairing too.

[Khan]

As I understand it, Agnes was always involved with AMC to a certain extent, offering guidance and input.  However, as LOVING continued to struggle to gain traction among viewers, she decided her newer creation required more of her attention, thereby leaving Wisner Washam (and later, Washam and Lorraine Broderick) with the actual HW'ing duties.

 

On her own, or w/ Victor Miller as her co-head, Lorraine Broderick wasn't terrible as HW during the late '80's.  (Of course, it helped that Broderick had been with the show since, I think, 1979, so she was familiar with it).  But, once the AIDS and hit-and-run stories concluded, it seemed like the show hit a creative wall.  There's a period of about a year in AMC's history where the stories felt very lackluster and the cast very bloated.  That's when Felicia Minei Behr and Maggie DePriest were brought in -- presumably, to give the show a jolt, which it did (IMO) w/ the Adam/Brooke/Tad/Dixie quad.

[Khan]

 

Yep.  Like I said, there's a period of about a year (1988-ish to 1989) where AMC was sputtering its' wheels creatively, with many stories that simply weren't clicking.  It's truly amazing, therefore, that the Adam/Brooke/Tad/Dixie story took off like it did.  Especially in an era of totally off-the-rails stuff like "The Mystery of Cobbler's Island," Marissa Rampal and Bianca's kidnapping.

 

IIRC, once she left AMC, Maggie DePriest was transferred to OLTL, co-HW'ing with Craig Carlson and/or S. Michael Schnessel.  Her time there wasn't well-received either -- although, in her defense, OLTL was in such overall, terrible shape by that point and in desperate need of an overhaul.

 

 

I think so.  Or, if not her, then it was Megan McTavish.  Either way, I thought the idea (of Erica becoming romantically involved with Phil and Tara's son) was very intriguing, but ruined by the fact that Charles Van Eman was not a great fit with Lucci.

Edited February 23, 2021 by Khan

[titan1978]

I saw an interview with Genie where she said that Ceara and the incest story were presented to her in a meeting with Agnes, who had the story mapped out.  It was one of the reasons she agreed to it after her stint on DAYS- that it was Nixon herself, that they had a specific character and a story ready.

[ghfan89]

I'm going through some of my uploads, and these are some beautiful scenes with Erica and Nick. She tells him about her father issues. Thank you, BlueRose8506 for originally uploading this.

Please register in order to view this content

 

Edited February 24, 2021 by ghfan89

[LoyaltoAMC]

From what I recall, Agnes wrote the incest story with Genie in mind. She even named the character, Ceara, after her own niece. I think she was originally supposed to be named Allison. 

[DemetriKane]

I personally felt that storyline needed to be given to Dixie.

 

That Brooke/Adam/Dixie storyline came at the right time, it was time for a changing of the guard with characters and the mood and vibe of the show was much more serious too. I wish it could’ve lasted longer. 
 

This is very accurate. I never understand when this happens to shows and it happens a lot in television. 

[Franko]

The Dorothy Lyman drama continues over on Soaps of Yesterday, with it being revealed that while she speaks warmly of her AMC experience, she stopped watching the show as of February 1984. Not even making an exception for Greg and Jenny's wedding.

 

(You'd swear one of these columnists is going to one day write, "She's moved on, people! Leave her alone! She's got that Carol Burnett-NBC money now!")