Plus, if Erica had had Tom's baby while she was out of town, she would have been only too thrilled to bring the baby back with her to Pine Valley in order to reconcile with Tom, since she knew how badly he wanted a child.

The show seemed to ignore Josh's existence once they (Zach) killed off Josh, so as a viewer I ignored Josh too and pretend he never happened. I was hoping that when Kay Alden was consulting for ABC that she would have re-written the unabortion. There was an interview she did where Kay says that she would have reversed it but thought a DNA test was done (which actually did not happen, so it could have been reversed, but even if a DNA test was done it could have been explained away).

1 hour ago, Khan said:

At the risk of reading a dead woman's mind, I'd say that Agnes Nixon gave her blessing to a lot of ideas that she thought were terrible, if only because, he/she was in the HW's chair, and she likely believed that a HW needed to be allowed to follow his/her vision...no matter how awful it was.

Possible, except you have the hilarious OLTL oral history stories where Gottlieb, etc. say they went to Agnes and got her blessing on both the gang rape and DID stories and Agnes flat-out is quoted next saying "What? I never met Linda Gottlieb."

34 minutes ago, Jonathan said:

The show seemed to ignore Josh's existence once they (Zach) killed off Josh, so as a viewer I ignored Josh too and pretend he never happened. I was hoping that when Kay Alden was consulting for ABC that she would have re-written the unabortion. There was an interview she did where Kay says that she would have reversed it but thought a DNA test was done (which actually did not happen, so it could have been reversed, but even if a DNA test was done it could have been explained away).

They never did a DNA test?! 90s and 2000s daytime was all about damn DNA tests. I'm shocked.

52 minutes ago, Vee said:

Possible, except you have the hilarious OLTL oral history stories where Gottlieb, etc. say they went to Agnes and got her blessing on both the gang rape and DID stories and Agnes flat-out is quoted next saying "What? I never met Linda Gottlieb."

I really need to read that book.

25 minutes ago, Darn said:

They never did a DNA test?! 90s and 2000s daytime was all about damn DNA tests. I'm shocked.

I, too, assumed a DNA test had been performed.  Honestly, if ever a DNA test *needed* to be performed on any soap, that was the time!

You know, TPTB forget that casting is crucial in helping a show sell the audience on a story that is otherwise unsellable.  In order for the Unabortion to have worked, AMC needed a dynamic, one-of-a-kind actor to portray Josh, something it didn't have in either Scott Kinworthy or Colin Egglesfield.

17 minutes ago, Khan said:

You know, TPTB forget that casting is crucial in helping a show sell the audience on a story that is otherwise unsellable.  In order for the Unabortion to have worked, AMC needed a dynamic, one-of-a-kind actor to portray Josh, something it didn't have in either Scott Kinworthy or Colin Egglesfield.

You know, I hear that argument because for instance my personal tolerance of the Natalie/Jessica rewrites have partly to do with my love for MA. 

On the other hand, the Unabortion was an atrocity not just because it was a stupid story and a nonsense rewrite of history. Erica's abortion was a mythical iconic moment that reverberated OUTSIDE the show. Undoing it was vile not just because of the retcon. 
It was massively rejected by the audience before we even had a sense of what the story was because this was the epitome of what had gone wrong with soaps: a ridiculous story undoing a genuinely socially significant and compelling story for a quick lazy buzz.
It combined ruining the show's heritage with the worst caricature of a soap story, combining in one story the two major sins of modern soaps.
I don't know there was no Roger Howarth in the world that could have sold this to the audience.

Hey, no arguments here, lol.

3 hours ago, Khan said:

Plus, if Erica had had Tom's baby while she was out of town, she would have been only too thrilled to bring the baby back with her to Pine Valley in order to reconcile with Tom, since she knew how badly he wanted a child.

She didn't want to be a mom. Hell, she only stayed with Tom to prove to Nick she could hold a marriage. Had she been known to have a child Nick would not have taken her.

@Khanthe OLTL oral history is available in electronic format. I bought it months ago and devoured it in about two long nights. I think you’ll love it.

When I lived in Manhattan, I saw Colin Egglesfield at Barnes and Noble not far from the AMC studio one evening. I’m guessing that he had just finished taping, but I’m not sure. He was in the Sports section, reading with a grin on his face. I wish I had the wherewithal to say hello but I didn’t want to bother him and honestly I’m not sure what I would have said as I was so turned off by his storyline and probably jealous that he was playing Erica’s son. But I wonder how he felt about his AMC experience and if he had any clue why fan reaction was as such.

Wait, let's back up a second...

You saw Colin Egglesfield reading?

Did the book have pictures?

I really hate how the Unabortion has overshadowed Josh time on the canvas. Despite people hating the storyline, the character had so much story potential! He was sexy, decent charisma, nice chemistry with most of the cast and an okay actor. Such a shame we couldn’t see the Jr/Babe/Josh triangle become a real staple on the show. He was handling everything they threw his way; I also loved his exit storyline as the black sheep of the family battling with Zach, another wasted storyline  imo.

On 12/6/2021 at 9:59 AM, Khan said:

Why does that not surprise me?

Giving Erica a son wasn't the worst idea.  But, IMO, you could have achieved the same effect simply by introducing a quick-witted orphan who gradually works his way into Erica's heart and then becomes her legally adopted ward (at a time when she has no romantic prospects to speak of, and she is truly taking stock of her life).

On 12/6/2021 at 12:07 PM, Errol said:

I would like to have seen this scenario, personally. I find it a lot more believable than retconning the first abortion on daytime TV.

Me too! I have always loved this idea. I remember daytime confidential laughing at this idea too!

On 12/6/2021 at 12:11 PM, Soaplovers said:

Erica kind of was a mentor type in the 80s with Jenny, Greg, Dottie..and later Kendall in the early 90s (before she was revealed as Erica's daughter).

I wish Erica as a mentor could have continued...Broderick had set up Gillian as someone that looked up to Erica in 1997...I just didn't understand why that didn't continue.

Josh could have easily been a son figure for her..maybe made her wonder if the baby she lost with Phil..or the baby she aborted..would have been like Josh.  Would have given Erica some much needed dimension that had peeled away in the last decade or so of the soap.

Loved that small moment in the shows history. Everytime I look at that Erica Greg and Jenny magazine cover ideas flood my brain. Erica was still a mentor in the last decade kinda with Amanda and Carmen sugar morales. 

Edited December 8, 20214 yr by DemetriKane

Erica remained with Tom because he was the first (maybe only) true love.   She and Nick only became attracted to each other after the flop of her disco and her divorce.

21 hours ago, Darn said:

They never did a DNA test?! 90s and 2000s daytime was all about damn DNA tests. I'm shocked.

 

21 hours ago, Khan said:

I really need to read that book.

I, too, assumed a DNA test had been performed.  Honestly, if ever a DNA test *needed* to be performed on any soap, that was the time!

No there was never a DNA test! We've talked about it in this thread a few hundred pages ago!

5 hours ago, danfling said:

Erica remained with Tom because he was the first (maybe only) true love.   She and Nick only became attracted to each other after the flop of her disco and her divorce.

No.