Wait, WHAT? That's not even the story I was talking about, but damn, so he's done it twice? I was talking about 1984, when he was married to Dottie but "in love" with Hillary, and so he was throwing Dottie around and caused her to lose their baby.

Wait, WHAT? That's not even the story I was talking about, but damn, so he's done it twice? I was talking about 1984, when he was married to Dottie but "in love" with Hillary, and so he was throwing Dottie around and caused her to lose their baby.

Tad the Cad has always been a jerk, but MEK is cute and funny, and for some reason, TPTB don't feel a need to punish him for any of his wrong-doings.

Wait, WHAT? That's not even the story I was talking about, but damn, so he's done it twice? I was talking about 1984, when he was married to Dottie but "in love" with Hillary, and so he was throwing Dottie around and caused her to lose their baby.

The story was basically that Dixie was pregnant, and wanted to keep the baby, even though her life was at risk. Joe, Jake, and Tad all opposed this, and essentially ambushed her at the hospital, and went on and on about this, especially Tad. When Dixie miscarried, Tad basically said it was for the best.

I guess this story was supposed to provide conflict leading her towards David, but I was very offended by it at the time, probably moreso than most people, just because of the tone and the coldness. This was probably the first time I really noticed that harshness in Tad's characterization.

That storyline - Jake/Joe/Tad hounding Dixie into a miscarriage and not caring - is one of the main reasons I quit watching for a while in 99-00. It's also one of the reasons why I was probably one of the very few AMC viewers who didn't think the show improved all that much after McTavish left.

The story with Tad constantly going on about Ray Gardner and Adam = Ray was nasty stuff. I always felt like that time period was what destroyed Tad as a character. The show as a whole was just a mess - I think the only story which got a positive response at the time was David/Erica.

This was also at the time of WTF stuff like Mateo pouring Hayley a drink, and the candy cane, and Greenlee/Becca/Scott.

There was very little of this period that I enjoyed. Phantom Erica was also during this time.

^^Tad was definitely an ass to Dixie during that time frame, but make no mistake about it, as SOON as David and Erica were done (and even before, though David wanted nothing to do with her) she was throwing herself at him. In fact, twice David was trying to get back with Erica and Dixie stopped it. So yeah, the cow got EXACTLY what she deserved. Especially when she was surprised that David lied and was doing criminal things. Ugh. That whole thing disgusts me to even think about.

PS. David/Erica were off and running long before Dixie miscarried Bess, not that matters, but still.

^^Tad was definitely an ass to Dixie during that time frame, but make no mistake about it, as SOON as David and Erica were done (and even before, though David wanted nothing to do with her) she was throwing herself at him. In fact, twice David was trying to get back with Erica and Dixie stopped it. So yeah, the cow got EXACTLY what she deserved. Especially when she was surprised that David lied and was doing criminal things. Ugh. That whole thing disgusts me to even think about.

PS. David/Erica were off and running long before Dixie miscarried Bess, not that matters, but still.

I wasn't watching that much by the time David/Dixie really started. I think it was a mistake for him to become obsessed with her (and Leslie Coulson was such a horrid character, a waste of poor Colleen Dion). It would have worked better if she was more obsessive over him and he was put off by her and wondered why.

I don't think CM and VI's acting styles match all that well either - perhaps because they have somewhat similar speech patterns.

David/Dixie had the potential to be something good, AMC built a good friendship there. The problem is, as they started David/Dixie they were also teasing Erica/David still and continuing with Tad/Dixie. Literally in one episode you'd see Tad with Dixie, David with Erica trying to get her to take him back, and then David with Dixie. They simultaneously slapped around three fanbases, and by the time David and Dixie were just David and Dixie, he was dark and obsessed.

My favorite scene from that timeframe is at his first LDZ trial, when Dixie and Tad walk in and sit on the prosecution side. And then you have Erica/Bianca walk in, Erica knowing that not only did her drugged her but he'd confessed to drugging the whole boat to her as well, walk in and site on David's side of the courtroom.

Edited December 14, 201113 yr by Kylie

It's too bad they never found a way to separate Tad and Dixie while still keeping the characters positive. It would have been realistic - people do split up, and find new lives, and still keep in touch with each other (especially if they have kids). Instead the show always seemed to want to kind of keep a foot in the door, or they would make the characters very dark, like in 2006.

Phantom Erica was also during this time.

Oh, God. Whoever decided to run with that hot mess of a a tale needed not only to be fired, they needed to file for mental disability insurance.

It's too bad they never found a way to separate Tad and Dixie while still keeping the characters positive. It would have been realistic - people do split up, and find new lives, and still keep in touch with each other (especially if they have kids). Instead the show always seemed to want to kind of keep a foot in the door, or they would make the characters very dark, like in 2006.

Not every great AMC couple stayed together, you know? Some, such as Tom and Brooke, split up eventually. Unfortunately, Tad and Dixie came about when realistic marriages (and separations) were a thing of the past. Now, everybody on a soap opera is "destined" to be with someone else, no matter what.

Not every great AMC couple stayed together, you know? Some, such as Tom and Brooke, split up eventually. Unfortunately, Tad and Dixie came about when realistic marriages (and separations) were a thing of the past. Now, everybody on a soap opera is "destined" to be with someone else, no matter what.

I think this is one of the big problems with soaps right now. This whole "destined to be together" thing ends up leaving couples stuck in a rut because the writers don't know what else to do with them. The Jack/Erica fans are still pissed that Jack and Erica didn't sail off into the sunset together. Zach had to be brought back from the dead to pacify the "Zen" fans. Great couples SHOULD come and go on a soap, IMHO. Tad and Cara had the potential to be a good couple, but they were completely dumped because Tad and Dixie just "had" to be together at the end.

Yall do realize we still post in this thread because no one can bring themselves to make a thread on the cancelled soaps board, right?

Yall do realize we still post in this thread because no one can bring themselves to make a thread on the cancelled soaps board, right?

"It's still REAL to me, dammit!"

The worst thing about Jack and Erica, at least for me, is that they made absolutely no progress in 20 odd years. None. They ended up exactly where they started. Which is probably why I never understood it. It was the same, boring, mundane, dance, over and over and over again. The same can be said for Tad and Dixie. I saw nothing at the end of the show that said this time was going to be "different", and that's so unfortunate because Tad and Cara had so much potential.

I think fanbases helped kill the genre and I always will. The idea that such and such groups were "owed" something lead to the downfall of the show.

Gorgeous.