All My Children Tribute Thread

[All My Shadows]

Mr. and Mrs. Cudahy I ache to see them together from the very beginning until the very end. The tapes are there, and I must view them.

[DRW50]

I didn't mind so much Tad/Dixie reuniting at the end - if ever fans were slapped in the face it was with that pairing. I do think the actors were clearly not thrilled with the story, but to MEK's credit, he did get into it towards the end.

[Khan]

Don't get me wrong: there are some super-couples -- AMC's Greg and Jenny, GL's Quint and Nola -- whom I've adored immensely. And I'm not opposed to star-crossed lovers being destined for each other, per se. Number one, though, it cannot be made true for every couple. Some couples have that sort of staying power naturally (DAYS' Doug and Julie comes to mind) while others don't (ATWT's Holden and Lily -- sorry, Mr. Marland, but it was inevitable that they'd outgrow each other). More importantly, the problem is that TPTB are too willing to give instant gratification to fans where breaking up and reuniting couples are concerned. I mean, the minute a couple is finally together -- BAM! -- they're talking divorce already. Then, as soon as the divorce is finalized, it's like we're gearing up for the big Sweeps plot twist which will reunite the lovers once more...so they can be split apart yet again. Pretty soon, it's as if that's all that that couple does, w/ no signs of life outside the romantic and marital merry-go-rounds. Subsequently, you have couples who've been married three, four, five times, and it just looks ridiculous to the uninitiated and longtime fan both.

If a man and woman on a soap are "meant to be," then okay, fine. Just don't rush anything. If they're together, then let them stay together for awhile. (To me, it's a myth that "marriage equals death" on soaps, perpetrated by actors who get antsy about airtime and writers who get lazy when it comes to weaving characters in and out of each other's lives.) If they're apart, then take as long as you need before putting them back together. Remember how long Mark and Ellen were apart, for example? And in the meantime, the two were allowed to move into different kinds of stories, explore other relationships, before they were on the road toward reconciliation. The longer you can delay the moment of reconciliation -- and I'm sorry, but I think the whole "shortened attention span" theory is poppycock, people will hang in if you give 'em something to hang onto -- the more gratifying it will be for everyone concerned.

Edited December 14, 2011 by Khan

[Khan]

I think MEK and Cady McClain weren't thrilled, because it was repeating what they'd done the last time Dixie was "dead." If anything, it would've been better just to reset the clock, so to speak, and say the years between Dixie's first and second resurrection was some horrible nightmare and that Tad was in fact dealing with a back-from-the-dead Dixie for the first time.

[DRW50]

I think it was what they should have done the last time she was dead. I haven't seen all of her first back from the dead story but it mostly seemed to be about betrayal and bitterness. I'm not saying they should have had a month of Dixie wandering around as Nell, but the later stuff was good.

[Khan]

Listen, just about anything would have been better than Project Orpheus. I realize Agnes Nixon and Lorraine Broderick might dig the occasional far-out tale, but they should know by now that that [!@#$%^&*] just ain't them.

[ellabelle]

Yes, yes, yes!!! I loved the Jack/Erica/Travis triangle, and I completely understood why Erica dumped him after he refused to lie for her in the custody fight, and I figured they'd get back together at some point after that. Unfortunately it became this huge saga of them over and over again, and nothing changed. Neither one of them learned a darn thing. That wedding they had in Boca was totally fan-driven. Even Susan says she thinks they're better off not being married, and Walt was clearly happy about Jack walking out on her in the end, but the "Jerica" fans are beyond pissed.

ITA with you on Tad and Dixie too. They were the new Cliff & Nina, remarrying over and over again. I was really starting to like Tad and Cara too, and I'm disappointed that was tossed out just to give Tad and Dixie a happy ending.

[Kylie]

They don't care what Susan and Walt think, all they know is that they think they got jipped. I enjoyed J&E when they weren't married, or engaged. When they were struggling to think that's what they needed to do, but knew they fell apart if they did. But then they'd get married and their happily ever after never came and the cycle started all over again.

It always struck me that so many headwriters tried and failed to give J&E their happy ending. IMO, that's because they were so flawed as a couple that it just didn't work.

[DRW50]

I think there were a lot of issues involving a) the idea that Erica could not have story unless she was cheating or being a teenager and b ) non-existent character development for Jackson. When McTavish was around, she did try, sometimes doing well (Reggie, Lily, Sean) and sometimes...not (Kit). Otherwise Jack was just a prop and various regimes tried their best to phase him out of the show. He was there just as an Erica default choice and it was a big waste of time. I don't think they should have put them back together after the last breakup. Something like Jack/Krystal might not have been too bad.

[Kylie]

I always just saw Jack as loving this idea of Erica Kane, and trying their whole relationship to get her to be who he wanted her to be. That never happened, and they'd do their toxic dance.

I thought Jack and Krystal had lots of chemistry, and liked the idea of them getting together despite the babyswap. That used to be the kind of thing that soaps were made off. But fanbases dictated what happened and we saw J&E do less than nothing in over 20 years.

[R Sinclair]

It's funny. Jack is to Erica what Ryan is to Jack's daughter, Greenlee. A man in love with the woman she isn't, and doing everything he can to make her so.

[ellabelle]

Jack was never really a lead character. When he wasn't with Erica, he faded into the woodwork. He was in Pine Valley for 20+ years and only managed to get married twice. I don't think anyone really knew what to do with him, so they let him be this default for Erica because the fans seemed to like it. The comparison to Ryan and Greenlee is, I think, very appropriate.

I never liked the idea of Jack and Krystal because Jack, frankly, is a bit of a snob. I think Krystal would have been an ever bigger project to shape her into the woman Jack wanted. I don't think it would have lasted. I would have liked to see him either with Anna or later with Jamie Lunar's Liza. I think either of those pairings had great potential.

[Kylie]

^Jack and Anna SHOULD have happened. Walt and Finola had great chemistry, and the characters got along well. Plus, the drama that would have come from their being together, damn. AMC was stupid not to go there.

[Khan]

That's what I mean about some couples not having staying power. Jack and Erica could have endured 1001 breakups if the romantic feelings between the two were strong enough. But they weren't. At best, Jack and Erica served a purpose in each other's life for awhile. As soon as that purpose had ended, however, they should have reconciled as good, close friends, like Nick and Erica had.

[DRW50]

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