HOLIDAY MIRACLE: Prospect Park Back On Track To Revive AMC and OLTL

[Marco Dane]

Well doesTodd has his scar in it

[EnglishTea]

If PP wants them out of the opening, then best guess is they will be taken out.

[dragonflies]

http://abc.soapsindepth.com/

ALL MY CHILDREN viewers had to get used to seeing Tad without Dixie during the many years that Cady McClain wasn't on the show. Alas, now they'll have to get used to watching Dixie sans Tad since Michael E. Knight tells Soaps In Depth that he initially won't be part of the show's re-launch, set to debut online next spring.

"I'm not saying 'no,' I'm just saying 'not right now,'" Knight says about his decision not to sign up with AMC again. The irony that viewers will now be seeing Dixie's life continue without Tad isn't lost on the actor. "But I think it'll be good for Dixie. She was under-utilized that last time before they killed her off. Cady's such a wonderful actress who cares about her work. She understands the show and what it takes to do it. It'll be great to give Dixie some time to live in Pine Valley for a while away from Tad. Then, when we start working together we'll have some time to deal with it. I'll be very interested to see what happens — and I'll be watching!"

[LeClerc]

If anyone has a Showfax subscription, the sides for Yuri and Vlad (AMC) have been added, and also the Mick Wilder (OLTL) script has apparently been revised

[Soaplovers]

Dixie was on the show for two or three years minus Tad back in the early 90's. I recall she was paired with this good looking con artist dude named Craig.. and that character led to the introduction of fellow con artist/nurse Gloria (who ended up being a mainstay character on the show for most of the 90s).

Wonder if Dixie/Tad will still be together.. or if they realized that they had grown apart and what they connected them was the past. Will be interested to see how long Dixie will be solo before Tad returns.

[marceline]

I'd be thrilled if AMC can make me give a damn about Dixie again but frankly I can't imagine a story that would do that.

[SFK]

I agree. I was going to say that Llanfair is a pretty iconic set and the new set should at least have the suggestion of the original, but truth be told, that set has undergone so many changes over the years (including being burned down and rebuilt) that I'm game for anything. At first, it seemed like a waste of money that AMC's newer California sets weren't being used, but it looks like they've already been recycled/sold (e.g., Erica's penthouse becoming Lucy's offices). I wonder if Blair and the crew will all be living at La Boulaie. I'm curious to see what they do with that set.

[SFK]

Dixie is a character who needs to be involved in a riveting plot driven s/l (at least for a while), something that takes the focus off of her botched and muddled history and personality.

[Darn]

I think Dixie needs to just BE for a while, all she's had over the last decade is plot-driven nonsense driving her further into the ground. They need to remind people why they liked Dixie in the first place.

[SFK]

This is the show's chance to truly rectify what was done to Julia Barr and Brooke by previous regimes. JB had been one of AMC's strongest actors (if not the strongest female) and MVPs for years. It's interesting that she was ultimately paired with Adam, because I think Adam is one of the reasons why Brooke was phased out. Erica and Brooke had a decades' long adversarial relationship like Viki and Dorian, but so did Erica and Adam. Unlike Dorian or Adam, Brooke wasn't set up to be the head of a large family with plenty of supporting player relatives to be balanced out by the leads' (Erica and Viki) broods.

[SFK]

I agree with you, and by plot-driven, I just mean something that distracts from the messiness of her more recent past. A story that takes the focus off of her and her backstory. The five year leap will help that. I think it can be helpful for a character who has been "damaged" to be involved in something interesting, like a mystery per se. Fundamentally, Dixie has heart and that's something CM will instinctively bring to the role. If we're watching her involved in something that piques our interest, she will sort of subconsciously endear herself to us while not reminding us of her back catalogue of retcons and OOC behaviour.

[Marco Dane]

Please correct me if I am wrong

PP licensed All My Children (AMC) and One Life To Live (OLTL) for one year beginning sometime last January from ABC.
PP was required to relaunch the two programs online within the year in order to have the right to renew the licensing agreement.
PP had a deal all set up but it fell through.
PP recouped some of their money by selling the balance of the licensing for three characters to General Hospital(GH) and making shorter deals on other characters.
PP states there was an understanding that the characters would revert back to PP at some point.
GH signed 3 year deals with the actors playing the three characters.
PP failed to meet the obligations of their licensing deal with ABC.
Rights to OLTL reverted back to ABC
PP applied for an extension on the licensing rights for OLTL because they were on the verge of being able to put the programs online.
GH asked ABC to retain the license on 3 former OLTL characters
PP balked and insisted that OLTL was a package deal or nothing.
Disney backed PP and told ABC to do the deal.
PP offered to share the characters "equally" with GH
GH balked and decided to give up the characters rather than accept PP's offer.
GH is keeping the actors who are on contract for two more years.
PP is demanding some control over or input into the exit storyline like they had with AMC and OLTL.
PP is objecting to any ideas that would allow the actors to transition smoothly to new characters on GH.
PP is demanding that the new characters have no relation whatsoever to their old persona.
PP is demanding the right to veto any dialog referencing the OLTL characters.
Disney appears to be supporting PP's desires.
GH claims that they are keeping the actors.
There is a rumor that Disney agreed to prevent GH from using the actors in another role.
Feb. 8th was the taping day for Michael Easton (ME), Kristin Alderson (KA), and Roger Howarth (RH).
GH tapes in LA where the actors currently live.
OLTL will be taping in Connecticut beginning Feb. 25, 2013

[EricMontreal22]

I can't see it happening. As much as I wish the Tyler's hadn't been phased out--having Brooke there is at least the most viable connection we have at the moment...

[EricMontreal22]

I forgot about Craig--that was when I started watching (wasn't she briefly paired with the handsome but bland Dr ummm... Steve I think?) Was her pairing with Brian (when Brian Greene played him) post or pre Tad's return?

From that earlier info, it sounded like a number of people might live in The Palace...

She also obviously would have story with JR (maybe Tad was shot!)

[EricMontreal22]

She was phased out because Frons wanted an older vet he saw as not important on recurring, she refused, so got no exit, period. Sure she has had a TON of troubles (to put it midlly) being paired with romantic characters--so I do see your point, but even though McTavish didn't write a ton of great stories for Brooke--but she did consistently write for Brooke so obviously she can't be blamed there.

But I do think this gives me renewed faith. Sure--this could be an example of Nixon's infleunce (her and Broderick brougth Brooke back the last two times) but I think it does show some faith in us long term fans, and proves they aren't just focusing on some young random recast teen scene as some here predict. While Brooke has been a hugely important character for ages, I don't think it was a no brainer for PP to bring her on, or for Barr to want to return, so it speaks well of someone behind the scenes anyway--and some realization of what characters could be brought back to serve a proper older generation the show needs. (though it does kinda make me wish for a recast Jamie for her to interact with...)