AMC: Tanisha Lynn (Dani), Michael B. Jordon (Reggie) OUT!

[SteveFrame]

Josh should have never been brought on at all in the sense that he is being portrayed now. This story should have never been done at all.

And the reason this keeps being brought up by not me but many others is because it is the sickening that so many wonderful characters are being sacrificed for this story. It is a sickening story and is the general concensus of not just some fans on this board but other boards and the critics too. I personally predict with all the fallout from the story among many fans and all that Josh's days are numbered and McTavish will have sacrificed another character and another good actor because she or Frons wanted to tell this story. I have seen it happen way too many times when mistakes were made and characters who were highly disliked because of the story were sacrificed for it. I feel that is what will happen with Josh somewhere down the line. It is sad because Colin Egglesfield is a good actor and Josh could have been a great character for AMC with the right story, but this story has angered way too many fans. The best hope is for some writer (I don't think McTavish can do it) to not bail out of the story but to reform the story to some degree and the character, but I don't know how it can be done. A complete bail out of the story is the worst thing they could do IMO. They have started it they need to follow it through.

All I can say is AMC is losing 2 very wonderful characters in Reggie and Dani, and McTavish is losing another element of the "combined" family she and other writers created out of Jack and Erica. How many more hits can their supposed new core family take. Soon they will be down to just Lily, Kendall and Josh. I hope that both Tanisha Lynn and Michael B. Jordan get other roles on another show. They deserve to be more than recurrring and AMC does not deserve to be able to benefit from them from time to time - to parade them as a token.

I'm sorry gang but AMC's continued decisions like this just do nothing to lure me back as a viewer.

[Casey]

This.Is.The.Point.For.Me...it is deeper than whether or not Dani and Reggie are good characters (that is subjective anyway), it goes to AMC and the fact that they have basically ignored and pushed out slowly the two black young adults, right when they have not one, but three WHITE characters coming on who may or may not be in the same age category. It's a big ole coincidence and it smells funny. They could have incorporated Reggie into the Montgomery Kane family as more than a babysitter to Lily, last time I looked that chick Lily wasn't related to anyone in the M-K family either, but I've seen her have story after story. McTavish didn't want to write for Reggie and she didn't...point blank, Y&R came up with a story for their 'Reggie' and made it work for months, AMC gets no kudos from me for this recurring mess.

Bottom Line: The next time I watch this show, would have to be when they decide to have a black character (I will even give them the benefit of having an ASIAN character too) on 5 days a week like they do Babe, JR, Kendall, Ryan...or when they decide they can afford to give them back to back stories...other than that, this show is a faded picture for me.

Also thank you SteveFrame for your insightful post on the issue.

[All My Shadows]

I agree with the gist of your post, but this part I definitely do not agree with. You're basically saying that the only reason why you'd ever watch the show again is if they have black characters. To hell with it if they happen to create amazing stories for the white characters, if they're not black characters, you're not watching the show?

[Casey]

Actually its a tad deeper than that...since they have a problem with equality and will basically use their black characters as props and since I see that as a extension of what they believe black characters and in a way black people...you are darn right, until they can develop a story for someone of color that they don't try to pass off as something else...NO, I am not watching. Why should I? They obviously don't care about me.

Now, I watch plenty of shows with all white casts (Buffy, Dawson's Creek, Bold and the Beautiful) and I can watch them and enjoy it, because it is just more insulting to me when shows HAVE black characters, but they just decide..."Oh they're not equal or good enough to be like our white characters?" WTF is that?

So to answer your question...YUP, since they screwed over every.single.black.character they've had in the past year...I won't watch the show. I will watch a show that writes compelling stories for all their characters (regardless of color) and I don't have to worry about inequality and being slapped in the face. There are two that come on the same time as AMC and they are called The Young and the Restless and at this point, Days of Our Lives.

[All My Shadows]

Thank you for clearing that up. It makes a little more sense now.

But I have to say that while Y&R and DAYS write for all of their characters, regardless of color, do they really write for all of their characters regardless of age?

Soaps are in such a limbo these days in so many different territories that it's not right to just focus your frustrations on just one area. If AMC ever rebounds with the black characters, who's to be sure that older characters wouldn't be pushed on to the backburner? I have a feeling that when the new teens come this summer, we'll be seeing less Adam, Erica, Tad, Krystal, etc. There needs to be a mass renovation.

[Casey]

Yes they do actually. Stupid John and Annoying Victor are there to entertain me daily on Y&R. As for Days, I think they spread around their writing for each age demo pretty well. ABCD is the only network where people who are over 40 are OLD.

Everyone has their sensitive area and that's mine...it's my perogative.

I somehow doubt that if they rebound with the black characters, the older ones will be pushed to the back. Seriously doubt that unless they are black or Asian.

We can go around in circles about this, but my stance is pretty set and this is after years and years of watching people who look like me get screwed on ABCD.

[All My Shadows]

Ah, it's such a pleasure to engage in intelligent debate with people who know the genre, Casey. I just want to say that even though we rarely see eye to eye, I appreciate getting into little ramblings with you every now and then. It's nice to know that there are other black people out there who care so much about "the stories."

[Casey]

Is 'the stories' a reference to what soaps are called (as my Nana used to call them) or the storylines?

I've been watching soaps for a long time and with ABCD things appear to go in cycles. Every five years this happens, it's just a little tiring at this point playing the game.

I can always appreciate an intelligent discussion as long as both of the points are being made without disrespecting each other.

[All My Shadows]

The first one. Growing up, I didn't know what a soap opera was until I was about five or six, but all my life I've known what "the stories" are. To be honest with you, I think the first piece of music I ever knew is the Y&R theme. I come from one of those families where everybody in every generation as their "story" that they stand by.

There I go babbling on about things that are off topic. But anyway, intelligent convo is always good between longtime soap fans, so I just want to make sure you understand that I'm not holding anything against you personally (not assuming that you are...).

[R!ck]

Agree Casey! (btw, Lexie, Abe, Tek, and Celeste are all front burner right now

Passions should scoop Jordan and Lynn up. MBJ as a Chad recast, and Lynn could be a new love interest for Simone

Yep, Over half of the current actors on the front burner stories are 40+

So are you saying it's okay to get rid of all the minorities, as long as the old white folks stay put? AMC has always been the soap to take on social stories, and write great storylines for minorities, but IMO it's become white washed.

I wish the soaps would realize, that the world ain't white! It's full of different races, sizes, religions, sexuality, etc.

[All My Shadows]

If longtime characters like Adam, Tad, and Erica were to be pushed to the backburner in favor of Reggie's family, I'd be very pissed.

What I was trying to say was that there should be an equal effort to make sure everyone is well represented. I wouldn't want nuColby, nuPetey, and Sean Montgomery to dominate all of the frontburner, relegating Adam, Tad, Erica, Krystal, Dixie, etc, to the backburner either.

And now that I think about it, I retract what I said about Y&R and DAYS. They do utilize their over40 crowd, but then again, so does AMC, for the most part. Adam, Krystal, Erica, Tad, Greg, David, Joe...they're all involved in major frontburner storylines and the "younger" people like Dixie, Ryan, and Zach aren't all that young. If I'm not mistaken Thorsten Kaye turns 40 this year.

[Daphne]

Reggie IMO had a lot of potential that the AMC writers were either too lazy, too unimaginative, or too scared to tap in to. I think with a lot of soap execs, they are afraid to write for Black characters. And I think the problem is, they don't see these characters as just "characters," but as BLACK characters. If Reggie was written the exact same way he is now, but was portrayed by a White actor, he's have just as many storyline opportunities that Lily is getting. Ditto Danielle.

I hope that Tonya Pinkins leaves AMC. Livia is just a token character that AMC can "bring out" anytime a prominent White character needs legal representation. Tonya, a Tony-Award winning actress deserves better. And so do her fans.

[Casey]

Considering why I can't FATHOM why its easier for them to write for an autistic teen (which should take some skill) and couldn't write for Dani and Reggie most of the time, I think there is definitely room for speculation as to why it was SOOOO hard for them to write for two 'regular' teens.

As for Tonya Pinkens, she deserves much better than to listen to Jack and Lily whine about their problems. Livia doesn't even wear a wedding ring anymore.

I just ask, if AMC wants to start to change the image...how about the next 'hunk' they bring on the show resemble Daniel Dae Kim OR bring on someone that would be able to play Terence or Jamal.

Oh and...

Yeah this will happen about the same day a black President walks up in the White House. Not.Gonna.Happen.

[Daphne]

I'm still pissed that they got rid of Adrian He was the best looking man in Pine Valley and the writers couldn't/wouldn't give him a story.

I wonder if they are ever gonna bring Noah back to Pine Valley? Based on what I've read about Julia, her continued "clashes" with Josh and Jamie's sudden interest in her this week, I'm wondering if AMC is going for a Josh/Julia/Jamie triangle?

[Casey]

LOL...I think I was on hiatus from AMC during that time. I do remember Adrian though.

I loathe Noah Keefer, I was happy when they said he was dead. I never liked that character.

I think they are definitely moving towards a triangle with the three J's. Good help Sydney Penny.