There's all kinds of news. Good news (rarely). Bad news (often) and just news, weather and sports.
But, this evening, the news took on a different cast...
The cast of "All my Children" will be looking for work elsewhere.
The horror! AMC going away! Buh bye! Gone! Off the air!
Though not sure when...didn't do my homework, apparently, or I am simply in soap denial.
Heck, yes! Have watched this cast since college (not saying how long ago that was) and who's counting, anyway?!
AMC has been gracing the screen for 40 years. Let's see, then. Was I in college when? Oh dear Lord!
Our Erica Kane, AKA, Susan Lucci, will finally ride off into the sunset with...let's see, uh, her true love...
Nope! My money's on Caleb! Mountain man, turned city boy or return to civilization to reclaim the family business that is rightfully his... and seriously..."Pine Valley, PA?!?" Come on!
Susan Lucci and numerous other cast members just barely a year ago relocated from NY to LA to continue the journey on "All my Children," uprooting family, lives and routines for the new production studio in Hollywood, only to be told, apparently, today...that the show is "iz-nay" and going off the air sometime in the near future.
Hardly the soap ending we had in mind, but none the less, it is an end of an era and we are left wondering what will become of "all her children" and the numerous new cast members layered in over the past year and recent months. 'Stirring the plot" and adding juicy bits of intertwined history and newness to the never ending story that AMC has become over 40 years, we are left to our own devices?! Mercy!
Good God, has it been that long? Got to hand it to the writers. Very few prime time shows have stood the test of time as these drama laden sagas have done so successfully and for so very long into our daily lives. As, there too, goes, "Days of our lives." Two for two. Canceled!
Imagine that. Day time soaps that have mirrored the longevity of the likes of Mash, Seinfeld and Friends! Yet they have!
So lucky are those who could relish the time to watch a favorite soap during a lunch hour, schedule classes around and sit in the the luxury of one's own home to watch the continuing story of so many lives...lives that shadowed our own, or gave us an escape from which there is no other.
Soap operas, such a grand title, the leader board of daytime boredom and the need for total otherness. Anything other than what is our true routine and regimen can be measured in the success of the "soap."
"Calgon, take us away!"
Forty years of feisty, frisky, fairly entertaining frenzy of friends we came to know and love. Whatever will we do without them?
Will it be another cooking show? Another judge or doctor? Will Katie Couric replace Oprah?!
Will Dr. Phil do a spin off? Lord help us!
Goodbye, Erica. Goodbye fantasy. So long to eating in front of the tube at lucnh time. Good riddance to bad dialog. But, oh, how we longed for it; planned for it; waited for it; wanted it.
Like the "Lost" of daytime TV, we could hardly wait to know the fate of futile lives, fraught with fundamental errs of being; riddled with fateful mistakes and mishaps.
Oh, how we relished in it; loved to see the human frailty of others. However will we manage without these characters of doom and gloom, failed relationships and furious attempts to be famous?
Only a few have made it through the maze of daytime television. And many of them found their roots in "All My Children." Praise be to Kelly Rippa (and her scandalously adorable husband...what's his name? Mark Consuelos) And who could forget Josh Duhamel, in Vegas, bringing to mind, Andy Garcia and Julia Roberts...and oh, that once unknown, George Clooney! Ocean's Eleven, Twelve...Thirteen...(nothing to do with AMC).
Let's just say a fond farewell.
And can you imagine Jack or Erica being cast elsewhere? I think Zack saw this coming and had his role written off just in time.
And, really? Opal made it to the bitter end. Can you imagine?!
AMC RIP
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It's cheaper to do a talk show or 'Local Call in Show' then to do a soap opera. Though, for us the viewer, I'd rather watch AMC, General Hospital, heck, bring back Edge of Night.....but for the money men, cheap shows + sponsors = BIG PAY OUT! Stupid money men!!!!
:(
Few people know I tape One Life and General Hospital every single day and they are my soothing balm. No matter what else happens, I have my soaps. I have had them since I was 16, which makes it 32 years. I have missed some years here and there, but since VCR then DVD and now DVR they have always, always been my rock.
I am simply devasated. OMG what will happen to me if they take GH too? Although, they have been killing it slowly with shit writing..
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Yeah it si much cheaper to do some other silly show.
rated with hugs
I take comfort in at least knowing that Walt Willey has his Bed and Breakfast in Santa Fe to fall back on. If you're ever in SF, you must stay there! It's one of the most reasonably priced B & Bs in the area and gorgeous. Our family has stayed there at least four times and every time it's been a wonderful experience. And sometimes we even get to chat with Walt, who is a super nice person. Thanks for your post-- and by the way, I loved the "Calgon" remark. My friends and I used to say that all the time!
Kellylark - We "soapies" have outed ourselves but so what?! It will all be forgotten soon, when the TV scripters find something else to replace our soaps. I refuse to watch!
Scanner - Too much reality warps the mind, frankly. How can they take away the last visage of fantasy we all need and want but rarely admit!
Jonathan - And who can forget Peyton Place, Dallas and all those night time soaps?!
Sky - Now that I've outed myself about my soap lust, I will also admit to watching paint dry. Who doesn't do that while waiting impatiently to put on the second coat?!
Bill - Thanks for coming and weighing in!
Nick - So right! Where will we find this much needed escapism? I suppose there is enough of that on night time TV, but even there, the men who govern what we watch keep dropping great rot gut shows, left and right.
maryway - Yes, her looks have deteriorated in subtle ways for so long it's hard to remember what she once looked like. Although, she still looks pretty good for 64, I have to say. She seems to be a very nice and genuine person in her off screen life and married to the same man for most of her life. Too bad there isn't a juicy story line there!
Linda - Yes the soap writing has really stretched the limits of where it can go, sadly and was always over the top bad writing from the get go. It was amazing to see what they got away with for so long. And I will miss this one hour of reckless abandon and a little disconnect from all else that clutters my day. Frowns.
Mary - Thanks, cutie! Yes, AMC was more like the Susan Lucci hour for 40 years, watching her stay young looking throughout all the failed marriages, success in business that was once rare for women, back in the early days of the soap, where she just kept marrying millionaires and becoming more and more famous in her soap persona...and yes, even in her real life! And married to the same man all these years, though she had to kiss a lot of frogs on screen!
Uncoolmomdotcom - Thanks for coming by and giving us the great tip on Walt's B&B in Sante Fe! I would love to visit there someday as it is high on my bucket list!
JD - Thanks for stopping by this soapy farewell...
rated with love
I read they're considering a show called "Chews" something about Iron Chef meets talk show or some such perverseness. Might be best to call it Spews and be done with the clever names. My condolences to all the loyal fans, I'm sad about the end of another era.
Romantic Poetess - Thanks for weighing in!
L'Heure Bleue - Yes, sadly it is an end to an era. Good point about the issues they tackled and wove into their stories. They did that quite well. Still hard to swallow that the network is walking away from millions of viewers. They'd better have a damn good plan for replacing the two popular soaps.
Sally - When you think about it, most TV serials are soaps on some level! Desperate Housewives I can tolerate habitually. The other "Housewives" shows are intolerable and screechy! Yet their popularity is strong among the generation of my children, so there it is. I am old as dirt!
I watched All My Kids in the late 80's! AMC was so frustrating to watch with their 15 minutes of commercials for 20 minutes of film, it doesn't surprise me at all that their viewership trailed off.
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Sweetfeet - Yes, they absolutely will be sorely missed! There is so little on TV that carries you away for an hour, to a place quite removed from your own existence, from which we need tiny escapes now and then!
Trudge164 - Hah! Nothing clever about it! "AMC" has referred to All My Children for 40 years. They hold seniority over the "other" AMC movie channel. Just sayin'!
Thoth - So happy to see you here! I know, it's not the prize winning post we all hope to achieve, but the news sent me into a typing frenzy last night!