RIP All My Children

The Death of a Groundbreaking Show


The phone rang. My friend Carol yelled, “Phillip is alive!” and then she hung up. I immediately ran to the television and was transported to the town of Pine Valley where Ruth Martin had just learned that her son*, Phillip, who she (and the rest of us) believed was MIA in Vietnam, was alive. I will never forget the impact of that scene. All My Children had already in many ways legitimized the protests against the war. This was a soap opera with mainstream American characters that was breaking new ground with viewers. My affinity for this type of storytelling was born.

After a few years, I stopped watching. My hours changed so I was no longer home at noon. I would try to be home or near a TV on Fridays to keep up with “my shows” which were now Days of Our Lives and General Hospital. My college roommate and I hurried home from work and school in order to watch Marlena’s wedding. We dressed up. People thought we were nuts. We probably were.

Finally, I was able to record stories. Tastes changed and I found As the World Turns. Over the years, I would come home from work, kick off my heels, wiggle out of my pantyhose, pour a glass of wine and visit Oakdale.

ABC cancelled two of its three soap operas this week. I suppose I should be grateful that General Hospital was not cancelled - yet. But I am sad for the casts and crew and the many, many fans who I know must be heartbroken. When I heard that As the World Turns had been cancelled I felt like a friend had died. I feel sorry for the One Life to Live fans, too. And now there isn’t one daytime drama in New York. And what about the cast of All My Children who had to move to California to keep their jobs?

The cancellation of All My Children feels more like the true death rattle for soaps. Perhaps it is because many stories were groundbreaking. Erica’s abortion was the first on TV. Erica’s daughter came out as a lesbian (and subsequently married her partner in a big soap opera wedding).

My most recent visit back to Pine Valley was to watch the incredibly moving and well acted story of Jesse and Angie coming together again after two decades. They were the first African American “super couple” on a soap opera. I remember crying when Jesse “died” of a gunshot wound in 1988. To the music of Alicia Keyes, "Like You'll Never See Me Again", the choreography of the reunion scene at the train station was breathtaking. Although I had heard that the show had changed quite a bit, I knew that a show that could produce those episodes would always be with us. I was wrong.



*In true soap opera form, Phillip was actually Ruth’s nephew.