Today, soap opera fans across the country are mourning. Today, this writer is mourning. I, along with millions of other fans, mourned the end of an era. Yes, today “All My Children” aired its finale show for ABC. While I mourned, I cried. I cried like a member of my family had died. In a way, a member of my family had died. “All My Children” has been like a member of my family since I was a young girl.
I began watching “All My Children” like thousands of other fans did. I began watching it because of my grandmother. My grandmother, God rest her soul, lived next door to me. She was like a safe haven to me. When my life was hard, I would go to her house to seek shelter from the storm. In the afternoons, she would watch the ABC soaps. One of them was “All My Children.” Soon, I fell in love with Erica Kane and her glamour. Soon, I wanted to be just like her.
Today, my Grandmother would cry along with me. Today, Grandma would not understand what ABC did. I do not understand either. They can spend oodles of money marketing their new lifestyle show, yet they couldn’t market the soaps. Oh, well, there is no use crying over what ABC could or couldn’t do. Soon they will be crying over their ratings.
“All My Children” does have a future. “All My Children” has a future on the internet and if all goes well they may have a future on a cable station. According to an article, on insidetv.ew.com Prospect Park, the smart company which is going to air “All My Children” online is currently working on a deal with the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists and if they can come with an agreement, they are hoping to broker a deal to air this beloved show on a second window, a cable station. This will enable more fans to be able to continue to watching this show, including this writer.
For now, this writer is left holding her breath, long with millions of other fans after seeing the ending of “All My Children.” Some of the sweet moments were: seeing Staurt and his family getting the reuion the deserved, seeing the children reciting the “All My Children” motto, seeing David out on bail, seeing Adam propose to Brooke and getting a yes, seeing Jack walk out of on Erica after Erica wanted to postpone their wedding once again, this time to make her movie in LA. He walked out stating: “Frankly Erica, I don’t give a damn,” yes a famous line from one of my favorite movies. Erica stood stunned. Then she decided to go after him, the same time JR, who was hiding in the shadows of the hidden room, shot his gun. We assumed someone in the crowd got shot. Was it Erica who was running toward Jack? Was it someone in the crowd watching Erica and Jack such as: Adam, Dixie, Marrissa, Tad or someone else in the crowd. We do not know. This is what makes Agnes Nixon’s storytelling so great.
Fans will know more once the show goes online and hopefully to cable. For now “All My Children” goes on vacation and Prospect Park goes to work.
The Great and the Least,
… The Rich and the Poor,
The Weak and the Strong,
In Sickness and in Health,
… In Joy and Sorrow,
In Tragedy and Triumph,
You are ALL MY CHILDREN