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All My Children Discussion Group
I want to start by saying I have been watching AMC since 1976. I have watched when it has been great and remained faithful when it has not. It seems to me from reading various message boards, that any people are very disappointed with the show over the past year or two. Now I do not mean this in a nasty way, but if you no longer are enjoying the show the simple answer is "Stop Watching".
I would like to offer my opinion on what AMC needs to do to get back to its best. One, is it has to keep developing all the core families. They are starting with the Hubbards nicely and they need to do the same with all the others. Storylines should work within each core family and possbily connect to another in some way. Storylines should not be about the same 6-8 people every day.
The second thing I feel needs to be done is start working these storylines about topical subjects. AMC used to deal with drug abuse, gambling, etc. Why can't they do a SL with a story on Breast Cancer, Erica could discover a lump and be diagnosed with BC but for her own particulair reason keeps it from her family. How about Zach finding out he has a half sibling (a sister) who comes into his life and watch how he bonds with her and possibly makes Kendall jealous? I don't know but there are numerous topics to pick from and develope with this good cast of characters.
Anyway, that is what I think would help. Comments?
I have the best solution to makiing this soap 100% better and it's only by doing ONE thing.
KILL RYAN. Then the storylines would improve to emmy proportions.
In addition to everyone's fine suggestions of family, topical issues, romance, please add a heaping spoon of HUMOR! Not just the occasional slapstick paper-eating incident, but real, everyday chuckles. Sometimes you wonder how these characters manage to function without a genuine giggle or two in their angst-filled lives. Let it be broad pratfalls or witty dialogue, pop culture references or historical irony, seltzer-in-the-face or sly double entendres -- just make these people laugh!
(Us, too.)
For these reasons, I feel that valid and objective criticism is necessary and should be listened to by TPTB. Otherwise, the ratings will continue their downward spiral and those of you who suggest that we just quit watching will not have the choice of watching or not watching. The show will be canceled.
I get what you're saying, mainly because I actually did stop watching for a couple of years prior to the start of 2008. It came and went. I tuned back in to see Dixie, only to see her written ridiculously AND witness Erica's abortion resurrect itself. So I tuned back out for the most part, then I was massively offended by Brooke's disappearance AND Dixie's re-death... So I pretty much didn't watch AT ALL for most of 2007.
And when I didn't watch, I couldn't really post because I was no longer having to SEE all the crap going on. I've said it before: It's not perfect, but I think the show is light years better than it was a year ago. I'm enjoying it. It feels more true to itself.
If I could fix anything, it would be having Rob Gardener holding a not-so-dead Dixie captive somewhere as leverage. I would either recast Babe with Martha Madison (ex-Belle, DAYS), or jetison the whole character. Lily / Ava seem to be on their way out, and that's fine with me - because Leven Rambin's basically phoned it in the last few times I saw her (and I'm sick to death of dual roles).
Annie is a lot more interesting / less annoying now that it seems to be firmly decided that she's twisted in the same vein her brother is. I want to see brother's acts revealed, and ultimately, for both characters to go bye-bye. I like RB's Greenlee, but she'll be a whole lot more interesting to me once she finds out about Kendall / Aidan.
I like the potential of Jack / Erica / Samuel (now, now... of course I want Jack & Erica together ultimately, but I don't want to watch them knit together or make googly eyes 24/7)... I'm not so sure about the Cass / Dre thing... Is she looking for a boyfriend, or a new pal to help her shop for clothes?
So I do have criticisms and concerns, but I think AMC is overall good and seemingly getting better. I'm looking forward to FURTHER improvements, hopefully in the vein of the things I just mentioned. :-)
Like many other fans, I have been watching AMC since inception. I use to watch as a little kid with my Grandmother. BTW: my daughter now watches too. That said, I just have to put it out there that I for one would HATE a cancer storyline. General Hospital has done this several times and even though the stories were well written and acted, they were beyond depressing and just plain hard to watch. There is too much of that horrid disease in real life, we don't need to watch the misery of it on our soaps to know it exists. Right now, I am looking foward to the short term return of Dixie. Usually I detest these short returns of a favorite, but it will be nice to see Dixie again, and I really want Tad to find Kate. Plus we will get to see David Canary do a fine job of being haunted.
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Soaps, in general, tend to have multi-generational appeal in families. So a show can represent a bit of family history as well, so 'just turning it off' would be like tossing Grandma's favorite pictures or heirloom items in the garbage.
Many of the longtime fans have emotionally invested in the show for decades, not just five minutes or so. TPTB (Corp) denies that most of the fan base is made up of these multi-generations, using that as one of the most often used excuses for disregarding history & established characters. This isn't just an ABC/Disney issue, it is across the board, w/all soaps! Remember, this is the same brain trust that said that Agnes Nixon doesn't know soaps.
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And I don't mean this in a nasty way, but your gratuitous "stop watching" is contradictory after you just said you remained faithful in good times and bad. Part of enjoying the show, in my opinion, is being able to complain about it. And I've watched AMC since 1971. There have been really wonderful exciting storylines in the past and I'm optimistic there will be again. I don't think PSAs are necessarily entertaining, though they can be. I remember when they had an intervention for Mark. This was a storyline that we were invested in; we cared that Mark got better and that his family stood by him. We cared that Bianca is a lesbian and anguished along with her when she was coming out. There are more, but I just don't think we are necessarily meant to be educated by watching soaps. Witness the recent Go Red with Fusion campaign. That was supposed to have a message, but basically it was just stupid and a way for Campbell's to plug its products.
The storylines today are like something one of the writers thought of on the way to work after a wild drunken night, that have no beginning and seemingly no end. Example: Ryan's amnesia. I don't care.
I started watching the end of the first week or the begining of the second week and never gave up on it until last year.
Of all the horrible stories and horrible characters that Ive seen...it took Kendall and Ryan to make me throw in the towel.
I use to say that only David Canary's departure would drive me away but they changed Adam so much that it did not feel like I was leaving him.
I rejoined when I learned of the Hubbards return and I have not been disappointed in them so far. Even with the slow story and the repeated dialogue they are worth tunning in for.
I agree with you that topical stories would be a plus. I also want them to get back to writing stories for the established characters instead of re-writing the characters for the latest story.
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