ABC network executives asked Agnes Nixon for another soap opera after their success with One Life to Live. Instead of creating a new one, Nixon dusted off a previous effort from 5 years earlier that Procter & Gamble had been unable place use. “All My Children” debuted on January 5, 1970. Speaking at a seminar held at the Museum of Television & Radio in 1988, Agnes Nixon elaborated upon her creative process: “I just happen to have the original All My Children bible here. Every writer must have a different way of doing this, but I happen to start with a concept, and the concept or theme for this was the brotherhood of man. I stated in a few words on the first page of the presentation, and it reads: ‘The great and the least, the weak and the strong, in joy and sorrow, in hope and fear, in tragedy and triumph, you are all my children.’ ” With its focus on young love & topical issues, this new soap drew in a large audience of college students who couldn’t relate to the soaps of their mothers’ generation. According to an executive producer of the show, “The show has always been invested in realistic storytelling with characters, not manipulating character for story. It’s like the great movies of the forties. That, to me, is what daytime really is about. It’s replaced all the Susan Hayward or Bette Davis movies that they don’t make anymore. If you listen to the fans, basically they’re looking for family, friendship, romance, suspense. What is that? It’s a forties movie!” In other words, the residents of Pine Valley have little interest in really going urban or bizarre, because that wouldn’t serve the character of this particular show. Along with its sympathetic heroines & outrageous characters, Agnes Nixon cleverly infused her romantic storylines with contemporary hot-buttons such as Vietnam War protests, abortion & environmental protection. At its inception, “AMC” focused on two disparate families: the WASPy, wealthy & dysfunctional Tylers & the middle class, moral & upwardly mobile Martins. For the entirety of its more than 41-year run, “…none of these characters, however, has wreaked as much havoc as beautiful, spoiled, and vindictive Erica Kane. Played with vampy good humor by Susan Lucci, Erica is an Agnes Nixon staple, the lost daddy’s girl who wants nothing more than her father’s love. She has remained sympathetic even as she has seduced, manipulated, and discarded a series of husbands, and lovers over the years in an attempt to fill the void left by her father’s absence and neglect. Though Erica has matured as she has dealt with abortion, rape, substance abuse, and motherhood, she remains compulsively destructive, not only harming the people in her life, but her own happiness.” In 1981, AMC addressed domestic violence in the startling, wrenching storyline of Leora Sanders. AIDS, cocaine addiction & alcoholism have been storyline features, as well. In fact, in 1996, the character of Erica Kane fought her fictional addictions at the renowned, real-life Betty Ford Clinic. Die-hard devotees of “All My Kids” have had it really rough since the September 23, 2011 finale of their beloved soap. And, even though Erica Kane is probably doomed to her severe abandonment complex forever, we avid fans hope against hope that we have not been abandoned forever by Erica & her gang! We’d love to trust that the long promised & much anticipated AMC “Webisodes” on TOLN actually become a reality in early 2012! Stay tuned…
This collection of color coordinated fashion fabrics is from the Winter 2011 issue of Vogue Fabrics By Mail. Order a subscription to this swatch club catalog service to receive home delivery.
This collection of color coordinated fashion fabrics is from the Winter 2011 issue of Vogue Fabrics By Mail. Order a subscription to this swatch club catalog service to receive home delivery.
