Ramblings of a TV Geek

You know you are too old for Tumblr when someone bitches that their Mom makes them pick up their dirty socks, and you side with the Mom on this one.  Don’t you have a hamper? Also, if it was me, I’d charge you every time you left your shit lying around.

When All My Children left the airwaves in September 2011, it seemed like that was it.  There were rumors that it might resurface online, but eventually the deal fell through.  Flashforward to a year and a half later, All My Children is back, in online form.

The new online version of All My Children premiered on Hulu two weeks ago, on April, 29, 2013, which airs four days a week, Monday through Thursday.  These first eight episodes alone have breathe new life into a show, that even when it was still on network television, was sorely missing in its last few years.  Unfortunately, the show suffered from network interference; The man in charge of Daytime Programming hated the Soap Opera genre.  Towards the end, things got a little better when the show knew it was ending and re-hired Lorraine Broderick to help finish the show.

Anyway, now that the show has been given a second chance, you can feel the difference.  Finally, the writers and producers are free to create and tell the kind of stories they want to.  And hearing reports that the actors and actresses are happy and treated well is great.

The show picks up five years later after the events of the last network episode (in real time it was only a year and a half ago.)  It is a good creative move because while they acknowledge the past and in some cases are still feeling the effects of J.R. Chandler bringing a gun to Brooke and Adam’s engagement party, it also allows time and distance, and to tell new stories and introduce new characters without being stuck in the past.

We learn that J.R. Chandler has been stuck in a coma all of this time.  He shot Marissa, and in turn David Hayward (Marissa’s father) shot J.R.  David just got out of prison for the act.

Brooke and Adam are still together but didn’t get married because of the incident five years ago; Cara has a secret in regards to what happened to her baby with David that hasn’t fully been revealed yet (either she had an abortion or she gave it up for adoption, most likely); Bianca is still mourning the loss of Marissa; Dixie has been waiting at J.R.’s bedside all of this time; and Angie and Jesse Hubbard are still happily married.

Of the positives and negatives of this new version, let’s start with the negative just to get it out of the way, because most of it is positive.

Negatives:

The Human Trafficking storyline with Cassandra is awful.  So far she has just been tied up, but her captors are trying to force her to take pills, so that she will become addicted and start prostituting.  What makes it cringeworthy is the fear that this storyline will go on for a long time. If the story is just a catalyst to bring Cassandra back to Pine Valley, and for Angie to find out that Jesse has been keeping this information secret from her, then fine.  But if this is just the beginning and Cassandra becomes a prostitute and stays one for a year or more, then that would be horrible. It is a Soap Opera after all, things aren’t usually resolved quickly.

The construction of the Pete Cortlandt and Celia storyline is a mess.  Celia is eighteen years old and taking a Gap Year, but is tutoring at the private school she attended and still wears a school uniform in order to fit in.  The first time Pete meets Celia, she is wearing said uniform.  And Pete’s behavior so far has been stalkerish and creepy, but written as a “Love Story.”  It just doesn’t work.  Either have Celia go to a private woman’s college, or make both characters still in high school.  Also, if Pete is older than Celia, put him in a relationship with Jane, the owner of the local coffee shop. She seems way more age appropriate, and there interactions are less creepy.

Positives:

Celia’s heretofore mysterious benefactor is intriguing.  Her being sheltered from life and wanting to experience it makes the clunky parts of her storyline tolerable.  The actress who plays Celia, and the actor who plays Pete are likeable; just either fix the storyline or put them with other people.

Opal. It is so great to see the character be utilized again, and taking a more prominant role in the show.  And she has a great Mother/Son dynamic with Pete.

The Hubbards have become sort of the central family on this show, and it is great. Angie in particular has become the shows matriarch.

It is great to see Adam, Brooke, Dr. Joe Martin, and Dixie again.  So far we haven’t seen much of them, but it is great for long time fans.

The casting for A.J. and Miranda are perfect.  Perfect.  They have had a lot of prominance in these first eight episodes, and the actor and actress’ portrayal of them are great.  Miranda takes after her grandmother, Erica Kane, but the actress is so good, you can see the Bianca in her as well.  The almost brother/sister dynamic is fun to watch, and it is sort of intriguing because A.J. has a crush on Miranda, that she doesn’t know about yet.

All in all, the show is off to a great start.