The End of A TV Era

I'm mad.  I mean I'm really mad.  And disappointed too.  And if I'm being honest, I'm a little disgusted as well.  Yesterday I watched the end of an era.  I watched a part of American history come to an end.  I watched pieces of my childhood shut the door.  And it just makes me mad.

All My Children has been a daily staple of American households for over 40 years.  There's something about All My Children that America loves more than any other soap opera.  Could it be the magnificent Erica Kane?  Or the fiendish Adam Chandler.  Is it the love affairs that swept us all off our feet like Jessie & Angie or Tad & Dixie?  Or Erica and Jeff martin, Tom Cudahy, Adam Chandler (twice), Dimitri Marik (twice), Travis Montgomery (twice), and Jackson Montgomery (1.5 times).

I personally have watched it since I was a child when my mom would watch it and I continued to watch into adulthood.  Hell!  I was sure not to miss it while I was in labor with my first son!  While I was pushing!  The dedication runs deep y'all.  And last year while I was on bed rest for 23 weeks All My Children was my daily transport out of the walls of my room and into another world. 

So I'm really disappointed in ABC.  Shame on you for choosing a more "cost effective" production.  I'm sure that soaps like All My Children & One Life To Live (Which has also been pulled off the air) come with a larger than average production cost.  And I'm sure that reality shows (barf) like The Chew are cheaper to produce.  But what good are they if pissed off fans like me refuse to watch them? 

I know that everyone is looking for ways to save money now a days.  The economy sucks.  I get that.  But what ABC fails to consider is that classic soaps like these are an escape for the rest of America that has lost their job and are struggling every single day to get by.  It's a moment in our day where we can follow the lives of other people who's troubles far exceed our own.  And when I say the LIVES of these people that's exactly what I mean.  Not the SEASONS.  We have known these people our whole lives.  Day in and day out.  5 days a week we are with them.  They are family.  We've watched their kids grow up and their lives take turns that we never saw coming (and some that we did!).  We've rooted for them (19 Emmy nods and FINALLY 1 win for Erica!) and fell in love with them.

But to ABC it's all bottom line.  I really think they did the wrong thing here.  This is Americana.  And they threw it out on the street to be replaced by some crap cooking show we could easily get in 5 different versions on the Food Network.  But where will we get another All My Children?  I'll tell you where.  ABC has licenced the rights to Prospect Park who will continue production in an online format.  I'm super happy that our "stories" will live on but I'm still unimpressed with ABC who saved money cutting the show then made money licencing it!  So they are making money by dropping an American Classic.  That's crap y'all.

Look.  I'm just a silly mom blogger.  ABC has its reasons.  Whatever.  I just wanted to show my support for a group of people who have been a part of my life my whole life.  I really hope Prospect Park is able to continue this American Legacy in all its glory.  I, and legions of other fans, will be glued to our computers following these lives and stories we have come to love.