The end of an era

ABC recently announced the cancellation of two of their three legendary soap operas: All My Children (AMC) & One Life to Live (OLTL). AMC will go off the air in September, and OLTL in January. While I no longer keep up with these two shows, I did grow up watching them and I'm sad to see them go. I'm not a big fan of change especially when it comes to pieces of my childhood.

I have been watching soaps since I could sit in front of a TV. Back then we only had basic television (in fact most people did) so once Sesame Street and Reading Rainbow were off, there really wasn't much for children to watch during the day. Don't judge my stay at home mother because I'm actually glad for the exposure at a young age. It made me a lot wiser to things going on in the world. Looking back at old episodes I never really understood the entire context of the adult conversations. I was still quite sheltered.

Despite the over dramatic acting, there is a rich history in these shows that should be valued. There are actors who have devoted their entire lives and careers to being on one show such as Susan Lucci, "Erica Cane." And if you're a soap opera fan, you absolutely hate when your favorites are "killed off" or "leave town" because of contracts or other opportunities that come their way in real life. So when actors devote their career to one soap, we love it! Soap fans are faithful despite bad story lines and awful actors that sometimes sweep through town. If only ABC had been loyal to us.

Like I said though, I haven't kept up with these two in quite a few years, mainly to poor writing. I, however, am solely devoted to General Hospital (GH). And when I say devoted, I mean every day I spend 40 minutes (thank you DVR) unwinding to GH. I have no idea what I would do if it came to an end. I have watched this show most of my life. I grew up with Kimberly McCollough "Robin Scorpio-Drake." I remember her when she first came on the show. I remember the day Luke and Laura came cruising back in town in the Pink Cadillac like it was yesterday (1993). I fell in love with the show during the Sonny, Brenda and Jax love triangle days. And I've been watching daily since. I would sincerely hate to see this show be cancelled for inexpensive talkshows and I hope ABC realizes the rich history of this show before it's too late. According to reports now, they do and they believe the writing and viewership are in a good place. Let's keep it that way GH fans!

I'd love to hear some feedback if you are a soap fan, GH fan or have a devotion to a show for 20+ years!