By Sylvia Gurinsky
Once again, retro has become quite modern on television.
The success of cable's "Mad Men" has triggered a couple of new shows about - well, the old - on networks: NBC's "The Playboy Club" and ABC's "Pan Am." Like "Mad Men," both shows cover the early 1960s.
When times are difficult, television networks are usually more eager to air shows that go back to what was seemingly a simpler time. The popularity of Westerns both on television and in the movies coincided with the height of the Cold War. Unlike individuals depending on their governments not to push the nuclear button, townspeople in Westerns could usually work things out for themselves, or have the sheriff do it for them.
During the first two decades of television, there were otherwise a few shows set in other decades ("The Untouchables," which was set during the Prohibition era, is a famous example.). During the 1970s, when the news was full of stories about the Vietnam War, Watergate and economic problems, some of the best shows went back in time.
The first two on the air debuted on CBS during the fall of 1972 - "The Waltons" and "M*A*S*H."
Technically, "The Waltons" actually debuted in 1971 with the holiday television movie "The Homecoming: A Christmas Story." The excellent ratings prompted CBS to give the green light to Earl Hamner's fictionalized series about growing up with his family in the Virginia mountains during the Depression. Until the show started losing cast members - Richard Thomas (John-Boy) and Michael Learned (Olivia) left, Ellen Corby (Esther "Grandma" Walton) suffered a stroke and Will Geer (Zeb "Grandpa" Walton) died - audiences loved it. It ran until 1982.
"M*A*S*H," set during the Korean War and based on the Academy Award-nominated film, got off to a wobbly start on television; early episodes tried to copy the movie's hijinks and the show was in danger of early cancellation. But then this comedy got serious, with stellar writing, acting and storylines, and lasted 11 seasons.
"Happy Days," celebrating the mid-1950s, debuted on ABC as a mid-season replacement in January, 1974 - and as a spinoff of a segment of another ABC hit, "Love, American Style." Starring Ron Howard as Richie Cunningham, Henry Winkler as Arthur "Fonz" Fonzarelli, Tom Bosley as Howard Cunningham and Marion Ross as Marion Cunningham, the show soon shot to Number 1 in the ratings and became a national phenomenon. It also triggered two spinoffs - "Laverne & Shirley," also set in the 1950s, and "Mork and Mindy," set in the 1978 year it debuted. It's also possible that "Happy Days" started more film careers than any other show in television history; besides Howard, who has excelled as a director, future fellow Oscar winners Robin Williams and Tom Hanks guest-starred on the show, as did future film director Penny Marshall. Here's Williams' introduction as Mork, along with Winkler and Howard:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6S9IEAE_s0&feature=related
On American television, World War II has been a more popular topic for miniseries than weekly series (Although ABC did try with "Homefront" from 1991-93.).
An exception was the comedy series "Hogan's Heroes," (CBS, 1965-71), although the capers of Hogan (Bob Crane) and his buddies had nothing on the horrific real-life experiences of Holocaust survivor Robert Clary, who played LeBeau.
The British have done better with World War II, and one of the most popular exports, via PBS, is the mystery series "Foyle's War," which first aired in 2002. A new batch of episodes may come sometime soon showing retired Hastings Detective Chief Superintendent Christopher Foyle (Michael Kitchen) now battling the Cold War bad guys; show creator Anthony Horowitz is writing episodes set in 1946.
All mentioned series are available on DVD.
See you next week. Until then, Happy Viewing!
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Sunday, September 18, 2011
September 23: So Long, Pine Valley
By Sylvia Gurinsky
To quote Johnny Carson on his last night, "And so, it has come to this."
When Agnes Nixon created "All My Children" in 1970, Marshall Karp, then in charge of ABC's programming, laid out the show's mission:
"'All My Children' is particularly exciting, as it will tell a big story - that no man is an island - and while the drama will deal with a great variety of people and their dramatic conflicts, the stories will reflect the fact that beneath our loves, hates, fears and hostilities, we are all linked by the common bond of our humanity."
That's the ideal that has pretty much guided most, if not all, of the 41 years of storytelling. It's the ideal that guided the best of that storytelling. Rather than ranking it, here's a chronological recounting of the best of "AMC":
*1972: Ruth Martin opposes the Vietnam War: Seeing the effect of Phil Martin's presumed death in Vietnam, Ruth joined those speaking out against the war. Amy Tyler had already done the same during the show's first year - something "AMC" creator Agnes Nixon had planned from the very beginning.
*1973: Erica Kane has an abortion. Prime-time television - a 1972 episode of "Maude" - actually led the way even before Roe vs. Wade. Afterward, though, Erica, who was married to Jeff Martin, decided she didn't want a child to get in the way of her career. Selfish choice, yes - but the fact that she could legally make a choice was the point of the plotline.
*1978: Ruth Martin raped by Ray Gardner: Of all of "All My Children's" meanest characters, Ray Gardner - Tad Martin's biological father and Opal Gardner's first husband - was unquestionably the worst. There was no shying away from the effects of the rape or the aftermath for Ruth or the rest of the Martin family.
*1981-84: Jesse-Jenny friendship: At a time when the suspicion level between blacks and whites was just starting to go down, having an interracial friendship - particularly one between an African-American man and a white woman - was breaking ground. It was as rewarding watching Kim Delaney and Darnell Williams in these scenes as it was watching the love stories the two characters were involved in with other cast members:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FECGUHvCqsI
*1987: Erica leads intervention for Mark (and 2004: Mark helps with Erica's intervention.): Mark Dalton (Mark La Mura), Erica Kane's brother, had an addiction to cocaine during the 1980s. Many shows were addressing the drug crisis at that time, but "All My Children" had the luxury of time to show one means of helping an addict - the family intervention. Erica and Ellen Shepard (Kathleen Noonan) would help Mark.
Seventeen years later, Mark would return the favor for an alcoholic Erica:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=naKdekoEaac&feature=related
*1987-89: Stuart and Cindy: Stuart Chandler, who was volunteering in Pine Valley Hospital, fell in love with Cindy Parker (Ellen Wheeler), who had contracted HIV from her drug addict-husband, who had died. Stuart and Cindy had to overcome much discrimination (including early on from Jesse Hubbard, Skye Chandler (Robin Christopher) and Stuart's own brother, Adam. They all had a change of heart later on, of course. The storyline did much to break the myths about HIV-AIDS a few years before real-life notables such as Magic Johnson and Arthur Ashe did.
David Canary, who plays both Adam and Stuart, won an Emmy for the storyline, as did Wheeler:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QuTdi2Fi68o
*1988: Laura Cudahy dies: Little Laura, the daughter of Tom and Brooke, was hit by a drunk driver. The scenes addressed not just the issue of drunk driving, but also organ donation, a process that was starting to get more notice during the 1980s. Susan Pratt, as Barbara Montgomery, Julia Barr as Brooke English and Richard Shoberg, as Tom Cudahy, were particularly outstanding in the scenes:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HeoZZavmDbw&feature=related
"General Hospital," in probably its most moving storyline, would also address these issues later.
*1998: Bianca's anorexia: During the last few years, some of the best "AMC" storylines have involved Erica's younger daughter, Bianca. In 1998, the teenaged Bianca (aged the way soap opera children usually are, since she was born in 1988) battled anorexia, a disease that many teenagers, particularly females, struggle with. Erica helped her through it. A short clip comes about 45 seconds into this reel:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bW8aiteeh1c
A happy real-life byproduct of this storyline was that Susan Lucci finally won an Emmy for playing Erica:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37nv9dHIuCc
*2000: Bianca comes out: Much-married Erica Kane had trouble dealing with the fact that her daughter was a lesbian. Lucci and Eden Riegel, who played Bianca for a decade, did a fine job:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLg0oXQ7MQc
**************************************************************************
Today's show ended, typically, with a couple of cliffhangers, in anticipation of the show moving to the Internet. Prospect Park, which will also air "One Life To Live" online, has signed a couple of current major "AMC" cast members. So far, Susan Lucci is not among them, nor are Walt Willey, Michael Knight, Darnell Williams or Julia Barr. Ray MacDonnell and David Canary have retired. Debbi Morgan is headed to CBS.
And so many of the pillars of the show - Ruth Warrick and Hugh Franklin, Frances Heflin, Larry Keith, James Mitchell, Eileen Herlie, Mary Fickett and Louis Edmonds - are, sadly, gone.
So whatever the online "All My Children" will be, it will likely be far different from the "AMC" I and millions of other Americans grew up - and grew - with.
But if it's true to the spirit of much of these 41 years on television, it will follow the motto creator Agnes Nixon introduced the show with on January 5, 1970, the motto the show's youngest cast members repeated today:
The Great and the Least,
The Rich and the Poor,
The Weak and the Strong,
In Sickness and in Health,
In Joy and Sorrow,
In Tragedy and Triumph,
You are ALL MY CHILDREN
To quote Johnny Carson on his last night, "And so, it has come to this."
When Agnes Nixon created "All My Children" in 1970, Marshall Karp, then in charge of ABC's programming, laid out the show's mission:
"'All My Children' is particularly exciting, as it will tell a big story - that no man is an island - and while the drama will deal with a great variety of people and their dramatic conflicts, the stories will reflect the fact that beneath our loves, hates, fears and hostilities, we are all linked by the common bond of our humanity."
That's the ideal that has pretty much guided most, if not all, of the 41 years of storytelling. It's the ideal that guided the best of that storytelling. Rather than ranking it, here's a chronological recounting of the best of "AMC":
*1972: Ruth Martin opposes the Vietnam War: Seeing the effect of Phil Martin's presumed death in Vietnam, Ruth joined those speaking out against the war. Amy Tyler had already done the same during the show's first year - something "AMC" creator Agnes Nixon had planned from the very beginning.
*1973: Erica Kane has an abortion. Prime-time television - a 1972 episode of "Maude" - actually led the way even before Roe vs. Wade. Afterward, though, Erica, who was married to Jeff Martin, decided she didn't want a child to get in the way of her career. Selfish choice, yes - but the fact that she could legally make a choice was the point of the plotline.
*1978: Ruth Martin raped by Ray Gardner: Of all of "All My Children's" meanest characters, Ray Gardner - Tad Martin's biological father and Opal Gardner's first husband - was unquestionably the worst. There was no shying away from the effects of the rape or the aftermath for Ruth or the rest of the Martin family.
*1981-84: Jesse-Jenny friendship: At a time when the suspicion level between blacks and whites was just starting to go down, having an interracial friendship - particularly one between an African-American man and a white woman - was breaking ground. It was as rewarding watching Kim Delaney and Darnell Williams in these scenes as it was watching the love stories the two characters were involved in with other cast members:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FECGUHvCqsI
*1987: Erica leads intervention for Mark (and 2004: Mark helps with Erica's intervention.): Mark Dalton (Mark La Mura), Erica Kane's brother, had an addiction to cocaine during the 1980s. Many shows were addressing the drug crisis at that time, but "All My Children" had the luxury of time to show one means of helping an addict - the family intervention. Erica and Ellen Shepard (Kathleen Noonan) would help Mark.
Seventeen years later, Mark would return the favor for an alcoholic Erica:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=naKdekoEaac&feature=related
*1987-89: Stuart and Cindy: Stuart Chandler, who was volunteering in Pine Valley Hospital, fell in love with Cindy Parker (Ellen Wheeler), who had contracted HIV from her drug addict-husband, who had died. Stuart and Cindy had to overcome much discrimination (including early on from Jesse Hubbard, Skye Chandler (Robin Christopher) and Stuart's own brother, Adam. They all had a change of heart later on, of course. The storyline did much to break the myths about HIV-AIDS a few years before real-life notables such as Magic Johnson and Arthur Ashe did.
David Canary, who plays both Adam and Stuart, won an Emmy for the storyline, as did Wheeler:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QuTdi2Fi68o
*1988: Laura Cudahy dies: Little Laura, the daughter of Tom and Brooke, was hit by a drunk driver. The scenes addressed not just the issue of drunk driving, but also organ donation, a process that was starting to get more notice during the 1980s. Susan Pratt, as Barbara Montgomery, Julia Barr as Brooke English and Richard Shoberg, as Tom Cudahy, were particularly outstanding in the scenes:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HeoZZavmDbw&feature=related
"General Hospital," in probably its most moving storyline, would also address these issues later.
*1998: Bianca's anorexia: During the last few years, some of the best "AMC" storylines have involved Erica's younger daughter, Bianca. In 1998, the teenaged Bianca (aged the way soap opera children usually are, since she was born in 1988) battled anorexia, a disease that many teenagers, particularly females, struggle with. Erica helped her through it. A short clip comes about 45 seconds into this reel:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bW8aiteeh1c
A happy real-life byproduct of this storyline was that Susan Lucci finally won an Emmy for playing Erica:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37nv9dHIuCc
*2000: Bianca comes out: Much-married Erica Kane had trouble dealing with the fact that her daughter was a lesbian. Lucci and Eden Riegel, who played Bianca for a decade, did a fine job:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLg0oXQ7MQc
**************************************************************************
Today's show ended, typically, with a couple of cliffhangers, in anticipation of the show moving to the Internet. Prospect Park, which will also air "One Life To Live" online, has signed a couple of current major "AMC" cast members. So far, Susan Lucci is not among them, nor are Walt Willey, Michael Knight, Darnell Williams or Julia Barr. Ray MacDonnell and David Canary have retired. Debbi Morgan is headed to CBS.
And so many of the pillars of the show - Ruth Warrick and Hugh Franklin, Frances Heflin, Larry Keith, James Mitchell, Eileen Herlie, Mary Fickett and Louis Edmonds - are, sadly, gone.
So whatever the online "All My Children" will be, it will likely be far different from the "AMC" I and millions of other Americans grew up - and grew - with.
But if it's true to the spirit of much of these 41 years on television, it will follow the motto creator Agnes Nixon introduced the show with on January 5, 1970, the motto the show's youngest cast members repeated today:
The Great and the Least,
The Rich and the Poor,
The Weak and the Strong,
In Sickness and in Health,
In Joy and Sorrow,
In Tragedy and Triumph,
You are ALL MY CHILDREN
Thursday September 22: Best "AMC" Couples
By Sylvia Gurinsky
As the days tick down to the final "All My Children" on ABC, YesterTube shows the love to the show's greatest couples:
10. Hayley and Mateo: From her 1990 entrance in Gothic wear onward, Hayley Vaughan - Trevor Dillon's niece who also turned out to be Adam Chandler's daughter - made an impression. In 1995, she made one on Mateo "Matt" Santos, whom she later married. It took in real life, too: Kelly Ripa (Hayley) and Mark Consuelos (Mateo) have been married for real since 1996 and have three children. Consuelos has been mentioned as a possible successor to Ripa's current morning host partner, Regis Philbin.
I can imagine the real-life couple going through something like this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZrfRhEbZQo
9. Tara and Phil: The romance that started it all. Tara Martin and Phil Brent were high school classmates falling in love. They faced numerous obstacles - Vietnam, Chuck Tyler, Erica Kane (of course), Phil's parentage, etc. - to be together, but they were the first "super-couple" of the series. The relationship was at its best with the two originals: Karen Lynn Gorney ("Saturday Night Fever") as Tara and Richard Hatch ("Battlestar Gallactica") as Phil.
8. Phoebe and Langley: Con-man Langley Wallingford wormed his way into Phoebe Tyler's life to try to get her money - but wound up falling in love with her for real. Another con man wooed Phoebe away briefly, but Langley was her true, final love:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KWoAzDg35po
7. Opal and Palmer: They started out conspiring to break up Tad and Dixie, but would fall in love with each other for real. With help from Palmer's ex-wife, Daisy, Pine Valley's oddest couple got together:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2be8EPtmr1I
6. Erica and Jackson: Erica Kane's romance with writer Mike Roy was momentous and tempestuous, but brief. It's her on-again, off-again relationship with attorney Jackson Montgomery that's had lasting power for 23 years. Besides, it's such fun seeing the 6'3" Walt Willey, as Jackson, paired up with 5'2" Susan Lucci, as Erica:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9CTGkST5lY
5. Cliff and Nina: Probably the second most popular soap opera couple in 1980-81 (behind "General Hospital's" Luke and Laura), Dr. Cliff Warner and Nina Courtland (Peter Bergman and Taylor Miller) were the epitome in facing obstacles - mostly from Nina's father, Palmer Courtland. They gave themselves some barriers as well; they were married three times. But they had the last laugh on Palmer, who had to pay for some pretty elegant nuptials each time:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L4MJ4Vxq0Bc&feature=related
4. Tad and Dixie: Same scenario - Palmer trying to break up niece Dixie Cooney (Cady McClain) and Tad Martin (Michael Kinght). But Tad could sass Palmer in a way Cliff Warner couldn't even dream about. And unlike the Cliff-Nina relationship, Tad and Dixie's is loaded with humor, right down to yesterday's marriage proposal. But the first proposal was even better:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQQtvsMdA_s
3. Jesse and Angie: There had been other African-American couples in soap operas, of course (including "AMC's" own Frank and Nancy Grant), when Jesse Hubbard and Angie Baxter became a duo in 1982. But this couple, played so powerfully by Darnell Williams and Debbi Morgan, struck a chord with their ups and downs. When Williams returned to the show (and Jesse came "back from the dead") in 2008, there was a nice look at their story:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5x9Hzt3vr4&feature=related
2. Joe and Ruth Martin: For so long, the Martins have been the calm in the eye of the Pine Valley storm that it's hard to remember that Joe and Ruth weren't together at the beginning. Joe was a widower with son Jeff and daughter Tara, while Ruth was married to Ted Brent and raising Phil, sister Amy's son with Nick Davis, as her own. But Ted died in 1970. Ruth and Joe would become closer and were married in 1972. Throughout the 1970s, they had bumps in the road - flirtations (but never full affairs) with others, Ruth's 1978 rape by Ray Gardner and Tad's early acting out - but they never divorced.
Lee Meriweather does a fine job, but Mary Fickett was Ruth:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3AjvZc0L5c&feature=related
1. Jenny and Greg: It made such a strong impression because it was so fleeting in soap opera time, only three years (1981-84) of romance - and only four months of marriage before Jenny's tragic death as a result of Jenny's former suitor, Tony, rigging Greg's jet ski.
Kim Delaney and Laurence Lau broke hearts as Jenny Gardner and Greg Nelson. Like Jesse and Angie, they were also from opposite sides of the tracks - and waited until their oh-so-brief marriage to be truly together.
But they had some nice moments while fighting off Ray Gardner, Liza Colby and the rest:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2UcFjfizS6I
Tomorrow: Best "AMC" storylines!
As the days tick down to the final "All My Children" on ABC, YesterTube shows the love to the show's greatest couples:
10. Hayley and Mateo: From her 1990 entrance in Gothic wear onward, Hayley Vaughan - Trevor Dillon's niece who also turned out to be Adam Chandler's daughter - made an impression. In 1995, she made one on Mateo "Matt" Santos, whom she later married. It took in real life, too: Kelly Ripa (Hayley) and Mark Consuelos (Mateo) have been married for real since 1996 and have three children. Consuelos has been mentioned as a possible successor to Ripa's current morning host partner, Regis Philbin.
I can imagine the real-life couple going through something like this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZrfRhEbZQo
9. Tara and Phil: The romance that started it all. Tara Martin and Phil Brent were high school classmates falling in love. They faced numerous obstacles - Vietnam, Chuck Tyler, Erica Kane (of course), Phil's parentage, etc. - to be together, but they were the first "super-couple" of the series. The relationship was at its best with the two originals: Karen Lynn Gorney ("Saturday Night Fever") as Tara and Richard Hatch ("Battlestar Gallactica") as Phil.
8. Phoebe and Langley: Con-man Langley Wallingford wormed his way into Phoebe Tyler's life to try to get her money - but wound up falling in love with her for real. Another con man wooed Phoebe away briefly, but Langley was her true, final love:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KWoAzDg35po
7. Opal and Palmer: They started out conspiring to break up Tad and Dixie, but would fall in love with each other for real. With help from Palmer's ex-wife, Daisy, Pine Valley's oddest couple got together:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2be8EPtmr1I
6. Erica and Jackson: Erica Kane's romance with writer Mike Roy was momentous and tempestuous, but brief. It's her on-again, off-again relationship with attorney Jackson Montgomery that's had lasting power for 23 years. Besides, it's such fun seeing the 6'3" Walt Willey, as Jackson, paired up with 5'2" Susan Lucci, as Erica:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9CTGkST5lY
5. Cliff and Nina: Probably the second most popular soap opera couple in 1980-81 (behind "General Hospital's" Luke and Laura), Dr. Cliff Warner and Nina Courtland (Peter Bergman and Taylor Miller) were the epitome in facing obstacles - mostly from Nina's father, Palmer Courtland. They gave themselves some barriers as well; they were married three times. But they had the last laugh on Palmer, who had to pay for some pretty elegant nuptials each time:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L4MJ4Vxq0Bc&feature=related
4. Tad and Dixie: Same scenario - Palmer trying to break up niece Dixie Cooney (Cady McClain) and Tad Martin (Michael Kinght). But Tad could sass Palmer in a way Cliff Warner couldn't even dream about. And unlike the Cliff-Nina relationship, Tad and Dixie's is loaded with humor, right down to yesterday's marriage proposal. But the first proposal was even better:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQQtvsMdA_s
3. Jesse and Angie: There had been other African-American couples in soap operas, of course (including "AMC's" own Frank and Nancy Grant), when Jesse Hubbard and Angie Baxter became a duo in 1982. But this couple, played so powerfully by Darnell Williams and Debbi Morgan, struck a chord with their ups and downs. When Williams returned to the show (and Jesse came "back from the dead") in 2008, there was a nice look at their story:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5x9Hzt3vr4&feature=related
2. Joe and Ruth Martin: For so long, the Martins have been the calm in the eye of the Pine Valley storm that it's hard to remember that Joe and Ruth weren't together at the beginning. Joe was a widower with son Jeff and daughter Tara, while Ruth was married to Ted Brent and raising Phil, sister Amy's son with Nick Davis, as her own. But Ted died in 1970. Ruth and Joe would become closer and were married in 1972. Throughout the 1970s, they had bumps in the road - flirtations (but never full affairs) with others, Ruth's 1978 rape by Ray Gardner and Tad's early acting out - but they never divorced.
Lee Meriweather does a fine job, but Mary Fickett was Ruth:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3AjvZc0L5c&feature=related
1. Jenny and Greg: It made such a strong impression because it was so fleeting in soap opera time, only three years (1981-84) of romance - and only four months of marriage before Jenny's tragic death as a result of Jenny's former suitor, Tony, rigging Greg's jet ski.
Kim Delaney and Laurence Lau broke hearts as Jenny Gardner and Greg Nelson. Like Jesse and Angie, they were also from opposite sides of the tracks - and waited until their oh-so-brief marriage to be truly together.
But they had some nice moments while fighting off Ray Gardner, Liza Colby and the rest:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2UcFjfizS6I
Tomorrow: Best "AMC" storylines!
Wednesday September 21: Best "AMC" characters
By Sylvia Gurinsky
This week's "All My Children" tribute continues with a salute to the show's best characters:
5. Kate, Joe and Ruth Martin: The bedrock of any good soap opera is a stable central family, and on "All My Children," it's been the Martins. Family matriarch Kate Martin was the center of that bedrock until actress Kay Campbell died (and the character did also) in 1985. Joe and Ruth Martin picked up that foundation - particularly Joe, who has been portrayed by Ray MacDonnell since the beginning. Mary Fickett, who died recently, played Ruth until 1996. Lee Meriweather ("Barnaby Jones") has played the role since.
4. Adam Chandler: The mogul came to Pine Valley trying to settle scores with Palmer Courtland, and wound up picking almost as many wives as Erica Kane did husbands - including Erica, of course! (Also Brooke, Dixie, Gloria, Liza and so on.....)
Here is probably the funniest Adam-Erica scene ever:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqzhRFJxSbY&feature=related
David Canary, who plays Adam, gets bonus points - and plenty of Emmys - for also playing Adam's brother, Stuart.
3. Palmer Courtland: Phoebe Tyler's next-door neighbor would develop just as strong a reputation as Phoebe for scheming and manipulating the lives of family members - and for his constant battle with Adam Chandler. But Palmer (played skillfully by one-time dancer James Mitchell) had a soft spot for wives Daisy and Opal, daughter Nina, niece Dixie and for friend Erica Kane; Palmer was one of the few men Erica was never romantically involved with, and she considered him a father figure.
The head of Courtland Electronics would lose his shirt a couple of times - and on one of those times, chickened out:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jo1JHBIQ8bs
2. Phoebe English Tyler Wallingford: Pine Valley's first, and best, meddling busybody, played skillfully by Ruth Warrick. No one was immune from her interference:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MczgY6teH5c&feature=related
But, like Palmer, she mellowed - sort of - with age, time and a happy second marriage to Langley Wallingford.
1. Erica Kane: Who else?
When you've played the character that Susan Lucci has played for 41 years, you'd better make an impression. Has she ever.
She's had countless marriages and affairs, been a model, actress and mogul and had tempestuous relationships with mother, daughters and said husbands and lovers. She's survived addiction, killers and Adam Chandler.
Some have called Erica Kane the greatest character in the history of soap operas. That's high praise, but arguably earned - because Lucci and "AMC's" writers found multi-dimensions in the character.
And Erica's just fun to watch. Ask this bear:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h17XM_KoXcM
Tomorrow: Greatest "AMC" couples!
This week's "All My Children" tribute continues with a salute to the show's best characters:
5. Kate, Joe and Ruth Martin: The bedrock of any good soap opera is a stable central family, and on "All My Children," it's been the Martins. Family matriarch Kate Martin was the center of that bedrock until actress Kay Campbell died (and the character did also) in 1985. Joe and Ruth Martin picked up that foundation - particularly Joe, who has been portrayed by Ray MacDonnell since the beginning. Mary Fickett, who died recently, played Ruth until 1996. Lee Meriweather ("Barnaby Jones") has played the role since.
4. Adam Chandler: The mogul came to Pine Valley trying to settle scores with Palmer Courtland, and wound up picking almost as many wives as Erica Kane did husbands - including Erica, of course! (Also Brooke, Dixie, Gloria, Liza and so on.....)
Here is probably the funniest Adam-Erica scene ever:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqzhRFJxSbY&feature=related
David Canary, who plays Adam, gets bonus points - and plenty of Emmys - for also playing Adam's brother, Stuart.
3. Palmer Courtland: Phoebe Tyler's next-door neighbor would develop just as strong a reputation as Phoebe for scheming and manipulating the lives of family members - and for his constant battle with Adam Chandler. But Palmer (played skillfully by one-time dancer James Mitchell) had a soft spot for wives Daisy and Opal, daughter Nina, niece Dixie and for friend Erica Kane; Palmer was one of the few men Erica was never romantically involved with, and she considered him a father figure.
The head of Courtland Electronics would lose his shirt a couple of times - and on one of those times, chickened out:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jo1JHBIQ8bs
2. Phoebe English Tyler Wallingford: Pine Valley's first, and best, meddling busybody, played skillfully by Ruth Warrick. No one was immune from her interference:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MczgY6teH5c&feature=related
But, like Palmer, she mellowed - sort of - with age, time and a happy second marriage to Langley Wallingford.
1. Erica Kane: Who else?
When you've played the character that Susan Lucci has played for 41 years, you'd better make an impression. Has she ever.
She's had countless marriages and affairs, been a model, actress and mogul and had tempestuous relationships with mother, daughters and said husbands and lovers. She's survived addiction, killers and Adam Chandler.
Some have called Erica Kane the greatest character in the history of soap operas. That's high praise, but arguably earned - because Lucci and "AMC's" writers found multi-dimensions in the character.
And Erica's just fun to watch. Ask this bear:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h17XM_KoXcM
Tomorrow: Greatest "AMC" couples!
Tuesday September 20: Fun "AMC" Characters
By Sylvia Gurinsky
This week's special YesterTube tribute to "All My Children" continues with a look at the series' most fun characters:
5. Myrtle Lum Fargate: The character started out as a con artist with a heart of gold and turned into a respectable businesswoman and everyone's surrogate mom - especially Erica Kane.
4. Benny Sago: He adored Estelle and little Emily Ann and faced down his gambling demons. But Phoebe Tyler Wallingford's chauffer was never more fun than when he was talking to the "Duchess."
3. Trevor Dillon: This tough-talking cop had his own way of doing things in staid Pine Valley society. He wooed and won his opposite, Natalie Marlowe - and even had a date in a hideous jacket with lovely Erica Kane:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5VJTRXAjKA
2. Verla Grubbs: Her visits to Pine Valley have been brief, but never dull: She's Langley Wallingford's daughter and a friend of Myrtle Fargate. Best of all, she's played by "AMC" fan Carol Burnett:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=knrveTAQ4ps
1. Opal Gardner Courtland: Played by Dorothy Lyman during the 1980s, Opal Gardner - biological mother of Tad Martin - was coming up from the bottom of the barrel. She could be manipulative, even with beloved daughter Jenny. Jenny's death would change Opal to a certain degree, and played by Jill Larson from 1990 on, Opal would strike up an unlikely friendship with Erica Kane - and an even more unlikely romance with Palmer Courtland.
Here's terrific 1990 scene with Larson's Opal, including Sean Cudahy (Alan Dysert). Watch Eileen Herlie, as Myrtle, and James Mitchell, as Palmer, trying very hard not to laugh:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=surPLkDMazw
Tomorrow: Best "AMC" characters!
This week's special YesterTube tribute to "All My Children" continues with a look at the series' most fun characters:
5. Myrtle Lum Fargate: The character started out as a con artist with a heart of gold and turned into a respectable businesswoman and everyone's surrogate mom - especially Erica Kane.
4. Benny Sago: He adored Estelle and little Emily Ann and faced down his gambling demons. But Phoebe Tyler Wallingford's chauffer was never more fun than when he was talking to the "Duchess."
3. Trevor Dillon: This tough-talking cop had his own way of doing things in staid Pine Valley society. He wooed and won his opposite, Natalie Marlowe - and even had a date in a hideous jacket with lovely Erica Kane:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5VJTRXAjKA
2. Verla Grubbs: Her visits to Pine Valley have been brief, but never dull: She's Langley Wallingford's daughter and a friend of Myrtle Fargate. Best of all, she's played by "AMC" fan Carol Burnett:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=knrveTAQ4ps
1. Opal Gardner Courtland: Played by Dorothy Lyman during the 1980s, Opal Gardner - biological mother of Tad Martin - was coming up from the bottom of the barrel. She could be manipulative, even with beloved daughter Jenny. Jenny's death would change Opal to a certain degree, and played by Jill Larson from 1990 on, Opal would strike up an unlikely friendship with Erica Kane - and an even more unlikely romance with Palmer Courtland.
Here's terrific 1990 scene with Larson's Opal, including Sean Cudahy (Alan Dysert). Watch Eileen Herlie, as Myrtle, and James Mitchell, as Palmer, trying very hard not to laugh:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=surPLkDMazw
Tomorrow: Best "AMC" characters!
Monday September 19, 2011: Worst AMC Plots!!!!
By Sylvia Gurinsky
All this week, YesterTube will salute "All My Children" as it goes off the television airwaves. Today, we'll have some fun with a look at YesterTube's picks for the five worst "AMC" plotlines:
5. The Fake Silver Kane: Probably the nadir of Erica Kane's 41-year run in and around Pine Valley came during the early 1980s, when she got involved with a variety of uninteresting businessmen before she met her match in writer Mike Roy. One of those involvements, with Kent Bogard, led to "Silver Kane," Erica's supposed sister, coming into the picture. "Silver" turned out to be a con artist named Connie Wilkes who framed Erica for murdering Kent. The idea for the plot was far more interesting than the execution.
4. Jenny lookalike: Manipulating the emotions of "AMC" viewers still angry about the character of Jenny Gardner being killed off in 1984, the writers introduced "Sheila," a Jenny lookalike meant to entice Jenny's husband, Greg. Bad idea.
3. My Mother the Drug Dealer: Poor Brooke English. Getting her life back together in 1981, Brooke had married Tom Cudahy. But then her father died, and Brooke invited Peg English, the woman she thought was her mother, to move in with her. Peg turned out to be "Cobra," a drug dealer, and was actually Brooke's stepmother; Brooke was the child of a woman her father had an affair with. This worked so much better on "General Hospital" (from where the idea was probably taken).
2. Erica's aborted child back from the dead: In 2006, "AMC" writers turned their backs both on real-life history and on the series' gutsiest storyline ever - Erica Kane's 1973 abortion - by having Josh Madden not actually aborted, but implanted in another woman. Never mind that it would have happened five years before Louise Brown of Britain became the first baby actually conceived in that matter. The show seemed to bow to the right wing in this plotline, and it was sad.
1. Natalie in the well: By far, the worst "AMC" plotline ever. Janet Green, the lookalike sister of Natalie Marlowe, became smitten with Natalie's sweetheart, Trevor Dillon; she became so jealous of Natalie that she threw her in a well and took her place with Trevor:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-GTgqM07Vwk
This plotline dragged on so long that it preceded and followed the 1991 attempted coup in the Soviet Union that eventually brought an end to that communist country.
Kate Collins, who played both Natalie and Janet at the time, seems to have spent twice as long in that well (playing Natalie) as her father, Apollo 11 astronaut Michael Collins, spent on his moon mission.
Tomorrow: Fun "AMC" characters.
All this week, YesterTube will salute "All My Children" as it goes off the television airwaves. Today, we'll have some fun with a look at YesterTube's picks for the five worst "AMC" plotlines:
5. The Fake Silver Kane: Probably the nadir of Erica Kane's 41-year run in and around Pine Valley came during the early 1980s, when she got involved with a variety of uninteresting businessmen before she met her match in writer Mike Roy. One of those involvements, with Kent Bogard, led to "Silver Kane," Erica's supposed sister, coming into the picture. "Silver" turned out to be a con artist named Connie Wilkes who framed Erica for murdering Kent. The idea for the plot was far more interesting than the execution.
4. Jenny lookalike: Manipulating the emotions of "AMC" viewers still angry about the character of Jenny Gardner being killed off in 1984, the writers introduced "Sheila," a Jenny lookalike meant to entice Jenny's husband, Greg. Bad idea.
3. My Mother the Drug Dealer: Poor Brooke English. Getting her life back together in 1981, Brooke had married Tom Cudahy. But then her father died, and Brooke invited Peg English, the woman she thought was her mother, to move in with her. Peg turned out to be "Cobra," a drug dealer, and was actually Brooke's stepmother; Brooke was the child of a woman her father had an affair with. This worked so much better on "General Hospital" (from where the idea was probably taken).
2. Erica's aborted child back from the dead: In 2006, "AMC" writers turned their backs both on real-life history and on the series' gutsiest storyline ever - Erica Kane's 1973 abortion - by having Josh Madden not actually aborted, but implanted in another woman. Never mind that it would have happened five years before Louise Brown of Britain became the first baby actually conceived in that matter. The show seemed to bow to the right wing in this plotline, and it was sad.
1. Natalie in the well: By far, the worst "AMC" plotline ever. Janet Green, the lookalike sister of Natalie Marlowe, became smitten with Natalie's sweetheart, Trevor Dillon; she became so jealous of Natalie that she threw her in a well and took her place with Trevor:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-GTgqM07Vwk
This plotline dragged on so long that it preceded and followed the 1991 attempted coup in the Soviet Union that eventually brought an end to that communist country.
Kate Collins, who played both Natalie and Janet at the time, seems to have spent twice as long in that well (playing Natalie) as her father, Apollo 11 astronaut Michael Collins, spent on his moon mission.
Tomorrow: Fun "AMC" characters.
Friday, September 16, 2011
Week of September 16: The Best of Dubin and Goodbye, Ruth
By Sylvia Gurinsky
Television directors, unlike their film counterparts, are frequently the anonymous heroes of the medium, not receiving much public recognition or respect.
Charles Dubin, who died last week, was at the top of that list.
Dubin directed numerous prominent television programs, from the live dramas of the 1950s to filmed classics such as "Hawaii Five-O," "Kojak," "Lou Grant" and particularly "M*A*S*H."
Some of his best:
*"Omnibus: The Art of Conducting," December 4, 1955: Long before there were PBS, "Great Performances" and "Live From Lincoln Center," CBS was the place to find the performing arts program "Omnibus." Dubin directed this one with Leonard Bernstein, who would later bring classical music to new generations with his "Young People's Concerts":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrILZgv_0oQ
*"Highest Castle, Deepest Grave," "Hawaii Five-O," September 14, 1971: This episode channeled the classic movie "Laura," as Steve McGarrett (Jack Lord) investigated two recently uncovered skeletons and unearthed a lot of ghosts. Shadows and images played a major role in this episode.
*Vashon trilogy, "Hawaii Five-O," November, 1972: This was "Five-O's" answer to "The Godfather": McGarrett versus three generations of a crime family, with the first two generations portrayed by Luther Adler and Harold Gould. Dubin would also direct a followup episode, "The Case Against McGarrett," two years later.
*"Point of View," "M*A*S*H," November 20, 1978: One of the very best episodes of the series puts the camera in a hospital bed as a patient, looking at Hawkeye and company from that perspective.
*"Old Soldiers," "M*A*S*H," January 21, 1980: Is something wrong with Colonel Potter? The answer to that question comes in a moving scene in Potter's tent that involves all of the principal cast members.
"Roots: The Next Generations," episodes 2 and 4 (February, 1979): The successor to "Roots" also drew large numbers of viewers, as this concluded Alex Haley's saga.
All of these are available on DVD.
************************************************************************************
Next week will feature a look at "All My Children's" best storylines, as we get set to say "goodbye," at least for now. (An "AMC" without Susan Lucci, if that's what goes online, is no "AMC.")
This week, Mary Fickett, who played Ruth Martin for most of the show's run and had a distinguished career on stage and television, died at 83. In 1973, she won the show's first acting Emmy when daytime Emmy awards were still presented as a part of the primetime Emmys.
Here's a look at a 1983 scene with Ruth and Opal Gardner (originally played by Dorothy Lyman):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQEHYMKk824
See you next week. Until then, Happy Viewing!
Television directors, unlike their film counterparts, are frequently the anonymous heroes of the medium, not receiving much public recognition or respect.
Charles Dubin, who died last week, was at the top of that list.
Dubin directed numerous prominent television programs, from the live dramas of the 1950s to filmed classics such as "Hawaii Five-O," "Kojak," "Lou Grant" and particularly "M*A*S*H."
Some of his best:
*"Omnibus: The Art of Conducting," December 4, 1955: Long before there were PBS, "Great Performances" and "Live From Lincoln Center," CBS was the place to find the performing arts program "Omnibus." Dubin directed this one with Leonard Bernstein, who would later bring classical music to new generations with his "Young People's Concerts":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrILZgv_0oQ
*"Highest Castle, Deepest Grave," "Hawaii Five-O," September 14, 1971: This episode channeled the classic movie "Laura," as Steve McGarrett (Jack Lord) investigated two recently uncovered skeletons and unearthed a lot of ghosts. Shadows and images played a major role in this episode.
*Vashon trilogy, "Hawaii Five-O," November, 1972: This was "Five-O's" answer to "The Godfather": McGarrett versus three generations of a crime family, with the first two generations portrayed by Luther Adler and Harold Gould. Dubin would also direct a followup episode, "The Case Against McGarrett," two years later.
*"Point of View," "M*A*S*H," November 20, 1978: One of the very best episodes of the series puts the camera in a hospital bed as a patient, looking at Hawkeye and company from that perspective.
*"Old Soldiers," "M*A*S*H," January 21, 1980: Is something wrong with Colonel Potter? The answer to that question comes in a moving scene in Potter's tent that involves all of the principal cast members.
"Roots: The Next Generations," episodes 2 and 4 (February, 1979): The successor to "Roots" also drew large numbers of viewers, as this concluded Alex Haley's saga.
All of these are available on DVD.
************************************************************************************
Next week will feature a look at "All My Children's" best storylines, as we get set to say "goodbye," at least for now. (An "AMC" without Susan Lucci, if that's what goes online, is no "AMC.")
This week, Mary Fickett, who played Ruth Martin for most of the show's run and had a distinguished career on stage and television, died at 83. In 1973, she won the show's first acting Emmy when daytime Emmy awards were still presented as a part of the primetime Emmys.
Here's a look at a 1983 scene with Ruth and Opal Gardner (originally played by Dorothy Lyman):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQEHYMKk824
See you next week. Until then, Happy Viewing!
Friday, September 9, 2011
Week of September 9: Dancing With the Bigots
By Sylvia Gurinsky
Until about a week ago, I cared about "Dancing With the Stars" in much the same way I care about any of the reality/entertainment shows created so far during the 21st Century: Not at all.
Then hatemongers started criticizing the addition of Chaz Bono - once Chastity Bono - to the list of competitors.
Like many television viewers, I'm old enough to remember watching "The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour" on CBS and seeing Cher and Sonny Bono picking up toddler Chastity at the end of each program as they sang one of their signature hits, "I've Got You Babe." It was wonderful to see.
Reality started to intrude on that ideal when Sonny and Cher divorced. Chastity would then go through an almost 40-year identity crisis way beyond being the child of divorced, high-profile parents - and has become Chaz in a sex-change procedure.
Bono has been telling his story. It's been of interest, but no particular controversy - until he signed up to take part in a show that's watched by people who profess to support "family values."
Never mind that this alleged "family values" show has included skimpy costumes, judges with insults, Marie Osmond collapsing from exhaustion (and probably unhealthy weight loss) and the most dysfunctional family in American politics (the Palins) or that the upcoming edition of the show will include lawyer-turned-Harridan-In-Chief Nancy Grace.
So-called fans of this show have shown their true colors with some very ugly - and very backward - statements about Chaz Bono. Statements that reveal more about them than about him.
Suddenly, there's a contestant for Americans who hate bigots to root for.
I still don't plan to watch the show, but I'm rooting for Chaz Bono. By appearing, he's already won.
With their statements, his haters have already lost.
Until about a week ago, I cared about "Dancing With the Stars" in much the same way I care about any of the reality/entertainment shows created so far during the 21st Century: Not at all.
Then hatemongers started criticizing the addition of Chaz Bono - once Chastity Bono - to the list of competitors.
Like many television viewers, I'm old enough to remember watching "The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour" on CBS and seeing Cher and Sonny Bono picking up toddler Chastity at the end of each program as they sang one of their signature hits, "I've Got You Babe." It was wonderful to see.
Reality started to intrude on that ideal when Sonny and Cher divorced. Chastity would then go through an almost 40-year identity crisis way beyond being the child of divorced, high-profile parents - and has become Chaz in a sex-change procedure.
Bono has been telling his story. It's been of interest, but no particular controversy - until he signed up to take part in a show that's watched by people who profess to support "family values."
Never mind that this alleged "family values" show has included skimpy costumes, judges with insults, Marie Osmond collapsing from exhaustion (and probably unhealthy weight loss) and the most dysfunctional family in American politics (the Palins) or that the upcoming edition of the show will include lawyer-turned-Harridan-In-Chief Nancy Grace.
So-called fans of this show have shown their true colors with some very ugly - and very backward - statements about Chaz Bono. Statements that reveal more about them than about him.
Suddenly, there's a contestant for Americans who hate bigots to root for.
I still don't plan to watch the show, but I'm rooting for Chaz Bono. By appearing, he's already won.
With their statements, his haters have already lost.
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