Actually, I haven’t seen an episode of either one of these daytime soap operas since 1984. Yet when I read yesterday that ABC was canceling both of them it was as if I had read that my favorite college professor had just died. Here’s why:
I’m a little embarrassed to disclose that I spent almost as much time watching soap operas during my college “daze” as I did attending classes. In fact, I recall on more than one occasion not taking a particular class because it was scheduled during the three-hour period I reserved for watching All My Children at one o’clock, One Life To Live at two, and General Hospital at three. On some days, when I was feeling especially keen, I began my daily viewing with Ryan’s Hope at 12:30….
It’s no wonder then that I can remember all that happened in the soap-opera lives of characters like Adam, Tad, Erica, Dorian, Vicki, the Buchanans, Luke, Laura, and the Quartermaines as well as anything that happened in my classes.
And, as any fan would readily attest, I have no doubt that if I tuned in to any of these soaps today I would feel as if I hadn’t missed a single episode; notwithstanding all of the new characters who have come and gone over the past twenty-six years.
But I appreciate the financial constraints that make producing soap operas so prohibitive today – especially when game shows or talk shows can generate similar ratings for a fraction of the cost. Indeed, paying the multimillion-dollar salary of daytime’s leading lady, Susan Lucci (Erica Cane of AMC), probably cost as much as producing some of these other shows.
Not to mention all of the cable and online distractions (like YouTube, Facebook, et al) that now make soaps seem all too quaint.
Therefore, instead of bemoaning the cancelation of All My Children and One Life To Live, I shall suffice to say thanks to all of the characters who played such an integral role in making college almost as entertaining as it was educational.
That’s a wrap.
NOTE: I fully expect more sentimental fans to launch a petition drive to keep these soaps on the air. And one of them, AMC, might get a reprieve. But it’s an indication of how utterly dispensable they are that an erstwhile devoted fan like me could go for decades without watching and not experience a hint of pining … until I read that they were being canceled.
They’ve had a good (40-year) run. Let them rest in peace.