'All My Children': Soap Stars Are Coming Back from the Dead to Say Goodbye
Series Finale Friday September 23, 2011
The dead are coming back to life in Pine Valley! If you've been keeping up with the final episodes of "All My Children," you already know things have shifted to the strange side. Bad seeds are contemplating their better selves. Couples are reuniting. One Illegal alien doctor overcame her fake marriage and got her green card anyway. AMC Creator Agnes Nixon even turned up in recent episodes.
These happenings may seem like random events all mixed up together with no point in particular. Examine each incident up close, though, and you'll see a pattern of closure. Everyone is striving for closure. All those quirky plot twists are writers attempting to tie up the loose ends before the last scene airs on September 23.
Long time soap viewers knew it would be this way. In soaps, the dead do come back every once in a while. As "All My Children" faded to black.... or headed for the internet, viewers expected long gone characters to make personal appearances here and there. Returning dead are standard soap fare; besides this is the end of a 40 year plus tradition. They had to end in a big way. Why not stretch the bounds of reality by bringing back as many dead as possible?
Dead coming to life? How does that happen?
Blame it on David Hayward, long time Pine Valley nemesis and self-appointed doctor/god. His pet research project, Orpheus, is all about bringing the dead back to life... not all the dead of course, just a selected few. He's been working his resurrection magic for a while now. Viewers and Pine Valley residents knew nothing about it because he kept his risen dead hidden and locked away. That sounds believable... right?
Dixie Cooney Martin is back.... again. Yes, she's been dead before, and once before that.... but soaps are never what they seem. Viewers may remember shedding a tear as Dixie's angel-like spirit watched over Tad Martin and her earthly family. She was certainly in Pine Valley heaven; but alas, in soaps the dead never really stay dead. Viewers have also seen Zach Slater in recent episodes. He died when his plane went down in flames nearly a year ago. Of course he and Kendall were so much in love, viewers knew he would be back. Who brought him back? David of course.
Remember Dr. Maria Santos played by Eva LaRue? She broke a few Pine Valley hearts, died (or so they thought) then came back before leaving again. LaRue went on to play roles including George Lopez's sister and Natalia Boa Vista on CSI Miami. She phoned in a recent Pine Valley cameo.
Agnes Nixon is hanging out at the hospital
It's almost over, why not mix real life with soap fantasy? "All My Children" did that when they brought creator, Agnes Nixon into the show as a patient at Pine Valley Hospital. She nearly died, but before Dr. Cara Castillo revived her, she had a near death experience, ran into a few old friends and came back with a few messages.
David's father wants him to stop playing God. Mona, Erica's mother, wants her daughter to find happiness in Pine Valley. (that means no wild searches for long dead husbands) Between near death messages, Agnes used her State Department influence to get Dr. Castillo a green card. Thank goodness she's on the mend, but viewers haven't seen the last of her treatment... or the last of her messages from the other side.
Who else will return to Pine Valley before the end of the show? Former Kendall Hart actress, Sarah Michelle Gellar, will come for a visit. Eva La Rue's Dr. Santos will get off the phone and make a face-to-face call as well. Lily Montgomery (Leven Rambin) will pay a visit, as will Dr. Joe and Ruth Martin. (Ray MacDonnell and Lee Meriwhether) Even Carol Burnett will return as Verla Grubbs.
Should viewers expect any more dead Pine Valley citizen sightings? Will Greenlee's one true love, Leo, come back? What about Ryan's soul mate, Gillian? Erica left plenty of husbands behind, will they return.... the dead and the alive? Viewers will have to stay tuned for the next episodes.
Source:"All My Children" on ABC
"Comings and Goings":http://abc.go.com/shows/all-my-children/photo-details/comings-and-goings/840530/801321
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Published by Carol Rucker - Featured Contributor in Lifestyle
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4 Comments
Post a CommentI enjoyed your Daily Exercise article as well. Wish we could comment on those articles too.
I stopped watching soaps for about 20 years, Malina. When I started working at home, I watched them to keep me company.... like background noise. It's funny, they really didn't change that much. The same old people doing are doing the same old things..... at least for a few more weeks
It sounds like I better catch up with this!
You know I haven't watched 'All My Children' since college. I haven't watched any soap operas since I was in my first semester of college. I remember my interest in sitting in front of the television diminished when I became interested in Humanities Literature and 'Dante's Inferno.' I would stay in the library instead of the student center. Life sure does send us down different paths without us even being aware of the change in directions sometimes.