Review ; A Farewell to All My Children

Farewell to Pine Valley, A review on the finale of All My Children

As Jackson Montgomery storms through the crowd at the Chandler mansion, Erica Kane chases after him, calling out his name. Erica begs with Jack not to walk out on her and their relationship, “I need you,” she pleads “Frankly Erica, I don't give a damn what you need,” Jackson replies coldly. Meanwhile, through a peep-hole in a hidden wall space in the mansion, JR Chandler looks through the passageway door. His eyes full of rage he looks at the party-goers, his finger clenched onto the guns trigger. The gun goes off and the screen goes black.

After 41 years of love affairs, rivalries, kidnapped babies, murders, and resurrected loved ones; ABC’s All My Children came to an end on Friday, September 23^rd. In characteristic soap-fashion, Friday’s episode wrapped up the happenings in Pine Valley during the past week, and ended as a cliff hanger for the following week. Except of course on Monday the time slot will be filled with ABC’s new show The Chew and the faithful viewers of All My Children will not be met with an answer to the final episodes ending. Seemingly a nod to the famous catchphrase CBS created to promote the television series Dallas “Who shot JR?” All my Children ended with a bang, literally, as we question “Who did JR shoot?”

ABC announced April 14^th that the sun will set permanently in the fictional towns of Pine Valley and Llanview as All My Children and One Life to Live were to be canceled. OLTL, which went on air in 1968, will end in January 2012 in its 43^rd year. Agnes Nixon, the 83-year-old queen of daytime soaps, the creator of both shows, has maintained a dominate voice in the direction of All My Children for the past 41 years. In a recent interview Agnes is quoted as saying “At the very least, fans needn't worry they'll be stuck with controversial, Lost-style endings – we promise a satisfying conclusion to both soaps' legacies.”

The episode begins in the house of the Slater's. AJ Chandler, Miranda Kane, and Spike Lavery Slater, all line up to practice the lines that they will have to recite at the upcoming school assembly. In their meager young voices they repeat:

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

The adults applaud and Miranda and Spike are smiling as their recitation of the famous poem written by Agnes Nixon that appears in the All My Children book during the begging credits, has moved their parents to tears of joy. AJ however is noticeably upset. Marissa Chandler (his step-mother) pulls him aside and asks what the matter is. AJ reply’s that the line “In Joy and Sorrow” reminds him of his dad (JR).

Montage after montage, the last week of AMC has taken us through the years of each key family, closing out certain plot lines, yes, Dr. Angie Hubbard does regain her sight, and reminding us of why we started watching in the first place. As certainly the last few years have been a dud, (AMC was down to a mere 2 million viewers when the cancellation was made), the last several months have been beefed up as the infamous Dr. David Hayward has been resurrecting past characters from the dead. Yes folks, that’s right. Dr. Hayward and his stem-cell research project “Orpheus”, has been enabling past cast members who were killed off to come “back to life” and say goodbye to Pine Valley for good. The deceased twin of the powerful Adam Chandler, the loving Stuart Chandler, (both played by David Canary), was brought back on Thursday to allegedly snap JR, his nephew out of his rage. In light of this Adam Chandler decides to throw a welcome-home party for Stuart and invites the whole town. With everyone there, viewers saw their beloved cast members mingling with each other, proposing toasts, and inevitably trying to say goodbye to each other. It is at this party, in the last minute of the show that the dramatic Erica Kane (the only surviving original cast member, Susan Lucci) is finally put in her place and JR presumably shoots a guest or even himself.

Two All My Children players have signed on to appear in Prospect Park's planned web version of the soap. Cameron Mathison (playing the dreamy Ryan Lavery) and Lindsay Hartley (the heartbroken, feisty Hispanic Dr. Cara Castillo) are the first AMC stars to agree to continue with the show. Jacob Young, the actor who plays JR, is headed to the Bold and the Beautiful and will not be joining the cast of the online spin off leaving fans dissatisfied with his characters conclusion. Taking into consideration what creator Nixon has said and with a press release from ABC stating: "To honor the core, passionate audience and their rich history with our soaps," both shows will conclude "in a manner that respects their legacies and the longstanding hopes of many of their viewers." One has to stop and question the integrity of an ending such as this and a cliff-hanger as dramatic and inconclusive.

One day, our family and friends will die, and they won't be back. One day they'll be gone for good,” Angie replied softly. “What if that day were today?”