They're Going Away!!! ABC Soaps That My Mom Watched :(
I've recently learned from Toby's Site that the soaps I used to watch while doing my homework as a kid with my mom are going away. :( Somehow learning this with less than two weeks until the two year anniversary of my mother's death makes me sadder.
My mother, who didn't really care about my crossover obsession, was quick to point out to me how all the ABC soaps were interconnected, and she often showed excitement when these crossovers would occur, which always made me happy to know that my obsession did indeed come from somewhere. (She's also the one who pointed out to me the connection between Bewitched and I Dream of Jeanie based on the appearance of one fictional band on both shows.)
So, before I get weepy eyed, on to the timeline. (Note that Dark Shadows was also an ABC soap, but I'm not going to discuss it as it really needs it's own blog. In fact, I will only be covering the three interconnected shows that were on during my childhood: All My Children, One Life to Live, and General Hospital [which were on in that order].)
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1963 to Present--GENERAL HOSPITAL--Note that GENERAL HOSPITAL had a spin-off called PORT CHARLES. I don't consider characters going back and forth between shows as worthy of mentioning, and a crossover with either show with some other show is considered a GENERAL HOSPITAL crossover in my mind. The same goes for the other GH spin-off, called GENERAL HOSPITAL: NIGHT SHIFT. Specific characters from GH to appear elsewhere include: Robin Scorpio (on ALL MY CHILDREN)
1968 to 2012--ONE LIFE TO LIVE--Since the show's inception, the plotlines of One Life to Live have been established as existing in the same fictional universe as other ABC-owned daytime series, in particular Agnes Nixon's All My Children, which premiered in 1970. As noted from time to time in both series, fictional Pine Valley—the setting of All My Children—is located in Pennsylvania near One Life to Live's Llanview. Over the years, many characters have crossed over from one series to another in both short appearances and extended runs.[43] As early as 1968, General Hospital's Dr. Steve Hardy appeared in Llanview to consult on Meredith Lord Wolek's blood disease as a means to lead General Hospital viewers to the new series; similarly, One Life to Live's Dr. Larry Wolek visited All My Children shortly after its premiere in 1970.[43] In 1979, when Viki Riley was on trial for the murder of Marco Dane, she was defended by Pine Valley attorney Paul Martin. In 1999, Daytime Emmy Award-winner Linda Dano[44] returned to One Life to Live as Gretel "Rae" Cummings, a character she had previously played on the series from 1978 to 1980.[45][46][47] In a 2000 move of network synergy designed to "entice viewers to tune into soap operas that they might not have usually watched," then-President of ABC Daytime Angela Shapiro orchestrated Dano's concurrent appearance as Rae on the three other ABC soap operas at the time — All My Children, General Hospital, and Port Charles — in an extended crossover storyline[43] which was the first time a daytime character had ever appeared on four series.[45][48][49] Rae's search for the child she had given up for adoption takes her to All My Children, where she discovers in 2000 that her own birth mother is Pine Valley's Myrtle Fargate.[50] Following clues to Port Charles andGeneral Hospital, Rae finally finds her daughter back in Llanview on One Life to Live: Skye Chandler, herself a former All My Children character who had relocated to One Life to Live in 1999.[43] Skye's adopted All My Children father Adam Chandler appears on One Life to Live in 2001, and Rae initially identifies Skye's biological father as Alan Quartermaine of General Hospital. Both women subsequently appear on that series, with Skye moving to General Hospital full-time in 2001 and Rae returning to One Life to Live until 2004, making some appearances on General Hospital later in 2002 and 2003. A December 30, 2003 visit by One Life to Live's Paul Cramer to his estranged secret wife Babe Carey on All My Children[49] ultimately leads to an extensive 2004 "baby switch" storyline which features crossovers of over 20 characters between the two series. With his sister Kelly desperate for a child to save her marriage after miscarrying her own, Paul finds himself delivering the babies of both Babe and her friend Bianca Montgomery during a rainstorm and subsequent flood in nearby Pine Valley on March 24, 2004. Paul stages a crash with his MEDEVAC helicopter; he takes Babe's son for Kelly,[43] gives Bianca's daughter to Babe, and tells Bianca that her baby had died in the accident. Unaware of the child's origins, Kelly brings Babe's infant back to Llanview, passing him off as her child with her husband Kevin Buchanan. Months later, Babe discovers that her daughter is really the grieving Bianca's, but remains silent and allows Paul to manipulate her. Meanwhile, a devastated Kelly discovers that Paul had stolen her son from his mother and, desperate for cash, he blackmails Kelly by threatening to reveal the secret to Kevin. Bianca's daughter is returned to her for Christmas 2004, and once Kevin learns the truth, he and Kelly return Babe's son as well in 2005.[51] Specific characters from ONE LIFE TO LIVE to appear elsewhere include: Bo Buchanan (on ALL MY CHILDREN)
1970 to 2011--ALL MY CHILDREN--Many daytime soap operas have had numerous crossovers over the years, particularly the ones that air on ABC. The baby switch storyline on ABC Daytime soap operas All My Children and One Life to Live, in which Paul Cramer (David Tom) from One Live to Live visited Pine Valley (the setting of All My Children) in order to steal the baby of his ex wife, Babe Chandler (Alexa Havins) was part of an ongoing storyline with Babe later visiting Llanview (the setting of One Life to Live) in order to get her baby back from Paul. This storyline came to a climactic court battle which started one day on AMC and was continued the same day on One Lifer to Live. This particular storyline had a precedent in the fact that another All My Children character, Skye Chandler (Robin Christopher) had moved from Pine Valley to Llanview in order to find her birth mother. Skye later moved again to Port Charles, the setting for another ABC Daytime Soap Opera, General Hospital in order to find her biological father. When All My Children debuted in 1970, ABC had Michael Storm's Dr. Larry Wolek from One Life to Live appear on All My Children for a few episodes in an attempt for fans of One Life to Live to tune into their new soap opera. Nixon strove to create a soap opera that was topical, and could illustrate social issues for the audience.[19] She wanted this and a combination of regular humor for the series. To keep the action more real, she allowed the audience to locate her fictional "Pine Valley" on a map: situated a mere hour-long train ride from New York City. Many believed Pine Valley was in New York State because of a town called Pine Valley in western New York. However, it was not until the 1980s that it was finally revealed that Pine Valley is actually in Pennsylvania, near Philadelphia and also near One Life To Live's Llanview. Specific characters from ALL MY CHILDREN to appear elsewhere include: Tad Martin (on ONE LIFE TO LIVE), Kendall Hart Slater (ONE LIFE TO LIVE), J.R. Chandler (ONE LIFE TO LIVE [OLTL]), Myrtle Fargate (OLTL and LOVING [another older ABC daytime soap]), Krystal Carey (OLTL), District Attorney Jackson "Jack" Montgomery (THE CITY [another short lived ABC daytime soap]), Dr. David Hayward (OLTL), Opal Purdy Cortland (OLTL)
February 2011--HOT IN CLEVELAND--During February 2011, the TV Land hit sitcom Hot in Clevelandand All My Children did a crossover event. On the 16th, and 23 February, Lucci, Michael E. Knight, and Darnell Williams made a guest appearance on the show. On the 24th, Wendie Malick guest starred.
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Sadly my research hasn't shown any evidence that these shows are in the TVCU, so this must remain a self contained shared reality, the ABC Daytime Universe, which includes GENERAL HOSPITAL, PORT CHARLES, GENERAL HOSPITAL: NIGHT SHIFT, ONE LIFE TO LIVE, ALL MY CHILDREN, LOVING, THE CITY, and HOT IN CLEVELAND.
Note also that though ALL MY CHILDREN and ONE LIFE TO LIVE have been cancelled by ABC, they are actually being picked up by the internet where new episodes will air online and where the bored housewives seem to spend their time now anyways. The plot to kill network TV continues.
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IN MEMORY OF MAUREEN DENISE WRIGHT (1955 - 2009)
You taught me how to be a hero.
My mother, who didn't really care about my crossover obsession, was quick to point out to me how all the ABC soaps were interconnected, and she often showed excitement when these crossovers would occur, which always made me happy to know that my obsession did indeed come from somewhere. (She's also the one who pointed out to me the connection between Bewitched and I Dream of Jeanie based on the appearance of one fictional band on both shows.)
So, before I get weepy eyed, on to the timeline. (Note that Dark Shadows was also an ABC soap, but I'm not going to discuss it as it really needs it's own blog. In fact, I will only be covering the three interconnected shows that were on during my childhood: All My Children, One Life to Live, and General Hospital [which were on in that order].)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1963 to Present--GENERAL HOSPITAL--Note that GENERAL HOSPITAL had a spin-off called PORT CHARLES. I don't consider characters going back and forth between shows as worthy of mentioning, and a crossover with either show with some other show is considered a GENERAL HOSPITAL crossover in my mind. The same goes for the other GH spin-off, called GENERAL HOSPITAL: NIGHT SHIFT. Specific characters from GH to appear elsewhere include: Robin Scorpio (on ALL MY CHILDREN)
1968 to 2012--ONE LIFE TO LIVE--Since the show's inception, the plotlines of One Life to Live have been established as existing in the same fictional universe as other ABC-owned daytime series, in particular Agnes Nixon's All My Children, which premiered in 1970. As noted from time to time in both series, fictional Pine Valley—the setting of All My Children—is located in Pennsylvania near One Life to Live's Llanview. Over the years, many characters have crossed over from one series to another in both short appearances and extended runs.[43] As early as 1968, General Hospital's Dr. Steve Hardy appeared in Llanview to consult on Meredith Lord Wolek's blood disease as a means to lead General Hospital viewers to the new series; similarly, One Life to Live's Dr. Larry Wolek visited All My Children shortly after its premiere in 1970.[43] In 1979, when Viki Riley was on trial for the murder of Marco Dane, she was defended by Pine Valley attorney Paul Martin. In 1999, Daytime Emmy Award-winner Linda Dano[44] returned to One Life to Live as Gretel "Rae" Cummings, a character she had previously played on the series from 1978 to 1980.[45][46][47] In a 2000 move of network synergy designed to "entice viewers to tune into soap operas that they might not have usually watched," then-President of ABC Daytime Angela Shapiro orchestrated Dano's concurrent appearance as Rae on the three other ABC soap operas at the time — All My Children, General Hospital, and Port Charles — in an extended crossover storyline[43] which was the first time a daytime character had ever appeared on four series.[45][48][49] Rae's search for the child she had given up for adoption takes her to All My Children, where she discovers in 2000 that her own birth mother is Pine Valley's Myrtle Fargate.[50] Following clues to Port Charles andGeneral Hospital, Rae finally finds her daughter back in Llanview on One Life to Live: Skye Chandler, herself a former All My Children character who had relocated to One Life to Live in 1999.[43] Skye's adopted All My Children father Adam Chandler appears on One Life to Live in 2001, and Rae initially identifies Skye's biological father as Alan Quartermaine of General Hospital. Both women subsequently appear on that series, with Skye moving to General Hospital full-time in 2001 and Rae returning to One Life to Live until 2004, making some appearances on General Hospital later in 2002 and 2003. A December 30, 2003 visit by One Life to Live's Paul Cramer to his estranged secret wife Babe Carey on All My Children[49] ultimately leads to an extensive 2004 "baby switch" storyline which features crossovers of over 20 characters between the two series. With his sister Kelly desperate for a child to save her marriage after miscarrying her own, Paul finds himself delivering the babies of both Babe and her friend Bianca Montgomery during a rainstorm and subsequent flood in nearby Pine Valley on March 24, 2004. Paul stages a crash with his MEDEVAC helicopter; he takes Babe's son for Kelly,[43] gives Bianca's daughter to Babe, and tells Bianca that her baby had died in the accident. Unaware of the child's origins, Kelly brings Babe's infant back to Llanview, passing him off as her child with her husband Kevin Buchanan. Months later, Babe discovers that her daughter is really the grieving Bianca's, but remains silent and allows Paul to manipulate her. Meanwhile, a devastated Kelly discovers that Paul had stolen her son from his mother and, desperate for cash, he blackmails Kelly by threatening to reveal the secret to Kevin. Bianca's daughter is returned to her for Christmas 2004, and once Kevin learns the truth, he and Kelly return Babe's son as well in 2005.[51] Specific characters from ONE LIFE TO LIVE to appear elsewhere include: Bo Buchanan (on ALL MY CHILDREN)
1970 to 2011--ALL MY CHILDREN--Many daytime soap operas have had numerous crossovers over the years, particularly the ones that air on ABC. The baby switch storyline on ABC Daytime soap operas All My Children and One Life to Live, in which Paul Cramer (David Tom) from One Live to Live visited Pine Valley (the setting of All My Children) in order to steal the baby of his ex wife, Babe Chandler (Alexa Havins) was part of an ongoing storyline with Babe later visiting Llanview (the setting of One Life to Live) in order to get her baby back from Paul. This storyline came to a climactic court battle which started one day on AMC and was continued the same day on One Lifer to Live. This particular storyline had a precedent in the fact that another All My Children character, Skye Chandler (Robin Christopher) had moved from Pine Valley to Llanview in order to find her birth mother. Skye later moved again to Port Charles, the setting for another ABC Daytime Soap Opera, General Hospital in order to find her biological father. When All My Children debuted in 1970, ABC had Michael Storm's Dr. Larry Wolek from One Life to Live appear on All My Children for a few episodes in an attempt for fans of One Life to Live to tune into their new soap opera. Nixon strove to create a soap opera that was topical, and could illustrate social issues for the audience.[19] She wanted this and a combination of regular humor for the series. To keep the action more real, she allowed the audience to locate her fictional "Pine Valley" on a map: situated a mere hour-long train ride from New York City. Many believed Pine Valley was in New York State because of a town called Pine Valley in western New York. However, it was not until the 1980s that it was finally revealed that Pine Valley is actually in Pennsylvania, near Philadelphia and also near One Life To Live's Llanview. Specific characters from ALL MY CHILDREN to appear elsewhere include: Tad Martin (on ONE LIFE TO LIVE), Kendall Hart Slater (ONE LIFE TO LIVE), J.R. Chandler (ONE LIFE TO LIVE [OLTL]), Myrtle Fargate (OLTL and LOVING [another older ABC daytime soap]), Krystal Carey (OLTL), District Attorney Jackson "Jack" Montgomery (THE CITY [another short lived ABC daytime soap]), Dr. David Hayward (OLTL), Opal Purdy Cortland (OLTL)
February 2011--HOT IN CLEVELAND--During February 2011, the TV Land hit sitcom Hot in Clevelandand All My Children did a crossover event. On the 16th, and 23 February, Lucci, Michael E. Knight, and Darnell Williams made a guest appearance on the show. On the 24th, Wendie Malick guest starred.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sadly my research hasn't shown any evidence that these shows are in the TVCU, so this must remain a self contained shared reality, the ABC Daytime Universe, which includes GENERAL HOSPITAL, PORT CHARLES, GENERAL HOSPITAL: NIGHT SHIFT, ONE LIFE TO LIVE, ALL MY CHILDREN, LOVING, THE CITY, and HOT IN CLEVELAND.
Note also that though ALL MY CHILDREN and ONE LIFE TO LIVE have been cancelled by ABC, they are actually being picked up by the internet where new episodes will air online and where the bored housewives seem to spend their time now anyways. The plot to kill network TV continues.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
IN MEMORY OF MAUREEN DENISE WRIGHT (1955 - 2009)
You taught me how to be a hero.
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