The End of a Soap Opera Era with the Cancellation of All My Children & One Life to Live has Susan Lucci Looking for a New Job

I was watching Watch What Happens Live's latest episode, where Sonja Morgan was surprised to learn that something like 78% of the viewers were on Alex's side in the Sonja/Alex fight, when Andy Cohen surprised me when he went in to sad lament mode because ABC had canceled All My Children and One Life to Live.

I remember when a new soap went on the air and my mom started watching it. Soon I was hearing details about things like Erica Kane's bad behaviors.

When All My Children started I believe Erica was a senior in high school. She is now decades older and I don't think anyone can accurately say how many times she's been married.

By the time I was in college someone somehow got me hooked watching All My Children. It came on in the lunchtime time frame. A friend of mine babysat for one of my high school teachers, who I did not like. It was odd to find myself in his house each day at noon to watch a soap opera.

At some point in time I ceased watching All My Children. And then came the invention of the VCR. One day I set it to record All My Children. It became my evening guilty pleasure viewing. It was fairly easy to get caught up in the All My Children plots again. I don't know how many years had passed since I watched it in college, but when I became a viewer again, Erica had long moved on from her first husband.

When I first got hooked on All My Children, the antics of Phoebe Tyler were quite fun to watch. She was always exasperating her husband, Charles, a doctor, who had an affair with Erica's mother, Mona. I think the doctor and Phoebe divorced. By the time I was hooked again, Phoebe had married a shady character with the last name of Wallingford.

I know Ruth Warrick, who played Phoebe, died a few years ago, with All My Children making a big deal about the passing of Phoebe Tyler Wallingford.

I wonder if Tad Martin is still on All My Children. His character was about the same age as me. I envied his nefarious, sleazy ways.

Phillip, Chuck and Tara was the original All My Children love triangle. I think somehow Erica was mixed up in that. But it has been a lot of years and I've got a terrible memory for soap opera details.

I can't help but wonder what Susan Lucci is going to do now that her decades of playing Erica Kane is coming to an end? I suspect we will see her dancing on Dancing with the Stars. With Maks as her partner, who she will seduce and marry.