Have you ever wondered why you watch your favorite daytime drama?  Is it to escape the pressures and daily hassles of your life, to imagine yourself running away with the handsome soap hunk that makes his leading ladies feel like a queen, or perhaps it’s to get a little lovin’ in the afternoon. Whatever reason you watch, one thing remains the same; our shows are telling us a story.

Over the last few months All My Kids has attempted to entwine many of its powerful stories and veteran performers in an attempt to raise ratings. Ok so while some of the stories have been fantastic others have left the fans wondering where we missed the boat on this voyage.  McTavish and the writers have done a wonderful job with the rape storyline and the birth of Bianca’s baby, and incorporating the vets in these stories, but this soap fan and many others have been left to notice something.

And that something is the untold stories that seem to lie within this soap opera.  On a recent sunny afternoon, while checking my email, one of my faithful readers commented on these untold stories after a visit to another message board.  As I read her email and digested all the facts and figures she presented I began to see that she and the other fans were definitely on to something.

For instance, a few weeks ago I wrote a column on the under use of the character of Maggie Stone, played by the talented Elizabeth Hendrickson.  What do we actually know about Maggie other than the fact that she’s related to Pine Valley surgeon David Hayward, is supposedly a medical student, and definitely makes bad choices in the leading man department (sorry Henry Chen).

I mean, have we had any explanation for her questioning her sexuality and feelings for her best friend Bianca Montgomery? Did something happen in her background that made her have disastrous relationships with males? What about her mother and other family members, what do we know about them…. Nothing, Nada, Zilch.  At one point there were rumors that the show was planning to cast Maggie’s mother but I guess even the best laid plans get cancelled.  Unfortunately this has left Maggie bouncing in and out of stories quicker than spaghetti in a boiling pot.

Of course Maggie is not the only Pine Valley resident whose background the fans know nothing about.  What about Simone Torres? She’s a journalist who came to town working undercover during the dreaded Proteus storyline but what else do we know about her other than she had a drill sergeant for a father, makes bad choices in men, has a brother who is in a coma and for some reason, her last name is different from her families.  Why? Rumors also circulated we’d be seeing Simone’s mom in the form of former Guiding Light mafia mama, Saundra Santiago, but obviously that never materialized. Could Simone’s mother have held the magical key as to why Simone always seems to end up behind bars?  Also, what about her brother Anthony? We know that her former leading man Frank Hubbard videotaped Anthony’s overdose - what a powerful and compelling storyline that could have played out from this. But yet again, another missed opportunity for the show. 

Speaking of Frank Hubbard, just how did he meet Simone’s cosmetic mogul partner Mia Saunders? Wouldn’t it have been nice if we had learned about Mia and Frank’s past while learning that they shared a son?  What a storyline that would have been, if Mia attempted to regain custody and forge a relationship with the son she gave up for adoption.  Again…. the boat was missed.

Moving on, what about Mia’s mother.  We know that she is Liza Colby’s half sister - considering how Liza was raised, Mia is bound to harbor some resentment towards her sister correct? Well, I guess that will be another storyline we will never know.

It’s always good when fan favorites return right.  If even their return might wreck a happy home.  Has it even been mentioned yet that Sammy Grey’s uncle Bobby is actually his father?  Will we see this storyline play out on our screens or will we be teased as usual? What a storyline this would be and just look at all of the veteran actors it could encompass and the ripple effects it could make for the future. 

Finally, haven’t we seen Greenlee complain about not having a man long enough?  Give her closure on her relationship with Leo already! I am really enjoying the scenes between Rebecca Budig and Michael B. Jordan as a sibling rivalry percolates on our screen.  Can fans only hope that we will see Greens get to know her family even more, form a relationship with them rather than forming a bad relationship with yet another man.

So many untold stories, so little time.  Thanks Maureen, aka wuboo for this idea.