Liza Colby- devoted mother, faithful friend, businesswoman, daughter, sister and one time vixen.  Brooke English- unlucky in love, mother, niece, confidante, shrewd journalist.  Opal Cortlandt- Wacky, off the wall, mother of 4, salon owner and friend of Erica Kane.
 

So my question is, where have these ladies been lately? Other than being mothers, it appears as these characters have another tie binding them together and that is lack of storyline.

Let’s face it, Marcy Walker, Julia Barr and Jill Larson not only have been on the show for years, but they are vets in the world of daytime.  Any avid daytime follower knows that Marcy Walker played Eden Capwell Castillo on the defunct NBC sudser, Santa Barbara, while Larson entertained us the devilish Ursula on ABC sister soap One Life to Live.  Let’s not forget Julia Barr, who started her daytime career as a patient at Riverside Hospital on Ryan’s Hope.

Since these ladies obviously have experience in spades, I am left to scratch my head and wonder why are they being left to twist in the wind at All My Kids?

Is it simply that the McTavish and Caruthers do not know what to do for these characters or has Brian Frons’ “over 40, no airtime” decree caused these ladies to be put on the back burner in an attempt to appeal to a younger, hipper audience. Need the fans remind Frons, that for many of us in the “younger, hipper generation,” we grew up with the characters of Liza, Opal and Brooke?  I can personally remember watching Liza’s vixenish motives as she tried to get Tad all to herself, with my Aunt Carroll Ann.  Who can forget Brooke’s tragic loss of her beloved daughter Laura Cudahy, at the hands of a drunk driver, the same drunk driver that she became involved with later on. 

And what about Opal Gardner.  I certainly remember her passionate tender love story with Pine Valley billionaire Palmer Cortlandt.

These three actresses have proven on numerous occasions that they can play drama, comedy and even romance on a daily basis.  So what do they have to do to get a storyline, twirl flaming batons while doing all of these things?

I say let’s get these three lovely actresses a storyline before one or all of them decide to make like a tree and leave - for good. 

-          Brooke has so many ties to many of the characters currently in Pine Valley and she does know what it is like to lose a child.  Now that Erica Kane is on the run, Bianca needs a mother figure to look after her.  What if Brooke were to step in and be a “surrogate” mother to Bianca.  She could help Bianca grieve for the “loss” of baby Miranda, while forming the motherly bond and closeness Bianca has so desperately wanted.  Of course she and Jackson are friends, and out of gratitude they start spending time with one another as well and slowly begin to realize there is something between them.  How will Erica react when she returns to town???  Any AMC fan knows the history between Erica and Brooke, and what a way to revisit this history than this storyline.

-          Isn’t it time that Brooke found love???  What if she and Adam were to reunite that old flame?  Could they recapture what they once had, or perhaps Brooke needs a new love.  With the recent casting of Thorsten Kaye, could Brooke be finding a new love interest?  After all, good girls are attracted to bad men in daytime right?

-          What if Liza were to face a crisis.  No I don’t mean a crisis for her, but rather for her daughter Colby.  What if Colby were kidnapped or suffered from a disease.  What would Liza do to protect her daughter? Could we see the old vixenish Liza return and stop at nothing to keep her daughter safe?

-          Now that it appears as if Bobby and Anita Warner’s marriage has hit the skids, isn’t it about time that another Pine Valley lady catches his eye? Could Liza and Bobby make a go of a relationship despite the age difference? Boy the story that could be told here and the amount of ice that would be used to hose down televisions across America once these two got together.

-          In an interview I did with the lovely Jill Larson she said she would love for Opal to have a new love interest.  Well what if that love interest was her “lovebugs” archenemy Adam Chandler? What if Opal and Adam got stuck somewhere together and while depending upon one another to survive, these two realized that there were mutual feelings between them.  How would Palmer react to seeing Opal share her words of wisdom with Adam Chandler? Could you imagine little Petey being raised by Adam?  A custody story that these talented performers and the fans could sink their teeth into!

-          Who says an older woman cannot catch the eye of a younger man! What if Opal and Ryan were to have a night of passion and realize they have feelings for one another down the road?  Let’s face it Opal and Ryan share a past, through Ryan’s late wife Gillian.  Could Opal and Ryan be a shot of comedy and romance this show needs?

Ok fans, you have heard my storyline ideas, now lets hear what you think.  These ladies deserve a storyline, so let’s get them one.  Send postcards and letters to the studios demanding storylines for these vets.  They deserve to be front and center again!

Don’t miss my exclusive interview with All My Children’s dashing Edmund Grey, John Callahan at the main page of SoapTownUSA.