Surprising Outs!

ABC came out with some serious ousters this week, on all three soaps; it couldn't go without reporting.

GH reported earlier this week that 13-year veteran Rebecca Herbst (Elizabeth) was being cut from the show in a story-dictated exit. Are they serious? This woman has dedicated 13 years of her life to your show, probably rejected offers to try for other shows or primetime, not to mention hasn't even been back from maternity leave for a year and you're cutting her out?? Due to story?? It boggles my mind, and apparently those of her costars' too because this was definitely a loud ripple that was heard by all of her GH castmates by the day's end. She has been on this show with so much of that cast for so many years--Maurice Benard, Jonathan Jackson, Tyler Christopher, Steve Burton--and that's just a few--she basically grew up around these people! Elizabeth has been an integral part of GH's story from when she was a rebellious teen to now, a grown woman with 3 kids and quite the checkered past but still a big heroine on the show. She's had interactions with everyone on the show, has always turned in excellent work whether she was doing something bad or good, and doesn't really need to be written into an exit or a corner with no way out. Her character still has a journey to explore and they're cutting her out, and quite unceremoniously through "story dictates" on top of that. Why the hell is the story dictating that Elizabeth no longer be a part of it? You're keeping on characters that hog space (I won't name names lol), characters that in my opinion don't have much longevity save for creating conflict in couples or potential couples (again, won't name names lol) and letting go of someone with roots in this town? Her brother just came back after leaving her as the only Webber on the show for years, and now she's being written out, leaving him to uphold the family name alone. I loved the idea of Jonathan Jackson returning to the show and having Liz and Lucky get back together, but the ball was dropped. Lucky and Liz's son that supposedly was stolen by Helena hasn't been mentioned and as of late she's become background fodder with not much story when there was immense potential. It's a dumb decision and I hope GH realizes immediately that they made a mistake. Becky Herbst is a talented actress and sounds like a great person as well and I am sure that another soap will be more than happy to pick her up. I wish her the very best of luck with wherever this turn takes her.

The morning after GH made their announcement, I go back to Soapcentral.com and find out that AMC's Melissa Claire Egan (Annie) had decided not to renew her contract with the show and would be leaving in the coming weeks. Now I don't know if they will be recasting the role after giving Annie a write-off or if the character will be meeting her maker or what, but in any case, I think it stinks. Even no longer being a viewer of the show it does still make me a little sad to hear that yet another actor has decided to leave AMC. The population in Pine Valley is suffering as it is, and even though I was no longer an Annie fan towards the end of my viewing, I was still a fan of Melissa's so its not like I figured the character needed to be written off the show. Towards the end of the time I stopped watching, I hated that her character had become so much different from the one I was familar with, from the character I loved to watch so it wasn't hard for me to stop watching scenes from time to time. I think the character had a great road of redemption ahead of her and again, the constant switch of writers dropped the ball and each set had Annie doing something different. I couldn't stand it myself. Maybe I'm just too critical, I dunno. I just prefer some continuity with the characters I enjoy watching, I guess. At least Melissa wasn't fired; she expressed an interest in pursuing other roles outside of AMC. I hate hearing that any soap loses an actor since the genre as a whole seems to be losing talent left and right, but in case I were to return to the show I wouldn't be too pleased if I come back and a few of my favorite characters are no longer there. But who knows, Annie may make a return if Melissa decides at a later date to return to the show, or the role may be recasted and get another surge of interest from viewers. In any case, I'm sad to see her and Annie go and like Rebecca Herbst, has the best of luck in pursuing her other interests.

The following day if not later on the same day, OLTL announces that Brittany Underwood (Langston) is also being written out in a story dictated exit. Much like Rebecca Herbst, this was her first major role in acting and although she hasn't been on the show as long as Rebecca was with GH, she still grew up around her castmates and I'm sure this was a shocker to them as well. When Langston first started on the show she was the rebel edge to play off of Starr's cookie-cutter, privileged existence. Not long after she crossed paths with Markko Rivera, another rebel who used insulting Langston to hide the fact he was actually quite fond of her, a very familiar part of high school from my memory. Fast forward a couple of years and they had become one of the most stable couples on the show, which was sad considering there were less than 10 teens on the show at the time. They had more maturity in their relationship than alot of the adults; they should have taken a lesson or two from the two outcasts. I loved watching them together; it reminded me of my first love although their story was much more romantic and trusting than mine was. It was something realistic that I had no problem believing in. The entry of Lola into their relationship about 2 years ago was when they were first handed their bit of friction, followed by the disapproval Markko's parents had about him being with Langston and being sexually active without being married. Those were both normal things; most parents would prefer that their children not be sexually active until marriage and finding out the opposite usually sets them off. Definitely was a realistic angle in their story, especially if the parents, much like Markko's, were religious. But then the introduction of Ford into their story is what in my opinion eventually opened the door for Jason Tam (Markko) to take his temporary and then permanent exit from the show as his character got less time and story, and as the Ford family was fully integrated onto the canvas and Rob's angle with Langston decreased, I lost interest. Not long after, she's being written out due to story. I'd hope she just leaves for college or follows Markko to wherever he is and isn't written out via killer or some other stupid reason. She, like the other two, turned in good work and was a breath of fresh air and I wish Brittany Underwood all the best.

What a week, huh? Three exits by three prominent actresses in about as many days, one from each ABC soap. I really hope this doesn't set or start a trend. Even though I prefer not to watch soaps right now, its good to know that they're still there, your favorite characters are still living and thriving, and that they are there for you to go back to, kind of like that favorite toy you hold on to. Don't always have to play with them, don't always even want to, but when you're ready to again, they're right there, as ready for you to pick it up again as they always were. I think of soaps in that way; when I don't like the storylines or the characters that are in the forefront, I tend to lose interest and tune out. But when I'm ready to go back, the show and those characters are right there, waiting for me to watch. Unfortunately, the next time I return to the shows they will be Annie-less, Langston-less and >.< Elizabeth-less. Le sigh.