An ABC source confirms that Annie Lavery's socipathic brother Richie (played to perfection by Billy Miller) will be killed off in the not-so-distant future.  To say the show wrote the character into a corner would be the understatement of the millenium.

  Richie came on for the simple purpose of tormenting his sister Annie (Melissa Claire Egan) and to give her hubby Ryan (Cameron Mathison) yet another chance to play perennial superhero. Then the character developed feelings for Babe (Amanda Baker) and there was almost a flicker of hope he would be humanized. Almost. Richie's most nefarious stunt-kidnapping JR Chandler (Jacob Young) and stealing his bone marrow via a dirty needle that infected JR with Hepatitis C-is currently been revealed onscreen and according to our sources, redemption won't take place for this character.

In other AMC news, our source also revealed the rumor that Opal and Palmer Cortlandt's long-absent son Petey Cortlandt is being SORAS'ed is indeed true. Here's hoping they drop the name "Petey" and call the kid Pete, well, for Pete's sake.

Usually, when I sit down to write my blog, I have a hard time figuring out where to begin, and what the tone is going to be. Sure, while I am sitting in front of the boob tube, watching All My Children, the ideas come to me fast and furiously. But sit down with the laptop? And my overly medicated mind draws a complete blank. I am warning you all, due to severe muscle spasms, I am medicated. But, I ask you, is there any other way to watch All My Children without slamming your head into the television?

So, that being said, I will start at the beginning. No, not the historical beginning of All My Children, but the beginning of the show itself. Have you seen the opening lately? Did you notice that on Rebecca Budig’s first day back as Greenlee, Sabine Singh’s character portrayal shot was replaced with hers? It was immediate. So, I put this question out to you - How long are we all supposed to wait before we see the other new or returning characters added to the opening? Where are the opening shots of Debi Morgan or Darnell Williams? Angie and Jesse were far bigger than Greenlee ever was, or will be. So, why weren’t their shots added on Day 1?? If I were those actors, I would be adamant to get the same treatment as Rebecca did. Because to be quite honest here, All My Children will get far more long time viewers back showcasing Angie and Jesse, then parading Greenlee around. Also, are we going to see more of Frankie Hubbard now that his parents are in town? Or will he be faded into the background with the likes of Jonathan or Sean Montgomery? Both of whom have been ousted by the show.

While I think it is great that they are bringing back a popular veteran couple, I do not see success in their return. I can only hope and pray that All My Children can learn from past mistakes, and actually write a decent story for a veteran character. The reason I hold no hope is simple. Look at Adam Chandler, for example. What does he currently have as a storyline? Not much from where I stand. We have a powerful business tycoon, who upon getting his company back, does nothing to stomp on the person who put him in the predicament in the first place. Instead, we have Adam hiding bugs in rings to spy on JR. Please somebody over there at ABC, take Adam Chandler off the sedatives, and unleash his all to well known fury on Pine Valley. It is overdue, and very needed to help pick this soap up.

Another thing I do not understand is why they brought in the character of Samuel Woods as a love interest for Erica? Sorry here folks, but I do not see anyone as an adequate partner for Erica other than Jackson. Why make a big deal about Erica’s 10^th marriage if they were not going to make it last? So, I suppose now they are going to make Erica into a Martha Stewart type, selling off tons of stocks. Is this why her accounts are frozen? Also, WHY are they bringing this character in when there is still a spark between Erica and Jack, and there is so much story there to be told. I am warning you now, if and when they pair up Samuel and Erica, I promise you I am NOT going to have anything nice to say about it. Please feel free to call me on that, should I go back on my promise, which I won’t.

There are so many veteran actors on this show, and no matter the writing team they have over there writing, nobody seems to do them justice. Gone are the catfights, jabs and one-liners of Erica & Brooke. The witty reparte of Palmer and Adam. Tad and anyone, for that matter. I did see some of the old chemistry sparks between Tad and Jesse, and alas that gave me hope. Hope that maybe for once the idiots at ABC are listening to us the viewers and maybe are bringing us back to family-centric stories.

While that sounds like a great idea, I somehow doubt this will ever come to fruition. Why should it? They have a bad habit over at All My Children of showcasing stories they THINK we want to see. Here are a few examples -

THEY THINK: we want to see Kendall’s infidelity over and over.

WE WANT: to see Kendall and Zach with their children as a family unit. Happy. Draw your stories from that.

THEY THINK: We want to see Ryan and his bulging eyes every day on our screen, being the saviour of women and all in Pine Valley.

WE WANT: To see Ryan bedstruck with a blinding debilitating disease, with his eyes bandaged. Unable to save anyone, except us the viewers from having to look at him EVERY DAY.

THEY THINK: we want new characters brought in, and shoved in our faces.

WE WANT: Old favorites brought back, and actually written for in entertaining and challenging, and keeping us on the edge of our seats.

THEY THINK: we want to see the Kendall and Greenlee Show

WE WANT: to actually see other characters on the show too.

And lastly, before I re-medicate so I can sit through yet another disappointing hour of All My Children -

THEY THINK: We are loyal to watching.

I’M THINKING - Is there anything good on another channel?

So smarten up AMC Executives, remotes are very easy to use these days, and does not take any effort to change the channel. I wonder what is on NBC at 1 pm eastern time???

Before I Leave you this week, I would like to ask each and every one of you to please support Campbell’s Go Red for Women’s Heart Health Campaign.

Heart disease is the #1 killer of American women, but it's also largely preventable. Campbell, a proud supporter of the American Heart Association's Go Red for Women movement, is committed to empowering women with knowledge and tools so they can take positive action to reduce their risks and protect their health.

Please visit http://www.goredwithcampbells.com/ for more information, and be sure to click on this years winning red dress, for which Campbell’s will donate $1 for each click.

It takes a moment of your time, but can give back a lifetime of moments for every woman they help. Thank You.

~AMC Girl-A heart disease survivor.