Editing All My Children (section)

=== 1980s ===
The early 1980s is considered a "golden period" for the show and the "Golden Age" for [[supercouple]]s.<ref name="NIXON" /><ref name=".amazon.com">{{cite book|first=Bill and Susan|last=Hayes|title=Like Sands Through The Hourglass|year=2005|publisher=NAL Hardcover|isbn=0451216601}}</ref><ref name="soapoperadigest.com">{{cite web|first=Janet|last=Di Lauro|title=Supercouples: A Relic From the '80s or Still Alive and Kissing?|publisher=soapoperadigest.com|access-date=2007-09-06|url=http://soapoperadigest.com/features/supercouples/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100906220936/http://soapoperadigest.com/features/supercouples|archive-date=September 6, 2010|url-status=dead}}</ref> Younger characters, such as [[Greg Nelson and Jenny Gardner]] ([[Laurence Lau]] and [[Kim Delaney]]), [[Liza Colby]] ([[Marcy Walker]]), Liza's best friend Amanda ([[Amanda Bearse]]), [[Jesse Hubbard and Angie Baxter]] ([[Darnell Williams]] and [[Debbi Morgan]]), and a now-grown-up [[Tad Martin (All My Children)|Tad Martin]] ([[Michael E. Knight]]), who was now legally Ruth and Joe's son, enter the scene.

The storyline involving Liza plotting to win Greg back after he leaves her for Jenny became a fan favorite, as was the Greg and Jenny and Jesse and Angie pairings.<ref name="NIXON" /><ref name="Amatangelo">{{cite news|first=Amy|last=Amatangelo|title=Daytime's '80s 'supercouple' returns to 'All My Children'|newspaper=[[The Boston Herald]]|date=January 17, 2008|access-date=2008-01-20|url=http://www.bostonherald.com/entertainment/television/general/view.bg?articleid=1067034|archive-date=August 2, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090802170722/http://www.bostonherald.com/entertainment/television/general/view.bg?articleid=1067034|url-status=live}}</ref> Jesse and Jenny's summer in New York City became regarded as one of the greatest storylines in the history of the series.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Hot Plot's: AMC's Top Summer Storylines|magazine=[[Soap Opera Digest]]|access-date=2007-07-07|url=http://www.soapoperadigest.com/features/all-my-children/articles/amcsummer|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100906220850/http://www.soapoperadigest.com/features/all-my-children/articles/amcsummer|archive-date=September 6, 2010|url-status=dead}}</ref> Meanwhile, the legend of "Tad the Cad" is born when Tad takes Liza's [[virginity]], then simultaneously begins having sex with her mother, socialite [[Marian Colby Chandler|Marian Colby]] ([[Jennifer Bassey]]), who eventually is sent to prison.

For older appeal, Jenny and Tad's natural mother Opal ([[Dorothy Lyman]]) was also added to the canvas, where she opens the Glamorama salon and spa. Opal greatly showcased ''All My Children''{{'}}s attempt at humor and satire. Also introduced in the 1980s were powerful businessman [[Adam Chandler]] and his identical twin brother [[Stuart Chandler|Stuart]] (both played by [[David Canary]]), the first arrival of members of the [[Chandler family]]. Adam became cited as one of the "most powerful male figures in television",<ref name="Jenkins">{{cite book|author1=Henry Jenkins |author2=Tara McPherson |author3=Jane Shattuc |title=Hop on Pop: The Politics and Pleasures of Popular Culture|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_u5Pqx1DBkgC&q=Hop+on+Pop:+The+Politics+and+Pleasures+of+Popular+Culture+Adam+Chandler&pg=PA61|isbn=0-8223-2737-6|publisher=Duke University Press|year=2002|page=792 pages (specific page)}}</ref><ref name="Mansour">{{cite book|author =David Mansour|title=From Abba to Zoom: A Pop Culture Encyclopedia of the Late 20th Century|isbn= 978-0-7407-5118-9|publisher=Andrews McMeel Publishing|year=2005|page=560}}</ref> which was contrasted by Stuart's kind, generous, and honest personality.

Erica began to take on a larger-than-life role by the 1980s, writing an autobiography, ''Raising Kane'', and turning it into a motion picture. When her presumed half-sister Silver (Deborah Goodrich) accuses Erica of murdering Kent Bogard (Michael Woods, Lee Godart), her former lover and boss, Erica goes on the run. She does all this while posing as a [[Nun#Distinction between a nun and a religious sister|sister]] named 'Christine'. {{citation needed|date=March 2014}}

The show made its first attempt at tackling the taboo topic of homosexuality in 1983. [[Tricia Pursley]] portrayed the divorced Devon McFadden, who believes she is falling in love with her [[lesbian]] psychiatrist, Lynn Carson (portrayed by [[Donna Pescow]]).<ref name="goliath.ecnext.com">{{cite book|author =C. Lee Harrington|title =Homosexuality on All My Children: transforming the daytime landscape|url =http://goliath.ecnext.com/coms2/summary_0199-3090675_ITM|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110517000322/http://goliath.ecnext.com/coms2/gi_0199-3090675/Homosexuality-on-All-My-Children.html|archive-date=May 17, 2011|publisher=Blackwell Publishing|year=2003}}</ref> Lynn acknowledges that she is a lesbian, and Devon admits her crush, but Lynn rebuffs her. Before this storyline, no other American soap opera had done a story about homosexuality.<ref name=goliath.ecnext.com />

The show tackled the issue of drug use when [[Mark La Mura]]'s character, [[Mark Dalton (All My Children)|Mark Dalton]], becomes addicted to cocaine after years of casual use. His half-sister, Erica, stages an intervention with his friends to have him confront his problems. They practice a [[tough love]] policy that requires Mark's admission of his addiction.

Controversy was prompted in 1987 with the arrival of Cindy Parker ([[Ellen Wheeler]]), who later fell in love with Stuart. Cindy was revealed to have [[HIV/AIDS|AIDS]]. Through visits by now-Dr. Angie Hubbard, the show educated the public on how the disease was spread and how to prevent it. Cindy had contracted HIV from her husband, Fred, played by Mark Morrison, who contracted it from sharing needles for drug use. Cindy is attacked by a vigilante hate group led by her niece, [[Skye Chandler]]. Cindy marries Stuart and he adopts her son, Scott. She dies early in 1989 in one of the show's most-watched episodes.

[[Felicia Minei Behr]] was hired as the new executive producer in early 1989. Having been a producer on [[Ryan's Hope]], Behr was familiar with ''All My Children'', having been an associate producer from 1970 to 1975. Among the stories featured was a baby storyline involving the characters of Adam, Brooke, Tad, and Dixie ([[Cady McClain]]). By this time, the show had also found a "hit couple" in Cecily and Nico (portrayed by [[Rosa Nevin]] and [[Maurice Benard]]), but Behr was unable to convince either to remain with the show, and the duo left at the end of 1989.

ABC was pleased with Behr; Nixon was as well, and decided her creation was safe in the hands of the new producer. Behr, however, made the unpopular decision to fire Peter Bergman (Cliff Warner) during this time, as well as Ellen Wheeler (Karen) and Robert Gentry (Ross Chandler). Bergman's departure was particularly frustrating to Debbi Morgan (who thought it was a cop-out by ABC on the promising interracial Angie/Cliff pairing; Morgan later defected to the new NBC soap opera ''[[Generations (U.S. TV series)|Generations]]'' in protest), Taylor Miller (who was misled when Behr approached her to bring back her character Nina; Miller was frustrated to find out she had only been brought back for two weeks to facilitate Bergman's departure: Cliff and Nina reunited, married yet again, and left Pine Valley, leaving Miller to lament to ''[[Soap Opera Digest]]'' that she felt it was going backward for both characters, and difficult emotionally to play), and Bergman himself. Behr then brought back fan favorite Opal Gardner, but instead of contacting Emmy winner Dorothy Lyman to reprise the role, Behr hired [[Jill Larson]]. Lyman later noted her disappointment in never being contacted about reprising the role.