Guest Author - Lynn McMonigal
I am a little late in writing this article, and for that I apologize. But I needed to put a little distance between me and this particular incident. Please understand, this is my opinion. If you don’t agree, I’d love to hear from you about it. You can reach me via the “CONTACT ME” link on any page, or you can voice your opinion on the forums.
The way that All My Children handled the exit of Cady McClain really, really annoyed me. The actress was fired. According to an entry posted on her blog, McClain was fired partially because nothing more could be written for Tad and Dixie and partially because she was unhappy and had been critical of some decisions made concerning the Tad/Dixie/Madden storyline. I can’t say that I agree with this decision. Considering that Kate is in town, developing a friendship with both Tad and Dixie, I can see things that could have been done with the characters. Killing off Dixie seems like an extreme way to avoid completely telling a story.
The most annoying part to me, though, was the series of flashbacks that were shown. Opal, Palmer, JR, Tad, and Jamie all remembered special moments with Dixie. Even Babe, who had known her mother-in-law for a little over a year, and Adam, who often had a less then peaceful relationship with his ex-wife, remembered aspects of their lives with Dixie. A very touching send-off, and possibly one that was well-deserved after all that Dixie meant to so many people in Pine Valley.
So why does this annoy me so much? Because the same consideration was not given to Brooke English when her portrayer, Julia Barr, chose to not except recurring status.
It appears that Barr was punished for making a choice she felt was best. After 30 years on the show, with only a small break in the early 1980’s, she was given what had to feel like an insulting offer---her contract would not be renewed, but she could be placed on recurring status. After all that she had given to the show, she decided rather than blend into the background, it was best for her to leave.
McClain had a history of also making the best choice for herself. She played Dixie, and left for other projects, only to come back. I am not criticizing her for that. Everyone needs to make a choice about what is best for the career and personal life, and this is what was best for her. When her choice was taken away, AMC responded with a touching send-off. This would be the second such send-off, if I remember correctly. Didn’t her family go through the same type of flashbacks at a memorial service when she “died” in a car crash a few years back?
Yet when it came time for Barr to leave, her character was not given any type of send-off. One day, she was complaining about the older woman her son is dating, the next she was saying how much two women would be missed (did Brooke really even know Simone or Erin?), and then she was gone. Her son, Jamie, has been mourning the death of his step-mom and could have used his mother’s shoulder to cry on. But there has been no mention of Brooke at all.
To me, this was unfair to the viewers. We all knew that Brooke would be gone, and we miss her. Yet we were not given a chance to say good-bye. It was nice to be able to say good-bye to Dixie, and we should have been able to do the same for Brooke.
