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AMC excelling at telling soldiers’ stories
I’ve been appreciating how All My Children has been handling the military aspects of the show.
It was a nice touch watching Frankie (Cornelius Smith Jr.) and Taylor (Beth Ehlers) get together with their comrades in arms, having a few drinks and sharing a few laughs as they prepare for redeployment.
AMC has done a nice job of showing the humanity, sacrifice and sense of duty that define these servicemen (and women).
But it hasn’t been all “rah rah.”
There has also been plenty of frustration, mainly on Frankie’s part because he’s ready to build a life outside the military.
As for Taylor, she has some deep, emotional wounds that has her grasping for what she knows well, her comfort zone: war.
It all makes for interesting drama. More importantly, it’s being handled in a respectful manner, unlike the other ABC soaps.
Both One Life to Live and General Hospital have turned their military men into a bunch of crazies.
GH’s Logan snapped, attacked Maxie and Lulu and got a fatal knife in the gut. OLTL’s Brody snapped, attacked Marcie and is now twitching around Shane with a gun.
GH’s other soldiers, Cooper and Cody, haven’t fared much better. Although at least Cody is still alive.
I know there are plenty of military personnel who are traumatized by what they see, and do, in war. And some, no doubt, have trouble coping.
But I bet there are even more of them who manage to live productive, relatively sane lives.
It’s refreshing to see AMC actually acknowledge that.
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