My AMC Top 10

Looking back through the years I have loved AMC, there have probably been more favorite moments and storylines than I can count.  How can I possibly narrow it down to 10?  It wasn't easy.  There are so many storylines I have loved.  So many characters.  So many couples.   Here we go, in no particular order.

1) Erica and Dimitri's romance.  This is the stuff of fairy tales.  To me Dimitri was Erica's one true love.  Sure I've liked her with others, and I like her with Jack.  But Dimitri?  He was it.  The mysterious Count Andrassy, living in that big castle (which happens to be located in Pine Valley, PA - possibly next to the ocean).  Dark and gothic.  And so romantic.  How could Erica not fall in love with him?  Especially after they started out hating each other, sort of.   Dimitri was poised to take over Enchantment from Erica, but Erica would not go quietly.  She wasn't going to lose her company to Dimitri.  Sparring turns to romance and the rest is history!  Well, there's also deception, infidelity, drug addiction, miscarriage and all kinds of other good stuff thrown in.  Legendary!

 

2) Jenny and Jesse run away to NYC.  This was very early on when I started watching and it hooked me in big time.  The friendship these two shared was beautiful.  It wasn't marred by either one of them having a romantic notion.  It was pure and sweet, despite the seediness that forced them out on the run at the hands of Liza Colby.   Liza found out about Jenny's father Ray's crimes and threatened to expose them all to Greg.  Liza also falsely accused Jesse of rape.  With all this on their minds, the two ran away and spent the summer in NYC.  

3) Stuart and Marian hook up, fall in love, and get married.  Classic!  Pure gold.  Marian is trying to help Liza by seducing Adam and taking photos, thus giving Liza reason to divorce him.  What she didn't know was that she was actually seducing Stuart!  I am absolutely thrilled that I was able to find this clip!   It's one of the best, where a drunken Marian describes what an amazing lover "Adam" is to Opal. 

4) Natalie gets thrown in a well and Janet takes over her life.  Doppelganger stories aren't exactly rare, but this one was better than the average story and beautifully played by Kate Collins (Natalie/Janet).  Forever jealous of her more sophisticated and charming sister Natalie, Janet had all she could stand when Nat was getting ready to marry her love, Trevor.  Janet kept hearing her mother's voice putting her down so she decided she would just become the favorite daughter by kidnapping Natalie, stashing her in a well and marrying Trevor herself, as Natalie.  They even consummated their union, resulting in Amanda.  Mayhem ensued for years afterward.

5) Angie and Jesse are reunited at the train station.  It was so exciting to me when Angie returned to Pine Valley, and then to find out that Jesse would be too?   That was too good to be true!  Angie and Jesse (along with Jenny and Greg) were the reason why I got so hooked on AMC back in the day.  I had no problem going along with the explanation for why Jesse was gone for 20 years.  As a soap fan, you kind of have to accept the unacceptable and just go with it.  Most of the time I can do that, and just bask in the joy of having a favorite back.  This was one of those times.

6) Bianca gets Miranda back.  Keeping with the reunion theme here, after a very long story of the baby switch between Babe and Bianca, at long last Bianca gets her baby.  Having been pushed out a window by JR, who was certain the baby was his daughter Bess, Bianca is in a coma in the hospital.  Erica believes that Bianca is going to give up fighting for her life because she believed her daughter Miranda was dead and she could be with her in death.  But Erica wasn't going to sit back and let that happen.   With Jack and Tad's help (and a little divine intervention from Fr. Clarence), Erica got Miranda back, brought her to the hospital and all but demanded Bianca open her eyes and see her baby.   And she did!

7) Erica and Brooke's rivalry.  Through the years one of the things that always gave me great joy was watching Erica and Brooke spar (with Adam and Palmer's rivalry a close second!).  These two fought over everything from business matters to men, but mostly about men.  But through it all they had a grudging friendship and uneasy respect for each other.  

8) Alec tries to drown Arlene in liquor.  The relationship between Alec McIntyre and Arlene Vaughn was one of my favorite twisted relationships ever.  Alec was married to Hayley, Arlene's daughter, but that didn't stop him from bedding Arlene, on his wedding night to Hayley no less!   But Alec soon realized that sleeping with his mother in law was a bad idea and she could ruin everything for him (namely getting control of Enchantment).  Arlene got wise to his plans and wanted in on the action but Alec wasn't about to share so he plotted a way to get rid of her.   With Arlene laying in bed, he joined her, letting her believe they were going to make love but then he grabs her around the neck and literally pours liquor down the alcoholic Arlene's throat.  I will never forget my jaw hitting the floor while watching that scene!  So did Mateo and Hayley's when they walked in on the scene and stopped Alec from killing Arlene.  I think he's still in prison for that!

9) Noah and Julia... start to finish!   One of my favorite couples of all time.  Their love story was epic.  After fleeing from the hospital with a several facial laceration, Julia ended up being rescued by Noah.  At first the street hood plotted to make money off her by turning her into a prostitute, but he soon realized she was much better than that and so began a journey to true love.  I still remember my own outrage when Julia was raped by Louie Grecco and then watching Noah go from worry, to rage, to tender loving care as he bathed Julia after her ordeal.  *sigh*  They just don't make love stories like that anymore.

10) Liza, Tad and Marian.  Seriously one of my all time favorite storylines and it pretty much single-handedly gave Tad the nickname Tad the Cad.  Not that he wasn't already a playboy, but this was really taking it to a whole new level.  Lonely Marian caught the eye of young Tad while he was working at the Glamorama and the two began an illicit affair.  Tad didn't seem to mind bedding mother and daughter, but it was going to blow up in his face, big time, when Liza found out.  And it did.  But history does repeat itself when, years later, Liza slept with her daughter Colby's boyfriend Damon!

 

So there you have it.  Those are my Top 10.   Granted I could have picked a top 50 and still not been done.  There are so many more truly wonderful storylines and moments.  Hell I didn't even mention many of my all time favorites like Myrtle, Phoebe and Langley (oh did I love Langley's affair with Opal!), Adrian, Simone, and so many more.  Or memorable moments like Cliff and Nina's wedding, Ryan and Gillian's wedding, Reese and Bianca's wedding.  All the Crystal Ball's.  Brooke losing Laura.  Erica's breakdown at Mona's funeral.  Bianca coming out to Erica.  And David David David!!!  With so much to cover in 41 years of shows, it's hard to narrow it down!  Give it a try, I bet when you think you have your ten,  you'll end up crossing some out and adding others in too :)