Devane Prophecy Realized

The Best and worst of 2003: Anna and David's Baby Died 
Anna and David learned they were going to be parents, but their baby had a heart defect. After a risky in-utero survery that David performed, the Haywards were thrilled when they were blessed with a beautiful baby they named Leora. The little girl faced many problems from the get-to, which caused her parents to argue over the best treatment for her. While Anna believed that she should be fitted with a pacemaker, David thought their daughter was too young to endure another surgery. Anna ultimately made the decision minus her husband's input and scheduled the operation. A worried David disrupted Joe while he performed the delicate surgery, but he was removed from the room by Tad. Alas, both parents were devastated when Joe informed them that Leora had died on the operating table. While Anna quietly grieved, David blamed Joe and Tad for the baby's death. As they mourned the loss of their daughter, the couple grew further apart. Before the year was over, Anna told David that her feelings for him had changed, and she left town. (SID 12/23/03)

The Year in Review (SOD 12/30/03)
*Feb- David and Anna's daughter, Leora, was born with a heart defect.
*May- David and Anna were shattered when Leora died during surgery. 
*June- David blamed Joe and Tad for Leora's death.
*July- David dropped his vendetta against the Martins.
*Sept- Anna nixed a reconciliation with David and left town.

Hot Plot! "As painful as it was to watch, David and Anna losing the baby was so exquisite and so heartbreaking and devastating. I think it really utilized what the show could be: the brillant actors, the writing, the heart-wrenching situation that these two people find themselves in and their struggle to continue with their lives and to move on and to stay together. It was so clear that they loved each other, but there was something that was constantly hovering like a black cloud [over them], and it was very interesting to see these two very smart people try to work through their problems in very intelligent ways and still fail."  -Eden Riegel (Bianca) on what was AMC's best 2003 storyline (SID 12/23/03)

Fall Preview- David and Anna: David Without Anna- Just as the news broke that Finola Hughes would be leaving her role of Anna in the fall, McTavish had this to say about the future of David minus his significant other: "It's not that David is going to become a good guy, but if he is villainous, he will be villanious in [support of] a very good cause as opposed to a very bad cause." (SID 9/2/03)

With Anna leaving, David will spin off into other places. He will grow closer to Erica as a friend- for now. Anna's departure will be a very important emotional moment for both. (SOD 8/26/03)

Edmund and Maria's Next Move: What's next for Pine Valley's favorite reunited couple? "Edmund and Maria have much more stuff coming up," promises McTavish. "We just haven't cast the other characters [involved in their next storyline]. It's taking a little longer than we would like to get it going." (SID 9/2/03)

Critical Condition: Death and Mircles on Daytime- “I do no think dead babies are anything to celebrate. But there are miraculous elements in the story of story of Leora’s death on All My Children.”
     Miracles Do Happen- Miracle No. 1: The Writing. Some other shows have shied away from playing each and every agonizing beat of a child's death. This is definitely not the case here. Consider that almost-unwatchable anguish when David and Anna learned about their baby's passing; the first time David and Anna started to blame each toher; Anna and David sorting through the baby's things. (The scene in which david destroyed the crib while Anna sobbed in the corner may be on the top 10 list of most heartbreaking scenes on any soap, ever.) And finally, everything surrounding the funeral, including David'ss surprise appearanace after he was certain he wouldn't be able to handle attending. Every moment of this story has been heavy with dark, relaistic pain- just the way it should be.
     Miracle No 2: The Acting: I have always been a a huge fan of Finola Hughes and Vincent Irizarry (Anna and David) and in this story they demonstrate why. Anna's torment is played vividly, but without histrionics- her outburts are deftly timed and do not smack of "acting for acting's sake."
     Irizarry is also doing the work of his career. We have to dig below the surface of David's wrecked emotions to see his pain. David hasn't broken our hearts with vociiferous tears the way Anna has. His pain is much more quiet yet just as powerful, and sublimated into anger at Tad, Joe and Annaa. In fact, Anna's teary, painful, explosions contrasted with David's silent sorrow and angry outburts are the eemotional essence of what soap operas are all about.
     Miracle No. 3 This Story is on AMC. I anxiously anticipate watching AMC every single day. How miraculous is it that this amazing tragedy is being featured on a show not that long ago made me want to tear my hair out. If you had told me as recently as six weeks ago that the tale I would follow most intensly would be on AMC, I would have called you delusional. The mere fact that this story is running on AMC (along with other nifty stuff, including Mary/Jack/Erica and Greenlee's paterinity) is a wonder. (P.K. Waddle, SOW 7/29/03)

Is it over for David and Anna?  To see an on-screen union socked by something as sudden and tragic as newborn Leora's death can be devastating for an actor. Irizarry, though, says he and Hughes were prepared for the grim twist since the day the baby was named. "It wasn't a big surprise for either of us. The second we heard the name, Leora, we said the child wasn't long for this world," he shares. "Literally, I said to Finola, 'This child's not going to live. They're not going to say the name Leora on a soap opera for 20 years, trust me!' It was a ridiculous name."
     Even so, once it came time to play David and Anna's reaction to the loss, both actors stepped up to the plate. "We'd invested a lot in it," says Irizarry. "We've been beating the heck out of each other for the last five weeks. It's been torture... Grueling."
     Looking ahead, can Anna and David- who blame each other and themselves for Leora's passing- find their way back to each other, or will this rift rip apart their marriage? "I'm worried because I don't know how entertaining it is. It's such a crippling storyline and it's very sad," says Hughes. "I just hope that the audience comes along for the ride." (SID 7/8/03)

AMC's Maria: Total Recall: This week on AMC, Maria is plagued by nightmares, both literally and figuratively. In her dream state, she imagines being forced to chose between Maria's husband, Edmund, and "Maureen's" fiance, Aidan. Then, with her eyes wide open, she must watch in horror as a murderous Evan Flanders tosses her little girl, Maddie, over the side of Adam's moving yacht.
     "Up to that point, her memories just come at will- here and there," explains Eva La Rue (Maria). "She can't conjure them up. But once she jumps into the water to save Maddie, that's when the world becomes very clear to her. That's when she gets all her memory back."
     But there's little time to celebrate- or tell anyone, for that matter. Maria rescues Maddie, but just then, the yacht crashes and explodes with Aidan and Flanders on board. "It looks like Aidan's dead," La Rue  previews, adding that the timing prevents Maria from filling Edmund in about her memory surge in the water.
     Once she does, La Rue believes that Edmund and Maria will reconcile. "We need to see them rebuild their life together and we need to see them be happy," she assert. "but you know they can only be happy for a month or two, and right around then is when you find out [that someone] may be pregnant. I don't know if they'll do that with [Edmund's lover] Mia- but she does have that kid hanging out there, so we know she's fertile!" (SOD 5/27/03)

Spring Preview!  David and Anna's Marriage is Tested! Despite having weathered the worst, "David becomes obsessed with protecting and keeping their daughter alive, which proves to be much to the detriment of his relationship with Anna," shares executive producer Jean Dadario-Burke. "While they still both love each other very much, they wind up at odds over the health of the child." [Note- for some reason the press people for AMC keep forgetting that Anna and David are divorced, not married.]
A Child in Jeopardy! "Edmund and Maria are both trying to move on with their lives," says Burke. "However- and that's a big however- big things happen." Such as? "Maddie's life is threatened, bringing Edmund, Maria, Mia and Aidan into a dangerous situation protection her."

AMC's Edmund and Mia Make Love: No, that's not a typo, it's not Maria bedded Edmund this week on AMC- it's Mia. "Edmund and Mia are beginning to draw closer together," teases AMC co-head writer Gordon Rayfield. Indeed. When Edmund confronts David, the dastardly doc reveals that Maria told him she doesn't want to regain her memories, which would include her love for Edmund. Mia is happy that Edmund seems ready to turn the page on his past and, after initially putting off spending the night together, they finally do throw caution to the Wildwind and make love.
     So, is the book closed on Edmund and Maria- and Edmund and Brooke, for that matter? "Brooke and Edmund have basically made their peace," offers Rayfield. "They're friends. We're looking to involve Brooke in a story that will begin to play in May, but it's mostly a summer story." As for Maria, "I wouldn't say they're finished," winks Rayfield. (SOW 4/22/03)

Baby Makes Three On AMC:  AMC's Anna gives birth this week- no small news, considering how precarious pregnancies can be on daytime. "It's nice to think that they're going to let this child live!" laughs Finola Hughes. "Of course, we'll probably never see the child once it's born, but still...."
    At the beginning of the week, Anna is forced to undergo an emergency C-section. "It's quite good drama," promises Hughes."It's touch and go, and there are lots of complications." But Baby Girl Hayward finally makes her entrance, and this, notes Hughes, is when the real fun starts for fans of David and Anna. 'I've already heard what's happening next, and it's very interesting, very unexpected, what [having a child] does to the relationship. I was surprised with what they have up their sleeves. This birth is the beginning of a new phase for them. But the drama and conflict will remain between these two."
     It certainly seems that way because David has been tinkering with a formula to cure Maria's amnesia, and Anna has no clue about that. "The baby has become paramount in her mind," Hughes notes. "She's not watching David with suspicion; she's looking to him as a medical expert and as her partner. She needs his strength right now. But the built-in conflict between them is and always has been that David is a liar, and Anna is not. She itches for truth, and David? He likes to keep things to himself." (SOD 3/4/03)

Who will Maria Choose? "This is the biggest story we have for February sweeps," shares Rayfield. "Aidan's life is in danger, and we will be going on location to a beautiful Carribbean island where all of this will play out. A really exciting, action-adventure story will take place [over the course of] five different episodes."

Eva La Rue on Aidan vs. Edmund  AMC's Aidan and Maria have bigger problems than people trying to kill them: Can their romantic adventure at Atlantis, Paradise Island Resort make fans forget about Maria and Edmund?
     "I know a lot of the audience is against [Aidan and Maria] because they felt like Edmund and Maria never got a chance, and I feel the same way," admits Eva La Rue (Maria). "I was coming back just as we were getting ready to change head writers and heads of daytime, and Edmund and Maria got caught in the transition. They didn't know what to write for us. A lot of the fans are afraid to let the Aidan/Maria thing happen because they're so pissed off that the Edmund/Maria thing never got off the ground. But I hope they at least go along for the ride, because it is kicking off in a fun and exciting way."
    Exciting is right. This week, Maria and Aidan make love. But that doesn't necessarily spell the end of Edmund and Maria. "When Edmund and Maria do get back together, it makes for much better soap story if there's a triangle," offer La Rue. "There was no chance of a triangle if Maria got her memory back right away. If Maria has fallen in love with somebody else and then suddenly wakes up one day and remembers the true love of her life, now she's really got a problem." (SOW 2/18/03)

Aidan Faces Danger!  Aidan is desperate to escape his captors, but this week finds the AMC hunk fighting for not only his freedom, but his very life as well!
     A Desperate Lie- At the hideaway where he's being held hostage, a bound Aidan decides to try and outsmart his ex-lover, Morgan, who's working for the as-yet unseen Julian. With that in mind, Aidan breaks out the oldest trick in the book by quickly spinning a web of lies, claiming that if anything happens to him, a letter will be sent to her boss!
     Hoping to impress upon her just how dangerous Julian is, Aidan tells Morgan that the letter details how she stole money from her current partner in crime following a recent heist. Aidan goes on to warn Morgan that staying involved with Julian, whether as a partner in business or in bed, is the best way to dig her own grave. One way or another, she'll wind up dead!
     History Lesson- Although shaken, Morgan remains devoted to her lover's plan, keeping in mind that Aidan has every reason to try and worm his way out of the situation, given the fact that he was once involved with Julian's wife, Fiona! Her decision to remain loyal proves to be a smart one (for her, if not our hero) when Julian calls and she is able to report that she has the situation under control. Which is bad news for Aidan, but music to the ears of Julian, who plans on personally erasing the man who slept with his wife.
     Vanishing Act- Unfortunately for Aidan, nobody in Pine Valley has yet realized that he's missing. After all, only last week he told Maria, whom he hoped to keep safe, that she should return to Wildwind with Edmund. If the handsome Brit winds up taking another bullet, will there be anyone to mourn his passing? (SID 2/4/03)

February Sweeps-  David/Anna: "They will have a crisis with her pregnancy, a medical emergency that will play out through the month, Finola [Hughes, Anna] will be back from vacation- in full force."

Anna counts on David! Although Anna already has been experiencing problems with her pregnancy, headwriter Gordon Rayfield reveals that there will be another "medical crisis for her and the baby that will involve David's surgical skills."

Aidan/Maria/Edmund: "Adian and Maria are in danger- someone is trying to kill them- and they're falling in love. And Edmund is getting jealous. The triangle is going to play out in February with a [location shoot] in the Bahamas that we think is a really great, exciting adventure story. A lot happens while they're down there that will resolve the situation for now, but will also move the triangle in a new direction." As for the dark side of Edmund demonstrated by drugging Maria, "We're going to see more of that. He's been put in a difficult position; he's desperately in love, but at the same time, Aidan and Maria are getting more and more involved. That's our drive through most of sweeps."

Edmund Drugs Maria  "Edmund, out of love, is being driven to desperate measures," says John Callahan of hat propels his character to play doctor ith his amnesiac ife this week on AMC.
     After Brooke implores Edmund not to give up on Maria so easily, he visits David to check on the cure that the doc is brewing to reverse Maria's memory loss. "It 's a mixture of what he gave to Dixie, plus two parts cosmopolitan martini" jokes Callahan. David reports that the drug is only 98 percent complete- but Edmund, in Callahan's words, "pulls a Winona [Ryder]," pocketing the concoction while David's back is turned.
     In the meantime, Aidan is busy convincing Maria that she must leave the condo in which he's hiding out for her own safety, as her affiliation with him puts them in the line of fire of the assassin who is pursuing him. When Edmund arrives and Maria brings him up to speed about the threats Aidan is facing, Edmund panics. "He believes her life is in danger," sighs Callahan. "She's hanging out with this guy who has an assassin after him. Plus, she's not quite sure who she's in love with or what she's feeling."
     So, when Edmund escortss Maria back to Wildind and offers to fix her a drink, he has more than calming her nerves on his mind. "He's having vial thoughts," Callahan quips. "He puts a couple of drops [of David's elixir] into her drink before he gives it to her It's a page out of Timothy Leary's book of romance."
     But, the actor allows, there's no telling what kind of effect the drug will have on Maria. "It's hopefully going to have some good effects, so she can get memory back and get right in the head. But I think Edmund is totally clueless. Remember, he did not go to bartending school." or medical school, for that matter... (SID 1/7/03)

2003 Preview  Aidan/Maria/Edmund/Brooke: The story involves Aidan's past and the payoff will reveal the kind of person that he really is. Brooke will be involved, too.  David/Anna: Their baby will be born in the spring and will face some tough moments.  Edmund/Maria/Aiden/David/Anna: "Hell's a-poppin' in that story," reports Executive Producer Jean Dadario-Burke. "Edmund becomes obsessed with getting Maria's memory totally back, and David will be involved in that. Also, a lot of action is going on- an outside force will cause complications for Edmund and Maria." Could Aiden possibly be the cause? "Aiden is going to be very much involved," she teases. As for Dr. and Mrs. Hayward, Burke says, "They will continue to have their unusual marriage, which is full of incident. But they are expecting their first child and are very much in love." (SID 1/7/03)

Happy Holidays? On Christmas Eve, Greenlee plans a gathering for Trey, David, Anna and Maggie, believing that Leo would have wanted her to spend time with their extended family. Proving that miracles do happen, the evening seems to bring David and Trey closer. For the first time, they seem more like brothers than foes.
     Before the night is over, the group is feeling festive enough to try singing a few carols. Meanwhile, Greenlee slips away to spend a little time with Leo... or at least her memories of him, raising a toast to his picture and reflecting upon their all-too-short time together. (SID 1/7/03)

Aiden's Secret Past! Next up on the casting front is a brand new face to daytime: model Daniella Van Graas, who plays Fiona, a woman Aidan's past, beginning Thursday, December 26. "Fiona was married to a person who was horrible and she wanted to leave him because she was scared of him," explains the Brit hunk's portrayer, Aiden Turner. "So when she met me, we hooked up and fell in love." Alas, following a tragic twist of events, Aiden found himself on the run. "That's when I fled to the States," says Turner.
     Although the actor enjoyed working with Van Graas- "She is stunningly beautiful and played the part very well," he notes- Fiona's appearance is short-term, due to the nature of her storyline. (SID 1/7/03)