‘Children’ just needs some caring parents

WITH all due respect to executive producer Julie Hanan Carruthers, the majority of “backlash” against the Zarf/Zoe story line in “All My Children” will likely come from poor execution, not subject matter [“Zarf Becomes Zoe, and a Soap Evolves,” Dec. 24]. Likewise, ABC Daytime President Brian Frons can wish for all the “adventurous” storytelling he wishes, but if it is told poorly, people will not watch.

The reason “All My Children” is losing viewers is not that the stories are lacking adventure or daring (witness the recent undoing of Erica Kane’s historic abortion) but that they are constructed badly and without any respect for the longtime viewers (again, witness the recent undoing of Erica Kane’s historic abortion). If Carruthers and Frons are serious about improving “All My Children,” they will return to what that show did best: stories about multigenerational and multicultural families. That’s what works in prime time, and there is no reason it can’t work in daytime as well.

ELLEN DIAMOND

Santa Ana