411. TV really shouldn't make you cry!

Monday, October 23, 2006

Just last night, I wrote about how I found myself crying at the end of a few episodes of ABC's new hit show, Brothers & Sisters. Well, today my soap opera, As The World Turns, had me turning on the waterworks. Back in July, one of the actors that has been on the show since I began watching the show over twenty years ago passed away. His last appearance on the show was on July 12th, and following that appearance the character had been away on a business trip. I wondered how the series would handle his death. They had brought in other actors to cover the role before when the actor went on vacation or something of that nature, but he was Hal Munsen. It just wouldn't seem right to bring someone new in.

Well, today we learned of the character's fate. The character himself died in the process of trying to stop a robbery. Hal was a cop, so he died while doing something he loved. Today, the main characters that shared this man's life on the show paid tribute to him by remembering special moments they had together, and it was these moments shown in the form of old clips that hit me the hardest. I think this was the best decision the show could have made. Benjamin Hendrickson was such an integral part of the cast for so long, he was just irreplaceable. May he rest in peace.

Looks like As The World Turns isn't the only long term soap opera losing a major character soon. Guilding Light looks to be getting ready to wrap up the Reva cancer story line too. They have me scratching my head though with the entrance of a comic book and a super hero set for November 1st. Please don't tell me Reva survives cancer by turning into the next big superhero! Hah!