6/28/03:

"Goodbye, PC"

When I woke up this morning, I pretended that the news of the cancellation of PC was just a bad dream, but then reality sank in. And now, we all have to face the facts. PC will be over by early October, and we'll have to live life without Rali.

Life without Rali. It's too hard to imagine right now. I always knew the day would come when no longer could I watch my favorite couple at 12:30 every weekday. I just didn't think it would be this soon.

When I first found out the news about the cancellation, I was in absolute shock. Just that morning, I had read a really uplifting article at TV Guide Online about how PC's future had not been decided yet and they were already writing scenes for Thanksgiving. That gave me hope that PC would still go on. And plus, rumors of the show's cancellation has haunted it ever since its start, so I've grown used to taking these rumors of cancellation with a grain of salt. So when I heard that the decision had finally been made, that PC would be no more, I was in denial. It couldn't be true! And I refused to believe it, hoping that even though it was a from a reliable source, it was false.

By then, I got inspired...we have to do everything we can to save this show! Write letters, call comment lines, start a campaign to rebel! But in the end, I just don't think any of that will change their minds. It all comes down to money and that is all giant corporations like ABC or Disney care about. They don't care about the fans. Yes, PC was low in ratings, but that's b/c half of the affiliates don't even air it! So no wonder it wasn't bringing in a lot of money! It's like the affiliates never gave the show a chance. If it had been shown in more places, perhaps the ratings could have increased. (Keep in mind that ratings don't count the times we watch it on Soapnet.) I just don't understand why ABC didn't do anything to make the affliates air PC. Sure, it was perfectly legal for the affiliates to do whatever they want, but I don't understand why of all things, a soap opera would be dropped from an affiliate's line-ups! Couldn't ABC have done at least SOMETHING? I mean, heaven forbid an affiliate choose to air GH in the middle of the night, I bet ABC would have something to say about that.

Then, I got mad. Just MAD. Mad at ABC. Mad at the affiliates. Mad at the decision to end the show at the end of "The Gift" rather than December. Now we'll get NO CLOSURE to the show! The next arc has already been taped! The show is in hiatus. It won't go back into production so therefore...the end of what has been a great 6 years will just be a big cliffhanger! No time to rewrite and make the ending better. Now we don't know what will happen. Will Rafe and Alison get married? Because if it doesn't happen in The Gift, it's not going to happen!

Now, I'm still mad, but mostly sad. I've been through this so many times before. It seems like the lowest rated shows are often times, the best, and I have a habit for watching them. I cried when "The City" ended. I was disappointed when NBC cancelled "Sunset Beach". But I thought PC had a chance. PC has been on the air since 1997!

But what hurts the most is that Rali will no longer be on the air. I've truly never loved a soap couple more than them. I almost can't imagine what life will be like without coming home and watching PC and seeing what's next for my favorite couple.

I've said to myself so many times before...I will never get attached to a soap couple again. One of the first couples I really loved was Tony and Ally on "The City". I thought about them all the time and made up stories for them in my head, and if I had a computer at the time, I'm sure I would have wrote some fanfic for them. Then, the show ENDED! And what sucked the most was that the show waited until the very last episode to get them back together, so all of those last months of the show, I had to see my favorite couple apart.

Another couple that I really loved was Nikolas and Sarah on GH. But then Sarah was gone, and my couple was no more. It hurt to love a couple so much and then to see them over, and I didn't want to hurt like that anymore. No more. I hated it when shows ended or couples ended and I got so attached that I was hurt when it was over.

But of course, then came Jax and Chloe. I thought about them every day and wrote fanfic and made a website and had pictures of them all over my dorm wall, and I saved every episode of GH with their good scenes. But then, Jax was gone, and my couple was over. But I still thought about them for pver a year after they were over. I decided I wasn't going to regret getting attached to another soap couple, even though they ended pretty badly, b/c that year that they were together made my college life so much better.

And then, one day, I found myself thinking of a new couple...Rafe and Alison. I'm never going to regret loving Rafe and Alison, even though once again, I will be hurt to see another couple, and another show go. B/c honestly, this was the best year of my life. Never before have I loved PC so much than when Rali entered the picture. They gave me something to look fwd to everyday, and for all of that, I wouldn't trade it. I'll always remember the episode that Rafe and Alison kissed in the snow, and how that was the very moment I decided to keep all of their scenes on tape. And I'll always remember how excited I was, how my jaw literally did drop, when I was browsing Soapnet's website and saw a preview for an upcoming episode of Soapcenter...behind the scenes of Rafe and Alison making love when I hadn't read any spoilers about that happening yet. I'll remember all of those times and more, b/c I could never forget how much Rafe and Alison made me happy.

So you know what? I will continue to watch soaps, b/c there always comes another couple that makes me remember the reason why I love soaps so much in the first place. Of course, no soap couple could ever compare to Rali in my opinion. And ya know, Rali isn't really ending. I mean, sure, the show will be over, but that doesn't mean we have to forget them! There are tons of great Rali fanfics out there, and I'm sure there will be many more. And we always have our memories of them, and hopefully, you have their great scenes on tape as well so you can go back and revisit.

And maybe, just maybe, we can hope that Rali will crossover to GH, which yeah, is a long shot, but maybe. Or maybe, as my friend Amanda said...BG and EHP will do that spin off BG joked about...just Rafe and Alison, all the time! Wouldn't that be so great!? Well, we can certainly dream.

Keep those fanfics coming and don't shut down all of those wonderful Rali sites...let us keep our memories of them alive! Yes, it's sad, but be glad that Rafe and Alison came into our lives. It's better to have loved Rali for a short time...than never at all. And I think we can all agree on that.

Until then, goodbye PC and Rali, we will miss you!

~Melody

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