1982

In 1982, there was trouble for Pine Valley's young lovers, Greg and Jenny, and its name was Liza Colby. Liza seized every opportunity to make Jenny feel unworthy of Greg. But even her vicious mind games couldn’t keep Greg and Jenny apart. In those first exciting months together, Jenny and Greg shared their innermost feelings and secrets. Greg listened sympathetically to Jenny’s troubles with her mother, Opal. Jenny was embarrassed by her mother when she barged in on them. She didn’t think Greg’s mother would ever be so smothering. But Greg knew otherwise.

View Complete Summary for "All My Children" 1982

Enid Nelson was beside herself, stricken by the mere thought that Greg would date a girl who was so clearly beneath him. Enid felt she had to do something to nip the romance in the bud. When Greg gave Jenny his class ring, Enid joined Liza to stop this romance. Together, she and Liza manipulated the impressionable young Jenny into believing she must break up with Greg–for his own good. Heartbroken, Jenny wrote Greg a letter.

Jenny’s friends–and her mother Opal–couldn’t understand why she broke up with Greg when they had seemed so happy. Fabricating an excuse, Jenny told Opal she ended their relationship in order to pursue her modeling career and went back to work at Foxy’s to make money for her upcoming trip to New York. Jenny’s friend, Angie Hubbard, knew better. She knew Jenny loved Greg, and she told him so. Before long, Greg and Jenny were back together, much to Enid and Liza’s disdain. Liza vowed to make Jenny pay. And pay Jenny did, when both Liza and she vied for the coveted title of Miss Junior Pine Valley. It appeared Jenny had won the crown, but when the votes were counted, Liza was declared the winner. Jenny came in a close second. Opal refused to accept the results. She knew Jenny had won and suspected foul play. She was right. Unknown to anyone, Liza’s friend Amanda had deliberately miscounted the judges’ votes. Opal got to the bottom of things when she polled each of them individually and learned that the results were fixed. Thanks to Opal’s efforts, Phoebe Wallingford declared Jenny Gardner the new Miss Junior Pine Valley.

Stewing over her failure, Liza faced embarrassment in the halls of Pine Valley High School. As usual, her enemy Jesse Hubbard let her have it. Liza couldn’t wait to exact revenge on Jenny. She picked the night of the high school prom to destroy Jenny’s life with the evil truth that her father, Ray Gardner, wasn’t dead, as Jenny had told Greg, but was in jail. Jenny begged Liza not to tell Greg about her father, but Liza didn’t feel right about keeping the sordid truth from her oldest and dearest friend. Jenny pleaded that Greg wouldn’t understand.

In that moment, Liza stunned Jenny with an incredible secret: her father, Ray Gardner, had been locked away for raping Ruth Martin. Jenny didn’t believe her at first, but Liza pulled out clippings that detailed the rape. Liza felt Greg needed to know the whole disgusting story about Jenny’s father.

In shock, Jenny paid a visit to her father in jail and was so upset by the reality of what he had done and by the despicable nature of her family that she fled immediately for New York.

Meanwhile, Erica was stunned to learn that Kent Bogard had purchased Sensuelle Cosmetics. This meant that both she and Brandon were employees of the Bogard family. That arrangement didn’t last long. When Brandon learned Kent had given Erica an expensive fur coat, he returned it to Kent himself–then quit, turning to his wife Sara for comfort. When Erica found out about Brandon’s renewed interest in his wife, she broke off her engagement to him and headed for Milan on a promotional tour. Kent Bogard accompanied her on this fateful European jaunt. Erica and Kent made love in Milan, and Erica arranged for Brandon to find out about it. Upon her return to New York, she begged Brandon’s forgiveness. She also pleaded for him not to tell Kent of their reunion for fear she’d lose her job.

The battle for Erica’s hand exploded at a New York restaurant when Brandon and Kent came to blows. Defeated in business, Brandon accepted a job in Hong Kong and tried to persuade Erica to come with him. Torn between her career and her love life, she made her decision when Lars Bogard offered her a starring role in his new movie. Erica was finally going to become a Hollywood legend. Though unmistakably beautiful, she was no actress, and was demoted to a supporting role in the movie. At the same time, a mysterious and mousy woman named Silver Kane arrived on Erica’s doorstep, claiming to be her half-sister. Busy with her many pursuits, Erica allowed Silver to stay on with her as her assistant.

Brandon finally had enough of Erica, split from her for good and reconciled with Sara. At the same time, Lars broke the news to Erica that she’d been cut out of the film entirely. Devastated, she disappeared from Pine Valley–and when she resurfaced, Erica learned she was about to be replaced as “An American Beauty.” She wouldn’t allow it and quickly ordered a press conference, where Erica triumphantly announced her return. That forced Lars to keep Erica on. She wasn’t as successful in her attempts to win back Kent, who rejected her. Erica’s sister, Silver, had better luck with him. As time went on, she dropped her mousy exterior and grew more beautiful before Kent’s eyes. Silver set out to land him, all the while convincing Erica she was indispensable to her.

While honeymooning in Switzerland, Palmer and Donna were surprised to run into Chuck and his new girlfriend, Melanie Sawyer. They planned a ski trip together, but when Melanie sprained her ankle, the three members of this love triangle hit the slopes with their guide. A sudden storm engulfed the mountain, trapping them, and Palmer’s life was in dire danger when he fell off a cliff, landing precariously on the ledge below. Chuck and Donna could only watch helplessly as a helicopter, not seeing them, rescued Palmer. Fearing for their lives, they took shelter in a cave, where they huddled together for warmth Without food or heat, Chuck and Donna feared they wouldn’t last the night. But they made love and survived.

Back home, Nina used part of her trust fund to solve a business problem at Cortlandt Electronics. Impressed by his daughter’s business acumen, Palmer asked Nina to attend a board meeting with him so she could learn more about the company’s inner workings. This meeting led to others, and Cliff grew annoyed when his wife wasn’t at home as much as he liked. As time went on, their arguments over her newfound business interest grew worse. Cliff accused Nina of becoming consumed with her new career and failing to spend enough time caring for their son Bobby.

At Cortlandt Manor, Donna was thrilled to learn she was pregnant. She gushed the news that she was carrying Palmer’s child to anyone who would listen. Unfortunately, Myra and Daisy were listening all too well. They knew the truth: Palmer was sterile and the women figured the baby must be Chuck Tyler’s. Palmer suspected the awful truth, too, but put a brave face on the situation. He hoped to convince everyone he was the real father. Privately, he met with a fertility expert who told him there was no way he could have fathered a child. Palmer was devastated but recovered. Purely to allay Myra and Daisy’s suspicions, he endowed the unborn child with a $20-million trust fund.

As the months passed, Palmer grew progressively more disgusted by Donna’s pregnancy. To distract himself, he resumed his old folly of breaking up Cliff and Nina. Just to be meddlesome, he arranged a research grant for Cliff, thinking the extra work would monopolize Cliff ’s time and further antagonize his already strained relations with Nina.

Cliff ’s research project kept him away from home as Palmer planned. Nina soon found herself enjoying the company of co-worker Steve Jacobi. Things had deteriorated so much between Nina and Cliff that she had to beg him to attend their own party, a Labor Day weekend affair hosted by Palmer in honor of their anniversary. The party was doomed from the beginning, starting with the presence of Ray Gardner. Ray had deviously arranged an early parole and persuaded Daisy to give him a job working at the party where the Martins would be guests.

Fortunately, both Ray’s plan to kidnap Joey Martin and Palmer’s attempt to kill Chuck were foiled at the picnic. Now married to young Carrie Sanders, Chuck had learned the truth about Donna’s pregnancy when he came across an old medical file belonging to Palmer, and the two men arrived at an uneasy truce over the child’s paternity. Donna would soon give birth to Palmer John Cortlandt and, much to Palmer’s disgust, she asked Chuck and Carrie to be god-parents.

At the same picnic, Nina and Cliff fought incessantly and Steve Jacobi seized the opportunity to surprise Nina with a kiss. Even though the Warners made up, Nina couldn’t stop thinking of Steve. When Palmer arranged for Nina and Steve to take a business trip together, Nina insisted she didn’t want to go but secretly fantasized about succumbing to Steve. Nothing happened. But when she came home, Nina fantasized about Steve while making love to Cliff.

Soon thereafter, a giant storm hit Pine Valley and the two coworkers were stranded alone together at Cortlandt Manor. In front of a roaring fireplace, they eyed each other and finally gave in to their passion. Nina vowed that it would never happen again, though her attraction to Steve continued to grow more intense. Even Cliff noticed a difference in her but attributed it to all her hard work.

Although Ellen told Mark she wanted a baby, she still had doubts about having a child so late in life. Ellen refused to tell even her closest friends about their plans for parenthood and grew reluctant to make love with her husband. The tension increased when Mark was refused tenure at Pine Valley University, where he had been teaching music. Crushed by his failures, Mark confided his woes to student Pamela Kingsley, Brandon’s beautiful, college-age daughter.

Growing more despondent with his failure to find work, Mark Dalton fell more deeply in lust with Pamela Kingsley. Things were looking up when a New York producer took an interest in a new play Mark had written. After the play’s rousing success, Pam and Mark celebrated by making love for the first time. Days later, they met again, lnd the torrid affair flourished behind Ellen’s back. When Ellen surprised them at a picnic together, Mark panicked. He reassured Ellen that Pamela’s crush was harmless. Realizing the consequence of his actions, Mark broke off the affair. Feeling rejected and desperate, Pam overdosed on pills. She recovered, but not before Ellen learned the shocking news of her husband’s infidelity. Ellen confronted Mark about the affair. When he admitted to it, she moved to New York, saying they :eeded a temporary separation.

New York was the place to be for All My Children during the summer of 1982. While Jenny tried to make ends meet in the Big Apple, she told Opal she was in California. She felt friendless and forsaken in the big, cold-hearted city, but not for long. Jesse Hubbard was on his way. After learning that Liza had made threats against Jenny, Jesse confronted Liza. When she slapped him, he reacted by pushing her down and running away. Ripping her own clothes, Liza cried rape, and Jesse, in a panic, fled to New York.

Jesse arrived just in time to rescue Jenny from being forced to participate in a porno film. She finally got a respectable job working as a receptionist at a fashion house, where she bore the humiliation of modeling underwear to clients. Back in Pine Valley, Greg pined for his lost love, believing she was gone for good. Jenny and Jesse spent the summer together as good friends, each dearly missing their true loves, Greg and Angie.

When Jesse slipped back into Pine Valley and tried to tell Greg the truth about why Jenny left, Liza spotted him and threatened to call the police. Silver Kane maliciously reported Jesse’s whereabouts to the police, who promptly arrested him. Jenny returned to Pine Valley, where she found the courage to confront Liza, forcing her to drop the charges against Jesse.

On Christmas Eve, Greg proposed. Jenny accepted, and they planned to marry the following June. Jesse and Angie resumed dating as well, despite her father’s strong protests.

Ray continued to try to get back at the Martins, and after blackmailing Opal into giving him a job at the Glamorama, he busied himself by concocting a bomb in the back room. It exploded prematurely, and after Joe operated on him, Ray claimed for a while to be blind.

Source: All My Children: The Complete Family Scrapbook


1982 Episodes / Clips: