The 'All My Children' finale certainly tried its hardest to give viewers a reason to tune into the series once it moves online. The beloved soap ended with a cliffhanger that hearkened back to the 'Dallas' finale, but instead of "Who shot J.R.?" it was, "Who did J.R. shoot?"

It all happened after Susan Lucci's Erica Kane rejected a marriage proposal from her longtime beau Jackson Montgomery. "I don't want to get married," she said. "As much as I want to be with you, I don't want to rush into some wedding just to reassure you that I'm not going anywhere."

"I wish you the best of luck in L.A., and in the rest of your life, without me," he said, walking out the door.

As Erica pleaded with him to stay and dramatic music played, he delivered a line that referenced 'Gone With the Wind.' "Frankly Erica, I don't give a damn about what you need."

Actor/director Mario Van Peebles has a new gig: he's joining the ABC daytime soap All My Children.

Van Peebles will come to Pine Valley and play Samuel Woods, an attorney who runs for Senate and just might get romantically involved with Erica Kane (Susan Lucci). If you've never watched the show, everyone at one time or another gets involved romantically with Erica Kane, and often marries her.

I think everyone's first reaction to this will be "gee, his career has really gone downhill, eh?" But I don't think that's necessarily the case. Van Peebles works a lot and often does his own stuff, so maybe he just thought it would be a good gig and we shouldn't read anything else into it. No word on whether it will be a temporary role or a long term stay.

Maybe he should come to the show as this guy.