Arabella "Babe" Carey is a fictional character from the American daytime drama All My Children. She was originally portrayed by actress Alexa Havins, from October 13, 2003, to October 8, 2007, and then by actress Amanda Baker from October 8, 2007, to October 31, 2008. Havins crossed over as character sporadically on One Life to Live from November 24, 2003 to February 2005. The character was killed off on the October 23, 2008 episode of the show, after suffering injuries during a series of tornadoes, although she reappeared briefly on June 2 and 29, 2009, as a ghost. In September 2011, Babe (Havins) briefly returned to Pine Valley as an apparition appearing to JR.

Though originally scripted as age 19 in 2003, in a star-crossed romance with character JR Chandler, Babe's birth date was later set by the series as April 10, 1983, upon the character's death. The writers often had the character referred to as "Baby Doll" by her mother, Krystal Carey (Bobbie Eakes), and occasionally as "Bella" when speaking to Kevin Buchanan (Dan Gauthier) on One Life to Live. In addition, the series displayed significant comparisons between her and legendary character Dixie Cooney.

Casting and character creation

Alexa Havins

In a January 20, 2004 interview with magazine Soap Opera Weekly, Havins briefly described her audition and how she secured the role: "I missed the first round of auditions, and the casting director called my manager and said, 'How come I think this girl's perfect?' And she said, 'Because Alexa can play trash with her eyes closed' (laughs)."

The character was originally designed as a bad girl the audience could hate, but was later presented as a "flawed good girl." Havins preferred the character to be "driven" and said her "all-time favorite Babe moments" are when the character was being spunky. "I love when she's pumped and she's like a cheerleader, seeing the good in everything," she said. Of Babe's darker moments, Havins stated, "My favorite moment of Babe down — just emotionally beat up and dragged through the dirt — would probably be the moment at the river with Krystal," the moment Babe is told her baby has died. "...I loved when Little Adam almost drowned [in the pool]. There was this vulnerable side of her that hadn't come out for a while," she said. "And I loved playing that because that was a range of emotions between loving your child, being scared to death, hating your husband for not being responsible, etc. There was not one set way of thought or feeling in those scenes."

In early 2007, rumors circulated that Havins would not be renewing her contract as Babe Carey once it expired later in the year. After her husband and All My Children co-star at the time, Justin Bruening, exited the show, the rumors gained momentum.

James Harmon Brown and Barbara Esensten, new head writers of the series, were reluctant to state whether or not Havins would be departing the soap opera. In their interview with TV Guide, the two remained ambiguous about the matter, though hinting at a recast. Barbara Esensten commented:<blockquote>It’s out there that we will probably lose her, and it certainly isn’t our choice. However, we’re still writing the show as if she’s not leaving. If we should have to recast Babe, we’ll help the actor take over the part by writing specifically for the new actor like what we did with the Greenlee recast. We saw some little things in Sabine Singh (Greenlee), so we wrote for her accordingly, but you get into real trouble when you completely change the character for a recast. Luckily, Jim and I don’t have any trouble separating the actor from a character because the latter is really paramount in our eyes.</blockquote>

Havins leaving the series was confirmed when, on September 4, 2007, Soap Opera Digest reported that actress Amanda Baker would be stepping into the role following Havins's departure. Havins portrayed Babe Carey for four years, but decided to leave to pursue other acting opportunities. To her fans, she left a message of appreciation and content:

Amanda Baker

Following Havins's departure, viewers were adamant in their feelings that Babe should not have been recast; the views ranged from the decision having been made too soon, to recasting Babe having been unnecessary, to sentiment that only Havins is Babe. Voices expressing their discontent but also relaying their willingness to give the recast a chance were also present.

Baker, the character's recast, acknowledged the challenge of taking over a prominent character. She said she had studied scenes of Havins as Babe, and that she was focused on her portrayal as the character. "They are naturals at it!" she stated. She said that Eakes helped her feel more comfortable during her first few weeks as Babe, and to get a better understanding of the character. "She came up to me the first day we worked together and offered to go over lines together and help me with anything I needed. She is a sweetheart," said Baker. She added that "New York has so much culture" and she had been able to grow as a person and actor. "It's good that you can be given a script and learn 40 pages and feel comfortable with that. You get to know so much about the character that you don't question things, you just do it instantaneously," she said.

Reception

Bianca and Babe friendship

Bianca and Babe's friendship became popular with viewers while both characters were pregnant. The relationship was described as a "beautiful friendship" by Soap Opera Digest. Within the series, when the two give birth to their children on the same night (Bianca to Miranda and Babe to Little Adam), their bond further endeared them to the audience. Of the birth scenes, actress Eden Riegel, Bianca's portrayer, stated, "I had done so much research. I read books [like] What to Expect When You're Expecting. I watched the TLC series A Baby Story. It felt like I watched hundreds of episodes! As soon as I got home I'd be watching women give birth on TV." Riegel added that one of her makeup artists was pregnant and invited her to go along to a Lamaze class. She sat in a room "full of pregnant Upper West Siders" and practiced breathing exercises.

Baby switch reveal

By late 2004, viewers largely found the Bianca and Babe friendship unappealing. This was specifically due to Babe knowingly keeping Bianca from her own child. Babe is initially unaware that her child has been switched with Bianca's and that Bianca's child, the one she is caring for, is still alive and not dead as she has been told. However, once convinced by Krystal to keep Bianca's child as her own in order to save JR from heartbreak, she does as advised. Due to her guilt, she goes as far as to name Bianca godmother of the child. Infuriated by these events, viewers longed for Bianca to discover the truth. On December 7, 2004, this request was given to fans. Described as "Babe's long-overdue confessional" and beginning of redemption, she confesses to Bianca the truth about their children.

Havins and Riegel described what went into taping the moment Bianca discovers that her child is alive and Babe's deception. "It was crazy!" said Riegel of the "grueling" day. "It was insane, in fact. [Havins] and I were on the set from 9 a.m. to like 7:30 at night, just the two of us." She clarified: <blockquote>It's just showing change. She's very remorseful and there's regret with the whole situation. It's one thing if somebody didn't feel sorry for what they did, but she repented for her sins. Everyone has a past. Everyone makes mistakes. The only thing you can do is move on and try to be a better person from that point forward.

See also

  • JR Chandler and Babe Carey

References

  • Official Alexa Havins website
  • Official Amanda Baker website
  • Arabella "Babe" Carey - Soapcentral.com
  • Official ABC page