A report in The Times heralding ABC-TV's new soap opera, "All My Children," was headlined: "Social Activism Grips Soap Opera; Heroine of Serial on ABC to Be a Mother for Peace."

Well, the show has been on the road for well over a month now, and the grip is still rather tentative.

The heroine, Amy Tyler—described in an ABC press release as "a liberal political activist dedicated to the peace movement, who married into a conservative family with considerable wealth and stature in the community"—has so far stuffed approximately one and a half envelopes. And the only other indications of her dedication to the peace movement have been her political arguments with her conservative in-laws … and the solicitous observations of Amy's own family, friends and doctor that all that exhausting peace work seems to be getting her on edge and that maybe she ought to take...