DramatistDreamer

That's what I saw on Twitter. I probably missed it.

When I was in grad school, Tina Andrews actually gave a lecture that my class attended. I remember her discussing her somewhat nightmarish experience writing the screenplay for Why Do Fools Fall in Loe (with Larenz Tate, Halle Berry & Vivica Fox) and how crestfallen she was over the final product. What ended up onscreen was not what she originally intended. Does anybody watch Shark Tank? I haven't seen the show in ages but I was wasting time on Twitter (I am often do on weekends) and came across Colleen Zenk's Twitter feed and apparently Andrew Kavovit (Paul Ryan, ATWT) is going to be on Shark Tank, actually I think it may be his daughter presenting the idea. Supposedly, she is going to be the youngest contestant ever on the show.

I found a clip but it's sort of a flashback. The specific part begins @ 1:55 http://youtu.be/ldO120M3qlM

Yeah, I was a pre-teen (that's what they called it back then, none of that tween nonsense) back then and it really was racy for me (lol). I wished I would've kept the episodes instead of taping over them Between Lily and Holden, and Craig & Sierra pawing all over each other then Dusty 'opening Lily's flower' ATWT was really like adult entertainment then. But man, I couldn't get enough! I don't think that episode is on You Tube though :/ All I've ever seen is the episode where Holden jumps out from the hayloft right in front of Lily and Dusty, which unnerves Lily, of course.

Oh yeah, I remember Lily lashing Holden with her riding crop. I think it even left a mark on his cheek. I believe moments later, Holden, angry, grabbed Lily by her hair and kissed her.

I watched a bunch of YT vids and came across one where I got the impression that Emily was lying about San Francisco. Or rather, she didn't admit that she was never really there. I think she wanted to hide her true whereabouts and whom she was really with, so when Betsey assumed that Tad had somehow tracked her down to San Francisco, luring Betsey out there in the process, Betsey intended to discuss it with Emily on her return from her wild goose chase but never did until after Tad's murder. I think there was an episode where even Tad was shocked that his lie hadn't been found out and he kept trying to make sure he'd stay one step ahead, pumping Barbara for information and trying to get her to find out how much the Stewarts knew about Emily's whereabouts when she was missing. It was kind of outrageous that Emily and Betsey never discussed it, especially since Betsey went all the way to California to track Emily down but Emily was trying to hide her true whereabouts and looked for every opportunity to change the subject, and then some soap plot device would insert itself (Steve or Ellen would come in with Danielle or the phone would ring, etc). Yes, DRW50, Holden's playing Lily for a toy, (even colluding with Meg) was creepy and awkward for me too. I wasn't a fan of Lily & Holden but I understand the story possibilities in putting them together. I preferred Dusty (yes, Brian Bloom had a lot to do with it) but Dusty was honest, without guile and that would've presented a big challenge for creating conflict and drama over time. Holden annoyed me with the games but I guess Lily liked them. She seemed to prefer playing games to Dusty's honest-even- if-it-hurts approach.

Emily & Tad Channing? I don't remember them even interacting. I remember Tad had a thing for Betsey but it also seemed he wanted to torture Steve, and by proxy, Craig, so Betsey was an attractive target. Emily seemed an observer and she used a few awkward situations between Tad & Betsey to try to plant seeds of doubt in Steve's mind. At the time Emily seemed a bit jealous of Betsey because Betsey had the Stewarts and Emily only had her mother. It seemed that Emily had previous involvement with James Stenbeck and used Hensley (Duncan's solicitor) as cover. I don't remember her having anything much to do with Tad Channing, who was Iva's ex. I have this theory about the Angel incest storyline. I believe it was written because of the changes made to the Iva/Josh Snyder storyline. Perhaps at the time (JMO), ATWT felt they couldn't 'go there' because they now wanted Lily and Holden and wanted to limit the disfunction so they made sure Iva was not a Snyder but because of Josh's hideous actions they severed his ties to the newly venerated Snyder family (which was now poised to be a core family). Of course, seeing William Fichter and deciding they wanted to keep him, they had to come up with that whole abuse story to try to justify his actions (which never sat well with me). The Angel storyline was probably closer to what Marland envisioned for Iva until Holden & Lily happened. He probably saw an opportunity to go bold with fresh characters (Angel & her father) that had no deep ties to a core family. Just my theory.

Ah, the vagaries of online posting! You had me going there for awhile. LOL, I didn't think Casey was all that bad, though. I could've managed with quite a bit less of Seth, he was spread way too thin. I think I read an interview where Marland said he made a mistake in casting her. He sort of obliquely made references to 'hair models' and I think he may have been talking about her. I think he mentioned that she was nice but was ill suited for the role. I wonder whether Marland, realizing his mistake, decided to concoct this romance with James, knowing that Anthony Herrera was doing a temporary stint, so he could conveniently send Emily off the canvas, ostensibly to run away with James, giving him time to re-cast the role. I was watching those scenes between Emily and Holden and thinking 'Gosh, this must be when Marland realizes that it's not gonna work' . John Hensley was a novice himself and was okay when paired with much stronger actresses like Martha Byrne, Lisa Brown, Kathryn Widdoes, Elizabeth Hubbard or even Jennifer Ashe. Against Colleen, they both looked like they were in the wildnerness in their scenes together! And Colleen just never seemed to improve, no matter who she was paired with. I wonder if Emily was originally conceived as a Girl Next Door but for the recast decided that she should be a vixen on her return to Oakdale after jet setting with James. Smart move to cast Melanie Smith and ditch the Girl Next Door persona.

I haven't watched in years but as soon as I read that Sandra Oh was leaving, I knew this was sure to follow, even if just an appearance! http://insidetv.ew.com/2014/03/06/isaiah-washington-returning-greys-anatomy/ I wouldn't be surprised if Shonda were testing the waters, though for a regular or at least recurring role. The show has been missing that arrogant, cocksure character who can also play the heavy.

Okay, well that gunshot that was heard? I got the impression there was a struggle between the two--I guess Marsha won that round and held her grip on the gun then if she had the chance to fall asleep. Strange that she'd fall asleep again after the last time when Franniehad previously made a play for the gun. Hm.

Well, from interviews I've read Eileen adored Farley Granger, so Lisa having a romance/courtship with Earl may have been one reason why Eileen stayed on. Perhaps she was a major Hitchcock fan, I dunno. Even though she didn't have a major storyline she was often included in the major storylines going on (albeit tangentially) trading barbs with Lucinda and John. I was very young during the Dobson era but from what I've read from actor's accounts, it seemed as though the Dobson's had a tendency to shunt most of the older characters (with the exception of John Dixon) in favor of youth. Perhaps seeing Kim, Bob, John, Lucinda and Emma have a good amount of screen time, she may not have felt the sting of rejection that she clearly felt durin the Dobson's tenure. Just speculation on my part though. I really would've liked to see how Seth and Casey got into that cabin, though. I don't remember whether I ever even saw that episode.

Well, you could probably guess how I felt about that episode. Those kisses were H-O-T and then Craig took it too far, so the slap comes next. So many emotions brewing in those scenes. You're right, I don't see soaps taking time to do those type of nuances nor conversations anymore. Scott Bryce sure did pathos terrifically. Here it really becomes apparent that the Sierra character is coming more into her own. By the end of that year it becomes really apparent how much different she is from the naive girl who first arrived in Oakdale when she's telling off both Tonio and Lucinda. Too bad the next episode is missing since I really don't remember how Seth and Casey actually got into the cabin. I liked the way Julianne played those scenes, I wonder if it was her decision or the director's to make Frannie act out without fear, as if she had nothing left to lose. In testing to see what Marsha was made of, Frannie demonstrated that she was made of strong stuff.

Just checked out the Independent Spirit Awards feed and the first thing I see is this: Ming-Na Wen ‏@MingNa 44m OMG! It's #hawkeye! Major girl crush on fellow #Marvel alum Jeremy Renner! He's HOT! #spiritawards pic.twitter.com/dmt5KHXYNX

I loved that restaurant bedlam episode. Yes, I know it was zany and bordering on camp but there's camp and then there's camp. ATWT's camp was nowhere near the camp of some of the other soaps that I've seen-- at least not until the HS regime. But those restaurant scenes were such fun especially because it wasn't the type of thing you'd see often on ATWT at that time.

That is very impressive. What a difference having a mentor makes to an artist. Clearly I need one of those.

Although I've been enjoying these episodes from 1986, I have to admit being a bit disappointed that no one on YT seems to have the full storyline arc of the Tad Channing murder posted. I feel like because I was so young when it first aired, there are either episodes that I never saw or don't really remember. This Channel has a few more episodes than the others but most of the month of August is missing, unfortunately, the video uploads go from the first week of August to Septmber. That means all the excitement with the discovery of Tad Channing being dead (as opposed to missing) and Craig and Sierra FINALLY getting together at Foxwood Lodge is missing. Bummer.

Okay, I've gotten thoroughly re-hooked on watching ATWT through all these dang You Tube clips! I'm gonna need for AstheWorldStillTurns to upload some more August 1986 episodes because now I'm like an addict, I need more! Barbara is on the verge of being confronted by Tom and I think, Margo for her fake seduction and fake illicit ONS with Tom. And her real affair with Tonio, I need to see the big reveal of that too. And where's Steve?!

ATWT camera crew perfected the art of that roving camera. I loved how it would track certain characters and as it would move on to another character(s), you'd hear snippets of conversation in the meantime before settling onto other characters. This was really effective in scenes with multiple characters in the same space, like the Mona Lisa or the hospital cafeteria or even the Hughes' living room. I really only remember this being done during the 80s. I've read a few grumblings about the Snyders monopolizing storyline during the Marland tenure and he seemed to love writing for Lisa Brown, in particular so I can understand where some of the grumbling might come from especially from people who were not fans of the Snyders but I thought the writing was spread among quite a few characters, especially in the mid to late '80s. It certainly was more diverse than the last 10-15 years of the show where seemingly the same characters occupied the majority of the story time.

Looking at the article's date 1999, I'd have to disagree with the author's final paragraph. As much as ATWT was/is my favorite soap, how could anyone think that in '99 ATWT had a shot at taking the top spot from Y&R?! The show would have had a better chance 10 years prior. By 1999, the writing was disjointed and discombobulated with quite a few characters (e.g Eddie) that I really didn't care about. Maybe it's just me that felt that way.

Before Zoey Deschanel, there was Shannon O'Hara. Shannon was quirky before it became a 'thing'. I actually have a question about camp vs. broad humor. To me, something can't qualify as true camp if it is only regulated to one or two characters, unless they are the only two characters on the whole show. To me, the majority of the show has to be zany enough to qualify as true camp. An obvious example would be Passions. As The World Turns had zany elements and Shannon was a zany character but I wouldn't say that qualifies as camp in the true sense of the word. Maybe that's just me...what do others think?

ITA. This statement is Everything!

Thanks to AsTheWorldStillTurns, I finally got to see the episode where Shannon dunks Babs' head in the toilet (lol)! I have truly forgotten what went on in many of these episodes so it's great to see again and refresh my memory! And honestly, I probably missed some episodes when they originally aired. So much going on back then. I really need to see the episode where Barbara gets outed for her non-ONS with Tom and her affair with Tonio. I'm hoping those will be uploaded at some point. Lily was a brat back then too DRW50 (lol). Holden was really manipulative back then (I remember being annoyed by his games as a kid) and so was Meg. I think Dusty was the only one who didn't play games but he was genuinely confused.

If this was from 1995, wasn't Marland, uh...deceased by then. I think HBS' Margo had somewhat of a sense of humor though, she certainly seemed to love to laugh (in between sulking and yelling). Thank you for making it safe for me to admit that this Tom and Margo were my least favorite ones. Tom seemed so whiny and nasal and anal retentive and the sexy appeal between the couple was nil with these two. Up until these two, Tom and Margo had always had a sexiness to their chemistry. And it has nothing to do with age-- both Bob & Kim as well as Lucinda and John had a sexy quality to their interactions but Tom and Margo had become this staid, blah couple. Although I preferred both theme songs from the 1980s, this one wasn't so bad, I actually kind of appreciate it now. For me, the last theme song they had, I just did not like.

I feel the same about ATWT, how I wish I had saved my tapes from the mid-late 1980s! But I can see why a lot of series these days only last for 7-10 years. Shonda Rhimes is already talking about how she knows how Scandal will end, which sort of reminds me of J.J. Abrams planning for the end of LOST. I think show runners in primetime don't want to risk having to hand over the creative reigns to others who might ruin what they've painstakingly created and constructed. They'd rather have that measure of control over the show's direction, even if it means that the show ends within a very finite period of time (of a few years instead of decades). I can't say I blame them.

Wow, reading about all these behind the camera power struggles and some petty decision making, I guess it becomes less of a mystery how soaps have landed in the position they're in now. It would've been great if people could've put egos aside for the greater good and went with what was best for the show and the health of the show. I guess TPTB never planned on times when things wouldn't be so flush.