adrnyc

I finished 1986 this morning - what a great year for ATWT! The Douglas Cummings first half of the year I LOVED. I was actually really surprised when it turned out Douglas was Kim's stalker - totally blindsided. The kidnapping leading up to the death was great - Bob and Kim got to be action heroes - Kim sliding down the sheets out the window and Bob with a hurt leg (or was it an arm) running to get to them - super exciting stuff. After that, it was pretty obvious to me who had killed Douglas but anything that puts Kim front and center is fine by me.  Watching Barbara destroy herself was fascinating - the fall out or non-fall out is missing so I'm not exactly sure how everyone reacted. People seem to be fine with Babs by the end of the year.  

Shannon and Brian were a hoot all year. That first wedding was hilarious and the second one so sad (I take it Brian is leaving soon?).  I really didn't enjoy Shannon when I first started watching what exists of the 80's but I'm all into her now. And Harriet! And Earl!  Such fun.  Lisa and Earl are great together even though he's gay as a picnic basket.  If I can believe he has kept being an Interpol agent a secret, I guess I can believe he has a secret gay life somewhere he keeps hidden from everyone. 

I think I've mentioned before that I thought the Tad Channing mystery was a let down - great set up but so obvious who the killer was.  I love watching an actual whiny teenager in Lily as opposed to the pop culture, wise cracking, too smart for their own good teenagers that become the norm after Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Felicity, and Gilmore Girls.  Watching Lily and Holden's budding romance has been a real treat. Holden was such a cad when he was younger but he's already changing through his love for Lily.  Watching the Snyders is my greatest joy of going back and checking out Oakdale of the 80's. I only ever saw Holden, Jack and NutMeg.  Seeing Iva and Caleb is a treat.  Iva is a little too mopey for me as the year goes on - I'm hoping Craig helps her snap out of that. And I can't believe Lily still doesn't know who her real Mother is - the whole town knows by now, I think!

I could go on and on - James is back! Lucinda is on fire, a drag queen unrestrained. Casey Peretti is the hottest thing I've seen  - but you all get the gist.  I'm loving that all of these episodes I've never seen are on YouTube. Bring on 1987!!

48 minutes ago, denzo30 said:

Adrnyc, I understand how you would feel as a new viewer to the show now or at that time but, AW ratings increased during this short stint and probably helped the show continue the more years it did till it finally died.  Also, it were the case, that Harding Lemay was yawn to the show then NBC or P and G would have never considered bringing back the writer.  They were so desperate and I think close to cancellation at this time as well.  Harding Lemay kept the show at #1 and 2 for 8 years.  AW was also a show about characters and not sci fi or the unbelievable .  They did experience with some real stupid stuff in the middle 80's and of course again the late 90's because they had to compete with other soaps doing the same junk.  If you knew the shows history and the characters, then you would think differently.  Most of the subscribers to this thread are all old time viewers who like to see and talk about back in the day when it was a great soap.  

I hear what you're saying. AW, like ATWT, has fans for all the different decades.  My problem isn't that it's going back to the past, my problem is that it's going back to the past EVERY DAY. The same story. Matthew has to tell Josie and Rachel has to tell Amanda and Mitch has to tell Felicia and Mitch has to tell Sam and Felicia has to tell Lisa and Sam has to tell Amanda. And it's just the same freaking story. That's what I mean by the audience being bored. It's been days of telling that same story. LOL Please, can something else happen in this town!

5 hours ago, safe said:

Trent Jones (Ken) - Ryan's Hope (scriptwriter 1982-1983), Search For Tomorrow, Guiding Light, As the World Turns, and Young & the Restless. 

 

Richard Backus (Barry)- As the World Turns, One Life to Live, and Days of Our Lives.

Thanks so much! I'm going through an ATWT watch on YouTube and I'll keep a look out for their names.

53 minutes ago, danfling said:

Interestingly, both of the actors who played Ken George Jones and Barry Ryan later became soap opera writers.

Really?! I had no idea. For which shows did they write? I'm so curious!

OMG - I'm in October of 1988 - thank GOD LeMay gets fired soon!!!!  All this talk (over and over and over with EVERY character) about what Janice and Mitch and Rachel did almost a decade ago....I'm BORED.  LeMay's obsession with fixing a storyline he created a decade ago is killing this show worse than the writers strike!  I can't imagine what I must have been thinking as a teenager watching this. The audience had moved on at this point - Felicia, Jamie, Donna, Michael, Lisa, Vince, Mary, Vicky/Marley, Jake - this is the new AW, Lemay. Either write for these people or move on (fortunately, he moves on)

9 hours ago, WTGH said:

 

 

I absolutely loved Jack's amnesia SL.

 

2004 was the year I got HOOKED on ATWT.  16 year old me loved the Doc Reese SL, Six Keys to the Kingdom Contest. 

 

And...is Hannah a pre Grey's Anatomy Sara Ramirez?

 

 

 

I believe you are correct about Sara Ramirez - she was definitely already in the Broadway world at that point (I think even Spamalot had happened by then?) so she was in NYC.

I love this message board because you see all the different eras in which people get hooked.  I got hooked in Feb of 2000 a few months before Hogan Sheffer arrived. Once he started writing, I became obsessed with ATWT and loved his entire regime up until 2004 when I thought he lost his way.  I'm not a big fan of 2004-2008 ATWT but love that it was when you became hooked and that you love it. I HATED the Jack amnesia SL and quit watching the show at that point other than every once in a while when I'd check in.

It just goes to show that ATWT was always, ALWAYS a cut above many other soaps. We all have "our" time of the show. For all the Sheffer lovers, we hear "He ruined the show! It's not like it was in the 80's"  For all the Marland fans, they hear "He ruined the show! It's not like it was in the 70's!" and so on.  But through it all, Oakdale (and Luther's Corners and Milltown) keeps turning.......

5 hours ago, Nothin'ButAttitude said:

 

I had completely forgotten about that style of promos for NBC - super fun to watch. I'm up to 1988 on my re-watch so I'll be getting to this soon enough.

23 hours ago, DRW50 said:

 

A lot of fans agree with you but the Ken George Jones/Jill and Barry/Delia saga is one of the only stories I enjoy on the show at this time. Sadly it all goes to pot again soon soon enough.

Interesting to hear.  I'm hoping I grow to enjoy it more as the summer goes on.  Most fans don't seem to like Kimberly either and I'm loving Kimberly. I mean, I want to grab her by the hair and drag her down Central Park West but that makes the show so much fun to watch!! I haven't felt this way about a character since IK was playing Delia!

Ugh - I've just gotten to a character called Ken George Jones - not a fan.  OR Barry Ryan.  Neither of these characters are growing on me (although it's only been a couple of weeks). Are the writers running out of ideas?  Do we really need to CONTINUE to keep Jill and Frank apart?  It's time for these two to finally be getting together, not bring in a character for yet another triangle.  And Barry......I just cringe every time he's on screen.  And I've grown to love the new Delia so much, I don't want to see her with that weird guy - Delia and Roger, Roger, ROGER!!!  I'm thinking I'm not going to be enjoying Ryan's Hope much this summer........    

Thanks- just had to vent!

14 hours ago, juniorz1 said:

He was a cop.  Ricardo.  They paired him first with Paula, then Gabi.  He was fire with Gabi.

Right!  He was a cop!!  In my head, I must've made him a lifeguard because he was always shirtless - haha!  And yes, he was one of the only person who could act on SB.

I had a HUGE crush on Scott when I was a little boy.  I went on to watch him in Sunset Beach as well.  He was a lifeguard on that show - enough said.

Definitely put me in the camp of intrigued.  I didn't think a lot of the trailer but by the end of it, I was intrigued to see more.  I like the Cristal and Fallon both are heavily involved in the business.  I love that Steven is going to be allowed to actually BE gay this time around.  I LOVE making Sammy Jo, Sammie Joe.  After all Steven and Sammy Jo were a couple in the original - I enjoy the twist on the old model.  

This is going to be Dynasty for the Gossip Girl generation.  They're going for a new audience - not the old one.  However, it seems that (having the original creators involved with it) they are going to be doing interesting nods to the original series but it's really going to be something new.  I also love the diversity - it could actually do really well on the CW.

I will certainly be watching it at the start.  I'm hopeful.  I also don't think the acting was as bad as others seem to think. Time will tell!

6 hours ago, victoria foxton said:

DePriest started declawing Donna during Stuart's last months. Sampler could bring it as Donna. When Donna was written in character. adrnyc have you ever seen Philece Sampler as Renee Dimera? She was awesome.

 

 

Drew was never killed. Drew was involved in Iris's scheme to takeover Cory Publishing. I don't remember if Drew faking his murder and framing Mac was part of Iris's scheme. Harding Lemay came back to AW in September. He quickly disposed of all the meandering stories created during the Writer's Strike.

I had never seen Phelice in any other role - thanks for sharing.  That role definitely seemed a better fit for her.   Drew isn't dead, huh? Well, no wonder I don't remember it! I remember the Nora storyline ending but that's the only one I can recall.

3 hours ago, DRW50 said:

 

I think September. 

Thanks!  I hope you're right.

Just watched August 31, 1988 (all that seems to exist for Aug '88) - I have no memory of Drew Marsten being killed.  NONE  I remember him (those eyes!) but not that he had been killed.  I can't imagine it's a decent storyline if I can't remember who the killer turns out to be.

Can someone please remind me when the writer's strike is over and these stupid storylines get wrapped up?  Is it as late as November?  (I remember primetime didn't really come back until then.) Did the soaps get back on their feet sooner?

I swear I will never forget seeing Anna Stuart's first scene back on AW.  I had started watching as a 15 yr old in late February 1987.  I LOVED Philece's Donna, probably because I was so young (and in an extremely unhappy home) and, like Donna, I could just whine and wish someone like Michael would come and save me from my crazy father.  I mean I LOVED Philece as Donna and I was so incredibly disappointed when I read in SOD that she had left the role and the original actress who played Donna was returning in a few months. I just dreaded it.

The day came. I saw Anna's first scene. It finished and I remember thinking to myself: "Well....I can see why everybody loved the old Donna so much!" and I was a fan from that point on. 

Thanks for the info!  I'm glad to hear that Reginald died falling off a roof.  Such a jack ass.  As a child, I was terrified of Reginald (more than likely cuz I was reacting to Phelice whimpering and yelling like a scared baby every time he was in a scene with her) but my re-watch as a adult just has me laughing at him whenever he's on screen - and not in a good way!

I have a quick question: I'm re-watching Another World on YouTube and am in the writers strike of '88 (Lord, were these some silly storylines about people whom I really don't care about - Kevin and his dad, Christine, Nora the Ghost)

Anyway, I cannot for the life of me remember what happened to Reginald.  The last he was seen on YouTube videos, he was trying to keep Jason Frame from discovering he owned a watch that used to belong to Reginald.  Didn't it turn out that Reginald had killed his first wife or something? And the watch proved that?  I was only 16 when I watched this and I just can't pull it out of my brain!

1 hour ago, DramatistDreamer said:

 

Lee Bryant (Lyla #3) was temporary.  

 

This was not the first time the actress filled in for Anne Sward but I believe, that it was the last, as Anne Sward would return to the role to portray Lyla Montgomery Peretti for a few more years before the character leaves Oakdale and the Lee Bryant herself would return a few years later as a completely different character, Mrs. Kasnoff (I think), the mother of Mark and Mike Kasnoff.

 

Speaking of when Lyla becomes a Peretti, those future episodes in 1987 (and thereafter) feature Anne Sward in the wedding episodes, playing opposite Bill Shanks (Casey Peretti).

Thanks! I'm trying to fill in all the gaps as I can. Not much left for 1986 - just a handful of episodes in Nov and Dec but then 1987 has more episodes together, I believe.  It's nice to have ATWT back in a way - there are still 18 years that I've never seen!

Hi All - I have a question.  My ATWT watching has got me up to October 1986 and there is a different woman playing Lyla. Did Anne Sward leave?  The announcer said "For today, the role of Lyla will be played by...." the first day but then never again.  It made me think it was just going to be temporary but I've now seen all that exists for October and the new Lyla is still around and macking on Casey. (Which, of course, I saw coming as soon as I heard his last name was Peretti.)

10 hours ago, Soapsuds said:

I actually liked Hunt Block at the beginning of his stint as Craig but the writing got to so bad for him and his acting couldn't salvage the character.

I *do* remember not enjoying Sheffer's last year - I quit watching in the summer of '04, mainly because I was on tour and couldn't record it and watch it later because I was on the move all the time. I came back in time for the Julia murder story of '05 and then missed ATWT again until the time of the summer slasher story in '06.

As for Mr. Block....what can I say, I'm in the camp of thinking he is one of the sexiest men alive (ever since seeing him in that speedo as a child).  And, you know, when you find someone super attractive you tend to look past any faults they may have. HA!

17 minutes ago, DramatistDreamer said:

I can be a harsh critic because ATWT was my favorite soap and I grew up watching when the CBS lineup of shows were so well written.

I've learned that people like what they like and for some Craig and Sierra might have been an acquired taste, maybe too much of a throwback when you compare them to how couples were written since the millennium and like I said, much of their storylines are absent from You Tube. If I were only seeing them from episodes/clips on You Tube, I might not have thought much of them either.

 

As much as I am grateful for all the fans who so lovingly shared their episodes, I get a bit frustrated that some key storyline conclusions are missing but at least I have memories and blogs, right?

It's true - they do seem to have giant gaps in their story.  It's gotta be a big portion of the non-connection from me.  And as I said, I don't hate them, I'm not in a rush to fast forward through them at all, I'm just into other stories and characters more, I guess. The Snyders and The Hughes family of course, Barbara, I'm surprised how much I've grown to enjoy Shannon as she really annoyed me when I first started watching her.  And as much as I LOVE Lucinda, and always have, she does seem to get much more time than other characters.

9 minutes ago, DramatistDreamer said:

I loved Sierra and Craig. It's a shame that most of their story arcs are missing from You Tube but I loved both Finn Carter and Scott Bryce, they and Brian Bloom's Dusty and Tom and Margo really hooked me onto As The World Turns.

 

Sorry but Hunt Block wasn't Craig to me, at all. Couldn't stand the way the character was written, couldn't stand the way he was being interpreted. But I really wasn't a fan of a lot of storylines from the show in its last decade.

There were still some good actors left on the show but as a longtime fan, I felt largely disconnected from the show by then.

I was in Grad school for writing so my writer's cap couldn't let me be anything but critical of the show in it's last decade- I just couldn't enjoy it at all.

I understand that Hunt Block is not loved by many on here, not to mention how people feel about the last decade of the show!  I didn't enjoy the last 4 years but enjoyed it pretty much up to then. It sounds as if ATWT went through a major shift in 2000 and, since I hadn't seen anything before it, I was in love with that new version.  It'll be interesting to see how I feel when I get to a rewatch of it after I've seen the 80's and 90's.

5 hours ago, DramatistDreamer said:

 

I actually feel like you're missing a good portion of an emerging storyline by not having seen those missing episodes.  

The whole thing where Craig ends up getting framed after he follows Sierra up to Foxwood Lodge when she discovers that Tonio had the affair with Barbara.

That side part of the story was kind of a big deal, at least for Craig and Sierra fans because all that longing and angst (back when angst was done well on soaps) they had that had been building for about a year, kind of exploded with consequences for the rest of the year and beyond.

Thanks for the explanation of that.  I wondered what had happened.  Once the jump occurred, Craig and Sierra were back together.  (Although now Iva appears to be paralyzed from (someone) FINALLY falling through the floor boards in the Snyder barn.) I'm not a huge Craig and Sierra fan.  I don't hate them, don't love them.  Mary Beth Evans will always be my Sierra (which will bother a lot of people, I'm sure) so, although I enjoy the current Sierra, she can get on my nerves at time - especially when the actress is called upon to do anything that involves crying.  I love Hunt Block as Craig - he was the first Craig I experience and I experienced him from the beginning - but I'm really enjoying Scott Bryce as well, of course. 

I'm watching ATWT through As The World Still Turns on YouTube and am so thankful for it!  I watched the show from 2000-2010 and had always heard about the grand Marland era - finally I get to see a good chunk of it!!  I am enjoying his storytelling so far - incredibly detailed with many twists and turns that I don't see coming (Iva being the one blackmailing Lucinda, as was just pointed out above, for example)

However, I have to say that the Tad Channing killer storyline was so disappointing.  Perhaps I had it built up too much in my head.  And I did LOVE the week long stormy night that led to Channing finally being killed.  It was just so obvious from the start that it was going to be the model/photographer that Tad was using - she was a minor character, she was running around the night of the killing, and she found out that Barbara only fired her because Channing told her to do so.  I was glad that most of the murder storyline is missing and that the YouTube videos jumped to the killer reveal quickly.  When it jumped, it came back to the model suddenly being threatened and she was involved with Hal (and this was only 1 1/2 months later) and all of that cemented that she would turn out to be the killer.  After LOVING the Douglas Cummings murder mystery, I just thought the Channing one was too soon and disappointing.  

Now we're on to the mystery at Duncan's castle with the hooded man walking around and the drug ring in Oakdale.  (And, unfortunately, not many episodes remaining for 1986)