MarlandFan

Great photos @victoria foxton. Thanks!

I noticed the "recurring" word as well. She was actually the young "star" of the show at the time. ATWT's answer to GH's Laura. I'm guessing that the writer(s) of the obits are young, have limited knowledge of soaps in general, and during their cursory research found some website that used the word "recurring". And many of these articles lift/borrow/steal entire paragraphs from other articles, so the word "recurring" is being used in many of them. Journalism is truly dying.

1988 was a difficult year not only because of the 6-month strike, but also because it's virtually impossible to maintain the high standard of 1986 and 1987. That being said, I like the Caso period very much; 1990 was very strong (almost as good as 86/87). And (if you ignore the Carolyn Crawford murder mystery) 91 and 92 were also excellent. I'm not certain what story ideas Caso may have contributed to, but he seems to have been a strong supporter/protector of Doug Marland.

While I feel Hunt Block was very sexy in his "Knots" days, I'm apparently in the minority in preferring Bryce over Hunt. Bryce -- while not sexy/hot in the traditional sense -- had a confidence and swagger that was VERY sexy and far-outshined the wooden Block. (lol ..."wooden" Block.) Sex with Bryce/Craig was probably way more better.

I still mourn the fact that Clare Labine was offered the ATWT HW position in 1996, but instead chose to pursue a new show pitch that she hoped would see fruition (it didn't). Think of the possibilities! She would have been the perfect fit.

Great actor, wrong part. And the timing for his character was bad because headwriter Doug Marland passed away before he could guide the Royce multiple personality story to its natural conclusion. Between Neal's untimely death and the anti-climactic way Lucinda discovered Neal and Royce were her half-siblings, the storyline kept missing the mark. And, while beautiful, the actress playing Emily (Royce's love interest) never generated any heat with her male co-stars. That being said, Royce eventually left the canvas to focus on his emotional healing AND to spare Emily any future hurt that she was certainly destined to experience by being married to him.

I've also been worried about YouTube suddenly taking down all of these old episodes. As a result, I've been downloading the videos I want and storing them on DropBox. I use this free website to download to my computer: https://yt5s.com/en120/youtube-to-mp4

I would be eternally grateful!!! TY!

The exteriors, yes. I believe they also filmed the "Holden-searching-for-Lily" scenes at the same time, but for later airing. These were the scenes that re-introduced Martha Byrne to the show.

I disagree. I love that there was constant traffic coming through the hospital cafeteria or the Yacht Club or at Bob and Kim's house. It kept the action moving and each scene might touch upon 3 or 4 different storylines. (These days we're stuck with static two-character scenes with boring dialogue that goes nowhere.) However, while I love the 90-92 era, I think the Caroline Crawford murder mystery was a major clunker. It introduced so many bland, tertiary characters (to your point) with no connection to the main families. and it went on forever (18 months!)

That's cool. Keep on posting!

I'm the guy who has been posting the 90/91 episodes. Like you, I have also been downloading episodes over the years just in case some (or all) ATWT episodes are taken down. Sorry about the Dec 10, 1990 episode - I have no idea why it is not downloading. I also just tried to download it using this website (https://yt5s.com/en112/youtube-to-mp4) but I got a 302 error. Maybe if I re-upload it, you'll be able to access it? I'll do that over the next day or two.

Marland chose not to revisit Stenbeck's rivalry with John Dixon either. I think Marland always planned to use Stenbeck sparingly (3 to 6 months at a time). He was an over-the-top villain that no longer fit the canvas. Too much of a good thing. I'm glad that Marland believed him to have died in 1989 and never brought him back.

Regarding Casey's death: it was actor Bill Shanks who wanted to leave the show after his 3-year contract expired. Marland knew that Casey would never abandon Lyla and Katie so, rather than have Casey leave, he decided to write a story about Guillain-Barre syndrome which would eventually lead to Casey's death and the right-to-die storyline. Unfortunately, Hillary Bailey Smith left ATWT at the end of December 1989 just as Shanks was scheduled to leave (and Casey was to die). Marland knew that the audience would not feel the same emotional connection to a new Margo and the right-to-die story (and its fallout) would fall flat. So TPTB asked Shanks to stay an additional 6 months to allow the audience to accept Ellen Dolan as Margo. This actually helped the emotional impact of the story on other levels too because during those 6 months, it helped to create the friendship between Casey, Duke, and Susan so that his death devastated them as well. (It also further humanized Susan after she went to bed with Bob). I don't think Marland had an obsession with death, but I think he began to understand that he had a responsibility to tell socially-relevant stories. He had always done so, but such storylines seemed to pop up a lot more in his later years. In 1990/91/92 he focused not only on the right-to-die story but also on teenage alcoholism, incest, bulimia, abortion, AIDS, rape, child abuse, interracial marriage, and Native American rights. The examination of Kim and Bob's marriage was the most adult I'd ever seen on a soap. The show lost most of it's whimsy/fantasy elements from the late 1980s and became a very mature show dealing with mature topics. The ratings were very strong during those years which must have indicated to Marland that he was delivering stories that audiences wanted to see.

The infamous Carolyn Crawford Murder mystery. One of Marland's rare missteps. It seemed to break most of his own writing rules, especially the one about focusing too much on characters who had no connection to the main canvas. I know the story was intended as an homage to the Hitchcock film "Suspicion", but it went on too long (18 months) and used too many ancillary characters. And it involved the murder of someone we didn't care about. If Marland had stuck with his original end to the story (that Daryl DID kill Carolyn) then perhaps it would have been worth it. But it ended with a fizzle and, when Daryl and Frannie were both written off a month later, it made the story seem even more of a waste.

Wow - I'm surprised at all the criticisms of Marland. Other than the misfire of the Caroline Crawford murder mystery, I thought the show was very good in 91/92. The Aaron storyline, Holden's amnesia, Angel's crisis, Connor's takeover of Walsh, Margo's rape, Scott's arrival, Tonio's end, Ellie and Kirk's marriage, the healing of Kim and Bob's marriage, Jessica and Duncan's relationship all were riveting. While many of the stories were indeed sad and dramatic -- that's what soap operas are! And the ratings for this period seem to validate that Marland knew what he was doing -- ATWT was in the top 4 shows for both 91 and 92. 1993 began very promisingly with the introduction of the Grimaldis, Royce and Neal's secret relationship to Lucinda, and Martha Byrne's return. I did not have the sense that Marland was getting tired of the show or that he was looking for an exit. And with the strong ratings, I don't think that P&G was thinking of replacing him. Unfortunately, Marland's death derailed the show. Which brings me to my final point: the show never recovered from his death. Marland's 9 years were ATWT's high water mark. I'm sad that we never got to see what he may have come up with for 1993 and beyond.

I loved Jessica and Duncan. She grounded him and he opened up her world. And then of course, their being one of Daytime's first interracial marriages was an important milestone as well. Kudos to Doug Marland for seeing their potential and exploring such social themes.

Swoon...James Wlcek as Linc.

Thanks to the SORAS-ing of Dan, Ellen was a great-grandmother(!) by the early 1980s. As such, the character was considered unexciting for youth-oriented storylines. Also in the early 1980s, Henderson Forsythe, who played her husband David, was often away doing movies and plays for extended periods of time. Without a husband on the canvas, Ellen was placed on the back-burner.

I came to love Andy and Courtney as a couple - especially when each matured and had a more adult grasp of their personal issues. I loved their growth and was definitely rooting for them. Their Christmas 1992 wedding made me very happy. Doug Marland died a few months afterwards and I think his portrayal of marriage between two young people would have been handled better then it ultimately was.

If this is the video you're speaking of, it's not the actual daytime line-up. The person spliced together programs from other videos to create this.

Starcher was such a handsome guy and a good actor. I never understood why his career disappeared after ATWT. He had a non-speaking part in 1988's "Working Girl" and one role in "Babylon 5" but, other than that, he seems to have never worked again.

I believe the first "adult-ish" Frannie was actress Terri Vandenbosch. Sadly, it appears she has passed away: https://soaps.sheknows.com/as-the-world-turns/news/3808/as-the-world-turns-alum-passes-away-at-46/

Regarding the comment about Ellen Dolan not knowing the current whereabouts of Anne Sward: while these characters and actors are "family" to us the viewers, they were in actuality co-workers to each other. I am close to some of my co-workers, and not-so-close to others. Some personalities don't gel and perhaps Dolan and Sward were merely coworkers. Also, both MC and HBS left "World Turns" of their own choice and during a period when the soap industry was pretty flush with ratings and funds -- so their memories and relationships may be more positive than Dolan's who stayed until the (very) bitter end and was essentially fired (cancelled). Also, as a previous poster mentioned, both MC and HBS had a longer working relationship with Sward. Dolan stayed with ATWT for an additional 15 years after Sward left and interacted with a multitude of incoming/outgoing co-workers. I don't think the "lack" of a current connection between Dolan and Sward indicates a failing in either woman.