watson71

Russ should have been re-paired with Rachel in 1989 after Mac passed away since he was her first husband. Russ was engaged at one point to Iris in the 1970s. Throw Lucas/ Felicia/ Mitch into the mix and AW could have had a sophisticated adult set of characters. I would have much rather seen this than the Ken Jordan pairing with Rachel.

It was 28 years ago today- June 16, 1989, that Another World aired the funeral of Mac Cory, who was played by Douglass Watson. Victoria Wyndham, Constance Ford, and the rest of the cast did an outstanding job not only during this episode, but in subsequent episodes following Mac's death. Is still baffles me that Wyndham and Ford never won an Emmy for their performances- and that Ford wasn't even nominated for her portrayal of Ada.

It is a risky move because it will be pre-empted for 6 weeks for Thursday Night Football in November / December and then again for two weeks in February for the Winter Olympics. NBC is giving it the spot airing after the Super Bowl. I hope all the pre-emptions don't scare the viewers away.

Wouldn't it be awesome if a copy of Alice's confrontation with Rachel at the engagement party existed? That would be really cool to see that scene...

53 years ago today Another World premiered on NBC... "We do not live in this world alone,but in a thousand other worlds.The events of our lives represent only the surface,and in our minds and feelings,we live in many other hidden worlds" And now the continuing story of Another World...

The 3 PM time slot was competitive and popular- 96% of all TV sets were watching Another World (29%), General Hospital (28%), or Match Game (39%) during this time slot. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/1973–74_United_States_network_television_schedule_(weekday)

I think Vicky Wyndham would have been fine playing the 74 clips- in her 25th Anniversary episode from 1997- there were plenty of 70s clips of Mac and Rachel, Rachel and Ada, and Rachel and Steve- in 1989 the show probably used clips they had easy access to, I'm sure they didn't go out of their way searching for specific clips. Makes you wonder what still exists in some video library somewhere, and why P&G still sits on laurels about airing what does exist from all their soaps. MeTV, AntennaTV, Hulu, Nextflix- could be airing episodes of all the P&G soaps... Could not agree with you more... 👍🏼😀👍🏼

Judi Evans (Paulina) could have been a perfect recast of Nancy in the 90s.

The character of Sally should have never been killed. She should have left town for awhile and then returned to the canvas. Mary Page Keller had some modest success in prime time and then nothing. I imagine if Keller was offered a good deal she would have returned to AW. She was Jamie's stepsister and Rachel's stepdaughter, she had a son Kevin who could have easily been written on the show, and she would have kept Irene Dailey's Aunt Liz on the canvas. The presence of Sally would have compensated for all those Amanda recasts in the 90s and probably could have kept the show from being so "Vicky-centric" with all the storylines revolving around Jensen Buchanan's Vicky.

I'll cut TPTB some slack with those 25th Anniversary episodes for some "missteps" since the scripts had to be heavily rewritten to compensate the untimely death of Douglass Watson (Mac). Wasn't he on vacation when he passed away, and then was to return to film the party scenes for the 25th Anniversary. There was a scene in the episodes where Rachel and Alice speak about missing Steve. This was the perfect time to do some Alice, Steve, and Rachel flashbacks or have Steve appear to both Alice and Rachel. AW needed some real stability in 1989 after the passing of Douglass Watson. If George Reihholt had himself together to be a team player, I would have rewritten the Edward Black/Steve Frame story to have David Canary's character be an imposter who assumed Steve's identity and held the real Steve hostage after his plane crash in 1975. Mac could have discovered the real Steve was alive and sent the clue to Rachel in the red swan. The real Steve turns up alive, and you could have had the real Rachel/Steve/Alice triangle in 1989 to compensate for the absence of Mac. This would have made more sense than the entire Ken Jordan/Paulina story that aired on the show.

AW's executive producer at the time of Courtney's return was Allen Potter, who was also the EP of AW when the show started in 1964, so he certainly knew her importance as did P&G executive Ed Trach. I wonder if TPTB lost interest quickly when Courtney's return did not give the show a significant ratings boost. It would have been interesting to pair her with Carl Hutchins - Mac's enemy-or repaired her with Mac once Rachel got amnesia. Courtney did her best work in those scenes with Rachel when she was her doctor. Several weeks later she was dropped from the show. Also agree about her hair and clothes- I guess they were trying to make her look believable as Sally's mother by making her matronly. Had she stayed with the show, I wonder what Harding Lemay would have done with Alice when he returned in 1988?

Since this was May 1984, I think the author of the article would have used the words action/adventure rather than James Bond to refer to the death of David Thatcher and the subsequent murders that would result in several characters going to Majorca, Spain in November 1984 in an action/adventure story.

I'm not sure how much TV coverage the 20th Anniversary and the return of Jacqueline Courtney received; however, the show received a spread in People magazine- below is the text from the article from the people.com website. The pictures from the article are not included with the article. The 20th Anniversary party was held at Windows on the World on the 106th floor of the World Trade Center that would be destroyed during the 9/11 tragedy. After Two Decades, the Cast of NBC's Another World Feels Like It's on Top of This One BY PEOPLE STAFF POSTED ON MAY 21, 1984 AT 12:00PM EDT Manhattan’s Windows on the World ballroom became a window on Another World as a glittering crowd of stars and friends celebrated the NBC soap opera’s 20th anniversary. Some 350 filled the top-of-the-town eatery on the World Trade Center’s 106th floor to wine, dine, dance and hear a mayoral proclamation declaring May 4 “Another World Day.” The show’s once high ratings have slipped over the years, perhaps because Another World has retained its naturalistic Bay City setting while other soaps have delved into fantasy and science fiction. Sources say AW plans to experiment soon with a James Bond kind of story line. As a further lure to wayward audiences, the producers rehired Jacquie Courtney, who made her reappearance on the show’s birthday broadcast. Her mission: revive the role of Alice Frame, whose interminable love triangle with Rachel Cory and Steven Frame was TV’s hottest, years before Luke met Laura. “Someone just told me, ‘We want a 25 [share], and you’ll do it!’ ” said Courtney, 37. “But there is no one person who can do it. It’s the company and, most important, the story line.” Will Alice find love and boost the ratings? Will Bay City be invaded by Martian doctors and be saved by James Bond? Tune in tomorrow for the show’s third decade.

And that promo aired during the week of April 30- May 4, 1984. There is no mention of the show' s 20th Anniversary or the return of Jacqueline Courtney as Alice. These should have been AW's promos for that week.

18 years ago today, NBC announced that it had cancelled Another World. 😡👎🏻😡

Gabet did the best with the material she was given. The writers clearly did not know what to do with the character of Brittany and the storyline changed course many times. She went from a deaf mute to a troublemaking vixen in a matter of months. Also, it did not help that several weeks into Gabet's run, the popular Mary Page Keller (Sally) left AW and was replaced with Taylor Miller, who I thought was a terrible Sally. So, Gabet was stuck in a triangle with Brittany / Catlin / Sally with an unpopular recast. I did enjoy when Brittany shot Peter and went on trial for attempted murder. This was her last storyline before Gabet left AW.

Born March 16, 1922, today is the 95th birthday of Harding Lemay. Whether you loved or hated his work on AW, he is probably one of the last, if not the last, of the behind the scenes staff members that is still living from the Golden Age of Soaps. Happy Birthday, Mr. Lemay! 🎈🎉🎈

By 1996, the You Take Me Away to Another World credits were beginning to look dated. This opening did not bother me, even though the opening was clearly an ER copycat right down to the er / aw. The spinning gyroscope was a modern take on AW's interlocking rings from openings past. The thing I did not like about this opening was as the cast was dismantled, the shots used to replace the departed actors never matched the look of the original 96 opening. By the time AW went off the air, this opening was reduced to approximately 15 seconds. 😔

I'd also add Constance Ford (Ada) and Nancy Frangione (Cecile) to the list of overlooked AW performers. These two should have won a supporting actress Emmy, but they were never nominated.

Another World closing credits from July 8, 1982- including Alma and Cecile plotting against Blaine and Alice/Steve/Rachel drama

These credits have to be early in the change of executive producers in Spring, 1983. Paul Rauch had begun as AW executive producer in December, 1971. He is gone by these April 6th credits and replaced by Allen M. Potter who was transferred to AW from Guiding Light. Potter, who was AW's original producer in 1964, would stay with AW from Spring, 1983 until the end of 1984. I always enjoyed Potter's AW in 1983-84 and wished he had stayed longer instead of retiring. He managed to quickly clean up the mess he inherited from Rauch and ex- headwriter Corinne Jacker, and made AW watchable and entertaining again.

I agree about Cecile. My biggest problem with her return in 1995 was when the writers chose to rewrite history and try to say that Cass was Maggie's father. Cass was not even on the show when Cecile played both Jamie and Sandy into thinking they were Maggie's father. Cecile could have been a real asset to the show in those final years. The Bobby/Shane story was a mess. A terrible, convoluted mess of a story. Ryan should have never died. I could have bought a Jake/ Vicky/ Ryan story.

Here are what I feel are AW's 10 most dubious casting decisions: 1. Sandy and Blaine Cory move to California with children Maggie and Alex in 1985. While we would see a teen age Maggie in the 90s and a recasted Sandy for a handful of episodes, Blaine and Alex would never return to the show. 2. Jacqueline Courtney's Alice should have never left in 1985. Again, she should have been showcased in a Rachel / Mac / Alice triangle. It would have been great to see Alice scheme against an amnesiac Rachel. Would have been great karma for Rachel. It could have also provided great material for Ada and Liz as they chose sides. 3. The killing of Sally Frame in a car accident in 1986 made no sense. She was both a Matthews and Frame, in addition, she was a "surrogate child" to Mac and Rachel. She could have driven years of story. Her son, Kevin, could have been aged as well. Had the character of Sally lived, I suspect at some point the show could have lured Mary Page Keller back to the role. While she starred in a few short lived prime time series, she could have been an asset to AW in the 90s. 4. The dismissal of Irene Dailey's Liz Matthews in 1986. She was off of AW for approximately 18 months. When she returned in late 1987, she was on recurring status. I'm not sure why she wasn't put on recurring status in 1986 instead of being written off the show. 5. Cass and Kathleen left the show in late 1986- and a Cass look-alike returned in mid-1987 with Kathleen having died in a plane crash. The fallout from the Cass look-alike lasted briefly, and Kathleen would turn up alive years later in the witness protection program. 6. The recast of Donna Love with Philece Sampler in 1987 was terrible. She was all wrong for the part. No doubt that NBC selected Sampler because of her popularity on DAYS. It was a relief when Anna Stuart returned to the show. 7. Jane Cameron's Nancy was written off in 1987. She returned briefly in 1989 for the 25th Anniversary and in 1993 for Ada's funeral. At some point, the character should have returned to the show full time. The show created the character of Paulina. They could have brought back Nancy instead of even creating Paulina. Nancy always flirted with Jake , and she was always an ally of Marley and enemy of Vicky. Cali Timmons/ Judi Evans could have easily have been a recasted Nancy- a character who was Ada's daughter and Rachel's sister. 8. Nancy Frangione's Cecile returned for short visits in 1986, 1989, and 1993. In October, 1995, it looked like Frangione was willing to return to the show on a permanent basis. She was written out in 1996 with little fanfare. The show used her as a recurring character and wasted a great opportunity to have a villain on the show. 9. The characters of Jamie Frame and Iris Wheeler were written out of the show in the mid-90s. Both characters were seldom mentioned and could have been used effectively in the show's latter years. 10. The character of Ryan Harrison died on-screen, only to return the next year as a ghost. The show should have had the character of Ryan fall from the train trestle with Justine, rather than shooting him in the back by Grant. Clearly, Paul Michael Valley was willing to return to the show. Ryan's body could have "disappeared" only to return alive rather than rely on the ghost storyline.

Below is a great confrontation between Rachel and Alice that aired 4 days before the above posted episode on March 25th. Jacqueline Courtney would air for another month before leaving the show. The show was watchable at this point; however, Rachel would have amnesia well into the summer months! And she would leave Mac and move out of the Cory mansion to "find herself." The show blew a major opportunity to revisit the Rachel/ Mac/ Alice story, as Alice was engaged to marry Mac several years earlier. This also would have been an opportunity to showcase Courtney's Alice. Around this same time, Jake and Bridget were introduced to the show as two mysterious grifters who came to Bay City with an interest in the Love family. It would be revealed that Marley had a twin named Vicky. Carl's son, Perry, would discover Vicky's identity; however, he would die from a fall from the Love hayloft before telling anyone. The week after the posted episode aired, Catlin and Sally would marry. I think one of the main reasons the character of Brittany did not work was because the show would recast the character of Sally in 1985 with Taylor Miller. Had Mary Page Keller stayed in the role, the Sally/ Catlin/ Brittany story would have been more successful. AW would still remain enjoyable and watchable well into the Fall. This is when the show aired a location shoot in Arizona about a stolen Egyptian treasure that Carl Hutchins had hidden. The aftermath of the story was when the show fell apart. Carl filled an Egyptian urn with poisonous dust from an Egyptian tomb that passed around Bay City until both Mac and Rachel opened it up and became hospitalized. This was the big story at the start of 1986, prompting the overhaul in 1986. Below is a great Alice/Rachel confrontation from March 25, 1985: https://youtu.be/wH3ITLZ08EM TV Guide ads for Another World from 1985: