watson71

Was there any talk of moving Reinholt and Courtney to Somerset at all? Somerset could have certainly benefitted from their star power, and Somerset producer Lyle Hill was their EP at Another World at one time. It just makes sense all around, I wonder if P & G and NBC ever considered it? Or was it nixed because Somerset filmed in the same studio as AW?

Surfing on YouTube today, I found the closing credits to the episode where Matthew confronts Mitch after he finds out from Aunt Liz the way he was conceived. Wish the entire episode was on YouTube...

Looking back at MPK's acting credits, she was in a string of series between 1987-1993. These included Duet/Open House from 1987-1990, Life Goes On from 1990-91, Baby Talk from 1991-92, and Camp Wilder from 1992-93. Had AW not killed the character of Sally, TPTB probably could have lured MPK back to AW at some point. Having a character like Sally on the canvas also could have probably helped AW from turning into the "Vicky Hudson Show" in the early 90s. MPK currently airs in ABC Family's Chasing Life.

I think the decision to kill Sally off was a huge mistake- right up there with killing Ryan and Frankie. Sally could have been used in the late 80s and 90s. She was Jamie's adopted sister, Rachel's step-daughter, her son Kevin could have been SORASed at some point, etc. Sally also could have keep Aunt Liz on the canvas, and perhaps eventually seen the return of her mother, Alice Frame to AW on a regular basis. Sally could have also been used in storyline with her aunt, Sharlene Frame, and her cousins, Josie Watts and Olivia Matthews. There was much for Sally to do without killing the character.

Here is the clip- not the best quality of video - but still a great scene http://youtu.be/p44AUqFacBU

MeTV is currently airing a 1963 episode of Twilight Zone entitled "Uncle Simon." This episodes stars Constance Ford (Ada). Here is a description of the episode. Resentful over having to wait on her invalid Uncle Simon (Cedric Hardwicke) hand and foot, Barbara Polk (Constance Ford) perserveres only because she expects to inherit the old man's fortune. But Simon, a famed inventor, has a surprise in store for Barbara after he shuffles off his mortal coil. In order to claim Simon's legacy, Barbara must now service a talking robot -- who sounds and acts just like Uncle Simon. Here is a link to clips from the episode on YouTube.

19 years ago today- March 1, 1996- Another World aired the (You Take Me Away to) Another World theme for the last time. On Monday, March 4th, AW would debut its last theme. While the (You Take Me Away to) Another World theme was innovative when it debuted in 1987, by 1996, it was dated looking and in need of an update. Not sure the ER ripoff that JFP gave us in March 4th was what the show needed. As the show started to fire cast members, this opening got shorter and shorter as cast members were edited out of the opening sequence.

In the two months that Lemay was credited as headwriter, he really accomplished a lot in a short period of time. Swajeski did do a good job, but Internet lore says that she used the bible that Lemay had written for AW. I wonder why NBC and P&G never kept both of them- Lemay as the headwriter and Swajeski as a co-headwriter. At least that way Lemay could have trained her until he was ready to turn the show over to her.

One of the best things during Lemay's 1988 return was when Matthew asked Aunt Liz to tell him about the Frames, and she let slip that Matthew was born after Mitch forced Rachel to sleep with him to save Mac from being killed by Janice Frame, Mac's wife and Mitch's mistress when Rachel killed her.

No- that is my last name- just a coincidence:-)

Here are the hospital scenes leading up to Zane's death. Mac leads Zane's friends in a prayer circle- classic Douglass Watson- you would never see this on a soap today.

The crazy thing about Zane was that he was shot in March, 1986, shortly after he married Felicia. He was shot by a recurring character named Fayez when Zane was caught snooping around outside the treasure cave during the Egyptian treasure storyline. Zane had a sister named Annie who donated blood to save Zane's life. Then he is shot again in August, 1986, trying to help rescue Cass, Kathleen, and Cecile from Reginald Love's henchman, Ludwig. This is when he died. Whitsell and DePriest must have wanted to get rid of the character. Patrick Tovatt and Linda Dano made a great couple. In addition, their lavish wedding during Valentine's week, scored a 6.0 in the ratings according to the Another World Homepage. This was the last time, with the exception of one week in July 86, that AW ever scored a 6.0 in the ratings.

She also returned in 1989 for the 25th anniversary episodes. When the character of Joe Carlino was introduced, didn't they make a point to state that he had once dated Nancy? I wonder if they were thinking about bringing her back at that point. This would have been around the time that the switch between John Valente and Jill Farren Phelps as EP. Carolyn Culliton was the headwriter at this time. She wrote AW during the 80s when Nancy was featured on the show, so Culliton knew Nancy's backstory.

You can download the Peg Murray episodes from the Another World Homepage. She is featured in the 1983 DVD episodes.

Sam Hall was the head writer during the whole Egyptian treasure storyline. I remember reading in one of the soap magazines that AW originally was going to shoot its November location sequence in Egypt; however, on October 7, 1985, four members of the Palestine Liberation Front (PLF) took control of the Achille Lauro cruise ship off of Egypt as the ship was sailing from Alexandria to Port Said. Holding the passengers and crew hostage, the PLF directed the vessel to sail to Tartus, Syria, and demanded the release of 50 Palestinians then in Israeli prisons. The location was quickly switched because of the safety concerns of traveling to Egypt. The Egyptian urn with the deadly dust ranks right up there with Lumina in terms of inane storylines.

Doug Watson and Vicky Wyndham presented David Canary with his first Daytime Emmy when he won for Best Actor in 1986.

David Canary left AW in February, 1983, and would not appear on AMC until the fall. On AW, he was killed in a car crash during a snow storm. Rachel and Steve were leaving Bay City to get married. Rachel went blind in the accident, and Mac shaved his mustache and assumed the alias of John Caldwell so that he could befriend the blind Rachel. The accident occurred when Constance Ford was out on sick leave. It was weird watching Peg Murray's Ada play the action leading up to the car accident and the aftermath.

Allen Potter, who was AW's original producer in 1964, was the executive producer when Jacqueline Courtney returned in 1984. He , along with P&G executive Ed Trach, certainly knew her importance. During her year long return, she was never given her own storyline. She was a supporting player for her daughter, Sally who was involved in the David Thatcher murder. The only other Matthews on the show at that time were Aunt Liz and her granddaughter Julia (Faith Ford) who would be murdered looking for David Thatcher's killer. The writers needed to either have her involved with Mac/Rachel since she was engaged to Mac at one point, or have her get involved with Carl Hutchins to try and get information on his involvement with David Thatcher's murder to clear both Sally and Catlin. Also, I think it was a big mistake to kill off Sally in 1986. They should have rested the character for awhile, then recasted. Having Sally and her son, Kevin, on the canvas could have meant storyline for Alice's return.

This is a synopsis of the Nicole/Jamie/Ted cocaine story: When Nicole arrived in Bay City, her agent and drug pusher, Whit, pressured her to return to modeling. Immediately, Nicole began flirting with Jamie who just returned to Bay City. Jamie insisted he can't be interested in Nicole while she's on drugs. Meanwhile, Felicia was writing a new novel and a diet/fitness book for Cory Publishing. Jamie refused to help Felicia research cocaine use for her next novel. At Whit's request, Nicole agreed to model for Felicia's diet book. Ted Bancroft, who was released from the mental hospital, arrived to photograph Felicia's book. Perry Hutchins, Donna Love's stepson, caught Nicole using cocaine and urged her to get help. To protect Nicole, Jamie and Felicia kept quiet about her cocaine when Mac ordered them to rehire Ted to photograph the diet book. Perry was trying to set a trap for Ted. Ted panicked when Perry asked him to score cocaine for him. Jamie vowed to prove that Ted is supplying Nicole with coke; however, he later was mad that Amanda nearly got a hold of some cocaine that Ted left for Nicole. Realizing that he was being set up, Ted planted cocaine on Jamie, who was arrested when Ted tipped off the cops. Felicia and Jamie had Perry make another coke buy from Ted after failing to plant a stash of cocaine on Ted. Brian noticed that his son, Ted, was behaving strangely. Later, Larry burst in on Perry's meeting with Ted and his drug supplier, and Perry was shot. Ted was busted and shocked to learn that bartender Ollie is really an undercover cop. Ted cleared Jamie of the phony drug possession charges. Brian refused to post bail for Ted, who was arrested on drug charges. Brian was forced to testify against Ted, who was sent to a mental institution. This is the last time Ted would be seen in Bay City.

I can think of two instances where Victoria Wyndham was robbed of an Emmy nomination. In 1989-90, Rachel discovers Iris is "The Chief" who tried to take over Cory Publishing and the aftermath of Mac's death. She carried AW for most of 1989-90. Her conversation with Ada (Constance Ford) directly after Mac's funeral on the Cory terrace should have won Wyndham the lead actress and Ford the supporting actress Emmy. In 1993-94, the beginning of her romance with Carl in NYC, and her part in Felicia's intervention should have also earned her an Emmy nomination. Her "I want the bottle gone, and I want my friend back" speech with Felicia could have won her the Emmy. The fact that Constance Ford (Ada) was never even nominated for an Emmy is another story, and it speaks volumes about what a joke the Emmys are.

Had Lemay stayed on as headwriter in 1988, it would have been interesting to see what he would have written for the 25th anniversary and the sudden death of Douglass Watson (Mac Cory). I doubt that we would have seen George Reinholt on the 25th anniversary in Rachel's out of body experience. I also think he would not have penned the convoluted Red Swan story as a follow-up to Mac's death.

The actress that played Petronia Paley's daughter, Thomasina, on the show has her own website: http://www.pamelakaydavis.com Pamela Kay was a news anchor for WJLA, Channel 7, in Washington DC and apparently held a similar position in San Diego.

Mary Page Keller is currently starring in the ABC Family drama Chasing Life. Having always liked MPK, I never cared for Taylor Miller's Sally. However, I think AW did a big disservice in killing off the character of Sally. There was plenty of story left for this character- she was Jamie's stepsister and Rachel's stepdaughter and would have had plenty to do with the return of Russ and the reveal that Josie and Olivia were his daughters. Killing Sally severely limited any reappearance of her mother, Alice. In fact we only saw Alice two more times- the 25th anniversary and Mac's funeral- before AW was cancelled. This also diminished Aunt Liz's screen time until Russ' return in 1989. Sally's son, Kevin Thatcher, could have been SORASed around the time that Matthew and Amanda were aged as well. Killing Sally ranks right up there with the killing of Ryan and Frankie.

The Rachel/Steve/Alice story never worked in the early 80s because two of the three characters were recasts. Paul Rauch and P&G knew in late 81-1982 that they were in ratings trouble. They should have taken a second chance on George Reinholt as Steve at the time. By early 1983, Rauch would be gone, and Jacqueline Courtney would be back as Alice in 1984. If they had waited until 1983 or 84, I believe it would have been more successful storyline.

Check out the updates to the Another World Home Page. On the video library page, Eddie is making many of the videos available free for download. This is great news for all AW fans!