Jump to content

Another World Discussion Thread


Recommended Posts

  • Replies 13.8k
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

  • Members

That is one cheesy ad with Sharon Gabet in it. That would not attract me as a viewer and get me to watch. Especially, if I was a fan of Raven/EON. 

 

Poisonous dust? Egyptian tombs? Jesus. I see why AW was probably flailing around this time. This was not a story I could see being told on a P&G soap. This just wreaks of an ABC daytime soap story (preferably GH or OLTL at the time). Even DAYS. Not AW.

 

So weird that ATWT was bouncing back around this time with simple, realistic storytelling while GL, SFT, and AW weren't. P&G should've picked up on this and sent a mandate to all the shows to stick to what they did best--human drama and family relationships. Thank God AW & GL bounced back by the end of the 80s.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Thanks so much for all of these ads and the info. It's astonishing that she aired for just a month after this. She likely knew she was going when she filmed these terrific scenes with Rachel. What a huge waste. I guess that sums up P&G soaps by these years. 

 

Which of the firing decisions in '86 and early '87 did you agree with and which did you think were off?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

 

The whole dust story had some segueway where a token black character (Carter Todd's father, I think) inhaled the dust before Mac and soon dropped dead, which meant it wasn't as bad for Mac (he just had a heart attack). That type of imagery would - well today it would probably still happen on soaps, as they're more regressive than ever, but it would probably get some deserved brickbats.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

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.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

 

While I loved Lila, I felt that after Frankie was killed off, Cecile should've been the woman Cass ended up with. Also, Cecile being the butt of every joke in her last stint was embarrassing. Along with her putting Maggie in danger to get her trust fund. Having watched clips/episodes of Cecile from the 80s, that seems even farfetched for her to do that to Maggie. 

 

Iris remaining in jail as long as she did was stupid. They should've brought Iris/Carmen Duncan back around '97 when the show skidded off the tracks and they had Carl obsessively feuding with Grant for the 100th time. Jamie should've been brought back around that time too to take over the hospital instead of bringing on Bobby Reno, who was garbage casting coup and stupid character. 

 

I've always felt Ryan should've just remained in a coma until PMV wanted to return, which was he following year. Vicky with Bobby and later Jake was just horrible. I always looked at Vicky with major side eye for marrying Jake after the history of him raping Marley. I bought their tense friendship but never could support that pairing. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

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.

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Since the latter years have been brought up, can someone explain Bobby Reno/Shane Roberts, Alexander Nikos, and Anne O'Donnell to me? 

 

I don't know how popular Sam was, but on the subject of the other two, if Show had two popular actors who were willing to come back in John Aprea and Alice Barrett, why not resurrect the popular characters they played? 

 

Also, once the Nikos story actually ended, what was going on with Carl leading up to his last "death?" Had Matt and Amanda actually driven him insane, or did they blame everything on the plot device tumor they pulled out at Key West the last week of the show? Did he really try to have Rachel killed, or was he doing things and not realizing he was doing them?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

 

I think the claim may have been that if the show had gone on Anne would be revealed as Frankie or Frankie would return. I can't remember. I think the idea of Aprea as a new character wasn't that bad, but the execution was awful and so wildly out of step with the much smaller show AW had become (that Malone did not seem to really understand). 

 

The brain tumor got the blame. 

 

He was trying to test Rachel. I think the idea was that he'd assumed she would fail the test. She didn't, so he jumped in front of the gun meant for her.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

i remember reading the speculation that before AW got the cancellation notice Alice Barrett was going to return as Frankie but I would have been interested in learning how. She didn't die off-screen.We not only watched her death but we watched Cass visit her in the morgue holding her dead, bruised body to say his goodbyes. It would be hard to explain how Cass held her cold, life-less body without noticing.

 

Cecile is one of my favorite daytime characters of all time and I agree that after Frankie was killed she should have been the one to reach out to Cass to comfort him. Of course, everyone in town would assume she was up to something and scheming but would have been nice to show that she genuinely loved him and just trying to bring him out of the darkness. 

 

When the show wrote out Michael, John, and Sharlene they should have refocused back on Rachel's family like others have said above. That would have been the time to bring back Iris, Jamie, and Nancy. Some kind of family crisis/scare for Rachel maybe causing them to return. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

 

It would have been pretty difficult to bring Frankie back, but at the same time I can't help thinking that any excuse would have worked for a good portion of the audience.

 

Wow. That really is horrifying. I can't imagine what VW and CK were thinking playing those scenes out. After all Carl and Rachel had been through, to end like that? What the hell were they thinking?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

 

Malone was asked about bringing back Iris and basically said they were concentrating on younger characters. 

 

Well it didn't help that supposedly the firing was mandated by an NBC exec - I imagine that must have been even more disorienting (I think the same one who got Norm McDonald canned). Wyndham said that she felt the network or P&G wanted her to quit in AW's last years, but she wouldn't, because of the fans. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

My take on this

1. Once Mac died,that whole side of the Cory family lost importance. What explanation was given as to why S&B didn't come to Mac's funeral?

Bringing in Maggie,only highlighted that the 'real' Sandy and Blaine weren't available.Maybe if Laura Malone could have been persuaded to make a few appearances?

2. Agree that Jacquie C should have been kept and written for. A relationship with Mac or Mitch (both of which would have respected history) could have kept Rachel and Alice in conflict.

3. Killing Sally.Well, Taylor Miller was leaving and had not been accepted as Sally.Maybe she should have been Marianne Randolph instead? Perhaps Sally has some kind of breakdown and decides to leave Bay City with Kevin.Although that would leave Catlin in limbo.

4. Writing off Liz.This was a mistake. This was the very time that the Matthews needed strengthening.Why not bring in Ricky Matthew,Liz's grandson'.They could have referenced his paternity as part of his character.He could seek out some relatives and mistakenly bond with them,much to Liz's dismay.Mike and Marianne,Russ and a long lost daughter would have been good choices at this time.

5. Cass and Kathleen. Killing off Kathleen was a mistake.I would have Cass return solo as he and Kathleen were having issues.He could sleep with someone who get's pregnant and then Kathleen returns (a recast) and they set about trying to reconcile.The whole pregnancy thing comes out etc

6.Philece should have been Nicole. Sofia Landon as Donna?

7. agree Nancy was tossed away.I'm sure Jane Cameron would have returned.Judi Evans as Nancy is interesting too. Never liked the concept of the Paulina character.

8. Cecile should have been major upon her return. Both character and actress were gold.

9. Re Jamie and Iris. Jamie had been recast so many times and been through a lot of story.I'd rather have him out of town and making appearances when necessary.I wonder if Richard Bekins would have been happy to pop in. from time to time? Same with Iris.

10.Agree re Ryan.

 

Pam and Gerald Davis definitely should have returned. How about Gail Brown/Clarice drops in with teen Cory to spend some time with Ada?

Edited by Paul Raven
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Unfortunately, your content contains terms that we do not allow. Please edit your content to remove the highlighted words below.
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.



  • Recent Posts

    • How did I never notice how tall Colton was?

      Please register in order to view this content

    • They didn't need to have some slutty gay dude as their representation. Just a 'normal' guy getting involved with another guy or two (or three). Just like the straight characters. Thinking about it, they missed the boat by not having a few other single charcters at the beginning. Maybe Naomi or Ashley could be shown meeting Derek/Jacob and  we could follow their romance. Too many characters were coupled up at the start. As a tattoo hater I was surprised to see Tomas so inked. Don't find it attractive or sexy. I'm surprised an actor would do that as it's definitely a statement and may not be appropriate for some roles. Suppose they can cover if necessary. I didn't buy Kat being all girly and then paying off Darius to get into Eva's room. Way too cliche. She should have just come along when the housekeeping was leaving and breezed in saying it was her room. And her smug looks in the hotel room and 'Now I've got you!!' talks to herself at Orphey Gene's...no.  
    • Omg I was so annoyed. Like girl calm down. Coming on way too strong. Omg I forgot about this

      Please register in order to view this content

    • I thought it got stale before Jocks death lol. His death picked things back up for me.
    • 1976 Pt 5 Tony is summoned to the reading of the will in the Llanfair library,as he’s a principal in the will. He tells Joe there’s not a chance of coming to terms with Dorian, as he is sure she brought about Victor’s death by torturing him emotionally when he was her helpless prisoner after his stroke. Ironically, Chapin hand delivers to Viki a letter her father wrote before his stroke, praising Dorian and asking Viki to befriend and support his widow when he was no longer there. Viki feels a responsibility to her father’s wishes and vows to try with Dorian. Victor’s will leaves the expected amounts to members of his family and staff, with the lion’s share of his stock and property going to Dorian. Victor’s will explains that his son Tony expressed the desire that he not be “bought from the grave,” and, in keeping with his son’s wishes, the only bequest to him is the knowledge of his father’s love and respect. Tony is deeply moved. Dorian’s first attempt to use her new power is the recommendation of Peter as head of the Merideth Lord Wolek hospital wing, claiming that naming Larry would be virtual nepotism. Peter, who has devoted considerable time and effort to helping Jenny get over Tim’s death with gentle, affectionate support, is happy at this suggestion, but Jenny points out Dorian is merely using him to hurt Larry. Viki disregards Dorian’s ingenuous assurances that she’s not trying to wield her new power but is merely putting Peter up for consideration for a future opportunity, if not this one, and tells her she won’t be able to fulfill her father’s desire that they be friends unless Dorian stops interfering. Larry, fully understanding Dorian’s personal motives, warns her he’s going to fight for the appointment no matter what. Realizing that she has made a tactical error, Dorian announces that she won’t even attend the board meeting but will give her proxy to Jim. She admits to Matt McAllister, still her confidant, that this was humiliating, but it was a necessary protective tactic. Dorian manages to win her next round at Joe’s office when, after he praises her decision to yield on appointing Peter, she expresses concern for Viki “at a time like this.” Joe, of course, jumps on her words, and Dorian, pretending great distress at having mentioned something she shouldn’t have, is “forced” to explain that she knew about the congenital heart condition Megan had and that any child of Joe’s is likely to inherit it. She overheard the doctors discussing it at the time of the accident, she continues, and naturally assumed that Joe already knew.  Joe arranges a meeting at home with Viki and asks her how she could live a lie like this; how she could go through their lives as if everything were fine while every moment was a lie. He is further upset when, in trying to explain that it was out of her love for him that she kept the truth from him, she mentions that Jim and Larry also know but Cathy still hasn’t been told. Viki tells Joe that Dorian deliberately told him this way to hurt their marriage, and she is very upset when he starts toward the door, pleading that they have always talked things out in the past. Joe coolly points out that she didn’t do that when she learned about Megan and continues out the door.  A tearful Viki is shaken and when Joe later returns, having spent several hours in a bar drinking only soft drinks,she breaks down, crying that she was convinced he’d left her. Joe assures her they can get through this despite everything, because their relation is based on love and mutual respect. 
    • If you think about it, DALLAS and DYNASTY grew stale right about the same time, even if the ratings were slow to reflect that.  FC and KL, on the other hand, tried to stay fresh, but KL was way more successful at it, I think, than FC.  (That [!@#$%^&*] with The Thirteen does not hold up well, lol).
    • GH 1976 Pt 8 Heather takes advantage of the situation by asking Jeff to come and look at Tommy. She uses sympathy, compassion, and her own feminine wiles, together with his misery and his pills, to lure him into bed. Later, sober, he apologizes. Learning from Pearson that Monica has seen a divorce lawyer, Jeff confronts her, and she insists it’s a lie. Avoiding his attempts to kiss her, she musses her hair and tears her blouse, then rushes to Rick’s, claiming that she can’t stay with that maniac any longer. They wind up in Rick’s bed, and after making love he confesses he always loved her. Rick replies to her question of whether he wants to marry her by saying he has to talk to Jeff. Monica insists that Jeff not bear any pressure from their problems. As she leaves, Rick gives her a key to his apartment. Jeff, having spent the night drinking, misses his surgical assignment, and Steve, informing him that his personal life can’t interfere with his profession, puts him on suspension. Rick can’t persuade Steve to reverse his decision, but Mark, sensing what’s at the heart of Jeff’s problem, convinces Steve to lift Jeff’s suspension and transfer him to Mark’s service. Rick asks for his key back, telling Monica they can’t do anything as long as she’s under Jeff’s roof. So she has a duplicate made and moves into intern’s quarters, explaining that Jeff’s violence drove her out. She tells Jeff she needs privacy to work things out, and tells Rick Jeff wanted her out. Thinking that this is the preliminary to a divorce, Rick tells her she can come to his place. In New York, Leslie’s abortion is delayed by a mix-up in scheduling, and she calls Terri to commiserate. Rick overhears Terri’s conversation and forces the whole story from her. He flies to New York to stop Leslie, feeling responsible for pointing out how evil Cam was, and arrives to find that she has decided she can’t deny her child the right to live. Monica, meanwhile, expecting that Rick will be home, uses her key to let herself into his apartment and is shocked to find Mark there; knowing that Mark was uncomfortable at the hotel, Rick offered Mark use of the apartment in his absence. Monica is upset to learn that Rick is in New York with Leslie, and Mark doesn’t know why. Mark does advise Monica to play fair with Jeff, but she resents his interference. The next day, while covering for Leslie at the clinic, Monica discovers Leslie’s lab test report and jumps to the conclusion that the baby is Rick’s. When Rick and Leslie return, Monica wastes no time in accusing him. He is dismayed to see that she is still as suspicious and possessive as she was before he went to Africa, and points out that her making a duplicate  key proves she hasn’t changed. Terri encourages Leslie to see Rick in a romantic light and then suggests to Rick that Leslie is interested in him. Rick likes this idea and tells Mark he’s growing ‘unwilling to cope with Monica’s unreasonable demands. But Monica immediately recognizes the threat Leslie represents and decides to attack. She goes to Leslie and tells her flatly that she and Rick are having an affair and he’s her exclusive property. Leslie, who realizes she has been falling in love with Rick, is hurt, and Rick is mystified when he feels Leslie pulling away from him. Monica’s big moment comes when she brings Rick a housewarming gift and seduces him into letting her stay overnight. She is in the bedroom when Leslie stops by to apologize for refusing his dates, and makes a dramatic entrance into the living room draped in Rick’s bathrobe. Leslie turns and runs out. Rick later informs her he’s disappointed in her, because she prejudged Monica and him rather than giving him the benefit of the doubt. Heather tries to arrange another tryst with Jeff, but he replies that he still loves his wife. Heather decides there’s only one way to get Jeff to be pregnant with his child. She manages to overhear Monica putting Jeff down by telling him he no longer turns her on and should look for someone he does. Heather goes to Jeff and tells him that she heard Monica and that she is the one he’s looking for. She manages to get him into bed again, and sweetly assures him this is right. She then sets the stage for future meetings. Steve, meanwhile, offers to help Monica and Jeff work out their problems. Jeff is willing, but Monica turns the idea down. Instead, she presses Terri to convince Jeff to end the marriage. Terri now knows that Monica isn’t a good wife for Jeff and promises to try. But Jeff makes it clear to Monica that he still loves her and won’t let her go. She is bitter and upset, as she has already implied to Rick that she will soon be free. Audrey is upset to find that Florence Andrews has been inquiring about Tommy and herself. She goes to Florence’s home and finds she’s away now. Florence has gone down to Mexico to sign a sworn statement that she purchased a false death certificate for Tom, to protect his son after his wrongful conviction. Tom, learning from her that Steve and Audrey are to be married and Steve is planning to adopt Tommy, tells  Florence not to do anything, as there’s still no assurance that he’ll ever get out. But the judge does accept the statement, and, ironically, on the day that Steve  and Audrey are married, Tom is released from prison.
    • 1976 Pt 12 Final part Laurie agrees with Stuart that Peggy is rushing into marriage to prove that the rape didn’t ruin her life.  She points out that the only way Peg can be sure is to make love with Jack before the wedding. Stuart admits she’s right but points out that he can’t suggest that to Peggy. As the wedding approaches, Peg seems happy that Jack’s become close to the family. However, her happiness is shattered by a nightmare in which her loving bridegroom turns into a leering Ron Becker, forcing her to cancel the wedding. Jack reassures her he’ll wait as long as it takes, and Chris confides that she and Snapper didn’t consummate their marriage on their wedding night because of her own rape experience, but Peggy tells Chris she might never be ready.  Despite her desire to keep Karen as her own daughter, Chris helps a police artist create a sketch of Nancy so it can be printed in the newspaper as part of a search for her. When the attempt proves fruitless, however, Chris asks Greg to file application for permanent custody of the child. Greg points out that adoption is the only way to prevent Ron from returning and claiming the child, and that it will take quite a while. Meanwhile, a nurse in the psychiatric ward sees a resemblance  between the newspaper drawing and her autistic patient, Mrs. Jackson, but since “Fran” doesn’t respond to the name Nancy and no one else sees the similarity, she fears she’s mistaken. Jill is horrified to overhear Kay, when brihging baby Phillip a Christmas gift, telling the child she remembers the night he was conceived. Kay has to then admit to Jill she saw her with Phillip in the bunkhouse that night. Jill is aghast to realize that Kay new the truth all along and put her through such agony in spite of it, denying her baby his father’s name. Lance tells Laurie they’ll marry on Valentine’s Day. He laughs that it’s corny but agrees, secretly wishing it were sooner, as Vanessa has vowed to prevent it. Indeed, Vanessa makes an unprecedented venture out of the house to visit Brad, telling him to rebuff any advance Leslie might make to him, as she’s reaching out to him only from a sense of duty. But Laurie then makes a concerted effort to reach Vanessa. Without being sure why she’s trying so hard, she tries to assure the woman she’s not losing Lance and she, Laurie, will help her find a plastic surgeon somewhere who can help her. Grudgingly, Vanessa seems to be reconsidering her view of Laurie, and Laurie is delighted when Lance offers her a choice between two diamond necklaces, explaining that her preference will be Vanessa’s Christmas gift. Learning from Les about Brad’s blindness, Stuart tells Brad he could have turned Leslie away only out of great love. Knowing that Les is going to see Brad again, Laurie warns him not to bring the baby into their discussion, as Leslie will come back only she’s convinced he loves her, not for the babies sake. Leslie finds Brad disheveled and sloppy, and proceeds to straighten the apartment, stating that she can't respect him if he lets himself go. Realizing that neither Brad nor Les will make the first move, Laurie hurries things along by refusing to help Brad with his grooming, saying he should ask his wife. Then, having learned  that Brad offered Les the use of their piano, Laurie untunes the Brooks' piano forcing Leslie to accept his offer. By refusing to cater to his  blindness, Les manages to get Brad to stop wallowing in pity, and by the time Leslie’s Christmas braille message of her love and her need for him arrives, they are husband and wife again Lance takes Laurie on a business trip on New Year's Eve, and tells her, on board his plane, she won't be  won't be able to call him “Mr. All Talk and No action” after tonight. When Laurie protests that waited this long and will continue to wait until married, Lance delights her by instructing his pilot to land in Las Vegas, where they are married immediately.
    • Yeah, not sure why Jack and Jen didn’t rush to Marlena - or even Carrie - to offer their condolences. A few flashbacks would've been a nice touch too. Instead, we got a whole episode of them talking about Chad and Abby? Come on. On the bright side, I loved Anna’s scenes with Marlena and Carrie - sweet and heartfelt, felt like a real 80s throwback.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy