42 minutes ago, BetterForgotten said:

She was also just a very generic/basic soap writer. Very run of the mill in terms of storyline content. 

DS was a generic HW. But i have a soft spot for her run. I''ll gladly take her run over the dark dreary mess AW became during it's final years. I did enjoy Jake's shooting. Marley coming into her own. As an empowered rape survivor. Marley & Jamie falling for each other in France. Ryan & Vicky. Pauline & Jake. Donna was decent. 

50 minutes ago, Khan said:

What I remember most about Donna Swajeski's tenure at AW are the "one-off" episodes, like "A Valentine to Singles" and "Honeymoon on the Murder Express."  It seemed like AW was following SANTA BARBARA's, and JFP's, lead.

 

"Honeymoon on the Murder Express" was Sloane's work. I remember watching it live with my mom and nephew, who was so intrigued by the episode. He was five at the time.

Edited October 21, 20196 yr by robbwolff

4 minutes ago, robbwolff said:

"Honeymoon on the Murder Express" was Sloane's work. I remember watching it live with my mom and nephew, who so intrigued by the episode. He was five at the time.

 

My bad!  Thanks, @robbwolff! 

29 minutes ago, Donna B said:

Did she go then to that Mediterranean doctors show? "Going to Extremes"?

 

She went to "Dark Shadows" first, then "Going to Extremes."

 

I agree, Swajeski was a mid-level soap writer who was fortunate that AW was blessed during her tenure with a talented, appealing and cohesive cast. 

10 minutes ago, teplin said:

 

She went to "Dark Shadows" first, then "Going to Extremes."

 

I agree, Swajeski was a mid-level soap writer who was fortunate that AW was blessed during her tenure with a talented, appealing and cohesive cast. 

Was that the primetime "Dark Shadows" that Ben Cross and Ellen Wheeler were in?

23 minutes ago, victoria foxton said:

DS was a generic HW. But i have a soft spot for her run. I''ll gladly take her run over the dark dreary mess AW became during it's final years. I did enjoy Jake's shooting. Marley coming into her own. As an empowered rape survivor. Marley & Jamie falling for each other in France. Ryan & Vicky. Pauline & Jake. Donna was decent. 

Ryan & Vicky in heaven?

It would have been great if AW benefited from a Doug Marland or even a Pam Long (when she wrote to her strengths like friendships and community) type of writer in its last 20 years or so. Unfortunately, it was just mostly a rapid succession of one garden variety hack after another. 

Edited October 21, 20196 yr by BetterForgotten

24 minutes ago, victoria foxton said:

DS was a generic HW. But i have a soft spot for her run. I''ll gladly take her run over the dark dreary mess AW became during it's final years. I did enjoy Jake's shooting. Marley coming into her own. As an empowered rape survivor. Marley & Jamie falling for each other in France. Ryan & Vicky. Pauline & Jake. Donna was decent. 

I loved AW's end years!

Just now, BetterForgotten said:

It would have been great if AW benefited from a Doug Marland or even a Pam Long (when she wrote to her strengths like friendships and community) type of write in its last 20 years or so. Unfortunately, it was just most of a rapid succession of one garden variety hack after another. 

 

Agree.

 

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: if Doug Marland had not passed away when he did, I believe P&G would have offered him the opportunity to leave ATWT eventually and "rescue" AW from its' doldrums.

 

It's kind of sad to think the Michael Laibson/Donna Swajeski regime was the last period of consistency that AW ever knew.

44 minutes ago, BetterForgotten said:

Ultimately, what I think sealed AW's fate on NBC was the ratings resurgence DAYS experienced under Reilly in the 90's. That had absolutely NO IMPACT on AW or the rest of their daytime lineup. 

I agree. Trying to turn AW into a DAYS clone was one of the biggest mistakes of those final years.

1 hour ago, KMan101 said:

I liked Lisa and the Lisa/Jamie/Vicky triangle as well. I was disappointed she left. I agree she was always probably supposed to be Felicia's niece. Now, she'd be her daughter for sure! LOL. "Shock twist" ... 

Was Joanna Going fired or did she choose to leave on her own?

8 minutes ago, Donna B said:

I loved AW's end years!

Way ,way too dark for me. Ryan , Bridget and Frankie all murdered with in a year.  A disfigured Felicia lurking around the streets of Bay City.  Michael's death. The awful supernatural Jordan Stark/ Lumina story.  I found those last years hard to watch. The only few bright spots were Lila and Cindy. 

I have the Back Order of the Soap Opera Digest of the 2 day finale of AW. June 28, 1999 and June 29, 1999 ...

Everybody takes a turn talking about the show. The last Nick, Mark Mortimer shared a crazy anecdote:

pg. 80-81: Soap Opera Digest, June 29, 1999:
"What I will remember most is having Tom Eplin (Jake) take my pants
off (as a prank) while I was doing lines. Standing naked in dry
rehearsal in front of all of my peers. But, I just kept going. I
pulled my pants up. I was a little humiliated because it was early in
the morning and I had just come out of a cold shower (laughs). But I
proved him wrong." - Mark Mortimer (Nick, 1996-present)

 

2 minutes ago, Donna B said:

I have the Back Order of the Soap Opera Digest of the 2 day finale of AW. June 28, 1999 and June 29, 1999 ...

Everybody takes a turn talking about the show. The last Nick, Mark Mortimer shared a crazy anecdote:

pg. 80-81: Soap Opera Digest, June 29, 1999:
"What I will remember most is having Tom Eplin (Jake) take my pants
off (as a prank) while I was doing lines. Standing naked in dry
rehearsal in front of all of my peers. But, I just kept going. I
pulled my pants up. I was a little humiliated because it was early in
the morning and I had just come out of a cold shower (laughs). But I
proved him wrong." - Mark Mortimer (Nick, 1996-present)

 

Seems typical of Eplin's behavior knowing what we know about him now....

1 minute ago, BetterForgotten said:

Seems typical of Eplin's behavior knowing what we know about him now....

Wee-elll, it was typical of his behavior already, even then, ... He took advantage of a member of the soap press, .... He took advantage of a 16 year old fan in Toronto, .... It went on & on.

19 minutes ago, AbcNbc247 said:

I agree. Trying to turn AW into a DAYS clone was one of the biggest mistakes of those final years.

Was Joanna Going fired or did she choose to leave on her own?

Yes, AW could not be made into a DOOL clone!

I don't know about whether she was  fired or not.

20 minutes ago, victoria foxton said:

Way ,way too dark for me. Ryan , Bridget and Frankie all murdered with in a year.  A disfigured Felicia lurking around the streets of Bay City.  Michael's death. The awful supernatural Jordan Stark/ Lumina story.  I found those last years hard to watch. The only few bright spots were Lila and Cindy. 

David Hedison done away with. Shane's death. Unfortunately do you remember how Lila would be frightened of all storms?

This is better than my previous post. You can find clips of AW here:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WrDuEP-M4n4&list=PL4VcbQ8kMdHI2rQKUB4owOFg_9whbHqbT

 

Yeah unfortunately I am listening to your previous VERY LONG post once again, as I type this, waiting to hear the next post from my email of subscribed notifications ugh 😒

Edited October 21, 20196 yr by rlj