Another World Discussion Thread

[Melroser]

I agree Rachel and Carl never made sense with story. Didn't Vicky Wyndham make some rumblings about leaving unless she was paired with Charles Keating? Then they wrote the Carl/Rachel scenes in NYC. I thought I read that somewhere one time. That's why she always pushed Carl/Rachel even though it made no sense. 

 

[Xanthe]

I enjoyed Charles Keating so even though papering over Carl's crimes in order for Rachel to fall in love with him was a bad idea I tolerated it. I rolled my eyes somewhat harder at the creation of Justine as Rachel's doppelganger. Maybe it would have been a slightly better idea to write a storyline in which Carl's law-abiding doppelganger (let's call him Charles) was paired with Rachel. (Or instead of declaring Carl redeemed, Rachel simply crosses over to the dark side.)

 

 

Yeah, but I'm not going to draw the line at Carl having his henchwoman killed when he also murdered Daphne Grimaldi with his bare hands and was somehow behind Ross killing Julia (as well as some minor characters) and attempting to kill Sally (injuring Aunt Liz and almost killing both Liz and Kevin), Catlin (killing the police officers driving the vehicle), and Larry (injuring Clarice). Plus of course all of his attacks on Mac and Rachel.

[Khan]

Poor Iris.  As far as anyone knows, she's still languishing in prison.

[FrenchBug82]

What a terrible awful mediocre and insulting ending for a legendary character.

I mean, in a vacuum they didn't go a bad job of selling it and making it work. And I get why VW wanted it; it gave her character a rebound after years of drift post-Mac-death, and the chemistry was undeniable and CK is a great actor

It is just that it should never have been even considered rationally speaking

[AbcNbc247]

It takes a lot of chemistry and a lot of good writing to have a woman fall in love with the man who tried to kill her, and have the fans support them.

[Mona Kane Croft]

As most people know, Harding Lemay's writing style on Another World was to avoid the impact of outside forces on the characters, and to base his drama on inner conflict and each character's personality flaws.  I've been thinking about how well he lived-up to his claim, and thought about things like car crashes, the weather, medical issues, etc.  I watched AW during Lemay's entire eight-years, and can remember only two auto crashes (only one on-camera): first Walter Curtain's death in an on-camera car crash; and second, the death of Sally (Spencer) Frame's biological parents in a bus accident (off-camera).  

Regarding weather, I cannot remember any time the weather affected any of the action on AW during Lemay's tenure.  Not even once.  No rain, no storms, tornados, blizzards -- nothing.   The characters did occasionally mention snow around Christmas time, but it never had any effect on the action.   

Lemay also avoided medical storylines for the most part.  He did use fatal diseases to kill-off two characters, Cindy Clark Matthews and Theresa Lamont.  But those were less plots, and more simply quick devices to get rid of two departing characters.  Alice Frame's miscarriage and later inability to carry a child was important to Alice's story arc, but that is really the only time I can remember Lemay using medical drama on the show.   Mary Matthews died of a heart attack, but that was hardly a medical based plot, because Mary died suddenly without warning, and never entered the hospital or saw a doctor.   

Can anyone else recall Lemay using auto accidents, the weather, or other medical drama on Another World?  Anyone remember him using other types of outside forces to drive the action?

[Vee]

People have talked about it before and recently too, but I still remain amazed how disdainful he was of the Sven murder plot or whatever it was which, IIRC, was massively popular.

[Xanthe]

Dennis' heart condition brought him into Alice's and then Russ' orbit. 

[Mona Kane Croft]

Great memory -- I had forgotten about Dennis's heart condition.  

I loved the Sven storyline, mostly because after years of watching, there was finally an identifiable plot on Another World. LOL. That storyline was  one of the most compelling plots I've ever seen on any soap opera.  But I think Lemay felt he had sold-out by penning that saga -- that Sven was one of those "outside forces" he had tried so hard to avoid writing.  Sven came into the Cory household and caused trouble, rather than the Corys causing trouble for themselves.   Lemay was embarassed by it, even though the audience adored it. And Sven's exploits brought Another World to number one in the ratings for only the second time in the show's history.   

Edited January 18, 2022 by Neil Johnson

[Xanthe]

I don't remember seeing it play out on the air, but I read the storyline in the Kate Lowe Kerrigan novelizations. 

The AWHP includes info on some of the Character Guide entries for medical history. One might have to cross reference with the synopses to confirm whether it occurred during Lemay's tenure but in some cases it might jog one's memory. 

I was reading the synopses for 1972 and there were references to Pat's being in hospital ... was that because of her alcoholism? The synopsis seems spotty but it also sounds like she was suspected of murdering Bernice with whom John had been having an affair. 

[Paul Raven]

Iris and Dennis were Lemay creations so the heart condition was his doing.

Not sure why Pat was in hospital, but she left and was suspected of murdering Bernice because she had motive but no alibi. But it was quickly discovered that Mark, Bernice's other lover was responsible for her death.

I wonder if they brought up the fact that she was already a killer and thus the police thought she  might be likely to kill again.

Years later they used the Tom Baxter killing to involve Pat in the murder of Greg Barnard. She flahed back to murdering Tom and stabbed Greg.

But despite killing twice, she was allowed to walk free,

[Mona Kane Croft]

I don't recall Pat's earlier murder trial being referenced during the Bernice Robinson murder plot.  Perhaps it was, but I just don't remember it.  Obviously Lemay was interested in Pat's history, because he revisited her experiences with Tom Baxter two different times in the mid to late-1970s: first with Marianne's abortion storyline, which echoed Pat's earlier abortion.  And second, when Pat killed Greg Barnard during a flash-back to her killing Tom.   

[victoria foxton]

 

  

[ScottyBman]

It took me a bit but I was watching Cobra Kai and didn't realize that guy was Catlin back in the day...I am not the best at that!

[OzFrog]

The comment on this made it worthwhile…

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