Another World Discussion Thread

[Efulton]

You are welcome.  Enjoy!

[j swift]

When I think of Iris's home, before she left for Texas, I picture her penthouse with a sunken living room and a terrace.  I also recall her dining room where she would take breakfast, and Mac would often stop by on his way to the office.

Then I was reading this May 1978 recap from the great work of @FrenchFan in the thread "Look into the past 1975" which included the following information:

Millicent suggested Iris call Elena to find out what was going on. Iris was upset that Brian sold her house to Elena so quickly, even though she left such orders.

Which left me to wonder how many homes Iris had before she left Bay City for Houston (I was less concerned about where she lived once she returned)?  Did she live in a home with Brian and then purchased the penthouse after their divorce in 1978?

The AWHP lists only one apartment : Iris, 1978 - 1986 (Vivien, Brian, Cecile, Sandy, Cass, Felicia) - I assume they mean that when Iris left in 1980 Cecile, Sandy, Cass, and Felicia lived there afterward, sequentially, not together

So, how many homes/apartments do others recall Iris living in from 1972-1980?  I don't recall her ever living in the Cory Mansion in Bay City.

 

[danfling]

What I remember is the house with the loft on its grounds.   (I think that Dennis later lived in the loft.)  There was a swimming pool which, rather than being level with the ground, rose from the ground about three feet.  The Bay City High School swimming team was said to have practiced in Iris's pool.

[Xanthe]

I remember whoever killed Kirk Laverty holding Iris and Vivien hostage in the apartment Iris lived in, which would have been 1979. I think I remember Brian being in the same apartment but maybe that could have been after their marriage broke up.

I don't remember Cecile moving in but I know by the time Cecile left in 1984 she had been living in a house that Cass was later living in and evicted from. 

In a completely unrelated event, today I learned that Linda Dano and John Aprea apparently played siblings in a 1975 series called The Montefuscos.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Montefuscos

Edited June 20, 2023 by Xanthe

[j swift]

As far as I recall, Iris and Brian got back together after her trip to Europe, but eventually divorced, which was part of the impetus for her trip to Houston.

It is odd that Brian's relationship with Iris is usually relegated to such a small part of her history because they were on and off for many years, and he was arguably more influential on her life than either Alex or Elliott.  As much as I detested Brian's insistence that Iris should deny her inheritance from Mac in order to demonstrate her independence and commitment to their relationship (as if Sandy and Jamie had more rights to Cory Publishing than Iris), I enjoyed the Taming of the Shrew elements to that marriage.  Iris couldn't lie to Brian like she lied to Russ and Robert.  Brian respected Iris's taste and intellect, and he never tried to shame her into subservience.  It was just that misogynistic thing about the right to generational wealth that irked me (although that whole issue was clearly re-written when Iris returned to Bay City in the 90s).

[Mona Kane Croft]

Before living in the penthouse, Iris lived in a mansion she had built soon after she moved to Bay City.  That mansion had a swimming pool and large patio, and it also had a guest-house.  The mansion was built around 1973-74 and was designed by Robert Delany, long before Robert and Iris got romantically involved.  The mansion was built by Frame Enterprises while Steve Frame was still living.  Before moving into the mansion, Iris must have lived in an apartment because she was in Bay City during the entire construction. I don't remember Iris's first apartment in Bay City, but I was watching regularly at the time.   So to answer your question directly, Iris had at least three different homes in Bay City before moving to Houston -- her initial apartment, the mansion, and finally the penthouse.  

[j swift]

This is why I appreciate the expertise of the members of this board!  Now that you mention it, I recall some scenes of Jamie and Dennis at the pool when they were pre-teens.

If I may stretch my luck with an associated question, I was thinking about Robert and Iris (two of my favorite characters, not my favorite coupling for either) and it made me wonder about Iris's relationship with Lenore.  Were they close?  I don't recall any memorable scenes or stories that they shared, despite their shared romantic interests.

Edited June 21, 2023 by j swift

[Mona Kane Croft]

Iris and Lenore were not close, although Lenore often attended Iris's parties, and later parties hosted by Mac Cory.  Lenore and Mac became somewhat close, but were never romantically involved (although Harding Lemay did consider a romance between Lenore and Mac).  Iris did not get involved with Robert until Lenore had left town and the couple had divorced.  So the two women were never on-screen romantic rivals.   

I too was never a fan of the Iris/Robert romance.  It seemed as if Harding Lemay just threw the two together and sort of forced a romantic pairing.  Robert and Lenore had a long and tortured romance that went on for several years.  The couple were also very popular with the audience.  When Susan Sullivan left the show (with Lenore leaving Robert and Bay City behind), that left Robert (a very important character) dangling without much to do.  Iris had, by that time, gone through several men on the show -- Elliot Carrington, Kurt Landis, Russ Matthews, and Dave Gilchrist, but was now also single.  I believe this is when Iris hired Robert to design a guest-house for her estate, and they began a romance.   I never thought Iris was the type of woman Robert would find appealing -- especially after spending years romancing the fairly level-headed Lenore.  Robert didn't seem the type who would tolerate a drama queen like Iris.   

I really think Harding Lemay's goal was to create a major rivalry/hatred between Iris and Clarice, which I believe was quite successful.  And he did that by using Robert -- even though it seemed a bit out of character for Robert, in my opinion.

[Xanthe]

What about Robert's relationship with Clarice? Was it convincing? Were we supposed to think Robert was truly romantically attached to Clarice or was he merely taking advantage of her?

[Mona Kane Croft]

No, I don't believe Robert was truly attracted to Clarice or had any feelings for her.  If my memory is correct, they had only a one night stand which resulted in Clarice's pregnancy.  And even if it was more than a one night thing, it was certainly a very short affair.  Robert was grieving over Lenore's leaving him, and turned to Clarice out of convenience. He may have even been drunk.  And I believe this was just days before his romance with Iris began.   

Edited June 21, 2023 by Neil Johnson

[j swift]

I recently read the novelization of Another World (Haunted by the Past) which dealt with the Clarice/Robert relationship, and it provides an interesting interpretation.  Obviously, we can't know Lemay's intent, given that this novel was written by someone else, but I found it entertaining.  Cordelia Burke (which sounds like it has to be a pseudonym) describes what we would reference in more modern times as a co-dependent relationship.  Clarice had a power imbalance with Robert given his money and education, so she was willing to provide unconditional support without demanding that he deal with his addiction.  Even though Robert was experiencing multiple failures in his career and his friendships, she still felt grateful for his attention and compassion. 

The reason I don't like the pairing of Robert and Iris is that it brought out the worst in her.  When Iris spared with Rachel, they were equals in terms of their intellect and self-assurance.  Those scenes are fun because both women are sniping at each other from their own base of power.  However, when Iris goes after Clarice to hide her pregnancy from Robert, it is just mean.  She intimidates Clarice using money and threats.  She plays with her emotions and makes her feel inadequate.  This isn't bratty Iris, this is Iris as an actual cruel villain.  And even though I think Robert was dreamy to look at, and so romantic, he was hardly worth the machinations that Iris used to try to win him over.  

[Paul Raven]

Pictures of iris' house were featured in the The Soap Opera Book by Manuela Soares in a section on sets.

Tt shows a tufted sofa with two patterned chairs either side in front of a fireplace with a portrait of Iris above, bookcases either side. The walls have decorative moldings and there is a recess with a desk off to one side. All in all it looks like an attractive set for the time, more so than her later penthouse.

The terrace had wrought iron furniture. The whole look was kind of sophistiatced French.

Did AW have better sets than other shows?

[j swift]

Thanks for recommendation, I just bought a copy from Amazon ($5.39 + 3.99 shipping)

For what it's worth, I think many 1970 sets were excellent.  Phoebe's house on AMC, Margo's penthouse on EON, and The Anderson house on DAYS.  I don't think AW's were necessarily better, but they were more diverse and reflected many different architectural styles. 

Edited June 22, 2023 by j swift

[Mona Kane Croft]

One interesting feature about the two mansions on Another World during Lemay's time at the show (1971 to 1979) -- neither Iris's mansion or Mac and Rachel's mansion ever showed the front door or a staircase until long after Lemay was gone.  If my memory is correct, we first saw the front door and foyer of the Cory mansion around 1980, and first saw the staircase during the Alma Rudder storyline.  We first saw the foyer and front door of Iris's mansion around 1982, when back-from-the-dead Steve Frame lived there.  

[Soaplovers]

It sounds like Robert/Iris was another version of Robert/India on Somerset.

Didn't Robert break free from India because she was too status conscious and went for Jessica?  And was Jessica level headed like Lenore..or more like Clarice in terms of personality?