In honor of AW's 45th anniversary,I thought I'd start this thread and perhaps all future posts concerning this show could be in one place.at present there are several threads.

Here's a description from Irna Phillips at the time of debut.

"What I want to say is that none of us can face reality 24 hours a day. We must have private 'worlds', made up of our down dreams and pleasures and emotions, into which to retreat. Otherwise, it would be simply too much!"

The story follows the lives of the families of two brothers, William and James Matthews, in a suburban university town. It opens with the death of William, then shows how the sad events affects the widow and their children and the other brother and his family. Grandma Matthews gets into the action, to. The writer promises to relate to contemporary problems; two of them she mentioned are school dropouts and illegitimacy.

On 7/4/2023 at 6:00 PM, chrisml said:

I don't know how much of the AW audience in 1999 would have even remembered McKinsey. For me, Carmen Duncan was Iris. I would have been highly annoyed if Alexandra Spaulding had showed up as Iris during the show's last months (I was aware of McKinsey through GL and I'm not sure if I knew she had been Iris) rather than Duncan. Even as a child, I missed Duncan's Iris when they wrote her off in that ridiculous way.

Yes, that was the point I was trying to make that the audience in 99 may not have even know Bev.  She had left the show 20 years earlier.  For us long time fans, that would have been great to see her but ideally Carmen would have been the choice I think the network would have wanted. 

1 hour ago, denzo30 said:

Yes, that was the point I was trying to make that the audience in 99 may not have even know Bev.  She had left the show 20 years earlier.  For us long time fans, that would have been great to see her but ideally Carmen would have been the choice I think the network would have wanted. 

Pardon me while I sputter. NBC had no interest in what the content was of any AW broadcast & hadn't had an interest in years. They wanted the show off the air & they were getting that. 

2 hours ago, denzo30 said:

Yes, that was the point I was trying to make that the audience in 99 may not have even know Bev.  She had left the show 20 years earlier.  For us long time fans, that would have been great to see her but ideally Carmen would have been the choice I think the network would have wanted. 

I know that some people disliked it, but they used Sam Groom, who had previously played Russ, as the officiant at Cass and Lila's wedding. If they could not think of a way to use Iris well they might have been able to come up with a way for Beverlee and/or Carmen to play some other part that would deliver fan service and acknowledge the performers. (On the other hand although I had liked both John Aprea and Alice Barrett and I don't object in theory to actors playing different roles I wasn't thrilled with Alexander Nikos or Anne O'Donnell, so maybe it would not have worked.)

1 hour ago, Xanthe said:

I know that some people disliked it, but they used Sam Groom, who had previously played Russ, as the officiant at Cass and Lila's wedding. If they could not think of a way to use Iris well they might have been able to come up with a way for Beverlee and/or Carmen to play some other part that would deliver fan service and acknowledge the performers. (On the other hand although I had liked both John Aprea and Alice Barrett and I don't object in theory to actors playing different roles I wasn't thrilled with Alexander Nikos or Anne O'Donnell, so maybe it would not have worked.)

Oh, good! You've reminded me of the other thing I usually give Goutman credit for. He used every cast member in the show & Sam Groom & Alice Barrett & Carolyn Culliton & Richard Culliton & Sam Ratcliffe were bonuses. 

Hard to believe it’s been 24 years since this show went off

18 hours ago, Xanthe said:

I know that some people disliked it, but they used Sam Groom, who had previously played Russ, as the officiant at Cass and Lila's wedding. If they could not think of a way to use Iris well they might have been able to come up with a way for Beverlee and/or Carmen to play some other part that would deliver fan service and acknowledge the performers. (On the other hand although I had liked both John Aprea and Alice Barrett and I don't object in theory to actors playing different roles I wasn't thrilled with Alexander Nikos or Anne O'Donnell, so maybe it would not have worked.)

I love the fact they flew Sam Groom all the way from California to be on the final episode.  But I hated that he played the minister.  Groom should have played Russ Matthews.  Russ was Josie's father and Rachel's first husband. Russ could have reconnected with Josie, and could have reminisced with Rachel  for a few minutes.  Why not give the audience one old legacy character in the final week?  Oh, I forgot -- Goutman okayed the Gorilla, but said no to Russ Matthews.  Jeeze-Louise.   

2 hours ago, TVFAN1144 said:

Hard to believe it’s been 24 years since this show went off

I said this over & over just the other day! 

Why is it hard to believe that fans in 1999 wouldn't remember BM's Iris? Soap fans, as every thread on this board can attest, have a loooong memory and it's not like 20 years at the bottom of the ratings had garnered AW some new influx of viewers.

24 minutes ago, Darn said:

Why is it hard to believe that fans in 1999 wouldn't remember BM's Iris? Soap fans, as every thread on this board can attest, have a loooong memory and it's not like 20 years at the bottom of the ratings had garnered AW some new influx of viewers.

Same!  And it only a few years since she had appeared on General Hospital, so it was not like she was absent since she exited the role of Iris.

9 hours ago, Neil Johnson said:

Oh, I forgot -- Goutman okayed the Gorilla, but said no to Russ Matthews.  Jeeze-Louise.  

I feel like the line that goes with Chris Goutman is "What was he thinkng?!!! Just a perfect fit. 

16 hours ago, TVFAN1144 said:

Hard to believe it’s been 24 years since this show went off

Did Another World even make it into the High Def era?

14 minutes ago, j swift said:

Did Another World even make it into the High Def era?

Yes, it did. High definition televisions began to sell in 1998, and broadcasts in HD began in November 1998.

My favorite soap, #AnotherWorld, my favorite actor, Stephen Schnetzer, playing Cass Winthrop but in drag as Krystal 'with a K' Lake, being caught by Tony the Tuna. 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DliA4gOrUNo

45 minutes ago, Donna L. Bridges said:

My favorite soap, #AnotherWorld, my favorite actor, Stephen Schnetzer, playing Cass Winthrop but in drag as Krystal 'with a K' Lake, being caught by Tony the Tuna. 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DliA4gOrUNo

So nice to see Julie Osburn as Kathleen with Kathleen Layman as MJ. They may be my favourite pair of sisters of all time.

1 hour ago, Xanthe said:

So nice to see Julie Osburn as Kathleen with Kathleen Layman as MJ. They may be my favourite pair of sisters of all time.

I gave a little squee of joy when the camera panned over to *That* MJ!! Sure, I liked the other, too but this MJ was just special to me. 

In real life when Julie Osburn got married she had two attendants - both MJs!