Another World Discussion Thread

[Efulton]

I’m glad you found this!  Hopefully it will clear up the debate about it back in the thread. 

[Mona Kane Croft]

OMG, LaGuardia's book is possibly the best soap opera analysis and history I have ever read. I still have my copy from 1974.   

And regarding Another World, the timing of the books publication (1974) gives LaGuardia a unique and almost naive viewpoint on the show.  Harding Lemay was firmly in charge, three years into his time as head-writer.  But AW was still almost completely focused on the Matthews family, and was still a 30-minute soap.  Rachel was still a very very bad woman, but now with shades of gray.  Steve and Alice were still the young romantic leads (and the two most popular stars in daytime). And the firings of 1975 seem to be in the distant future.  If my memory is correct, LaGuardia's view of Lemay's writing is tinged with an uneasiness about Lemay's writing style.  As an everyday AW viewer during this time, I also felt a similar uneasiness -- despite the fact that I was absolutely hooked on Lemay's character-driven drama.  

Some people (not the Contessa) have used LaGuardia's story about Virginia Dwyer's clothes closet as a way to slam the actress and justify Lemay's decision to kill-off the show's matriarch.  But reading the Contessa's post (which I assume is a direct quote from LaGuardia), it is easy to see that Dwyer did not see herself as particularly similar to Mary Matthews at all.  She threw away the clothes that reminded her of Mary, and she described Mary as ultra-conservative.  So we must assume Dwyer herself was not ultra-conservative. Dwyer did not live her life as Mary Matthews, nor was she obsessed with the character.  In fact she felt quite different from Mary.   It is great to read this account from LaGuardia again, after so many years.  But the quote in no way tarnishes the career or the reputation of Virginia Dwyer.  Quite the opposite.   

[Contessa Donatella]

Me, too! I had so much trouble trying to get across that this was what I always treasured as a delightful anecdote from Virginia Dwyer's own words & point of view that made me think highly of her as well as appreciating that she seems to have a wicked sense of humor! When people thought I was reporting a slam! 

Of course, we know that if I had an anecdote that was a slam, I would post it, too! But, that's just a theory! 

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Hooray!! I thought it was lost & I found it!! 

Thanks so much for outlining this perspective! Robt LaGuardia has several soap books but this is my favorite. 

Yes, quote/unquote. 

EXACTLY!!!! And I think it shows a fine sense of humor! 

[slick jones]

I copied the full book from the Library. While it can be considered a gold standard overall, many of the "facts" have been debunked by members of this board.

An example from @Paul Raven re: The Guiding Light

Guiding Light

Nora Hansen Gibbs   Joanne Linville    May - Sept 59 pregnant mother who models at Bowden Gallery and befriends Marie Grant. Her husband Al deserted her when discovered she was pregnant and she asks Marie to adopt her baby but Marie refuses. Gives birth to a girl whom she names Marie(August 59) With Dick out of town Marie lets Nora and the baby move into her apartment. Hearing from Al,Nora goes to Las Vegas in hopes of  a reconciliation and leaves the baby with Marie. She and Al are killed in a car crash but only Al's body is found. Marie hopes to adopt the baby.

Al Gibbs    Never Seen  1959 Nora's husband who deserted her. Dies in a car crash in Las Vegas.

 

Amy Sinclair    runaway drug

addict that gave

   birth to a daughter, Nora that the Grants 

     were going to adopt, involved with Joe

                    Turino.

       Joanne Linville    1959-60

         Connie Lembcke  1960

This is the Nora character. 

I see that 'Soap World'  lists this character as Amy so somewhere along the line this misinformation became fact.

 

 

Also, Katherine MacGregor was in the cast list for Love of Life (as Scottie MacGregor) portraying Tammy Forrest, but in reality played Vicky Harcourt.

 

 

It's a great resource,and a personal favorite, but I wouldn't consider it to be completely accurate. Many of the storylines  in the various  show synopses are  parts of stories that were combined, as well.

 

[Xanthe]

This is really before my time, but I was reading the New Yorker article that @VelekaCarruthers linked in the writers thread (for some reason although I wanted the link to the post I got the link to the article instead) and the author drops in a lot of plot references from this period including mentioning that Lenore was interested in Bill Matthews. I must say some of the plot descriptions are rather dizzying but I found them interesting.

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1972/02/12/afternoon-television-unhappiness-enough-and-time

Post link:

 

Edited March 24, 2024 by Xanthe
Link

[adrnyc]

Ugh - I'm having such a struggle as to whether or not I'm going to the AW reunion in May. It's my 10th wedding anniversary and I promised my husband I'd not spend any money so we take a France vacation in August. But the event is only a half an hour from where I live. 

Anyone planning on attending.

[Contessa Donatella]

Can't go. Would if I could. My god, that close! Can you talk it over with your guy? One person from my forum is going & one of my oldest friends online is going so I will get a great report after. Nadine Stenovitch has just popped up in my forum saying no one got in touch with her so I'm going to put her together with the woman who is doing this shindig. This won't happen again, this event, or one like it. This is it. 

[Xanthe]

This is not a new find or anything since the AWHP has the info in both the Actor Guide and the Minor Characters list, but I had not remembered/recognized that Jake's amnesia girlfriend Alison was played by Marin Hinkle. Actually I had forgotten all about the character and when I saw her I was trying to figure out whether it was a temporary Amanda filling in for Christine Tucci.

[Contessa Donatella]

I love her. She's been in so many things I watched but I remember her best for ONCE AND AGAIN. 

I have Renata Adler's book of essays & this is in it & is my favorite. 

[j swift]

On his Instagram Reels, Adam T Ghani played the iconic Rachel/Alice fight when Rachel kicked her out of the house.

Did that occur while Steve was in jail or after his presumed death?  And how long was it between when Steve was released from prison and his death?

Because Rachel seems so cruel.  But, in hindsight, if Steve went to jail for bribing her father to perjure himself to get custody of Jamie and then died without taking care of Jamie in his will, she had good reason to want that house.  I'm not a fan of Alice, but if Rachel waited for a time for her to be emotionally stable, Jamie would've been out of med school before she got that house.

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Edited March 25, 2024 by j swift

[Mona Kane Croft]

Rachel did not kick Alice out of the house.  Rachel tried, but Alice chased her out instead.  I believe this scene occurred while Steve was in prison.  And Rachel did not end up with Alice's house.  When Steve died, Alice lived in the house until she left town in 1979 -- long after Rachel had married Mac.  Also, when Steve died he did provide for Jamie in his will.  So Jamie was always well taken care of, financially at least.   And Steve did not pay Gerald Davis to purger himself in order to get custody of Jamie.  Steve paid Gerald in order to get the divorce from Rachel.  The divorce occurred in 1974 (I believe) -- back when many divorces were contested and could be denied by a judge.  So when Rachel contested the divorce, Gerald testified to help Steve win in court.  Gerald betrayed his own daughter for money.  But it was not about Jamie's custody, it was in order to get the divorce granted.   

 

[j swift]

Gerald is such an interesting contrast to Jim Matthews, just as Ada was unique from Mary.  I enjoy when the soaps use the parent's dynamic to explain the behavior of their children.  Not just a reaction to the relationship, but the effect of growing up with specific personality types as caregivers.

Thank you for filling in the blanks, it is nice to know a dependable source. 

Edited March 25, 2024 by j swift

[Mona Kane Croft]

Somewhere on YouTube there is a wonderful scene between Ada and Rachel from 1979.  Ada describes how Rachel felt as a little girl without a father, and how Ada couldn't protect Rachel from those feelings.  

[AbcNbc247]

I imagine that, at the time, a lot of fans were glad to see Gerald betray Rachel lol 

[Mona Kane Croft]

I remember not being particularly happy about it.  Although Rachel was still a sneaky bitch, her scenes in the courtroom were very troubling -- as Rachel slowly realized Gerald was not telling the truth on the witness stand and had gone over to Steve's side. Betrayed by the father that she knew never really loved her in the first place.  This was really the first time the audience truly felt sorry for Rachel.  I'd say Rachel's slow reformation began with those courtroom scenes.  But it still took a couple of years to be complete (if it ever really was complete).