Another World Discussion Thread

[robbwolff]

Sharon said in an interview last year that she was very unhappy and miserable at AW. Her then husband Larry Joshua intervened, called AW's producer, and demanded she be released from her contract. AW agreed to write her out before the end of her contract and Brittany and Catlin abruptly left the show.

[watson71]

I think the decision to kill Sally off was a huge mistake- right up there with killing Ryan and Frankie. Sally could have been used in the late 80s and 90s. She was Jamie's adopted sister, Rachel's step-daughter, her son Kevin could have been SORASed at some point, etc. Sally also could have keep Aunt Liz on the canvas, and perhaps eventually seen the return of her mother, Alice Frame to AW on a regular basis. Sally could have also been used in storyline with her aunt, Sharlene Frame, and her cousins, Josie Watts and Olivia Matthews. There was much for Sally to do without killing the character.

[tune_in_tomorrow]

I got interested in AW in '84/'85 because I really liked the cast and there was quite a bit of humor. I also thought MPK Sally and Catlin were a great romantic couple. My interest didn't last long because of cast defections, and the sudden turns in character personalities. I wasn't familiar with Sharon Gabet or EON but I liked Brittany at the beginning. She was clearly going to be an obstacle in the Sally/Catlin romance but her hearing impairment, a deceased son, and her friendship with Zane made her a sympathetic character which might have led to a complex triangle where the viewers' allegiances might be challenged. But Brittany underwent the personality change and nobody liked her. I think Peter Love's personality change was even more drastic and made less sense. By the time the Sin Stalker storyline came to an end less than 3 years later, I was done with the show.

[NothinButAttitude]

Thanks! You already know that I had to give my bae, Michael Parr, some love.

[Paul Raven]

Taylor Miller only signed on for a year with the promise that Sally would be miles apart from Nina on AMC bit that didn't happen so Miller left at the end of her contract.

I guess the idea of finding another Sally wasn't appealing and the show had new writers/producers with a new vision which didn't include the Matthews.

They probably had a fair idea the Thomas Ian Griffin would leave when his contract was up so decided to cut their losses and focus on other characters.

[slick jones]

Courtesy of a Zeta Board posted cast list from an old daytime magazine(thanx, Matt)(Who's Who in Daytime, # 6, 1975). Sybil Harak, an old society friend of Iris Carrington was portrayed by DeAnn Mears. Now if we could just find out who played the elusive Tic De Cosgrove that same year!

Edited March 16, 2015 by slick jones

[Khan]

Had Sharon Gabet been given a better (or at least better defined) character to play, I suspect she would have been a HUGE asset to AW.

I also agree that killing off Sally was a mistake in the long run. MBK might have been popular with fans, but as the casting for ATWT's Margo (and other roles) proved, viewers can warm up to a recast or replacement if he/she is strong enough.

[John]

Happy 93rd Birthday to Harding Lemay

Edited March 16, 2015 by John

[Melroser]

Even though I was young (12 in '85) I was a fan of Sally/Catlin with MPK. I was even excited when Sharon Gabet was coming onto my show. Though I never watched her on Edge, I was aware how popular she was and was glad for AW. Gabet and Thomas Ian Griffith had good chemistry and it was an intriguing story at first but then went off the rails.

I hated the darker turn that Peter took and the fact that Brittany was made to be his victim. I wish the show would have kept Peter more in character with the previous actors and written it as Donna looking her nose down at the "lesser" choice of a woman that her brother made. Watching Gabet play the underdog of sorts against the Love family snottiness could have been great...especially some scenes between Stuart and Gabet. They should have played up the wrong side of the tracks angle instead of making the character of Brittany such a victim. I always thought AW used to be good showing the different classes with its characters.

I was aware of Taylor Miller's popularity as well before coming to AW but I don't think she ever fit. As a popular character from a main family on the show she should not have been killed off. A brief rest and then bring in someone new may have worked. But I'm not sure who would have been available back then.

Edited March 16, 2015 by Melroser

[Soaplovers]

I can understand the recast of Sally not taking off but why not just have Sally leave town when Taylor Miller quit. Have Sally be tired of having the whole Brittany drama to contend with.. and just leave town. Then when THomas Ian Griffith left, had him go after Sally and reunite off screen.

I do think having Sharlene, Russ, and Iris returning in 1988 provided some great story that played out into the mid 90s. It's a shame that the show stopped having characters from the past come back when it warranted it.

WIth that said, I never understood why the show thought Vicky was the more interesting twin to focus on vs. Marley. Did the show ever really delve into how Marley truly felt about the fact that the woman she thought was her big sister was really her mother? To me, that should have given the show plenty of material to work with and made Marley more complex and seen as more then just the good twin. I do think the last year of the show kind of started to do that.. but I don't recall Marley being given that much attention beforehand other then the rape story and being put on trial for Jake's shooting.

[NothinButAttitude]

So did people have an issue with Peter going dark? Or was it the fact that he went too dark to the point of no return? I don't think that it would be farfetched for him to have shades of gray seeing as Reginald, though mustache twirling, had shades of grayness. So did Donna and Vicky at times.

Does anyone think that Peter was another character that could've had longevity? If so, how?

[Melroser]

With Donna and Vicky around until the end (and even Marley back before the end) I think that there was definitely a spot for Peter to be around. The way he treated Brittany was cruel and I think went too far. I can see him being strict with her and hating the fact she was carrying another man's child but with that said...why would he care so much if it were another man's child. Ditch her and move on.

Peter could have interacted with Sharlene, Iris, or even with Cecile during her returns as they had history. Peter should have been around during Marley's rape and should have been a support for her as she grew up thinking he was her older brother. She no longer really trusted her mom or Vicky because of Jake so it would have made sense for her to turn to someone else. There could have been a lot of potential story for him. I always hated that neither Peter nor Nicole were around for Donna's family.

[watson71]

Looking back at MPK's acting credits, she was in a string of series between 1987-1993. These included Duet/Open House from 1987-1990, Life Goes On from 1990-91, Baby Talk from 1991-92, and Camp Wilder from 1992-93. Had AW not killed the character of Sally, TPTB probably could have lured MPK back to AW at some point. Having a character like Sally on the canvas also could have probably helped AW from turning into the "Vicky Hudson Show" in the early 90s. MPK currently airs in ABC Family's Chasing Life. Edited March 16, 2015 by watson71

[NothinButAttitude]

Well I think that Nicole was done for after she was sacrificed for Frankie and she killed Jason. From what I've seen of Nicole, I didn't enjoy her that much anyways [Frankie neither but she was OK]. Cass only came alive for me when he was opposite Cecile or Lila. Cass always needed a woman with pizazz.

Back to Peter, now that you've mentioned it, I do think that he would've been a good sounding board for Marley during the rape saga. From what I've seen of Peter to, I've gotten Roger/John Dixon vibes from him. Maybe it was because John Hutton and Marcus Smythe had that dastardly look to them.

Does anyone think that Peter would've worked well with someone like Felicia? Or even Rachel in later years?

Edited March 17, 2015 by Nothin'ButAttitude

[tune_in_tomorrow]

The other thing I seem to remember about Peter is that the character changes coincided with actor changes. John Hutton as good Peter, Christopher Holder as cad Peter and Marcus Smythe as villainous Peter. I don't recall a gradual character change but had there been one, it might have made sense, especially once Reginald was introduced.