Anyone have the scoop on Linda Elstad, who wrote for Another World in the mid-80s? I remember Soap Opera Digest announcing in early 1984 that Elstad had been appointed head writer. Elstad previewed her plans a bit in Soap Opera Digest. I recall her saying that one of her big stories involved Donna Love who was going to cause a commotion by joining some kind of an all-men's club in Bay City. That story never materialized, and Elstad never became head writer.

Never heard this before. According to the IMDb, Elstad had extensive primetime credits writing for series like Eight is Enough, Quincy, Secret of Midland Heights, Fantasy Island, Fame, Dallas, One Day at a Time, Call to Glory, Facts of Life, and Falcon Crest.

I'd be interested to see her plans from Soap Opera Digest and to know why she never became headwriter of AW.

It was around February 1984 when SOD announced it. The story about Donna and the men's club was the only one I recall. According to the Another World Home Page, she wrote for the show from 1984 to 1985 during the Gary Tomlin/RIchard Culliton era.

Never heard this before. According to the IMDb, Elstad had extensive primetime credits writing for series like Eight is Enough, Quincy, Secret of Midland Heights, Fantasy Island, Fame, Dallas, One Day at a Time, Call to Glory, Facts of Life, and Falcon Crest.

I'd be interested to see her plans from Soap Opera Digest and to know why she never became headwriter of AW.

The men's club story sounds interesting and I have no doubt that Anna Stuart would have completely sold it.

Overall I didn't mind the sin stalker storyline but it would have helped if a.)the show knew who it was when it started and b.) they didn't drag out multiple attacks on the same victims (i.e. Nancy). Wasn't Donna attacked several times too? (Poor Donna....those serial killers seemed to love going after her. )

I forgot Tony was a suspect. I remember Chad was during the attack on Quinn. Wasn't Peter later shown standing over someone's dead body but then that was dropped like it never happened?

A good reminder at the start of this of just how popular AW was in Canada in these years.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XyiRS-vyU7U

I sent Carl the images of the autographed screen cap and note I received from the second Alice, Susan Harney. When the show was still on, I wrote to Nadine Stenovitch (Josie #3) and she sent me a Minnie Mouse valentine!! I remember thinking how sweet that was.

16 years ago today Another World aired its last episode on NBC. Below is AW's final scene. Wish we could have had more of these type of scenes and less Carolyn the gorilla in the last episode.

Agree with the above. The Cass/Lila wedding would have been okay for a sweeps "stunt" (although it was a bit too over the top for me) but having a show of 35 years go out on that note was very disappointing.

I understand that the show barely had any time to wrap so it probably wasn't their fault. It would have been nice for some returns like Jamie and Nancy maybe... at least.

If this wedding had already been written before the cancellation notice I wish they would have re-written it and made it more of a "straight" wedding than a comedy farce. They should have taken out the whole Gorilla part. Cass and Felicia could have been stranded still somehow on the way (making them late) while sharing memories of other crazy times together over the years. I would have preferred they extended Paulina going around to the wedding guests letting them talk to the camera that she was using to record memories for Cass and Lila. Would have been a great opportunity for more flashbacks with "remember that time when....".

They could have cut out Cindy all around since it didn't really fit that she'd be at Cass and Lila's wedding and I would have left off Grant's reveal at the end.

Edited June 25, 201510 yr by Melroser

Agree with the above. The Cass/Lila wedding would have been okay for a sweeps "stunt" (although it was a bit too over the top for me) but having a show of 35 years go out on that note was very disappointing.

I understand that the show barely had any time to wrap so it probably wasn't their fault. It would have been nice for some returns like Jamie and Nancy maybe... at least.

If this wedding had already been written before the cancellation notice I wish they would have re-written it and made it more of a "straight" wedding than a comedy farce. They should have taken out the whole Gorilla part. Cass and Felicia could have been stranded still somehow on the way (making them late) while sharing memories of other crazy times together over the years. I would have preferred they extended Paulina going around to the wedding guests letting them talk to the camera that she was using to record memories for Cass and Lila. Would have been a great opportunity for more flashbacks with "remember that time when....".

They could have cut out Cindy all around since it didn't really fit that she'd be at Cass and Lila's wedding and I would have left off Grant's reveal at the end.

You make some great points. I understood the reason why the included the Carolyn the gorilla caper. I just would not have included it in the last episode. It could have been done in earlier episodes. Carolyn the gorilla was one of the first capers that Felicia had with Wallingford. The gorilla was named after longtime AW writer Carolyn Culliton, and the zookeeper, Sam Radcliffe, was named after another longtime AW writer that had passed away a few years earlier.

They made a point of letting the audience know that Grant was alive and well in Tanquir. The audience would have gone crazy if it was revealed that Grant was plotting against the citizens of Bay City along with the former Queen of Tanquir, Cecile (Nancy Frangione) and Iris (Beverlee McKinsey) in a short scene. The three could have toasted to their revenge.

The best parts of the episode were when the cast said something nice about Cass and Lila, yet they were veiled good-byes to the audience, and the last scene with Carl and Rachel was great ending with Mac toasting the audience one last time.

I will say that AW only had 6 weeks from its cancellation to film its last episode. Its last episode was head and shoulders above the endings of All My Children- a character firing a gun into a crowded room and One Life to Live- with its Todd/not Todd reveal. I understand why they chose the cliffhanger ending because of their supposed continuation, but there was little closure and familiarity with this type of ending.

The worst ending to a show had to be the final ending of As the World Turns. The show was cancelled in December and had to September of the next year when it aired its final episode. If TPTB knew that Helen Wagner was sick, they should have pre-taped an ending keeping the character of Nancy alive so she could have been in the final scene of the series with a dedication to her memory at the end of the episode. They hastily produced a funeral episode for Nancy- a disgrace for a character that was on the show since its first episode. There were no flashbacks, no pictures of past cast members, and Eileen Fulton, the person who brought ATWT its major success, was treated like a day player/under 5 in that last episode. How did it end- with Dr. Bob retiring and a cheap plastic globe spinning on a desk. Given the time and notice they had to wrap the series- it was a major fail.

Edited June 25, 201510 yr by watson71

Love Is a Many Splendored Thing had the best final episode of any cancelled soap opera or serial, in my opinion.

Watson71, you hit the nail right on the head, I couldn't have said all that better than you just did.

Carl, thanks for posting my AW autograph success stories (and all of them, really). I hope everyone enjoys them as much as I do.

Edited June 25, 201510 yr by amybrickwallace

100000000% agree about the ATWT finale. A disgrace.

Anyway, Sharon Gabet has put up a video that has clips of her three daytime roles. I don't know if all of this is available.

That is so great. Sharon's the best, she really is. In today's mail, I had my latest autograph success - this time with Judith Barcroft, the first Lenore. I'll get the image off to Carl soon.