Another World Discussion Thread

[SFK]

Carl you mind reader you, I was totally going to mention that but decided not to weaken my argument with it. I dodn't see this story, I just know it from the screencaps at AWHP, Iris at the podium/fainting/screaming whatever. I still have yet to see Carole Shelley's iris, though the other night I caught her on YouTube in scenes with Palmer and Cynthia on AMC, HamiltonBernique's channel.

[Y&RWorldTurner]

Bev would've made it work. Lord knows she sold the hell out of a lot of the corporate jargon on GL as Alexandra.

I think a lot of people tend to dismiss just how differently Bev portrayed Iris and Alex. While there were some similarities between the characters (namely the daddy issues and being filthy rich), they were quite different and I see a clear distinction from the way she approached both characters. She could make A LOT of different stuff work.

Edited October 23, 2010 by Y&RWorldTurner

[DRW50]

I think Beverlee could make anything work, I just mean would this have been true to her interpretation of the character. I don't think she ever commented on how Iris was written on the character's return under Carmen Duncan, but I think some of it might have made her pause.

Edited October 23, 2010 by CarlD2

[DRW50]

Jake and Paulina in their honeymoon suite. I think the scene where Paulina yelled at Jake about what he'd cost her was written as serious but it comes across as kind of hilarious. I'm not sure if the actors intended that or not. Paulina knocking one of his suspenders off, the way she growls/barks "Come here!", the slap. Jake looks very hot when he's in the suspenders and undershirt.

Marley catching the bouquet, talk about bad luck. She was never married after that.

This is also the first episode with Dennis (since 1981 or something). Was he hitting on his aunt? Geez. Chris Bruno is so wooden. He's gorgeous (I still remember the soap magazine photo where he was shirtless, or in his underwear), but such a wooden actor, and really, not a lot better when he went to AMC.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-9_iQnE1ag&list=SL&feature=BF

[teplin]

[quote name=CarlD2' date='23 October 2010 - 05:07 PM' timestamp='1287868053' post='892027]

I think Beverlee could make anything work, I just mean would this have been true to her interpretation of the character. I don't think she ever commented on how Iris was written on the character's return under Carmen Duncan, but I think some of it might have made her pause.

I think 90% of what Carmen Duncan's Iris did in her stint was out of character for Beverlee McKinsey's Iris. (One reason it was easy for me to treat them as different characters entirely.) The daddy fixation and emnity for Rachel remained, but little else. McKinsey's Iris was a lady of leisure, and she reveled in it, Duncan's Iris was a businesswoman. I could maybe see McKinsey's Iris secretly backing a Kirk Laverty-type character in his quest to take over Cory -- "for daddy's own good -- but no way would she take such an active role.

[DRW50]

From the October 20, 1987 Digest. Poor Peter Love, such a misused character. I actually kind of liked this last actor. They never should have brought Reginald Love in. I guess he brought a ratings boost but every story he was in made my skin crawl, and what he did to the Love family was mass character destruction.

[Cat]

I don't know any of the history of the Love family. What happened? I assumed Donna's daddy didn't want her with the stable boy and sent him away then did something with one of the twins (Vicky) that Donna gave birth to. But that is supposition.

OK, so I've skipped ahead a teeny bit -- I'm in April 1992. Though I would actively counsel Carl to watch all of autumn 1991 if he can as I found it good. It was just January and February I had a problem with as there was a lot of Vicky and Grant and, like I said, Mark Pinter's Grant skeeves me the f*ck out. Also I am not 100% enamoured of the Harrisons and they have tended to dominate the odd week here and there. However, there was a ball (on Feb 14th, I think -- a date burned on every soap writer's brain back in the day) and Paulina and Vicky have THE most awesome catfight. Sigh. So much soapy fun.

Swajewski is playing the Jake-Paulina SL so damn well. The marriage, the romantic sparring, the fall-out. Every beat is played and she is taking her sweet time because she knows the audience (well, me) is hooked to this burgeoning love story. I have embedded the 4/14/1992 episode here, but I just want you guys to watch the first 1 minute 47 of the episode. Because it oozes longing and gives me goosebumps. At one point he brushes his nose against her ear and it's like, DAMN. Soaps just do not invest in details like that anymore.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=An74nmHFS4I

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=An74nmHFS4I

Oh, and they're shooting another music video, with Jenna (in TLC knee-pads) dancing in a barn. It has to be seen to be believed.

Edited October 26, 2010 by Cat

[DRW50]

Basically Reginald Love was a control freak and he dominated his family and caused his wife's death, or was speculated on as doing such. When he found out about Michael and Donna, he lied to Michael and bribed him to leave town. Donna was pregnant. She gave birth to twins but she was out of it during labor, so he gave one twin, Vicky, to the family maid, Bridget, and paid her to leave town. Donna was forced to raise Marley as her sister. Peter was intimidated by his father but was more of his own man after his father died. Nicole was a little girl so she didn't have as many memories of Reginald.

Reginald wasn't actually dead, he faked his death and went away with Mary McKinnon after she got amnesia (she was involved with him but was going to leave him for her husband, but then she hit her head or something and didn't know who she was).

Reginald came back in 1986 and began drugging Donna and driving her to a mental breakdown...he was supposed to show her a photo of three babies (Scott LaSalle, Mary and Reginald's "son", was supposed to be Vicky and Marley's brother), but when Anna Stuart quit, Philece Sampler was too young to be mother to Scott, so they changed it and instead the photo was of John holding the baby twins, and Donna knew he might have been the father, as he'd raped her while she was with Michael. (Sadly like a lot of AW at this time the rape was written in a very misogynist manner).

Reginald made Peter his flunky, and that really knocked any wind out of Peter's sails as a character. I think he also had issues with Nicole, as she started to remember something about her mother's death, but I'm not sure now. Anne Howard played the mother in flashbacks.

Reginald was killed in a fight with Michael on a roof, after Donna miscarried Michael's baby while fleeing from Reginald.

I hated Reginald. I thought John Considine was a ham and the entire family, save Vicky, were written as simpering, pathetic victims. It sucks because if you see early Donna, she is so much more fun than that.

[Cat]

Wow. Glad I missed that! At least Carl Hutchins had a sense of humor.

And poor Donna. I just adore Anna Stuart and her version of Donna as this ultra-feminine society diva. She could have played her as a complete Alexis-style bitch but there is something kind and innocent about her, too. She can be spoiled but never evil and vicious.

I should check out Philece Sampler's Donna.

[DRW50]

Philece's Donna was more of a victim (and also cold and whiny) until her last year, when she was more of a meddler and social climber, and she had the story where she and Michael adopted Mikey. This was after DePriest/Whitesell were gone or going. She was also backburnered for a lot of this time. Probably I most enjoyed Philece when she was dealing with Michael's mother, or as she called her, "Mother Hudson." One time Donna snapped at her and the woman keeled over! Hilarious.

I love Anna's Donna as well. As nasty as she can sometimes be, you never forget her vulnerability. One of the last episodes I watched before taking a bit of a break was when she tried to tell Marley it was OK if she didn't have a biological child and Marley was very cold and told her that it was OK for her because she gave her babies up. Donna was clearly so shattered, she was shaking. It was tough to watch but reminded you of how fragile Donna is. It's just too bad so many of AW's brass did not understand this character and at times seemed to outright loathe her.

Reginald had a sense of humor too but he was just so hammy and so diabolical. They tried to show some vulnerability, mostly through his obsession with Mary, but I felt like he was a mark-down Stefano, or Victor Kiriakis.

It doesn't help that I was not fond of the writing on AW at this time. I think AW's cast is what often kept it from going under. While I think the ratings did increase at this time, and the show probably needed the refocusing after so much turnover in 1985 and 1986, the stories on AW for a lot of the Reginald era were so vile towards women. I was especially offended by MJ's story. The Sin Stalker story also sounds awful but then I have never seen it, only read about it.

Edited October 26, 2010 by CarlD2

[quartermainefan]

I used to be friendly with Paul. He is a very nice guy, saintly almost with the most even temperament you could find. It is impossible to make him angry and if you do he will seethe for a split second, focus, and then realize it is poor form to yell and return to being the always agreeable diplomat that he is and try to reach consensus.

Last I heard he lives now somewhere south of NY (one of those states not sure which). He ran into a lot of bad choices in the mid 90s and his own personal demons stuck with him well into the 00s. Last I heard he is ok now, married and I believe has kids. He was never bitter about not being the soap star anymore and knew you had to be 25 or get lost for the most part. He stuck around NY into the 00s with a theater troupe doing workshops and plays and acting lessons.

[DRW50]

That's great to hear. It's a shame he didn't get to stay on AW but at least he's happy.

[Cat]

That is great to hear about PMV. I'm sorry he had such a tough time after he left the show, but I'm glad he's married with a family and, hopefully, doing something he truly loves.

As a person, I certainly never heard/read a bad word said against him by his co-stars.

[shadow]

I thought Philece was horrible as Donna, and def didnt pass as Marley and Vicky's Mother, more like a sister. Annas Stuart is and always was Donna Love!!!

I hated the Reginald Love era, it seemed like they were trying to duplictae Days and make the Love's like the DiMera's

[Soaplovers]

Do you think Philece might have worked better as Nicole? I know Nicole came and went several times during the 80's then never mentioned again. How was she received in each of her stints?