My first tv memories are of the special 60-minute wedding episode with the crane shot from the roof of Steve's house (that Robert Delany had designed) to the backyard wedding with Alice being upstaged by Iris's organza hat. 

 

I went back to AW during the 25th anniversary and watched until Sally died.  I now admire the intricacy of the Jason Frame murder and how it intersected with Iris's return.  It was worthy of lasting as long as it did.  Watching it now, I also note that use of pop music in soaps that got repeated as themes for different stories.  GL's mirror maze murder with Rita & Roger and AW's with Jason & Felicia were both really helped by the use of pop songs from the era that got repeated in flashbacks.

17 hours ago, amybrickwallace said:

IIRC, Thanksgiving 1989 was very emotional as it was the first holiday without Mac (and Doug Watson). Rachel ended up doing the toast in his stead.

 

Thanksgiving 1988 was also a great episode.   This was Mac's last Thanksgiving  with his famous "I am grateful for the sheer munificence of life..." speech.   This episode ends with a montage set to Louis Armstrong's "What a Wonderful World."  Almost the entire cast was shown in this episode as well.

 

 

9 hours ago, amybrickwallace said:

I imagine Mac was a father/grandfather figure for certain members of the audience. There was also no doubt how universally beloved Doug Watson was by cast and crew alike. The show had to go on, but his passing left a hole that was never filled for its remaining decade on the air.

 

I agree that the absence of Mac left a void that was sorely missing in the last decade of the show.  This was especially evident during those Christmas episodes when Douglass Watson would break the 4th wall and offer a toast to the audience each Christmas.  No one on the show could do that the way that he did.

 

I've often wondered how the writers planned to eventually reunite Mac and Iris had Mac lived.   Clearly, the characters of Paulina and Ken Jordan probably would not have been introduced during the Red Swan story.   Also,  I wonder if the character of Carl would have returned to the show and been redeemed.

On 11/25/2017 at 4:26 AM, j swift said:

My first tv memories are of the special 60-minute wedding episode with the crane shot from the roof of Steve's house (that Robert Delany had designed) to the backyard wedding with Alice being upstaged by Iris's organza hat. 

 

I went back to AW during the 25th anniversary and watched until Sally died.  I now admire the intricacy of the Jason Frame murder and how it intersected with Iris's return.  It was worthy of lasting as long as it did.  Watching it now, I also note that use of pop music in soaps that got repeated as themes for different stories.  GL's mirror maze murder with Rita & Roger and AW's with Jason & Felicia were both really helped by the use of pop songs from the era that got repeated in flashbacks.

The sad theme during the 25th anniversary with Brigette and Vickey and again Evan at Janice's grave and Nicole with Donna is the same music used when Tania died on GH and Duke as well.  It is the music used from Terms of Endearment when Debra Winger died.  AW also used on Golden Pond music when Mac died

On Saturday, November 25, 2017 at 4:44 AM, watson71 said:

No one on the show could do that the way that he did.

 

Exactly...he was to AW what Macdonald Carey was to DAYS and James Pritchett was to The Doctors. They were the patriarchs. No one could ever replace them.

 

@EddieAWHP posted a bunch of treasures on YT. There is more audio there for us to enjoy. Go take a listen. 

Just now, Nothin'ButAttitude said:

 

@EddieAWHP posted a bunch of treasures on YT. There is more audio there for us to enjoy. Go take a listen. 

 

 

Ooooooh, thanks for the heads up!! @EddieAWHP, you rock!!! 😎😊

@EddieAWHP is this one that you have shared with people or had in your collection? I can't remember 100% if I've seen it before as this time period had the same scene so many, many, many times, but I feel like I haven't seen a lot of this before (like Tracy on the talk show). It was uploaded by Bill Boggs, who played the talk show host. 

 

This seems to be mid-late July 1980, but I can't guess a closer date. 

 

 

Edited December 4, 20178 yr by DRW50

Have you all ever done a YouTube rewatch and realized you don't remember most of what occurred? LOL

 

If you follow my posts, you know I'm in 1989 right now (I watched the show originally from '87-'95ish) - just finished Jason Frame murder. Here are things I just have no memory of:

Cafe Paradise (I *do* have vague memories of that set but not that it was an establishment run by Ada)

The chef at Cafe Paradise (who is, apparently, involved with Ava)

Derek/Abagail/Franny's preacher father - a MAJOR factor in the Who Killed Jason Frame Storyline

Reuben - seriously, no memory

Evan turning out to be Janice's son

Iris and Michael having a past affair (does that get dropped and not mentioned ever again?)

 

Seriously - how did I watch this show at not remember what are clearly very important details?? 

 

Anyone else have a rewatch and found yourself in a state of soap opera amnesia?

11 hours ago, adrnyc said:

Anyone else have a rewatch and found yourself in a state of soap opera amnesia?

 

Totally!!

23 hours ago, adrnyc said:

Have you all ever done a YouTube rewatch and realized you don't remember most of what occurred? LOL

 

If you follow my posts, you know I'm in 1989 right now (I watched the show originally from '87-'95ish) - just finished Jason Frame murder. Here are things I just have no memory of:

Cafe Paradise (I *do* have vague memories of that set but not that it was an establishment run by Ada)

The chef at Cafe Paradise (who is, apparently, involved with Ava)

Derek/Abagail/Franny's preacher father - a MAJOR factor in the Who Killed Jason Frame Storyline

Reuben - seriously, no memory

Evan turning out to be Janice's son

Iris and Michael having a past affair (does that get dropped and not mentioned ever again?)

 

Seriously - how did I watch this show at not remember what are clearly very important details?? 

 

Anyone else have a rewatch and found yourself in a state of soap opera amnesia?

 

In regards to Michael/iris...it doesn't get mentioned..but Donna and Iris never become friends again.  They don't cat fight but they bicker whenever they cross paths and once in awhile Iris would bring up being with Michael...but they never have michael/iris really interact much.

On 12/7/2017 at 10:17 AM, adrnyc said:

Have you all ever done a YouTube rewatch and realized you don't remember most of what occurred? LOL

 

If you follow my posts, you know I'm in 1989 right now (I watched the show originally from '87-'95ish) - just finished Jason Frame murder. Here are things I just have no memory of:

Cafe Paradise (I *do* have vague memories of that set but not that it was an establishment run by Ada)

The chef at Cafe Paradise (who is, apparently, involved with Ava)

Derek/Abagail/Franny's preacher father - a MAJOR factor in the Who Killed Jason Frame Storyline

Reuben - seriously, no memory

Evan turning out to be Janice's son

Iris and Michael having a past affair (does that get dropped and not mentioned ever again?)

 

Seriously - how did I watch this show at not remember what are clearly very important details?? 

 

Anyone else have a rewatch and found yourself in a state of soap opera amnesia?

I remember only because 1989 was a year to watch.  Marys burned down and Ada opened Paradise but thought it sucked.  Sid Sugarman was Adas date but disappeared like nothing.  So Stupid..  I forgot most of the Abigail stuff since there were so many episodes and I was in school but remember watching Jason Frame killed live.  If you watched 1989 originally then you had to know Evan was Janice Frames son.  Small glimpses of Michael and Iris but thought it was bad write but if you look at Harding Lemays intro of Iris in Oct 88 you can clearly see the body language of Iris and Michael.  I can see that now, not then

I wonder just how much of 1989 had to be rewritten due to the passing of Doug Watson. Had he lived and been healthy enough to continue as Mac, who knows how much would have been different?

18 hours ago, amybrickwallace said:

I wonder just how much of 1989 had to be rewritten due to the passing of Doug Watson. Had he lived and been healthy enough to continue as Mac, who knows how much would have been different?

 

I suspect that the Red Swan mystery and Ken Jordan and Paulina would have never  played out had Doug Watson lived.  A connection to Lucas might have been made in the backstory via Cory Publishing that could have put Mac/Rachel in some kind of danger like what happened to Michael Hudson with Arianne and "The Club."  Iris would have interfered in the situation putting herself back in Mac's good graces by saving either him or Rachel.  Going forward, Iris and Rachel would continue to be at odds since Iris couldn't be trusted.

Also, I wonder if Carl would have been redeemed. Rachel would have obviously stayed with Mac. I wonder if he would have been the go-to villain for the remainder of the show's run or if he would have been redeemed through other means.

11 hours ago, amybrickwallace said:

Also, I wonder if Carl would have been redeemed. Rachel would have obviously stayed with Mac. I wonder if he would have been the go-to villain for the remainder of the show's run or if he would have been redeemed through other means.

 

Carl probably would have been re-introduced as a villain, and he could have been redeemed by being paired with Felicia after Lucas' death or with Donna after Michael left Bay City.

 

it would have been interesting to see what would have happened to the characters of Mac and Ada had Doug Watson and Constance Ford lived until the series end.  JFP eliminated both Barbara Berjer (Bridget) and David Hedison (Spencer) from the cast in 1995-96.  Would she have been bold enough to eliminate the characters of Mac and Ada too?