5 minutes ago, watson71 said:

 

Lemay's last episode was in mid-November, however I don't think Swajeski's episodes started airing until late-November or early-December.   Maybe the writers worked from an outline that had already been written by Lemay.  It has always been stated, but never proven, that Swajeski borrowed heavily from a long term bible that Lemay had written for the show.  If  this is the case, it would be interesting to read it to see how much Swajeski borrowed from it.  The Red Swan mystery was clearly a Swajeski storyline since no one could have predicted the sudden passing of Douglass Watson.

 

And Lemay would never have concocted such a stupid storyline to surround the death of a beloved character.  

 

6 hours ago, Neil Johnson said:

 

Are you suggesting Another World in the late '80s was better than As the World Turns in the late '80s?  Oh my,  you and I definitely have different taste in soaps.  LOL.  Although those things are often just a matter of taste, I think the ratings do say something about the quality of the two shows during that period. 

 

ATWT was in a bit of a slog in the late '80s, so I'm not sure that's the hill to die on for Marland's writing, but I think the main point was that Marland probably wouldn't have been a good fit for AW, which I would agree with. 

 

While I would say Marland's ATWT was better than AW for much of his run as headwriter, ratings don't really equal quality, even if I wish they did. 

Edited November 30, 20196 yr by DRW50

9 minutes ago, watson71 said:

 

Lemay's last episode was in mid-November, however I don't think Swajeski's episodes started airing until late-November or early-December.   Maybe the writers worked from an outline that had already been written by Lemay.  It has always been stated, but never proven, that Swajeski borrowed heavily from a long term bible that Lemay had written for the show.  If  this is the case, it would be interesting to read it to see how much Swajeski borrowed from it.  The Red Swan mystery was clearly a Swajeski storyline since no one could have predicted the sudden passing of Douglass Watson.

 

I forget to mention -- I read near the time of Mac's death, that Swajeski had conceived the Red Swan mystery before she officially took over as head-writer, and had planned to use it as a major storyline.  But when Doug Watson died, she decided to tweak the details in order to incorporate Mac's demise into the plot.  I think Mac's passing should have been handled in a more straight-forward and believable manner, in reverence to both the character and the actor.  

10 hours ago, Neil Johnson said:

 

I forget to mention -- I read near the time of Mac's death, that Swajeski had conceived the Red Swan mystery before she officially took over as head-writer, and had planned to use it as a major storyline.  But when Doug Watson died, she decided to tweak the details in order to incorporate Mac's demise into the plot.  I think Mac's passing should have been handled in a more straight-forward and believable manner, in reverence to both the character and the actor.  

 

If DW/Mac had lived, I wonder how they would have reunited Mac and Iris?  I suspect that something would have happened where Iris  helped save either Rachel or Amanda from some kind of peril and Mac would have been greatful.

12 hours ago, watson71 said:

 

Lemay's last episode was in mid-November, however I don't think Swajeski's episodes started airing until late-November or early-December.   Maybe the writers worked from an outline that had already been written by Lemay.  It has always been stated, but never proven, that Swajeski borrowed heavily from a long term bible that Lemay had written for the show.  If  this is the case, it would be interesting to read it to see how much Swajeski borrowed from it.  The Red Swan mystery was clearly a Swajeski storyline since no one could have predicted the sudden passing of Douglass Watson.

The Youtube November 1988 credits show that for about three weeks the writers listed were (Barbara Hagstrom, Chris Whitesell, Michael Zazlow and Susan Hufford (breakdowns) and Carolyn Culliton, Peggy Schibi, Roger, Newman, Fran Newman, David Cherrill (script writers). I think Swajeski's shows started in early December just before snowflake ball.  Speaking of Donna, here's a link to an article about where Donna is now:  http://www.delawaretoday.com/Delaware-Today/February-2018/Meet-the-Grand-Dame-of-Delaware-Avenue/

13 hours ago, Neil Johnson said:

 

I forget to mention -- I read near the time of Mac's death, that Swajeski had conceived the Red Swan mystery before she officially took over as head-writer, and had planned to use it as a major storyline.  But when Doug Watson died, she decided to tweak the details in order to incorporate Mac's demise into the plot.  I think Mac's passing should have been handled in a more straight-forward and believable manner, in reverence to both the character and the actor.  

I forgot....but what was the resolution to the red swan plot? What was the mystery behind it?

10 minutes ago, pdm1974 said:

I forgot....but what was the resolution to the red swan plot? What was the mystery behind it?

 

I belive there were papers located inside the Red Swan that stated that Paulina was Mac's long lost daughter.

About the only thing I love about Donna Swajeski is her name.

 

In a way, I'm glad Mac and Iris never resolved their issues.  Iris was always seeking Mac's love.  To have him pass away before he had the chance to forgive her, leaving her with the belief that her daddy died not loving her anymore, gave Iris a sort of dramatic engine for the rest of her time on the show.

 

Now, what I DO hate is that AW "died" with Iris still tucked away in prison.  IDK whether Beverlee McKinsey would have been able or willing to return at the end for a cameo, but it might have been nice to see her or even Carmen Duncan back and Iris making tentative amends with Carl and Rachel.

2 hours ago, watson71 said:

 

I belive there were papers located inside the Red Swan that stated that Paulina was Mac's long lost daughter.

I just remember the red swam story dragging on forever, but then the writer's were probably scrambling after Mac's death.

3 hours ago, Khan said:

About the only thing I love about Donna Swajeski is her name.

 

In a way, I'm glad Mac and Iris never resolved their issues.  Iris was always seeking Mac's love.  To have him pass away before he had the chance to forgive her, leaving her with the belief that her daddy died not loving her anymore, gave Iris a sort of dramatic engine for the rest of her time on the show.

 

Now, what I DO hate is that AW "died" with Iris still tucked away in prison.  IDK whether Beverlee McKinsey would have been able or willing to return at the end for a cameo, but it might have been nice to see her or even Carmen Duncan back and Iris making tentative amends with Carl and Rachel.

Rumour has it that Chris Goutman wanted Beverlee McKinsey to appear in the last episode / scene but Proctor and Gamble squashed it because they were still pissed off about how she left Guiding Light.

1 hour ago, Efulton said:

Rumour has it that Chris Goutman wanted Beverlee McKinsey to appear in the last episode / scene but Proctor and Gamble squashed it because they were still pissed off about how she left Guiding Light.

 

If that's true, then that's the pettiest petty that ever pettied.  FFS, PGP, it was the last episode.  It wasn't as if Beverlee would be back to stay.  What difference would it have made!?  Jeez, lol!

59 minutes ago, Khan said:

 

If that's true, then that's the pettiest petty that ever pettied.  FFS, PGP, it was the last episode.  It wasn't as if Beverlee would be back to stay.  What difference would it have made!?  Jeez, lol!

Yea my thoughts exactly. 

On 11/29/2019 at 2:42 PM, Neil Johnson said:

 

Are you suggesting Another World in the late '80s was better than As the World Turns in the late '80s?  Oh my,  you and I definitely have different taste in soaps.  LOL.  Although those things are often just a matter of taste, I think the ratings do say something about the quality of the two shows during that period. 

 

No..AW in late 80s and ATWT in late 80s were too different to compare.  GL in late 80s was better than both of them:)

5 hours ago, Efulton said:

Rumour has it that Chris Goutman wanted Beverlee McKinsey to appear in the last episode / scene but Proctor and Gamble squashed it because they were still pissed off about how she left Guiding Light.

 

They should have had Iris and Cecile in the scene with Grant in Tanquir in the last episode plotting their revenge against all the people in Bay City who wronged them.   Definitely would have been fun to briefly see them together.

23 minutes ago, watson71 said:

 

They should have had Iris and Cecile in the scene with Grant in Tanquir in the last episode plotting their revenge against all the people in Bay City who wronged them.   Definitely would have been fun to briefly see them together.

That would have been great!!

The last year was so hard to watch. I feel like they were trying to get back on track, but the previous attempt to make the show much more like DAYS flopped badly. AW was never DAYS nor should it have been.