Another World Discussion Thread

[Efulton]

Yea Emma’s farm all of  the sudden being in Bay City was really a ridiculous rewrite.  I remember reading an interview with Chris Robinson where he said the show wanted him to resurrect a Frame brother (I assume it was Willis) but he wanted to create a new character so that is how he became Jason.  I haven’t been able to find that interview though. 

[AbcNbc247]

All the more he could have played Norman Frame.

[Mona Kane Croft]

 

Yes, there have been rumors for years, that Robinson was originally hired to play Willis, but he would only sign his contract if he played a new character.  

 

And then years later, Dean Frame arrived in Bay City and was said to be the son of YET ANOTHER Frame sibling.  I forget Dean's father's name, but he was never seen on camera.  He (along with Jason) was not a part of Lemay's original list of Frames.  

[AbcNbc247]

Dean's father name was Henry. I never got why they had to create another Frame sibling. Dean could have easily been Jason's son or even Willis' or Vince's.

[denzo30]

Yes, I think I commented recently on this as to this in another conversation.  Robinson called in his contract to play a sibling that was never cast before.  Why he would care, I have no idea but as noted, why not come back as Norman since he was mentioned (I think that was a write from Harding Lemay in the early 70's) but he himself never mentioed the character again in his writing.  I do recall hearing Robinson was supposed to be cast as Willis Frame. 

 

Did they ever really say that Henry Frame was a sibling?  Dean was always mentioned as a cousin but never specified he was Steves brother.  

 

I remember when they bought in the Frame farm into the show and thought the same thing that there was never farm from past history and they all grew up in Chadwell.  Sharlene was talkng about when they were kids going apple picking in the tree house out back.  By time Sharlene arrived back to the show, I think they stopped talking about the farm being Emma's and that it was the family farm they grew up on.  

 

Not sure if it is poor writing history or just reinventing stuff based on what the writers want

Iris never lived in Australia.  She lived in London.  Tomatoe, tomato, I guess all the same.  I am not even sure if her living there was any explanation why she now had an accent but if anyone noticed,  Carol Shelley who played the role of Iris for 3 months was also born in England.  Maybe she had a more clever idea of disguing her accent and Bev McKinsey herself had a very distintive accent. She is from the south but I would not call her voice a Southern accent.  

 

Regarding their naming, the ending credits from the 80's when Duncan took over the role always showed her name as Iris Carrington Wheeler.  Why include the Carrington part since that was 3 husbands ago.  Dennis's name was called and noted in ending credits in 89 for anniversary show as Dennis Carrington.  A few years later when the new actor came on to play the role (not a good recast at all) he was now known as Dennis Wheeler.  Again, its all what the writers want to change

[denzo30]

I am pretty sure Lemay was writing up until the middle of November.  Iris's return around October 26th or so.  He even talked about Duncan in interviews and sounded to me like he was disappointed the casting her in the role of Iris. His words were I had no part of the decision on hiring the actress.  

[pdm1974]

I thought Iris injected some energy into the show when she first appeared. Later, the writer's seemed unable to write compelling stories for her. Lemay would have probably done a much better job writing for the character even if he wasn't thrilled with the casting.

 

I also noticed when Lemay returned Rachel got a bit of her edge back again. She had some great confrontation scenes with Sharlene and referred to the Frame family with a "You people" with disgust in her voice. But that edge also was lost once DS took over writing. After that, Rachel never really had a big story until she was paired with Carl.

[Mona Kane Croft]

 

I agree, we saw a lot of the "old Rachel" when Lemay returned.  He's really the only writer who understood why and how much she had really reformed.  All the other writers just played her as a heroine.   Lemay never forget she had been a bad-girl who caused a lot of pain for people in her past.   

Edited September 10, 2020 by Neil Johnson

[allmc2008]

When did the "The Chief" story start and who did it? Was it actually Lemay?

[Mona Kane Croft]

 

The storyline began during the writers strike.  So nobody really knows who wrote it.  As I said in an earlier post, Lemay had submitted his long-term storyline projections before the strike began, which was really just a vague outline of the plots and characters he planned to write.  So it is likely the Bennett Publishing storyline was part of his plan, and the scab writers decided they would use it.  If my speculation is true, the scab writers would have written all the details and scripts.  For example, I think it is likely the scab writers came up with the nickname "the chief", because that sort of cliche doesn't sound like something Lemay would create. Also, Mac's being arrested for murder likely was not Lemay's idea.  But the basic plot of the attempted take-over may have originated in Lemay's plan.  And of course, we know Iris's return was Lemay's plan. 

Edited September 11, 2020 by Neil Johnson

[chrisml]

I've said it before, but Carmen Duncan was sensational during the "Chief" storyline, and she should have won an Emmy. Duncan never got the acclaim or attention she deserved. I hate the way they destroyed her character by the end of her run. It's just another example of the AW brass not realising the talent they had. 

[Mona Kane Croft]

 

I thought Duncan was a very good recast too.  I just wish she had used an American accent.  I really can't think of another actress who would have done as well with the role, other than McKenzie herself.  I think it helped that Duncan was relatively unknown in the US, so the audience didn't view her with memories of other roles she had played.   She played Iris as manipulative and fragile, as did McKenzie.  Many actresses would have had difficulty with that combination.    

[j swift]

As I recall when Frankie Frame was introduced it was established that Emma (her mother) lived in Oklahoma.  Which begs the question why she was known as Frankie Frame, when her parents were Ordways?  Obviously, the writer's logic was that it helped viewers remember her familial relationship, but it made no actual sense that she would be known by her mother's maiden name.

 

I think the problem with Iris's longevity was that she became an island onto herself.  Her raison d'etre became preserving her father's wishes and that becomes repetitive as a character ages.   Without a viable Dennis, or a long term husband, she lacked a family base for plotlines.  Between Lucas and Michael, Iris was the eternal third wheel in every love triangle.  As a result, she became an honorary Harrison, or an adjunct Cory, but she had no family to care for and no business to create story.  As we saw with Felicia, if Iris had stayed in Bay City, it was only a matter of time before long lost children came out of the woodwork.  There was also that mid-90's foray into soap realism that made bitchy divas seem obsolete.  Personally, I hated that period of soapdom when money no longer motivated characters, everyone was only interested in finding eternal love, and the social issue of the moment was the focus of every plot.  I prefer over the top villains and ladies who wore hats to the office.  

 

Going back to the retcon of Iris's adoption, (and the loss of Lemay's original story proposals), I wonder if the plan was for Iris to be red herring, or create reasonable doubt, for Amanda if she ever became a murder suspect because they shared the same genes and DNA evidence was a big news topic around that time. 

Edited September 11, 2020 by j swift

[SFK]

 

Yes, Iris mentioned quite a few times that her apartment was being built. The layout was very reminiscent i.e., nabbed from Alexis' on Dynasty. Iris also had a huge portrait of herself and Mac over the mantle. I wonder if Beverlee McKinsey kept the infamous portrait of Iris from the seventies.

[Mona Kane Croft]

 

Frankie's history (not just her last name) was entirely screwed up.  By the time Frankie showed up in Bay City, they were no longer saying Sharlene's farm was the original Frame farm.  Now, Emma's farm was back in Oklahoma (it's original location), and Frankie was from there.  However a year or so later, Frankie took Cass to her high school reunion, and the high school was just outside of Bay City.  No mention of Oklahoma that night.  Then a few years later, Emma visits Frankie -- coming in from Oklahoma. LORD help us!  Frankie had the most convoluted history of any character on the show.  Except maybe Mary McKinnon, but I won't open that can of worms.  LOL.   

 

Regarding Iris's retcon -- since we know it was written by Lemay, I'm confident he didn't do it for any reason connected to a future murder accusation, because Lemay openly hated characters being accused of murder and avoided writing that type of thing.  It's possible Iris's adoption was retconned for a reason as simple as the executive producer forced Lemay to do it.   I'm not saying that's what happened, but it could have been something as simple as that, and done with no real intent at all.   

Edited September 11, 2020 by Neil Johnson