Another World Discussion Thread

[chrisml]

I totally forgot about the way John was introduced. Ugh. I must have blanked it out as it was my least favorite soap trope. 

The whole Mary saga is so annoying because I so enjoy watching Denise Alexander on the episodes I've rewatched, but it's obvious they didn't have a game plan.  She has chemistry with everyone she interacts with on the show so why write off her family, Reginald, and Scott?  Along the same lines, I wish Sharon Gabet had gone to another soap or they had written for her talents. Her character makes no sense to me when I've watched episodes from her tenure. She seems to have a different personality every episode.

Losing Nancy was so odd to me. I have no idea why they didn't recast if Jane Cameron could not be lured back. I could see Judi Evans as Nancy. 

The John/Felicia affair was such a mess, and didn't even make sense within the writing. I'm glad it won Anna Holbrook an Emmy, but yeesh was it not well thought out. Speaking of Sharlene and John, I actually wish the Taylor portion of the Sharlene/John story had lasted longer. I found Andreas and the character so intriguing. 

Contessa, it's not letting me quote you. I think Timmins was the superior Paulina, and the Jake/Paulina story with Evans was so icky to me. As for the Red Swan, I thought it was an incredible waste of time when it could have been done so much better. That seems to be a common refrain of mine with these magic wand wishes. 

[Contessa Donatella]

Well, we already threw Jill out, so this wouldn't have happened! 

Gosh, I wonder what's up. 

I was always Team Jake/Paulina! (Vicky/Ryan) Joe? Who really cares? 

Hated it so much I cannot imagine that it could have been "good". 

What would I have done? 

Found some way to tempt Mary Page Kellar to stay. Not have killed Sally. 

Not have fired Charles Keating. 

No babies for Rachel & Carl. 

Had the Cory kids stop fighting Rachel over Carl. 

Moved Loretta to Bay City.

Not fired Barbara Berger.

I can't think of anything else. OH! No Egyptian dust story!

Jamie remained a writer.

Now, I'm serious. I can't think of who the Lawrences were!

And, Paul, Me, too, abt Ben McKinnon, what a waste of a good character. Philece would have made a fine permanent Nicole. Larry Lau would have been better as a Dennis. Having Rachel's other half-sister Pammy, yes, love that idea. Maisie as half a tentpole couple would have been fine. Also I would have always had Clarice. And, Larry with her, okay. 

 

Edited April 13, 2024 by Contessa Donatella
Paul posted

[Xanthe]

I think they thought Amanda was taking up that space and Nancy would be superfluous, especially after Paulina was introduced. But I think there could have been room for Nancy as well if Amanda had had a properly defined character. 

I also wish that Sandy had showed up at some point. It would have made sense after Mac's death and people fighting for control of Cory -- and given his history with Carl.

Mary was successful in spite of the writing and in my Reginald-free version Denise Alexander could have been just as good as a different character. Brittany was not successful IMO and she dragged Catlin down with her. There were probably other options for Sharon Gabet that would have been infinitely better. 

Reuben who was friends with Josie (introduced as Mary's social work client Pilara's possibly abusive boyfriend; they accidentally burned down Mary's Place IIRC). Ronnie a nurse and nightclub singer who dated Zack Edwards. And a younger brother whose name I forget who was a good student.

[Contessa Donatella]

Thank you & bless you. Certainly I remember both Reuben & Ronnie & I would swear they were not named Lawrence!!! Argh. 

[Efulton]

The younger brother was Jesse played by Dondre T Whitfield. Dondre went on to some success at All My Children. 

[Paul Raven]

OK My 2 cent about mid 80's AW

-Commit to the Love and McKinnon families. Bring back Ben to mix it up with Marley/Vicky/Jake. No hooker story for MJ. No Cheryl.

- Kathleen not killed off,simply breaks up with Cass offscreen. He returns alone and later a recast Kathleen or Julie Osburn returns,

- A better telling of the Reg/Mary story, if at all.

-Philece Sampler as Nicole,not Donna

- Strengthen the Corys. Laurence Lau as Dennis. Try to get Bekins back as Jamie, a writer. Bring on Pam, Rachel's half sister. Nancy comes back.

- Have  the Matthews have some presence. Liz ,her grandson Ricky, Mike Randolph, Russ w/a daughter.

-Keep Zane around for longer before the inevitable death.

-No Mitch/Felicia. Maybe Mitch/Pam?

-Keep Maisie and have her marry Vince as a  new tentpole couple.

-Build a family around Quinn by having Thom return, divorced. Have quinnget involved with a divorced/widowed father of teen kids.

No need for Paulina, Cali Timmons and Judi Evans could be other characters.

[DRW50]

It does feel like Judi's Paulina replaced Nancy - even Nancy could have played out most of the Paulina/Jake romance that Judi played.

Jane Cameron makes Nancy a very spiky, unique character compared to what is on the page. This is something most of the ingenues on AW did not have after her. I can imagine her having some real clashes with Anne Heche's Vicky.

Edited April 13, 2024 by DRW50

[Contessa Donatella]

Loved him on both shows!!!

Mona, where are you? 

Edited April 13, 2024 by Contessa Donatella
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[j swift]

As I recall from our reading of the contemporaneous SOD, they really messed with Judi Evans.

She had moved back to the East Coast after her very successful role on DAYS.  NBC wanted to keep her at the network.  However, there were also rumblings of casting meetings at ABC (no mention in the stories about a return to GL).  NBC was quoted as saying that they were creating a new and interesting character for her, and weeks before, the AW producer praised Cali Timmons for her acting during the “Who Shot Jake?” reveal.  Then, they just fired Cali and put Judi in the role (and the Legere bandage dress).

Edited April 13, 2024 by j swift

[Xanthe]

Thanks! The name just wasn't coming to me. I see he was listed in the AWHP Minor Characters and was on for about 1 year (1989). The Lawrences also had a mother, Esther, played by Sandra Reaves Philips who apparently passed away in December.  

[Soaplovers]

At first, when Sandra F came on as Amanda.... Depriest did seem to make an effort to provide some layers to the character of Amanda.  She had Amanda/Rachel have mother/daughter conflict with Amanda not wanting to do the traditional things all girls with money did which drove Rachel a bit crazy because that was all she had wanted for herself and wanted to provide for her daughter.

And I think Amanda wanting to develop her identity beyond being a Cory was promising... as well as her relationship with the more working/middle class Sam helped with that.  I think the 1988 writer strike really kind of derailed that characterization of Amanda.. and she never really had much direction as a character.   I think Sandra F's take as Amanda was probably best and infused her character with some sort of spark/character.. which got lost with the two other recasts.

 

Reason I thought Judi Evans would have made a good Nancy was because her version of Paulina eventually evolved into a more Ada-like character.   Fiesty, fighting tooth and nail for her family.. worked at the Italian restaurant.. was the advice giver, and down to earth.

Edited April 13, 2024 by Soaplovers

[Xanthe]

To each their own but Sandra Ferguson's Amanda never really worked for me. Somewhere between the writing and the performance the threads for a potentially interesting character were lost. I feel like there were several scenes where Julie Anne was required to provide a lot of exposition explaining Amanda's motivations that simply had not been shown to us otherwise. 

Amanda did have some good scenes with Rachel and with Mac but I felt that they didn't do enough to build up her interests beyond Sam so she didn't have enough to fall back after she and Sam got married. It's too bad Amanda and Julie Anne were not part of a larger group of friends which could have helped to broaden their interactions. 

 

[Mona Kane Croft]

Hi ya, Contessa.  I'm flattered at your request that I put in my two-cents regarding this particular conversation.  But I really think I've said it all before, and anything I type will just be a repeat of stuff I've posted over and over.   And I do realize I have a tendency to repeat things, so I'll sit this one out.  But again, thanks...

Edited April 13, 2024 by Mona Kane Croft

[j swift]

I would propose that there are two big story issues with Amanda that limited her potential as a character.

1. She was saddled with a child way too early.  Vicky was still young when she had Stephen, but she had  Bridget to excuse her from constant child care.  Amanda always seemed to be burdened with Alli, and she missed out on years of young adult stories because of that plot point.  It felt like making her young wife and mother was an attempt to diminish her status, and that never sat well with me.
2. Her early motivation to be independent and to eschew the privileges of wealth always felt insincere because it seemed like she did all of that for Sam.  We never really got to see Amanda act like the princess of Bay City.  Probably because the times indicated that class driven stories were not in fashion.  But there are so many missed opportunities to contrast her privilege with that of Vicky, Paulina or Nancy. Sam often referenced her being spoiled, but we never actually saw her complain about not living in the mansion or having lots of possessions.  So, she was punished for a past that we never witnessed.

[Efulton]

Great ideas Paul!