Another World, January 6th 1989

The engagement party from Hell (kinda)

Let's begin, shall we?

The episode started with the juicy revelation that Vicky may not be carrying precious little Jamie's spawn, but her sister's husband's! My husband exclaimed - "I knew this! That's why the other one can't have children. I hate her! She is this show's Brooke!" to which I replied - "Come on now, she is not as bad as Brooke. Vicky is an angel compared to the plague that swept through Beverly Hills. "

In Felicia's home we had the all so annoying Donna Hudson, who I pray to God soon loses her husband... ambushing Felicia with her equally obnoxious daughter's fake wedding party who she wants to be held at Tops. Gallant of course declines, but Donna doesn't take "No" for an answer and reminds Felicia that Vicky owns the building! You can guess what happened next. 

Then at the door appeared the woman that is plotting at least 10 lives to ruin - Iris Wheeler, still unhappy, still full of hatred for normal people, still unloved by her only child! Iris revealed to Felicia the picture above the article, based on her life. Parallel to this, we saw a hand  holding a medallion containing a similar picture of Felicia when she was young and comparing it with the picture in the magazine.  

Evan offered Jason Frame a new contract so that he gets off Iris's back. Jason is milking the "Chief" thing till he can. And we also had Sharlene and John in somewhat of an awkward situation. John expressed hesitance in wanting to pursue the relationship with her. I saw that coming! But I'm rooting for them. They are the only two people that I want to see happy on this show! 

So the time for that wicked engagement party came and everyone was acting like they are happy (deep down knowing this is a complete circus) and long and behold, just as Jamie was trying to think of something to say that would sound a bit truthful (because we all know he doesn't love Vicky)... a classic soap opera moment - Lisa came through the door of the restaurant and he saw her. Vicky did too. Freeze Frame. The end.

Overall - 10/10!!!!!!!!!

Favorite moment - not the final, but watching Iris make faces behind Felicia's back. Carmen Duncan is one hell of an actress. It is so hard to follow BM, but she is doing a wonderful job. My husband loves her too.

"Hey why don't you send Michael to Tops!" 😂

 

 

2 hours ago, vetsoapfan said:

There were four actors who played Julie's first husband, Scott Banning: Robert Carraway (briefly), followed by the excellent Mike Farrell, then Robert Hogan, and finally Ryan MacDonald.

Carraway was first, but didn't last long. He wasn't terribly interesting. Mike Farrell was great: affable, warm, a truly endearing presence. Hogan was a solid actor and good in the role, but I had trouble accepting him after Farrell, who played the kind of decent and supportive husband Julie needed--even if she didn't know it at the time. Ryan MacDonald was okay, and the hunkiest of the lot. He made a splash appearing in Playgirl in the early 1970s, and was the final actor to play Scott when the character was killed off in 1973.

Interesting.  Thanks for the information.  

I remember Farrell and Hogan, and I think I kind of remember MacDonald (now that I see some pics online).  But knew nothing of the first actor to portray Scott.  

51 minutes ago, Franko said:

Ah, gotcha. I'll wait until the conclusion, then.

Thank you a million!

33 minutes ago, Contessa Donatella said:

Jake & Vicky went through times when they were lovers & times when they were best friends & I'm not going to continue because I don't want to spoil future them for you. But, they came to Bay City together as partners in a plot to get revenge on Marley for having this privileged life Victoria was denied. Of course, Marley grew up thinking she was Donna's younger sister, not daughter, so Jake & Vicky didn't know what all they didn't know!!!! If you tell someone about the future it's a spoiler. If you tell someone about the past, which is what I just did, does it have a name? I guess it's recapping. 

Woof thank you too for all this context and backstory! I'll be lost without you guys! ❤️

Iris eyeing her prey Michael on the other end of the table. 

❤️

On 1/8/2025 at 1:11 PM, chrisml said:

One of  the biggest mistakes was how AW never took advantage of Denise Alexander's Mary. Thy failed to tie her into stories, and they wrote off characters (Cheryl, MJ, Scott) and left her isolated. She was such a likeable and enjoyable presence. I wanted more of her. I could take or leave Vince, but Mary I really liked. She had such chemistry with Hank Cheyne and it's so annoying they never capitalised on it to further the mother/son bond.

I've often felt like AW used Denise Alexander the way GH had used her before deciding to give Lesley a strong backstory with Laura.  She was so popular on DAYS, but the other shows never understood that that doesn't mean diddly to their audiences if you don't give her a character to play.

On 1/8/2025 at 3:54 PM, chrisml said:

I think the problem started with Reginald. They should have made you understand why Mary was in love with Reginald so that there was a legitimate triangle. Vince was such a sadsack and they gave up on Mary/Reginald to focus on Reginald terrorizing Donna. Mary should never have been saddled with Vince. The battle for Mary's affections should have gone on longer and it should have involved the children. It could have also brought the Loves and the McKinnons into conflict. Instead, they threw away all of that. Introducing Dawn into the Cheryl/Scott relationship was another mistake.

The whole story (both what had happened years before, and what played out on screen) with Mary, Reginald and Vince was so convoluted.  I honestly don't know how AW fans survived through all of it, lol.

This is the Studio City fire last night & Tom Eplin lost his house in it. You can see him in the news video, briefly.

https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/california-wildfires/studio-city-home-fire/3599235/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAAR1w2LOvtY-XwT_PRlGTR8y33-ijuoJ2vS3OENoVTNRX3NyU73vOdXHmdDA_aem_QiK9JxIeRt3i4pRfJF8Kcw

Just now, Contessa Donatella said:

This is the Studio City fire last night & Tom Eplin lost his house in it. You can see him in the news video, briefly.

https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/california-wildfires/studio-city-home-fire/3599235/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAAR1w2LOvtY-XwT_PRlGTR8y33-ijuoJ2vS3OENoVTNRX3NyU73vOdXHmdDA_aem_QiK9JxIeRt3i4pRfJF8Kcw

Oh no! No!!! 

8 minutes ago, Maxim said:

Oh no! No!!! 

Yeah, sick over it. Poor Tom. 

47 minutes ago, Maxim said:

Oh no! No!!! 

I saw this on the news, but I never would've recognized him if it had not been pointed out.

That's a heartbreaker. 

6 hours ago, Maxim said:

Oh I didn't know that. Now everything makes sense. Thank you for telling me. ❤️

They were children together (offscreen) and have a long history. 

2 hours ago, j swift said:

I saw this on the news, but I never would've recognized him if it had not been pointed out.

But knowing to watch for him I recognized him. I hope that he and everyone affected remain safe.

Does anyone know what Tom Eplin has been doing for the last 20 years or so since leaving ATWT?

I know that he married a third time & they had 2 daughters together before they divorced. Also DAYS had a short-term role for him at one point but scheduling it did not work out.

11 hours ago, Maxim said:

Another World, January 6th 1989

The engagement party from Hell (kinda)

Let's begin, shall we?

The episode started with the juicy revelation that Vicky may not be carrying precious little Jamie's spawn, but her sister's husband's! My husband exclaimed - "I knew this! That's why the other one can't have children. I hate her! She is this show's Brooke!" to which I replied - "Come on now, she is not as bad as Brooke. Vicky is an angel compared to the plague that swept through Beverly Hills. "

In Felicia's home we had the all so annoying Donna Hudson, who I pray to God soon loses her husband... ambushing Felicia with her equally obnoxious daughter's fake wedding party who she wants to be held at Tops. Gallant of course declines, but Donna doesn't take "No" for an answer and reminds Felicia that Vicky owns the building! You can guess what happened next. 

Then at the door appeared the woman that is plotting at least 10 lives to ruin - Iris Wheeler, still unhappy, still full of hatred for normal people, still unloved by her only child! Iris revealed to Felicia the picture above the article, based on her life. Parallel to this, we saw a hand  holding a medallion containing a similar picture of Felicia when she was young and comparing it with the picture in the magazine.  

Evan offered Jason Frame a new contract so that he gets off Iris's back. Jason is milking the "Chief" thing till he can. And we also had Sharlene and John in somewhat of an awkward situation. John expressed hesitance in wanting to pursue the relationship with her. I saw that coming! But I'm rooting for them. They are the only two people that I want to see happy on this show! 

So the time for that wicked engagement party came and everyone was acting like they are happy (deep down knowing this is a complete circus) and long and behold, just as Jamie was trying to think of something to say that would sound a bit truthful (because we all know he doesn't love Vicky)... a classic soap opera moment - Lisa came through the door of the restaurant and he saw her. Vicky did too. Freeze Frame. The end.

Overall - 10/10!!!!!!!!!

Favorite moment - not the final, but watching Iris make faces behind Felicia's back. Carmen Duncan is one hell of an actress. It is so hard to follow BM, but she is doing a wonderful job. My husband loves her too.

"Hey why don't you send Michael to Tops!" 😂

 

 

So nice to see Felicia! And, another lovely day in the city by the bay. Thanks for sharing your journey with us!!

6 hours ago, Contessa Donatella said:

I know that he married a third time & they had 2 daughters together before they divorced. Also DAYS had a short-term role for him at one point but scheduling it did not work out.

Wasn't there talk of him playing Sonny's relative (maybe brother) on GH, back in the early 2000s?  I think that was reported in a couple of soap magazines.  That would have been interesting casting.  Although I've always preferred less Sonny and more doctors on GH.  

6 hours ago, Paul Raven said:

Does anyone know what Tom Eplin has been doing for the last 20 years or so since leaving ATWT?

I don't know what he has been up to, but now the fans finally have some footage of what he looks like these days. Many folks have been curious about that for years.  Remember that photo that makes the rounds every year or so?  A guy that is clearly not Tom Eplin, but somehow got labeled as Tom online years ago?  So now there is a verifiable image of him in 2025.  Although the context is tragic.

Edited January 10Jan 10 by Mona Kane Croft