Another World

[Contessa Donatella]

Christopher Schemering's Soap Opera Encyclopedia is not a memoir, not an autobiography, not a collection of essays & not given to opinion & is held up by many as an example of what good soap opera scholarship can & should be. 

[j swift]

All that aside, it was a great bit of multigenerational storytelling to set up the circumstance where Matthew would romance the daughter of Russ and Sharlene.  I agree that they didn't need to bastardize history to get there, but on balance, that's a classic soap Romeo & Juliet-type entanglement. 

And, it re-focused Rachel as the lead matriarch. (once again, please excuse my obsessive need for optimism)

BTW, did anyone else read this very insightful post by our host Errol?

 

Edited December 4, 2023 by j swift

[TEdgeofNight]

Christopher Schemering’s book had many many errors in it, related to AW. Just because it’s in a book doesn’t make it true. Research. 

[Mona Kane Croft]

I completely agree, it was wonderful multigenerational material refocusing the show on the Corys, the Matthews, and the Frames.  And as you said, it finally established Rachel as the show's new matriarch, which AW really had not had since Mary Matthews.  This era also finally established the Corys are the core family, with Matthew as an adolescent, Amanda as a young adult, Jamie as an established professional, and trouble-making Iris on her way back.  Others may think the Corys had been the core family since years earlier, but I don't agree.  It's just my opinion though.  And as you alluded, the only fly in the ointment of this era was the Frame farm mess.

[Contessa Donatella]

If you are aware of errors, you should list them. Sharing this information is important. 

I don't understand. Rachel was the lead matriarch, no question. 

[j swift]

Upon reflection, the missed opportunity of this period was not fleshing out the characters and motivations of Matthew and Amanda a bit more.  I like that Matthew became a sculptor, which was probably inspired by real life.  But, I miss a focus on character progression when we get to hear about the ramifications of growing up in a household with lots of emotional strife and marital stress.  It felt as if when Matt and Amanda were SORASed they became immune to the troubles of the past, with the obvious exception of Mitch, but even that was a minor blip that was quickly resolved. 

Matt and Amanda's lovers could've easily believed that their childhoods were idyllic and not filled with kidnapping, their Mom going to jail, and a crazy housekeeper terrorizing their sister-in-law Blaine.  They both experienced much more trauma than just the loss of their father.

Edited December 5, 2023 by j swift

[China Jones]

I don't remember if I knew it at the time, but watching some clips of AW on YouTube made me realize that Sam Fowler was Mitch Blake's half-brother. So, Amanda was married to her half-brother's uncle, making little Ali Mitch's niece as well as Matt's niece. I swear, the family relationships on these soap operas were pretty messed up!

BTW, how was the Mitch blip resolved?

 

[j swift]

The brief version is that Matthew grew up thinking that Mac was his father.  Then, in 1986 Mitch returns and fights with Rachel and Mac about seeing Matthew.  Finally, he sees Matthew.  Matthew wants to hang out with Mitch, then he learns the circumstances of his conception, and he briefly rejects Rachel.  Then by the end of the year, Mitch saves Mac from a fire and Matthew is sent off to boarding school.  In 1988, he's SORASed to a teen, falls for Josie, yadda yadda yadda.  He and Mitch share some scenes when Mathew gets kicked out of boarding school, but nothing memorable.  Cut to 1990, Mitch leaves Bay City and Matthew never talks to him again. 

So, calling it a blip may have been hyperbolic, but it wasn't a lasting issue between Matthew and Rachel.  And Mitch coercing Rachel to have sex in order to save Mac in St. Croix was only dealt with by the pre-SORASed Matthew, and then never discussed by teen Matt aka Captain Cool.

But, I could be wrong and someone will correct me if I am...

Edited December 5, 2023 by j swift

[China Jones]

Okay, so this rejection of Rachel is not the same as the time Matt rejected both Rachel and Mitch after he learned that Rachel was responsible for the death of Janice Frame? I saw a clip on YouTube where Matt had moved out of the Cory mansion and in with his big brother Dr. Jamie Frame. There was a touching scene where Mac urged Matt to come to terms with the situation and reunite with his mother.

LOL, after I typed the name Frame twice, I realized that Rachel killed her son's aunt! Another example of those messed up family relationships.

[Mona Kane Croft]

Don't forget the issue between Matt and Mitch after Matt Crane assumed the role.  This was while Harding Lemay was head writer in 1988. Some of the Frames were back in town, and they blamed Rachel for Janice's death in 1979.  Matt already knew that Mitch was his father, but he didn't know the circumstances or that Mitch had conspired with Janice to poison Mac before Janice's drowning.  Some how Matt convinced Liz Matthews to tell him the entire story, which surprised and angered him.  When Rachel and Mac found out, they both completely disowned Liz, and Liz was estranged from the Cory family for a few months.  Matt rejected Mitch (yet again) and turned to Josie with his confusion and hurt.  So that is certainly one more chapter in the Matt/Mitch saga.  

By the way, if my memory is correct -- this is the first and only time in the show's history when Mac actually turned away from Liz and rejected her.  The scene in which he does this is rather gut-wrenching.  Douglass Watson plays it like his heart is breaking, rejecting his old friend and kicking her out of his home.  Irene Daily plays the hell out of the scene as well.   

Edited December 5, 2023 by Mona Kane Croft

[j swift]

How about this? Amanda slept with Janice Frames' son and Matt slept with Sharlene Frames' daughter, so both siblings were entangled with their half brother's first cousins.

To be fair, there were a lot of Frame siblings (7?), so in a small town like Bay City, you were bound to sleep with one of them, or their kids.

Edited December 5, 2023 by j swift

[Contessa Donatella]

It is like that in Salem & I believe also in Oakdale. Complicated family trees seems to be endemic to long-running serials. 

[j swift]

True, there was a continuation of the effect of the history of his conception in 1988.

However, my point was that I am critical of the lack of consistency with the character of Matthew.  I can almost forgive Jamie's shift from coke addicted author to upstanding doctor because he was SORASed so early in life, and the change occurred while he was off-screen.  But, after his affair with Donna, Matthew vacillated between being a nice guy to a bit of a jerk with Sofia and Lila.  There was a lack of depth, so it was hard to conceptualize the source of his motives.   Sometimes he was a ponytail wearing artist and other times he was a driven entrepreneur.   However, it would be difficult to define the character of Matt.

Amanda was wishy-washy, but there was a consistent rationale in most of her stories where she was trying to establish an identity out of the shadows of the Cory family. 

[China Jones]

All this talk about messy family trees leads me to another topic: why must everybody in soap land be blood kin? It seems like every time new character is added, the writers find a way to make him or her part of a core family. Why can't people just have good friends like old college roommates, sorority sisters, or former co-workers with whom they remain close?

I know this is the AW thread, but the way this family messiness gets even messier was exemplified on GL. I wasn't watching at the time, but I've long read about Reva finding a long-lost son. This discovery wasn't made until after the young man had gotten romantically involved with her niece. Did the writers make him Reva's son before or after he started dating his cousin?

 

[Contessa Donatella]

Now, I liked Matt with Lila. Can you remind me of some ways in which he treated her poorly?

And, isn't it a hoot that today Baby Jasmine would be 24 or 25?!! Born in an elevator Oct. 22, 1999. 

Now Jami was one of my favorite couples! Jonathan was Reva's son from when she was a Princess on St. Cristobal. Reva/Katherine gave him to Olivia when he was born & his aunt Olivia placed him with a family which turned out to be far from ideal. The father Albert was a monster & Jon grew up with both physical & emotional abuse. His birth put the succession to the throne in question so he had to be hidden. Tammy was Reva's sister Cassie's daughter. I honestly don't remember who knew what when Tammy & Jon first became attracted to each other. Early on there was a question was Sandy (this other boy) or Jon, Reva's long lost son. By the time they were serious they knew they were first cousins & so did the whole town. Didn't keep me from rooting for them. When Tammy died Tom Pelphrey who played Jon did amazing Emmy caliber acting. Their romance is very well covered on YouTube. Oh, yeah, fellow AW fans, sorry about this being off-topic. 

Edited December 5, 2023 by Donna L. Bridges
just a few more words