Another World

[Mona Kane Croft]

 

When Iris returned to AW in 1988, she was always referred to as Iris Wheeler.  And at that point, Vivienne called her Mrs Wheeler.   Occasionally, Iris might refer to herself as Iris Cory -- but that was only to make a point that she was Mac Cory's daughter.   I don't recall anyone else calling her that.  

[Xanthe]

 

One of the first things Iris did was to go over to see Michael and Donna and arrange to buy their apartment from them. She introduced herself to Donna [then played by Philece Sampler] as Mrs Alex Wheeler and Donna promptly identified her as Mac's daughter Iris and gushed about how she knew her by reputation. I found myself trying to imagine how Anna Stuart would have played that scene instead. It seemed a little strange that Iris and Donna would not have been supposed to have known each other in the past (even though of course they never interacted onscreen since Texas spun off before the Love family was introduced) in Bay City -- I would have loved it if Donna had mentioned Brian Bancroft to Iris for example.

[j swift]

 

I recall Donna's condo, but it made me wonder if they lived in the same building as TOPS?  Was that the Love Towers where Reginald met his untimely demise off of the roof top balcony?

 

Also, is memory failing me or wasn't this all contemporaneous with the return of Jason Frame because Iris's suspected motive at the time of his murder was that Jason was blackmailing her with knowledge that she was The Chief?  That being said, I have no memory what her motive was as a suspect in Jake McKinnon's shooting. It was a sign of times that Beverly/Iris was never arrested, but Carmen/Iris was a suspect in three different gun related crimes.

 

Your point about Donna and Iris not knowing each other is valid given that Rachel was presumed to have known Donna for years because they were neighbors.  However, I guess it could be argued that Mac bought the Cory mansion right before his marriage to Rachel, so Iris did not live in that house, and thus had no chance to run into Donna at the mailbox or local grocery store (can you imagine Iris collecting the mail?). On the other hand, it was later established the Dennis was a similar age to Marley & Vicky, so it stands to reason that Dennis and Jamie would have met Marley in school before she left for her European boarding school (but now I am veering into the realm of fan fiction). 

 

I also agree with your main hypothesis that the de-Sorasing of Donna, through the casting of Ms Sampler, did the character no favors, and Donna lost a lot of her agency in the process.  It is amusing that Donna acquired a southern lilt at the same time that Iris got her Aussie accent without much of an explanation in either case. 

Edited September 10, 2020 by j swift

[Forever8]

Didn't Iris pay Jake to dig up proof to prove Paulina wasn't Mac's daughter at the same time she was trying to get Rachel's trust after The Chief debacle? And Jake was going to tell Rachel about what he had to do for Iris too? 

[Xanthe]

 

Beverlee's Iris was in fact arrested for shooting Kirk Laverty in 1979. 

[AbcNbc247]

Yeah, something about him having a strained relationship with his Dad and he started taking drugs. His sister also had a crush on Matt.  But they all disappeared once the strike ended.

Yeah. 

[Franko]

According to the AWHP:

• Donna, November 1987 - June 1999 (Michael, Vicky, Matthew) [Bayview Towers]
• Iris II, October 1988 - May 1995, remodeled in winter 1995 (Evan) [Bayview Towers]

• Felicia, January 1987 - June 1999, remodeled on June 8, 1989 (Mitch, Lucas, Jenna) [Love Tower]
• Grant, summer 1990 - June 1999, remodeled in November 1998 (Spencer) [Referred to as a hotel suite. Love Tower]

[DRW50]

I never can remember the right times but for some reason I thought Kevin and his sister arrived before the strike. 

 

The main strike story I remember, beyond that dumb ghost filler, was that strange story with "Chris," the construction worker John slept with and she accused him of sexual harassment, then they found out she had lost her husband and son in Vietnam, and she kidnapped Donna and Michael's adopted son Mikey. The casting for Chris was especially odd to me - she seemed so spiky and butch.

 

I don't know if it was strike people or Lemay who brought in the two borders at Sharlene's house, but they quickly disappeared. 

 

One was played by Michael Louden, who was quickly snapped up by ATWT as Duke. 

 

(oddly ATWT also had a dubious strike story about Vietnam, when Lien was held hostage by a Vietnamese man, or something)

[j swift]

I always find it amusing in soaps when the snobbiest characters in town have a longer rap sheet than those they look down upon.

 

That makes sense, although does that mean that Iris didn't buy Donna's condo? Also interesting to note that there was a Bayview Tower and a Bayview Court (Bay City's version of Peachtree Street/Road in Atlanta or Beverly Blvd/Drive in Los Angeles).

Edited September 10, 2020 by j swift

[Mona Kane Croft]

 

That's correct.  Iris did not buy Donna's condo.  Iris's apartment was a new set that had never been used before.  I remember, it had a private elevator that opened directly into her foyer.  At least at the beginning.  The elevator  may have been changed to a door later in the show.  

[Soaplovers]

Yeah, Jason Frame was bought on during Depriests tenure.  He had ties to Reginald and Mary..while he had some creepy scenes with Nicole.  Once Depriest left and the strike started...the Jason/Mary..and Jason/Nicole stuff were dropped. 

 

Having Nicole be the killer of Jason was a good choice given the weird vibe/interest he had in her in his early days.

 

Do you think had Mac not passed..that Iris and Rachel would have been stuck in the hamster wheel of competing for Mac's attention?  His death actually evolved their relationship..and freed both Rachel and Iris to go in different directions..imho

[Mona Kane Croft]

 

You're right, but that's not the way is was in the old days.  When Lemay was writing Iris, she initiated terrible things, but she never got her hands dirty.  She hired people to do her dirty work, and usually it couldn't be traced back to her.   The idea of genteel Iris waking around town toting a gun to shoot Carl, Jake, or anybody else was completely out of character for her.   Donna should have been written the same way -- instigating dirty deeds, but keeping her hands clean.  But how many times was Donna arrested (or threatened with arrest) over the years? Too many to count.   That is lazy writing, in my opinion.   

 

 

 

So it was Depriest who created a new Frame sibling out of the blue!  And Depriest who miraculously moved the Frame Farm from Chadwell, Oklahoma to Bay City!   Depriest was capable of good writing on occasion, but those two moves were northing but idiocy.   My opiinion only.   

Edited September 10, 2020 by Neil Johnson

[j swift]

One tends to think there are also economic issues at play for production.  By that time there was less money for supporting characters like talk-to's and hit men, so the leading ladies were called upon to do things for themselves.

[Mona Kane Croft]

 

Perhaps. Not to mention, hiring a lackey takes extra scenes and extends the plot for an extra week or so.  Sometimes TPTB are in such a hurry to tell a story, they eliminate details.  What they don't realize is, those details are what helps define character, and are the very things that attract fans to soap operas.  A soap opera is a LOT more than plot.   

[AbcNbc247]

It's a very good opinion lol I remember in an episode Jason even referred to it as Emma's farm. Plus we then had to believe that there was another Frame sibling in town around the same time as Steve, which we all know was not true.

 

Goes to show you what happens when writers don't do their homework. AWHP says there was another Frame sibling named Norman who never appeared on the show. He could have easily been Jason instead of just creating another random Frame.

Edited September 10, 2020 by AbcNbc247