Another World

[vetsoapfan]

 

Mac and Iris were together in the hospital on the day of the big reveal. As soon as he started crowing with joy about Amanda, Iris started jumped in, demanding to know what Mac was talking about. That shocked him  out of his euphoria, and he then told her that she was not his biological daughter, but that he had always loved her just the same. Iris fell apart and ran off, sobbing in the elevator.

 

Dave Gilchrist arrived in Bay City in the fall of 1974. You're right: he never did much. His most memorable scene, to me, was when he went to Alice's house with Russ to tell her that Steve had died. She fainted dead away, and Dave and Russ carried up upstairs (and off-screen), where we heard her utter a guttural scream. 

 

The first 90-minute episode of AW was in March of 1979. Lemay was replaced as headwriter in May of that year by Tom King.

 

I don't recall Mike Bauer crossing back over to TGL while he was on AW, either. When the character left TGL and went over to AW, I was happy to see he was still being played by Gary Pillar, whom I had liked. After Mike moved away from Bay City in 1967, I don't think we saw him back on TGL again until Don Stewart took over the role in 1968.

 

 

Lemay acknowledged he was burned out, and was being heavily pressured by TPTB to write more melodramatic "stunt" stories in which he had no interest. Although I felt his material had weakened over the last few years, the writing of AW really collapsed upon his departure.

[j swift]

You're correct - I mixed up when Therese asked Mac to stand by Iris (I guess she didn't mention standing by Rachel as well)

 

NOVEMBER 15 -19, 1976
Therese begged Mac and Keith to always stand by Iris.

NOVEMBER 22 - 26, 1976
Therese died peacefully in Iris' garden. Mac left Rachel and was seduced by an eager Gwen

 

and then a few years later...

 

AUGUST 14 - 18, 1978
Mac returned to Bay City in time for the birth of his daughter. In honor of Mac's mother, Rachel named the baby Amanda. Mac confessed to a horrified Iris that she's not his biological daughter. Iris flipped and left town.

 

DECEMBER 4 - 8, 1978
Janice Frame returned and went to work for Willis.

 

However, I stand by my point that the initial impact of Iris finding out she was adopted set into motion a series of events that culminated in the Janice Frame saga.  Iris would probably not have aligned with Kirk (who wanted to take over Cory) if she hadn't found her biological mother Sylvie.  Mac's vulnerability at the office caused him to lean on Janice  That led to her poisoning him, St. Croix, Mitch, and the birth of Matthew.

 

I tend to admire stories that seamlessly merge into one another, rather than plots that appear out of thin air, and I would contend that the Iris adoption reveal was a key element in the evolution of that story.  It was the backdrop that motivated Iris for the next two years, it effected her relationships with Brian and Philip (who cleverly also played a part in Janice's story because he suggested the book to Mac that contained the origin of Janice's scheme) and arguably set the stage for her exit to Texas.

 

While I agree that the later retcon seemed unnecessary, we don't know how Iris's paternity would have effected her future relationship with an adult Amanda if Mac had survived beyond the anniversary party.

 

 

Edited April 22, 2021 by j swift

[zanereed]

 

Robert Pickering played Mike Bauer for a few months in 1968 when the character returned to Springfield, but by November or December of that same year Stewart took over. I don't recall if Pickering left or if the show decided to recast?

[vetsoapfan]

 

Thank you for the clarification. I had completely erased Pickering from my memory bank, LOL. Kind of like Margaret Impert's version of Rachel on AW!

[OzFrog]

 

Holy s**t. That would have been crazy for soap viewers at the time!

 

 

 

OMG YES! As someone who is also autistic, it’s so awesome to see someone like Kim Rhodes talk about her experiences of being on the spectrum (there is still so much misunderstanding in society about what the autism spectrum is, and only now are we starting to have the necessary conversations around it).

[AbcNbc247]

Imagine how hard it must've been to keep up with everything.

 

And, although it wasn't competing in the same time slot, it was also the same day that Don and Marlena got married on Days.

[j swift]

Was Iris's marriage to Brian her longest on screen marriage during her first run on AW?

[Mona Kane Croft]

 

Yes, it was probably Iris's longest on screen marriage during both runs on the show.  We don't know how long she was married to Elliot Carrington, but most of that marriage took place off screen before the characters were introduced.   

[Chris 2]

How many times have we seen a short term, unsuccessful recast that follows a popular actor leaving a role, before an ultimately successful recast? I’m thinking of Margie Impert as Rachel, Bond Gideon as Jill on Y&R, Joanne Dorian as Viki on OLTL, Hope Busby as Liza on “Search for Tomorrow”, etc.

 

You never want to replace a popular actor. You want to replace the person who replaced the popular actor.

[rlj]

Reading recaps, yes Therese died in 76

[FrenchFan]

In November 76 indeed 

[Xanthe]

 

Iris and Elliot were separated when they started on AW, and had been for at least a year I think. I always assumed they were supposed to have been married before Dennis was born, but I don't know how Texas defined the timeline around Dennis' conception and their wedding and whether Iris deceived Elliot into believing the baby was his. 

[AbcNbc247]

IIRC, Elliot was pursuing Iris when she went to San Tropez and met Alex. But then when Alex disappeared after their weekend together and Iris found out she was pregnant, she charmed Elliot, and married him.

 

[Efulton]

I just watched the episodes of Texas where this is explained using flashbacks. Iris and Elliot were dating when she met Alex and had sex with him. Alex disappeared and she found out was pregnant.  She then called Elliot, asked him to come visit her, slept with him and told him he was the father of her baby.  They then got married.

[j swift]

I guess we are supposed to assume that Elliott was held prisoner in Vietnam after he left Bay City in 1974, and before the fall of Saigon in 1975?  Also, I assume that Dennis had no contact with Elliott between 1974 in Bay City and 1980 in Houston.

 

I was reading AWHP about Iris's "nervous breakdown" In 1974 when she regressed to Dennis's birth and pleaded with Elliott to help give her baby a last name, then mistook Iris mistook her maid Louise for her mother and lamented that she left her.

 

Iris: (about Dennis) "He'll grow up to hate me, just as everyone else does...All the nurses who came and went, those awful teachers in Switzerland, Daddy's lady friends...everyone stared at me because I wasn't as pretty as Mama..."
Eliot: (STARING AT HER) "No one hates you, Iris."
Iris: "I know you don't...but then we hardly know each other, do we? Come and look at my baby...His name is Dennis...Dennis...But I've got to find a last name for him, now...(ELIOT PUTS HIS HAND ON HERS. SHE SNATCHES HERS AWAY) "How dare you touch me! You're only nice to me because I'm rich..." (ELIOT RISES AND TURNS AWAY. LOUISE GOES TO IRIS)
Louise: "Iris, it's time for your nap."
Iris: "Can I take my baby with me?"
Louise: "Of course you can. We'll put him in the bed with you...."
Iris: "Good...Oh, Mama, why did you go away when I was born?"

 

Some of which creates continuity issues for later stories, but it could always be attributed to Iris's "hysteria".  Also, Dennis took such a dark turn in Houston, due to Paige, that it was shame that did not inform his later return to Bay City.

 

 

Edited April 23, 2021 by j swift