Another World

[John]

How long between the announcement of cancellation and filming the last episode?

[watson71]

About 6 weeks- they canceled the show in mid April and had to be done filming by the end of May.

[John]

So outside of Carl & Gary thats probably why no other fan faves returned

[amybrickwallace]

I believe the cancelation was announced on April 12th.

[watson71]

Most likely- they pretaped a scene of Grant alive and well in Tanquir and placed it in the finale.   It would have been nice to get Iris and Cecile (Queen of Tanquir) back for that scene with Grant plotting revenge against the citizens of Bay City.

[amybrickwallace]

Wow, I thought it was taped FOR the finale. 

[DRW50]

Goutman also  did not seem to care for returns, which is one of many reasons ATWT had a poor finale. 

Sam Groom also returned, but not as Russ Matthews, because of course let's not actually honor history.

[John]

I liked Cecile's 1995 return but after like 4 months it turned t0 nothing and she was Gone June 1996. Did they not have plans for her

 

Now did Carmen Duncan quit  or was she fired

AW needs an Oral History book like OLTL had

Edited September 18, 2021 by John

[AbcNbc247]

Well, not that I'm defending that decision, but AW had strayed so far from its history by that point, how many people there probably didn't even know that he once played Russ?

Hell, how many people there probably didn't even know that there once was a character named Russ?

Edited September 18, 2021 by AbcNbc247

[John]

yeah he married Lila and Cass

Oh but Goutman had the Carolyn the  Gorilla return. Ughhh

[watson71]

Carolyn the gorilla was a nod to Carolyn Culliton the longtime AW writer.  Carolyn's gorilla mate was named Richard after Richard Culliton and the zookeeper's name was Sam Radcliffe after AW writer Samuel D. Radcliffe who passed away in 1995. This was a wink n smile to the AW writers that were on the show in 1984 who wrote the Felicia/Cass/Cecile capers, including being locked in a cage with Carolyn the Gorilla, and introduced the character of Wallingford in 1984.  

I was fine with the return of Carolyn the gorilla since it was probably done for Linda Dano and Stephen Schnetzer to remember how they met Wallingford.  I just wished it was done on Thursday- the day before the finale.  This would have given the 10 minutes of the finale devoted to Carolyn back so that we could have seen some flashbacks in the final scene as Rachel reminisced in the Cory living room.

Also, it has long been rumored that in the last few scenes Bette Midler's In This Life was not the original song selected, but it was Crystal Gayle and Gary Morris' You Take Me Away to Another World.   It would be cool if that ever shows up on YouTube one day.

Edited September 18, 2021 by watson71

[amybrickwallace]

Yeah, but the gorilla thing was just so out of place in this episode. It didn't help that because of time, the last couple of weeks seemed so slapped together anyway.

[AbcNbc247]

Singing and dancing for a gorilla! What a way to go out after 35 years 

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[amybrickwallace]

You gotta hand it to the cast, especially the vets. I'm sure they were thrilled!!

[watson71]

I think AWs finale was head and shoulders above the finale of ATWT.  Goutman knew for nine months that ATWT was canceled- never pretaped anything with 90-something Helen Wagner to include in the finale, gave her a slapped together funeral when Wagner passed away, treated Eileen Fulton's Lisa like a day-player after being on the show 50+ years, and ended the show with Dr. Bob cleaning his office and talking to a cheap light up spinning globe.   Now that shows you Goutman could have cared less about ATWT at that point.