Another World

[Contessa Donatella]

Thank you so much!! OMG, so much was going on. All the layers. 

And, FTR I know lots of people who value Tom King. I count myself among them. I mean  my top tier is Bill & Irna because they began it even though they were not destined to be the spokes in the wheel. Then Agnes & I do personally believe that she saved the show from an early cancellation. SO MANY SOAPS died between 1.5 & 5 yrs! Anyway, continuing on, then Pete who I am a bonafide nut about & Swajeski who I am almost as bad about. 2nd Tier finds Tom King, Carolyn Culliton, Virginia L. Browne & Sam Ratcliffe. 

Also I wanted to tell you that if for some reason you don't want to see Anne Heche You must tell me because I am also bonafide nut there, too. 

I have just given in to calling it an epic failure. In the annals of soap history & things that stand out in their absolute wrongness, it is in there with other "blunders"!

[Jdee43]

How wrong is to say that Harding Lemay's Another World was perhaps a bit overrated?

Or that Lemay spent a few years too many in Another World? 

Edited February 7, 2023 by Jdee43

[Contessa Donatella]

To me it would be 100% wrong to say that Pete's time at AW was overrated. Same answer about him spending time there. I think the show only would have gained from having him more years. And I sure would trade more him for that cockamamie 90 minute show! Obviously this is my opinion & yours might be different. 🫵🫰

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NOW HEAR THIS! Pete's years at AW were truly golden! 

[Sapounopera]

I think the writing was fine. The real problem was the directing, way too old-school for 1980 fans. (I don't mind it at all now that I am watching again. The first time a few years ago, I thought it was shockingly dull.)

Another problem was that there was no big new character in the younger crowd. They didn't really invest in a new charismatic character or couple. 

I agree eith everything you said. No crazy stories, quirky characters etc. The Cory Publishing crowd was charming and sophisticated, not oil barons and cowboys.

I really liked Willis. He seemed like a sleazy guy from a primetime soap. Ron Harper was not very interesting as Taylor, but his family was not a bad addition. They were not loud or sleazy like most of the new 80s families on soaps. At the same time the show had all these normal people and families with lovely older people.

Losing the iconic intro and music and replacing it with something cheap looking and generic was another foul. Cecile lost her charm with the recast, all these big and loud characters took over and then those "action stories"... All the show needed was some tightening, and a boost of excitement and it would be just fine. 

(In another world, Douglas Marland would so have paired Joey Perrini and Sally Frame.)

[DRW50]

I do think that's an issue for why the show was so lifeless, but story choices like Kit/Joey, Tracy singing every few episodes and all the angsting over Mitch and Mitch's "death" and so on just didn't do much for me either. It was mostly Cecile, Pat and Blaine who kept me interested.

One of the problems for me here is by this point I don't think a new woman on the canvas was going to be a believable rival to Rachel for Mac's heart. Neither was the Alice recast. I still think a Pat/Mac relationship could have been compelling.

I remember reading about the Jason story, and the twists and turns, and his last words, etc. on AWHP, and thinking it sounded riveting.

Then I finally got to start watching it...

Nothing against Warren Burton (RIP), but I never believed him in any straight role. If he had been some kind of fixated figure based on Tracy's camp appeal, similar to The Fan around this point (the Lauren Bacall film), it might have worked more for me.

Edited February 7, 2023 by DRW50

[Sapounopera]

I don't mind Kit and Joey. I find Russ and Tracy so boring, same for brooding Mitch, John McBain's long lost father. 

Margo Crove was meant to be some Opal Gardener type, but she felt more like a Rachel substitute. I like Kevin Conroy but Jerry added nothing to the show. Blaine's Arena drama would be more interesting if she was still married to Jamie or involved with a legacy character like Mike Randolph. 

Watching these episodes I keep wondering if Cecile was meant to be Mac or Iris's daughter. 

Also, way too much Racheĺ reminding us that she is the star of the show. 

[DRW50]

I like Joey; Kit, considering her backstory, seems so dull to me. Of the family I thought her sister was the most interesting (much moreso than the dull role she'd played on ATWT before this), but beyond sleeping with Jerry she didn't seem to do anything.

[Contessa Donatella]

I think personally that this was the best & I have heard many fans over the years speak of this as their favorite writing for Cecile & the way they wished they would write her again. There were times later when they brought Cecile back that did not live up to hopes & dreams. 

Definitely a time of transition but how could it not be with Pete's exit, the 90 minute show, the real competition from OLTL & the perceived threat of a changed GH. 

[Contessa Donatella]

From Another World Memories on #soaptwitter

 

On 2-7-1997 Robin Christopher had her last day as Lorna #2, which she'd played for the standard contract of 3 years. I suppose it was during this time that she met her future husband, Matt Crane.

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Linda Dano played Robin Christopher's mother on AW and also on ABC, GH, where Rae was "possibly" Skye's birth mother. Here they are in a Disney soap parade. 

from Another World memories on #SoapTwitter is Gail Brown, who began to play Clarice Hobson on AW on 2-7-1975. When the show was cancelled we had two fan gatherings Jun 20 '99 & '00 & Gail read about it in her local CT paper & just showed up without us knowing she was coming. We were seated & someone was speaking & she came in & it went all around the room, "Look, there's Clarice!" whispered excitedly.

[Sapounopera]

Kit was the resident Rauch blonde of that era. I found it weird that there was another girl who looked exactly like her and was part of the Arena crowd . But with a more interesting actress, the couple would have much more potential.

But I also liked Amy more. She was part of the Cory Publishing crowd, friends with Cecile and more sophisticated. 

[teplin]

I loved Joey, but was bored to tears by Kit and her entire family. Russ and Tracy were also snoozeville. William Gray Espy was such a sluggish actor, he lowered the drama quotient just by appearing in a scene. 

I agree that Blaine, Cecile and Pat were the main draws during this really dull AW phase. I fault the writing and the directing.

[DRW50]

I should also say I liked Jamie, but I credit Richard Bekins (who was so compelling and also so incredibly attractive in such a specific way), as I didn't care much about Jamie with anyone else in the part. 

[Contessa Donatella]

Gosh I liked so many Jamies.  I have a soft spot for the tweener Jamie, both him & Dennis at that awkward age. I don't even know the actor's name. But, I loved Richard Bekins! 

I was just listening to the AW theme on organ. Lance Jackson is a professional organist and he's a massive soap fan & he has a YouTube channel where he's recreated just about all of the organ themes & some of the little extras. Here is AW's organ theme. 

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[AbcNbc247]

Agreed with what everyone is saying about 1980. Overall, it was good, but there were a few things that were dull. I still don’t get how Kit had so many men competing for her affections. I wish those 90 minutes episodes that featured her introduction (and her family’s) were available to see.

Am I the only one who thought that Tracy wasn’t that good of a singer either?

And, for the love of God, somebody really needed to tell William Gray Espy that the woman’s name was Rachel, not Racial

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Edited February 7, 2023 by AbcNbc247

[Soaplovers]

It seemed like 1980 was the show attempting to keep the show as it was when Lemay was writing it...but the problem was only Lemay could write that way...and the 90 minute episodes was too much of a chore to watch.

I watched a long time ago the episodes when Nancy F assumed the role of Cecile...and she was alot more subdued in her portrayal....and while she did the 80s style of acting well, the early months of her stint was a lot more understated.