Another World

[Khan]

It depends on when NBC announced that they were cancelling AW.  If the announcement was made after the show had fired Littlefield, then the show probably realized it wouldn't make sense to recast, knowing they had only so much time left before the finale, so they effectively re-hired him.  Anyway, that's my guess.

[Mona Kane Croft]

Speaking of Nadine Stenovitch and John Littlefield, did anyone catch them on a couple of episodes of Escape to the Chateau about three years ago?  They are close friends of the family that owns the chateau, so they came for a visit or two. 

[China Jones]

The casting people really struck gold as far as the physical appearance of the two actresses is concerned and I think it could have worked out if Mr. Gibbs was still in the role of Gary. No offense to Mr. Littlefield, but he lacked the charisma and sex appeal of Gibbs.  

By the way, who left first? I can't remember if Stenovitch shared scenes with Gibbs or was Carlson still there when Gibbs left?

 

[j swift]

Yeah, probably -  According to AWHP, he was fired in April, last aired in May, then returns in June two weeks before the finale.

Honestly, I had never heard of the show, but reading about the ending was a fun rabbit hole.

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https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/news/angel-strawbridge-leaked-audio-escape-to-the-chateau-b2347548.html

Gibbs left first and got cast on OLTL

Edited November 29, 2023 by j swift

[Contessa Donatella]

I can buy that. The reason I say Robin is an aberration is of course because they allowed Kimberly McCullough to age in real time & then, of course, she was handled very carefully. Robin was a real treasure & I don't think writers would have done some things to Robin that they did do to other girls. Although don't get me wrong, Robin had very real challenges. In case you can't tell I'm a huge fan. I remove my objection to Robin as an ingenue as long as she is one who successfully matures out of it & is not trapped in it as a strait jacket! So, what is the count up to now? 3 true ingenues? And, you speak well for our Robin! 

[China Jones]

Despite being the right age, it seems like Amanda Cory wasn't given enough time to become an ingenue. IIRC, the SORASed Amanda hadn't been back in Bay City very long before she was saddled with a pregnancy, a shotgun wedding and teenaged motherhood.

And during her brief time on the show before her marriage, we never got to see Amanda involved in co-ed hijinks and romances with frat boys because she never attended college.

[Contessa Donatella]

We had the very brief rebellious Mandy & they they ran her so quickly into being in love with Sam! Married & baby lockstep timing, even precision. As you say. 

[China Jones]

Oh, sorry Donna L. Bridges, I misunderstood what you meant. Robin certainly was an "aberration" in terms of her being one of the few soap opera children allowed to age in real time. I've always heard about how Secret Storm's Amy Ames grew up in real time on that show. 

[Contessa Donatella]

I wasn't clear enough! It's fine now. And that's what matters. I didn't know about Secret Storm's Amy Ames. I'll look it up. Just for fun. Well, and because I love research. Thanks for the heads up! 

[China Jones]

Sure, it's all good, LOL!

You'll probably enjoy learning about Amy Ames as played by Jada Rowland. I was pretty young when Secret Storm ended, so I barely remember it. But when I started watching The Doctors years later, I recognized the actress who played Carolee Aldrich as being the same actress who played Amy, so she must have left an impression!

[Contessa Donatella]

Oh, yes, loved Jada Rowland. Watched The Doctors as a teen & have just started watching it again!! Found out I can watch it through my Roku with an app called The It's Good TV app which includes Retro TV! 

[chrisml]

I've been revisiting 87 and 88 and I still think it's so much better than its rep indicates. The casting decisions are what let it down. Getting rid of Petronia Paley was a huge mistake. It still baffles me that was allowed to happen and then Jane Cameron decides to leave which is another huge mistake. They turn MJ into a prostitute which belies belief and is so shortsighted.  I wish the writers (and the strike writers) had not written off Cheryl and Scott. Two characters with so much potential, and they saddled Scott with the Dawn storyline that was never going anywhere. Poor Cheryl just seemed like an afterthought after a certain point. I wish the writers had done more to keep the McKinnons more connected to other storylines. It really does feel that there was no plan for Mary or the McKinnons so they had Reginald turn into a one-note villain. It would have been more interesting if Mary realizes who she was, and still felt more connected to Reginald. All of the mistakes just seem idiotic decisions that don't take long-term story into consideration--something that would be a major problem with Swajeski's tenure as well. 

[Mona Kane Croft]

It seemed to me during that era, TPTB were trying hard to make AW more similar to DOOL.  Making MJ a former prostitute for instance, was similar to Kimberly Brady's past issues on DOOL. Even MJ's personality changed from a confident police officer to a damaged somewhat vulnerable damsel -- again more similar to the personality of Kimberly Brady. In fact, it seemed TPTB were transitioning the McKinnons into AW's version of the Bradys on DOOL. The mother being formerly involved with a wealthy bad-guy, Mary and Vince opening a pub/restaurant, etc.  And some of the other storylines at this time seemed a better fit for DOOL than AW -- Reginald being a moustache-twirling super-villian (not unlike DOOL's Stefano) is one example.  

[Contessa Donatella]

It makes sense because we know that NBC was asking them to do exactly that.

[Mona Kane Croft]

Yes, you are right.  And what is rather amazing is -- TPTB must have had a complete turn-around, because they hired Harding Lemay as head-writer in 1988 (just before the strike), and they HAD TO KNOW Lemay would never write anything over the top or similar to DOOL in any way.  So somehow some attitudes at the top were changed, even if briefly.