Another World

[Contessa Donatella]

WOW. So sorry. I didn't know. 

[watson71]

Janet Matthews- Jim and William’s sister and Liz’s sister-in-law.  You could have built an entire branch of the Matthews family around this character and had her move back to Bay City.  She could have married Vince McKinnon, etc. and been the matriarch of the McKinnon family rather than Mary.

Gerald and Pammy Davis- they could have been grifters looking to get their hands on the Cory fortune instead of Ken Jordan and Paulina Cantrell. And Ada was still alive at that time to be included in the storyline.

Peggy Nolan and Linda Metcalf- either could have been a cousin of Quinn Harding or Lily Mason, a love interest for Grant Todd, or been a relative of the Lawrence or Edwards families.

Mike or Hope Bauer- Guiding Light clearly wasn’t interested in using them.  AW could have brought them back in some capacity.

[Mona Kane Croft]

Oh yes -- Janet Matthews.  I had forgotten about her.  Perhaps she could have returned sometime after Jim died, and tangled with Liz.  Janet was a complicated and fundamentally unhappy character, having been involved with two married men before leaving Bay City.   With the right head-writer, she could have brought some realism back to AW in the mid-80s.   But in the hands of the wrong writer, Janet's history would have likely been forgotten.  Maybe Lemay in 1988 would have been a good writer to reintroduce Janet, since he was good at writing unhappy characters.  Sadly, by that time, Liz would have been the only person in Bay City who had ever even met Janet.  And later, Russ in 1989.  I believe Agnes Nixon wrote Janet off the show before introducing Ada and Rachel.   

And some wishful casting for the role -- Rosemary Prinz.  

Edited February 28, 2024 by Mona Kane Croft

[j swift]

@Mona Kane Croft My wish would be Lenore Moore Curtin Delaney (perhaps recast with Judith McConnell, just for the Nik Coster reunion).  Lenore returns as the ultimate society matron whom Donna Love is desperate to impress.  Lenore is instantly accepted back and placed on the board at the hospital.  The ladies of Bay City plead with her to rejoin the Country Club.    And Carl cannot take his eyes off of her anytime he is out with Rachel. 

Then Wally falls hard for Vicky Hudson.  She's a breath of fresh air.  He's from DC, and she knows politics from her time with Grant.  But, he's a human rights lawyer and good guy. 

Suddenly this is Donna's way into Lenore's orbit.  If Vicky marries Wally, Donna can invite Lenore to the Love Mansion every year for Thanksgiving.

But, Wally has a bit of his father's madness in him and is secretly jealous of Jake or any other man who once loved Vicky.  Let's just hope he doesn't go scarf shopping anytime soon...

Edited February 28, 2024 by j swift

[Contessa Donatella]

Which actress? Susan Sullivan, or .... uh ... 

[Jdee43]

I've been watching The Doctors from 1968. After I watch each episode, I read the synopsis on the AW home page for the AW episode that aired that day after The Doctors.

AW was such a different show in 1968. If there was a theme, I guess it was maybe couples fighting to be together? There was Missy and Bill, trying to overcome her shady past and his mother Liz. There was Lahoma and Sam, trying to overcome her insecurities and his lingering feelings for Lee, John's daughter. Sam and Lee were never one to have that one conversation to clear the air; instead there was tension whenever they saw each other. 

I guess the most interesting character is Rachel. By late 1968, she's married to Russ. She doesn't want to carry his child. She doesn't want to find their own home; instead she's fine living with his parents. She's flirting with Steve. She's ignoring her mother Ada, seeing Ada as beneath her.

AW had such a strong female cast in 1968: Judith Bancroft (Lenore), Audra Lindley (Liz), Carol Roux (Missy), Barbara Rodell (Lee), Ann Wedgeworth (Lahoma), Beverly Penberthy (Pat), Jacqueline Courtney (Alice), Constance Ford (Ada), Robin Strasser (Rachel), Virginia Dwyer (Mary). Wow!

Edited February 28, 2024 by Jdee43

[Contessa Donatella]

In my forum the firings of George Reinholt & Jacquie Courtney & Virginia Dwyer just came up & we were discussing actors hiding their lines all over the set & one poster told me that Hugh Marlowe who played Jim Matthews was driven crazy by Virginia Dwyer. He apparently said that she never fed him his cues or picked up on hers. That was news to me. 

[Efulton]

Doesn't Harding Lemay write about Hugh Marlowe's frustration with Virginia Dwyer in Eight Years in Another World? Lemay was fine with Constance Ford changing dialogue to better fit her character but when Virginia Dwyer did it is she was difficult.  

Ariana Muenker (Marianne Randolph) spoke of Hugh Marlowe struggling to remember his lines.  I think it was in a Locher Room interview.  Once again Lemay showed his bias with the actors he preferred.

[vetsoapfan]

That story came from Harding Lemay, who loathed Virginia Dwyer for reasons of his own. He claimed that it was Dwyer who made Marlowe stumble over his lines all the time.

I call BS. 

Poor Marlowe forgot and got tangled in his dialogue a lot, with many different scene partners, and the problem only got worse after Dwyer was long gone.

I'd say Lemay was smearing Dwyer to justify his very unpopular demand that she be fired.

[Efulton]

100%!

[vetsoapfan]

You'll notice that Marlowe has never been quoted as saying he had trouble with Dwyer; it was all Lemay.

And yes, the scribe would vehemently condemn some actors (like Dwyer) for the EXACT SAME on-set behavior that he praised his pets for. 

[Contessa Donatella]

I really need to read him again. It's been years since the 3rd or 4th reading.

I disagree completely about the firing of Dwyer. I have no problem believing what was said about the firing of George Reinholt or Virginia Dwyer. But one thing I will say is that Rauch was the EP, not Pete. If he'd not been convinced of the need I don't think he would have fired them. Many times Rauch & Lemay were in accord. But, they also disagreed & fought things out. 

One notable thing that they did together was to attend the theatre & critique actors & actresses, often finding someone they wanted to cast.

I believe Pete thought of Connie as his writing conscience, getting the most from her when she delivered his lines letter perfect but then at scene end, would have a comment, like "Whatever the hell that is supposed to mean!"

[vetsoapfan]

Lemay has been repeatedly quoted as acknowledging his insistence that Dwyer be fired.

Raunch could have fought against it, perhaps, but he did not, and both men have revealed their arrogance and control issues over the years.

[Contessa Donatella]

I am totally & completely aware that Pete wanted both Dwyer & JC fired. I never said I didn't know that. What I said was that I do not disagree with it. And, I don't. I have no problem believing the accounts of their actions. You disagree, which is fine. But this line makes no sense in reply to what I said.

But, I would suggest that you are not in a position to know what your second line says. Can you give me a cite that says that? 

[vetsoapfan]

Haven't you read Lemay's book more than once? 

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Edited February 28, 2024 by vetsoapfan