Another World

[slick jones]

No luck on young Donna  (1986) or Michael (1984). I also don't have Aunt Bertha (Garrison's?) actress, just Ellie (Lela Ivey). Any idea where I could find her?

[Xanthe]

I don't know of any pictures or video of Aunt Bertha unfortunately. Based on the AWHP weekly synopses for 1985 (the daily synopses do not go to December) and the video available on YouTube for December 24 1985, I believe the day Marley and Jake met Ellie and Aunt Bertha must have been December 23.

About 18 minutes in on Dec 24 Ellie phones to wish the Loves Merry Christmas and (thinking she is talking to Marley's twin instead of Donna) that she hopes they will find their father. No Aunt Bertha.

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[slick jones]

Thanks for trying. I'm set to watch this shortly.

I loved Jane Cameron. They should have brought Nancy back.   

[Xanthe]

The March episode with Michael's flashback has a scene where Mac offers her a job and it reminds me of how much I wish we had had Nancy as a foil for Amanda. 

Edited September 24, 2024 by Xanthe

[DRW50]

@mikeaw1978 @slick jones An actor named Petrus Antonius identified himself as being in this clip (I assume from late 1988?) with Iris and Michael.

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[Xanthe]

The copyright at the end of the credits says 1989 and the plot descriptions for the NBC Thursday night lineup read over the credits point to January 26, 1989.  

[DRW50]

Thanks. I was so tired I didn't even bother to check the end.

[Xanthe]

Thanks for sharing.

I was never very happy about the idea that Michael and Iris shared a past, or at least I never quite knew how to picture it. Watching that clip I was trying to figure out whether it is supposed to be the first time they ever met. I think I would prefer to think of it as a point where they were already together, because otherwise Michael seems just a little too familiar and presumptuous. But that is probably supposed to be what makes it romantic.

[DRW50]

An early indication of how Swajeski would never know what to do with Michael. I really hated the character by the time the Soapnet repeats ended (mid '91 or so).

The Iris/Michael pairing would have made more sense to revisit than having him with Stacey, which made her look awful.

[Mona Kane Croft]

Interesting that you feel that way.  I actually kind of liked that dynamic, although the execution was awkward.  Giving Iris and Michael a past gave Iris more conflict in Bay City, which I feel she needed, since she had been out of town for so long and so few characters in 1988 had ever interacted with her.  It's really rather surprising -- Iris was gone only eight-years, yet nearly the entire cast had turned over, leaving only a few characters from 1980 still on the canvas.  

[ScottyBman]

They never knew what to do with Michael Hudson after Reginald.  Vicki was becoming the center of Bay City and the on again off again shenanigan's of Donna and Michael made it difficult to have them as a power matriarch and patriarch.  They could have been the power couple.  Money, social standing, successful business.  I guess that was always going to be the Cory's.  With the reintroduction as a wealthy power woman in Iris, Donna lost that spot.  Then she lost her money....again.  But it is easy to be a Monday Morning quarterback.   

[Maxim]

---- edited

 

Edited October 5, 2024 by Maxim

[Xanthe]

It was mostly the question of who Iris and Michael were supposed to be as people and what would have attracted them to each other -- and what would have made Iris a threat (or not) to Michael's relationship with Donna. Michael had been introduced as very down-to-earth. And although Donna sort of occupied a similar demographic to Iris I don't think they were really alike -- especially not the young Donna Michael had known compared to the more mature (and presumably post-Texas?) Iris. 

It's possible that I wasn't watching attentively and ignored or overlooked subtleties that were actually shown. Maybe the idea was that Philece Sampler's Donna was an idle princess whereas Iris was a smart businesswoman and therefore easier for Michael to treat as an equal? 

[slick jones]

Thanks @drw50. I don't have him in my AW cast   Until now...

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[DRW50]

Thank you @will81 for pointing out this video to me. Jill Dalton, an NYC actress, talks about a minor DA role she had on the show in 1994 and how it was going to lead to more if not for the OJ trial. The character according to this is named Alysse Brenner. 

@slick jones @mikeaw1978 

She also talks about some roles on Edge of Night and AMC. I will post the AMC video in its thread (she doesn't say enough about EON to warrant posting it there).

 

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