ATWT: September Discussion

[soapfan770]

Well I actually thought about posting in the August thread but since it's September now...

Anyways today was the reveal about Adam and mainly featured Tom and Margo which was a plus. I thought it was decent but there seemed to be something lacking. The Bob&Kim scene was fantastic and I liked Casey and Alison scene towards the end. I have no sympathy for Adam way too smug and arrogant. The rest today was pointless fodder.

[P.J.]

This show is puzzling sometimes. Except for Audrey, no story (or part thereof) really feels shoved down my throat now. But nothing feels especially compelling to me either.

Today felt especially uncompelling to me. Nothing held my interest.

[UKBoi]

I can see where you're coming from. I watched the episode where Audrey locks Vienna in the changing rooms at Fashions, and as a standalone episode it was pretty good. Sure, not a lot happened, but the scenes involving Henrey, Audrey, etc. were really good. Also, Tom finding out Riley was Adam and the fallout from that was excellently written and acted. But that's as a standalone episode.

Looking at it from a wider perspective, it seems the show has TOO many storylines going on and they're not intersecting at all. Featuring just two stories per episode leaves the series feeling kind of disjointed and loses any sort of momentum. If they're really intent on doing it that way, why not have stories A and B one day, then stories B and C the next day, stories C an D the next day, and D and A the next day? Then at least there's some sort of carry over between episodes. It's certainly in better shape than it was a few months ago, but the way they structure the episodes is all wrong. There's no sense of community in Oakdale right now, it's just a few storylines playing out under the As The World Turns banner. If they're not careful, they run the risk of turning into Passions.

[P.J.]

I hate to whine (because it isn't really productive, and I think it's depressing), but to me, the stories are mostly focused on the wrong things. The James story seems to be 80% Audrey running around in her latest painted on outfit, while there's been no effort at all for Paul and Henry to connect as brothers. Instead all their energy is focused on getting in or out of the will, depending on the day's motivation. Now, I don't need for some big, emotional Snyder-esque family moment between Paul and Henry---but it would be nice to see the issue addressed. Otherwise, why bother to make them brothers?

You've got a gaggle of adults obsessing spinning around Liberty's pregnancy, Allison is the center of Bob's illness and the Riley story, and the Lily/Damian/Meg triangle makes the presumption anyone GAS about who winds up with whom. Meg changes men more often than some people change underwear, and Lily has been sniffing around Damian since about five minutes after he came back to town, all while protesting she "loved" Holden.

And I am annoyed that Holden's death and James' return in particular haven't seemed to "ripple" around town. The word of Holden's death stopped with Janet telling Teri (who barely knew him) and Craig. Rosanna, who used to proclaim Emma a second mother, seems curiously unaffected news of the latest Snyder tragedy, except for how it might be affecting Parker. And other than The Intruder's story/scoop on his return, no one's discussing James' latest resurrection.

[soapfan770]

I think both of you have summed up the problems of ATWT as of late. There are some good episodes but the storylines aren't good. There are small sparks of interest but nothing truly compelling to make me watch it day after day. The latest James story has been used more for humor than for drama it feels like which is why I can't take it seriously. And yes everyone feels so isolated in their own storyline it's hard to believe this Luke/Noah/Mason stuff is occurring at the same time James Stenbeck is in town and Adam Munson returning with a new face. Both Craig and Rosanna are currently being wasted which is a shame although at least they're kept away from Paul and Meg.

The one good thing is that Katie is finally on the backburner at the moment and is now secondary to Henry and Vienna whereas they were always her cheerleaders in the past.

[SpiritualJunkie]

They could easily do away with the Henry/Audrey story, but overall, I really enjoyed Tuesday's show. For a story that has revolved around Alison, it felt more like a cast drama yesterday in regards to the Hughes storyline. The acting from everyone involved in that story was great, and I could see where all the characters were coming from. Tom brought up a good point to Margo about Adam's inability to take responsibility for his actions, but I can also see how Margo, as a parent, would not want a child locked behind bars.

That's a really good point. I love that the show is attempting to balance out the stories and give everyone equal airtime, but the show is not doing the best job carrying the excitement onto the next day, because by then, they're focusing on another story. That said, I'll take the ATWT we're seeing now over the crap we were witnessing a couple of years ago.

I agree that the James story is a joke, but I disagree with everything else you said. I don't think the character bubbles are as bad as they used to be. We now see various characters interacting with each other. I've noticed that within one episode, one character will often interact with 3 or 4 character. I remember when it was only two to a scene for an entire day. Of course, there's going to be separate stories...soaps have been like that for a while now. But the character interaction within one story is another thing. Luke isn't stuck in scenes with only Noah. We've seen him in scenes with Damian, Faith, Aaron, etc. in the past couple of weeks. Yes, there are still issues. Why Craig is rarely ever in a scene with Margo or Katie is beyond me. Meg has completely gone from Paul's orbit and despite the fact that I don't like Meg, I find that kind of weird.

In any case, there are many things the show is doing right at the moment. Just from the day-to-day dialogue, I have a good understanding of what each characters' relationships with each other is like. We're not seeing the same people five days a week. i think people would be complaining more if someone was hogging airtime rather than not having their storyline a bit disjointed. Characters I don't like have been backburnered, thank God (ie. Dusty, Katie)...honestly, I think we're all just being a little too picky here.

[P.J.]

Yes...recently the show has begun to tease us again with different character interactions---but I'm going to hold back any praise until I'm sure it's not just an aberration due to a funeral. (And I could write a thesis on my disappointment of that, btw...)

For every positive step (the end of Meg/Paul, Dusty and Katie on the backburner) there seems to be another misstep waiting to take it's place (Ali and Meg embroiled in another triangle; Craig hogging airtime in a story revolving around teenagers). ATWT has had this problem for a while---individual episodes can be entertaining to the point of engrossing. But there's little to no momentum in the long-term storytelling.

It does seem like ATWT has a direction again. I want to believe we have more than a year left.

Just a word on today's episode----anyone else want to slap Janet? As if being "raised that way" precludes any woman from considering an abortion? And I suppose being "raised that way" means Libby was raised to believe in teenage sex? There are days some really stupid things come out of character's mouths. "We share everything"...yeah, I remember Libby being really proud of the fact she slept with Parker and running to share every last detail with her mom. *eyeroll*

[UKBoi]

Seriously, the episodes I watched were so compelling, but any momentum over what was going on with Henry and Audrey, or the Hughes family, was lost today when they cut to Holden and Judi Evans, or Damian and Meg. There needs to be a greater focus on long term, because they've got the individual episodes in the bag. It seems like whoever's writing the show is writing one storyline from start to finish, moving onto the next one, and the next one, and then copy/pasting it all together to form an episode without thinking about how much a show can benefit from that sense of community and how one story can ripple into another.

I seriously doubt CBS would cancel two of the longest running TV shows in the same year. The returns of old faces, names from other shows and a change in headwriter (albeit a controversial one) shows that CBS/P&G is committed to stopping ATWT going in the same way as GL.

Did anyone hear the rumour that

I think that could be a pretty smart move on their part.

[P.J.]

There always seems to be some c*ckblocking story, doesn't there? I don't mean in terms of romance, but just something that's so totally awful it knocks the show completely out of sync. I was looking forward to seeing Judi Evans again, but this hick/Deliverance/Misery rip-off is painful to watch.

Yes...unfortunately. If the rumors swirling around are true, I wouldn't be surprised if another "fan fave" got the axe. And I don't see how "X" is a solution to anything.

I mean, I know it's bad when I'm actually looking forward to

[Soapsuds]

I haven't seen ATWT all week. I've been too busy with work and US Open Tennis watching. But I must say the show is better than it has been for some time now. I am not saying it is great but it is better. I still wish Susan was involved in Ali story with Bob and Kim. I am really enjoying NuAdam and the Hughes storyline. The James story is corny but were are seeing more Barabara and Paul has been separated from awful saint Meg. I just cant stand Meg no matter what story she is in. The same happened to Katie and now too much Meg has made me just hate the character.

Let's hope the show continues to twick itself a little more. If it's going to be cancelled at least don't let it go out like GL is.

[UKBoi]

Not going to lie, I scrolled right past all of that stuff when I was watching the episode. Nothing grabbed my interest, to be honest...which is a shame, because the day before I was totally hooked. The only thing I really enjoyed was Damian, because I think he's a fascinating character.

I actually think

coming back could be great. There was tons of unexplored potential with Lily and when you add

to the mix it has potential to be all kinds of amazing...if they go back down the Katie route, which they probably will do, I'll be disappointed.

[P.J.]

That's exactly what I'm afraid will happen. I'd much rather see

[soapfan770]

You know I actually once was a fan of the

paring back in 2003/2004 and to this day I still somewhat admire

But then came 2005...my god the ridiculousness of it all. Both had married other people yet both were screwing around, especially for

who had only been married for SIX weeks and cheated after the FIRST fight as a married couple!! After that I lost all respect for the both of them. I started to hate Katie again with a passion with the whole defending Nick against Carly what a waste.

[ChiTownBoi03]

Well, I have to say I am thoroughly enjoying the show now. Admittedly I think if I stood back, and really thought about all the many inconsistencies and story, I may be disappointed. However I have been trying hard to be spoiler-free and it tends to make it compelling for me. As for Meg, I am glad she is *no where near* Paul and preferably would like her to simply...disappear. I find Paul and Emily to be a far more intriguing couple.

That Audrey is one crazy BROAD! I enjoy her scenes with Henry, Vienna, even Babs. That rivalry could be guilty entertainment! The only thing I am not too sure about is the banter between Rosanna and Craig. Does Rosanna serve some sort of purpose, other than being debbie downer? She is creating all sorts of unnecessary drama by meddling, probably because she doesn't have s**t else to do. Hopefully that will change once Carly is back.

[SpiritualJunkie]

I caught yesterday's episode...here's my two cents:

I could do without the Audrey storyline. I don't despise her, but I have to groan everytime I see that this story is on yet again. They should be putting other stories in the forefront and putting this one in the backburner.

The storyline with Luke & Noah is also really throwaway. Fortunately, that's not being pushed in our faces the way the Audrey story is. And even if the story is less than stellar, I think the dialogue between Luke & Noah is good. It was nice to see a resolution to a misunderstanding rather than another unnecessary fight due to a lack of communication.

Holden's storyline is so lame. But I like May, though and Holden in a story of his own if far more interesting than in nowhere hell with Lily.

The Lily & Faith scenes were really good.

Agreed. If they could do away with some of the tackiness (Damian wears a shirt just like Holden's? Come on!), the Lily/Damian/Meg triangle has the possibility of being a compelling story. I know a lot of folks hate Meg....but I actually don't really mind her with Damian. I can understand why she's jealous (although this probably isn't the best of times to be expressing it since Lily has just become a presumed widow). And it was nice to have someone else take notice of how Damian really feels. Even he looked a bit taken aback when she accused him of still having feelings for Lily. Damian does a lot of questionable things, but he's far from being a one-note character. The expression on his face when Lily was begging him to tell Meg that their (Lily & Damian's) relationship was over long ago was one of confusion...of a person not wanting to face the truth and move on yet one who knows he can't run away from his feelings and keep lying. While I dislike Meg & Damian together, I truly believe that Damian does care about her as a friend at the very least. It's nice to know he isn't being written as a straight-up manipulator. Instead, I get the sense that Damian, despite loving Lily all along, thought he could move on without her, but now realizes that-for whatever reason-he can't. I think Paolo Seganti does a fantastic job of making Damian a complex character.

I hope to God that spoiler isn't true. I absolutely detest that character and didn't think he brought anything to the show. Also, bringing him back means another character I've come to despise will be getting lots of airtime again.