ATWT Tribute Thread

[Paul Raven]

Not to defend Valente and what happened during his reign,but I think the problem after Marland's death was that the Caso and Law/Packer tried to keep Marland's legacy alive by first,using his outlines, and then writing the show with a 'would Doug have done this' mentality.

What we got was second rate Marland.

Valente realized this was too restricting and that the show had to move on in a new direction.The cast was way too big.So,I understand his concept,but the execution was flawed.

[DRW50]

I understand the concept, to a point, but whoever chose those headwriters was out to lunch. I also think that they just handled the firings badly. If you fire that many people then you'd better make it worth it. They left a lot of important characters, like Emily and Lily, stranded.

I do wish sometimes that Valente had had more time and better headwriters because I think he did use the vets and some of what he did was more natural to ATWT than anything Goutman or FMB did.

[Soapsuds]

Valente still gets a big f u ck you from me. He started the snowball affect of the show going downhill. I agree about Caso and Law Packer. They tried to keep the show Marland style but couldnt. The show was missing something. The show became very boring with a lot of great vets on. All ATWT need was a writer of Douglas Marland style. The only one I could see writing ATWT at the time was Claire Labine. But the show was doomed to fail once Marland passed away. ATWT literally died in 93 with Marland.

Here is a clip from 84

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Edited September 9, 2010 by Soapsuds

[Soapsuds]

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Edited September 9, 2010 by Soapsuds

[Mitch]

Most of the firings I would tend to agree with, though you are right, it was handled badly and the replacements didnt work out well at all. I think the problem with Marland at the end was that ATWT had gotten too bloated and it strayed from his original vision a bit. We added an extra layer to the show of characters who could actually go to get back to the meat of the show. I can't believe they kept Ellen around that long, she had no family in town except for Emily and her ties to the Hughes, and that was it. Most of the time Marland had her sitting around drinking coffee with Bob and Kim..(always thought a very Marland thing to do was to bring back a young relative of the maid Ellen killed to wreak vengence, maybe working for Ellen or Bob and Kim and gaslighting Ellen..of course falling in love with someone but then her REALLY evil brother comes to town to try and put Ellen under...) Emma was a recurring character from the get go, I mean, I love her, but her love scenes with John were enough to make you loose your lunch, Julie, Caleb, Larry (what was Marlands thing about older women younge men) all disposable (especially poor Larry, who was gay as a goose) and yes, even my pretty, pretty, hottie Jeff Hamlin. I know I will get hell from this but I always thought Andy should have been recast...SD is just goofy looking to me..( I know Mara would disagree here) and Andy is too important to push under the rug cause the audience grew up and are used to that goofy looking kid, I think they should have made Duncan into the Antio Reis,James Steinbeck villian he kind of was when they brought him on. He never fit in Oakdale to begin with,to make him do so Marland made him into a p*ssy. Would have been nice to see some fire back in him..did he ever screw Lucinda?

What I don't get, especially in this case, where execs see a show is successful, have hit a formula there audience likes, and why dont they stick to it by following that, (with new creative touches and energy) and training a writer to follow that. They should have had someone under Marland for years learning his style.

[Mitch]

Ah that was a good time, leading up to Whit being murdered and Lisa's return (just in time for Marland.) And my hot, hot, hot Frank..(loved him and Maggie together, didnt so much love the cliched, "We need a baby to be complete," storyline. ) Did he choose to leave, he would have been a much better cop to be involved with Babs then Hal..(sorry, I know another unpopular opinion.)

I dont think ATWT was doomed to fail. The Marland formula itself was very easy to follow, multigenertional stories focused on two strong families, and their friends and nemises. No super couples, no "stars," to hot air time and make half of the audience turn off. The execution would have been harder but if they got a "good," working writer to follow that, with a strong EP, ATWT had an engine that could just keep burning on. I think a "star," writer like a Claire Labine would have imposed too much of her particular "brand," vision which wouldnt work on ATWT (and there is no way in hell I am watching a story about a dog or someone talking to their freakin' bird.)

[DRW50]

Mitch did you see the April 1984 clip someone posted in the videos section? There's a whole episode from April 1984 on Youtube now, it's Justin Deas's last as Tom.

[Mitch]

Lol...my FAVE soap actor! Thanks for the tip though, any episode that has hottie Frank on it is fine with me. Its depressing watching that clip, not only as the Frannie actress is dead, but that there was so much "texture," and action going on. Now it looks like Oakdale is deserted at all times.

[DRW50]

I really enjoyed most of the episode. I can't say I was fond of most of the Steve/Betsy stuff, especially when Steve starts verbally abusing Kim. I did like the scene with Betsy and Karen. Karen is a lot of fun. She reminds me of Judi Evans. I loved the scene with Diana when Karen started trashing Betsy. It's not so much that I dislike Betsy as I just don't get a lot out of her there as being attached to Steve and having some of the same mannerisms Meg has had her whole career. I think I'm one of the few who preferred Lindsay Frost.

A lot of the younger actors in this episode aren't overly talented but their charisma carries them through. The Daytona stuff...some really bad acting, but nice scenery. I kept expecting to see Lorna Luft from Where the Boys Are 84.

I'd never seen Bart Montgomery before so this was a pleasant surprise. I wonder why they just forgot about him, and a lot of the other early Margo/Lyla/Craig history, later on. Did anyone ever say?

HBS and Justin Deas are great together. Justin seems to be walking that fine line between crazed and calm, although I guess you can see where he was tired of the role. They gave him a fun last episode, which is great. I can't see any other Tom dressing in drag.

I liked that brief tension between David and John. It reminds me of how much more prominent the Stewarts were at that time.

[Mitch]

The weird thing is..when you said it was Deas last episode as Tom, I immediately thought of Deas dressed as a woman...(scary vision.) I remember the plotline of Bart the shoesalesman, (I wonder, did that make Lisa hot..she has a thing for them..) I can't remember people's birthdays but I remember that. Bart was only on for this plot line and then tossed aside.

Hated Steve and Betsy, the only fun thing is when people hated them, and back then the writers would let other characters snark on the sc dujour, unlike now. HATED the actor who played Steve, he was really, really odd looking and they only had him yell all the time. Glad Marland put him back in a corner and the actors ego couldnt take not being the "star." Meg played Betsy as slightly retarded most of the time. Frost gave Betsy an actual brain...however, the thing was, their story was over by that time. I wish that TPTB over the last 15 years learned that lesson, when the only thing you can do with a couple is repeat the same damn stuff their story is over, write em off or backburner them!

I had to laugh at the episode of Dee's murder trial of John. They had all these characters just sitting in the courtoom looking concerned.. I mean, didn't Whit McColl have a "media empire," to run? The shows had money to burn back then when we dont even get Lisa at Bab's last wedding.

[Mitch]

I was goofing around at lunch on Facebook and I saw that Eileen Fulton and Don Hastings have seperate Facebook accounts (DH's has his picture, and nothing else on it, which is so Bob Hughes of him..) I had to laugh the whole thing would have postings on the few times she was going to be on ATWT and of course urging her fans to write TPTB so Lisa would have a storyline. Oh, Eileen, you should just worry about being on more then once a month!

Its weird that April of last year was her last update...you would think a publicity hound like her would be updating it with her nightclub stuff and the Paley Center stuff, last day stuff, calling Chris Gautman an grizzled f*ck head...things like that. But she just stops. Oddly enough she of all the vets worry me..what the hell is she going to do now? Maybe I am just transferring what is happening on the show but Hays and Hastings seem solid and that they are going to be okay, but Fulton seems a little like Lisa, lost, maybe not wanting time to move on kind of thing.

Okay, its a little freaky that I am worrying about an actor on a TV show but I grew up with these people.

[DRW50]

I guess crossdressing might have been in at some P&G soaps at the time (I think this is when Cass started).

It's strange they only brought Bart in for this. I assume he had some good scenes with Craig at least.

Did you take to HBS quickly or did you miss Margaret Colin?

I normally don't mind Steve that much but I really did not like that scene with Kim. I think what bothered me the most was that Kim just sat there and let him accuse her of supporting child abuse. Kim is a polite person but if you start getting in her face like that she is going to respond. And the rouge on her cheeks seemed to be from the Lady Elaine Fairchild. I guess they really had nothing for Kim to do at this time did they?

I see what you mean about Betsy's story being over. I do think they should have had her continue making appearances, especially once Dani returned.

I have seen so little of Karen but I just loved her in this episode, and her relationship with John was fascinating. I've never seen John with a woman like that -- obviously there's Lucinda but she seems very different from Lucinda.

I worry about them too -- I think it's natural for us to worry about Eileen because her private life is something which she has talked about more than some other actors do. We may feel like we know her more.

I know someone said she closed her official website. Perhaps she just had to focus on other things, like trying to sell her house, and some of this stuff went by the wayside.

[Mitch]

No didn't miss Colin that much, I was one of the few people who werent head over heals for Colin as Margo. I like Colin in other stuff and I liked her as Margo, but I thought HBS brought her down to earth so to speak. When Colin was Margo she was kind of like the Reva of ATWT, even when she was wrong, she was right. I did like her in that scene they have posted of John's trial where she is grilling Ariel, she seemed both tired and pissed off and wasnt wearing that much makeup and that is what Margo would have been feeling and looking like at that time.

I loved Karen and John, I wish she would have stayed with Marland on board, I think he would have loved her.

Kim back in those days was not the Kim we have now who takes NO ones sh*t. Steve at that time was always the raging as*hat but we were supposed to see his passion and his rebellious nature and it got old fast.

I guess its just hit me reading Fulton's Facebook, where she is urging a storyline as far back as a year or two ago. I would have thought she would resigned herself that nothing is going to happen and been okay with making appearances and going on with her life. I would think at this time she would be more interested in family and traveling like most people her age are, but it seems like she just has being "Lisa." and a star. I guess reading that she had just bought that place of hers for a couple million, she is talking about being comfy there, and now selling it for a loss, I mean, why would she buy that place at her age and the status she had on the show? A couple mill would buy a really nice place in Ashville or some other place in the south where she is from.

I think I am going to go and put some more money in my 401K! LOL.

[DRW50]

Marsha Talbot fans can see the actress in these two OLTL clips, unfortunately in a less interesting role, as a homeless woman. She starts at around 7 minutes in the first clip, and is in the first few minutes of the second. Ironically she shares scenes with Jill Larson, who played a reporter covering the Douglas Cummings murder trial.

[Quent]

I remember when Margaret Colin left, I was devastated. I hadn't been watching ATWT too long, and I thought she was terrific. I hated HBS, when she took over the role. She just seemed all wrong for the role.

This is one time in my soap watching where I was totally converted. Not only did I come to accept HBS, but she became my favorite Margo. This was at the height of her battles with Barbara, and their sparring was must-see TV. I read that the two did not get along off-screen, but if that is true, it made their scenes that much better.