ATWT: How would YOU end the show?

[dragonflies]

I thought this might be fun. I'm curious, if you had to end ATWT, how would you end it? Any couples you'd reunite, break up, character's you'd bring back? etc........

[Quent]

Hmmm...let's see. Certain things just HAVE to happen. Jack and Carly have to go off in the sunset together, for example. Beyond that, there are many interesting possibilities.

1) Katie: The show could go several different ways with the Fluffster. She could start a new romance, like Chris Hughes. She could stay single, and have another "ghostly reunion" at the end with Brad. She could go back to Husband No. 2, Henry, who really is her longest relationship on the show. But my choice would be for a final reuniting with Simon, who she always had the most sparks with.

2) Henry: Mr. Coleman could reunite with Katie, have a carefree relationship with kindred spirit Barbara, or marry his dream girl, Vienna. If Katie does NOT reunite with Simon at the end, then I'd like to see Henry and Katie. Otherwise, a toss-up.

3) Paul/Emily/Meg: This is one triangle that could go either way, with PEm and Peg both having their fan bases. My choice would Paul and Emily. They've been in each other's orbit for years.

4) Noah/Reid/Luke: A few months ago, this would be a no-brainer. NUKE has fans out the wazoo. But the prickly D. Oliver has taken Oakdale by storm, and has ten times the charisma of his rival, so ....another toss-up.

5) Lily/Holden/Molly: Okay, I KNOW how this will end, but poll after poll shows nobody wants it to happen. Lily and Holden have ZERO chemistry, and everybody knows it. Holden and Molly sizzle. But because they were ATWT's all-time most popular couple at one time, we'll be forced to watch this sparks-free duo reunite. Now , if it were JH and MB , I'd totally change my tune.

Other ending wishes: Bring Rosanna back for Craig, let Martha Byrne make a cameeo appearance even if it is as Rose, and let Helen Wagner speak the final words of the show.

[Saving ATWT]

I do like the fact that World Turns has not gone into countdown mode: The world keeps turning (albeit poorly writen) and it doesn't feel like an axed show. I would love to see a few months of good writing with stories that pull you in all highlighted with the show's rich history.

A good example would be a return of Ellen because Emily finally gets pregnant. It would be logical, organic, for a grandmother to show up at a time like this. I would also get her son, Daniel, back to Oakdale. I would like seeing a real Stewart family in the final months. Also, I like newcommer, Hunter, and would like seeing him interact with the family.

I want to see Lisa and maybe a storyline involving some secret that goes back into the shows history. Maybe this could center around one of her former husbands or children.

I want to see Lucinda being Lucinda again. I want to see her take over Monte Carlo and battle with Carly. I want to see Carly do something aside from Jack!

I want to see Janet and Dusty quickly go off into the sunset. The are hogging all of the airtime.

I want Paul and Emily to have one last Stenbeck situation. In the process, I want James to become a better man.

I want Barbar and Henry to become a supercouple!

I want Luke and Reid to become and item. Remember, Lilly had a first love, Dusty, but people grow up and, in the process, find new loves.

I want John Dixon anytime and anywhere.

I want Lyla to come back and be with her three children.

I want Emma to give the farm to Meg so that it passes to the next generation.

I want CBS to change their mind and renew the show but this will never happen.

[bellcurve]

With a visit from Jake McKinnon revealing himself to be alive and he and Molly riding off into the sunset together in the finale.

Other than the AW crossover, I've never had any use for ATWT.

[Soapsuds]

A big FAT No to all of that. I had no use for AW...haha

[P.J.]

After today? Standing Janet in front of a Montagean firing squad sounds like a good idea.

[Soapsuds]

Lucinda: What's wrong Sierra??

Sierra: We shot Juicy Janet by mistake!

Can we add Liberho recast??? The show was a dreadful mess the last couple of days.

[edgeofnik]

No brainer: Last scene is Nancy saying "Good night, dear" to Chris while raising a cup of coffee before turning off the lights. The rest:

1. CarJack

2. Emily having some happiness -- even if it's with Paul. Pregnant and with Daniel returning.

3. Holden and Molly getting married with Abi-wail there. (It won't happen, but, I agree with MB, it isn't the same. Though NB has grown on me, but not with JH.)

4. Sierra returning for Lucinda.

5. The Snyder kids coming back.

6. Katie + Simon.

7. Babs + Henry. After 30+ years, Babs can't be left in cold, would be too bad. (I do love Vienna, but in scope of history.) I do want a flashback of scene where Henry was dressed as "his favorite character from h(er) story, Barbara" when he went with Katie to obstetrician after she was pregnant.) Does anyone remember that scene??

8. Lisa. Tough one. Return on Scott would be great.

9. Craig/Rosanna/James/Cabot.

10. John announces Reid is his son and his plot to take over Memorial from Bob!

11. Bob/Kim had their moment.

I could go on (haven't even mentioned Tom/Margo, etc.) It just shows how much life this show really had, but was totally screwed. Err.

[DRW50]

Yes, it was hilarious.

My suggestions:

- Janet's baby is born several months premature. While the baby will live, it is too much of a risk to let the baby be used to save Liberty. A desperate Janet stuns everyone with her greatest secret -- Brad was not Liberty's father. She had a fling with a member of the Lombard crime family and kept this quiet because of the dangers it posed. Tony Lombard reluctantly comes forward to save his daughter's life. A mob shootout follows, killing Tony. Liberty is angry that she has now lost two fathers, neither of whom she ever had a serious chance to know. When she recovers, she plans to move away to fashion school, away from everyone. Janet and Dusty leave town quietly, with a humbled Janet apologizing to everyone for being morally superior while keeping such a dangerous secret.

- In the melee, Emily is shot. Brock Lombard, who has been faking his death for two decades to keep Emily and his children safe, visits her when he thinks she is asleep. She sees him, and as she recovers, he visits several more times. She tells him she's never really stopped loving him and she has always obsessed over man after man, instead of genuinely caring for them. She decides to move to Europe with him, letting everyone except Susan believe she's just going on her own. Meg and Paul pledge to remain friends only, and be doting parents to Eliza.

- Noah and Luke split for good. Luke and Reid hit the sheets, but their interest in each other doesn't go far beyond lust. Lucinda senses Luke's isolation and tells him that a European branch of Worldwide has a great trainee program. Luke bids an emotional goodbye to his friends and family.

- When Emma has a heart attack, Seth, Ellie, Caleb, Julie, Iva, and Aaron drop in to visit. Cal also visits, and convinces Emma to give up her memories of the farm for good. She agrees to go with him to see some of the sights across America. Iva wants to be near her daughter and grandchildren, moves into the farm and turns it into a boarding house. Aaron and Alison reconnect and marry in a small ceremony at the farm, planned by a well-meaning but over the top Julie. Aaron and Alison head for Seattle.

- Casey makes a fool of himself trying to stop the wedding, not because he loves Alison, but because he feels worthless. He punches his hand through a window and Reid stitches him up. Reid tries to look out for Casey but is unprepared when Casey kisses him. Reid says he doesn't do straight guys. Casey says he's not straight, or gay, or bi, or anything. They become lovers, which Reid tries to keep secret as Bob makes retirement plans and works to make sure Reid replaces him as chief of staff.

- Chris catches a near-naked Casey in Reid's apartment and his hatred for Reid causes him to think Reid has "seduced" Casey to get back at the Hughes family. He now wants the chief of staff position, and the hospital board is divided on what to do. The deciding vote is from John Dixon. He votes for Reid.

- Chris decides to stay away from the hospital and just work as a medical correspondent at WOAK. He quickly becomes popular enough that he becomes co-host of a morning show with Molly. He realizes his heart is in broadcasting.

- Molly puts on a brave face when Holden returns to Lily, and begins an ill-fated flirtation with old flame Chris which they stop before it goes too far. She makes plans to leave town. Before she can go, she bumps into Kirk McColl, whom she has vague memories of from her teenage years in Oakdale, and who has arrived to see Lisa for her big birthday party. They spark very quickly and pledge to keep dating, even over Lisa's objections to a "hussy" like Molly.

- Lucinda and John spar like old times but quickly fall into each other's arms. They remarry as their friends and family look on.

- Simon returns to town and Katie reunites with him, over the objections of her friends and family. Lyla returns to try to talk sense into her daughter. They become distracted when Margo suffers a serious staph infection after being operated on for a minor procedure. Cricket, Craig, Katie, and Lyla, along with the Hughes, surround her at the hospital. Lyla prays as she thinks of Casey and remembers conversations where Margo told her she did not want to be on a life support system. Lyla stands over Margo's bed and contemplates ending her life. In her heart, she can't. Margo wakes up, and tells Lyla that Lyla did what she thought was best. Lyla tells Margo she now understands the pain Margo went through. Lyla plans to move back to Oakdale to set her family straight, but she gives Katie her blessing to remarry Simon, knowing how hard it is to find true love.

- Shannon and Duncan also return for Lisa's birthday party. They are a couple again. Jessica and Ben Harris return to Oakdale and announce that they are engaged. Bonnie jokes that everything would be simpler if Jessica and Duncan just got back together. As Jessica and Duncan look at each other, viewers are left to decide what will happen for these relationships.

- Andy moves back to Oakdale with Hope.

- Grant Colman surprises Lisa at her party. So does Scott. When Scott learns Carly is remarrying a cop, he can't believe how boring she's become. Rosanna, who has a score to settle against Scott anyway, gets him away from Carly by convincing him she's still rich. Scott succumbs to her wooing and they become involved. Rosanna eventually feels guilty and when Scott proposes to her, she confesses that she only has enough to get by. Scott smiles and says he's known that all along, and he didn't care, he just wanted to see her try to keep up the ruse. Grant and Lisa also get engaged. Tom and Margo suggest a double wedding, but a horrified Lisa says no, that's too tacky for words. Rosanna and Scott have a quiet ceremony at Carly's house while Lisa plans a more grand occasion for what will be her last wedding.

- Susan, Emily, and Alison throw a party for Ellen, surprising her with the returns of Betsy, Annie, Dee, and their kids. Ellen is moved to tears and is very emotional for the entire party. After the party, Betsy quietly confides in a worried Nancy that Ellen is in the early stages of dementia and doesn't want anyone to know.

- Nancy begins thinking about Mac. She tells Bob and Kim that she has trouble thinking about him because he was so brave and strong and fought against such a horrible enemy, whereas her beloved Chris had a quieter goodbye. Bob and Kim remind each other again how lucky they are and make plans to begin spending more time together.

- Nancy, Margo, and Tom work together to help fundraise for a local Alzheimer's charity. They hold a major dinner, and to Nancy's surprise, Penny, Amy, Lien, Sabrina, among many others, return. Penny has an emotional reunion with her best friend Ellen. Penny and Bob speak about the causes their mother has fought for, most of all keeping them on the right path. Penny introduces a woman named Irna, who was best friends with the late Susan Hughes. Irna tells them that when she was a girl, she was always a little afraid of Nancy (Bob and Penny add that you should be), but as the years went by and she moved on with her life and drifted away from Oakdale, she began to realize just how important a person like Nancy was. Nancy had kept in contact with her, and was more of a mother to Irna than her own mother.

Irna is now a wealthy woman and writes a large check for the charity. She announces matching donations from friends and business associates in Springfield, Bay City, Monticello, Somerset, Henderson, Three Rivers, and Strathfield.

For the last scene, Nancy looks at her friends and family, letting them know how special they are to her, and says how important it is to never forger your experiences, bad and good, happy or sad, they make you what you are, and to remember that no matter what, the world never stops turning.

[Jay]

"Irna"...I'm verklempt.

[Cat]

Me too. Irna mentioning Monticello, Springfield, Bay City and Somerset was an awesome touch! I actually got tears in my eyes when I read the bit about Nancy telling friends and family how much she loved them and how they should embrace all experiences in life, good and bad.

I don't want to get OT but all these ideas for ending the show are not just great ways to see off the soap, they also illustrate how much life the old broad still has left within her. I mean, Carl's SL about having Reid and Casey start a relationship (and Casey refusing to define himself as either straight, gay, bi or anything) and then have Chris vs. Reid start a chief-of-staff rivalry is so juicy, it could honestly trigger new SLs to keep this baby going.

[Dr Neil Curtis]

My Friend Carl, they need to call on you to write these finals months!!!

[DRW50]

I know, I think Reid shows that ATWT still has a lot of potential if they just knew how to reach that potential. BM's Casey has always come across to me as being very open sexually. I can see him with Reid, and that would provide a lot of drama, given that Reid has a precarious relationship with the Hughes family. It would also be something different for Casey.

I mentioned the other soap towns because all the P&G soaps are gone now. I wish ATWT could honor them, however briefly. And then of course struggling to get over the death of Susan Hughes provided a lot of angst for Nancy in the earliest days of the show.

Thanks for the nice comments, Neil, Cat, Jay. I wasn't sure anyone would get through all that

[Bright Eyes]

I'm just going to pretend that is how it ended. Who cares how it really happened?

[Quent]

I really like the idea of Emma having a heart attack, thus bringing all the far-flung Snyders home to roost. Of course Emma should recover (everybody does in Oakdale,,,even after brain surgery, you're out of bed in two days, and has their ever been a paralysis or blindness that stuck?). It would be great to see Emma surrounded by Iva, Seth, Ellie, Caleb, Julie, etc.