As The World Turns Discussion Thread

[DRW50]

[Khan]

They must've interviewed Adam Crane between rehearsals with his barbershop quartet.

[DRW50]

A few clips I hadn't seen before.

[DRW50]

Ha ha I love this. It sucks that they stopped doing this type of promotion.

[Khan]

"Steve" and "Betsy" were less than 30 feet away, and neither the audience nor the contestants could have cared less.

[Max]

I consider the rivalry between Dr. Bob and Dr. John to be the greatest professional rivalry in soap history. How did the two of them meet, and what started their rivalry?

I'm sure that you have all seen this promo regarding ATWT's upcoming 60-minute expansion:

<iframe width="420" height="345" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/gy9SiZHvrE8" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

However, can anybody please provide the context of that particular scene?

Edited August 29, 2011 by Max

[saynotoursoap]

Max, I am not sure how John and Bob met. I imagine it was at Memorial. John was originally intended to be a short-term, minor character, and the part grew thanks to Larry Bryggman's superb performance.

At the point when I began watching regularly, around the summer of 1972, the villainous John we know and love was just beginning to take shape. John came from a very modest, working class family. He put himself through school and was very ambitious. He sought to break all ties with his past, including his family. When John married Kim, she wanted to invite his parents to the wedding, and John refused. He admitted that he was ashamed of his mother and father and did not want Oakdale's uppercrust to see how humble his roots were. John primarily married Kim as a trophy wife. I am not sure the phrase was used in that era, but essentially he used Kim's grace and good breeding to gain acceptance into Oakdale's society.

John was insanely jealous of Bob Hughes. John felt that he (John) was a far superior physician and that Bob never really worked for his accolades, rather they were handed to him on a silver platter because he was the son of Chris Hughes, whose name carried respect in the town. John was very competitive with Bob and wanted to prove that he could achieve something greater without the good name and automatic acceptance. After marrying Kim, who was pregnant, John became enraged to learn that she was having Bob's child, the result of a one-night stand. John could not bear to know that Bob had beaten him to initimacy with Kim, and that she was now carrying living proof of that intimacy. This was the point where the rivalry between the two really intensified, with John determined to sabotage Bob whenever possible.

In the above clip, from November 1975, John almost had the perfect opportunity.

The previous month, Bob and his wife Jennifer (Kim's sister) arranged a surprise birthday party for Nancy Hughes at the exclusive Colonnade Room. Bob's ex-wife Sandy had recently returned to Oakdale with her arsey new husband Norman Garrison. The Garrisons were in the Colonnade Room the night of Nancy's party, and Norman slipped and fell. Later, he developed chest pains. Bob and Jennifer were going to go home, but at the last minute, Bob decided to accompany Sandy and Norman to Memorial. Jennifer drove home alone. Although it was October, Oakdale was hit by a unseasonable snow storm that night. Jennifer's car skidded off the road and crashed, killing her instantly. Sandy felt bad for Bob and attempted to comfort him as best she could. Meanwhile, Norman was recovering and after consulting with an attorney, decided to sue the Colonnade Room, arguing that the fall caused his heart attack. He wanted Bob to testify that the accident could have upset him so much that the attack was a direct result. However, Bob did not agree and refused. Norman accused him of being in love with Sandy and not wanting to help him.

Unknown to anyone, Norman himself was having an affair with a young woman named Tina Richards. Tina sneaked into Norman's room at Memorial, and they quarreled about Sandy. Tina wanted everyone to know that she and Norman were in love, but Norman feared that if he were exposed as an adulterer, everyone would think he was also a liar who was attempting to cheat the Colonnade Room in a frivolous lawsuit. At that very moment, Bob stopped by the nurse's station to get Norman's chart. Bob told the nurses that he was going to check on Norman's condition, but on the way to the room, he realized that he had forgotten his stethoscope to listen to Norman's heart. Bob took the back stairs to retrieve it from his office. Norman was shouting at Tina about Sandy, that she had caused all the trouble between them. He suffered another massive heart attack and collapsed. Tina exited the room unseen. When Bob arrived a few minutes later, he found Norman, who was dead. The nurses who overheard the argument assumed that Bob and Norman were arguing about Bob's ex-wife Sandy, and rumors began to swirl that Bob had caused Norman's death because he was having an affair with Sandy. That is the "rumor" and "petty minds" referred to in this clip.

Edited August 31, 2011 by saynotoursoap

[DRW50]

Fascinating stuff!

Apparently John first appeared as a friend of Dan's. He was also Dan's roommate, and worked under Michael Shea.

[Khan]

FYI: I borrowed my pen name, Michael, from Dr. Shea. Although I haven't seen one bit of footage of him, there is something about that man's history that has long fascinated me.

[DRW50]

Just promise you won't name your son Chuckie.

[Max]

Saynotoursoap, thank you so much for sharing your treasure trove of knowledge in regards to the Dr. Bob and Dr. John rivalry. I learned a whole lot.

Edited September 1, 2011 by Max

[edgeofnight]

From what I have read, Helen Wagner (Nancy) was partially responsible for alerting TPTB that they had potential gold in Larry Brygmann (John Dixon). If I recall, he, as much cited the late Ms. Wagner, in his Emmy acceptance speech when he won for Best Actor in a Daytime Drama series.

[Soapsuds]

It was Darryl that was going to be the killer but Marland changed it. I think that's why the story went on for so long. Douglas wanted to go the route he had planned but was unsure so he keep making others look guilty. Parts of the story were great and others not. I really wish Marland would have gone with his initial plan and made Darryl the killer.

[soapfan770]

Thanks so much again for that history lesson saynotoursoap! Thanks Max as well for sharing hat clip video link. I remember it on the defunct WOST site.

That's interesting that two children of two iconic characters on two P&G soaps named Chuckie both ended up dead.

I think Darryl being the killer in the end could have created some powerful drama--imagine if he had framed someone else then get into an accident and make some death bed confession he did it. Mousy Vicki who was Carolyn's best friend being behind it all was kind of sad.

Sabrina appeared in '93 alongside Duncan to fight Hans in Montega? I don't remember that but that's pathetic. That sounds way too 1987ish for 1993!

What did you guys think of Edwina Walsh?

[DRW50]

I loved Edwina. I loved how she never liked Rosanna, and her complicated relationship with Connor. I also liked that she always wore her fur to the Snyder farm. Rita Lloyd was so underrated.