As The World Turns Discussion Thread

[All My Shadows]

This guy does a fantastic job playing a lot of the old organ/piano soap themes, and he recently uploaded a video of one of the most ubiquitous pieces of soap music: the Hughes family leitmotif from the 50s/60s (and into the 70s?). If you've ever watched just ONE black and white episode of ATWT, you know this music.

 

ETA: How could I forget - they were definitely still using orchestrated arrangements of the Hughes family theme until at least 1979, per the segments posted by We Love Soaps. It just blows my mind that something can exist in a TV series's canon day in and day out for over 20 years and suddenly just vanish, never to be heard ever again. A subtle, modern version of this theme should have been used to open any Bob/Kim scene.
 

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Edited November 24, 2016 by All My Shadows

[DRW50]

When I saw one of those interviews with Ellen Dolan, she mentioned that originally at the end she was supposed to die and Tom would get her heart. And that it changed. So they gave that to Reid instead? I thought the story was a hoary old shitpile no matter who had it, but giving it to Reid was a crass, homophobic wretched choice that made the last weeks of ATWT even poorer. 

[NothinButAttitude]

 

Seriously?! 

 

Good God this show was all over the place. Who in their right minds thought it'd be good to kill off Margo in the end right after we had already lost Nancy? I swear Goutman and Passanantate can't read a room to save their lives. 

 

If anyone died in the end, it should've been that wretched Janet, Liberty, or Craig's new bastard child, Gabriel. 

[DramatistDreamer]

Wow, speaking of Thanksgiving and Bob's toast/speech, this one is a real apt one, considering the year we're having and just coming out of this horrid election season.

Pretty decent episode but if you only have time to listen to the speech, start at around 36:38.

 

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[Soaplovers]

Wow...Margo dying instead of Reid?!?!?  Of course...the focus qould have been on Katie and her grief just like it was pretty much on her when Reid died.  

 

Speaking of which...ATWT killing Reid off makes sense in the sense that life is fragile...the show was known for doing so in the past...i.e. Clare, Jim, Liz, Dan...etc I think that in a sense...this made sense.

[DramatistDreamer]

 

 

It would've been great to see a variation on this theme for Bob and Kim with subtle tweaks here and there to update the theme and make it fresh.

 

It's truly a shame that the soaps never learned to do this. They always seemed to believe that in order to modernize the show, they had to throw away what came before, even when it worked effectively. 

[NothinButAttitude]

Been watching a lot of 1987 as of late--what is everyone's opinion on Taylor Baldwin?

 

I get that she was an unpopular interloper for Tom/Margo at the time, but has anyone's opinion changed on her in recent years?

 

Plus, I've always wondered why did she get so much flack when Hal (though I loved him) was somewhat doing the same thing too? 

[DRW50]

She's one of Mitch's favorite characters...

 

No seriously, I think she just seemed very wan and as a result it was difficult to care. Likely one of the reasons Shannon went on to also play interloper for a while before the reunion. It likely didn't help with viewers at the time that she'd also tried to be an issue between Casey and Lyla. 

 

I think with Hal the chemistry between Benjamin and HBS made viewers more torn, especially as Tom was away for much of 1987 and Holmes didn't have the chemistry with HBS that Gregg Marx did. 

Edited November 26, 2016 by DRW50

[DramatistDreamer]

 

Yesterday, I watched a couple episodes from 1988 just as Margo ran off after she discovers that she's pregnant with Hal's kid and I couldn't help but think Taylor might have come in handy story-wise.

 

I recognize the complaints about Taylor coming off as a bland blueblood which really makes me question the logic of how she and Casey could have possibly gotten together in the first place, given their personalities.

 

Having Shannon and Tom dance around each other didn't do much for me though. There never seemed any possibility of it going anywhere romantic. They always seemed destined to remain helpful, platonic friends-this aspect had an air of unchangeable inevitability about it. 

As bland as Taylor might have been, there was the possibility, at least, of her roping a vulnerable Tom into a relationship. Margo even recognized this when she was still with Hal but drawn to Tom. It's pretty much what pushed her back in Tom's direction (remember the "Tie" scenes?).

 

 

Edited November 26, 2016 by DramatistDreamer

[NothinButAttitude]

 

OK. Now it all makes sense. 

 

I just don't find her as horrific as some people have said. I think she would've been a great character to bring back in the future to wreak havoc on Tom/Margo, Lisa (as they didn't get along), etc. 

 

Would've been interesting to see how Katie would've taken to her after Margo (and possibly Lyla) filled her with info on how Taylor played around with Casey too. 

[DRW50]

I certainly didn't find her horrific. I just thought she was dull. 

[Soapsuds]

She was horrific dull....LOL.  She had to be one of the most boring character ever on ATWT.

[slick jones]

I thought she was boring. Most of the characters on canvas had something that made them interesting. Taylor was just there...

[NothinButAttitude]

 

Oh that wasn't to you. When I used to post another another board years ago that shall not be named, there was an overall consensus of hatred for Taylor. It just used to boggle me a bit b/c I didn't. I saw her as a character that with some fixing could've worked. 

 

Again, I think she could've been good character to bring back in the late 90s/early 00s to wreak havoc for Tom/Margo and possibly the doctors at Oakdale Memorial. 

[Dr Neil Curtis]

How was Justin Deas chemistry with Hillary B. Smith during their brief time as Tom & Margo together.