As The World Turns Discussion Thread

[Soaplovers]

When my late mom was alive, she said her fav Margo was Margaret Colin...but by the time I was old enough, I witness HBS last year or so as Margo.  Timing is everything cause when Ellen Dolan announced she as leaving the show, it was right after HBS signed as Nora...mo the after saying she would have been open to going back as Margo.

 

With that said, how do you think Margo would have differed if HBS had resumed playing Margo again after Ellen Dolan left the role?  Both of the actresses had different takes on the character...HBS was more sarcastic...while Ellen Dolan was sarcastic, but with a harsher undertone then either Margaret C or HBS (a far cry from her Maureen Reardon where she was perkier then her replacement).

 

Also, I'm going to be unpopular...but I liked Heather R's take on Lily better then Martha's, but I will say I liked that Martha played Lily differently when she first came back to the role (more like heathers version then her original version).  But I have to say I liked Noelle's take of Lily in the last few years of the show.  After all, she did play the Lily Walsh version on Loving....and we got an answer as to how he would have written Trisha long term when he wrote for Lily Walsh.

[Soapsuds]

I didn't care for Margaret Colin's Margo....HBS hands down was the best Margo. And I loved Heather Rattray as Lily. Noelle was horrible as Lily and was totally miscast in the role.

[Scrapple]

I remember when Margaret Colin left ATWT.  I swore I would never watch the show again. I hated HBS, and thought she was unattractive. Eventually, she won me over and became my favorite (by far) of the Four Margos. Her battles with Barbara were the highlight of her tenure on the show.

[adrnyc]

Oof. I have to say I'm in the minority on HBS. (I'm only up to September '87 though - perhaps I'll change my opinion as I keep watching.) Her acting, to me, is not good. When Margo is at a normal level, all is fine, but when the tears have to come......if my husband is in the room, he has to get up and leave. Same thing whenever Sierra is "crying".  LOL   My hubby would watch ATWT with me, off and on, when he and I first lived together, but he's having a difficult time supporting me watching the '80's. 

 

From what little I've seen of MC as Margo, I have to say I loved her in the role. (I pretty much love everything she does though.) ED will always be my preferred Margo though. She *is* Margo to me. The others only seem to be *playing* Margo.  

[DramatistDreamer]

No offense, but Ellen Dolan was my least favorite Margo. I always felt her better role was as Maureen Bauer on Guiding Light. Maybe the writing had something to do with it.

One thing that both MC and HBS had was white-hot sensual/sexual chemistry with their Toms. We know that MC and JD carried their partnership into real life, and HBS and GM (despite talk of Marx's sexuality) could really put on a display of intense physical chemistry. You Tube doesn't do them justice because You Tube doesn't have most of the episodes that illustrate what I'm talking about.

 

ED was convincing as a cop (most of the time) but I never got a passion between her Margo and Scott Holmes' Tom. There were sweet moments but I got far more heat watching Lucinda and John or Bob and Kim than I ever did from their Tom and Margo.

Maybe because Margo had been portrayed as a victim multiple times by the time ED had truly started to make the role her own. I don't know, maybe it's just me.

Even though Ellen Parker's Maureen was the one I was most familiar with and I enjoyed her and thought she deserved her Emmy win, when I saw episodes of Ellen Dolan on You Tube, I understood what others meant when talked about how good Dolan was as Maureen. I didn't see her that way as Margo.

[SoapDope]

I never liked Scott Holmes as Tom or Ellen Dolan as Margo. They were boring and annoying. My Favorite Tom & Margo was HBS and GM. 

[DRW50]

I never saw Scott Holmes as being able to have any type of sexual or romantic chemistry. I did think he and Ellen Dolan were fine together in her first years on the show - playful and a believable couple, the type of day-to-day worry over takeout, picking up the kids, etc. that Marland knew how to write. Only after she returned and the characters became screaming banshees did I grow to dislike them. 

[Khan]

I guess I'm the rare individual who enjoyed all the Toms (well, except for Jason Kincaid) and Margos (including, yes, Glynnis O'Connor).  I think it's due to the fact that they never cast either character with obvious himbos or bimbos.  For the most part, Margaret Colin, Justin Deas, HBS, Gregg Marx, Scott Holmes, and Ellen Dolan were all intelligent actors capable of doing more than mere "hair modeling."

[SoapDope]

Why did they replace Tom Tammi with Justin Deas ?

[Khan]

I suspect they wanted to de-age Tom a bit since, by that point, it seemed as if Tom was pushing forty.  IIRC, though, then-EP Fred Bartholomew wasn't all too keen on casting Deas until Betty Rea showed him Deas' audition tape.

[adrnyc]

My only knowledge of Tom's pre-1979 past is from reading the Soaps and Serials books. Did Tom actually age from 2 yrs old to 18 years old within a year or so on the show?

[Mitch]

Yea...Dolan and Holmes had the sexual chemistry of a dried up apple. That could be okay as they were now middle aged and in a relationship for a long time...but they never exhibited any warmth to each other their kids or the rest of their family.  Bob and Kim and John and Lucinda did generate more heat then those two and with Bob and Kim you could see they were best friends and why everyone would go to them with their problems even if Kim was going to kick your ass. Lucinda had warmth with all of her TV family and her allies even if it was different then B & K. Dolan and Holmes...no.

 

I think Colin worked perfect for her time as a rebellious, sometimes annoying and shrill Margo..HBS worked great as a more mellowed Margo who became part of this big family but still retained her independence and feist. (I cannot see Colin's Margo calling Nancy "Gram".)  And well, if you didn't have chemistry with Marxx you were dead. He had great sexual, friendship and family chemistry with everyone and it just workd. Holmes was a sour boring grape.

Edited October 6, 2017 by Mitch

[NothinButAttitude]

Y'all are gonna stop coming for my Scott Holmes' Tom! 

 

Now Dolan's Margo, y'all can come at as I found her to be a judgmental twat. 

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[danfling]

Tom aged very rapidly, but he was seen as a youngster for several years (played by Tony winner Frankie Michaels), then as a high school student (played by Richard Thomas).   I am not sure why, but Mr. Thomas was soon replaced.   (I suspect that it was due to not being accepted by the audience.)  Paul O'Keefe (who had already played Danny on the same show and then played Ross on The Patty Duke Show) replaced Richard Thomas and played the role (probably for several years).   Tom was a high school student with a girlfriend, Sally (played by Kathy Cody).  Then, Paul O'Keefe was replaced with Richard Link playing the role as an older person.    The Hughes family was afraid that Tom would be drafted and sent to Viet Nam.  Then came Peter Gallman and David Cherrill (writer C. David Colson) and Tom Tammi.   That is as far as I viewed.

[SoapDope]

Wasn't it C. David Colson  version that played married to Natalie ? Peter Gallman I think was playing Tom when he first married Carol. PG has a youtube page and said he hoped to find footage of his ATWT days.