As The World Turns Discussion Thread

[victoria foxton]

She was only on for a short time. Little bits and piece. Of that story have popped up. Over the yrs. Here's more of Imogene as Alice. 

Please register in order to view this content

 

Edited February 1, 2021 by victoria foxton

[DramatistDreamer]

I would like to see that next episode!

 

If only P&G had given the SoapClassics people more time, perhaps we could have had a clean copy of this storyline, or at least a few episodes.

[Mitch]

In Chicago they kept interrupting this episode with Lori Dann's rampage...weird seeing crazy Laura on here and crazy Lori in real life.

[Soapsuds]

you can tell it's a Paul Lammers directed episode. My memory of the Laura story is very foggy.   Who is the guy in the tub? What happened to Laura? When was she caught? I remember Tom Wiggin saying how great the story was and thought Marland did a brilliant job with it. He was fascinated by it.

[Mitch]

I can't remember the whole thing either. Laura had a "daddy complex" and was fascinated with Bob..(kind of reverse Doug Cummings) and the guy in the bathtub was an older married guy, I think she was having an affair with...this was during the writers strike so I am sure it got muddled.

[Soapsuds]

Thanks Mitch!

[DRW50]

I think the man was Kim's boss at WOAK. I may be wrong there though. I remember feeling the scenes of her in the hotel in her bra felt so noirish and out of step with Marland type material (due to the strike I suppose). I think Laura had snapped because she had been kept from her children after her divorce. I really should try to watch the Laura episodes in order sometimes (whatever is around) because I felt like she was initially into Tom, not Bob.

 

The climax of the story was her in Bob and Kim's bedroom, in a nightgown, threatening them with a pair of scissors, I think.

 

SOD named it worst story of 1988.

[DramatistDreamer]

 

The guy in the tube was the married (with kids) general manager of WOAK. Laura jumped ship after initially working for Kim (without even giving Kim a heads up) to work for him after convincing him to hire her, citing manufactured threats from Bob.

The story came to a resolution sometime around Barbara and Hal's wedding reception.

 

There was a video on YouTube containing the episode of what happened after Laura managed to lure Bob to the house but it was taken down unfortunately. Beau eventually ended up escorting his sister back to Ohio to an institution for the mentally insane.

 

[Soapsuds]

@DramatistDreamer and @DRW50 Thanks for the info!  Didn't know Laura was Beau sister.  I liked the storyline. SOD track record with their best and worst has always been off. I got to the episode where Laura confronts Bob in the living room and the next episodes are missing...ie the conclusion to the story. I wonder who the ghost wrters at the time of the strike and what Marland would've changed.

[Khan]

 

I wouldn't be surprised to learn Robert Calhoun was among those ghost-writing the show during that period.

[Soapsuds]

Wasn't those the rumors? The EP were the ghost writers of each soap?

Please register in order to view this content

 

[DramatistDreamer]

 

That next episode was briefly on YouTube, one of the many P&G episodes that were pulled following disputes.

From what I remember, Beau and the police, which included Roy and Lt. McCluskey got to the house in time. I'm not sure but I think Laura had some silver letter opener, (which belonged to Bob and/or Kim) and when it appeared that she might stab Bob, she turned it on herself and claimed that everyone would assume that Bob killed her. She accused Bob of giving her no other choice. As she's about to stab herself, the police and Beau arrive to stop Laura. Beau and Bob contact Dr. Michaels who sedates and counsels a catatonic Laura, who is hospitalized at Memorial, where I think she was questioned by the police and she admits to killing Herb Petrie (can't believe I remembered his name!), the general manager at WOAK. It is determined that it is unlikely that Laura will ever be mentally capable and will have to be institutionalized.

 

That year was interesting, not just because of the WGA strike but also because Laura exits and a few short months later, Lillith arrives and that, Marland did write.

[Soapsuds]

Ah thanks! 1988 had a lot of psychos on...

Please register in order to view this content

  it was hard for Marland to replicate the great year before. The show lost steam in the ratings and including the psychos...Marland had two stories that white America turned off for Hank being gay and Lien story. I noticed the ratings drop during those two stories...ATWT dropping to #7. Most of 1988 ATWT ranked #5 with an occasional #4. I was trying to find ratings to the Barbara/Hal wedding and Laura story conclusion to no avail.

[Soaplovers]

GL after the 1988 strike derailed Long's plans, managed to take what the scabs had done and ushered in the last golden age of GL from 1989 to 1993.

 

Do you think ATWT had the same luck post 1988 strike?  It seemed the show became darker and serious post strike..at least after the more energetic 1985 to 1987  of Marlands stint (I believe the energy element was from the previous writer Bledsoe Horgan).

[DramatistDreamer]

 

Ming-Na was such a great find.

I'd like to not believe that soap audiences were racist and homophobic but sadly when I see that the black family before Jessica's even came on was shelved just as they were finally getting good story, it didn't surprise me that/if viewers had a fit over Hank and Lien, both werr compelling characters, even if a bit too tolerant of other people's nonsense.

1989 really picked back up again though.