As The World Turns Discussion Thread

[DramatistDreamer]

 

And did Lisa refer to Duncan as "...that ugly Scotch person"?

[RavenWhitney]

Amazing cast.  But with many Marland episodes I felt like I needed a tranquilizer after watching.  This show was on speed. Too many characters and chaos in many of these scenes.  

[DramatistDreamer]

Funny how many people have claimed the opposite.

Make up your minds, people!

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[OzFrog]

 

I was referring more to the opening graphic sequence, but it’s actually fascinating learning about the music theme too. Thanks for the info

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[DramatistDreamer]

 

Oh, yeah, that spinning globe pretty much remained the same for quite a number of years, with the most minute of tweaks.

Both GL and ATWT had such strong identifiers with the Lighthouse and The Spinning Globe that it was likely a question of veering to far away from a visual image that was so strongly connected with their identity. P&G seemed like a highly traditional company and probably viewed it as anathema to change too drastically, the look of their two stalwarts, unless they felt they had little choice. In the late 90s when the show seemed to fall into a kind of rut, and ratings trended downward, you began to see a highly noticeable tinkering with the look and sound of the theme.

That's my take on the concept, anyway.

Edited April 17, 2021 by DramatistDreamer

[Broderick]

 

It was difficult for Marland to pen a one-on-one scene, because so many of his characters tromped around in big herds like buffalo.  

[Soapsuds]

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[DramatistDreamer]

There has been discussion in the GL thread but it really has been imprinted in my mind that we really still have actors still with us that are directly linked to Irna Phillips, yet there is no Ken Burnsian-style documentary on the history of the daytime drama!

I know there have been podcast interviews and NATAS sit-down interviews tucked away on YouTube done 20 years ago but never on am expansive scale that would actually get the genre recognized on a cultural and artistic level.

Talk about Six Degrees Of Separation? We have actors who are literally one Degree of Separation, yet there is little recognition of this. I don't get it.

[titan1978]

One of the reasons I cherish that OLTL oral history book, and would kill for one about GH.  I wish soaps were not so ignored as a major part of cultural history.  You know, before 1999 lol.

[DramatistDreamer]

 

Those are wonderful keepsakes that you can enjoy, time and again. I bet you are glad that you grabbed them when you had the chance.

Now, if only the collective parts of the entire industry made a holistic effort to get a visual and audio history of the roots of the genre itself, the socio-political aspects (civil rights, the sexual revolution, post WWII economic gains, consumerism) and the changes in daytime drama and what was really behind it. There is so much that is worthy of introspection. And of course, there are the personal stories of Phillips, the writers, the cast and crew, the network  and production executives. I feel like we're running out of time with some of this. There are actors who had personal interaction with the creator of the genre and we're not engaging with them the way that we should. They won't be here forever and we haven't really talked enough to them about the specifics of those early days of daytime drama.

 

That GL podcast was a great listen but it was but a brief snippet and it reminded me of how much archival footage, episodes, etc. are sitting somewhere, possibly degrading because of neglect. Bothersome.

Edited April 21, 2021 by DramatistDreamer

[Soapsuds]

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[DramatistDreamer]

Such a missed  prime opportunity to have an Earth Day tie-in with the spinning globe when ATWT was still on the air.

Seeing the infamous Fiona, lecture everyone on how to buy groceries while saving money during that NYE '85 episode made me chuckle. I don't remember seeing any other episodes on YouTube where the character appears.

In about 7 or 8 months, Fiona's advice is revealed to have more sinister intensions, lol.

Edited April 22, 2021 by DramatistDreamer

[72Hearts]

Great quality on that '85 vintage ATWT episode! Bob and Kim were my fantasy mom and dad.

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[Mitch]

I loved and love my parents..but Bob and Kim as the fantasy parents..Lisa as your fantasy eccentric flamboyant aunt that would take care of and keep your secrets that you didn't want your parents..and Greg Marx as your fantasy boyfriend/husband...ATWT hit all the marks in those years!

[DramatistDreamer]

 

Not to brag, but what other soaps have as many Oscar, Tony and Grammy award winners? In the decade from the early 80s to the early 90s alone, there were so many actors that became very well-known/famous in popular culture worldwide, in movies, in Broadway, television, making platinum status albums.

The downside was that most of those actors were never going to stay beyond three, maybe four years, which kind of throws so many aspects of the story/show for a loop. The lone exception had to be Tamara Tunie (Tony award winning producer) and it's pretty obvious to me as to why she stayed as long as she did.