As The World Turns Discussion Thread

[Liberty City]

They had a different kind of chemistry that was not as magical as what Hensley had with Byrne. I just couldn't see Rattray in latter Lily storylines. Though, I definitely prefer her over Noelle Beck.

[Mitch]

Yea..the talk shows have to be much cheaper then soaps...one set, a whole bunch of product placements, and studios to pay the show to have the hosts fawn over the stars..and, no crazy fans writing in constantly. 

I do think that soaps are of course living on in other platforms an d that the its interesting that Amazon has jumped on the bandwagon of "serialized stories" with is Vella product. The stories are even called "episodes" and you get the first three free and then you need to pay for the rest. They are written by Indie authors and who knows how good they are, but I think it would be interesting if someone like Nancy Curlee would write a continuation of ATWT and or GL as I do believe there is still an audience for that. P & G tried to do that with GL but it was on Twitter and didn;t work well.

I know the continuing print stories thing has been around since Dickens (and most likely before) but its interesting how Amazon is packaging these to close to being soaps..tho of different types...(love stories, mysteries, humor.)

[DramatistDreamer]

It's interesting, I am reading this book on Women pioneers in television and am on the section on Irna Phillips and Phillips, being from the Chicago seemed acutely aware of the perceptions that people on both U.S. coasts may have had about the Midwest. When she decides to move production of The Guiding Light radio serial to California from Chicago, she was very reluctant, only deciding to do so because she had been to working on other projects that were based there and also for personal reasons. When she moved TGL to California, it was considered the "death knell" for radio soaps. From what I have read, it also seems as though Phillips elevated the social standing of her characters from the working class characters that radio soaps were known for, to the 'professional class' with her reverend in TGL as well as newly introduced characters like doctors and lawyers. 

With ATWT, I do think there was a consciousness (perhaps self-consciousness) about these Midwestern characters that lasted all the way until the end of the series that was signified in the way they dressed, their comportment, that wasn't haphazard. Characters like Lisa, Kim, Barbara and Lucinda traveled extensively, often taking trips to NYC, London, Milan, Venice, etc. Heck, even Lyla and Margo ventured to NYC and D.C. I would imagine that kept them current fashion-wise, so I never sweat it over reasoning why their styles seemed so sophisticated. 

It seemed more anachronistic and jarring to see upwardly mobile characters living in the equivalent of a dorm room toward the end of the series.

[victoria foxton]

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 A 1983 clip with Margo, Tom, Lyla. Dee, Kim, Betsy, Craig and James. The quality of the video isn't great.

Edited August 1, 2021 by victoria foxton

[DramatistDreamer]

Question: did Irna Phillips name Tom (Hughes) after her son Tom?

[wonderwoman1951]

while irna doesn’t mention it in her unfinished memoir, ‘all my worlds, it certainly seems likely. tom hughes was born in 1961, when irna’s son was 20.

what’s even more interesting is another character irna named tom. ‘another world’s’ tom baxter, who would impregnate pat matthews. after a botched abortion that left her sterile, pat shot and killed tom. 

in all my worlds irna tells an affair with a doctor that left her pregnant — a pregnancy that ended with the baby dying in childbirth and irna sterile. reading tom baxter’s character description in the aw bible, then irna’s description of the doctor who ‘left me with next to nothing,’ the connection is hard to miss.

in the memoir, irna is candid about her difficult relationship with both of her adopted children, so you have to ask: how her relationship with her son changed between 1961, when tom hughes was born, and 1963-64, when irna was creating ‘another world.’

[DramatistDreamer]

@wonderwoman1951I am currently reading a book called When Women Invented Television and Irna Phillips is one of the four women profiled in the book and reading about her management of her career with her role as a single mother to her two adopted children definitely made me wonder about the creation of Tom Hughes as he was created by Phillips.

Another strangely serendipitous piece of trivia is the fact that her daughter was named Katherine Phillips Hughes. The spellings are different but I remember reading a quote from Kathryn Hays where she mentioned that Don Hastings once told her that when she tested for the role of Kim Hughes that Irna had said that she saw something in Kathryn, I can't remember the whole quote but it made me think that Phillips saw a connection with Hays before she had even been cast in the role.

[wonderwoman1951]

re irna’s daughter and kathryn hays, that’s a coincidence. however, given what irna told the late robert laguardia about the character of kim, she certainly saw something in the actress that she saw in her self; or far more likely, wished she could have seen in herself.

Kim Reynolds is really me, at a much younger age.  She's fiercely independent, as I was, and she won't settle for second best.

She looks in the mirror and refers to herself as "lady in the mirror."  Well, that was her other self, which no one knew about: the true me, the person I always hid from the world.

She's having a child out of wedlock, which will only be hers.  I adopted two children – Kathy and Tommy – without a husband.

We're both the same.  And she's going to have that child to prove that a woman can do it alone.

Edited August 3, 2021 by wonderwoman1951

[Paul Raven]

And then Irna was fired and they had Kim marrying John to give the baby a name...

[DramatistDreamer]

And then the child was written as stillborn. (until the retain in the late 80s)

The book is really interesting because it delves deeper into the business aspect of daytime television and the differences in sustaining sponsorship between radio and television, as well as the transitions Phillips had to make.

[DramatistDreamer]

So interesting to read about how much adoption storylines were centered by Irna Phillips' ATWT, then to look at one of the most memorable storylines in 80s ATWT centered adoption as well. The more I read this book, the clearer the parallels are.

[Soapsuds]

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[DramatistDreamer]

Thanks for posting that news clipping. @Soapsuds

It's what I have been saying repeatedly, often times in the 80s and 90s, ATWT used to make the effort to bring back long-time characters, if only for cameo appearances, which brought some semblance of continuity, in terms of show history (never having seen Penny Hughes in her original run, it was meaningful for me to be able to see her in her 80s appearances, during which time, I learned about her impact and importance to the Hughes family and to the show's history). The problems seemed to stem from successful alumni not being able or willing to return, for various reasons.

By the late 90s, the show seemed to cut those connective ties to that show history and didn't bother to bring back the actors, opting instead to bring back some of the characters, with casting that can best be referred to as haphazardly executed.

One thing I wished they would have done with Betsy is to have brought in an actress that was previously on the show, playing a popular character, even if she wasn't Betsy. For instance, Kim Johnson Ulrich, who played Diana McColl, probably would have fit in nicely and long-time fans likely wouldn't have flinched an inch.

 

Henderson Forsythe himself had a thriving career on the stage and could barely make appearances on the show. Sure, they could have recast the role but it would've been akin to a Bob Hughes recast at that stage, with an actor who had become synonymous with the role over decades. Honestly, it was sad to me because I am usually opposed to killing off characters of that stature unless the real life portrayer dies, but everyone might have thought it for the best at the time, including Forsythe.

 

[soapfan770]

I always felt like Betsy should have easily returned at any time in the 90's, whether it was when Dani came back in 1994 or any time Emily had gone off the deep end again and needed support. I could easily see Betsy entwining herself with some Grimaldi and/or Kasnoff relative and staying in Oakdale til the very end. I have no idea who would have played her but I could have seen the show bringing in a slightly younger actress around KMH's age to play Betsy. 

[Bill Bauer]

This article just makes me dislike Meg Ryan even more. "Reluctance to recognize her soap past" like she did porn or something. The contrast between hers and Julianne Moore's attitudes is glaring and Julianne had a lot more reason to be snobby (though she embraced her soap past). She was a much better actress than Ryan and had a much longer career. I have a feeling Ryan lucked into ATWT (based on her acting abilities at the time) so she should be grateful for it. Sorry for the rant but snobby attitudes just rub me the wrong way.