As The World Turns Discussion Thread

[Vee]

How exactly did Brian McColl have a castle in Oakdale? Not Duncan, Brian! On some island?!

[DramatistDreamer]

Steve was in Greece and out of Oakdale (Runyeon was already off the show) by the time he got arrested and imprisoned for drug smuggling several months later. Steve left Oakdale before Christmas of 86, he got arrested sometime in the summer of 87). There's got to be a story if why they waited so long to put that bit in the story of Steve's arrest and subsequent imprisonment. 

[Paul Raven]

I recall that at renewal time Runyeon only wanted to sign on for another year which P&G reluctantly agreed to. Thus Marland knew he had to write Steve off as they didn't want Runyeon holding them hostage for another 1 yr deal if he decided or could be talked into staying.

As it stood,Steve/Betsy was not a priority for Marland especially as Frost didn't have the same appeal as Betsy that Ryan did and that whole story was pre Marland and winding down.

I think that after this P&G stopped 1 yr contracts.

[DramatistDreamer]

 

Was it a castle or a stately house? From what I remember, and I admit, my memory is not razor sharp on this aspect- when Brian was tricked into selling the land to Duncan (who had promised to sign the annulment papers/divorce papers so that Brian and Shannon could marry), Duncan moved the McKechnie castle over from Scotland. Preposterous, I know. There was a scene later in that year where Duncan explains to an awe-struck Paul Stenbeck how he blew up the bridge that used to be there when Brian owned the property to construct a moat, because he thought it was more fitting  for people to need boats to ferry in between the castle and the mainland.

 

That sounds plausible, as there was a long gap between when Steve left Oakdale and when he was arrested and found guilty of drug smuggling and sentenced to prison time. In a way, it sounds similar to Gregg Marx leaving around the New Year 1987 and the character disappearing until the final quarter of the year. In that case, Maryland was hoping that Marx would change his mind about leaving and return, which he didn't unfortunately.

It is possible, that ego and all, there was the slightest hope that Runyeon would elect to extend his time but that didn't happen.

I've read at least one interview where Runyeon made it sound like it was his decision to leave. 

Edited October 5, 2021 by DramatistDreamer

[Vee]

I don't know - this is mid-May and Duncan just told Barbara he came across some amazing castle on an island while roaming the town(!!). Barbara reacted poorly and at first I thought it was some sort of Gunnar St. Clair/Dobsons connection bc I associate that sort of excess in ATWT with them, but she said it belonged to Brian McColl. I have no idea what it is but I assumed this is the land Duncan would eventually move his infamous castle onto. I didn't know one was already there, in Oakdale!

I actually think the slow dissolution of Steve and Betsy is fascinating to watch (especially when Steve finds common cause drinking alone with the even more chauvinistic Tonio, enabling his behavior - that's the kind of stuff that would happen on double dates with supposed happy couples). I do wonder when exactly he leaves. Bios online say Craig 'died' the following spring or summer heading to Greece for Steve, but wasn't Steve already jailed and divorced from Betsy by then? I wonder how they handle the exit and I hope I get to see a lot of it.

I have been hearing about the infamous Rod/Josh and William Fichtner for years. Opinions are clearly quite mixed about that story and about pairing him with anyone, but I admit I'm very curious to see how he is with a cool customer like Lindsay Frost, though that is a long way off.

Holden and Meg are much more predatory and dark at this point, though still human and with their own desires and needs and throughlines; there is a really visceral sexual energy to it and some amorality and drive you don't get from most non-antagonists on soaps today. They're very compelling considering the Snyders were simultaneously being built up as a core family. I don't know when they decided Holden was going to be it for Lily and not a spoiler, but they clearly were building him up into a person with his own needs and wants three-dimensionally by now (May '86). You would not see new leads allowed to be quite this morally gray with good people very often in later years, at least not characters that didn't used to be serial killers or rapists. Jon Hensley is more interesting here than he ever was to me in the late '90s or 2000s. He seems dangerous and the relationship with Lily is semi-overtly sadomasochistic.

Edited October 5, 2021 by Vee

[amybrickwallace]

Were 1-year deals the norm for P&G, or just for the big stars?

[victoria foxton]

The normal was always a 3 year contract. A 1 year deal was very rare. 

[amybrickwallace]

That's what I thought, thanks!

[DramatistDreamer]

Did you see the episode where Lily hits him in the face with her whip? There was nothing semi-overt about that.

In an interview, Martha Byrne's stated that Holden was originally supposed to be paired with Emily (which briefly happened, down the road), but as they shared scenes together, Marlan who had been reluctant to pair them, due to her age, eventually changed his mind.

The plane with Betsy and Craig crashed sometime in mid or late June 87, a little over a month after Craig and Sierra had their long awaited wedding. Everyone assumed Craig didn't survive... except Sierra who refused to believe it. Steve had gotten into trouble and possibly arrested, but I'm not sure he went to prison yet. Betsy originally went to Greece because she wasn't hearing directly from Steve and she called Craig because she was afraid of some shady people who Steve had become associated with (Steve wasn't there) and Craig literally rode in to the rescue. He had chartered a flight for he and Betsy to fly to another Greek island (to find Steve) when the plane went down. There are many missing episodes in the spring and summer of 87, in particular) and it's been awhile since I have seen those episodes.

I'm confused about what happened to Whit McColl's house. I thought that went to Brian when Whit died. Perhaps Lisa was still living there but by 86, it looked like she was living in a different place, one that didn't resemble Whit's house. With so many missing episodes, recollection of events become disjointed and muddled.

[John]

Jean Passante said that in an interview

[Bill Bauer]

LOL. I don't blame you at all! When I get to that time period in my chronological watching, I'm sure I'll skip through everything that doesn't feature the Hughes family. Like I said, if I come across the reference I'll let you know but it might be a while and, like I also said, by that time we'll have forgotten this bit of trivia.

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[Vee]

Yep! And all the talk of horses being broken and lightning and storms.

I wonder how quickly they changed their minds, because a lot of this stuff with Holden and Lily is pretty hardcore by May, before the pre-Smith Emily turns up (though she is being talked about a lot). You're also given a window into Holden's mind and emotions by this point. But the stuff where he and Meg are both basically throbbing for Lily and Dusty and he murmurs "summer's coming" and indicates the other two will not be able to resist the siblings in the hotter weather, it just drips with sex. I'm surprised they got away with some of this stuff. You don't see the youth set doing this stuff today (except for my beloved OLTL 2.0!).

It is fascinating to me that Marland gave Jennifer Ashe the Meg role after being denied the full extent of the story he wanted for her on Loving, where the character there was night and day. She's amazing. It's sad to remember what a milquetoast Meg became with Marie Wilson years and years later.

The gaps are coming up in the '86 playlists online, but there is still a lot of material floating around through the year thankfully. I wonder how lucky I'll be in 1987.

The information on Steve may be another issue of the Wikipedia fog of war - everything says Runyeon left the show in '86 which I'm sure he did, but I wonder when Steve was indicated to have been imprisoned vs. simply having left Betsy in the lurch. It's all lumped together in online data as '86, but I am not sure that's true.

Edited October 6, 2021 by Vee

[Paul Raven]

from French Fan Dec 86

Steve said goodbye to Betsy and Dani and returned to Greece after Tonio, James and Lucinda succeeded in taking over Steve's business

Betsy agreed to stay in Oakdale until Steve is established in Greece.

[DramatistDreamer]

Steve definitely went to the pokey in 87. He left town in 86 and that was the last onscreen appearance by Runyeon in the role. The separation and divorce took place sometime during late 87, I believe. It didn't all happen in 86, the severing of ties between Steve and Betsy was stretched out over the course of a year. The burning of the Ruxton Hills house sealed things.

86 was a hot summer, for sure, for many characters.

I had to laugh at the amount of times John Dixon implied that Lily was "fast" and was trying to seduce Dusty, meanwhile mistakenly believing that Meg would be a good influence somehow. One fun argument, full of banter between John and Lucinda, where Lucinda playfully insists that it's always the man's fault in these cases, while John scoffed and questioned how someone who is seen as a predator can make such an accusation. What a dance those two engaged in.

[amybrickwallace]

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