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As The World Turns Discussion Thread

edgeofnik

By edgeofnik
in DTS: Cancelled Soaps

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DRW50 Grand Master

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Oof. Between the bad singing, Lisa Lawrence's bug eyes (made worse by the makeup), and the inherent cheesiness (not the good kind), what a great example of how rudderless Valente's ATWT was. And I don't buy that Paul didn't know the  Twist. Considering how square Marland's Oakdale was, I imagine Paul, Lien and  Andy went to every dance class led by Ellen, Bob, and occasional visitor Penny. 

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Contessa Donatella Grand Master

Contessa Donatella

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No info but a good guess would be after working so well together at GL for "3 Carries" & maybe even because EP Allen M. Potter foreshortened that & fired Elliot, dumped the storyline midway, and Marland quit in protest, said to be truly furious not just a principle, and ended up at LOV.

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Contessa Donatella Grand Master

Contessa Donatella

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This blast from the past showed up in my FB memories today & it seems just as salient now. One of WLS Top 25 Blunders
16. The Mismanagement of the Final Years of AS THE WORLD TURNS
The first several years of the Chris Goutman era as executive producer of AS THE WORLD TURNS were award-winning and critically acclaimed, full of actors who couldn't praise their leader enough in the press. The final years were the complete opposite. The constant pats on the back were gone. In their place were a lot of confusing casting decisions, rumored turmoil, and the unbelievable mistreatment of the legendary Eileen Fulton. The show that had the most history that was still intact had a leader who could not have cared less.
Letting the brilliant Larry Bryggman (John Dixon) walk away in 2004 was a huge blow to the show and a definite sign the tide was turning. Seeing his return for a few weeks at the very end of ATWT's run in September 2010 proved what an asset he was and what a hole he left. Similarly, allowing Martha Byrne (Lily Snyder) to leave, and acting so cavalier about it in the media, was infuriating and turned off many fans. Even when the classy Noelle Beck offered to step aside so Byrne could return to ATWT in the final months for a reunion of Lily and Holden, Goutman refused. Firing a returned Scott Bryce, who actually made the character of Craig human despite awful writing, was another head scratcher. We don't know if it was pride, personal grudges, or complete incompetence but this was not the man who turned this soap around in the early 2000s. What happened? And where was Procter & Gamble? They seemed to have lost interest in both their remaining soaps at the time.
ATWT still showed moments of brilliance in its final years with Maura West (Carly), Michael Park (Jack) and Colleen Zenk (Barbara) leading a cast that gave their all, no matter what story was written. But there was no explaining the act of continuing to introduce new (and mostly unlikable) characters through the final months of the show. There was no justifying the rapid-pace style of editing that seemed to confuse and alienate viewers. And there was no reason to back burner daytime legends such as Don Hastings (Bob), Kathryn Hays (Kim), and Elizabeth Hubbard (Lucinda).
As for Lisa and Ms. Fulton, what a horrible way to end this soap. All soap opera final episodes are not made alike. For every perfect ending (SEARCH FOR TOMORROW's Jo and Stu come to mind) there is a Paul Rauch stomping on a cigarette or CAPITOL having Sloane standing in front a firing squad. It's not always easy to wrap up a soap in a limited amount of time. But no soap opera had ever had as much time between their cancellation notice and leaving the airwaves as 54-year war horse AS THE WORLD TURNS. The logical ending would focus on Nancy Hughes, but unfortunately the legendary Helen Wagner passed away the month before the show wrapped production. So obviously, the next thought would be the characters of Bob and Lisa, played by Don Hastings and Eileen Fulton, who both joined the cast in 1960 (that's 50 years earlier!). The show got it (mostly) right with Bob and let him have the final words on the air. But Lisa, they couldn't have got it more wrong.
Why didn't Lisa have some kind of storyline in the final months? Fans had been questioning her airtime for years. But surely, knowing the soap was going away forever, was't Lisa entitled to one last hurrah? The producers and writers instead gave her only two scenes in the final episode, as a supporting character in the Lucinda-John reunion and in quite insulting circumstances as well. The character of Lisa is credited as TV's first "bitch" and characters like Erica Kane or Alexis Colby may not have existed without her! That's huge. That's history. So what kind of historic tribute did ATWT pay to Lisa on the last show? They gave her four lines and a sarcastic talking-down-to from Lucinda and John. At the very least, would a phone call from an old flame like Grant Colman have hurt?
Put them all together, and these decisions demonstrate a lack of respect for AS THE WORLD TURNS as a cultural icon, a lack of consideration of its millions of viewers around the world, and a general sense of contempt for the show on behalf of Goutman and P&G. The consistent and systematic dismantling of this beloved soap through poor management decisions remains a shameful blight in television history, and a tragic example of how ignorance and disdain can ruin an American institution.
____________________
This was the Executive Producer who openly wept at the end of ANOTHER WORLD, but who faced Jen Lenhart, ATWT Editor at Soap Opera Digest, in a 2008 Q&A and told her that he had no need to read fan mail, that HE knew what was right for the show -- not the fans.
 
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