As The World Turns Discussion Thread

[wonderwoman1951]

as far as i can tell, dan did not impregnate both liz and susan at the same time. betsy was around when susan was pregnant with emily. liz had a miscarriage (by paul) ust before susan became pregnant with emily.

what irna objected to was the idea of two brothers being in love with the same woman. and, yes, that was essentially the same story she told with bob, jennfer, and kim. the big difference is that irna told robert laguardia, ‘kim is me.’ and, ‘kim is going to have that baby and raise it own her own.’

this was irna’s effort to replace the pregnancy she had lost as a young woman. irna had an emotional horse in this race, which explains a lot about her double standard.  

Edited July 21, 2023 by wonderwoman1951

[Paul Raven]

Susan and Liz were both pregnant by Dan at the same time. Paul agreed to marry Liz, not knowing Dan was the father of her child. Upset by that marriage, Dan had an argument with Susan resulting in a miscarriage.

Liz continued her pregnancy and gave birth to Betsy.

Liz then got pregnant by Paul but a harassment by Susan resulted in a miscarriage. Then Susan managed to get pregnant by Dan resulting in Emily.

[wonderwoman1951]

thanks for clarifying. hadn’t known about susan’s miscarriage. i do remember irna being outraged about two men being in love with the same woman, but don’t recall ever seeing anything about the pregnancies. 

[TVFAN1144]

I was probably 11 or 12 at this time and watched with my mom.   I had a limited grasp of the birds and the bees and could not understand how he could get 2 women pregnant at the same time. She probably should have sent me outside 

[FrenchFan]

#3194 – Monday, July 22nd 1968

David drove Tom back home. Tom was very silent and made a point of saying Chuckie was his brother, not his adopter brother when David asked him about how he felt for the boy. David tried to say the surgery was quick and Chuckie had good chances of recovery. Tom questioned David about Lisa’s friend who was supposedly Chuckie’s mother and the kid’s father but David assured he didn’t know more that Tom.

At the Hughes’, Pa was worried about Tom supposedly learning the truth about Chuckie at hospital just when David and Tom arrived. David told Pa, Nancy and Chris that Chuckie was in Recovery and that the fact the 9 month old baby survived surgery was a good sign. After David left, Tom said he needed a walk. Nancy was worried but Chris and Pa thought the boy had to clear his head.

Back home, David told Ellen how surprised he was with Tom being so worried about Chuckie. He said Tom questioned him about Chuckie’s father.

Tom walked to Sally’s home. He told her Chuckie had internal hernia and had to undergo surgery but he survived. He also told her he made a lot of thinking about law school, possible marriage… They were too young and they shouldn’t talk about that. Sally was hurt.

At the hospital, Alma had arrived from Rockford and Bob told her about the situation. Bob thought Lisa should go home but Alma was not sure she could convince Lisa. As Bob went home for the rest of the night, Alma entered the hospital room and Lisa sobbed in her mother’s arms.

#3195 – Tuesday, July 23rd 1968

At the hospital, Alma tried to convince Lisa she should go home and get some rest but Lisa couldn’t imagine leaving. She told her mother how much Bob had been a rock to her during this ordeal. She also said she realized how much Chuckie meant to Tom.

In his bedroom, Tom remembered the hospital staff talking about Chuckie being Lisa’s son. Bob arrived. He told his son how serious Chuckie’s condition was. They had a father-son talk and Tom said he felt he understood his father better.

At the hospital, Dan was ready to get home. Karen asked him about Chuckie as Dan helped during the surgery and Dan said he hoped the kid would get better. Karen noticed it was strange that Dan was involved in saving the baby’s life twice. She said Susan was a lucky wife.

Dan arrived and Susan asked news about Chuckie. When Susan said she couldn’t imagine what Lisa went throught and wouldn’t want that, Dan got angry and noticed Susan couldn’t miss a chance to insist on her disinterest for children. Angry, Dan got back to the hospital.

Back at the hospital, Dan went to see Lisa. Alma left with Nurse Ames to get coffee. Lisa remembered when Dan took care of Chuckie who was premature. Dan said he hoped Chuckie would pull it through.

The following morning, Pa and Nancy were in Pa’s workshop when Tom arrived. Tom was told Chuckie was holding on. Pa mentionned Sally called and wanted Tom to phone her back but Tom angrily said he would not.

#3196 – Wednesday, July 24th 1968

Chris was in his office with Dick. He told Dick about what happened the previous night – Tom and Sally babysitting little Chuckie, calling Bob for help, the baby being brought to the hospital and undergoing surgery. Chris also said he couldn’t understand Tom’s behavior. Dick asked if Michael was aware of Chuckie’s situation but Chris was unsure Lisa would like him to know. Dick said he would talk to Claire about this and Chris noticed Dick was not acting like her attorney at the point.

At Lisa’s, Alma told her daughter Bob called to say Chuckie was still in recovery. Lisa learned Tom went to school. She didn’t understand why Tom was so concerned but he was not was her then. Alma was worried about how this crisis could put light on Chuckie’s real paternity. Lisa said she had to go to the hospital and Alma went with her.

At the hospital, Dan was told by Nurse Crane that a young boy was waiting for him. It was Tom who wanted to know how Chuckie was. Dan assured even Dr. Parker couldn’t say as Chuckie was very frail but his recovery was all right at the moment. Tom questioned Dan about the time he took care of Lisa having pneumonia, nine months ago.

Sally arrived at the Hughes’. She told Pa that Tom said pretty hurtful things and acted as if Chuckie was his real brother. When Tom came back, he told Pa it was over with Sally because he realized he was too young to be steady. Pa asked what caused this change of mind but Tom didn’t answer and went upstairs to study.

#3197 – Thursday, July 25th 1968

In Chuckie’s hospital room, Dan told Lisa he was surprised Tom asked to see him. When Bob arrived, Lisa talked with him about Tom. She found it weird he came to talk to Dan but didn’t ask for her. Lisa also made it clear she wanted to take care of Chuckie once he was out of Recovery, not nurses.

Ellen and Christine talked about Dan’s career. Christine was surprised Susan didn’t have a family yet. She said she was friend with her when Susan was in intern and Christine a student nurse but they hadn’t seen each other for a while. Christine also said she missed the kids at the orphanage and asked Ellen if she could go and visit them. Ellen said she hoped she wouldn’t lose Christine. Claire arrived and Christine went to the orphanage. They talked about Chuckie but Judge Lowell called and told Claire that Dick Martin was at home and wanted to see her.

At the Cassens’, Judge Lowell told Dick that a letter from Michael had just arrived from Inneapolis for Claire. He made it clear to Dick how worried he was about Claire’s behavior around Michael. After Judge left, Dick told Claire she should tell Michael about his son being hospitalized. He told Claire that if Michael was as respectful as he pretended he was, Claire had to tell him. Claire offered Dick a dinner invitation and he agreed.

#3198 – Friday, July 26th 1968

Nancy prepared dinner at home with Pa. She had received a letter from Judith Stevens. Judith and her husband, Jerry, were worried about Penny who had isolated herself from her mother-in-law. Nancy told Pa she should see Penny but Penny had no idea what happened with Sandy or Jimmy living with the Wilsons. She didn’t know if she would do her trip because Bob should go to San Francisco for his cornea transplant after Chuckie was better. She hoped Tom would go with Bob to reconnect.

Judge Lowell, Claire and Dick were having dinner at the Cassens’ when Michael phoned. He understood Claire couldn’t talk freely and said he would phone later. Judge Lowell and Dick knew it was Michael but they all agreed not to mention his name during dinner. After Dick left for a committee meeting, Judge Lowell tried to know why Claire was feeling weird during the dinner. She said Michael would phone her soon and she would like to be alone.

At the Hughes’, Nancy had told Chris she didn’t think Penny would come back but she would like to go to New York. Chris thought it was okay for her to go. Tom came downstairs and said he was heading to the hospital.

Alone, Claire had Michael on the phone. She told him she would like him to come back to Oakdale that night because his son was at the hospital. Michael was sure the baby was being cared.

At the hospital, Chuckie had been brought back from Recovery to his room. Bob said Lisa she had to be careful. Tom arrived and when he noticed his mother was in the room, he said he would come back the following day.

[Chris B]

I’ve decided to watch from 98 on as I found the episodes online. I started watching around 03, so this is all new for me beyond a few episodes here and there that I’ve seen. Most of the classic ATWT I’ve seen has come from the Marland era in the 80s. 
 

The first thing that grabbed me with these episodes was the diversity. You have this great church fire at a Black church (which id seen before) and the show is currently dealing with the fallout from that. I know about a dumped Camille and Denise which is crazy when you see how well they’re integrated into the canvas. 
 

Another thing that is different from the Sheffer episodes is that you still honor the past. If you were lucky, you’d get a recast here or there with him, but in just a month I’ve seen returns from Iva, Julie and Caleb. And they played all the beats with those characters returning. The show also has a strong family feel and a good mix of characters featured. 

Im not sure what the public perception was at the time, but based on what I’m seeing, I’m not sure why they didn’t keep Addie Walsh on as HW. 

[soapfan770]

Walsh, along with Demorest and Brez were hired to clean up after Stern & Black. They appeared to be on track but then went off the rails with the ending of Who Shot Diego? and bringing James Stenbeck back. The trio were brought back again later in ‘97 to clean up after Klein’s bizarre brief stint, but their return also went off the rails again. Problem was FMB never really grasped what the show was all about, and Walsh would remain co-HW once Lorraine Broderick was brought on board.

1998 was an uneven mess, probably the best umbrella story being Carly’s pregnancy deadline, which was fun for the most part. Otherwise Molly, Julia, and Lily in danger ate the show up alive. 

Edited July 22, 2023 by soapfan770

[Paul Raven]

From the July 68 synopses that French Fan has so kindly supplied there is no sighting or mention of Don Hughes. According to all references Peter Brandon played Don from 65-72. 

In 68 the Don/Amanda/Sara story had played out with Amanda on trial for Sara's death. That all happened in 67.

There really isn't any more mention of Don until he becomes involved with Lisa in 72.

So is Don/Peter Brandon on a break in the summaries we are seeing now, or was the character written off?

@FrenchFan any info in coming episodes?

[P.J.]

I think the perception was as uneven as the writing. You've got good returns (Holden/Carly/Andy) and bad retcons (James and Lucinda's supposed love child David). Newbies Molly and Jack seem to struggle to find footing until Carly's return (I know, I'm biased) and Molly then takes the quickest sane-BSC--sane U-turn I can recall. 

I do think the Ben Harris/Teague story doesn't get enough credit. Teague himself is one dimensional, but all the beats between characters we care about are played. It weaves in most of the town in one way or another. 

[Soapsuds]

Does anyone recall what month was Whit killed and Eileen returned?

[Paul Raven]

July 84

[Soapsuds]

Thanks!

[soapfan770]

Well said. I remember I couldn’t stand Molly for a couple years there until she was paired up with Jake, although I did like Molly with Andy. Although I also liked Andy and Nikki but that happened as Jordana Brewster’s time was winding down.When it came to diversity the biggest. disappointment came with hiring Monti Sharp with lots of hype but then turning Lew into a giant creep. Yikes. But Peter Parros was always good as Ben always underrated.

Idk, stuff like bombing a boat on Nancy’s 80th birthday, Tom & Emily affair, Kirk and Sam literally disappearing, and drunk Lisa upset over John & Carly on Thanksgiving all just left a bad taste in my mouth. I might need to rewatch 1998 again myself. 
 

Odd to say but with Y&R, B&B, and GL all experiencing a resurgence there 1997-98 ATWT was definitely seen as the sick man/odd man out of CBS Daytime for a couple years there. 
 

Strange as I noticed Don’s absence when trying to determine an exact timeline for Paul Stewart. There’s also quite a gap between Don & Lisa and Don’s involvement with Joyce. It could be an earlier case of Y&R’s Greg Foster, a character who was just there for years before finally getting a love story. 

[FrenchFan]

I think there was a line during 4th of July. Nancy was sad that Penny and Don didn’t live in Oakdale anymore. I will Check.

Here is what I found in soapcentral so I guess Don was out for a moment.

After the trial, Amanda would mature into a well-adjusted young lady and she and Don would briefly date. Later, Don found himself in a professional rivalry with Attorney Dick Martin, who was hired at the firm. Though Don tried to get Dick to resign, he was unsuccessful and again left Oakdale. Don returned to the family when Chris had a heart attack and immediately started criticizing Bob and Dr. David Stewart of being too cautious regarding Chris's care

[Paul Raven]

Ok that all makes sense. Don left Oakdale in maybe late 67. Chris' heart attack was in 71 and Don returned but only stayed a year or so.

So Peter Brandon was Don in two stints it seems 65-67 and 71-72. Glad we could clear that up! Thanks.

The Don/Joyce involvement began when Don returned in 76 played by Martin West .

Edited July 23, 2023 by Paul Raven