As The World Turns Discussion Thread

[NothinButAttitude]

Melinda lusting and calling Brad the sexiest man alive was hilarious. IDK how that was said with such a straight face. They were really trying to force feed him down the viewers' throats. 

[SoapDope]

They probably thought since he looked like John Holmes the women at home would be all over that. 

[slick jones]

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[DRW50]

She's also excellent in the scenes with Kim after Dan died. I am not surprised they recast her as this was when P&G was trying to cast more generically attractive actors for young parts but to me she and Lindsay are the two best Betsys and they both have that subdued quality which fits the part given all of Betsy's losses. I remember a story Meg Ryan told (when she was still on ATWT) in an interview about early on in her tenure she was at an event and she was pointed out to the crowd, and she barely got any response, because fans still missed Davidson (which likely doomed the Betsy in between them). Of course Ryan won people over quickly enough.

Ironically the time that Pat Bruder was dumped is when Ellen could have had more relevance than she'd had for a number of years (at one point she was just there to hold Courtney's hand), given that Susan and Emily were feuding, and Emily was making threats about going for custody of Alison. This was also when Dani, Ellen's great-granddaughter, had arrived in town. I think Dani initially lived with her and had scenes with her. 

They should have done what they did with Emma - she was put on recurring but still made appearances. Instead, she was just dumped, although Lorraine Broderick, to her credit, brought Ellen back a few times in 1998. That was it, sadly. I don't even remember her being mentioned after that period.

It would have been interesting to me if one of the quads came back in the '00s and Ellen took them in and they confided in her that they were a lesbian, or struggling with their gender identity, and there was conflict as Ellen accepts them, but Annie doesn't.

(I know they did this with Lily, Luke and Lucinda, but all stories are repeat stories, and I didn't care about Lily or Luke that much anyway)

Speaking of Stewart banishments, I noticed that IMDB and Soapcentral did not have Dee or Annie returning for David's funeral (although Soapcentral mentioned it in Dee's bio). I had to actually go back and check to make sure they were there. Another reminder of how unreliable IMDB is, I suppose.

I wasn't a huge fan of either '80s Dee but I got the sense Jacqueline Schultz was the popular Dee (and I think I would have liked her more too if not for the incredibly lethargic and depressing stories and atmosphere surrounding her...and constantly being preyed on by creepy older men). I wonder if she didn't return in 1991 because of her split from Larry Bryggman. Vicky Dawson is a perfectly fine performer from what I remember but her more upbeat demeanor is an odd fit for this occasion.

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(I remember reading that Melanie Smith only JUST managed to return - so glad she did as a recast Betsy and a recast Emily would have been tough to take)

Edited August 5, 2024 by DRW50

[Reverend Ruthledge]

I think Frost was more close to Davidson's portrayal and, in my opinion, the real character. I loved Davidson's work during the aftermath of Dan's death. She was very realistic. You could feel her grief. 

I could be wrong about this but I think I remember Dani living with Susan at some point which made no sense. Or Susan being some kind of maternal figure for Dani. That was just weird. Ellen would have made much more sense as a maternal figure for Dani as she was her great-grandmother in Betsy's absence. I could be wrong about all that. My watching during the adult Dani years was very spotty. 

I much preferred Vicky Dawson but that's highly subjective. I just really liked the actress. Not that she was even that good of an actress. I just liked her looks I guess. Something about Schultz irritated me. 

[DRW50]

I did prefer Dawson in the day-to-day stuff I've seen, although I think Schulz might have had more of a presence.

I think you're right and Dani did live with Susan for a time. She was only on for a few years (95-97 - if she even made it to 1997) and then not mentioned again for a long time until her disgusting, sleazy brief return late in the show's run that felt like Goutman trying to demoralize longtime fans.

[Reverend Ruthledge]

I was mercifully spared that because I wasn't watching the show at the time when she came back. From what I've heard about that time, I choose to pretend that version of Dani never happened. 

[Soapsuds]

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[SoapDope]

When did Kim and Lisa develop the close friendship they had for most of the shows run ? I gather in Kim's early days Lisa gave her a hard time and did not want her anywhere near Bob. What kind of relationship did Lisa have with Jennifer ?

 

[wonderwoman1951]

re david’s funeral: any thoughts re kim’s hair? not her best look  

[DRW50]

Reminds of her hair around 1988 - a bit of an odd look. I guess she was experimenting.

[Paul Raven]

Speaking of Suzanne Davidson makes me wonder if she, like Arianne, has tapes of her shows. I wonder what she has done since ATWT ?

She was on through most of the 70's and also on how To Survive A Marriage.

Wouldn't it be great to track down all these performers and have them talk about their times on the soaps?

[DRW50]

IMDB credits her in this. I wonder if it's another one of those likely mixups with actors having the same name, like the Natalie Ross credit I mentioned in the AMC thread.

M.U.G.E.N (Video Game 1999) - IMDb

[AMCOLTLLover]

Awww young Emily 

[DRW50]

I was reading the Soapcentral bio for Brad Hollister, which has at least one major error (saying he left in summer 1981 when we know he's there up to at least December 1981), but I assume has the right info about his exit. After Dee admitted her feelings for him on the stand at John's rape trial and Annie lost their child, he and Dee had sex, but he admitted to her that he had schemed against the family over the silver mine, and she wanted nothing more to do with him. 

This seems like a very abrupt wrapup to their relationship - I wonder if they had planned to reunite Brad and Dee but another writing changeover dumped him. I am also trying to figure out how much of this story was by strike writers. The strike ran from April-June 1981. 

Did the Dobsons leave with the strike and not come back for a while? 

How much of the rape trial story were the Dobsons responsible for? Any? After all the hard work they did with the Holly and Roger story, refusing any justifications for him raping her, the John and Dee story almost feels like a gruesome parody, playing into tawdry stereotypes about "crying rape."

I wonder if the show did originally plan for John to rape Dee, but someone realized he was too valuable a character to lose (and he had already raped one woman as it was).