1 minute ago, P.J. said:

With Marland's death, the show backed off it's social issue storylines. Although on the upside, I think they also stopped the week long celebrations of Lily's birth.

I noted, ironically, that Rebecca Hollen, Alexandra Neil and Lisby Larson (all exGLers) were in the credits.

They did. Just played out the stories Marland had started.

I think as a kid I probably got Hollen and Lisby facially confused.

2 minutes ago, DRW50 said:

I think as a kid I probably got Hollen and Lisby facially confused.

That wouldn't be that hard.

Thanks @DRW50

The show at the time was still good, but as you mentioned, it's because the writers were starting or finishing stories that Marland had left behind.

I love me some Janice.

Thanks for the tag as always @DRW50

I too always love seeing Janice. Especially early Janice here as she is so unassuming yet potentially messy.

I thought for the most part 1993 and at least early 1994 was better than the dreary depressing 1992, although some of the stories happen to just be less memorable than the 1992 highlights.

8 minutes ago, soapfan770 said:

Thanks for the tag as always @DRW50

I too always love seeing Janice. Especially early Janice here as she is so unassuming yet potentially messy.

I thought for the most part 1993 and at least early 1994 was better than the dreary depressing 1992, although some of the stories happen to just be less memorable than the 1992 highlights.

I should try to watch in full someday. I have such PTSD from my feelings at the time. Still, I was watching, albeit taping and fast-forwarding quite a bit, which is more than I did for many later years.

1992 was very heavy but I have more of a connection to the stories and characters, even if the canvas was a bit too dense by that point.

I wish we could have seen how Marland would have handled the budget cuts (assuming he wouldn't just quit).

Edited 3 hours ago3 hr by DRW50

17 minutes ago, DRW50 said:

I should try to watch in full someday. I have such PTSD from my feelings at the time. Still, I was watching, albeit taping and fast-forwarding quite a bit, which is more than I did for many later years.

1992 was very heavy but I have more of a connection to the stories and characters, even if the canvas was a bit too dense by that point.

I wish we could have seen how Marland would have handled the budget cuts (assuming he wouldn't just quit).

Fair points, especially as the show lost some longtime mainstays i.e. Frannie, Lyla, and Iva, OG Caleb passed away etc. But at the same time the show at least felt like Marland’s Oakdale to me for the most part.

I’m assume Marland would have made the most of it but I do wonder if he would have had a say in keeping his favorites at the expense of others. I can’t picture Marland writing ATWT past 1994/95 though. I could easily see P&G rehiring Marland by 1997/98 and then have him fall out with MADD within a year.

8 minutes ago, soapfan770 said:

Fair points, especially as the show lost some longtime mainstays i.e. Frannie, Lyla, and Iva, OG Caleb passed away etc. But at the same time the show at least felt like Marland’s Oakdale to me for the most part.

I’m assume Marland would have made the most of it but I do wonder if he would have had a say in keeping his favorites at the expense of others. I can’t picture Marland writing ATWT past 1994/95 though. I could easily see P&G rehiring Marland by 1997/98 and then have him fall out with MADD within a year.

I know Marland was trying to sell his own soap. I think he would have left for that by 94-95 or just retired from soaps, like Nancy Curlee.

One thing I don't think Marland would have done was let Frannie just fade away.

Edited 1 hour ago1 hr by DRW50

I do believe that Douglas Marland would've left ATWT at some point, either to work on his own soap, or to try and salvage AW.

18 minutes ago, Khan said:

I do believe that Douglas Marland would've left ATWT at some point, either to work on his own soap, or to try and salvage AW.

AW may have already been on its last life but I think he could have been a good fit.

(he and JFP probably would have been fireworks though)

5 minutes ago, DRW50 said:

AW may have already been on its last life but I think he could have been a good fit.

(he and JFP probably would have been fireworks though)

LOL!!

Yeah, I don't think he would've been as successful at AW as he was elsewhere. For one thing, NBC was gonna NBC, and P&G was gonna P&G. There's no way Douglas Marland would have enjoyed the kind of support there that he had at ATWT or GL. And for another, aside from its' longtime, core audience, I really do believe most of the rest of the industry and viewers had just written off AW, expecting it to be cancelled sooner or later.

3 hours ago, soapfan770 said:

I too always love seeing Janice. Especially early Janice here as she is so unassuming yet potentially messy.

Does anyone remember Patricia Bruder being replaced by another actress temporarily around Thanksgiving the same year Janice was on the show? I remember tuning in the episode before Thanksgiving day and the Hughes were preparing the Thanksgiving meal in their kitchen. There was a strange middle-aged blonde woman sitting at the table chatting, but her name was not mentioned in the dialogue. Everyone in the scene was treating her like a well-known friend, so I had to assume she was playing Ellen Stuart. Does anyone else remember this? Or is this episode possibly in someone's collection?

Edited 24 minutes ago24 min by Tisy-Lish

Not going to lie I could also totally see Ken Corday hiring Marland on in one of his Plan to Save Days circa 1999, only for it to end in disaster.

I wonder if any of the ABC soaps would have flirted with the idea of hiring him in the late 90’s.

But I also don’t see Marland writing any soaps after 2000. I could see P&G bringing him back in a consulting basis maybe like around 2002 but someone like Goutman outright ignoring him.

Of course sadly we’ll never know. Heck he might well ended as Reilly’s Co-HW at Passions as his final writing gig 🤣😂

6 minutes ago, Tisy-Lish said:

Does anyone remember Patricia Bruder being replaced by another actress temporarily around Thanksgiving the same year Janice was on the show? I remember tuning in the episode before Thanksgiving day and the Hughes were preparing the Thanksgiving meal in their kitchen. There was a strange middle-aged blonde woman sitting at the table chatting, but her name was not mentioned in the dialogue. Everyone in the scene was treating her like a well-known friend, so I had to assume she was playing Ellen Stuart. Does anyone else remember this? Or is this episode possibly in someone's collection?

Pat is in the 1994 Thanksgiving episode. The episode before Thanksgiving 1993 isn't available but in the Thanksgiving 1993 episode, there's no one in it who is unknown. Hopefully more from that time frame will show up.