As The World Turns Discussion Thread

[DRW50]

From the June 30, 1987 Digest.

[Soapsuds]

I had a huge crush on Brian Bloom but still Jon Hensley was hotter to me at the time. I flove Brian's big hot ass.....lol....

[P.J.]

I think the thing about the Parker/Faith scene was simply to give them some kind of future direction. I thought it was sweet, and was disappointed it wasn't part of the last episode. Of course, they could have spent the entire week tying up loose ends...but at least Parker was a legacy character. It's the time spent assuring us Janet would be "happy" that bugged the crap out of me.

I FLOVED Kirk and Iva. I don't know what the fascination was with Kirk and Ellie. Other than the obvious---Ellie was a hot piece of ass, where Iva was a cold fish. It's really sad, 'cause that was really the only romance Iva got on the show.

[DRW50]

This episode has the scene which is in the short Lisa tribute clip I posted a while back. It's Lisa pushing someone (a fashion designer it turns out) into the pool. Very fun little scene, as is her being goaded by Lucinda.

That Judith Clayton recast is no Jill Larson.

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[Mitch]

Ah, what a trip down memory lane... Paul's mullet, ugly Julie as the world's most successful model, Lisa's frizzy permed hair, Lucinda pulling all the strings and smirking when the sh*t hits the fan, and best of all, hot, hot Greg Beacroft in a suit as Brock Lombard. Why did they kill him off, he should have been the new villian instead of boring Antonio? Why did he never go back to soaps? I can't believe GL didn't bring him back.

[DRW50]

He was on GH briefly after this, as a recast of a very popular character, and was accepted quickly, but a new producer came in and killed him off.

I think he was always supposed to die on ATWT.

He's very good in this role, moreso than I thought he was as Tony. I like the tender moments with his kids, as he seems to realize he's probably not going to be around for long.

The next episode after this is also available, and has some classic moments where Lisa tells a bemused Bob about how Olivia just fell in the pool. Then the Hughes and Lisa watch it on TV. And Lisa tells John to just be quiet and let her be the one to say it. Fun.

[DRW50]

Most of August and September 1989 are now on Youtube, and this means you get to see the last (or should have been the last anyway) hurrah of James Stenbeck unfold. There are a few moments where people take stupid pills to justify his presence, but overall most of the characters are skeptical as his tendrils again make their way through Oakdale. In many ways his return is pathetic, and I assume deliberately so. He has to rely on bad disguises and one teenage boy who lives at the Earl Mitchell Center. He spends a lot of time eavesdropping and manipulating Lucinda and Tonio. When he finally does call Paul, Paul, who had always had a soft spot for his father in the past, now speaks with open loathing and venom, wishing his father dead. Somehow, I did end up feeling sorry for James, in spite of what a monster he was. His last episodes are also very emotional, and have an impact, aside from his death scene, which is a little amateurish.

This is contrasted by the Lily/Derek story, Martha Byrne's exit, which is a slow burn - is Mr. Perfect cheating on Lily? Holden's back, what does that mean for Lily? This is clever as it hides the real story, which is Derek and his father having deadly plans for Lily. Background characters in this are cop/construction worker Jeff, who seems to have a soft spot for Lily and who is distrusted by the other men in Lily's harem. Does anyone know if there were more plans for this character? He's very handsome - he reminds me of Matt Bomer. He didn't seem to have a lot of credits on IMDB (ATWT wasn't even listed). Derek's trashy sister, Trish, also stops in, pushing Derek's buttons and having a lot of fun with the pieces of ass that were Caleb and Holden. She looked familiar to me and I finally realized she's married to Grant Aleksander. Apparently she gave up acting and is now a lawyer. I liked her work here - she's very believable as someone who wants to have fun but is also more than a little bitter and lost.

James' death episode also has the goodbye for John's niece Pam, who has graduated from nursing school and is moving to New Jersey with her mother. I have a lot of respect for Doug Marland for not just having her disappear, as so many did in ATWT's later years. She was such a levelheaded character yet not self-righteous or whiny or judgmental. Her exit coincides with the last appearance of Roy and Nella Franklin's mother - again there was no "need" for her to return but it was a nice touch. They also explained what had happened to Nella - apparently she and Beau moved to Los Angeles together. I wonder why they show didn't keep her around, as she'd been there for 3 years and had ties to various families. Was this the old "only one black woman allowed on the show at a time" system?

The only part I don't care for is about a dozen episodes repeating scenes of Julie painting herself as a victim to Andy, Andy believing her, yelling at Duke to back off, Duke being confused, etc. It seems very stalled out. I wonder if it's because they initially planned to write Julie out until Marland was impressed with Susan Marie Snyder's work.

This is the James death episode and the next episode. The next one also has some great scenes with Hal and his family in West Virginia, and at about 41 minutes in, a delicious fight with Emily/Susan/Lucinda.

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[Soaplovers]

I always wondered about the writer that was there before Marland... i think her name was Susan Horgan? I believe she was there for several months... was wondering if she was an interim writer until they hired Marland.. or if she was suppose to be meant to be long-term?

I saw a few episodes from her regime.. and it was a very well-written show.

[DRW50]

Susan Bedsow Horgan or something like that. I think she was a permanent headwriter and they just moved on when they got a bigger name. The show was in a lot of transition in the few years before that.

Her ATWT seems very different from Marland's, but it is still good - a bit more youth-oriented and not as deep, but there are some absolutely superb scenes. You've seen the episodes on Youtube where Bob tracks Kim down to the cabin and she's delirious and she finally tells him about the baby they lost, right?

[DRW50]

This clip has, at about 45 minutes in, one of the most random and hilarious Liz Hubbard ad-libs. Lucinda grabs Kirk's crutches and starts swinging on them.

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[DRW50]

I was reading through a March 1973 Radio TV Mirror and they have a brief interview with Carmine Stipo, who had just been cast as a lawyer on ATWT (he had previously played a paraplegic Vietnam vet on Love is a Many Splendored Thing). Jill Harman was cast is his wife, playing "a very serious 23 year old housewife with two children."

Do you know anything about their characters, or what stories they had?

Edited April 21, 2011 by CarlD2

[DRW50]

Chilling episode. I do wish they'd kept Jeff around, he's very cute.

I also like how they use Nancy in this episode - her reactions to Julie.

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[DRW50]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HExGuuVa-3o

[Soapsuds]

Anyone recognize this actress??

[DRW50]

No. Was she one of those 5-minute actresses who was all over ATWT in its last years?