As The World Turns Discussion Thread

[DRW50]

 

Yes. She came back to set up the backstory of that cipher Gabriel, Craig's son with a Montegan servant...a story that managed to make Craig look even worse, which I hadn't thought was possible.

[DramatistDreamer]

 

 

God, I would've loved to rewrite/unwrite the sh*t out of that awful storyline. Leave the Craig character with one iota of integrity that he was awful in other situations but could stand up for himself and declare that at the very least, he was faithful to Sierra.

 

I would've just made Gabriel Tonio's son with the servant and have Sierra and Craig conspire to keep it a secret from Gabriel, (who overhears them arguing about it) because Sierra always suspected that Tonio survived in the jungle somehow as her contacts never offered physical proof of Tonio's demise.  While Craig argues that Gabriel is old enough to be told the truth and chides Sierra for the times she held it against Craig for being dishonest, Gabriel takes off in search of his father.

 

It would've been truly great to have Peter Boynton reprise his role for a brief storyline arc.  If the show truly wanted to go "soap opera" wild, they could've had Tonio know that he had a son out there and (with help, perhaps from an old nemesis/ally -James?- have staged Bryant's death and have had him spirited to the jungles of Montega where Sierra is soon contacted via the underground network that Bryant is alive and that if she hands Gabriel over to his 'real' father, she will see her son again.  Frantic, Sierra decides that Gabriel needs to be armed with the truth so that they can protect him as they figure out a way to bring Bryant home but discovers that Gabriel is missing and his passport and several belongings are gone.

 

Gosh, when I think of how much ATWT could've done to at least go out strong...sometimes it hurts.

[DRW50]

Great ideas. It's too bad you don't just put out the dumbest ideas because then you'd have a permanent soap writing gig.

[Soapsuds]

Speaking of Tonio....Did Peter Boynton leave or was he let go? I was suprised he was written out. Was his last appearance in 92?

[DRW50]

 

I think he was let go but I'm not sure. His last appearances were in 1993 when he held Sabrina hostage in Montega or something. I'm not sure. I think Oakdalian may have some of that. For a long time I thought his last was 1992 when he held Susan and Bob hostage because the ATWT history stuff never mentioned anything after. 

[Soapsuds]

I know in 1991 he takes Sabrina after shooting Bob and falls in the ocean during the remote but I know he resurfaced later.....I think he had Bob and Susan at gunpoint and wanted them to perform surgery on him and I think he died on the table during surgery...not sure.

[DRW50]

 

He got away in the Bob/Susan one.

 

Oh I remember more now - Duncan and Sabrina were in Montega and I think Duncan killed him. This was in 1993.

[Soapsuds]

Ah...ok I couldn't recall been so many years...I'd rather they offed Duncan. I could never stand Duncan or Michael Swan in the role. He and SHANNON as he called her....couldn't stand the coupling.

Edited April 10, 2017 by Soapsuds

[DramatistDreamer]

 

LOL. The theater writer in me just has too much darn integrity to write a dumb story (on purpose).

 

 

 

I didn't like the coupling at first, and to be honest, they could get tedious at times with some scenes at the "moor" of the castle but in the last decade of the show, especially when Bonnie was on, it might have been nice to reunite Duncan and Shannon, it might have created a bit more material for Tamara Tunie and the Jessica story to have to process her feelings of her ex-husband reuniting with the wife that he had before Jessica, who tries to pretend that it wouldn't be a totally awkward situation.  It could've also have given Lisa something to do as she was close to everyone- she loved Shannon but Bonnie was her goddaughter, so Lisa would be caught in the middle. 

 

Imagine if, while Bonnie was in Oakdale with Jessica, Duncan and Shannon reconnected in Scotland, courted, decided the love was still there and reappeared in Oakdale because they wanted Jessica and Bonnie to be the first to know that they were remarrying?

 

I hated how they neglected Jessica on the show after the fallout from that ridiculous Marshall Travers storyline and for what, the likes of Janet and Liberty?!  I'd much rather have a confrontation between Jessica and loopy Shannon and Duncan with Lisa caught in the middle.

[Soapsuds]

I think it was that castle and Duncan being irish that I couldn't stand. I didn't find Michael Swan appealing either. I always liked Shannon better with Brian McColl.

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[DramatistDreamer]

 

 

Hey, I thought Duncan was Scottish? His accent was eh, not great, I could see where the confusion came.

 

See, I thought I was the only one who preferred Shannon with Brian but people kept saying they thought they were boring. Those people should've watched Brian and Beatrice and they really would've known what boring was!

 

At one time, when I was a grad student, wondered if I could do my internship for ATWT (since I was in NYC at that time) but I ended up interning for a talent agency, I used to read scripts.  

I had a conversation with someone at PGP to submit my resume but in retrospect, the end must've been near at that point, since their office seemed pretty chaotic.  It turned me off trying to get into daytime.

ATWT would've been the only show I would've wanted to write for (ABC Daytime had some Production internships but I didn't feel I knew enough about their shows at that time-- turns out, neither do most writers in daytime today!).

[Soapsuds]

Maybe he was Scottish...LOL  ...I am not too sure either.

 

Brian and Beatrice were a bore because of her. The actress sucked too. Beatrice was one bad boring character.

 

I would have been great had you gotten into ATWT. It's always been my favorite soap. i was obsessed with it......LOL  

[~bl~]

Yes Duncan was Scottish or at least he was supposed to be as the actor was acting it, and it was a fake accent. The actress who played Beatrice was the adoptive mother of Claire on "Heroes". 

[Khan]

Ugh, Michael Swan.  There's something that's just so cheesy about that guy, you know?  I wish they had made him lose the accent at some point, too.  As Othello would say, his Scottish brogue was "false as Hell."

[Soaplovers]

Having a castle in oakdale...so 80s.  Nice to know even Marland followed the trends..bad as they were.

 

Shannon seemed so unlike a typical Marland creation, only to learn that he didn't create her..and it made more sense to me.  Most of his female characters he created were kinda boring...except for Julie...until she got saddled in the vortex of the dreaded Snyders.  I always viewed Carly as a 2nd rate Julie.