As The World Turns Discussion Thread

[Khan]

 

I think TPTB were still skittish about putting Bob and Kim together, because of the reaction that their ONS and her subsequent pregnancy probably engendered from the audience.  They probably thought having Bob and Kim reunite and marry at that point would look like "rewarding" Kim for trying to steal away her sister's husband.

 

Plus -- and I don't know, this is pure conjecture on MY part -- but I wonder, too, whether TPTB thought that Kim had too much vitality to be tied down with a conservative (read: boring) character like Bob.  Hence, her marriage to the presumably more dynamic Nick.

[Khan]

 

Agree.  SBH, and Cynthia Benjamin, faced a very uphill battle when they became HW's, because, thanks to EP Mary-Ellis Bunim and the several HW'ing teams that had come and gone during her regime, the show was WRECKED.  The Hugheses and Stewart/Lowells, save for Tom, had been relegated to supporting/recurring status; and if your character wasn't part of James Stenbeck's orbit, or involved with the younger group, you basically had nothing to do.  It's to SBH and Benjamin's (and new EP Robert Calhoun's) credit how they brought the show back down to earth, with more character-driven storylines that seemed to touch more on the show's history (Bob and Kim's reunion and marriage being but one, very notable example) after Bunim had overdosed on action/adventure and murky crime stories.

[DRW50]

 

On paper I guess I get the idea of Nick and Kim - Kim, who had settled into an everyday life, finding passion again with a swarthy stranger. Sadly I think the backlash to the story (with Kathryn Hays saying she got her most hate mail ever for that plot I believe) helped to just turn her into Betsy's doting mother, getting shouted down by Steve in scenes I can't watch without dying a little inside. The problem is that, from the little I've seen, there is no chemistry and Nick is a pain in the ass.

 

I do NOT get the idea of Bob and Miranda. Upstanding doctor and beloved town figure marries a woman with a "come wiz me to the cazbah" accent who turns out to be an international drug dealer isn't even a good soap idea - it's more like something from an episode of Soap. 

Edited June 17, 2018 by DRW50

[soapfan770]

 

I always found something likable about Elaine Princi but unfortunately she was only used as a rent-a-diva for the 80s there for roles that weren't very good. I noticed there was a trend in the late '70s and early '80s for Bob to get paired up someone on the "wild" side i.e. Valerie, Karen Peters, so perhaps this was a continuation of that. 

[DRW50]

 

I think without the accent and the pointless daughter and drug stuff Princi could have fit into ATWT well. If they were "going there" with Bob I think it would have made more sense pairing him with Ariel (if Nancy had been around imagine her reaction to Ariel!).

 

Was Karen the boring ballerina? I always had a soft spot for the actress (especially in her thankless role on AW). Or was that someone else?

 

I'd love to see more of Valerie. I really would. I love Judith McConnell. The only bit I've seen of her was near her exit as a character, although they did seem to be hinting at something with her and Ralph. Then they were both gone by the time the clips began again. I wonder if they were both abruptly written out.

[soapfan770]

 

The ballerina was Dana, and from the 1979 episode on the ATWT DVD's I agree Carl she was boring lol. I read that Dana's ex-husband later died of a heart attack while having sex with Dee Stewart! The actress was married to AW's Rick Porter after playing one of the Holloways. The Holloways on AW were so pointless, the show already had the Cory's yet added an alleged "billionaire" family that served no purpose. 

 

Karen was a high priced con artist played by Leslie Denniston that Bob got mixed up with. Denniston of course would later marry Hastings in real life and later come back to ATWT to play Carolyn Crawford. I've only read a few snippets about it from the old 1978 ATWT synopses that SOD had posted on their website in the late '90s, I don't know if there is anything on Youtube about the story or not.  

 

 

[DRW50]

 

I always wonder if the Hastings/Denniston relationship ever got tongues wagging as the '70s articles about Don always give the happy home life impression.

 

I've never seen Karen - I wish I could (again mostly just to see Nancy's reaction to her).

 

You probably already know this but the 79/80 ATWT clips on Youtube do start the building of Dee's relationship with her ex. (Ian?) It makes sense that such a terrible experience would make Dee vulnerable to John's manipulations, but it all feels very crass, as Dobson material from ATWT tends to feel.

 

The Holloways were just a bust (and making Miranda into such a blatant Iris replacement did her no favors, since, as you said, the show had moved on from that type of palate). Of the family, Hobart's character was probably the best for me, as her little story of falling in love with do-gooder Jerry in spite of herself could be touching at times, but even that wasn't really worth the time. I most remember that era because they had 2 or 3 men tooling around the family at the same time who all looked and talked alike. Baffling.

[Khan]

 

Or Margo, as played by Margaret Colin.  I mean, imagine how John Dixon would have reacted to his daughter being involved in a May-December relationship with his professional rival?

 

Would it have made sense?  Maybe not.  But John Dixon becoming Bob Hughes' father-in-law certainly would have provided a ton of story, lol.

 

RE: Miranda.  Here's what I think (or suspect): someone at CBS or P&G -- or maybe even Mary-Ellis Bunim herself -- liked Elaine Princi and/or the character and wanted her kept on the show.  However, Miranda was never designed to be a long-term character.  Although the writers ultimately explained away her drug smuggling activities, the question of what to do with her beyond redemption loomed.  "Oh well," says the HW of the moment, or some higher-up, "let's just stick her with Bob Hughes -- he hasn't had much to do for awhile -- and work that out later."

 

Unfortunately, no one ever did, or could, work that out.

Edited June 18, 2018 by Khan

[P.J.]

 

I'm not sure if they feared backlash over the affair, or just realized that whoever they set up with Kim after Dan's death was going to be an uphill battle.

 

Plus, while I can't exactly find reference to it, weren't Bob and Dan friends? They were certainly colleagues. And I don't think they would've wanted to tie either Bob or Kim down into their Brady Bunch like tribe in 1980. You would've had them raising Frannie, Betsy and Andy. And if John hated the idea of Dan raising Andy, that would've gone double for Bob.

 

[Khan]

 

That's totally possible.

[DRW50]

 

A Bob/Margo pairing would have made sense, on some level (especially if she still ended up with Tom). I'm half-surprised the ATWT of that era didn't put him with Cricket...

 

I didn't know that Miranda was created before the Bob pairing. That makes sense too.

 

 

The '79 clips seem to imply a growing bond between them that does make me wonder if the show toyed with the idea and then decided against it for the reason you describe.

[Khan]

 

Bob and Cricket ("Bricket"?) would have made more sense than Cricket and Ernie.  Just sayin'.

 

Heck, I would have kept Bob and Lyla's relationship going long enough for Lyla to become apoplectic over learning that saintly "Dr. Bob" had feelings for her daughter (Cricket or Margo, take your pick).

Edited June 18, 2018 by Khan

[DRW50]

 

I feel like they had no idea what to do with Cricket beyond "hey she's having a baby!"

 

It's always weird to watch later years and get brief reminders of Lyla and Bob being a couple. I think they missed a beat not re-exploring this while he and Kim were separated.

[Khan]

 

No, if anything was worth re-exploring during that period, it would have been Bob and Lisa...and Kim and Dan Stewart's lookalike.  (No way would I have been up for Kim hooking up with John again, lol.)

 

Cricket STAYED pregnant during her two years in Oakdale, did she not?

 

I think they missed a great opportunity to bring back Cricket and Ernie when Billy was grown-up and living in Oakdale for that brief period of time.  Heck, they didn't even bother introducing his half-sister (Suzanne, right?) OR bringing back his bio dad, Cody Sullivan.  So much history wasted.

[DRW50]

Sad to say I was surprised they even mentioned Cricket's name.

 

That whole thing was so stupid, such a waste.