17 hours ago, Chris B said:

I started ATWT in 2004 and recently decided to go back to 97 and watch from there since YouTube has those years either complete or almost complete. I've finally made it to the last episode of 1999. There's been lots of ups and downs in the years I've watched but the show is in a decent place right now. I feel like it should be a seamless transition once Hogan takes over in the summer of 2000.

The biggest problem I've been having is the show has such an untalented younger set. Eddie and Georgia are the worst but they can't cast a decent Chris to save their lives. It doesn't help that he's being put with mature actresses who know how to act. The Georgia character in particular has eaten up so much screentime and she is a terrible actress. It looks like there is a shift in the storyline which will lead to her exit and it amazes me it took this long.

One thing I've found interesting to watch is getting to see Tom and Margo still as real characters. When I started watching they were pretty much on their way out so all of the great stuff I've seen is from past episodes. It's also nice seeing a Barbara that isn't insane. I love that she has shades of grey but isn't a complete nut. Another interesting thing in these episodes is seeing the beginning of Katie and Henry. Katie in particular is lucky to have survived being in such a dull younger set. It's also nice seeing John Dixon still has a main character.

The biggest highlight for these years was Denise. I think Cassandra Creech was so good in this role and it amazes me that she didn't last until the end. They've done such a good job of developing her character. I'm curious what Hogan will do with her and how her exit will be handled. It's a shame he couldn't see a future for Denise and Andy.

I thought the second Chris, Kover  was good...not the best actor..but I will admit cute as hell and he had great rapport with Hastings, Hays, Wagner and Fulton..he seemed like a kid raised in a family of strong women.  It was the bad thing with Holden's plain ass daughter that made it go south. None of the others up to Cosgrove were Chris to me..that Dylan guy was way too porny to be a Hughes. 

Creech is great....sexy, earthy as Denise.  Too bad they didn't make it last longer (though Andy and her should have had a short shelf life.) I didn't think the show was as bad as people say like Sheffer "saved it" 

Edited August 22Aug 22 by Mitch64

Courier Express 18 January 1981

It's hush-hush right now, but very soon it's probable that another famous one will bite the dust in soapland. And it's another case of moving out the "old" to make way for the "new." Helen Wagner has portrayed Nancy Hughes on ''As the World Turns" since the original pilot was made and the series debuted April 2, 1956.

Wagner met recently with the producers and writers of the show to renegotiate her contract. After being one of the character spokes on "ATWT" for nearly 25 years, financial considerations weren't a major negotiation factor. The actress pulls a hefty salary, as befits her long-running status on the show. However,she was concerned that the character has been progressively shoved in the story background and has, on occasion, been required to "act silly and out of character," according to an observer.

Wagner reportedly asked for assurance that her character would become more prominent in the story, and the writers dismissed her request. In retaliation, Wagner announced she won't be re-signing her contract, which expires in several weeks.

Wagner was born in Lubbock, Tex., and trained to be a singer. Early in her career, she appeared with the St. Louis Municipal Opera, as well as in Oscar Hammerstein's musicals, "Sunny River'", and "Oklahoma." She also toured in Gilbert and Sullivan operettas, playing the mezzo leads. Despite occasional tours in plays such as "Streetcar Named Desire" with Lee Marvin and "A Lion In Winter," Wagner has devoted her career to  the soap opera business.

It is, therefore, a sad comment on the current state of the soap opera business that ATWT" would callously allow one of its guiding forces to take a hike. The old folks on soaps  are dispensable when the focus shines on younger characters. In turn, it's economically necessary to build a new and younger audience. But in the process, all too often, viewers who have invested decades in a soap must sit by and watch their loved ones get the short end of the stick in story preferences.

Wagner still has a few weeks left in her current contract and there's a possibility that she still may swallow her pride. But at this point it appears that Wagner and Nancy Hughes won't be around on the daytime tube, which also leaves in question the fate of Nancy's husband, Chris, played by the only other remaining original cast member of - "ATWT," Don MacLaughlin. 

 

In another report it was stated that Nancy did not appear at all in Jan 81.Probably the first time that had happened and Helen saw the writing on the wall.

Although I wonder how that happened. ? If she was on a 2 a week contract was the plan to have her appear more often later to make up her guarantee? Or were they just paying her anyway?

Looks like Helen was offered fewer appearances in the new contract. Don accepted recurring at some point and was hardly seen. Somehow she turned up for the location shoot of Tom and Margo's wedding in 1983. Maybe they were taping nearby her home and someone approached her to attend? Very odd. Did she have any lines?

Then she returned in 85.

2 hours ago, Paul Raven said:

Looks like Helen was offered fewer appearances in the new contract. Don accepted recurring at some point and was hardly seen. Somehow she turned up for the location shoot of Tom and Margo's wedding in 1983. Maybe they were taping nearby her home and someone approached her to attend? Very odd. Did she have any lines?

Then she returned in 85.

She has a few lines. Not much. The rest is standing around for a few group scenes. The scene with Chris (where she has her only lines) looks like it was filmed separately. About 31 minutes in.

 

Thanks @DRW50 Must have been a surprise for viewers to see Nancy after a few years as though she'd never been away. And then vanish again.

12 hours ago, Mitch64 said:

I thought the second Chris, Kover  was good...not the best actor..but I will admit cute as hell and he had great rapport with Hastings, Hays, Wagner and Fulton..he seemed like a kid raised in a family of strong women.  It was the bad thing with Holden's plain ass daughter that made it go south. None of the others up to Cosgrove were Chris to me..that Dylan guy was way too porny to be a Hughes. 

Abigail/Chris was such a bad idea, as he just came across as too old compared to her and their relationship was not believable unless he was a perv. He had much more chemistry with Molly and with Emily.

20 hours ago, Mitch64 said:

The biggest highlight for these years was Denise. I think Cassandra Creech was so good in this role and it amazes me that she didn't last until the end. They've done such a good job of developing her character. I'm curious what Hogan will do with her and how her exit will be handled. It's a shame he couldn't see a future for Denise and Andy.

One of my dream storylines would’ve been a teenage Hope coming to live with Bob and Kim in 2006, tired of being bounced around between Andy and Denise. I could just picture Kathryn Hays calling her granddaughter “Kiddo” whenever she got out of line. Honestly, one of ATWT’s biggest weaknesses in its last decade was not using the next generation as well as they should have. And that way I could've seen Cassandra Creech and or Scott DeFreitas to make return stints when needed too. 

10 hours ago, Paul Raven said:

Thanks @DRW50 Must have been a surprise for viewers to see Nancy after a few years as though she'd never been away. And then vanish again.

It was really odd..Tom and Margo mention her in the first scene and there she is, but she doesn't interact with anyone but Chris..though she is standing next to her new daughter in law they act like they don't know her..you would think since they paid them they would have scene with Bob, David  and give Tom and Margo their best wishes. I would love to know who instigated this. 

 

3 hours ago, DRW50 said:

He had much more chemistry with Molly and with Emily.

And those relationships would give Nancy and Kim much more of a chance to twist their pearls in angst! But yea, he was way too purty to waste on boring Abigail. 

@Mitch64

Ah, yes, Dylan Bruce as Chris Hughes. What a handsome stud.😍

On 8/21/2025 at 6:39 PM, Chris B said:

I started ATWT in 2004 and recently decided to go back to 97 and watch from there since YouTube has those years either complete or almost complete. I've finally made it to the last episode of 1999. There's been lots of ups and downs in the years I've watched but the show is in a decent place right now. I feel like it should be a seamless transition once Hogan takes over in the summer of 2000.

The biggest problem I've been having is the show has such an untalented younger set. Eddie and Georgia are the worst but they can't cast a decent Chris to save their lives. It doesn't help that he's being put with mature actresses who know how to act. The Georgia character in particular has eaten up so much screentime and she is a terrible actress. It looks like there is a shift in the storyline which will lead to her exit and it amazes me it took this long.

One thing I've found interesting to watch is getting to see Tom and Margo still as real characters. When I started watching they were pretty much on their way out so all of the great stuff I've seen is from past episodes. It's also nice seeing a Barbara that isn't insane. I love that she has shades of grey but isn't a complete nut. Another interesting thing in these episodes is seeing the beginning of Katie and Henry. Katie in particular is lucky to have survived being in such a dull younger set. It's also nice seeing John Dixon still has a main character.

The biggest highlight for these years was Denise. I think Cassandra Creech was so good in this role and it amazes me that she didn't last until the end. They've done such a good job of developing her character. I'm curious what Hogan will do with her and how her exit will be handled. It's a shame he couldn't see a future for Denise and Andy.

I highly enjoyed late '98/'99. David Stenbeck 2&3 were both great but #3 was my fave. He was just creepy (and yet sexy) as hell.

I also couldn't stand Eddie and Georgia. You don't have much left of either of them. 

I did enjoy the late '99/early '00 Chris. I think he was the best out of the lot. (Not that that's saying much. Chris was always cast as "bland handsome white guy" to me.)

Katie's story arc is one of my faves from all of daytime. Henry as well. From where they began to where they ended up was a treat for me. 

I so wish Cassandra Creech could've stayed around longer. Denise was another character with a great redemption story arc. I'm in Aug '01 right now. It's dynamite. I can see why they won the Emmy for that year.

The thing with Eddie/ Georgia is they had little connection to the Hughes, Stewart's or Snyder's. 

When Christina Hughes, the Ward quads etc off-screen for no reason.

Neither of the actors who played Eddie and Georgia were very good either. And they were both thrown into the show full-throttle.

I'll never understand people expecting the Ward quads to return. That was a ridiculous storyline - quadruplets?! - and that's just too many characters with no connection to really anyone unless you bring their parents back, and was too long ago after barely being a part of the show. But I know that we, as fans, have dreams and want what we want. And everyone has their different thing.

5 minutes ago, adrnyc said:

I'll never understand people expecting the Ward quads to return. That was a ridiculous storyline - quadruplets?! - and that's just too many characters with no connection to really anyone unless you bring their parents back, and was too long ago after barely being a part of the show. But I know that we, as fans, have dreams and want what we want. And everyone has their different thing.

For me characters like that would have been perfect to bring in. They had ties to one of the show's founding families which would please longtime fans, yet were unrelated to most of the current cast giving them a lot of romantic possibilities. Why not mine the show's long, rich history instead of bringing in totally new characters?

3 hours ago, I Am A Swede said:

For me characters like that would have been perfect to bring in. They had ties to one of the show's founding families which would please longtime fans, yet were unrelated to most of the current cast giving them a lot of romantic possibilities. Why not mine the show's long, rich history instead of bringing in totally new characters?

I tend to agree. This was a great way to bring in an old name with new ties. That doesn't mean it would work, of course, but in a world where ATWT had been a stronger show in that last decade, it could have worked.

This also isn't a case where we could say fans had unrealistic expectations, because this is the show that brought back Dani, who had not been seen or mentioned in almost 15 years, just so she could call Craig "Daddy" and have sex with him. 

Not to mention the choice to bring back Dusty as a brand new character, with the bare minimum focus on his ties to Lily. I would have taken the Stewart quads over that waste of time.

9 minutes ago, DRW50 said:

I would have taken the Stewart quads over that waste of time.

I remember when the quads were born, but I don't remember much else about them.  Were they identical quads?  Were they all the same sex?  Truthfully, it would have been very very difficult to get "real" identical quads who were all actors, and all "good" actors.  And because of the challenge of finding actors, would bringing all four quads back at the same time have even been doable??  It is difficult enough to do twins on soaps, so doing quads would have been even more of a challenge.  Maybe not impossible.  Any thoughts on how it could have been done??

 

I feel like they could've brought the Quad back as a way of introducing (or re-introducing) a family. I'd just threat them as four siblings and not have any expectation of them looking identical. 

Overall I do think ATWT suffered when it came to not utilizing their past characters instead of constantly bringing on new people. As mentioned, when they did bring people back like Dani or Nikki, they never retained their previous personalities and didn't amount to much.