As The World Turns Discussion Thread

[danfling]

I remember that he took a trip out of town. It was some type of medical conference. I think that Mr. Lipton was filming a movie with Sammy Davis, Jr. Neil was gone for a while, then Penny got the news that he had died. I don't remember how he died, however.

The upstairs hallway was shown, and the audience heard Penny's reaction upon hearing the news. She did not hear it onscreen.

[DRW50]

That sounds chilling. I guess that was Prinz's last story.

[danfling]

Oh no. Penny later married Roy McGuire. He was the ex-husband (and a former convict) who was the ex-wife of Penny's sister-in-law Sandy Wilson McGuire. Roy and Sandy had a little boy (Jimmy); Roy wanted to get custody of the boy, so he married Penny, who was unable to bear children.

Konrad Mathai played Roy. He returned to As the World Turns later to play the original Grant Coleman (and was later replaced by James Douglas).

[DRW50]

Thanks. I knew he was on there, I just didn't know she'd married him.

I was reading an SOD from August 1997, and they mentioned recasting Ellie. I wonder why that didn't happen. It would have made more sense to recast her than Meg. Then again, Passante/Goutman probably just pulled a Snyder name out of a hat.

I also read that Ellie returned for a few days in 1993, to catch up with Craig, and I guess to divorce Kirk. I had no idea she ever came back after her late 1992 exit.

[P.J.]

Passanante wasn't with the show in '97---neither was Goutman. That had to be Broderick. Ellie does seem to be an odd choice to think about recasting at the time. The Snyder family consisted of Holden and Jack then. Could be a call went out for a petite brunette---cover for recasting Molly, maybe?

[DRW50]

Kirk was still on the show - maybe they were going to go for a Sam/Kirk/Ellie triangle.

You're right about Passante and Goutman, I meant they cast Meg in 2005. I think bringing back Ellie would have made more sense.

[P.J.]

Actually, on the whole, I think Meg's a more dynamic character than Ellie. Of course Passnante and Goutman gutted the character, but since I assume they really didn't have a written-in-stone outline of what they wanted to do with her---it made more sense to bring back the used-to-be-a-bitch Meg than the quirky-and slightly slutty Ellie.

[Chris B]

I could see what Marie Wilson played more as an evolution of Ellie than Meg. I just didn't believe any of her backstory as Meg, although I did enjoy her if you just imagine she's a long lost Snyder sibling that wasn't featured.

[RogerNewcomb]

Marie Wilson has shown me her chops in some post-ATWT roles, but the day I saw Meg walk across Emma's field in high heels I knew (if I didn't already) what a bad recast it was. The last decade they seems to love digging up old names to use on new characters.

[Quent]

This started me thinking...what ATWT recast best captured the spirit of their predecessor?

[DRW50]

I would say Ellen Dolan's Margo, before she became so bitter and dead inside and started yelling all the time.

[DRW50]

Forgot to mention Mary Ellen Stuart as Frannie - after I finally got to see a lot of Julianne Moore's work in the role, I thought it might change my high opinion of MES, but it didn't. She was the perfect all-American Hughes daughter, yet added some sensuality and maturity to the role. I'm sorry that memory of her is mostly swallowed up in the confusing Carolyn Crawford mystery.

[P.J.]

I'd second both Dolan (at least in the beginning) and MES. For me, Scott Hoylrod as Paul as well.

It's weird some recasts meshed so well, and yet all the Toms had distinct characterizations.

[DRW50]

I really liked Holroyd, although he didn't have much of a predecessor.

In some ways I'm surprised Scott Holmes was as accepted as he was, since Gregg Marx was, when I watch his episodes, the ideal Tom, and Holmes didn't have the same chemistry with HBS. But Holmes and Dolan were good together, at least in those first 4-5 years, and then I liked them a little again at the very end.

[P.J.]

I'm going back to Kavovit (and skipping John Howard's modelPaul alltogether).

I don't get Holmes either. Had he been hired in the mb/twitter era, I don't think he would have lasted a year. I've always looked at his casting as TIIC casting a short term actor and then forgetting they intended to replace him. I think Tom suffered as a character with Holmes' stuffy and priggish portrayal.