What was the reason he only lasted two months or so at ATWT in late 1979?

The story I've heard is that P&G brought him on as a consultant, then gave him the choice of ATWT or GL. He chose GL, (I think) because he considered it a stronger show at the time.

ATWT was the one show where Marland stayed the longest. As successful as he was writing for GH and GL, he stayed long enough (2 years or so, roughly) to breathe new life into these ailing shows, but left both due to discord with the EPs (Monty and Potter). Having a positive working relationship with Calhoun and Caso at ATWT gave him stability, but also challenged him in terms of longevity as a headwriter. Looking retrospectively, writing for ATWT was the first time in his career he had to do/prove that.

Think of how daytime would have been different had Marland stayed HW at GL---no Reva Shayne? The mind boggles.

I get the feeling that P&G felt like Marland was very good at younger characters, which was the main thing GL lacked when he took over as headwriter. I think they may have felt that the Dobsons were needed at ATWT to completely restructure it, as they had GL. But for whatever reason, whether it be their tastes, or P&G's demands, they didn't seem to "get" ATWT. I guess they did have some success, as they brought in Steve (who was certainly very popular with fans), James Stenbeck, and the Montgomery family, and they put John at the center of the drama where he belonged, but they seemed to fail at changing the show in a positive way, they failed at respecting the core of the show, or building a proper structure.

I haven't seen a lot of 1990 but what I have seen, other than Casey's death and the affair story with Bob/Susan, seems like a real lull, with 1991 somewhat stronger but still not quite there. I think Marland's ATWT just drifted into a malaise, because he wasn't the best at high-energy characters or situations. He also had a dense, backbreaking cast, which barely worked by the end, even with his pen. I'm just sorry we never got to see who he would have cut if he'd been asked to do so. I think he never would have cut Andy (which was a huge mistake on ATWT's part).

1992 is where stories seem to start picking up and the canvas is reshaped in some potentially interesting ways. Not everything (Rosanna as Lily 2.0), but Scott's arrival, Jessica/Duncan, Frannie/Barbara conflict, Lily cutting ties with both her mothers, Holden's memory loss - all of this rocked the show, and I'm really sorry we didn't get to see Marland's full material for this era.

It's too bad Scott was completely derailed by Doug's death and JB's HIV. Had he continued as the brother with a chip on his shoulder (instead of the clown he became with Doug Wert---which wasn't even DW's fault, the writing did a 180) I think it really would have revitalized Tom and Lisa.

I posted this on the status updates but I am so freaked out I've got to share again

Just watched the "Hello, Barbara" episode. If one gets over the silliness/craziness of the castle and people walking around in monk apparel, the moment James reveals himself in genuinely frightening as hell. Damn! I never thought it would be this good.

I think it's hard to watch an episode or clips here and there and appreciate the true impact of a reveal like that.

Do you have the Barbara/James dvd? I still curse the day I decided to wait and order it for Xmas.

No, I'm afraid I don't.

I'm sure that the weight of watching many years of the show and witnessing James and Barbara would affect it greatly. Regardless, it's still an amazing ending, even if one doesn't quite have a lot of knowledge of the past.

I didn't mean to make it sound like you couldn't appreciate it---just that I know the monk's robes and spooky castle seem slightly more camp without the entire context.

LOL...maybe I should watch it ---it seems appropriate for Halloween.

Oh yes, that's definitely true. I was sort of just at the whole thing, but in a good way... if that makes sense lol

LOL it does seem appropriate.

The good news is I think every episode on that DVD bar one is on Youtube. (and I think someone may have uploaded all those episodes to Youtube as well) Try channels like Oakdalian, munecojim, and AsTheWorldStillTurns, or something like that. Other channels that have episodes from that era are 0184btm, OakdaleHistorian and GenoaCityGuy.

VICTORY IS MINE!!!

http://boards.soapoperanetwork.com/topic/49280-days-atwt-actor-joining-cast/#entry1285520

AsTheWorldStillTurns uploaded four episodes from the time Frannie finds out about Doug being Kim's stalker. Some of this is already on Youtube or has been around but I don't remember seeing the full material of these episodes.