As The World Turns Discussion Thread

[DramatistDreamer]

The only thing that really bothered me about the Snyder kitchen was that grubby looking refrigerator. You'd think that all those Snyder kids to pool together and get Emma a nice retro refrigerator. Something like:

[DramatistDreamer]

The irony is that if the show were on today, the Snyder farm could be quite relevant when you think of the whole Farm to Table, Community Sourced Agriculture (CSA) movements. The arguments pro/con GMOs, pesticides, bee colony collapse. You would need skilled, knowledgeable writers who could write engaging storylines though...of which ATWT was in short supply toward the end of its run.

I remember reading a story bible for ATWT years ago and didn't Grandpa Hughes leave his family farm to study & practice law? One quick way to tie the Hughes and Snyders would've been to say that at the end of their lives, Grandpa Hughes' parents decided to sell the farm to a young rural couple who would turn out to be Mr. & Mrs. Snyder.

There might have been a reason for the likes of Bob to venture out to the farm occasionally.

I agree with those who say the farm was to isolated from Oakdale. I remember seeing episodes where Meg mentioned that she had to hitchhike from 'town' back to Luthor's Corner due to the distance and no buses going all the way out there after a certain time. Making the farm less than 10 miles from Oakdale might have solved that problem.

Also, if there were a Farmer's Market located in Luthor's Corners (maybe even at the Snyder Farm) where practically all of Oakdale got their fresh produce and dairy and maybe some of the Snyders did deliveries to the wealthier customers like Lucinda Walsh, Barbara Ryan and Lisa-- but perhaps that would fit into a storyline written today and not the '80s nor the '90s.

I know that had they brought back one of Julie and Caleb's kids or Aaron, armed with a degree in agricultural science, determined to 'save' the farm, that could have kept the farm relevant.

[amybrickwallace]

That's a great post, with so many great ideas. Farmers are also at the mercy of the weather and changing prices, which would be quite different from soap conflicts that we have seen up to now.

[P.J.]

I know the Snyder farm was considered "the country", but it's not like it was Far Far Away. It necessitated a car ride. And if Oakdale hadn't supposedly been big enough for three consulting firms or multiple million-dollar corporate headquarters, y'all wouldn't have been surprised buses don't go there or run 24/7.

I loved the Snyders. I don't know why they get such a bad rap. They're no different than any other soap family, passing love interests back and forth. While I wish we could have gotten a little updating through the years (good God, that water heater never moved), I thought it was comforting.

[DramatistDreamer]

I didn't have a problem with them but I can see how people might complain about how much time some of their storylines got per page. I remember some very Snyder heavy episodes. A bit more balance and like I mentioned before, engagement between various characters might have solved this. IMO it was a missed opportunity not to connect the Snyder family farm to former Hughes family farm.

[DRW50]

I think inventing too many connections between characters starts to feel tacked on and self-aware. I do think they could have included Grandpa Hughes' memory in the story - perhaps have his oldest son (I can't remember his name) move to Oakdale and work on the farm, perhaps be a father figure to Emma and a grandfather/father figure to her kids.

I liked the Snyders. It's easy for me and others to talk about what didn't work, but many things worked too. I think if people didn't like them then they would see them as overkill.

For me the only serious mistake they made with the Snyders was too much partner-swapping.

I also wish they hadn't abandoned most of the family and brought in a new Snyder branch with Jack, but I will admit, aside from Ellie and maybe Meg, most of Emma's kids were played out.

[P.J.]

Could they have mentioned the old Hughes farm? Sure. I don't really see why that would have been some kind of tribute---by the '80's, even if you were a legacy viewer, you might not have known about it. I'd watched ATWT forever, and had no clue until I read the history that Chris had moved off the family farm. I think at the time he invented them, Marland tapped into a topical subject, the loss of the small American farmer, and that's what Emma represented. It'd been in her family for generations, and it was a legacy she tried to preserve.

Curse Brad all you want, but not my Jack!! He was the best thing to happen to that family.

[Khan]

IIRC, Pa Hughes' other son was named John. I think he wound up living and working on the Hugheses' farm in Gilman, Ohio? But I'm not sure about that either.

Edited February 19, 2015 by Khan

[slick jones]

I think you are right, Khan. He married woman named Marion from the old info I have, but I don't think she was ever seen.

[DramatistDreamer]

So the Hughes family farm was in Ohio? Oh, I didn't remember that.

Also, since the Snyder farm was in the family for generations, but whose family? Emma or her husbands? I'm guessing her husband, since she was Snyder by marriage?

I don't think ATWT was at risk of having too many connections until the 90s/00s, although the sudden appearance of Iva in Oakdale and Lily's entire lineage and Lily, as well as both of her bio-parents all being adopted seemed a bit contrived but the actors made it work.

[P.J.]

It was Emma's family farm. She occasionally said she had memories from her childhood there. I know she mentioned it had been known as the "...." farm, but I can't remember what her maiden name was. I think Emma's ancestry was Danish, but then they kind of implied it was Swedish in scenes she had with Vienna.

[Mitch]

During the 79-80 time where they didnt know what to do with Nancy and Chris they should have had his great niece from the farm move in with them and she would be a Lisa type/Meg Snyder/Carly kind of trouble maker...especially if they had given Lisa the Scott storyline earlier it would have been fun to see Lisa having to deal with her own trouble making daughter in law and she and Nancy going head to head over her. "Now Lisa, remember when you used to be the town slut...."

[John]

Saw this posted and thought Id share it given its the Oscars tonight

#oscars · Trending

Colleen Zenk

5 mins ·

The pundits predict Julianne is a "lock"! Hoping my "As The World Turns" baby sis, "Frannie" takes home the Oscar gold tonight for "STILL ALICE". She is still an "unaffected-by-Hollywood" woman-actor-living-in-NYC-wife&mom...so very happy and proud of her! ‪#‎JulianneMoore‬ ‪#‎StillAlice‬‪#‎Oscars‬

[DramatistDreamer]

Aww. I may be biased but I think a lot of the NYC based actors are very unassuming. I once locked eyes with Maggie Gyllenhaal and she was just cool, smiles and goes on about her business.

[Paul Raven]

August 67 happenings.

• Claire Cassen's elopement with Dr. Michael Shea;
• The finalization of Lisa's divorce from John Eldridge so she could pursue Dr. Shea;
• Bob's troubles at the hospital over a blood transfusion he gave Diane Steiner without her parents' consent;
• A disagreement between Chris and Nancy not only over Nancy's handling of Penny's marital troubles with Roy McGuire, but also with Nancy's wish to have her sister Pearl, whose husband, Harry, was seriously ill, live with the Hughes family; and
• Susan Burke's attempt to play matchmaker between Paul Stewart and nurse Wendy Bennett

Interesting about Pearl and Harry.

Edited February 23, 2015 by Paul Raven