As The World Turns Discussion Thread

[DramatistDreamer]

Pam was a role that could've been expanded.  I liked Pam too-- was it Robin Morse's choice to leave or was it storyline dictated?  As much as I love 1980s soap, I think because the storylines were often so sweeping, writers seemed to have difficulty writing industrious characters and making them flawed-- Pam was one example.  As likeable as the actress was and with all that was put into making people care about the character, Pam was destined to always be the confidante and the best friend.  I did like the friendship between Meg and Pam though, especially since there was a time when I thought it was impossible for Meg to ever have a female friend or any friend, for that matter.   

 

Jennifer Ashe was terrific in those scenes as Meg after the miscarriage.  Her hospital scene with Margo was very poignant and it reached back to Margo's miscarriage and her bedside scenes with Iva.  Soaps just don't do that type of detail anymore.  

The Meg character really matured from a girl to a woman, all within the space of a year.  Lily was a pretty straight-forward character but Meg, at least back then had far more complexity, I think.  As I've said before, I didn't care for that Josh/Meg relationship (I think the Snyders clan had too many pseudo-incestuous relationships going on), but the actors performed great and Ashe was particularly standout in '88.  

 

Iva and Kirk were quite passionate.  It was the one time that Iva was not written as a sad sack in a relationship, she was quite fiery.  

 

Melanie Smith's Emily was the most complex the character of Emily would ever be, I think.  

 

ATWT had a boatload of talent in the 1980s, it makes me wonder whether they had any trouble keeping actors on the show.

Edited October 6, 2015 by DramatistDreamer

[victoria foxton]

 

This is a pretty good episode love Kim's and Betsy's mother and daughter relationship ATWT had a lot of strong female characters during this era. Lisa's pairing with Whit comes across as so odd. If only ATWT had cast a more attractive actor, I can't see Lisa riding that decrepit toothy donkey.This Tom and Margo had a real spark to them something they lost over the years due to bad writing.Ellen seems to have been used more in the early 80's then she ever was by Marland. I liked the flashbacks of Ellen finding John's'' dead body''. I know this was a rocky era for ATWT but the writing was vastly superior to most of today's soaps.

Edited October 6, 2015 by victoria foxton

[DramatistDreamer]

It's funny how even though I was a bit too young to fully appreciate ATWT in '83, by '84 I could grasp more of the stories (by '85, I was hooked-lol) somehow, I always remember the Ariel character. 

 

Watching this episode made me wish ATWT had brought the character of Ariel back, even occasionally, the way the show often brought Penny and Don Hughes back every now and then. 

It might have been interesting to have Paul (and even Barbara) interact with James' sister, while still hating James.  Later on, when the show brought James' mother on during Paul's murder trial, she seemed delusional so it might have provided a nice counterweight to have one member of that family that was clear eyed (Ariel had great eyes, by the way) where James was concerned, rather than make everyone in James' family look delusional.

Edited October 8, 2015 by DramatistDreamer

[Scrapple]

Ariel was a great character. Her battles with Karen were wonderful. And it was great seeing her finally fall in love (ever so briefly) with Burke Donovan.  

[DRW50]

Do any of you know where recaps are for October 1996? I have an episode with Jane Powell as Lisa and I think it's from October, but I have no idea when.

[NothinButAttitude]

 

http://soapcentral.com/atwt/archives.php

 

 

I think I would've enjoyed Ariel coming back when Marland took the reigns. I think her presence would've been necessary during James' arc. Plus, I think it would've been interesting to see John/Lucinda/Ariel play off each other. 

 

And I wish in the final years of the show, Penny and Don would've been brought back in full-term capacity. Even if the roles were recurring. Don could've easily been paired back with Lisa again. Or they should've brought back Grant. I'm still a bit upset that Lisa didn't get a happy ending. 

Edited October 8, 2015 by Nothin'ButAttitude

[DRW50]

Thanks. I didn't realize they had any 1996. I think this one may be earlier in October then.

 

The whole Lisa thing at the end still bothers me.

 

Marland seemed to have a very serious view of the Stenbecks, aside from the bad camp of his mother. He had a very dark interpretation of James as well, especially his preying on young, borderline underage (not even sure about the borderline part actually) girls.

[NothinButAttitude]

Do you think that Marland would've captured the essence of Ariel?

[victoria foxton]

I think Marland would have done a great job with Ariel. Marland could write bad complex girls very well. From what little i've seen of Ariel on you tube i like her. The Actress that played her had a real presences to her plus exotic good looks that really made Ariel stand out.

[DRW50]

It would have been interesting to see. It's hard to say because his humor in women was either kooky or barely concealed rage and sniping (Marcy, Lilith, Tess). I think the closest may have been his last few years of Julie, and sometimes Emily. 

 

I do wish they'd tried to bring her back.

[NothinButAttitude]

They should've! It would've given John something to do, and it might've made most of James' return stories more interesting. Especially the return in the mid 90s during the David Stenbeck era. *shudders* 

[DRW50]

Here's the episode (originally from another YT channel that's been gone for a few years now). It's somewhere from August 29-early September, as SOD said August 29 was her first airdate and I doubt she was around long. 

 

Other than the loltastically terrible acting, it's not much worse than anything in ATWT's last decade, but the complete lack of vets onscreen (minus Lily and cameos from Emma and Lucinda) - no wonder a lot of fans had had enough.

 

I still think if they'd tried harder with Zoe she wouldn't have been that bad a choice to keep around. 

 

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Edited October 8, 2015 by DRW50

[Soapsuds]

Who was writing at the time? Was this during Jessica Klein's one week run?….LOL  And wasn't Caso gone and whats his name promoted to EP. I can't recall his name..he was one awful EP….fired Patricia Bruder to name one….

[DRW50]

John Valente.

 

This was Black and Stern, or as some at the time called them, Black and Decker. Best known for primetime stuff and the soft porn soap Eden (which was actually better written than their tenure here...).

[Soapsuds]

Ah yes ..Valente….just horrendous…..Black and Stern were better on Falcon Crest…..

Its a shame that the writers underneath Marland didnt know what to do or write after his death…..cause that lead to one awful writer after another….Lorraine Broderick had her moments but the show was mainly boring during her time there.

The only good thing Black and Stern did was hire Model Paul….