As The World Turns Discussion Thread

[NothinButAttitude]

Very true. Marland was the last one that was fully invested in the Hughes; however, I can say that when I watched in the 90s as a child, we still felt the presence of vets on this show. The Hughes were thrown dog bones occasionally. I think that the church fire/Kim's near death was some great material and showed why Kathy Hays and Don Hastings still had IT. 

 

I personally don't get why people wouldn't want to write for characters like them. I'd have more fun writing the Nancy, Bob, Kim, Lucinda, Lisa, John, Emma type characters--characters who have lived and have long histories over a Lily or Holden. 

[DRW50]

They gave the vets some bones, definitely. I think that would have continued, albeit in diminishing returns, but Sheffer hated the vets, just as he hated soaps. His contempt and disgust for the genre was clear every time he gave an interview and every time he did deign to write anything for older characters - the sniping between Kim and Susan was cheap and embarrassing. 

 

Ever since the late '70s the soaps dumped vets, security, safety, for pretty young things. If anything it's surprising ATWT got back on track in the mid-80s. I just wish they'd stayed there. 

 

I will say for all of the last year's faults, I felt more of a vet presence (sans Lisa and Emma) than I had in a long time. 

[cassadine1991]

It seems that Doug Marland's sudden death and everyone trying to duplicate his stamp on the show. Though it could've been possible to find a good writer to steer the show back to what it had in the 80s, even if it wouldn't have been the same. I look back at ATWT and I see a show that could've been saved and might even still be airing today.

I would've enjoyed writing for them too, it's surprising how it changed so much toward the end

Makes no sense, since they were driving story for so many years

Yeah the last few years of Will and Gwen's original stay wasn't very good at all. I also liked Casey/Maddie, Roerig and Chando had really good chemistry. Hated how she was basically thrown away when Roerig left and don't gett me started on her 2009-2010 return, she wasn't even given a proper exit. Casey should've ended up back with Maddie and Alison find her way back to Aaron at the end of ATWT

[NothinButAttitude]

That's something about Sheffer I never understood. It's obvious he hated this genre and would down it, but in the same breath, he'd always express how he wanted to write for GH and YR b/c of characters like Sonny, Jason, and Victor. I hate when people feel like they are settling in this genre and just do it just because when there are hundreds of people that'd love to be writers on these shows and would be better at it. 

 

I agree with your last statement but they should've started the vet presence long before. 

 

 

I would've loved for Casey to have reunited with Alison. Alison ... I would've preferred her to end alone and focus on her career. I wouldn't want her with Aaron b/c she treated him dirty the last time Aaron was on the show.

 

[cassadine1991]

Don't you mean Maddie? I remember how awful Alison was to Aaron, she must've forgotten how much he meant to her. I still can't forget how they wasted Agim Kaba and how they let go Dylan Bruce, who was a good Chris recast

[DramatistDreamer]

If it weren't so sad, it'd be funny...only the daytime drama genre thought it a good idea to hire writers and showrunners who had contempt for the soap genre, didn't care for women and couldn't abide by any sliver of loyalty to their core audience.  

 

I get the chase for new/younger viewers for continuity for the show but why dump the audience that got you to the height of your popularity in the first place?

 

The machinations of the Daytime Drama industry never made much sense to me.  Any success the industry had seemed to be in spite of itself.  

Edited April 17, 2016 by DramatistDreamer

[NothinButAttitude]

Yeah I meant Maddie. 

 

I hate how they wasted Agim and Dylan too. I also hate how they recast Chris with Daniel Cosgrove.  It was like watching Bill Lewis but in Oakdale and I hated it. Plus, I hate how Chris got saddled with Katie in the end. She's another character that should've ended alone, so she can find herself. I hate how they did this anchor her officially into the Hughes clan. Just ugh! 

 

 

[cassadine1991]

I don't get it either, wasn't Cosgrove almost Joey Buchanan on OLTL, I wonder what happen there to have him go to ATWT instead, they could've asked Dylan Bruce or even Bailey Chase back. 

Don't remind me of that godawful Chris/Katie ending, even though the character already had a past, it wasn't the right time for that. Also wasn't Katie already an honorary Hughes?

I remember hearing that they were going to recast Aaron in 2007, but Jon Hensley convinced them to bring back Agim. Happy they didn't recast, but damn they just threw him out toward the end of 2008. So many missed opportunities  

[P.J.]

I would have gladly traded off Tom for either of his sisters or a really well recast Chris, but I don't really give a fig that neither Penny or Don's kids made an appearance in later years. Penny hadn't really been a presence since the early '70's, and Don since about 1980. (And his son Ryder did make an appearance in the mid-90's, which I really could have done without anyway.)

 

I mean, I consider myself a life-long viewer, and have zero memory of either of them outside of their brief drive-by appearances. I mean, until I just read his bio, I had no idea that Don was older than Bob. Bob always projected as the oldest, responsible child to me.

 

I don't even think it's entirely fair to blame "the decline" of the Hughes family on the HW's from Marland on down. Irna kind of "divorced" Penny after Prinz left, and it seems that Don was recast multiple times and gone for stretches of time under her tenure. I think at some point, John really replaced Don as Bob's foil, (and the flashes of memory I do have from the '70's are about Bob and John's Chief of Staff battles) and Don's presence was kind of redundant.

 

Will and Gwen's daughter was Hallie. Eliza was Meg and Paul's daughter.  I don't know about everyone else, but I got tired of Gwen's story---which was always about Gwen being wise and perfect, while Will was stuck playing second banana. I think Jen Landon was a good actress, but at that point, all of the teen story revolved around her, and eventually it was off-putting. The focus was rarely on Gwen's relationships outside of Will or the teen scene. I mean, in spite of the fact she was Carly's sister, they barely interacted after the whole baby Billy/Rory/Johnny debacle.

 

Edited April 17, 2016 by P.J.

[Soapsuds]

You mean Kerr Smith wasn't your cup of tea? teehee….I thought he was darn cute but totally wrong as Ryder. He was a bike rider for pete sakes…even Jon Hensley back in 97 looked more comfortable on a motorcycle than Smith did….LOL

I got so sick of Gwen and her insta stories. Jennifer Landon was a good actress but she became the Jennifer Finnigan of B&B….I thought Will was a cutie of course…LOL…and wished he had his own storyline away from Gwen. 

[soapfan770]

I'm guessing this is from September 1995 or so with John teaching school and it looking like Mark being tested as a new love interest for Lily after helping her escape from Malta. 

 

Edited April 18, 2016 by soapfan770

[P.J.]

*sigh* the reviled Kasnoff/TeAmoJones year-plus. SMH.

I honestly can't remember a thing Ryder did, or who he was involved with. I know KS worked after ATWT, but he obviously didn't make an impression on m

The sad thing is---that had WILL and Gwen's stories been more balanced, I probably would have been okay with them (minus, of course the rabid Willen fan base, but that's another thing entirely.) I LOVED snarky, angry Will. Gwen should have stayed as completely messed up as she started out as, instead of going from rebel to saint in about three days. I forget who wrote her, Sheffer or Pissy, but they obviously had quite a hard on for her. If only Maddie and Casey had gotten half the attention Gwen did.

I was even excited that Carly was getting a sister. Then they ruined it with the most asinine backstory in the history of soaps, and kept them in nearly completely separate story bubbles. *eyeroll*  *hisses*CLEO*hisses*

Edited April 18, 2016 by P.J.

[soapfan770]

Ryder was involved with Nikki Munson and Dani Andropolous, told Adam he was Hal's son then saved from falling in a well, and then was involved in Dani's pathological lying story. He ended up choosing Nikki and they dated for a while until he went off to LA and slept with another woman and Nikki dumped him. That was about it. 

 

I really enjoyed Will, Gwen, Casey, and Maddie in their initial storylines, but all the characters were completely destroyed by the summer of 2006 between bad stories for Will and Gwen to the teen serial killer story which was campy amusement but ruined Maddie. After that the Adam Munson rapist plot occurred and all the magic was over. The Cleo crap was stupid. As for Allison, the show resurrected a long dead triangle between Aaron, Allison, and Chris that was completely unnecessary. The fact they originally had Daniel Cosgrove's Chris lusting after Allison still was how bad Passanate was still trying to coast off of Sheffer. 

[Soapsuds]

Heather Rattray as Lily and Holden now being called Aaron…this must be after Holden was mugged and suffered brain damage after being hit by a car.

More Heather Rattray as Lily….Rex Smith as Darryl Crawford…..

 

More Heather Rattray….Rex Smith and Allyson Rice as Connor….

Edited April 18, 2016 by Soapsuds

[Soapsuds]

There is the ending of C. Crawford murder and Tonio/Sabrina kidnapping all posted on youtube now from 92….hadnt seen these episodes on there.

So Nov of 1992 had CC murder being solved…Holden now Aaron with no memory of any of his family….Margo having HIV testing after her rape…and Ellie trying to have a baby but it might have deformities…I guess it was dark….LOL…..I still loved it...