As The World Turns Discussion Thread

[P.J.]

That was one of the few times KMH was likeable as Emily.

[DRW50]

 

Along with Hal he was one of the few love interests KMH worked with. They absolutely destroyed Emily after this, with that Diego trash. 

[P.J.]

Well...I kind of thought Em acted like she'd had a lobotomy during the Hal years...but I understand why TIIC paired them. Emily had degenerated into a cartoon by that point. And I kind of liked the fact it annoyed Margo. :D

[DRW50]

 

True. I mostly liked the chemistry. Looking back I suppose KMH had it with a number of men (I thought she did with Daniel Markle and Paul Korver as well), but the writing was often so poor. Honestly sometimes I wonder how her version of the  character lasted nearly 20 years when so much of her material was poor. 

[DramatistDreamer]

We probably discussed this before but was it the scab writers of '88 who wrote Margo discovering that she was pregnant by Hal, not Tom? Or was that a Marland idea before the strike? And what about all those months Margo ran to Greece? Whose idea was that, the scabs or Marland?

Just curious about how many of Marland's story ideas were carried out during his absence in '88 and how many storylines were totally created totally from the scab writers?

[DRW50]

 

I think Hal being the father may have always been the idea, as that drove a ton of story. I think Margo going to Greece was also Marland's plan. There was a lot of doubt at that period of time about whether Hillary would stay - there was even an SOD article that said she was leaving. She changed her mind in exchange for things like her son playing Adam so she could spend time with him. She then quit a year later as the new EP wasn't as accommodating. I think if she'd chosen to leave then she may have just stayed offcamera. 

 

I can't remember but I think that Sierra dying may have been a scab idea. I think that it was also a scab idea to have Lucinda stab Barbara in the back after Barbara signed BRO over to her when she was going into prison. The whole psycho Laura obsessed with Bob story was also quite clearly strike-oriented, as the tone was wildly different to anything Marland did (it was very '50s noir, complete with the mug being shocked when he sees the disturbed femme fatale in her bra), and I think when he was still writing it she was more interested in Tom.

Edited November 16, 2016 by DRW50

[DramatistDreamer]

So Marland created Laura Simmons and Beau as well? The Beau character stayed around for awhile after Marland returned, right? I mean Marland didn't dump him immediately after returning.

[DRW50]

 

Yes. I think their first scenes are in early 1988, as Laura was screaming in a park at night or something and the viewers weren't sure whether Beau was attacking her but it was later revealed he was her brother. 

 

No, he didn't dump Beau, although the character became much less prominent and his relationship with Pam, which I liked, was ended as they were both written out a month or two apart. He left town with the third or fourth Nella Franklin, who'd realized nursing wasn't for her. It was probably the first interracial relationship on ATWT, now that I think of it. Those months are mostly not on Youtube so I don't know how far it went. 

[DramatistDreamer]

I think Kasi Lemmons was Nella #3. Victoria Rowell was #2 and Tiffany Caesar was the original Nella Franklin. 

 

Yeah, I didn't like the way Pam and Beau's stories ended, neither as individual characters, nor as a couple. It all seemed so rushed!  

I hated how Nella's storyline and characterization ended, it was obvious once Roy was dispatched, Marland didn't see a need for Nella.  

 

I guess you can call it the first interracial relationship but it sort of seemed as if Beau was pursuing his career and Nella was pursuing Beau, despite the fact that they both claimed that were going as friends. Nella was written as likely wanting something more but being satisfied with whatever type of relationship she could have with Beau, while Beau seemed comfortable with having someone who was willing to pick up and move with him wherever his career would take him, and be his support system.

It really did not seem to be some great romance.

 

In a way, it was an interesting ending that Marland decided against a happy ending for Pam and Beau-- Beau went on to L.A. as the character originally claimed when he met Pam in the E.R. the night he got hurt chasing his old sister Laura and Pam pursued nursing back in her home state of New Jersey as she always intended.

Only Nella seemed as rudderless as she was before she joined the nursing program years ago- it was as if she had regressed emotionally.

 

It seemed obvious that these characters were all getting the heave-ho.

 

 

Edited November 16, 2016 by DramatistDreamer

[DRW50]

1989-1990 were obviously such huge transition years for the show. I haven't seen most of 1990 but what I have seen has a very odd feeling. I think the show picks up again in 1991 but it slowly leads into a dark place - 1992 being one of ATWT's darkest years.

[Soapsuds]

Pam and Beau were boring characters. I didn't care for either even though Maffin was great eye candy minus that mop of a hair.  If I remember correctly Lucinda practically ignored Pam.

[DramatistDreamer]

@SoapsudsActually, I am watching a bunch of episodes from early '88 and in the beginning, during mid- late '87 Lucinda was enamored of Pam, I remember during the James Stenbeck alleged murder investigation when John had walked out on Lucinda after Lucinda revealed that she had been hiding the fact that James was back in Oakdale, Lucinda begged Pam not to abandon her like the others.

If Lucinda ignored Pam it would've had to be much later on, like somewhere closer to when the characters Pam and Beau were being dropped.

 

I think when I was a kid and I saw the Pam and Beau and Laura Simmons stuff was boring, it was obviously out of place with Marland's style of writing but with the dreck that passes for storytelling in today's soaps, this storyline actually seems interesting in comparison.

[Soaplovers]

I actually liked the Laura story...but it seemed to shift gears and end quickly.  I recall Marland being annoyed that the scab writers burned through his long term outlines in a few months.

[DramatistDreamer]

Speaking of episodes written by the scabs, this one has a very weird scene with Barbara and Hal walking through space @ 3:12. I wonder whose idea was this?!

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[DRW50]

 

It's hilarious. It looks like one of those '70s sci-fi shows where characters suddenly become large-sized from shrinking.

 

I think that may have still been Marland though, although I can't remember when the strike material started (I guess when you no longer see writer names on the credits). Was it March? April? I know there was that whole story with ghosts haunting Duncan's castle and Shannon having visions of her and Duncan and he would murder her in past visions or whatever. I remember an episode with a medium going hogwild. But Marland loved that type of stuff so maybe it was his, I don't know.