As The World Turns Discussion Thread

[GH_Girl]

 

Ha, reading that I want to say NO NO NO but then I did love Bryce's Craig and I do agree somewhat that he was what you say... so maybe? lol I haven't seen much of bad early Craig with MR's Betsy, but I loved the Craig that was in love with but separated from Sierra, Craig that was still friends with Frost's Betsy, Craig that loved Dani like his own when she was little. Craig and Iva was, just no. I don't understand the actresses popularity, did people like Iva at the time??

[Soaplovers]

 

I think the iva factor was due to the actress being popular as Nola.  My mom had a soft spot for Iva..the unlucky in love heroine.

 

I liked Craig with Emily (Melanie Smith's version)..even with Samantha (the first one).

[cassadine1991]

I wonder how would things have turned out if Finn Carter and Scott Bryce came back as Craig and Sierra in 2000

[Mitch]

Iva started out strong, kind of like how Marland wrote the original Maureen with Dolan, smart, tough, oldest daughter from a big family who had some trouble in the "big city" (obviously Iva had more trouble then Mo did, who just GASP...lived with a man!) She was able to match Lucinda...etc. Then as years went by she became a depressed, depressing dormat...who was just obsessed with Lily.  When she came back to intro Rose as Lily's twin I thought it was so weird that they never had any other scenes...and Lily never had scenes or reallly mentioned Iva ever.

[cassadine1991]

That's Goutman for you 

[NothinButAttitude]

ATWT promo starting at 14:47

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[DramatistDreamer]

 

+1 The first time I watched, granted, I was about 10-11 and Craig, I guess was very 'emo' and I guess I enjoyed it because I was very much into the melodramatic (having just read Jane Eyre for the first time around that age).  I guess honestly, I still enjoy it, having binged (re-watched) some episodes from that time period. It was the yearning between the two characters that really drew me in.

 

 

Me too. If they just would've let me in that Writer's Room...

[cassadine1991]

You have no idea what stories could happen

[GH_Girl]

 

It's just perfect typical soap! I'm sure it has it's flaws but the lovers torn apart by circumstances and misunderstandings is just what I watched soaps for.

[DRW50]

 

I'd never heard of Nola until after Lisa came back to GL, so I just knew her as Iva. I loved Iva - I think because I've known a lot of people like her (I'm probably a bit like her myself), so she was sort of like a family member to me. And Lisa Brown did such a good job of playing the sorrow of the character. She always laced it with humor and a bit of awareness. And the Aaron story at the time was one where I felt very sorry for her, as she tried to do the right thing for everyone and it all went badly haywire. I hated that Holden took that child from her and then dumped Aaron over and over in favor of his latest girlfriend, or precious, precious Lily. 

 

Looking back the character seemed less downtrodden in earlier years, and I wish they'd done more with her relationship with Kirk.

 

I think playing the role took a real toll on Lisa Brown, as she was so somber during her GL return. 

[Scrapple]

I can't figure why they made Iva SO, SO depressing. Wasn't her character on GL fun and full of fantasy (I rarely watched GL). Why would she want to play such a dour character? The final nail in the coffin was sticking her with that doofus they married her off to.

[P.J.]

ETA: yes, Brown was very well received on GL. I believe Quint and Nola's wedding was the highest rated GL episode of history.

 

Well, I think part of the reason Iva was so depressed was the fact she was stuck playing Lily's apologetic mother. The entire tragic backstory, continually having to place LilyLilyLily first in her life (and the same can be said of Lucinda---the oxygen Lily sucked out of storyline was ridiculous). And she had to the sane foil to Lucinda's overbearing machinations. Iva was Stella Dallas---only this time Stella got to know her daughter---and be completely steamrolled by her.

 

I do think Marland went out of his way to create a character as far removed from Nola as he could get. What he didn't realize at the time though was that he was never going to end up giving Ava any joy at all. Marrying that turd lawyer wasn't on him---but I do occasionally damn him to hell for busting up Kirk and Iva. I FLOVED them.

 

And the doofus they married her to wasn't the worst insult. It was her "winning" that stupid contest that sent her off to Italy where she met him. I still recall this horrid fake photo op they did, with Iva dressed in this fugly purple paisley monstrosity (that I think was actually something of Brown's....).

Edited May 28, 2017 by P.J.
ETA

[DRW50]

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[DramatistDreamer]

 

On some level Lisa Brown had to have enjoyed playing a character that was much different from Nola, at least for awhile.  

Having written (and still writing) for actors, they really seem to crave variety in what roles they play. I'm thinking that for at least the first 4 or 5 years in the role, Brown probably felt very stimulated to play a character that had such a different trajectory than that of Nola Reardon on GL. 

 

I do think that that Iva was meant to be a 'put upon' character for a few years but what confused me (and ultimately disappointed me) was what happened to the character after she was supposed to have come into 'her own'.  

By the time she met Kirk Anderson, pairing just seemed so smart--it was funny and passionate and had some much witty banter (the dialogue in some of their scenes was reminiscent of Billy Wilder films) .  

I cannot figure out why Marland decided to undo all that, especially by crippling Iva emotionally, especially after she and Kirk had already consummated their relationship.

And to throw it away and then put Kirk and Ellie together, especially since the pairing of Ellie and Kirk just never worked for me.

 

I remember Tom Wiggins in later interviews, questioning why Iva and Kirk were split up as he said that the pairing was highly popular with fans. Years after he'd left the show, he claimed to have encountered fans that mentioned how much they liked Iva and Kirk as a couple and disliked the couple being broken up. Wiggins mentioned the chemistry between he and Lisa Brown.

 

Looking back, another thing that irritated me is that Iva seemed to get the less attractive recasts of a character- from sexier Tad Channing to older, Tad who had absolutely no redeeming qualities. Then there was the younger, more attractive Jason Benedict but then by the time he and Iva met, he was already transformed to a less dapper, less attractive Jason Benedict. 

Then adding insult to injury, Kirk and Ellie ran out of storyline possibilities and broke up. 

Edited May 28, 2017 by DramatistDreamer

[NothinButAttitude]

The real question is why did they get rid of Tom Wiggins and who's dumb decision was it? I loved Kirk minus his draining romance/marriage with Samantha.