As The World Turns Discussion Thread

[Scrapple]

The pairing of Rod and Betsy was ridiculous. Steve and Betsy were one of the five most important couples in ATWT history. Why didn't they just let them ride off into the sunset together, instead of destroying both characters? I know Frank Runyeon and Lindsay Frost had zero chemistry, but still they could have wrapped up a quick little exit storyline for them.

[DRW50]

 

I didn't think they destroyed Betsy in any of her material after Steve left. I will admit that I wasn't watching then so maybe I would have felt differently, but I never liked the Betsy/Steve relationship and I thought Lindsay Frost was much better on her own, even if they obviously had no real story plans for Betsy until Lindsay left the role. 

[P.J.]

Betsy/Rod was ridiculous, and another way of "normalizing" a rapist, and forcing Iva to accept him as he strolled around town.

[NothinButAttitude]

I think b/c Steve/Betsy were written and sold as soulmates that Marland should've just sent the 2 off together. There just wasn't much you could do with Betsy as she was marginalized thanks to her pairing with Steve. Plus, you didn't even really need Betsy afterwards as Emily was filling the Stewart ingenue role at that point, and was bringing much more drama than Betsy could. 

[DRW50]

 

To me Emily was an anti-heroine, not an ingenue. And I think Emily being the only Stewart with anything to do was a big mistake in the long-term. 

 

I think they could have done a lot with Betsy even without Steve - they could have brought in more of the Stewart girls, they could have explored her relationship with Craig more, they could have had her get more involved in Kim's life and maybe helped out Andy and he could have become fixated on her. They just didn't bother, I guess because they had so many other women to write for.

[NothinButAttitude]

 

So you're saying that Betsy should've just went into a supporting role? 

 

Do you think that instead of putting Frannie with Seth that they should've tossed Seth in her orbit? B/c clearly Frannie/Seth or Seth/Sabrina didn't work out in the long haul. 

 

I think Betsy's mileage ran out. I think that people wouldn't've accepted her in another romance outside of Steve. Much like fans never accepted Bo/Hope, Luke/Laura, or any other major super couple with other people. 

[DRW50]

 

I think they would have accepted her in another romance mostly because she wasn't the actress who played Betsy during their heyday, but I don't think Marland was all that interested. She was put into a more supporting role when he arrived - she was much closer to Kim before he took over. If I had to guess I would guess that the main reason he kept her around until she chose to leave is because she was a superb actress, not because he had any interest in the character. 

 

I don't think any of Seth's pairings ever worked, although I liked him with Angel. I think the dreamer/son who sacrificed for his siblings/etc. was the most compelling part of him.  I also thought he was gay, which the show clearly wasn't going to go near (and wouldn't even today...)

[NothinButAttitude]

 

Yeah, Betsy wasn't involved much with Kim during Marland's era. At times, one could forget they even had ties. 

 

Oh and we know they would've never made Seth gay back then. He would've had a short shelf life if that was the case. 

[Soaplovers]

Actually Seth and Betsy were involved...right before she left town.

 

I think Lindsay frost brought a fierce and fiesty element to Betsy that Meg Ryan  didnt provide...probably why her betsy and steve didnt work.  So Marland probably didn't know how to write/position her on the canvas.  She couldn't be the dumb ingenure, nor was she the villianess either...and anti heroine was filled nicely by Emily....so supportive character was probably the best Marland could do.

[Paul Raven]

Surprised that Marland wasnt interested in Dee Stewart. She was part of a core family, had only been married once and being an ex to John gave story possibilities.

[NothinButAttitude]

 

That's shocking to me too. Dee was also the more scandalous Stewart sister compared to Annie. I think Marland would've had a field day with her. 

 

Annie v. Lucinda could've been good if plotted correctly.

[slick jones]

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Picturing Emma catching Seth with Hank Eliot up in the hayloft.

[NothinButAttitude]

 

Didn't Emma (like Lily) have an issue with Luke being gay? I can't remember her reaction to the news. 

[cassadine1991]

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Here you go

[Scrapple]

Usually when one-half of a supercouple moves on, the audience doesn't accept it. There are rare exceptions (Lily/Damien), but most times it's an impossible situation. What made it worse was that the character of Steve was ridiculously changed (hero to drug-dealer), everyone was comparing Lindsay to Meg (Lindsay was a better actress, but Meg had star quality), and nuBetsy went from being the center of storylines to a supporting player. Lastly, they put her with Iva's rapist. The writing was on the wall.