16 minutes ago, KMan101 said:

 

Holmes and Dolan's run was definitely dampened by poor/awful writing. I don't really blame them for checking out ...

 

I felt like I always just wanted something ... a bit more ... out of Dolan's Margo. I too can see why they thought it would work. It should have, she ultimately wasn't a bad choice to play Margo ... but then maybe Dolan felt she'd be playing Maureen all over again. IDK.

 

Yeah, when I think back, I think, with the exceptions of those two storylines, I didn't feel much about Margo during her run and it wasn't just the awful writing. 

 

Perhaps because TPTB knew that they had a recast and the two previous actresses had been so popular, the writing had become self-conscious, at times, too concerned with making the audience like the new Margo. 

Whereas with HBS, in particular, I felt like her Margo could genuinely make me laugh at something that might not have even been written that way in the script...she could also make me mad enough to want to shake the living daylights out of her but she never made me feel indifferent toward her.    And with Margaret Colin's Margo, well, she was the one who had an affair with another woman's (Barbara) husband, so obviously the writers weren't too concerned about whether the viewers would end up hating Margo and one of Colin's strengths was that she could really make Margo endearing, even after all that messiness. 

Even though MC and HBS had slightly different approaches to their portrayals, HBS kept that off-beat witticism that MC had started.  When MC would cackle, it made you cackle.  When HBS had that rapid fire giggle, you'd giggle.  And yes, both also benefited from good writing.

Edited April 4, 20196 yr by DramatistDreamer

15 minutes ago, victoria foxton said:

The Tom/Emily affair was so bad. I can't believe  i watched most it. During the course of that story. Tom, Emily and Margo all became completely unlikable. If i remember correctly the affair overlapped with the Eddie/Alec stuff. Another clunker from that era. 

 

It was all such a turn off 

Ellen Dolan had so much more chemistry with Benjamin Hendrickson than she did with Scott Holmes. They should have re-explored Hal/Margo at some point. 

On 2/11/2016 at 9:55 AM, All My Shadows said:

Here's a Patricia Bruder Debrovner interview from last year, mostly on her work in the ethical movement. She talks for a few moments about ATWT beginning at the 9-minute mark. I'm so happy that more and more of her work on the show is being shared online.

 

Pat  says that when Dan was first aged she was replaced with an older actress.  However she was brought back to the role and then later let go in 1975 again.   Of course we know she returned until about 1995 .  Who was this  older actress who briefly replaced her?

I knew Pat was dropped a couple of times over the years but not that she was replaced.

Slick, can you assist?

16 hours ago, antmunoz said:

Pat  says that when Dan was first aged she was replaced with an older actress.  However she was brought back to the role and then later let go in 1975 again.   Of course we know she returned until about 1995 .  Who was this  older actress who briefly replaced her?

 

14 hours ago, Paul Raven said:

I knew Pat was dropped a couple of times over the years but not that she was replaced.

Slick, can you assist?

 

Not Slick but according to Soap Opera Wiki, Wendy Drew played the role from April 1956-September 1960.  I'm not sure how accurate these dates are but I have heard of the actress.

 

https://soap-operas.fandom.com/wiki/Ellen_Lowell

Wendy Drew was the original Ellen. Pat replaced her. 

11 minutes ago, antmunoz said:

Wendy Drew was the original Ellen. Pat replaced her. 

 

Oh well, I'm not paying attention today, obviously.

Julie Poll's book doesn't list anyone other than Drew and Bruder playing Ellen.

I may be wrong. I watched the interview once and don’t want to watch it again to make sure but I think she said they wanted to replace her, not that they did. I know they made her start wearing her hair up to try and make her look older.

25 minutes ago, BillBauer said:

I may be wrong. I watched the interview once and don’t want to watch it again to make sure but I think she said they wanted to replace her, not that they did. I know they made her start wearing her hair up to try and make her look older.

I agree that must be the case.

2 hours ago, BillBauer said:

I may be wrong. I watched the interview once and don’t want to watch it again to make sure but I think she said they wanted to replace her, not that they did. I know they made her start wearing her hair up to try and make her look older.

 

Bruder specifically said that the show replaced her with another actress, but they were not satisfied with her, so they asked Bruder to return.

 

The only two actresses I ever remember seeing as Ellen were Wendy Drew and then Patricia Bruder, so if the story about Bruder's replacement is true, that actress must have come and gone in the blink of an eye. 

 

Bruder says the replacement actress appeared as Ellen while Bruder did The Sap of Life in an off-Broadway production, which would have been 1961.

 

There is no confirmation that I can find (in any of my soap history books or on the internet) which verifies the existence of a third Ellen. Still, you would think Bruder would know.

Sometimes performers don't have the recall of fans...maybe when Pat got time off for the play, there was talk she would be replaced but it never happened.

It would be odd if/that another actress replaced Bruder and there is no photographic evidence that exists.  Not impossible, just odd.

Bruder looks great and totally with it. She is much more effervesent then poor dull Ellen, they should have let her have a bit of her real spark on the show.