As The World Turns Discussion Thread

[Chris B]

On the Hunt Block subject I’d say I loved him. I was a fan of his from Knots Landing which I watched on SOAPnet and he is the only reason I started watching As the World Turns. Growing up I was a Bell soap viewer and through SOAPnet I watched the ABC soaps. When I found out Hunt was on ATWT I started watching that and GL so I am thankful to him for introducing me. Now Scott Bryce I did see his second run and parts of his earlier stuff and I do love his Craig. I hated when they wrote him off. Both of his replacements were horrible including Jon Lindstrom. 
 

As for Doug Marland, I wonder if Hubbard’s dislike for him was mainly due to him firing her at The Doctors and just carried over in her view of him. I’m pretty sure I recall an interview with him where he said he wrote her off due to a lack of family on the show. 

[DRW50]

 

I think the lack of strong chemistry was a problem for some. The main problem was probably that they'd seen Martha grow up onscreen, and they missed her. Heather was my first Lily. I had no connection to Martha, and I never really cared much for her as Lily (I did enjoy her with Damian, and I also liked her as Rose). If I'd seen her the way others had, I might have felt differently. Anyway, I still think Heather's work holds up, and fits that era of the show - ATWT in the early '90s is a very cold, reserved place. Martha would have been out of place. And if you watch Heather's work in the scenes where Lily finds out about Iva and Lucinda and their Aaron lies, she is superb. She more than does the material proud. 

[NothinButAttitude]

 

Looking back at it, I think Hunt Block should've been cast as Rick Ryan. All of the stories (minus marrying Babs and impregnating Jennifer) would've suited Rick easily. It would've made more sense anyways as Rick was a dastardly character to the audience anyways. He still would've been in Barbara's realm, but instead her brother. It would've given Kim and Bob lots more to do too. 

[DRW50]

I was trying to describe what I found off about Block's work in the grieving scenes (which I might blame on poor production and direction, as Block was a better actor at GL). I think the closest I can get is this SNL parody about "my drunk boyfriend." It's about a minute and ten minutes in where one of said "boyfriends" does this weird, honking, "my uncle...my uncle..." 

 

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Edited May 3, 2020 by DRW50

[DramatistDreamer]

 

You know, I've spoken my piece on that years ago and I stand by it.

 

The show was an absolute mess in its final decade but there was nothing special about Craig in that final decade, you could've slotted Block, Meek and Lindstrom in any number of other character roles and it would've made no difference. The characterizations and writing were so generic.  I guess in isolation you could say "that one storyline that lasted all of two weeks was good" or that scene wasn't bad but the overall picture was that it wasn't that stirring. Maybe compared to the other schlock that was on the show it looked pretty good but what does that truly say?

 

In the "Best Soap Scenes" thread on this board, does anybody know how many scenes were posted from ATWT's last decade?  Because I don't remember any being posted.  To me, that speaks volumes.

OMG at the tongue lolling around in the mouth.

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Okay, well, that did stand out, I guess.

[P.J.]

 

 

Block was a polarizing recast from day one for the fans. Sure, some loved him, some stuck with the "this is who Craig was in the beginning" reasoning, and the soap press was all ready to slurp everything Sheffer. But "very well received" is a bit of a stretch. Maybe better writing (I especially remember that the explanation for Craig's reversal was scant and a long time coming) or not having such a contentious relationship with Bryant would have helped. Part of the reason character "shifts" like Barbara's are (sometimes) better received is because they develop on screen. 

 

And if Block gets heat for his portrayal, it's because he so often relied on smirks and bluster. I rarely felt he connected to any emotion in the material.

Edited May 3, 2020 by P.J.

[DRW50]

 

The desperate soap press overhype tends to blur opinion (although Block did have his fans). I think this is especially true when it comes to Julia, whose "crazy Julia" stories were never as well-received as you'd think if you flipped through those old magazines. 

[P.J.]

 

The only universal agreement seems to be that Susan Batten was an awful choice to recast as Connor.  LOL

[DRW50]

 

Definitely. I do remember some attempts from the soap press to tsk-tsk viewers about their virulent reaction, but once Connor began speaking in a Southern accent and dusting blinds, they just couldn't. 

[DramatistDreamer]

 

This is perfect!

 

 

 

Isn't it sad that there is no soap press to speak of these days?  I'm actually genuinely sorry for this because you have these podcasts out here connecting with some favorite actors and it's getting little notice.  I frequently see people on social media claim that they had no idea these podcasts existed. As bad as these soap press were, I doubt this would've happened back in the day.

On topic though, even though I didn't really read those magazines that often, sound like certain members of the soap media took themselves too seriously and got drunk on their own perceived power.

[DRW50]

 

It's very sad, especially when I go back to the '70s soap magazines which were very wide in tone and had fascinating critical commentary in some cases. They are our only documents for what was going on in that era beyond generic outlines. 

 

The soap magazines really started to go sour in the late '90s, between egomaniac editors and increasing censorship from the industry, as did Michael Logan's work (the number of times I saw pieces that laughed at or downplayed rape still bothers me), but at their best they were vital.

[P.J.]

The way Block would bellow when confronted---drove me nuts. *shiver*

 

I do miss the soap mags---back when they were more than regurgitated publicity dept spin, anyway. And messageboards, back when you could find dozens of them and get a wide perspective of opinions.  

[John]

They should have kept Ashley as Faith

 

When JL became Craig they brought Dani Andropolis  who Craig thought was once his daughter but there were having sex and she was calling him Daddy. It was sick to watch

[victoria foxton]

Ashley grew into beautiful young woman. She looks like she could be Holden and Lilly's kid. I liked her as Faith. I also liked that she was plus size. It made her stand out in a good way. 

[Brolden]

 

I agree. And precisely because Faith had been plus size, and struggling with her body image, it made absolutely zero sense to cast Valentina De Angelis in the role.