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As The World Turns Discussion Thread


edgeofnik

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Obviously, I can't speak for every fan out there, but why on earth would I want '00's or even late-'90's ATWT on DVD just because it beats not having any ATWT on DVD? I'd want to remember why I fell in love with ATWT (or any soap, for that matter), not why it isn't around anymore.

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This is interesting because I've been watching the DVDs chronologically and I've hit the late 90s. Unlike GL, I only have a very fundamental knowledge of ATWT i.e. I'm aware of the standout characters and saw various bits and pieces from the last few years. I'm also aware that many people on this board whose opinions I respect (yours included) are passionate about the Marland years and went into watching the DVDs with this in mind.

There's definitely a split with the 90s stuff - on the plus side I will say it's livelier but some of it is like soap parody. Connor and Mark (?) are on two episodes I've seen so far and they're dreadful. Stereotyped soap opera in every way from acting to dialogue. I've no idea what the broader story was to them or whether they were popular but I can't stand either of them.

The Marland years in comparison are far more watchable generally but there's something about them that I find really...sterile. I've seen allusions to this before on this thread - everybody in Oakdale seems to wander round being stiltedly nice to each other with almost universally interchangeable 'voices' as far as dialogue is concerned.

Betsy Stewart seems completely devoid of any personality traits in any incarnations on the set and Sabrina...WTF?!?! Perhaps as a Brit, I struggle with JM's accent but she comes across like a creepy stalker who was possibly dropped on her head at birth. I don't know why Emma seems to fall over herself to make her feel at home. Absolute weirdo.

I do particularly like the Doug Cummings murder stuff (what little is on the set in the 30th anniversary episode) and there are a lot of characters that 'pop' across what I've seen so far: Lisa, Lucinda, Barbara, Kim, Hal, Carly, John and James in particular.

Watching the episodes as they are on the DVD is a pretty strange and subjective way to experience the show. I'm just surprised at how some of my reactions to characters/stories aren't what I would have expected.

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For me that era of ATWT represented history, family, friendship - it was a little sterile, yes, but at the time it felt warm and friendly enough to me. I also didn't feel like it was ever as clinical as it could have been because Lucinda spent the Marland years running hog wild. But I can see what you mean, and you certainly aren't the only one who feels that way.

I think when ATWT tried to be like other soaps, it failed, whether it was desperate attempts to be like primetime quasi-porn, or whether it was the ABC-ification of the show beginning with MADD' and FMB's arrival in late 1996.

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This sounds so good! I better get my money saved....lol

This is just the beginning of streaming for us. Fans in the US still miss the show terribly, and so far we’veonly been able to put out a limited number of episodes on DVD. Now we’ll be able to offer the fans a much larger selection. We’ll be showing entire seasons, but we’re also going to do some creative things, like showing an extended series of episodes which trace a great storyline, or which tell the story of a much-loved character or couple. We’re also going to offer fun collections of themed episodes. For instance, there were over 100 weddings on AS THE WORLD TURNS, and so far we’ve only been able to show 5 of them on DVD. We’ve just begun to scratch the surface of this great series.”

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9W3J-Iv8I9A&feature=channel

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cT_dojneHTg&feature=channel

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OblamqIfQew&feature=channel

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLhBXUcmRAE&feature=channel

This is during the time of that cheap and inane exit story whipped up for Lucinda due to Liz Hubbard quitting. I always wonder just what was going on backstage to make Liz - who put up with all kinds of crap writing - quit. She indicated she felt disrespected.

Lonette McKee is in this episode too.

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Yea, Marland's time is pretty sterile. From what I have heard about him,, he was a classy guy but not the warmest person in the world and his waspy world outlook kind of translated to his material...(yea, I know he grew up on a farm but former rural people gone to the big city and made a success of themselves are sometimes teh biggest snobs around.) Remember, he was the guy that created the Irish Reardon family and made them..protestant????(uintil Long changed that thank God.)

He did know how to make Oakdalde a community. It really feels like this is a real (though overly polite and waspy ) town with real stuff going on outside of the Hughes kitchen, and I know that the vets have a lot to do with this, but you get the feeling that the Hughes and Stewarts have been friends for years and that Kim, Bob, John, Lisa, Nancy, Ellen, etc, have been bouncing off of each other for years.

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