As The World Turns Discussion Thread

[Paul Raven]

Couldn't imagine Nancy Hughes having that conversation with Ellen Stewart 10 years earlier.

But in the 80's it was decided everyone had to be rich or striving to be and big business offices replaced the kitchen, living room and hospital.

[Mitch64]

I loved Lucinda and Diana (I loved her going for a loan in that hat...) and the show at that time. A bit campy but still warm and ATWT...setting the stage for Eileen to return and Nancy and Chris...it was a fun time for the show.

[DramatistDreamer]

I had always hoped that the show would bring Kim Ulrich, if not as Diana McColl for sporadic appearances the way Brian McColl and Beatrice and Penny Hughes sometimes did, then as a recast for Betsy Stewart Andropolous, especially when they brought back her daughter Dani in the late 1990s.
It could have been fun and if nothing else, might have made those IIC think twice about a creating storyline where Dani hooks up with the man who had loved her as if she were his own daughter (if anything, there should have been a passionate relationship between Dani and Bryant, with each family either supportive or against the relationship).

Lots of missed opportunities.

[dragonflies]

Who was Diana? I'm not familiar with her

[Sapounopera]

I always thought that Diana looked like the perfect Betsy recast.

[DramatistDreamer]

IKR? And she had great onscreen chemistry with Scott Bryce and even Frank Runyeon. I remember reading on this board years ago that there were plans to bring back Runyeon for a limited run but plans fell through and it never happened. It’s a shame that never happened because it could have provided a chance to tie up that loose storyline thread (at least it felt like an incomplete thread), while providing a compelling reason to bring Betsy and Dani back onto the canvas and possibly bolster the Stewart clan before the series ended.

Diana McColl. Stepdaughter to Lisa, who was widow to Diana’s father Whit McColl. Diana also had two brothers Brian McColl and Kirk MColl. Brian, who was once James Stenbeck’s lawyer before he dumped him as a client after learning of his nefarious ways and Barbara and Brian were once engaged before they broke up, because Brian believed Barbara’s son Paul was opposed to the relationship and would never accept it. Kirk McColl, the youngest sibling used to date Frannie Hughes and found out that he was the son of his father and the maid in open court during questioning of the maid who admitted to murdering his father Whit after an intense argument over her wanting to reveal her true identity to Kirk, her biological son.

Edited February 8, 2023 by DramatistDreamer

[Mitch64]

That would have been difficult as Diana and Betsy were rivals for a while over Steve.  I don't know why Marland totally forgot about Diana...beside the fact that she didn't have a morose bone in her body! Instead of boring, bland Taylor after Tom...they should have brought Diana back for a bit and as he helps her with one of the problems she created for herself, they start to have a real emotional connection...causing Lisa to be really conflicted as she and Diana had grown close after "ole, dead Whit" became "ole, dead Whit." 

Thankfully I wasn't watching the show when. Craig was screwing Danni.. gahhh...it was like GL and having Alan-Michael boinking simpering Marina who he thought was his kid for a bit. 

[Soapsuds]

Diana is definitely a character I would've kept on the Marland years. I loved Diana and KJU was great in the role.

Edited February 9, 2023 by Soapsuds

[Broderick]

Even though I'd seen her as Diana on the show, I could've easily bought her as a New Betsy.  

[DramatistDreamer]

It would have been one or the other, not both. And frankly, given the Stewart family having had a much more extensive history, I would have opted for Ullrich as a Betsy recast. In the late 90s, there would have been enough distance between Diana’s last appearance on the canvas that viewers could have accepted it. I mean, even Betsy would have been off the canvas for several years by then. I am not talking about the Marland years, I am talking about when the show would have been in desperate need of a revived Stewart clan- in the last dozen years of the show’s existence.

I wasn’t watching either when that disgusting hookup happened on the show and I am forever grateful that I wasn’t watching at that time. I picked up the show again a bit later but man, am I glad I had taken a break from watching during that time!!

Yes!! We are sympatico!

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Aren’t I lucky to have missed both of these hookups?!

[kalbir]

Every soap had Dallas/Dynasty influence to some degree but it worked better on some soaps than others.

Edited February 10, 2023 by kalbir

[DRW50]

You can see Hayley Barr and Scott Defrietas in a fashion show on Regis and Kathie Lee. Hayley is much more animated than she tended to be on ATWT. Scott is adorable as always. 

https://archive.org/details/live-with-regis-and-kathie-lee-february-4-1993

[DramatistDreamer]

JMO but I think the actress got quite a bit of unnecessary vitriol for playing a character. Yes, Courtney was neurotic and insecure but by the way people tended to talk about her, you would have thought she was an axe murderer. Sad thing is, after she departed, Andy’s prospects for a genuine and lasting romantic relationship eventually dried up. I mean, his parents had more active love lives than he did!

[DRW50]

I just thought the character was incredibly draining and whiny, and I felt like her relationship with Andy was very heavy going. I know she had reasons to be the way she was, but similar to my fatigue with Martha Byrne's Lily and Yvonne Perry's Rosanna, I just didn't really care. I watched ATWT for characters like Lucinda or Julie, or Jessica,  or Margo (pre-misery) or Melanie Smith's Emily, not ingenues in eternal angst.  I do think Hayley deserved better, as she was very likeable when she temped as Harley on GL in the late '90s.

The main problem with Andy was what supposedly led to his final firing in 2000 - not being a generic piece of ass in the pecs-and-abs-obsessed '90s lineup. 

Edited February 11, 2023 by DRW50

[DramatistDreamer]

I mean Molly married Jake, who was far from the stereotypical soap stallion. Molly and Andy, for whatever reason, we’re never going to be serious. Then there’s Denise. Again, they were never going to be a genuine couple. I guess Ben could be looked at as a hunk but not in the typical way soap hunks are made. Very few of the actors who played Paul Ryan could be considered soap hunks (cute, yes, attractive, sure) but Paul also had far more romantic pairings than Andy.