Retconning: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

[DRW50]

 

Arizona, I believe.

 

I know this is for US soaps but there was one on Neighbours last year that annoyed the hell out of me, and still does.

 

When Neighbours began, Paul Robinson was the oldest child of the Robinson clan, protective big brother of Scott Robinson. Paul at this time was a good guy. Scott became close to a 15-year old girl named Kim. She was kept under lock and key by her adoptive mother, where even sneaking out to a movie with Scott caused her mother to be furious. After classmates edited a conversation between them to sound sexual, they ran away. Scott's father found them, but Kim left before they could take her back to her family. Months later Scott saw her again - she had become a prostitute, and was pregnant. She and another girl were going to have to sell their babies thanks to their pimp. Paul gave Scott the money for her to have an abortion, but she decided to keep her baby and went back to her family. She was never seen or mentioned again...

 

Until last year, when 25-year old twins Leo and David Tanaka moved to Erinsborough. In the ensuing 25 years, Paul had become a villain (sometimes layered, sometimes the blowing-up-planes type). Through a retcon, viewers learned that rather than Kim being a virgin who was scared to even go to a movie with Scott, she was actually sleeping with Paul (and remember she was underage) and her future husband Mr. Tanaka (who did not exist in the original story, at all) all while dating Scott. And when Paul gave Scott money for her to have an abortion, it wasn't because what he felt was best for her and the situation, but because he secretly wanted to make sure she didn't have his children. 

 

It completely trashed the very touching original story, and retroactively made Paul look like a huge pervert and sicko, for no reason. There was no reason to make their mother Kim Taylor or to make them 25 or any of that. 

 

Just a self-indulgent trainwreck.

[titan1978]

What I loved about Nancy was she was a bitch.  She wasn’t a warm and fuzzy older lady character at all.  Even Y&R’s Katherine had lost most of her edge by the time she passed away.  Only AMC’s Phoebe and Nancy maintained their edge as characters as they aged.

 

Can anyone else think of another older woman that was allowed to be mean?

 

 

[SoapDope]

Helen Wagner said that Nancy liked to be control everything and everyone. If Nancy liked you she liked you and if she didn't that was that. The audience warmed up to Lisa only after Nancy forgave her. She was a straight shooter and didn't sugar coat. 

[vetsoapfan]

 

I thought Nancy went to Arizona in the spring of 1981 and was back in Oakdale in early 1985, with an appearance in 1983 at Tom and Margo's wedding, so that would mean she missed 1982 and 1984 completely. I don't remember her making other appearances during the time Chris and Nancy were in Arizona, except for the wedding, but I'm not sure about any of this either. It's hard to remember everything, and dates get foggy. I was NOT a fan of the "new, hip" ATWT during producer Mary Ellis Bunim's reign of terror. She butchered the show.

 

 

Oh God, yes. Both Nancy and Penny would sling the dish towel over their shoulders, before and then after drying the dishes. Ewww.

 

 

Nancy became softer after she returned from Arizona, but before that, she had been quite opinionated and could be really bossy. She used to rag on poor Bob all the time. Once, Donald was in love with a woman named Janice Turner whom she did not like at all, and Nancy sobbed VERY LOUDLY during the wedding. Some of her passive-aggressive lines were hilarious: "Well, Donald, I'm sure you'll do what you think best, but I just wish you could care half as much about your family." LOL!

 

On AW, Aunt Liz was a total harridan and shrew in the 1960s when Audra Lindley played her. She would berate everyone, and SCREAM at people.

[SoapDope]

I don't remember Nancy or Chris on in 1982 and 1984 either, even though I only got to watch when off from school. It seems 1985/1986 was when she and Chris came back before Don MacLaughlin passed. DM seemed to age very quickly in his later years on the show. 

 

LOL at the filthy dish towel. 

 

[vetsoapfan]

 

Yes, I was thrilled to have Chris and Nancy back (it compelled me to watch the show full-time again), but DM looked frail, particularly in that last year.

 

Really, the dish towel was gross. Experts now say that dish towels and dish rags (which you use to wash the dishes) are two of the most bacteria-laden items in the kitchen. And Bob used to smoke cigarettes in the kitchen too, even beside the stove when Nancy was cooking supper. 

[amybrickwallace]

 

Those Nancy lines sound a lot like they came from some real life mothers-in-law. 😂 Do any of those scenes exist on YouTube?

 

I've heard some of those audio clips of Audra Lindley's Aunt Liz. Her screams and rants literally made my blood go cold. Quite the opposite of Mrs. Roper.

[Paul Raven]

Helen left in 81. I recall her stating that in the month of Jan 81,Nancy was not seen and apart from Helen taking vacations,I'm sure that was the first time that happened.

Don M accepted recurring and when he was on (which wasn't often I believe,Nancy was either not mentioned or an excuse made for her absence.

Then Helen popped up in the location shoot for Tom and Margo's wedding.I wonder how that happened?

[SoapDope]

Everyone loved to smoke back in the day. Funny to think about Doctor Bob lighting up. I noticed watching the 1978-1980 episodes on youtube, in some scenes you can hear DM sounding winded. I wonder if he had COPD or emphysema ? 

[vetsoapfan]

 

I don't believe any of the scenes with Nancy acting like a shrew are available on youtube. Of course, I have not checked every single vintage episode that is floating around the internet, so you never know. Surprising videos do pop up from time to time.

 

There was also a scene on AW from 1969 (I think) in which Jim Matthews tells his wife Mary about how truly manipulative and dishonest Rachel has been to their son Russ, even passing off her child Jamie as Russ' son. Mary really goes berserk and screams, "I HATE HER!!!!!!!" Talk about making the viewers; blood run cold, yikes.

 

 

 

I don't know what the cause of his death was. Reports just indicated that he passed away after "a brief illness," but he did look...disoriented on-screen towards the end of his life. Anyway, I adored him and miss him. We were lucky to be graced with his talent for 30 years.

[Dr Neil Curtis]

Not really a retcon, after Marlena return from being held captive in 1991 and after being possessed in 1995, did she just go back into practicing or were there any evaluations done and license reinstatement?

[Soaplovers]

 

She went back to practicing within months.. I was a kid, but I remember people writing in wondering how Marlena was able to go back to practicing again after being thought dead for 4 years, etc.

 

[Sapounopera]

Have we mentioned Maya on B&B? 

She came to town searching for the baby she had given to Dayzee before going to prison. 

 

After a few years she was revealed to be trans. Brad Bell should have brought that child and  a trashy babymother instead of killing it off screen and making Maya the legal guardian at the time. 

[titan1978]

Did viewers laugh at Nancy’s shenanigans?  Because I’m laughing just reading about her sobbing in a wedding she doesn’t approve of.

 

By the way, I came to ATWT very late, post Marland when many said the show was awful.  And I loved Dr. Bob.  And Lucinda.  And John.  And Susan.  None of them had any substantive story by that point but I just loved them.  And I really appreciate that Nancy wasn’t Alice Horton.  I loved Alice but I enjoyed Nancy being curt equally.

[SoapDope]

 

When Don( and Chris) died it left a hole in ATWT. I wish we could get some vintage Nancy being a shrew scenes. I saw a scene with her and bob circa 1974 and he was telling her how Jennifer wanted to be a mother to Frannie and have a career. Nancy without missing a beat said " Oh, Bob whoever heard of that".....LOL 

 

The AW scene with Mary screaming sounds great. Wish we could see that. It's like Lorie's reaction on Y&R to her sister Leslie's pregnancy by her husband Lance. When you read it in a synopsis, it sounds kind of tame, but when you actually see the scene. Lorie pretty much went ape crap on Leslie and Leslie was over in the corner. Lucas comes into to restrain Lorie and pretty much has her in a head lock.....LOL