Our As The World Turns Expert’s Reaction: Jon Lindstrom Cast as the latest Craig Montgomery

October 9, 2008 By 7 Comments

Scott Bryce

Thinking Fans Comment Update October 10:  James thinks Lindstrom is a worthy successor … but Dawn worries that he’ll join the dumpees. See Comments below. 

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Last December our Patrick Erwin did a very, very perceptive take on the very strange state of the character of Craig Montgomery on As the World Turns.  Earlier in 2007, Scott Bryce,  the brilliant and very popular actor who originated that role in the 80s,  had returned to the role after an absence of more than 15 years. (Other actors had played the role in the interim.)  In his analysis, Patrick maintained that  ATWT was misusing  the character and wasting Bryce’s talents.  The same month this article ran, Bryce was indeed fired for reasons that were never clarified by the show.  Fans were outraged — and remain mystified as to why such a valuable actor as Bryce could have been fired. Yesterday, it was announced that Jon Lindstrom, the versatile and well-liked actor who played Kevin and Ryan on General Hospital and Port Charles has been hired to take over the role of Craig.   Here is Patrick’s reaction:

                                                                                                            Marlena

                                                                                                            XXXOOO

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By Patrick Erwin

There’s a big mystery brewing in Oakdale — or at least in Brooklyn, where As The World Turns is taped. It’s more mysterious than figuring out if James Stenbeck is alive, dead, or vying to be a contestant on Dancing with the Stars:  It looks like ATWT is bringing on daytime vet Jon Lindstrom to play Craig Montgomery.

My question is: Why? [Read more...]

Filed Under: As the World Turns, PATRICK Tagged With: , , , , ,

From Bad to Good or Good To Bad: Seven Soap Characters Who Changed Before Our Eyes

September 8, 2008 By 15 Comments

Melissa Claire Egan

Thinking Fans Comment Update Sept. 9:  Sina nominates Maxie Jones … Greg would include Vanessa Chamberlain …  Aaron misses Annie Dutton … and more. See Comments below. 

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By Patrick Erwin

It’s been interesting to watch recent scenes with Melissa Claire Egan as Annie on All My Children. Once a good girl, Annie has turned into a manipulative witch. She may not be a nice person anymore, but Annie no longer comes off as a Greenlee-wannabe and is far more interesting to watch.
 
Most soap characters serve a purpose and stay in their designated slot: heroine, villain, rouge, or temptress. But every once in a while, a character will undergo a major metamorphosis and make a dramatic change, redeeming their wicked ways or shedding their goodness to get in touch with their inner bad seed.

Here are seven examples of characters who radically changed in front of our eyes.
 
1.  Annie Dutton, Guiding Light: Speaking of Annies, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention this one. When she was [Read more...]

Filed Under: All My Children, As the World Turns, Days of Our Lives, Guiding Light, One Life to Live, PATRICK, Young and the Restless Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

Rating As the World Turns’ Busy, Busy Summer

August 29, 2008 By 9 Comments

Kelley M.

Thinking Fans Comment Update Aug. 30: Kristen says ATWT writers finally got one right … while Oakdalian found the summer a mixed bag … and more. See Comments below. 

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By Patrick Erwin

What’s been happening in Oakdale? It’s been an interesting summer for As The World Turns as the show has been finding its balance after the departure of Martha Byrne (Lily) and several other high-profile departures of other characters earlier this year — including the losses of Jennifer Landon (Gwen), Jesse Soffer (Will) and Scott Bryce (Craig).

Here’s a look at some of the show’s front burner stories from this summer:

Parker and Liberty: The Internet message boards have indicated that fans have mixed feelings about this story. And I’ll agree Liberty and mom Juicy Janet have

I really want to spotlight Kelley Menighan Hensley for praise. As Emily, she’s sold us on every single story she’s ever been in. (And that’s a tall order!)

been overplayed. They’ve only been on for six months, and both characters were thrust to the front-burner almost immediately, first as Brad’s instant family and then in this story.

But I’ve found this young love story to be moving and realistic. Much of the credit for that has to go to Mick Hazen, who is a great young actor. He’s done a great job at playing [Read more...]

Filed Under: As the World Turns, PATRICK Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Soap Surprises: Five Holy @#%! Moments

August 12, 2008 By 37 Comments

Marlena killer

Thinking Fans Holy @#%! Update Aug. 14:  Melanie picks Wayne Northrup’s return as Roman on Days … B3 loved Gwyneth as the killer on Loving … Carl recalls five faves from Santa Barbara … and more.  See Comments below.

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By Patrick Erwin

Soap plots have many twists and turns in them, but we rarely get to see a complete “bombshell” surprise, like the ones we’ve seen in The Sixth Sense, The Crying Game, or The Usual Suspects. The “reveal” of a surprise on soaps usually happens a little bit at a time, with a character or two here or there. And unfortunately, the appetite for news and spoilers has spoiled the element of surprise for many viewers (and that isn’t doing the shows any favors, either).

But there have been moments of complete, utter surprise on the soaps. Here (in no particular order) are five examples of fantastic, goosebump-producing, oh-no-they-didn’t moments.

NOTE: The moments I am talking about, and have listed below, were stories where we the audience, were totally surprised when these scenes played out. There are many, many moments, like [Read more...]

Filed Under: As the World Turns, Bold and the Beautiful, Days of Our Lives, Guiding Light, PATRICK Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Point-Counterpoint: The Infuriating Holden/Carly Romance on As the World Turns

July 10, 2008 By 18 Comments

Holden and Carly

What is daytime’s most unpopular romance? Judging from fan complaints, I’d say it’s Holden and Carly on As the World Turns.  Here are two characters — wed not to each other — who are or were partners in two separate long-running supercouples.

Well, so what?  Since partner switch — and adultery — are staples of soaps, I can’t quite understand why there is such a huge fan outcry against this romance.  So I’ve sought guidance from two valued members of Team Marlena:  I’ve asked our Patrick Erwin, who dislikes the pairing, to explain the fan hostility he believes is justified. For the other side of the coin, I’ve turned to my longtime friend and ardent ATWT fan, a television writer/producer who wishes to be known only as pjs.  He, too, has an explanation for why the fans hate the romance, why the fans are wrong, and why he likes the pairing of Holden and Carly.

Enjoy the debate, Thinking Fans.  It may inspire you to post your own thoughts in the comments section at the end.

                                                                        Marlena

                                                                        XXXOOO

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HOLDEN AND CARLY:  THE WRONG TIME, THE WRONG FACE

By Patrick Erwin

Message boards and the virtual soap universe have been filled over the last few weeks with some loud and strong reactions to the pairing of Holden and Carly on As The World Turns. I don’t think [Read more...]

Filed Under: As the World Turns, GUESTS, MARLENA, PATRICK Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Marlena’s Emmy Picks in 2008′s Humpty Dumpty Soap World

June 18, 2008 By 11 Comments

emmy

By Marlena De Lacroix

I’m not overly excited about this week’s Daytime Emmys. I could be fluffy and say it’s because they moved the ceremony  to L.A. several years ago and I don’t get to go and to buy a dress, and to me (I attended here in New York 23 years in a row) the Daytime Emmys was always about The Dress.  But the truth is, daytime drama, which I’ve spent most of  life my loving,  is a collapsing industry, and I just don’t feel very celebratory.  Glitz and glam be damned, wouldn’t the time and money spent on the Emmys be better spent gathering everyone in the industry together to meet and intelligently discuss  finding a way to put Humpty Dumpty back together again?

Oh well ,brighten up,  Marlena! Friday night is the Emmys broadcast (8 p.m. EDT on ABC) and you must make award picks.   As Irving Berlin wrote [Read more...]

Filed Under: All My Children, As the World Turns, Bold and the Beautiful, Days of Our Lives, General Hospital, Guiding Light, MARLENA, One Life to Live, Young and the Restless Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Losing “The Natural” — An Appreciation of Beth Ehlers, Guiding Light’s Irreplaceable Harley

May 29, 2008 By 13 Comments

By Patrick Erwin

Beth Ehlers is on her way to ABC and All My Children‘s Pine Valley, and they’re all damn lucky to have her. But for the second time in just a few months, P&G and CBS have made the boneheaded move of allowing someone who was woven deeply into the tapestry of a show to walk away. P&G clearly hasn’t learned from the loss of As the World Turns‘ Martha Byrne (the definitive Lily) and made the same mistake twice! They’ve let another beloved performer walk away with the audience’s heart and a big chunk of the tapestry of the show with all of the history and memories attached. This is something few recasts can ever replace, no matter how hard they try!

It’s hard to not be nostalgic and mournful. How do you let years of history and connections walk away? Harley — and Ehlers — had a connection with nearly everyone on the Guiding Light canvas.

Harley was one of the most complex [Read more...]

Filed Under: All My Children, As the World Turns, Guiding Light, PATRICK Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

10 Merry Mid-Month of May Questions

May 14, 2008 By 13 Comments

By Marlena De Lacroix and Patrick Erwin

1.  When you saw John-Paul Lavoisier as Rex in his recent pre-wedding scenes on One Life to Live, wandering around a bar drunk, shirtless, and disheveled with a wild head of hair, didn’t he remind you just a little of Bamm-Bamm from The Flintstones?

2.  Have you been lost in the maze of brunettes on As The World Turns? When we watched Noelle Beck as nuLily, she looked a lot like Marie Wilson (Meg). Who also looks a lot like Julie Pinson (Janet).  Janet also has a [Read more...]

Filed Under: All My Children, As the World Turns, Bold and the Beautiful, Days of Our Lives, General Hospital, Guiding Light, MARLENA, One Life to Live, PATRICK, Young and the Restless Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Patrick’s Postcards from Oakdale, Salem and Springfield

April 10, 2008 By 5 Comments

By Patrick Erwin

Hello everyone! Sorry I haven’t been around as much lately.  I’ve been dealing with the plot twists and turns of my own storyline, including a move to another city — not just any city, but the Windy City of Chicago. Chicago is, of course, the cradle of soaps, where Irna Phillips started it all and where Bill Bell began. Speaking of cities, I’ve managed (despite my busy schedule) to visit several soap cities. Here’s my postcard from each …

Postcard: Oakdale – It’s no secret that As the World Turns has been the center of an incredible amount of friction, both onscreen and off. Many of the stories that played out on our screens over the last several months were incredibly dark and depressing (like Dusty’s murder, the custody battle for baby Hallie, and the Craig/Paul/Meg/Rosanna triangle, to name but a few). I have to say, though, [Read more...]

Filed Under: As the World Turns, Days of Our Lives, Guiding Light, PATRICK Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

As the World Turns: Good-bye to Martha Byrne, The Real Thing

March 17, 2008 By 12 Comments

Martha ByrneBy Marlena De Lacroix

It’s hard to watch daytime soaps chip away piece by piece, and of course no one actor is daytime TV.  But watching Martha Byrne leave As the World Turns (because of a contract disagreement  with P&G) is really painful.  If ATWT can be looked at as a truly American, heartland soap (as do my friend Sam Ford and his students do in his soap class at MIT), than Byrne is indeed Mom and Apple Pie.

But not in the goody, goody sense!  For the last twenty-three years (with one hiatus), we’ve watched her Lily grow up from a bubbly, giggly teenager to wise wife and mother.  We love Lily and Martha because they are both always true and real.

Bryne, then a teenager from New Jersey, came to soaps by way of Broadway’s Annie, in which she played one of the orphans.  As Lily, there was no hiding behind tons of make-up, false eyelashes and teen queen phony cleavage.  At age 15, when Byrne made her debut on ATWT, Lily was just [Read more...]

Filed Under: As the World Turns, MARLENA, Yearning for Yesterday Tagged With: , , , , , ,
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