As much as I love As the World Turns, at times I'm perplexed by who receives the best storyline or most screen time. Don't get me wrong: there are characters that I am delighted to see remain at the forefront of the show and I believe they are integral to ATWT. And while it's true ATWT boasts one of the most talented casts in daytime, there are some characters that don't exactly float my boat. And when those characters are on-screen, I can almost certainly be found heading toward the refrigerator, or pressing the fast-forward button. Conversely, there are also those characters on ATWT that I believe aren't used nearly often enough. And as the clock continues to tick on my favorite soap, I find myself saying more and more often the words all soap fans are known to mutter: "If I were writing this show..."
So if I were indeed writing for As the World Turns, there are a few characters whose presence would be seriously beefed up. First and foremost, Craig Montgomery needs to do more. Ever since he dumped Carly for Rosanna, his role has seriously diminished. And not using as much of actor Jon Lindstrom as is humanly possible is just plain criminal. As much as I love Carly Tenney (and I really truly love her) Craig needs to have a way bigger role than simply chasing after Carly.
Jon Lindstrom has an ease with this role that I truly relish and I believe he's made Craig Montgomery his very own. His version of Craig, while still somewhat diabolical, has found his human side again, and that's the Craig I grew up watching. But Lindstrom has also infused his Craig with a wry, ironic sense of humor that is smart, sophisticated and very uniquely his. And this multi-dimensional Craig needs his own love story, with a female character that's not simply "settling" for Craig. If I had a say, I'd be writing him a true love of his own, pronto.
It's also a shame how the veteran cast members on this show are, for the most part, neglected. ATWT has one of the most gifted veteran casts around. But when they're seen at all, it's usually in some inconsequential manner and almost never as the central character in a plot line. Has anybody seen much of Lisa lately? Or Susan? Or Lucinda? And it doesn't really count when their only action is to console their daughters or make another pot of coffee. I'd love to devise some plot points that utilized the considerable talents of these under-used cast members. Why can't Lucinda Walsh get a real story of her own? Elizabeth Hubbard can make a phone book interesting and the waste of a talent as huge as hers is one example of why ATWT has struggled for the past few years.
Margo and Tom Hughes fare a bit better in the screen time department, but even they don't get their own story. Margo usually shows up on-screen about the time someone needs to be arrested, and Tom, who supposedly quit the DA's office to spend more time with his family, is now almost always AWOL at family weddings and holidays. What's up with that? I'd make sure these two legendary characters, who are also one of the original Super Couples, got a little of the respect they deserve. And I can't be the only loyal viewer who misses the satisfaction and significance of some regular air time with the long-time residents of Oakdale.
Conversely, there are a few characters I'd be more than happy to relegate to the back burner for a while. Characters like Alison Stewart. I'm afraid I have never understood the appeal of this character, and feel ambivalent towards her at best, and bored senseless at worst. Consequently, a break from Alison would be a blessing for me right about now. To me, Alison comes across as a rather humorless, bordering on downright dull, character. And much to my surprise, I actually really enjoy Billy Magnussen's portrayal of Casey Hughes. This version of Casey is a bit of a lovable goof and Alison is just a killjoy for him, with her solemn and somewhat grim nature.
Similarly, I could do with a little less Lily Snyder Grimaldi. I am so tired of the whole Lily/Damien/Holden triangle. It's a weak storyline, in my opinion, with very little believable motivation for any of Lily's actions over the past year. And how many of her husbands are going to be presumed dead, but not actually be dead? If I got to write Lily's story, I think I'd have her take another rehab break. And in her place, I'd let Molly and Holden explore their relationship. They're a lot more fun to watch right now and I think they share bucket loads more chemistry then Holden does with NuLily.
But the character that I'd give the biggest pass on has to be Meg Snyder. Both the current, and past, writers have had this completely baffling affection for Meg and they continue to give her front and center storylines. But I'm just not buying what Meg is selling. In recent years, she became this revamped model, full of a holier-than-thou attitude. And that's when I really lost interest. As such, I have hated her with Craig, I have hated her with Dusty and I have hated her with Paul. In fact, I like Paul Ryan so much better with Emily Stewart, that I'd make sure Paul and Meg never had the chance to reunite. To that end, I'd just keep her in the Deerbrook Sanitarium for a good long while. Maybe Meg and Lily could get a group discount?
Happily, many of my favorite characters enjoy ample screen time in interesting storylines. But ATWT has a clock ticking in the background these days, and I find myself growing more and more impatient with the characters that don't hold my interest. Having said that, I realize that my least favorite characters are someone else's favorites and those viewers hear the same clock ticking that I do. And so I'm afraid none of us will find a happy ending as there can't possibly be enough time to finish telling all the stories of As the World Turns, not only for my favorites, but for everyone's.
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anonymous
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if i could write damian grimaldis' story I would go back to the malta story line hen martha byrne was lily and she finally got damian to believe that orleana was drugging her. To me this was one of the best twists on the illigetimate child storyline(because at that time, that's what kind of story I thought it was) I ever saw. When the truth was revealved it was alo the sadest. All those grimaldis' damian always tells luke about and only lisas' husband figured out the truth. Orleana wasn't damians' mother, or lorenzos' wife, she was the baby nurse, but wait, there's more when orlena confessed to everything she did before she died, turns out she wasn't a baby nurse either.If only they could show that whole storyline again for people who didn't see it. damian discovered that the woman he thought was just some maid for orleana was his real mother, her name was bettina and orleana had been druggin her for so long, her mind so damaged to this day she still thinks lorenzo is alive and damian is still a baby.I often wondered years after that storyline was over how damian might be different if he had been raised by his real mother. It might not have made any difference or if did, maybe lily wouldn,t have fallen in love with him, marrried him and had luke.I would like the show to end with him getting information from bettinas' family that she might recover some of her memory after all this is the same show where holden got a miracle recovery from his brain damge and rememembered everything about him and lily. I don't see how the writers' could redeem him enough for luke and lily to want to have anything to do with him again so, why not let him have hope of a relationship with his real mother. |
ATWTtomargo
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More vets... more time!!! Karen, you did it again girl! I've been saying for years that the vets have been shoved into some forgotten back corridor until they realize they need to fulfill some contractual obligation, and then they stick them into some off-the-wall scene to deliver some strange plot point for a scene or two - yuck! These great actors deserve far better. The talent they bring to the table far surpasses any of the new talent brought in the last 6-10 years. I've always said that Craig was a must on the Oakdale canvas, but he shouldn't be anyone's plot devise. He's his own man, and deserves far better than to be a punching bag for Jack. Plus, I'm a bit biased when it comes to Tom & Margo (hence my screen name), but as far as Tom's air-time in the past 10 years, my gosh, if that boy wasn't shoved aside for absolute YEARS after the year 2000 - GAHH!!! Even more recently, while most of his air-time has been relevant, it's been far too sparse! I agree with you 150% about Meg! For whatever reason, no matter how hard they've tried, they just can't make her interesting in the slightest, and the more they tried the more annoyed I got! Yuck! Now, I can usually find some sympathy for just about any character, but the way they tried and tried to force Meg down our throats over the past 3 - 4 years, the more I just wish she'd disappear. I do, for some odd reason, still hold some sympathy for Alison. Call me crazy, but despite the horrible way they've treated her (and believe me, I can understand those who have already washed their hands of her), I just don't have it in me to hate her. I think it's because of the distance I have for the rotten way a lot of the younger crowd has been treated since about 2007 - Adam, Casey, Luke, Parker, and yes Alison. The writing for these kids has been down-right cruel at times, giving Casey a permanent criminal record when nobody in the past has ever really had to pay the price for their much more serious crimes (Craig, Paul, Dusty... to name a few). Adam... I won't even get into my bad taste over that one! Luke still remains on the ejected list at Oakdale U... At least Parker seems to be making a come-back, and it's sounding as if Casey will shortly (crossing fingers). But, lord! Alison -- really??? Fun, quirky, ever-in-everyone's-business Alison, a porn star? Seriously? GAAAAHHH!!! Now she's become the poster child for sabotaging her own love life by sleeping with some other guy the week she's to marry someone else... I just can't stand it! But at the same time, I can't hate her - I hate the writing, that's certain! But not her - YET! Recently Don Hastings was interviewed by TV Guide and he mentioned that younger cast members tell him that there is popularity for the vets on the Internet, but it's apparent TPTB don't seem to respond to that. Don is right! Or, should I say Don's sources are right! Everyone loved Bob!!! People clamor for wanting to see more of the vets - Bob, Kim, Lisa, Susan... gosh, these people are golden!!! I'm happy to see Barbara having fun these days with Henry, why not do something similar for Lucinda? Huh? Geez! I've been somewhat surprised lately by the more relevant story that at least Bob & Kim have gotten with the addition of Chris on the canvas once more. And, I'm holding out some hope for a decent ramp into the anniversary episodes coming up in early April. But, please PLEASE tell me they won't drop off the "World" once that's over!!! |
Rene Riel
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Put together well! I couldn't of said it better myself! If i were an outspoken critic, and writing the show, my thought's wouldn't change much of the what you just said. Keep up the good work Karen, take care, Rene Riel |
