Thursday, May 7, 2009

Remembrances......

[ originally posted May 4, 2009 2:00pm ]




On May 1, we remember the life (and the 20-year-ago passing) of Douglass Watson....


1921 - 1989

* Watson's 1981 Daytime Emmy win *




* Mac & Rachel with Christmas toys (1981) *




* Mac/Rachel admire Amanda's Christmas drawing (1981) *



* Mac's Thanksgiving toast (1987) *



* Mac's Christmas toast (1986) *



* Mac finds out Iris was 'the chief' *



* Mac reflects about Iris in the park *



* Rachel and the Corys after Mac's funeral *




"Everyone we love stays with us, if we let them...."

--Alice, to Rachel, after Mac's funeral (1989)






Also, in late April, the passing of longtime comedy (and stage) performer Beatrice Arthur (1922 - 2009)....



Dorothy: "You can't watch Another World."

Blanche: "And why not?"

Dorothy: "Because you watched it yesterday!"

Golden Girls (S1) - "The Flu" pt.2/3

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5j42iS8p3TI

Breaking AW news!!!!!

[ originally posted July 26, 2008 3:00pm ]

If you haven't heard, there will be yet ANOTHER way to watch AW besides on AOL Video. Several soap blogs are reporting that Hulu.com, the video player site, will begin airing AW reruns starting with the May 10, 1991 episode. As viewers of the AW reruns on SoapNet may remember, that was the last episode aired by the no-so-soapy-anymore cable channel before AW was dropped unceremoniously. A list of several eps will be available to start, with 3 per week being added afterward. TeleNext Media, P&G's production partner, is providing the episodes directly to Hulu. If that isn't enough, those who've been waiting for some kind of rerun action from As the World Turns and Guiding Light, you're in luck too. Hulu will also air reruns of both starting with each show's June 1, 2007 episode. Eps of ATWT and GL will be available similarly to AW with several to start off, then 3 more per week. GL's reruns start July 25, followed by ATWT starting July 28, and AW's, which begin July 29. As referenced at the top, this is **in addition** to the AW reruns on AOL Video, which will continue. Bay City....twice as nice!!!!

We need a little Bay City Christmas....

[ originally posted December 24, 2007 4:00pm ]

Another World was always great around the holidays... fortunately, a few online friends out there agree and have several samples of Christmas cheer, and I figured it would be a great 'gift' to all of you friends and visitors to collect those samples together. There have been many kind words of support for this site and for AW, and it is a great pleasure to hear from all of you. The past 8 months have gone by quickly! So, to everyone out there, a safe and happy holiday season, and a prosperous new year!!!

*AW 1989 and 1990 Christmas clip montage*





*When My Heart Finds Christmas (1991)*




*Cass/Frankie: The Gift (1989 and 1990)*




*Cass/Frankie: You're All I Want for Christmas*




*Lorna/Matt (1991)*




*Cass/Frankie's 1st Christmas (1989)*










*Corys Christmas (1991)*






*Cass/Frankie (1990)*









*Jake/Vicky (1996?)*






*Cass/Frankie, Gregory, and Santa*






*Dean/Jenna (1991)*







*Cass/Frankie (1991)*








*Lucas/Felicia (1991)*




*AW Christmas (1996)*




*Christmas In My Heart montage (1991)*




*AW Christmas Tribute montage*


6 months already ?!?

[ originally posted October 14, 2007 2:30pm ]

Wow, time flies when you're getting friends of the past back together!! It's been just over 6 months now since this here site was launched....

I want to thank all the actors and fans who have joined the 'friends' list, as well as those who may not be on the list but who have sent well-wishes this way. To see this much (and more elsewhere) fan/actor appreciation for a show that has not been in production in over 8 years shows that Another World has been, and will continue to be, missed, loved, and remembered fondly.

The search continues for more actors' Spaces, as well as those of the loyal AW fan base...spread the word--if you were/are a fan and/or maybe know of a past AW actor who has a Space that I may not know about, let them know and click that 'friends' link. Sure, not every one of the hundreds that helped to put Bay City on the map for us each weekday may have a Space, but there are bound to be more fans/actors out there. Some have had a Space but haven't logged on in a while--I'm trying to list those separately above the main 'friends' section. Also, maybe some video and other content will be linked here soon.

Thanks for your visits and support. Hopefully in the next few months, there will be progress enough on the main site to get that one going again.

Anyway, stay tuned!!

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

A little AW get-together....

[ originally posted August 7, 2007 3:00pm ]

In 2003, after a long withdrawal of no
Another World episodes on TV, the Disney-owned cable channel SoapNet let us all relive days of Bay City's past with rerun episodes. They started airing in July, with shows dating back to July 1987. This great move was only the beginning.

October 2003 marked the debut of The Another World Reunion on SoapNet. This was the first attempt at a TV special produced reuniting members of the AW cast since the finale of the series in 1999.


The hour-long special was hosted by Linda Dano (Felicia); several past cast members showed up to reminisce:

Stephen Schnetzer (Cass)

Kale Browne (Michael)

Ellen Wheeler (Marley/Vicky)

Jon Aprea (Lucas/Alexander)

Alicia Coppola (Lorna)

Sandra Ferguson (Amanda)

...plus Anna Stuart (Donna) by videotape. A 'surprise' guest was revealed at the end of the special.



With thanks to some helpful fan out there, the special can be found on YouTube in multiple parts. Part 1 introduces the show and Linda, plus a clip/pix montage is shown, covering the early days of AW up to the finale.




Part 2 has Linda introducing Stephen. They share stories, clips, and a little fashion sense....




In Part 3, Kale and Ellen are brought out and add to the story-telling, with wacky clips, plus Anna joins in....




Sandra comes along in Part 4, with chat and clips....




Part 5 introduces John and Alicia, with personal recollections; plus, remembering 4 who are no longer with us....




Various wedding clips start out Part 6, followed by clips of several well-known actors who were a part of Bay City earlier in their careers, then the long-awaited reveal of the 'mystery guest' and chat with that person....




The last part, Part 7, is a closing and toast.




The Another World Reunion was rebroadcast May 4, 2004 by SoapNet in honor of AW's 40th anniversary. The special was nominated for a Daytime Emmy in 2004 for 'best special class special', but was unfortunately beaten out by the Macy's 2003 Thanksgiving parade. This would mark the very last time AW would be represented by a nomination at the Daytime Emmys.

AW's 2nd child is 27 today!

[ originally posted August 4, 2007 5:00pm ]

It's hard to believe, but it's been 27 years since AW's second spinoff, Texas, debuted. Lasting just 29 months, Texas found it's own legion of loyal fans, just like AW has done over the years. We were introduced through the relocation of Iris (one of AW's most popular characters, played by Beverlee McKinsey) and Dennis (Jim Poyner), Iris' son, to Houston. Over time we got to know even more of those that made up the social strata of Texas, including the Bellmans, the Marshalls, and the Wheelers (one of which, Alex, was a long-lost love of Iris').

Texas premiered as the first hour-long soap at it's debut, and AW was the first soap to spin 2 soaps off (the first spinoff being Somerset ten years before).

You will find a few online resources for Texas available....

Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_(soap_opera)

Fan website
http://soaptexas.tripod.com/

Eddie's AW Home Page: Spinoffs (Texas)
http://www.igs.net/~awhp/spinoff2.html

AOL Video's P&G Classic Soaps (has Texas from the beginning)
http://video.aol.com/video-category/texas/1921

The day the lights went out in Bay City....

[ originally published: July 22, 2007 3:00pm ]

(best viewed with tissues :( :( )

The mid-late spring days of 1999 were a time of change on TV, and a time of more-than-average use of tissues. Your webmaster had already seen the end of a great legend in talk as The Late Late Show with Tom Snyder said it's final words in March that year. A great sendoff with pix of different guests Tom had on during the show's time, plus snaps of TS with his pet dog Oliver, his daughter, granddaughter, his 'companion', and the lovely Mother Snyder. With that, the loose, entertaining one-on-one chats on TV were basically gone, with the distant exception of Charlie Rose and his show, which still airs on Public TV.

No sooner had this event been placed in my vaults and the TV grid had gotten into a new programming pattern, that another, even greater, shock would come at me. I had just gotten my first Windows-based PC (after having had a Mac years before) and was still feeling my way around the Internet, when on an unsuspecting April evening, I happened to catch a newly-posted press release issued by NBC on their website. Even though stunned, I tried my best to read it correctly. Another Today show would debut, a new soap would debut in July, and to align their soaps more 'in pattern', the network had decided to cancel Another World. What?!? Response was immediate, off-the-charts, and lasting. Between the soap mags and the Internet, you could tell this move would not be taken lying down. Phone calls and letters were sent, but also protests would be planned--one of which took place live during a Today show airing. Banners could be seen above the crowd of fans outside--despite NBC's best efforts to swing their cameras wildly to avoid them. One of the loudest, most cohesive efforts to protest the decision that your webmaster saw came from a group called CSAW (the Committee to Save Another World). They formed a website and created various campaigns. Word came that ABC might be interested in taking on AW. Unfortunately, with the short timeframe dictated by NBC's announcement, no deals to shift programming and production would come to pass. The cast and crew were given until May 25 to wrap things up. When the Daytime Emmys aired that year, it was only days before the finale date of June 25. Linda Dano (Felicia), Stephen Schnetzer (Cass), and Lisa Peluso (Lila) were presenters for the awards show that year, and were amazingly given some extra on-air time....


Linda Dano:



Stephen & Lisa:



With those words, it was official.

Many wondered about the fate of soaps in general, if a show that lasts 35 years can be cancelled, then would any other soap be safe?? More pressing matters loomed, though, as the talent of a show that had long billed itself as a 'continuing story', would find itself scattered to the wind. Many would not find work immediately (if at all), while others were luckier. Several would continue their AW characters for a time on As the World Turns. Linda Dano would be welcomed back to ABC daytime as a return to a previous One Life to Live character, but would float to all other ABC soaps as well. A few would make it to primetime TV, while others tried movies or even work behind the camera.

The afternoon of June 25 found your webmaster in his cubicle wondering just how Bay City would fare. Others were lucky enough to not have to work, and watch history being made. In New York City, a special watch party took place at an Upper West Side sports bar, Blondie's. Many actors from Another World's past and present would attend. One surprise drop-in was Christine Jones, who had portrayed the infamous Janice. No such luck for me, as the following afternoon would have to suffice for viewing. A wedding would take place, with the 'bliss' part to wait temporarily. Meanwhile, after all other characters found their place or direction, it would be the turn for Rachel, AW's longest-running on-screen character, to do the honors of wrapping everything up....



Fortunately, the coming years wouldn't quite be devoid of Bay City. Eddie, the webmaster of an AW fan site since the mid-1990s, was still at it. I would launch the first of many tries at an AW fan site myself, starting in August 1999--you are seeing what I have currently online until the main site returns. The 2000 Soap Opera Awards gave us an all-too-brief 'tribute' during that telecast (if you want to skip the Sunset Beach part, drag the round cursor on the bottom red bar till the timer says '1:52')....




CSAW (later dubbed Sudztv.com) put together 2 reunions for AW and it's fans, 1 each in 2000 and 2001, in New York City. One website devoted to soap themes, Brian's 'World of Soap Themes', has been a visual and aural torchbearer for Another World among many other soaps, past and present, up to now. SoapNet, a Disney-owned cable channel, started airing AW reruns in July 2003 and continued for the next (almost) 4 years. A one-hour reunion special was aired twice on the channel, getting several past actors together for reminiscing and clips. In recent years, Wikipedia, an encyclopedic website, would come to have much content and background about AW. Even Procter & Gamble would provide a fix in the past year for AW fans with reruns of the show available online through AOL's Video service; the episodes, starting with August 1980, could be watched on AOL's site, or downloaded for saving on a computer or DVD. MySpace, the website you're seeing this on, would find itself home to several AW fans and actors, also a MySpace fan Group debuted in 2005; but, this past April would see the launching of this AW MySpace site. Already, many 'friends' from the show and fans of Another World have been linked here; eventually the work here will lead to the return of the main AW site.

It has not always been easy to be a fan of Another World, but those twists and turns on-screen (and off-) probably seem to make us all a strong and loyal bunch. It will be interesting to see what comes next for the show, even though production has been ceased for 8 years.


"Sharing our lives with our friends and our family is far stronger than ANYTHING that world out there can do to us..."
--from Mac's last toast, Thanksgiving 1988