Exactly one year after Guiding Light's finale, we lose As The World Turns. It's tragic. Every year we'll have to mourn both shows at the same time. Instead of blogging about the World's end, I wrote a long entry in my journal. I began the entry on 9/19, and it took a little over a week to finish. I'm a slow writer, and a few days I didn't work on it at all. The entry is a reflection of ATWT while figuring out how important it is/was to me. I felt like writing that out, and now I'm sharing the entry here. It's informal rambling, and it's unrevised so it's exactly what I wrote. I know I can write better, but it is what it is. It comes from a journal.
What As The World Turns Means To Me
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Sounds like the title of an essay, doesn't it? This seems like a blog entry, but I feel like writing this in a journal. And how do I start? What do I start with? It's a little mind-boggling.
ATWT was on for 54 years. Its finale recently aired on September 17. That's the reason for answering such a question. I'd like to figure out how much ATWT means to me also because I haven't loved it as much as other soaps. It's been at the bottom of the chain. For roughly nine years I've watched it off & on. Sharing the two o'clock time slot with One Life To Live complicated things. I had more loyalty to OLTL because I grew up with it.
I was exposed to ATWT from sleeping over at my grandparents'. They watch all the CBS soaps. I can't say when they started watching ATWT. I believe I became interested in 2001. Memories are very vague. I know Lily (played by the amazing Martha Byrne) caught my attention first. My best friend at the time watch the show a little and like Lily. Really, she reminded me of Lily. I don't recall the other characters. My curiosity of Lily made me watch at least one episode at home, and she was probably in scenes with Holden & maybe even doppelganger/sister Rose. I've always like Lily.
It's hard to remember. Everything is so far buried in my mind. I'll list a couple things I know I saw: an explosion that scarred Barbara's face; Simon, Katie, & Henry on an island in search of a diamond; Jack and Julia. I think I saw Jack & Carly flashbacks. I mistakenly thought he belonged with Julia. Carly seemed like trouble, but Julia was a psycho.
I saw a mean streak with Barbara, and I think this is the first storyline I followed intently. Barbara wanted revenge on 3 women. Rose was with her son, Paul. Emily was with her ex-husband, Hal. She also just plain hated Emily. Carly wanted her fashion business, BRO. All 3 were pregnant in real life and would need to disappear for maternity leave. That's where it got ridiculous, but I was still hooked. Barbara enlisted a crazy doctor to keep them in a spa & give them a rapid aging drug (or whatever it was). I don't recall how they were rescued, but there must have been an antidote. I enjoyed Barbara's rivalries very much.
I don't know if I'd ever have watched ATWT on a long-term regular basis if my all-time favorite soap star, Cady McClain, hadn't joined the show. She was a recast of Rosanna, who was Carly's sister. I was so excited to see her in a different role than All My Children's Dixie. She got to be a bitch. Ro wanted to ruin Carly's life because of stuff from years past. Ro was a delight until the hate went away & she wanted to be a mom. There was chemistry between her & Hunt Block's Craig from day one. They had a good thing for a while. Cady left & returned multiple times. I guess that's another reason for my off & on viewing. If not for this Rosanna, I wouldn't have gotten to know ATWT at such a good time - 2002.
I don't want to go through year by year. This entry isn't about everything I saw each year. But in 2002 I witnessed a Carly & Jack wedding. It was big, beautiful, lavish. the marriage wouldn't last because she had sex with Mike. What made the wedding so exceptional was crazy Julia catching the bouquet. She had a baby with her, claiming it was Jack's. Now that's good soap.
In my time of watching I've come to like these characters: Carly, Jack, Rosanna, Emily, Margo, Tom, Barbara, Katie, Janet, Molly, Luke, Noah, Henry, Allison, Lucinda, Lily, and Holden. All of them were current. I liked these characters when they were on: Hal, Gwen, Will, Maddie, Jessica, Rose, Abigail, Craig Lawlor's Adam, James Stenbeck, Simon, Peyton List's Lucy, and Sierra. Lucinda was one of the vets, and she was a hoot to watch. The other vets were: Nancy, Lisa, Kim, Bob, Susan, and Emma. I've appreciated the veterans over the years because they're vital to the show. They represent history. The vets listed, I can't say I liked too much because my heart wasn't with them. I never knew the history very well, which is a shame.
Somehow I got to love Tom & Margo, and they were the next vets. Tom is Bob & Kim's son. There's a 20+ year history between Tom & Margo with multiple actors portraying them. With me not knowing history, how did I come to love this couple? There was something appealing about them, but I can't say what. They're lovable. Plus Margo appealed to me as a tough detective. They're part of the Hughes family. As ATWT came to an end, I realized the Hughes' were my favorite family. Members of the Hughes I saw: Bob, Kim, Tom, Margo, Nancy, Chris, & Casey. I think that's all the key members. The Hughes family was Oakdale's first, which means history spanning the entire 54 years. They were a real, loving multi-generational family. On soaps these days it's wonderful to see such a family. They were the best family in Oakdale.
The Snyders were second best. They had a farm & were more down-to-earth. They were real too. Not my favorite because there were too many of them and it was guy central. Emma ruled the roost with children Holden & Meg and nephews Brad & Jack. I didn't like Meg. All 4 had children - Snyders everywhere! I just wasn't as interested in them, unfortunately. I still enjoyed watching them. They include my all-time favorite couple: Jack & Carly. I didn't know how awesome they are until the final year of the show. In the final days, I realized they're ATWT's best couple. There were 13 years of CarJack. I can now call myself a CarJacker - sad now that ATWT is over. Carly & Jack have so much chemistry. Their symbol is a compass; they are each other's "true north". Carly calls Jack G-Man. He's a cop and her hero. He saved her from herself and vice versa. They had the perfect happy ending - wedding and new baby on the way.
The cancellation did not come as a surprise. ATWT didn't stand a chance since sister soap Guiding Light had just ended. I was heartbroken, though, out of fear for the remaining soaps. There are 6 left, and OLTL is the last one in New York City. ATWT had about 9 months left, and I was in so much denial. With GL, I prepared myself as the weeks counted down. With ATWT, I couldn't prepare myself. I guess I didn't want to imagine it ending. I was so use to it being on that I couldn't imaging it being gone. So, the final week was very sad & touching, especially since most of it revolved around Carly & Jack and Dusty & Janet.
The final episode was remarkable. I wasn't sure what to expect. I was concerned since GL's ending was a disappointment to so many. It seemed rushed, and part of it was a year into the future with everyone chummy & happy. I bought into it, but it was a little too perfect. I hoped ATWT's ending would have happiness, but I didn't want to see everyone in the park sharing laughs. ATWT didn't need that. What ATWT did worked. Stories were already wrapped up, and a few characters didn't need to be shown. Thus, the episode wasn't crowded. It had a lot packed into it, but there was a good pace. It was one final day in Oakdale, and at its core was Bob's retirement. He provided wonderful voice-overs as everyone went about a normal day. Also, this day was a month into the future. I don't know how necessary that was, though. Of course I enjoyed the happy CarJack stuff the most. Their last moment was kissing in bed, which was absolutely perfect.
I was eager to see how Lily & Holden would end. They were the biggest supercouple, but Noelle Beck had played Lily the last two years or so. She was never really Lily to me, and she had no chemistry with Jon Hensley. In the last episode I realized I accepted her as Lily. Holden & Lily were left open-ended; there was hope for a reunion soon down the road. I'm fine with that. I think Martha Byrne should have returned. If she did, I'd want Lily & Holden to get back together. Martha & Jon ARE Lily & Holden!
The other two items I anticipated were the final scene & line of the series. Of course the scene went to Bob & Kim. It was time to leave his office, and he didn't know how to say goodbye. She told him to say goodnight, and that's what he did. I didn't realize how perfect that is until later when I learned the first line of the series. Nancy said to her husband, "Good morning, dear." So, there's nothing better than 'goodnight'. There was a beautiful globe that Bob left behind on the desk. The final shot had a spotlight over the globe, and the globe was spinning. Aww...tearjerker! The whole episode was tear-jerking when you thought about never seeing these characters continuing their lives again. I think I'll miss everyone.
ATWT's finale gave hope for the future. I do not want this show to be gone. It's another tragic death in my soap family. The world has stopped turning. We've lost 1 more soap, and it feels like it should still be on the air. There were more stories to be told. This show did not seem like it was on its last leg. Why oh why is it gone forever? ATWT stood for family, romance, social issues, friendship, and community. All in all, it was a damn good soap opera. It didn't go out with a bang in its final year. It was never the most excellent soap, in my opinion, but it was never the worst. In my years of watching, it was just damn good soap. Most of the time. It had its fair share of bad stories, but it was consistent. ATWT was a lovely piece of my soap viewing. What it means to me is: a beautiful soap that I will forever miss. I may not know its rich history, but I got to know ATWT enough to love it very much.
