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ATWT Opinion Article
Farewell to ATWT
By
Eva
9/17/10
It has been a hard day for me today as I said good-bye to
the characters in the town of Oakdale, Illinois. As The
World Turns went off the air today September 17, 2010. I
write the date down just to mark it in TV history, because
another of television’s longest running soaps is gone after
54 years of memorable stories and characters. We will miss
the romance of the super couples like Betsy and Steve, Craig
and Sierra. Holden and Lily, Carly and Jack, and Lisa and
her many husbands. The show also had one villain that never
died until the end, James Stenbeck played masterfully by
Anthony Herrera.
I started watching As The World Turns in the 1980’s,
stopped for a while in the early 1990’s, but quickly came
back to it and watched it until the end. I think the reason
I loved it so much was because it seemed more realistic than
other shows. They seemed like real families with real
problems that anyone has, and I loved watching how they
dealt with their problems. I got hooked in the 1980’s by the
Holden, Lily, Dusty triangle that was just great to watch. I
also loved the Betsy Steve love story. I will admit that at
times As the World Turns has struggled with writing and
stories, because there have been writers who have ignored
the show’s rich history of core families and core
characters, but all in all it has been wonderful
storytelling. The best times of the show were when Douglas
Marland was at the helm of the show. It made a comeback when
after many head writers, Hogan Sheffer became head writer.
During those days, I couldn’t wait to find out what would
happen to my favorite characters and how they would get out
of their latest crisis.
As The World Turns had great romance but also dealt with
important social issues, like alcoholism with the characters
of Susan Stewart and Andy Dixon being the stories that stand
out in my mind. Colleen Zenk’s real life battle with oral
cancer was written into a story for Barbara and was handled
beautifully. Margo’s rape, which led to a possibility of her
having AIDS also comes to mind. One of the most powerful to
me was when Lyla’s husband Casey Paretti wanted to die with
dignity, so he asked his stepdaughter Margo to turn off the
machines for him if he could no longer be himself and live a
productive life.
I enjoyed the ending today. I think it gave fans a sense of
closure that their favorite characters were finally happy
after all the ups and downs in their lives. I applaud As the
World Turns for giving us drama, love and laugher until the
end which were the three things that characterize the show
for me. Today I say goodnight to As The World Turns and
thank all the actors that have been on the show for their
wonderful work. If you want to see a wonderful collection of
clips go to YouTube and watch a four-part farewell tribute
by a lady named Amy.
Part 1 ~ The Weddings
Part 2 ~ In Loving Memory
Part 3 ~ The Vets
Part 4 ~ The Couples
The opinions in these articles are those of the writer and do not
necessarily reflect the opinions of The TV MegaSite or its other volunteers.
Page updated 9/17/10
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