"As the World Turns" is Over: 13,858 Episodes!

[Escapay]

Dammit...

"As the World Turns" Ends on CBS in September 2010

• AS THE WORLD TURNS, the long-running daytime drama, will complete its final season on the CBS Television Network in September 2010. CBS has decided not to renew the show for the 2010/2011 broadcast season, thereby ending its 54-year run on the Network.
  
  "Throughout our history, AS THE WORLD TURNS has remained dedicated to sharing compelling stories that have entertained fans for more than five decades," said Executive Producer Chris Goutman. "We are disappointed and saddened by the news that the show is not being renewed. It will certainly be a loss for all of us, and for the show's loyal audience."
  
  "AS THE WORLD TURNS has been a cornerstone of our business and a tremendous asset to the company," said Brian T. Cahill, Senior Vice President and Managing Director, TeleNext Media, Inc. "We are proactively seeking a new outlet to carry the show, and are open to exploring innovative formats and relationships that will enable the future success of ATWT."
  
  The epitome of multi-generational, serial storytelling, AS THE WORLD TURNS has been entertaining generations of fans for more than half a century. The show boasts a well-loved and long-tenured cast, including actress Helen Wagner (Nancy Hughes) who spoke the first words on the premier broadcast of ATWT in 1956. To this day, Nancy is still at the helm of the Hughes family, earning Wagner the distinction of portraying the longest-running character in television history.
  
  Other veteran cast members still on the show today include Eileen Fulton (Lisa Grimaldi) and Don Hastings (Dr. Bob Hughes) who each have played their characters for 49 years; Marie Masters (Dr. Susan Stewart) with 41 years; and Kathryn Hays (Kim Hughes) who has starred on the show for 37 years.
  
  AS THE WORLD TURNS has tackled many contemporary themes over the years, including AIDS, Alzheimer's, alcoholism and more, while remaining true to the show's rich history and realistic characters. In 1988, the serial made history by introducing daytime television's first gay male character, Hank Eliot (played by Brian Starcher), for which it was honored at the first annual GLAAD media awards in 1990.
  
  Created by Irna Phillips, AS THE WORLD TURNS premiered on April 2, 1956 as a 30-minute live television show, unprecedented at the time for a soap opera. Top-rated from 1959 to 1971, it was the first daytime serial with its own spin-off, Our Private World, which aired in prime-time. The show switched to color on 1967, and expanded from a half-hour in length to one hour in 1975. Over the years, ATWT has been awarded numerous accolades, including 58 Daytime Emmy awards.
  
  Set in the fictional Midwestern town of Oakdale, As The World Turns launched the careers of many now-famous Hollywood celebrities, such as Dana Delaney, James Earl Jones, Julianne Moore, Parker Posey, Meg Ryan, and Marisa Tomei to name a few.

The only bright spot to this? "As the World Turns" is getting a whole nine months until they go off the air. That is (I think) the longest cancellation notice any soap ever got. "Guiding Light" and its 5 months was generous, especially when you consider that "Another World" had roughly 2 and a half months notice in 1999 and in 1987, "Capitol" literally had a month to script and shoot its final 3 months of episodes (so they could tear down the sets and put up the ones for "The Bold and the Beautiful"). The producers were pissed at CBS so they intentionally ended the show on a cliffhanger with Sloane facing a firing squad and the screen fading to black on "Ready, Aim...".

At the same time and like I said at the beginning of the thread, DAMMIT! There has been something seriously wrong within the soap opera industry ever since the mid 90s, and it's only gotten worse. To have cancellation notices for the two OLDEST soaps broadcasting just shows that everything they're trying to do to "fix" soaps is not working. Given the backstage drama between "Days of our Lives" and NBC, I expected them to go before "As the World Turns".

ETA:

Okay, I planned on writing that long-ass essay, but then I found this excellent article from Sara Bibel that pretty much covered everything I wanted to say:

Deep Soap: ‘As The World Turns’ Canceled, Another Nail in Daytime’s Coffin

• CBS’s long running soap opera As The World Turns has been canceled. It will air its final episode in September.
  
  The news has blindsided everyone in the daytime industry. Though CBS Entertainment President Nina Tassler stated in August that the show was “having ratings challenges” — and hinted that the network was considering its options — I don’t think anybody thought a decision would be made this soon.
  
  I do not understand why this decision was made. Yes, ‘ATWT’ has been the lowest rated soap since Guiding Light left the cancellation-happy CBS. But the show’s writing has improved over the past couple months. ‘ATWT’ does not have ‘GL’s’ physical production problems. It has one of daytime’s strongest casts, a passionate fan base, a decent time period, and a powerful history. There is still life in this show. As ‘Days of Our Lives’ has shown, it is possible to turn a soap around. I wish CBS had given the show another few months to see if the creative improvements would be reflected in the ratings before deciding whether or not to cancel the show.
  
  It is tempting to play the blame game here. CBS daytime topper Barbara Bloom has allowed two soaps to die on her watch. It’s her bosses that made the call, but if the shows were doing better in the ratings, they never would have been canceled. While ABC’s Brian Frons regularly makes creative decisions that anger fans, all of the ABC soaps are still on the air.
  
  Procter & Gamble, the company once synonymous with the term soap opera, has mismanaged its daytime business to the point where it now ceases to exist. The company could have put more effort into selling its soaps internationally the way Sony does, and generated millions of dollars in additional revenue that could have helped the shows.
  
  Maybe Ellen Wheeler really is soap-opera kryptonite. The former ‘Guiding Light’ executive producer had just joined ‘ATWT’ as a director. Meanwhile, ‘ATWT’ executive producer Christopher Goutman has not been a particularly passionate advocate for the show. He stated in interviews that he did not think there was an audience anymore for soaps that aired five days a week and discouraged fans from writing letters to him.
  
  Procter & Gamble is, at least officially, claiming that all hope is not lost.
  
  P&G’s Senior Vice President Brian Cahill issued the following statement: “We are proactively seeking a new outlet to carry the show, and are open to exploring innovative formats and relationships that will enable the future success of ‘ATWT’.”
  
  Though the studio was unable to sell ‘Guiding Light’ to another network when CBS canceled it, perhaps having more time to shop it around will make a difference.
  
  ‘ATWT’ was the original ‘It’ soap. It’s realistic, slow-paced storylines were a sensation in the 1950s and 1960s. ’ATWT’ had daytime’s first supercouple, Jeff and Penny. A recent episode of ‘Mad Men’ featured the famous clip of Walter Cronkite breaking into an episode to announce that JFK had been shot.** In the 1980s, headwriter Douglas Marland crafted some of the best daytime storylines ever told, including the epic romance of Lily and Holden. More recently, it innovated with daytime’s first gay male romantic storyline, Luke and Noah.
  
  The show is truly a part of American history. It will be missed.
  
  As the daytime ‘World’ turns upside down, it was business as usual for network brass Tuesday. CBS President Les Moonves appeared somewhat insensitive during an interview with CNBC, in which he discussed the long-running soap’s cancellation.
  
  “The days of the soap opera have changed very much. ‘Guiding Light’ left earlier this year and ‘As the World Turns’ will leave later next year. They’ve had long and distinguished runs and their days are over,” Moonves said.
  
  As Gawker points out (and provides the video), Moonves was likely unaware that the CNBC reporter he was interviewed by happens to have a mother-in-law (Marie Masters, who plays Dr. Susan Stewart) who’s worked on ‘ATWT’ for four decades. Ouch.

**Here's the video of "As the World Turns" being interrupted for the CBS News Bulletin: (jump to about a minute into the video)

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albert

[dvdjunkie]

After the "Guiding Light" went dark, I gave up on CBS soaps because there are no others on that network that currently appeal to me or my wife. We are hooked on ABC daytime dramas, and no other network gets in the way of our "All My Children", "One Life To Live", and "General Gangst.........oooopppssss!!!!, I meant "General Hospital" (I beginning to like this show less and less, until something radical happens, like, oh they actually have scenes in the Hospital once again. This show needs a new title because General Hospital just doesn't describe what it has turned into over the past few years.

[Disney's Divinity]

Well, I guess I'll return to my non-soap life next September. The only reason I ever tuned in to As The World Turns is for Luke and Noah. Sad. I guess CBS in particular just wants to be done with their soap operas, so we can watch more Let's Make A Deal!'s with more Wayne Brady's.

[Escapay]

I guess CBS in particular just wants to be done with their soap operas, so we can watch more Let's Make A Deal!'s with more Wayne Brady's.

I know, that's what surprised me. Over the years, CBS has been one of the most reliable networks when it came to soap operas. They weren't as trigger-happy as NBC was, so the news of "As the World Turns" being canceled is really surprising. Especially since this past decade it's been a critical darling (especially during the Sheffer years when they had, I think, 4 Emmys for Best Writing, and 3 of them were consecutive!). If this were 1996, I'd totally understand CBS wanting to be done with the show (it's generally agreed upon that 1996 is the *worst* year ever that the show had). And it's not exactly been hurting in the ratings the way "Guiding Light" has been for so long.

A part of me thinks that it's more of Procter & Gamble's doing rather than CBS's. They've been wanting to get out of soaps ever since they canceled "Another World" in 1999. Though in actuality, NBC canceled that and P&G fought for it to stay on the air, even if it meant moving to another network. I'm like, 70% sure that the show almost ended up on ABC (rumour was they would've canceled "Port Charles" and shortened "One Life to Live" or "Another World" to a half-hour). I know that "Guiding Light"'s cancellation was more or less a mutual agreement with CBS and P&G as CBS wanted "Let's Make a Deal" and it was easier for P&G to dump the lower-rated soap. But canceling "As the World Turns" just has P&G written all over it.

I have a feeling when the World stops turning, we'll see a revival of "Password". Which I don't mind, I love the show, but not at the expense of "As the World Turns". If not "Password" then perhaps they'll expand "The Bold and the Beautiful" to a full hour and give the other half-hour to affiliates.

albert

[disneyboy20022]

...DOWN WITH SOAP OPERAS THEY ARE OUTDATED AND NEED TO END...I HOPE MORE CLASSIC GAME SHOWS COME BACK AND SOAP OPERAS ARE LEFT IN THE BATHTUB



Now if you excuse me I am going to go hide in a cave in a differ forum....for 1 day....to avoid getting mobbed or attacked...because Im am sure not everyone agrees with the idea that Soap Opera's druel but Slipcover's are more useful than soapy opera's

[Escapay]

...DOWN WITH SOAP OPERAS THEY ARE OUTDATED AND NEED TO END...I HOPE MORE CLASSIC GAME SHOWS COME BACK AND SOAP OPERAS ARE LEFT IN THE BATHTUB

You are dead to me.

Now if you excuse me I am going to go hide in a cave in a differ forum....for 1 day....to avoid getting mobbed or attacked...

You'll need more than a day, sonny boy.

albert

You're not dead to me, disneyboy, just never ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever say that again.

[disneyboy20022]

im just kidding.....please don't be mad at me.....

When they pull Hannah Montana off the air of Disney you can have a victory parade in the chat rooms....- are we cool??

and from now on I will restrain my posting of negative feelings torwards soap opera's...

[Escapay]

im just kidding.....please don't be mad at me.....

I'm not mad at you, personally.

I'm mad at the general ignorance that shows when anyone would say something like "soap operas are outdated and need to end" without ever actually watching the damn shows. Ten minutes doesn't count. One day doesn't count. One week doesn't count. Soap operas are made to be long term, so any proper assessment of them can only be made if someone invests as much time into them as it takes to tell whatever story they want to tell. You can't read one chapter of a book and then assess that the rest is not worth reading. You don't watch the first ten minutes of a movie and leave the theatre. If you do either, then you don't (in my opinion) deserve to have an opinion on the entirety of the book/movie/show if you're only basing it on what little you've seen. Likewise, you can't watch one episode of a soap opera and assess that the next six months is not worth watching, or that the past 54 years were not worth making. Everything deserves a chance. Even soap operas.

Without soap operas, the serialized primetime drama never would have happened. Or, it would have not caught on with the same popularity. "Dallas" was a success for CBS because it adopted a serialized storytelling format and used one of the oldest soap opera tricks in the book: a major cliffhanger ("Who Shot JR?"). And cliffhangers themselves were done regularly on movie serials in the 30s/40s. The difference is that while a movie serial needed a cliffhanger for their 12-chapter stories, soap operas had to keep going. So they not only have to make sure their Friday-episode cliffhanger had viewers impatient for Monday, but they needed to make sure the resolution wasn't immediate, they took the time to tell the story, because if you invest in the show and their stories long enough, the pay-off at the end would be worth it. For example, "The Edge of Night" featured a four-month trial against Julie Jamison, who was charged with killing Harry Constable. At the close of the trial, her lawyer, Adam Drake, delivered a THIRTY-MINUTE closing statement. And this was when soap operas were still presented live. So essentially the actor was the only one to speak for the entire half hour (barring commercials). And the pay-off was worth it, because even though Adam's closing statement didn't get Julie a not-guilty verdict, he was able to get Ernie Tuttle to confess at the last minute, thus saving Julie's life.

Without soap operas, the world would never have been exposed to talent such as James Earl Jones, Julianne Moore, Ray Liotta, Susan Sarandon, and hundreds more, all of whom had their start on a soap opera. Unfortunately, it's more trendy for most Hollywood stars to look back on their soap opera days as "it was a job" or "yeah, let's not talk about that", but the truth is, many of them had their start on soaps. For example, Susan Sarandon was a regular on "A World Apart" during its entire run (1970-1971), and Tommy Lee Jones portrayed Dr. Mark Toland on "One Life to Live" for a good four years. Julianne Moore won an Emmy for her portrayal of twin half-sisters/cousins Frannie & Sabrina Hughes on "As the World Turns". Brad Pitt had a short-term role (that would have become contract if not for a change in headwriters) on "Another World". Robin Wright Penn went from playing Kelly Capwell on "Santa Barbara" to Princess Buttercup in The Princess Bride.

Heck, some celebrities even join a soap opera AFTER they've become famous. Dana Andrews joined "Bright Promise" in the late 60s after his movie career was winding down, Elizabeth Taylor famously played Helena Cassadine on "General Hospital" in 1981, and James Franco is currently playing murderous artist Franco on "General Hospital". Lloyd Bridges and Geraldine Page were well-established actors when they agreed to their major roles in the two-hour pilot for "Loving". My god, just look at the upcoming Dark Shadows movie by Tim Burton and Johnny Depp! It may just be an upcoming (one of these days) gothic/horror/supernatural movie to most people, but "Dark Shadows" had its start as a daytime soap (1966-1971), two theatrical films (1970 and 1971), a primetime revival (1991), and a not-picked-up primetime revival (2004). It was one of the few soaps to ever be rebroadcast after its cancellation (it was on SciFi Channel for a good 12 years, and in syndication before), and the only daytime soap to have all its surviving episodes available on VHS and DVD.

Without soap operas, television as we know it would be vastly different. In the 1950s, the huge success of the soap opera allowed the networks to actually pay for the production of their primetime shows. "As the World Turns" had a then-unprecendented 20-year run as the highest-rated soap opera in the world (1958-1978, a record that went unbeat until "The Young and the Restless" had its 21st year as highest-rated this year), and was so successful that it led to a PRIMETIME spin-off centered around Lisa Hughes ("Our Private World", which only lasted a season). The longterm storytelling format wasn't used in primetime (in the way that soaps used them) until 1964's "Peyton Place", and didn't really kick off on a primetime soap like "Dallas" until its third year (with "Who Shot JR?"). The soap opera perfected the longterm story arc format, which are used on many primetime shows today, although most television critics seem to think the concept is new.

Without soap operas, a variety of social issues and taboo subjects likely would not have been handled as well as they were on soap operas. When Pat Matthews had an abortion in 1964 on "Another World", it was a whole 8 years before primetime even had such a storyline (on the sitcom "Maude" in 1972). Pap Smears, Open-Heart Surgery, and facelifts were on "Guiding Light" and "The Young and the Restless" before you saw them on the likes of "ER" or "St. Elsewhere". There was even an incest storyline on "Loving" that ABC forced the writers to cut short so they could advertise a tv-movie they made as the first time television had a story about incest. The sitcom and soap opera parody "Soap" had a "gay" character in Jody Walker, as did "Dynasty" with Steven Carrington. Yet, as was the case with primetime, they eventually became more bisexual than gay. "One Life to Live" had gay teenager Billy Douglas (played by Ryan Phillippe) before "Dawson's Creek" had Jack McPhee.

Soap operas have such a rich and wonderful history, that it's a pity that today most people only associate it with cheap trashy stories, one-note characters, and young inexperienced actors.

That's why I was mad. Because it's not what you said, disneyboy. It's just that soap operas are in such a state that people who never invested their time in them think that soap operas aren't worth saving.

albert

[PeterPanfan]

I've never really watched any soap operas, but I've never looked down upon them at all.

I strongly agree with Albert's statement that a person has no fair viewpoint on something until they've seen/read/heard all of it.

[disneyboy20022]

Escapay...I was thinking....about what you said....and I agree.....and I don't think Soap Opera's are useless....I've taken the time to think....they have inpired movies and tv shows where in such shows I have never considered Soap Operas but in a way....that was their source

WWE - RAW SMACKDOWN ECW.....If you watch it enough you can kinda come to the conclusioin its like a soap opera in a indirect approach.....who's going to turn their back on who.....who's gonna dump a diva or for example the drama going on between Batista and Rey Mysterio.....their fighting because Batista feels Rey betrayed him by stopping him from winning the champion belt....but they have been friends since the longest time....

Although it does have somedy....E.I. Christina Jericho,,, Big show and Jericho called Beauty and the Beast....Triple H going to find Shawn Michaels at soem sort of restraunt and then he agrees to form DX again...it's hilarious....so they are the comedy relief for Raw


Smallville - A favorite of mine which the one way I can tell who's who is because they are documented....in the comic books....and if you've watched that there are a lot of drama stuff in that


ER - This is I believe heavily a soap action drama.....which obviously it got its roots or ideas from some of the best of the Soap operas....Carter slept with Abby and Abby slept with Nuka and Carter goes overseas for a while..... It's probably the closest thing to a soap opera I have watched.....

and its not that I dont see a use for soap opera's....I do now.....its just I at this point in my life don't see myself watching one of the daily Soap Operas....that's not to say I never will....There's too many characters for me to keep up with the history and I don't find the time to watch it....because other things are on that I know I like....and Soap Opera's right now are hard to follow because I don't know who's who...maybe when a New soap opera opens up i'll watch it.....like I said...it's not like I will never watch one.....im sure I will and be drawn to it like I never thought I would be able to when the time comes should it happen...

[Escapay]

Fifty-four years, five months, and fifteen days ago, the world's first half-hour soap opera, "As the World Turns" debuted on CBS. Its opening scene was in the kitchen, as Nancy Hughes greeted her husband, Dr. Chris Hughes, with a simple, "Good morning, dear."

"As the World Turns" was different from other soap operas of the time. It focused heavily on the characters, on their internal problems and their motivations. It was a kitchen-sink drama, many of the best conversations took place in the home. Thanks to its half-hour length, you could watch Penny Hughes muse about life with her mother Nancy, or newlyweds Bob and Lisa trying to get the rest of the Hughes family accept her as Bob's new wife. It was all about family. From 1958 to 1978, it was the highest-rated soap opera on the air, a feat not matched nor beaten until "The Young and the Restless" in 2009 (its 21st year as #1). The series had its ups and downs in storytelling, in actors, in writers. But at the heart of the show, like all soaps, is the endearing family drama. The characters you come to know and love as your own.

Today, September 17, 2010, marked the end of an era. Episode 13,858 featured something unique to the past 13,857 episodes. Rather than focus on conflict or unresolved silly stories of the past, it was a reflection on a normal day in Oakdale, Illinois. Dr. Bob Hughes was clearing out his office, his retirement finally catching up to him. He narrates throughout, offering sage words as we see the normalcy unfold and return to such beloved characters.

Jack and Carly find out they're pregnant. Again. And to show there's no bad blood between them, Dusty and Janet ask Jack to be Lorenzo's godfather.

Barbara and Henry had one last dance. And boy was it a good one. Ever since Hal died five years ago, I never expected Barbara to ever find real happiness again. I'm glad Henry is helping to slightly fill that void. It's a quirky relationship, but one that works.

John returned, swept Lucinda away, and the two are off to be irresponsible lovers once again. They even traded a few barbs with Lisa, John's ex (and Bob's ex...and James' ex...and many other mens' ex). That woman has had more than one ring on her finger.

Tom and Margo found themselves suddenly with Empty Nest Syndrome, as their only son, Casey, moved out with Alison. But at least they still have each other, after all these years. And, as Tom pointed out, they can make love wherever they want.

Despite only just getting a heart transplant, Chris was suddenly able to go back home, get on his knee, and propose to Katie. He already knew the answer, but he wanted to do it anyway. Luke, perhaps the only character to not have a true happy ending, was allowed to listen to Reid's heart, pumping away inside Chris. Brought a lump to my throat.

Paul and Emily, friends since childhood, lovers on-and-off since adolescence, were completely luvvy with each other. It was nice to see Emily happy again, especially as she often was at odds with most of the Hughes family when she stole Tom from Margo.

And then there is Lily and Holden. Lily and Holden. Just writing their names brings back so many memories. I remember when Faith was born. When Rose came into their lives. When Lily went to Simon. When Holden was presumed dead. When Damian came back. Lily and Holden. The happy ending every fan wanted to see. Alas...that will be a story never told. Instead, we get a moment between the two, one that suggests they will have a future. In the meantime, the two will instead live hopefully ever after.

Bob and Kim, the backbone of the show for 50 years (well, 38 for Kim), eagerly starting the next chapter in their lives. There would be no more stress from the hospital. No more marital strife. No more affairs. Susan wished her good friend and former lover a happy retirement, making sure to tell Kim to take care of him. And as Kim went on out the door, Bob lingered. He looked around his office one last time, a pensive look on his face. As he reached for the switch, he said, to no one and everyone, two simple words. "Good night."

For longtime fans, maybe it wasn't enough. There were no flashbacks, no surprise returns, no last-chance reprieves. It was just another day in Oakdale. And to me, that is what made it the most satisfying ending I've seen for a soap opera. I laughed, I cried. I cursed at the screen when Lily couldn't say "I love you" to Holden. I cursed again when he simply left, promising to call tomorrow. But then I smiled. All would be right with them.

Television may not seem too different to most people. But for fans tuning in these past 54 years, the world stopped turning.

Fare thee well, "As the World Turns", and thanks for fifty-four years of love and heartbreak, of friends and enemies, of drama and laughter.

Thanks for Nancy and Chris Hughes, their extensive family, for the Lowells, for the Stewarts. Thanks for the Snyder clan and the amazing Lucinda Walsh. Thanks for spunky teenager Penny Hughes, for young Tom growing up before our very eyes. Thanks for James Stenbeck and all his dastardly deeds. Thanks for Frannie and her twin/cousin Sabrina, for Holden jumping down out of the barn and scaring Lily. Thanks for Craig and Sierra (but no thanks for the death of their son Bryant!). Thanks for the spicy-hot relationship that was Duncan and Jessica. Thanks for Dani and Ryder and Nikki. Thanks for Georgia and Eddie, for Alec's murder (and Margo's juiciest story in years), thanks for letting "Another World" live on by moving Jake and Vicky from Bay City to Oakdale. Thanks for Lucy and Aaron's odd-but-doomed relationship. Thanks for Rosanna kicking ass (no thanks to her losing her spine and become a shell of her former self). Thanks for Simon Fraser and his crazy sister Celia. Thanks for the epic love stories that were Bob and Lisa (then Bob and Kim), for Tom and Margo, for Steve and Betsy, for Lily and Holden, for Jack and Carly, for Simon and Katie, for Will and Gwen, Noah and Luke. Behind the scenes, thanks for Douglas Marland and his unparalleled success with the series from 1985 to 1993. Thanks for Hogan Sheffer's re-energized revitalization of the series from 2000 to 2005. Thanks for so many characters and so many stories that everything I listed only scratches the surface. Thanks for giving us a world worth watching, turning on endlessly in our hearts.

albert

[Disney's Divinity]

Thanks so much for that, Escapay. Unfortunately, I ended up missing most of the last few weeks because college started up, but I was watching all of the summer and last year. I actually had grown to really like this soap opera, and it made me think a little differently of "soaps." And not to be so condescending about them.

It kills me that Reid died, and that Noah and Luke were only vaguely reunited. At least Jack and Carly were stable here at the end. And even though Holden kind of annoys me, I hated that he and Lily didn't get back together. They did go well together. Too bad I missed Lucinda's earlier years. I really liked her return at the end here, so I can only imagine how awesome she was when she first came on the show. And I agree that Barbra and Henry had a lot of charisma as a couple.

Overall, this depresses me a little more than I expected. I didn't really expect it to impact me too much because, like I said, I only first tuned in for Luke and Noah, but I'm actually sad that it's over. I've grown to like most of the cast beyond just those two. And it's still so horrible to imagine a show that's been on this long was canceled. Television seems to be losing the few legacies it has.

[Escapay]

You're welcome, Divinity. I'm glad you were able to catch the show during its last year and a half, and you can always go to youtube to look up classic stories and moments (that's how I watched most anything pre-1999, when I first started watching the series).

Lily and Holden were my rock on the show, the main reason I would tune in even though I wasn't a regular "regular" viewer (one who caught it each day at 2 pm). So long as they were still featured (no matter how good or bad their story was), I would watch them when I can. It just killed me to see their story not fully resolved. But I'm glad it ended with such hope.

And Lucinda's early years were amazing! She was a no-holds-barred ball-busting bitch in her heydey, the show's answer to "Dynasty"'s Alexis Carrington. She was someone who could hold her own against anybody (and often did). But she still had a lot of heart, especially when dealing with her daughters Sierra and Lily. I still get chills watching the scene when Dusty and Lily first meet Holden. He was quite a rebel back in the day.

Compared to other soap finales I watched (either live, on tape, or via youtube), this one I think was the most satisfying. It didn't try to be anything grand or overtly emotional (which made it all the more emotional!). It didn't resort to gimmicks ("Another World" and the lovesick gorilla or the "Loving" murders, for example), or mocking itself ("Sunset Beach" and the "it was all a dream" sequence within a "it was all a dream" sequence). It didn't jump one year into the future ("Guiding Light", which I liked, but we could've done without it and they could've ended it in the present day). And most of all, it didn't end on a cliffhanger ("Love of Life", "The Edge of Night", "Capitol", "Generations", "Port Charles"). It just featured our characters, living their lives for the first time without worrying about how it will affect others. No more excess baggage, no more drama. Just life. And it was worth watching.

albert

[dvdjunkie]

Now if they could get rid of "The Young and the Worthless".......err, "Restless" CBS might be able to get on with some decent daytime programming.