"As the World Turns" (1956) TV series 1956-????

User Rating:

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Creator:

Irna Phillips

Seasons:

1 | unknown

Release Date:

2 April 1956 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Set in the fictional town of Oakdale, this long-running serial focuses on the relationships and difficulties of its inhabitants.

Plot Keywords:

Atwt | Daytime | Daytime Show | Beautiful Woman | Soap Opera

Awards:

69 wins & 350 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Tue. Nov. 10	2:00 PM	CBS
Wed. Nov. 11	2:00 PM	CBS

Cast

Maura West	...	Carly Tenney / ... (683 episodes, 1995-2009)
Michael Park	...	Jack Snyder / ... (654 episodes, 1997-2009)
Roger Howarth	...	Paul Ryan / ... (630 episodes, 2003-2009)
Terri Colombino	...	Katie Peretti / ... (595 episodes, 1998-2009)
Marie Wilson	...	Meg Snyder / ... (574 episodes, 2005-2009)
Grayson McCouch	...	Dusty Donovan / ... (506 episodes, 2003-2009)
Kelley Menighan Hensley	...	Emily Stewart / ... (493 episodes, 1989-2009)
Jennifer Landon	...	Gwen Norbeck Munson / ... (480 episodes, 2005-2008)
Jesse Lee Soffer	...	Will Munson (476 episodes, 2004-2008)
Jon Hensley	...	Holden Snyder (470 episodes, 1985-2009)
Ellen Dolan	...	Margo Montgomery Hughes / ... (414 episodes, 1989-2009)
Trent Dawson	...	Henry Coleman (413 episodes, 1998-2009)
Martha Byrne	...	Lily Walsh Snyder / ... (377 episodes, 1985-2008)
Colleen Zenk Pinter	...	Barbara Ryan / ... (371 episodes, 1978-2009)
Van Hansis	...	Luke Snyder (347 episodes, 2005-2009)
Don Hastings	...	Bob Hughes / ... (311 episodes, 1960-2009)
Austin Peck	...	Brad Snyder (298 episodes, 2007-2009)
Alexandra Chando	...	Maddie Coleman (294 episodes, 2005-2009)
Elizabeth Hubbard	...	Lucinda Walsh / ... (288 episodes, 1984-2009)
Zach Roerig	...	Casey Hughes / ... (274 episodes, 2005-2007)

Runtime:

Netherlands:55 min (including commercials) | USA:30 min (1956-1975) | USA:60 min (1975-)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White (1956-1967) | Color (1967-)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital (1999-) | Mono (1956-1987) | Stereo (1987-1999)

Certification:

Netherlands:6 | USA:TV-14

Filming Locations:

Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Procter & Gamble Productions (PGP)

Trivia:

The daytime serial "Another World" (1964) was conceived as a spinoff of this show. It was submitted to CBS, which decided not to air the new program. After "Another World" was picked up by NBC, CBS refused to allow any major characters from this show to appear on the new one. However, one minor character, Mitchell Dru (Geoffrey Lumb), who had also appeared on the CBS soap opera "The Brighter Day" (1954), did appear on 'Another World".

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: On the episode that aired 1-4-05, Julia refers to Holden (Jon Hensley) as "Jon" in an emotional scene at the Lakeview Lounge while talking to Lisa.

Quotes:

[Dusty is sitting on a bench. Lucinda approaches him eating ice cream]
Lucinda Walsh: Hey. Hey, buddy! That's my bench.
Dusty Donovan: Hey, I pay my taxes, and I was here first.
Lucinda Walsh: Now wait a minute! I had it first, I just got up for a seventh inning stretch. Okay?
Dusty Donovan: Well you didn't leave a sign so you're outta luck!
[Short pause]
Dusty Donovan: Okay, I'll share. C'mere.
Lucinda Walsh: [Reluctant] Okay. I'll share.
[Sits down]
Dusty Donovan: What have you got there?
[...]

Movie Connections:

Featured in The 33rd Annual Daytime Emmy Awards (2006) (TV)

The classic soap opera

This show, the first half-hour soap opera, had the classic soap opera setting - a suburb with two families who were good friends. Three and later four or five generations of these families were featured. The two families were the Hughes (middle-class) and the wealthier Lowell family. Chris and Nancy Hughes had a more secure marriage than did Jim and Claire Lowell. In fact, Chris's sister had an affair with Jim, who later divorced and was killed. The show was the first to offer the teen romance of Penny and Jeff. Penny's friend Ellen, after being rejected by Don Hughes, had an affair with a married, older doctor and bore an illegitimate son The Hughes family's storylines were more conventional and less plot driven, but those of the Lowell family were daring for their time. Penny and Jeff eloped, but the marriage was annulled. Later, they had a grand wedding to which the viewers were actually invited to attend at the end of the program. The show moved very slowly in the early days. The ratings were not the greatest, but eventually this show became the number one rated soap opera. 1960 proved to be a good year for the show. Don Hastings, Henderson Forsythe, Patricia Bruder, and Eileen Fulton all joined the show that year. Ms. Fulton, as Lisa, was the first great bad lady who was hated by the public. The role was originally intended to be a minor, short role, but the performances of Ms. Fulton insured that the audience would immediately notice the character. In 1965, the production company and network spun-off Lisa to a twice-a-week primetime soap opera called Our Private World. Irna Phillips, the show's creator and headwriter, left the show in the late 1960s. The show struggled creatively. Eventually Ms. Phillips returned, but the ratings had suffered. Ms. Phillips killed off a lot of the Lowell relatives during a short period of time. She was eventually fired from the show herself. Two other headwriting teams (Robert Sonderberg and Edith Sommer, Ralph Ellis and Eugenie Hunt) were able to keep the show interesting. (Others had failed.) But, later, a former actor from the show, Douglas Marland, became the headwriter on two occasions. By the time of his second term, the show had lost so many of the previous characters and had failed to add any new, interesting ones that the show seemed lost. Mr. Marland allowed the unthinkable to happen when the sister-in-law of the show's leading physician (Kim) who had once had an affair with the doctor, was allowed to marry him after the death of her sister. The show continued its downward slide while Mr. Marland and his successors wrote the show. Helen Wagner (Nancy), Don Hastings (Bob), and Eileen Fulton (Lisa) continue on the program today. And the show lights up whenever these performers are given occasionally good storylines or even scenes. But the show has continued to stray away from the core families - always a bad sign for a soap opera.