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

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 & 352 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Wed. Dec. 16	2:00 PM	CBS
Thur. Dec. 17	2:00 PM	CBS

Cast

Maura West	...	Carly Tenney / ... (692 episodes, 1995-2009)
Michael Park	...	Jack Snyder / ... (672 episodes, 1997-2009)
Roger Howarth	...	Paul Ryan / ... (642 episodes, 2003-2009)
Terri Colombino	...	Katie Peretti / ... (603 episodes, 1998-2009)
Marie Wilson	...	Meg Snyder / ... (583 episodes, 2005-2009)
Grayson McCouch	...	Dusty Donovan / ... (509 episodes, 2003-2009)
Kelley Menighan Hensley	...	Emily Stewart / ... (502 episodes, 1989-2009)
Jon Hensley	...	Holden Snyder (482 episodes, 1985-2009)
Jennifer Landon	...	Gwen Norbeck Munson / ... (480 episodes, 2005-2008)
Jesse Lee Soffer	...	Will Munson (476 episodes, 2004-2008)
Trent Dawson	...	Henry Coleman (426 episodes, 1998-2009)
Ellen Dolan	...	Margo Montgomery Hughes / ... (421 episodes, 1989-2009)
Martha Byrne	...	Lily Walsh Snyder / ... (377 episodes, 1985-2008)
Colleen Zenk Pinter	...	Barbara Ryan / ... (376 episodes, 1978-2009)
Van Hansis	...	Luke Snyder (356 episodes, 2005-2009)
Don Hastings	...	Bob Hughes / ... (313 episodes, 1960-2009)
Austin Peck	...	Brad Snyder (307 episodes, 2007-2009)
Alexandra Chando	...	Maddie Coleman (297 episodes, 2005-2009)
Elizabeth Hubbard	...	Lucinda Walsh / ... (291 episodes, 1984-2009)

Also Known As:

Così gira il mondo (Italy) (correct spelling) [it]

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:

Dr. Susan Stewart: Oh, sorry, sorry. I was out yesterday because of the stupid wedding and I had to stop by the hospital.
Barbara Ryan: What wedding?
Dr. Susan Stewart: Oh, that's right, you weren't invited. Your son married my daughter.
Barbara Ryan: What? That's impossible. Paul's still in jail.
Dr. Susan Stewart: They got married in the cell. It was everything a mother could hope for, cement floors, iron bars, armed guards, and a son-in-law who's a murderer.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Try Before You Die: (#2.4)" (2006)

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.