The Hughges family was back in full force, at least for a day, on Wednesday's episode of AS THE WORLD TURNS. Riley/Adam, Margo and Tom decided to throw Casey a surprise party to celebrate his getting accepted back into Oakdale University.What a treat to see Bob, Kim, Lisa, Tom, Margo, Casey and Adam at the same place at the same time! And then to have everyone trying to explain the family history to Hunter - like the fact that he has a half brother, Daniel, fathered by Tom - was hilarious.
AS THE WORLD TURNS has so much more depth when we see multiple generations of the Hughes family in action. Nancy apparently had a cold and wasn't there which was the only missing element keeping it from being a four generation celebration.
The party at Tom and Margo's house included an intriguing beat involving Bob. He asked Alison to bring in the next patient, which left her confused. When she mentioned it to Kim, Bob dismissed it as Ali not getting his sense of humor. Later, Bob called Kim "Lisa." Is something wrong with bob?
The only other story in the episode involved Emily, Susan and Larry, another family deep-rooted in ATWT history.
No other soap has the history that ATWT's has on the canvas, and most days that is completely ignored. But when the show actually uses the element that gives them their greatest advantage - multiple generations of family with actors who have been on the show for 30, 40, 50 years - the show can be magic and feel like home again.
That's so nice to hear that ATWT featured Bob, Kim and Lisa. If they did this a lot more often, perhaps I might tune in again on a regular basis.
ReplyDeleteIt definitely looks like Bob is getting a story of some sort. I hope whatever it is lasts a while and the whole family is involved.
ReplyDeleteIt was a great episode to be sure. I got the "warm fuzzies," watching the Hughes family together. I can never get enough of Bob and Kim. I'm not sure I like where they are going with Dr. Bob, but I will save it for the podcast :)
ReplyDeleteMichael, I got those same warm fuzzies watching the episode. I am a little worried about Bob, but at the same time I think it's great that it seems like they're giving Don Hastings a storyline. He's great. This could give us a powerful storyline full of vets. I'm going to be optimistic about this. :-)
ReplyDeleteI'm glad ATWT, which is one of the few soaps left on the air that can still do this kind of thing, did it for once. Had there been some promotion and publicity in advance, maybe it would even have influenced the daily ratings.
ReplyDeleteAs someone who works a lot with late life memory impairments, this need not be Alzheimer's. They could use the story to spotlight one of the many treatable causes of late life memory problems...and how such problems can sometimes be an important symptom of other things.
However, permit me to be maudlin for a second. Let us pretend this is ATWT's last year. And let us pretend that Bob really does have AD. Pretend that, as a consequence (true for the disease) he is carried more and more back into the past. This would be a great device for flashbacks and memories. And, perhaps accelerating things beyond reality (the truth is, in real life, Bob could live a healthy and productive life for years, even if he has early AD or its precursor), let's say that by the end of the year, Bob is forgetting lots of stuff.
In that case, it would be a great vehicle for people from his past to reminisce with him, and remind him, and visit him, and ... yes ... say goodbye to him.
I hope ATWT has miles to go...but if it doesn't, I hope the show might have the courage to harness the emotional depths that are possible if Bob's memory is failing.
MarkH, I agree. I hope ATWT has many years to come, but if it doesn't I hope there is some thought about the end. I really want the final scene to be between Nancy and Bob and I want the final line on the show to be Nancy saying "Goodnight, Dear" just as her "Good morning, Dear" was the first line in 1956. I'm sad to think about my soaps going off the air, but they are such a treasure and TV history, and that history needs to be honored.
ReplyDeleteI was very excited to see Bob! Lisa! Kim! All in one scene!
ReplyDeleteHowever, I'm not happy if all they could come up with for Bob is an Alzheimer's story. Especially since ATWT has already done the best Alzheimer's story with Nancy and Dan.
If it's more complex than that, OK, fine. I just hope they don't paint Bob into a corner. But then again I should be saying prayers of thanks that they even remembered who he was!
My first thought wasn't Alzheimer's actually. I would love this to be a story about Bob with his family supporting. But I have to admit the first thing that popped into my head was that whatever this was would be a plot point to reveal that Riley is Adam. Don't ask me how and I'm probably way off base, but that was my first thought.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed seeing them on the screen. After seeing how Bob was acting yesterday, I think there is a storyline coming up.
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