FIRST IMPRESSIONS: Lynn Herring

In this week's "First Impressions" column, We Love Soaps editor Roger Newcomb gives his first impressions of new AS THE WORLD TURNS actress Vanessa Ray and her character, Teri Ciccone.

AS THE WORLD TURNS' Lynn Herring (Audrey Coleman)
NEWCOMB: Lynn Herring's Audrey, Henry's mother, showed up at Henry's door at the Lakeview at the end of Monday's episode. He was not happy to see her and spent most of Tuesday trying to get rid of her. Henry took her to Brad and Katie's for dinner and Audrey quickly won them over, much to Henry's chagrin. Audrey seemed like Iris Dumbrowski 2.0 at first, not quite as trashy but a bit quirky, but by the end of Tuesday, when Audrey and Henry talked about watching TV in bed together when he was a kid, Herring made me feel something for the character. By Friday's episode though, the small sign of heart was gone and it was all about Audrey's manipulations, whatever they may be. She somehow arranged for Vienna to return, and swiped some hair from Henry's hairbrush for a mysterious DNA test. The show obviously has a plan for the character, but I'm hoping they do run with it too fast. As a longtime Lynn Herring fan I had mixed emotions about her joining AS THE WORLD TURNS. The show is telling most stories at a breakneck pace and missing all the beats that Herring could play so well. But it is fabulous to have her on television again. So far I have to give this one mixed reviews. The moments of goodness have been mostly Herring overcoming the writing to shine instead of the writing making me intrigued about the character.