As The World Turns
UPDATED: ATWT's "Finale Friday" Share your Thoughts on the Final Episode of the Series!
Photo Credit: JPI Studios
The final episode aired today of As the World Turns. And while we have heard from many of you via Twitter and Facebook today, and since it is “Finale Friday”, On-Air On-Soaps knows that everyone is certain to has an have an opinion on the ending. From Luke listening to Reid’s heart beating inside Chris’s chest, to Holden and Lily’s tearful and heartfelt scene, to Dr. Bob spinning the globe on his desk as he says goodbye to his career and heads for retirement, and the two references to Nancy Hughes’s famous line, “Goodnight Dear”, their was certainly sentimental value in the final episode.
But what are your thoughts on the finale? Did it disappoint? Were you satisfied? And, what are you memories of ATWT? Now that the final episode has aired, was it a one, two, or three hankie moment for you, or not at all? We are sure many have mixed- emotions, and especially long time viewers of the soap.
So, we have opened up this post for you to voice your final farewell thoughts on the conclusion of As the World Turns, today, after you have watched the final episode.
It’s hard to say goodbye to another soap and watch it die, and certainly to say “so long” to some of the enduring characters you have loved to love over the last several years, and in some cases decades, from the fictional town of Oakdale. But the time is upon us and as they say, all good things must come to an end. We look forward to your thoughts, good, bad, frustrating or indifferent.
As The World Turns
ATWT Alum Martha Byrne Pays Tribute to Eileen Fulton: “The Original Soap Star Who Paved the Way for the Likes of a Susan Lucci or Andrea Evans”
Tributes and remembrances are pouring in for the the late Eileen Fulton, who passed away on July 14th at the age of 91. Fulton broke the soap opera mold back in the early 60’s when she was cast to play Lisa Miller on As the World Turns, who would turn out to be the first villiainess, vixen, and homewrecker of daytime television.
Fans of the soap loved to love to hate her for how she destroyed many lives in her quests to nab a husband; especially one she had set her sights set on. In fact, Lisa was married 8 times during the history of the show. Fulton was with ATWT on and off until the final year of the show in 2010.
Martha Byrne, who has been Fulton’s castmate for a time (Bryne played Lily Snyder from 1985 to 1989 and then again from 1993-2008 where she also played Rose D’Angelo), took to her account on x to share her thoughts on what Eileen meant to the genre, and also spoke on how Fulton handled not being as front and center on the soap operas as the years went by.
Photo: JPI
“What can I say about Eileen Fulton. The original soap star who paved the road for the likes of a Susan Lucci or Andrea Evans,” began Bryne. “Since Eileen started on ATWT when the show was live, there aren’t enough pieces of history for us to truly grasp the enormity of her stardom and presence in the entertainment business. I remember being so impressed that she was a writer. The best part was she would use real stories from behind the scenes and change the names. Maybe that was her way of giving the audience a wink to include them even more.”
Photo: CBS
Bryne went to share, “She (Eileen) loved her fans and she had many. I went to her one woman shows and the place was always packed. As the years went on and her role wasn’t as prominent as it had been she took it with class. I never heard her complain as many did who were frustrated they didn’t have a storyline. She was always a class act and a true pro who knew a storyline or another opportunity was only around the corner. She knew her value and was secure in herself. A national treasure who shaped the entire industry. Thank you Eileen. I’m sure there was a pink feather boa waiting for you just inside the pearly gates.”
So, what did you think about the sentiments shared by Martha on the legendary Eileen Fulton? Would you agree, as we have previously noted, that Lisa as played by Eileen, was really the prototype for all soap opera “bad girls” to follow? Did you appreciate the fact that while having a more diminished role over the last few decades of ATWT, Eileen took it in stride? Share your thoughts via the comment section below.
What can I say about Eileen Fulton. The original soap star who paved the road for the likes of a Susan Lucci or Andrea Evans. Since Eileen started on ATWT when the show was live there aren’t enough pieces of history for us to truly grasp the enormity of her stardom and presence… pic.twitter.com/bN3skb2Rws
— Martha Byrne (@MarthaByrne10) July 20, 2025
The iconic Eileen Fulton, who was daytime’s first bad girl as Lisa Miller on As the World Turns, has died at the age of 91. According to the obituary on her passing, Fulton died earlier this week on July 14th in Asheville, North Carolina, after a period of declining health.
Fulton was born Margaret Elizabeth McLarty in Asheville on September 13, 1933. After studying acting in New York City, she changed her name to Eileen Fulton, when in 1960 she was cast in the film, Girl of the Night, co-starring with Anne Francis.
Eileen would change the face of daytime drama when in 1960 she was cast as the disruptor to the family dynamic, Lisa Miller, on the CBS soap opera. Throughout her ATWT run, the character of Lisa would eventually be married eight times to: Bob Hughes (1960–1964), John Eldridge (1965–1967), Michael Shea (1969–1970), Grant Coleman (1975–1979) ,Whit McColl (1982–1984), Earl Mitchell (1986–1987), Eduardo Grimaldi (1994–1995), and Martin Chedwyn (1996).
Photo: CBS
ATWT historians know that Lisa’s full name by the time the series went off the air in 2010 was: Lisa Miller Hughes Eldridge Shea Colman McColl Mitchell Grimaldi Chedwyn. Fulton played the role with only brief interruptions until the show was cancelled that year making her one of the longest-running tenured soap opera actors in US history. Other performers who took on the role of Lisa in Fulton’s absence included: Jane Powell, Maeve McGuire, Pamela King, Betsy Von Furstenberg, Lynn Rogers and Carmen Duncan.
Throughout her time on ATWT, it was Fulton’s eagerness to play Lisa as a villainess that contributed to the character’s popularity and therefore its longevity. She was inducted into the Soap Opera Hall of Fame in 1998 and was awarded a Daytime Emmy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2004. In addition, in 1988, Fulton received her first-ever Daytime Emmy Award nomination in the category of Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Daytime Drama Series.
The legendary star was also infamous for the grandmother clause she inserted into her contract that guaranteed she would never have to play a grandmother on the soap. In an interview with the LA Times in 2000 she shared, “At that time, grandmothers had no romance at all – and I wasn’t about to let that happen to me.” At some point, this all changed and she became OK with the idea of grandmother-hood. At one point, ATWT fans were so angry at the manipulative villainess played by Fulton that she had to employ a bodyguard to protect her.
Photo: CBS
When Futon stepped away from the show, at one point, she left to star in ATWT”s 1965 spinoff Our Private World, which aired Wednesday and Friday nights on CBS. In the story, Lisa had fled Oakdale after dumping Bob to move to Chicago, where she wed the wealthy John Eldridge (Nicolas Coster, who later would play Eduardo Grimaldi). Our Private World was canceled after four months on the air, and Fulton went back to As the World Turns in 1966.
When Eileen received her Daytime Emmy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2004, she was part of a group of actors who also received the honor that year including: her ATWT co-stars, Don Hastings and Helen Wagner, plus Ruth Warrick, Frances Reid, John Clarke, Ray MacDonnell, Don Hastings, Jeanne Cooper, and Rachel Ames.
Photo: JPI
For a time early in her career, Fulton not only was appearing in As The World Turns, which at that time was broadcast live, she was simultaneously appearing on Broadway in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf and off-Broadway in the long-running musical The Fantasticks.
Fulton performed her cabaret act for many years in venues around New York and Los Angeles. In 1970, she co-authored her first autobiography, How My World Turns. In 1995 she co-authored a second autobiography, As My World Still Turns, to celebrate her 35th anniversary on As the World Turns. She also authored a series of mystery novels. In 2019, Eileen retired from show business and moved to Black Mountain, North Carolina.
Photo: JPI
She is survived by her brother, Charles Furman McLarty (Karen) of Black Mountain; niece Katherine Morris (David) and their children, Everly Ann Morris and Easton Lane Morris of Fort Mill, S.C.; and sister-in-law Chris Page McLarty of Camden, Maine. She was pre-deceased by her parents and her brother, James Fulton McLarty.
Share your remembrances and condolences for Eileen Fulton via the comment section below, but first check out this classic early scene from ATWT featuring Fulton as Lisa, and the 2004 Daytime Emmy Lifetime Achievement Award presentation.
As The World Turns
ATWT Alum Tala Ashe Scores Tony Award Nomination; OLTL Alum Jonathan Groff and ‘Glee’ Favorite Darren Criss Also Receive Nods
Nominations for the 78th annual Tony Awards were announced Thursday morning honoring the best in the recent Broadway season.
The awards will be presented on June 8th live from Radio City Music Hall live on CBS and streaming on Paramount+ with Wicked star Cynthia Erivo, a Tony winner for The Color Purple, hosting the show.
While musicals Buena Vista Social Club, Maybe Happy Ending and Death Becomes Her topped the nominations with 10 each, the list of Hollywood names and former soap opera alums who will be part of Broadway’s bigges makes it interesting drama for Broadway’s biggest nights.
Photo: JPI
In addition, there were big time snubs including: Denzel Washington, Jake Gyllenhaal and Kieran Culkin, who failed to make the nominations list, while other big names including: George Clooney are in the running.
Soap fans should take note that Tala Ashe (ex-Ameera Ali-Aziz, As the World Turns – 2007) scored her first-ever Tony nomination in the Best Featured Actress in a play category for her performance in English. The play takes place in an Iranian classroom where four adult students and their teacher leapfrog through a linguistic playground, this is a funny, stunning triumph about the universal foibles of language and miscommunication.
Photo: JPI
On As the World Turns, Ashe’s Ameera became involved with Luke and Noah, after she fled Iraq when her mother died, after her protector, Noah’s father, the Colonel, was reassigned and imprisoned. Once in Oakdale, when he heard her sad story, Noah (Jake Silbermann) agreed to a marriage of convenience, upsetting then boyfriend Luke Snyder (Van Hansis).
Once again, Tony Award winner, Jonathan Groff (ex-Henry Mackler, One Life to Live -2007) had scored another nomination. This year for his star turn as Bobby Darin in the new musical, Just in Time. Groff is competing in the category alongside former Glee star, Darren Criss, who is nominated for his work as a retired robot in Maybe Happy Ending.
Photo: JPI
Interestingly enough, Jeb Brown who is nominated in the Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical for Dead Outlaw, was formerly the bandmate of Beyond the Gates and General Hospital star, Jon Lindstrom.
Audra McDonald made Tony history scoring her record-setting 11th overall nomination, this year for her starring role in the musical revival of Gypsy. However, she will face-off with former Pussycat Dolls singer, Nicole Scherzinger, who plays Norma Desmond in the latest adaption of Sunset Boulevard, where she is getting all the raves this Broadway season.
Photo: JPI
You can check out the full 78th annual Tony Award nominations here.
So, remember Tala from ATWT as Ameera? Jonathan from OLTL as Henry? Who do you think should take home a Tony Award next month in the Big Apple? Comment below.
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I am so sad that it is over. I have watched it for over 20 years. 🙁
I’m going to miss As the World Turns, especially the Snyder and Walsh families. I’ve watched ATWT practically since I was born, and I doubt I’ll ever follow a show for that long again. Heck, I doubt I’ll even watch a soap opera again (well, unless Van Hansis decides to star in another soap…).
I am going to miss the beautiful and talented Eileen Fulton as Lisa! The fact that the producers and writers refused to give her a storyline in over 15 years is one of the reasons this show had such bad ratings in recent years. Look at Jeanne Cooper on “Young and Restless”! A veteran of that show since the first year, Katherine still enjoys front burner stories to this day and that show is #1. Shame on you Chris Goutman, Jean Passante, and Proctor and Gamble for ignoring the biggest talent in “As the World Turn’s” company of actors!!! I will love you forever Eileen! Lisa will always be in my thoughts.
I agree …they put her on a shelf for so many years and that wasn’t right!
I’ll too follow another soap only if Van Hansis stars in it!
Very sad to see it end. Everyday the last few weeks has brought new tears. Watching for 30 years. Don’t know how to say goodbye to a show that I have been watching for so many years.
I agree I will not start watching any other shows unless of course my favorite ATWT actors should end up on them. The loss is just too difficult. First GL and now ATWT.
As the world stops turning is truly one of the saddest days of my life.54 years is a long time for anything to last.And i started watching 54 years ago.As much as I hated the massacre of the reid and luke storyline, I still will miss ATWT.This show has been a constant for most of my life.And there were so many wonderful characters and great acting.Times are changing and not for the better…when a great soap bites the dust and so many sleazy programs are becoming the norm, we are all in trouble! And i still say the luke reid storyline was one of the best.They were poetry in motion…loved them!!!
I loved the luke/reid storyline but the henry/babs storyline blew me away. The chemistry was electric and very raw and real with both couples. It’s a shame that these couples came together at the eleventh hour….
Hi mmc. I completely agree with you. I’m heartbroken, not just for myself, but for our beloved cast, who have lost their family in more ways than even we did. 🙁
I will miss Barbara, Kim and their families very, very much. Carjack and Janet had me weeping today. They are all amazing actors.
I will miss you ATWT! I have watched you since I was about 9 years old. Along with my grandmother, my mother, my brother and even my son! Thank you for the memories. What to do with my quiet time when I come home from work now….you will be missed!
As little girls staying with grandmother over the summers in the 1980s, my cousins and I were forced to watch the CBS soap lineup. We made the best of it though. We would choose our favorite World Turns’ characters and role play during every episode. Of course, the four of us always fought to be either Barbara or Lily. We wanted to be Barbara for the obvious reasons – she was gorgeous, charming and had those brilliant brown eyes, and Lily for being adorable and passionate! I actually remember one time playing James, which was super strange and didn’t sit very well with me. Anyways, I’ve been hooked on ATWT since those days with granny and continue to catch up on every week’s episodes on Saturday mornings. I’m so heartbroken to see the end of the show being so near, as I and many fans don’t necessarily know life without it. Knowing that there will be NO more Christmases with the Hughes family or drinks at the Lakeview Lounge depresses me greatly. The fact that Lucinda and Barbara will cease to exist beyond my imagination sickens me. Noone, not even CBS, should have the right to shut those two up! I think I’ve just lost my appetite, for the reality of Friday is just too tragic………..
Very sweet message but at the same time, very depressing.
Perfectly stated Nia. Those of us who have watched ATWT for most of our lives do not know life without it. Taking it away from us is heartbreaking…
.I have watched ATWT off and on over the past 20 yrs. I have watched more out of loyality for the past 2 yrs and then the character of Reid was introduced…his character was such a breath of fresh air. I became enchanted as most of you did with the beautiful love story of Luke and Reid. I was always kinda indifferent to the Nuke storyline, it never really moved me one way or the other, but Lure captured my heart completely by surprise. I can honestly say I fell in love with Luke and Reid right along with them. I have never felt that way about soap characters (although at one time I really did enjoy Jack and Carly..could care less now) Their love story was beautiful and I did not see 2 men falling in love I truly just saw 2 people falling in love and growing and learning from eachother. Watching the character of Reid going from closed off and afraid to love to opening himself up to the possibility of love and then finally deciding to put himself out there and let things happen was fantastic to watch. I found myself rooting for him the most out of all the characters. For the show to kill him when he was just starting to have a life that was full was beyond tragic ,it was cruel and devestating as a viewer to watch. I felt like I was taking that journey with Reid and to have it end the way it did leaving Luke and the viewers heartbroken was terrible. They could have come up with any number of endings that the fans would have been ok with, but this is not one of them. So with that said, I don’t care about the rest of the show, I have not been able to enjoy the epic fairy tale happy endings given to all the other couples on the show…it is like a slap in the face to watch after what they did to Luke, Reid and Noah. Everyone happy, Luke left alone and grieving, Reid dead and never getting to experience a full life, and Noah having to watch the love of his life devestated. I’m glad the show is ending is what I am left with as a viewer for about 20 years…how sad is that?
ITA Luke & Reid story was not about 2 men falling in love, just a beautiful love story… period. I feel like there was so much we were robbed of with them all for the sake of everyone else’s happy ending…
that was beautifully said and i couldn’t have done it better .thank you.
I agree with you 115% I feel so cheated you have no idea. 🙁
total agreement, i dont think i have seen any comment anywhere that says anyone liked the way their story ended, its just wrong and thats all there is to it.. i hope that in the last few days of the soap that this lost them viewers as its what they deserve for trying to over sensationalise and ending!
sad is i have dipped into the show on and off for 20 years, being a uk viewer it hasnt always been possible, i feel very sad that it has come to this really do x
I grew up watching this show. My mom watched it every day. I never thought this day would come. This feels like losing half of my family! I just can’t believe it’s happening. 🙁
To day As the world turns ends ,today it really ends. I have to repeat that over and over to let myself now it’s really a fact. I’m a Dutch ATWT fan, and I’m watching the show since I was a little kid. I started watching with my mom. Then I really got interessted in everything, and in the US episodes. (In the Netherlands, the only European country that airs ATWT, we are over 1,5 year behind) I e-mailed actors, got photo’s with autographs, watched interviews with actors on youtube. And I even went to a European fan event were I met Jake Silberman and Van Hansis, can’t even find the words to describe how that was, just the best day of my life! They were so wonderfull! So nice! I will never forget it! And I also met a lot of wonderfull people, at that event, and hyves (dutch profile site), who I wouldn’t have met whithout ATWT. I think there will never be a soap with such a great cast with people as Jake, Van, Maura, Micheal, Terri, Don, Marie, I can name evryone, because they are all fantastic. Just want to say thanks to the cast, the other fans, just to everybody! Forever love!
And I keep watching it on Dutch TV, for that 1,5 year, allthough it will be different.
Thank you ATWT!
It will be a sad 1.5 years, but at least you still have that 1.5 years. We here have nothing. 🙁
I love your beautiful country, by the way. I met my husband there. We had our first kiss on a canal boat. 🙂
I will miss ATWT, even though I don’t watch it everyday, it’s nice to know it was always “there” – when I was home from school or work, when I was sick, when it was a holiday.
I will miss not spending the holidays with the Snyders and Hughes’.
It was 54 years – but there were still so many stories that could have been told.
I think the genre needs to figure out how it can re-invent itself and make money. I think we started to see some of that with Soap Net, and now with web series. Viewers don’t watch the show when they air (i.e. 2 PM). We watch them whenever we have time and through many different vehicles – CBS.com, DVR/TiVo, youtube, on our mobile devices, computers, and yes sometimes on our TV screens. Just because the WAY we watch has changed does not mean that we stopped watching. I think the “average” viewer of soaps has changed too – from only being stay-at-home-moms and grandmoms to now being college students, high school students, working men and women, SMART, educated folks. We all come together to use soaps to escape the real world for an hour or so.
I’m so sad to lose ATWT. I feel as though a part of my family and a piece of my heart will be gone. Like I said, I may not notice or feel it next week that ATWT is gone, but in those moments when I’m down or need an old friend when I’m home sick or shutting out the world, it’s going to be very, very hard to look for my ATWT – and not find it there.
RIP ATWT! Thank you for all the comfort.
Love you.
I am really sorry to see ATWT end. I was a viewer who started watching Another World in 1990 during grad school and followed it until its cancellation (still a bitter pill after all these years). I was a big Ryan/Vicky fan (remember them??), and followed the just as enjoyable Vicky/Jake (the great Tom Eplin!) pairing to ATWT in 1999 and have watched ever since. I loved, loved, LOVED the Katie and Simon story and was sorry that they didn’t do more with those characters this winter after Brad passed away. I really enjoyed Van Hansis and his portrayal of Luke during his coming out, Luke and Noah, and thought the Luke and Reid love story (and their portrayers, Van and Eric Sheffer Stevens) was phenomenal. As I write this, I am realizing how much I appreciate the many wonderful actors and actresses who graced our screens over the years: The veterans like Don Hastings, Kathryn Hayes, Colleen Zenk, Eileen Fulton, and our beloved Helen Wagner, not to mention Terri Columbino, Michael Park, Trent Dawson, Maurra West – I could go on and on – I really enjoyed the ENTIRE cast and how they brought their respective characters to life. I always felt the New York soaps had fabulous acting (and more realistic, solid writing) when compared to the other shows. Unfortunately, I believe I am one of the many untold viewers who are not “counted” in the Nielsen ratings, which I think has had a profound effect on the soap opera genre and its future: I am a working professional with 2 children, but I record all episodes and watch them during the only real time I have to myself – working out riding my exercise bike or running on my treadmill “to Oakdale” , as my husband likes to say – LOL! Anyway, I am sorry to see ATWT go – and I wish the best of luck and happiness to the entire cast and crew and all others who brought me so much enjoyment these past 11 years! I hope that as you move on in your lives and careers, you look back with pride on how much you meant to so many.
Thank you Atwt for twenty six great years of family, fun, adventure, romance and intrigue. I will never forget the citizens of Oakdale. they have been like old friends for so long, i can’t imagine them not being in my life. 2pm is going to be so lonely now without a glimpse into the world of the Hughes family and the STewarts and of course the Snyders…Luke, Lily, Holden, Jack and their loved ones. I will miss them all. Thank you ATWT for so many great years. I thought the last ep was fitting and I loved don hastings voiceover. I would have loved to see more with Luke, but i did get the sense that he was at least content. I’ll never forget this beautiful show
My mom used to watch ATWT since it was first on, and I’ve carried on the tradition for most of my adult life. Today’s last episode was sad, I shed a few tears. Especially when Margo said good bye to her son as he was moving away. (My son just left for college too) .
I suppose as they say “All good things must come to an end”. It’s the end of an era, the end of something I grew up with, so it will be sad. Not only did I enjoy the show, I felt closer to my mom every time I tuned in ( she passed away 18 yrs ago).
I personally had hoped Janet and Jack would get back together, and Liberty and Parker (I liked the original Liberty better)! It would have been nice to see the old actors return for the final episode.But that being said, all and all, hats off to all of the actors and best wishes to all of you! Thankyou for entertaining us all these years. You’ll be missed……..
I will really miss this show. I just finished watching the last episode,needless to say I cried through the entire show.I wish all of the actors and crew the best of luck . I hope to see some of the actors in the future. There will never be another soap like ATWT. Thanks for all of the wonderful memories.
Aw, my beautiful Luke Snyder, I already miss you. Van Hansis is the most excellent actor ever and I am sad I won’t watch new episodes of Luke portrayed by this fantastic man. Really, Luke has been a huge part of my daily life during 5 years, I was always so happy when spoilers were telling us when Luke would appear on screen, and when Luke was happy and smiled this beautiful smile of his, I was happy too, and when he was sad (like in today’s episode) and cried those heartbreaking tears, I felt sad… Luke was the character I identified with the most, all that thanks to Van Hansis’ amazing portrayal. I now want to see Van plays a lot of other roles. I know I’ll love every one of them and I’ll always be Van’s first fan. And Van’s talent has to be rewarded for all the hard and gorgeous work he did on ATWT!
I cried through the enitre last show today and it was NOT for saying goodbye to the characters or tears of joy for the happy/sappy endings for all of the rest, it was for the cruel ending we (the fans) got for the most special love story ever to be written and the BEST actors I have ever seen, LuRe. For months we waited patiently…well, not so patiently for LuRe to say I love you and finally make love and to have our fairytale happy ending for LuRe. To get an ending worse than anything we could possibly imagine was so devastating. In all my years of watching soaps, tv shows, movies, I have NEVER had a love story touch my heart the way this one has. Credit goes to Van and Eric and the magic that appears whenever they are on screen. Why did ATWT not listen to the hearts of the viewers? I couldn’t even watch the show after Reid died until this final episode today and that was because I hoped against hope we would get a dream scene and this would end the nightmare…no such luck.
I loved Reid and Luke together, it was a thoughtfully constructed love story (apparently by a previous writer), and I’m sad about the vicious way this relationship ended, but honestly, that’s a separate issue. Can anyone really turn a blind eye to the fact that every other main character under the age of 50 (and the majority over 50) were happily paired at the end? For a show that tried to gain kudos for breaking ground in gay relationships, the social commentary introduced by this ending is so disappointing. I’m not gay, but my heart breaks for individuals who have to be reminded of the distorted thinking that must still exist in the minds of these writers and producers, and unfortunately, what it represents about certain members of our society.
I loved the ending of this wonderful soap. Of course, I cried thru the whole program and just now rewatched it from my DVR to catch all I missed from crying. Even though I was upset they killed Reid, I thought today’s show was beautifully written and performed. Was it perfect – no, But it was beautiful. And for Bob Hughes to say good night at the end was perfect. The writing had been great the last few weeks and As the world turns, it delt with life, death and birth – and of course having John at the end helped bring it home for me. I just don’t know what I am going to do between 1 to 2:00pm…..
I have watched ATWT since 1958 when my first child was born. It is a tragedy that
cbs has cancelled. This is a show that many senior people, along with young and college people have loved. What could have been the sensible reason ??? I know it made money for all.
I have watched off and on for 30 years. ‘On’ when the writing was good. ‘Off’ when not so good. I endured the ending of Another World and now ATWT. It must be a sign that I should not watch soaps as I pick the ones that get cancelled. I will not watch another one as I can endure no more. I wish all the best to those who report in the soap business like you Michael. And I wish all the best to the actors who will hopefully move on to bigger and better things. Good Night.
I will miss it but i dont get it why the writers had to Kill Reid off and leave Luke grieving to pimp Katie and Chris who had zero chemistry and now Chris doest even want to be COS, am glad the pain is over but i feel bad for all the actors who have to look for work.
Overall I enjoyed it. Rather than just tying up stories, it showed promise for the future of the characters. I do have a few minor quibbles. Instead of Margo and Tom leaving trading homes with Katie because Margo was upset about empty nest syndrome, I would instead have had Tom’s forgotten son Daniel come home. The music was a bit heavy handed and intrusive in the final minutes, too. What I thought was really disrespectful, however, was that during the closing credits, the absolute last moments of this 54 year old grande dame, was that instead of seeing something specific to Oakdale, we had to watch a promo for Y&R.
I can’t explain the overwhelming shock that has come over me. WHHHYYY??? I keep asking myself. The show was great. I had no idea until I read about it here online. I’ve not heard any mention from the media. I’m so depressed. Watching a soap, is like reading a book. You get to know the characters so well; it’s like there your close friends. You dont want to lose them; now I have again. (Guding Light demised a year ago)
For the past 35 years mom & I watched “As The World Turns”. I’ve still been able to record them. Now I understand more clearly Wednesdays episode. There was like an ending to several stories.
“Goodbye Our Long time Friends, we’ll Never Forget You”
Well, I have mixed emotions about the ending of ATWT.I believe it could have flowed better instead of, “lets satisfy everyone by showing these scenes that just looked like clips as fast as we can because there are too many of them.” I did like the narrative, though. My favorite scene will always be Luke with the stethescope going to Chris and wanting to listen to Reid’s heart. Watching Luke’s face was beautiful to see and so meaningful. The only other thing I liked was when Bob Hughes was leaving the hospital for good was the “good night” (a tribute to Nancy Hughes) and the spinning of the globe, signifying the world turning. But the real tribute is the fact that this show carried on for a record 74 years. Congrats to all for their good work…..
I hated when Luke listened to Reids heart.Maybe I’m not a nice person but I wouldn’t want to hear the love of my lifes heart beating in someone elses chest.I can’t get over the fact that TPTB would give Katie and Chris a happy ending when Katie was still grieving over Brad.Luke and Reid deserved a happy ending considering they had the best storyline in ages.The endings were too rushed and it’s so sad that this show could not have ended with the respect it deserved.I was 13 when Nancy said “Good Morning’ and i was honored to be there when Bob said “Good night!”
The ending did seem rushed, but I like how some people DIDN’T get a happy ending … it seemed more realistic.
I’ve watched this show for most of my 36 (almost 37) years. My mother and grandmother watched it; my wife and children have watched it with me. I feel like I buried a friend today.
The most important character in the show’s history, Lisa, got dissed with her ending — walking away from John and Lucinda with a disgusted look on her face? This character had her own prime-time spinoff!
But I must say, I absolutely LOVED the way the show ended. I’ve already watched it several times … “good night”, when the first words were “good morning” … then after Bob turns out the lights, the globe magically illuminates and starts turning … it tugged at the heartstrings. I suppose the message is that, to us, the “World” will never stop turning.
It’s really nice to hear a man comment as most of the comments are made by women.The only person that really didn’t get a happy ending is Luke and that will bother me forever.People say it wasn’t a gay thing, then what?Does anybody have an answer.And I’m not gay and my sons are not gay so I don’t have an agenda.i just need answers. I watched from day 1 and i loved this show.I feel like an old friend died and i can’t come to terms with it!
Writers developed a bad tendency to leave the gay as hanging off cliffs, or having unfortunate deaths. It sounds like they may learn from this situation.
I’m a guy who is straight,too. Although I only started watching this show in Feb, because of seeing a TV guide item about upcoming cancellation, I fondly remember the neighborhood housewives who made it clear they had to watch their TV “stories”. I can remember that world globe in the 1957-era, etc. When I did start watching this year, I quickly realized it was a quality act, compared to that awful One Life to Live joke. Yes, I equally felt “family” was departing, not to be seen in future daily events. But that Prince of Tides soundtrack, though sad in some parts, was the best choice any producer could make. I love re-watching the video copies of the last 5 minutes, because of that music. Somehow, the World will continue to turn, but we’ll now have to nudge it along. Thanks, everyone, for your shared comments. It was kind of you. Take care, from Omaha NE
dusty and janet happy ending was prefect and dusty finally got a son of his own with the woman he love aww
I have mixed feelings about the ending. I really wish that the veteran characters had dominated it (too little Susan and Lisa; no Emma) with appearances by long gone characters (Penny Hughes, Ellen Stewart, Lyla Montgomery, Jessica Griffith, Grant Coleman……). On the other hand, the ending was easier for me as the writers insisted on focusing on Janet and Katie too much, constantly reminding me how much I have loathed the current show for the past few years even while I love the missing vets! I am absolutely shocked that poor Lisa got 4 lines of dialogue in one episode for the last week and that those lines weren’t even in a scene with Bob & Kim or Tom!!! The treatment of Lisa by these writers almost rises to the level of a felony!!!!
I have watched this show forever. I remember Lisa’s mother; Joyce Coleman, all of those Memorial Day BBQs in Nancy’s backyard. I really wish the ending had honored the ENTIRE run of the show and not just the newer additions (again, Janet!!!!!). I really will miss seeing the Hughes clan gather for Thanksgiving or the Fourth of July. However, the writers really didn’t appear to be interested in that angle so, on some level, I readily accept the loss. I am glad that we didn’t see the show decline to the horrific state that GL was in its final 2 years. On the other hand, I can’t help but wonder if it would still be going if the show had gained better writers and producers about 5 years ago, who knew how to mine the history of the show, not just give it lipservice!
The use of the music from the film Prince of Tides was a excellent choice,
Very sad that CBS has decided to cancel this show. I grew up watching this soap with my mother, and will really miss it. I work a full time job, but DVR’d ATWT every day and watched it religiously. They should have canceled Bold & Beautiful and kept this much loved soap. The actors/actresses are amazing and I wish them the best.
I loved the last episode though I think Don Hastings should have looked at the camera in the final scene and said “Good night … everyone.” After watching for about 35 years, there will be a void in my life. It’s hard to put into words …
in my opinion, what ruined this show and its ratings were two main things: 1) the loss of martha byrne’s Lily and, 2) the constant and persistent use of the character, Katie, about whom many viewers couldn’t care less.
I COULDN’T AGREE MORE!!
Don’t forget Wah-net.
The disrespect this team showed not only the fans but the actors is stunning. They clearly knew nothing and cared nothing about WHO our actual beloved Oakdale family members were. Lucinda growing up with MOBsters when she was Mary Ellen? Puh-lease! It’s just so outrageous. Lisa being mocked and laughed at in her final scene ever on the show SHE made #1 for 20 years? A travesty beyond comprehension!
Noelle Beck offered to step aside to let Martha Byrne reprise her role as Lily when the cancellation was announced, and Byrne said she would have come back. But Chris Goutman decided he’d rather hold a grudge than make the audience happy. THAT’s why ATWT lost so many viewers and ended up canceled. Well, that and Moonves showing nepotism to his wife and giving her her own show in ATWT’s place. 😡
I sobbed like a baby! Not so much for the content of the finale, but because I grew up with these characters. I have watched ATWT for 28 years. I started when I was around 14 (although my mom had watched it for years before and my grandmother since the debut), I am the same age as Lily and grew up watching Martha and Jon grow up together. I feel like part of my family is gone. I love Maura and Michael and the rest of the cast. I hope they all know how much we will miss them, but how much they have given to us throughout these many years. Thank you ATWT and good luck to all of you.
cbs u sux for one we dont need another talk show or game show put back gl and atwt maybe u will be more liked
I started watching ATWT when I was 12 years old and I am now 68. I feel as if my heart has been ripped out or a family member has died. I would like to be able to get DVD’s of early episodes but I have searched and cannot find them. I would purchase them if you would offer them but I am so upset about the cancellation that I cannot even consider watching whatever replaces ATWT. Please give those of us who watched for so long and so faithfully the courtesy of being able to get old episodes. You will make money and I will not be so angry with CBS.
Melba, not only are they not going to make episodes of ATWT available on places like Soapnet or on DVD, but as of October 31st, they are pulling every episode of every P&G soap (ATWT, GL & AW) off of Youtube! We need to write to them an let them know how angry we are!
WHY ! I want to watch the World Turns and Guiding Light on youtube
Goodnight for now ATWT … Good bye & good Riddens P&G
the canceling of this show is the fault of CBS, not P&G! although the money hungry executives at P&G are now electing to remove ATWT content from youtube and hulu! they’re both detestable, money hungry companies at this point…….
You are so right!! The decision to remove the content is mean spirited at best. Once again we’re faced with an example of corporate greed where maximizing the bottom line trumps the wants/needs of its viewers/people on any givend day. Ironically, this theme is playing out in all aspects of our society right now. I’ve watched ATWT and TGL for over 20 years and it is very sad to see them both end for no good reason other than greed; and, I’m sure they will monetize viewership of past episodes in the future. On principal, I will not watch and my viewership of and respect for this network has been seriously diminished.
for me after 38 yrs, its like another death–i truly expected my stories would outlive me, and, some day when i’m old and not able to get out as much, i’d still have something special each day to look forward to.,as i did on school days off when nothing else was going on…i recall years ago before vhs and dvr and podcast and internet viewing..being so disappointed if i missed an episode, or if it was to be pre-empted, for a presidential press conference, or th OJ Simpson trial, or the political conventions(they were covered in daytime yrs ago), or the watergate hearings gavel to gavel,etc,etc….but we knew our schedule would eventually be back—-atwt,splendored thing,guiding light, another world,edgeof night, and somerset—my original all p&G line-up…..now for all of them to be gone as well as my add ons over the years—-texas, ryans hope,for richer,for poorer,loving.. its a terrible void…for a unique genre that was more than just tv shows, but part of the fabric of peoples lives across the generations…i,too am a male fan from before it was pc to be one….as was my grandmother and grandfather, aunts and uncles…oakdale.springfield,bay city, monticello,somerset….willl always be an important part of my memories…………………………………………….
The final episode was exactly as I expected: A rapid trite saccharine ending (except for Bob Hughes’ exit from his office with the globe spinning as he departed), uniting all the appropriate couples, giving the correct offspring to the correct couple, with a future baby on the horizon for another, while my mind kept drifting back to what the writers did to Luke and Reid. Given the circumstances, what else could the writers have done? But after the high powered drama of the Luke/Reid situation, I felt as though the entire show flatlined in its aftermath. Luke listening to Reid’s heart in the chest of Chris did nothing for me to make up for what the writers did to THAT couple. Chris looked more dead than Reid did in his last scene on the hospital bed which only proves how off the mark the writers were in their storyline focus. Lucinda and John were like a couple of giggling teenagers; Margo and her sister’s “home switch” made me wonder how they were going to make up the value difference between the two residences (LOL); Craig “uniting” with his long lost son was a gagging moment; Janet continued to act like an emotional basket case; Lily and Holden were back where they belonged; Dusty looked as though he needed to be “dusted off”; and so it went. For the time being, I don’t feel as though I even want to look at another soap. After all is said and done, I’m glad that the writers tied everything up in a neat “happy” package, unlike those of “Capitol” who got back at CBS by deliberately leaving several cliff hangers in the last episode. But…the overall vapid conclusion to ATWT, after the sudden destruction of the Luke/Reid relationship and the killing off of the most notable current character on the show during the previous two weeks, only made the bankrupt state of the writers’ imaginations and thoughtfulness that much more obvious. Enough said. Good night all!
I am SO angry at CBS and Les Moonves I cannot begin to express it. He canceled this beloved show so his WIFE could have her own talk show! As if people give a hoot about Julie Chen and her gabfest. What we cared about were friends and family we literally grew up with! I was born on the same day as Tom Hughes and have been watching the World Turn for over 30 years. What Moonves has done is obscene.
I thought it was so well done and loved the narration. I definitely cried and will miss the characters. My favorite line was: “Marriage is a long conversation that ends too soon.”
While I think many episodes leading up to the finale were stronger, this was a nice little ending.
I thought the final scene was moving and fitting for the show, the world keeps turning….
I have been a faithful viewer of this soap since my college days (30) years ago. It is the only soap that I have ever watched. I will truly miss the characters and stories.
I was a little dissapointed with the finale on Friday. Lisa has been on the show since day one. She should have been given a major part on the last day, instead of a one minute scene. She should have been with Kim and Bob.
Bob was saying good-bye to his position at the hospital, which was fine. Lisa should have been involved with this story, even though she did not work at the hospital, the history of her relationship with Bob and Kim should have been acknowledged.
Best wishes to the actors, writers, producers and directors. Thank you.
I have watched ATWT since 1964. The acting is better than any other soap. Please let us know where the actors will be going. Loved the show. Sorry is was cancelled
I have watched this show as we all Guiding Light for 35 years. Just as G.L. I worked that week and had no clue that it was being cut. It is shocking to come home to watch it & Price Is Right is on 2 days in a row, I google and found out it no longer will be aired. I am just sick! Does this network not care about the long term viewers who loved these shows and these actors. They have became a part of our lives. We have laughed and cried with them over the years. Is there no chance another network would pick this show up along with resuming Guiding Light?? We need a soap opera network on cable that runs them all day! Next will be Bold & The Beautiful since they are the newest one. Then will be Young and the Restless I am sure! I will NOT be watching anything else on this network! The new game show is RIDICULOUS!!! And I am sure whatever replaces it will also be. Oprah, G.L. & now ATWT is gone- what’s left worth watching here anyway!!!
It was cruel to not continue ATWT as a weekly show, like Dallas was watched for many years. The last of the old-time 1950s was definitely worthy of saving. CBS and P&G missed a real opportunity. Any one else from Omaha NE concur?
the ending really ripped my heart out. i an a die-hard NUKE fan. they didn’t include Noah in the finale, that’s very disrespectful to his character. Noah hasn’t been on the show long but he has been through SO MUCH with Luke and i think he at least deserves a reference. they show Luke listening to Reid’s heart, symbolising a love that’s still there but what about Noah? Noah and Luke have been through so much together, so much more than Luke and Reid, and more than Luke and Reid will ever go through together even if he was alive. the ending to Luke and Noah was cruel. you can’t focus on two people, making the audience think they belong with each other and WRENCH that from our hearts. that’s wrong. honestly, i enjoyed that Reid storyline but the ultimate ending to Luke should have been with Noah. i cried for days knowing that Noah and Luke didn’t end up together, they THE couple for me and for a lot of people. CBS really disappointed me.