Topic Posted by: MartyB
Date Posted: Tue Oct 27 16:05:34 2009
Additional Comments:
I posted the entire article. However, the last paragraph is outstanding! LOL
Road Trip for Redemption on ATWT by Michael Logan October 27, 2009 10:26 AM EST
What’s a guy do when he accidentally shoots his brother dead? Go on a soul-searching road trip! As the World Turns’ Jack Snyder (Michael Park) will depart Oakdale next week after the burial of his bro Brad (Austin Peck) and hit the highway for Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Manhattan and Greenville, South Carolina. This won’t be faked on a soundstage. ATWT shot on location in all four spots, holding local casting calls in Pennsylvania and South Carolina to fill the supporting roles that were needed there. During Jack’s trip, fans will get a chance to see some popular ATWT alumni, including Peter Parros as Ben (November 6), Mark Collier as Mike (November 11), Lesli Kay as Molly (November 17) and Paul Leyden as Simon (November 20). Jack’s troubled ex-wife Carly (Maura West) will also join him along the way, fresh from her stint in rehab. ATWT executive producer Chris Goutman gave us the lowdown on Jack’s sad search for redemption.
In this time of severe budget cuts, why go to the expense and hassle to take the show on the road?
Listen, if I had my druthers we’d be on the road a whole lot. Years ago there used to be soap opera festivals across the country every weekend and our talent was out there all the time. We miss that contact with our audience. That firsthand experience of getting their feedback live is really valuable and I think we lose a lot by not doing that anymore. Sure, we could have done all this at our studio, but by taking it out to the fans we’re saying this is a big and important and very special story.
It’s hard to imagine Jack ever being able to shake what happened.
This is about death and the stages of grief, but it’s also ultimately about healing. Jack is in an emotional tailspin, he’s in crisis, and Michael Park is doing fabulous work in this story. The first place Jack shows up is Philadelphia because he knows Brad once lived there. He goes to this bar—one of Brad’s old hangouts—and he runs into Ben. This leads him into a journey to look for someone to take Brad’s place in Katie’s life. He goes to see Mike in Greenville, and then to Pittsburgh, where he finds Simon. Meanwhile, Carly learns what Jack is up to and she goes in pursuit of him.
Jack thinks he can dig up two of Katie’s ex-husbands hoping one of them can be a Brad replacement—and so soon after the funeral? Does he really think this a workable plan?
He’s not thinking straight. It’s a misguided attempt to fix things. Jack’s desperate, clutching at straws. He’s filled with guilt and he does not know what to do with it but he’s got to do something. He’s not a person who just sits on his duff. This is not just about the death of his brother. Katie has lost a husband. Liberty has lost a father. He feels that he’s failed on a massive scale. Simon will eventually come to Oakdale for a couple of months but it’s clear to everyone that he’s just a band-aid.
Talk about the choice to have Jack split Oakdale right after the funeral, as opposed to him hanging around a bit and witnessing the full emotional fallout.
He sees more than enough. Katie names her newborn Jacob, after Jack, and it just absolutely levels him and he can’t handle that. Also Brad once wrote in a little notebook that Jack was his hero his entire life. It’s just all too much for him to deal with. Hopefully, we’ll break a few hearts in the audience with all this. It’s a very emotional time for the show.
Soul-searching tends to be done solo. Why have Carly come along?
This is a romance story, as well. We’re listening to the fans. They’ve been clamoring to see Jack and Carly get back together. It’s a soul-searching mission for him but she’s the one who brings him back to Oakdale. In fact, she’s really the only one who can bring him back. It’s like a reversal of the guy going to save the damsel-in-distress. But if we are to bring them back together they’ve got to come from new and different places. Jack can’t be judgmental anymore. Carly can’t be so devil-may-care. They have a lot of wear and tear and it won’t be an instantaneous getting together. They will have many obstacles to overcome. This is going to be a new incarnation of Jack and Carly, not the same-old same-old.
Posted by: Bertha Date posted: Sat Oct 31 8:05:17 2009
Message: Marty, is the last paragraph the voice of Goutman? It doesn't sound like him (for instance, the part about listening to the fans).
Posted by: Edward Date posted: Wed Oct 28 17:02:55 2009
Message: Jack can't be judgmental anymore? OK, they've convinced me, I'll be watching, as long as this turns out to be true. The minute he's back to looking down on anybody, I'm out.
Posted by: Tipla Date posted: Wed Oct 28 12:57:03 2009
Message:
MaryB, cemented ATWT being back on my TV. LOVE it!!!!!!!!!
Carly not lying every two seconds and doing half arse crazy things that will ultimately destroy her family.
Jack not being stubborn as a mule and an immovable object that moves out of his house at the drop of a hat. Like seriously. Christmas came early.
Posted by: Mandi Date posted: Wed Oct 28 9:13:53 2009
Message: I am so excited. I hope this storyline comes to fruition. While I have said numerous times that I never want Jack and Carly to reunite, I am thrilled at the way this reunion is being written. Jack will come down from his high horse, and Carly will be his rock. The icing on the cake will be if Janet is absolutely and totally devastated by Jack and Carly's reunion.
Posted by: emilyv Date posted: Wed Oct 28 9:02:40 2009
Message: WOW!!! I love this. Like I said in a previous post, it is time they mature and figure out what is important. Real life is hard and real love is hard to find. it is time ti find out if their love is truly real.
Posted by: Winza Date posted: Wed Oct 28 8:40:37 2009
Message: This sounds promising. Certainly the Jack we've been seeing lately is more like the one we all used to love with Carly. He just about broke my heart yesterday when he broke down in Brad's room, saying "God help me, God help me." The man can act! I'd love to see him, with his newly discovered feet of clay, meet a Carly who has more self-esteem and understanding of her own issues. They could make a very good couple. And meanwhile, as another poster pointed out very smartly, he is slowly realizing he is married to someone who is as self-righteous and obnoxious and judgmental as he always was. I DO wish that his journey took him back to the horrible way he treated Carly rather than the knee-jerk "I have to fix Katie's life." But I do understand that he is insanely trying to fix the horrible mistake he made and give his brother's son a father. It makes sense in a twisted kind of way and is pretty consistent with Jack's past MO.
I look forward to the story and, especially, to seeing Ben and Simon. Mike I could take or leave. Looks pretty, but never could act.
Posted by: Midwest Meredith Date posted: Wed Oct 28 4:19:37 2009
Message:
I have to say... I am speechless. Let me get my thoughts here because you know I want to comment!! LOL
Ok... I am actually thrilled about this and I never thought I would say that. Are they truly listening to a big section of the fans about Carly and Jack?? This interview sounds so much like they are actually looking at the complaints viewers have been making for what seems like forever and trying to change the attitude and the writing. Maybe it is true that JP is no longer calling the shots... she ran the show into the ground and maybe in the past couple months they are trying to correct her mistakes?
I am excited about this. If they deliver on this, I think they can bring up the ratings.. I just hope it is not too late.
Posted by: soul Date posted: Tue Oct 27 21:41:07 2009
Message:
Jack and Carly together again! :) It will be especially nice to see them without any distractions, on the road. What a way to begin again. I hope it last 4ever. =)
I am really really really looking foward to the end of Jacket too!
Posted by: Roxie Date posted: Tue Oct 27 20:40:04 2009
Message: If TPTB have truly realized what a huge mistake they have made by turning Jack into controlling, demeaning abusive jerk to Carly and are really trying to redeem him so that J&C can reunite, then I'll accept it. But they have ALOT of work to do. It can possibly be done, but it will have to be done right. Maybe this is the storyline to completely change Jack's attitude toward Carly and mostly HIMSELF, and get him off his sanctimonious high horse and back down to earth. I sincerely hope so. Like Linny, I'm with anything that will result in Janet getting tossed out of that Snyder house that she has so forcefully taken over and claimed as her own!!
Posted by: Rosebud1 Date posted: Tue Oct 27 19:33:36 2009
Message: This is, at best, too little too late. ALL soaps, including ATWT, have been off course for almost twenty yrs (if not longer). They've all lost the concept of romance & adventure, instead substituting weak, short term gimmicks & blantant, over the top, insulting stories--calling them 'romances'. How many times have we seen 'couples' go at it like rabbits & have it being called 'lovemaking' or 'romance' when nothing could be further from the truth?!
Posted by: pita Date posted: Tue Oct 27 17:40:13 2009
Message:
I really hope this is the end of the Jack that's been on screen ever since he went off that bridge and hooked up with Julia of the everlasting tears. I welcome a Jack I can like again. I'm willing to meet them more than halfway if they are really going to ratchet Jack down off the high horse he's been riding.
I'm thrilled to read it won't be 'the same old same old' ... I just hope it's true. Their idea of the same old same old and mine might not be the same.
BTW, out of the cast ... I can now type two-handed again ... hello shift key! Still have a lot of re-hab to go through, but having some use of my right hand is a BIG thrill.
Posted by: alwazatwt Date posted: Tue Oct 27 17:04:27 2009
Message: Glad that they are making an effort to stave off cancellation.... it looks grim but if the show has to go, I'd rather see it go down fighting. Bringing back fan favorites is never a bad thing! I know I will definitely be making an effort to watch those days.
Posted by: daydreamer Date posted: Tue Oct 27 16:30:00 2009
Message:
They are the Ridge & Brooke of Oakdale. Maura's pregnant again. Let's think of a dumb reason to get Carly out of town. Carjack fans want them back together & Maura's leave is up. Let's tear apart whatever relationship he's in to do it. I can accept it but the couple is ATWT's version of Ridge & Brooke.
Posted by: Linny Date posted: Tue Oct 27 16:27:11 2009
Message:
But if we are to bring them back together they’ve got to come from new and different places. Jack can’t be judgmental anymore. Carly can’t be so devil-may-care. They have a lot of wear and tear and it won’t be an instantaneous getting together. They will have many obstacles to overcome. This is going to be a new incarnation of Jack and Carly, not the same-old same-old.
How refreshing to read this. THIS is what I have been begging for all along if we have to tolerate a CarJack reunion. Actions speak louder than words, but if they back this up, I might just stop screaming about this couple and try and keep my pie hole shut when they are on screen together. I also have to say that anything that leads to Janet getting kicked out of the most visible family in Oakdale is alright with me. Stick her with someone who is almost never on the show, like Dusty.
Posted by: MaryHatch Date posted: Tue Oct 27 16:20:28 2009
Message: I know you'll think I've been drinking or something, Marty, but I'm totally on board with this. People do change, and there are very few characters who can't be redeemed. If the writing is good, I won't complain about a CarJack reunion. Separate, apart... I just want to be able to believe what I'm seeing.
Posted by: cycworker Date posted: Tue Oct 27 16:19:42 2009
Message: I am pretty pleased with that and I'll be watching!
Posted by: julia Date posted: Tue Oct 27 16:16:45 2009
Message: Sounds promising. I hope the scenes are well-written. I'm excited to see Ben.
Posted by: tess Date posted: Tue Oct 27 16:14:06 2009
Message: Thanks MartiB...this should be good news for Carjack fans. I guess they're heading in that direction afterall. I truly wonder if the writers can ever do a 180 on Jack brow-beating Carly though. If this is the only way they could make Jack see the error of his ways in how he treated Carly...I guess it's right on the mark..but only if he realizes that he isn't as almighty and morally great as he thought he was but just human and doesn't go right back to his old ways down the road.
