As The World Turns Discussion Group

Topic: I don't get why you want the vets on...they're all mean!

I expect to be hung on a scaffold for this or burned at the stake, but I don't get why people want to see the vets on all the time.

Lisa - played such a nasty trick on Katie when she was shopping for her wedding dress.

Margo - is just plain mean to everyone including her own son.

Susan - was snarky with Brad yesterday about him having a daughter (she's not exactly mother of the year material)

Kim - was a total B!t*h with Ali today

Please explain to me why you like these characters so much so that I can see your point of view, cuz as of today, I couldn't care less if I saw any of them again.

I've known Nancy, Bob, Lisa, and Kim my whole life. I'll always want to know what's going on with them. Barbara has been around for 30 years and I still love the character. I'll even take Susan, who hasn't always been one of my favorites.

And please bring back Ellen Stewart and John Dixon. Andy too.

In contrast to:

Sophie being the town slutty moron in training; Casey being the town dunce and ex-con; Nuke being the town idiots with their moronic master plan; Ameera being the sneaky and deceitful illegal ailen, Chris being the town sleezy doctor, Meg being, well Meg.  Allison and her problems and we can go on.  And every last one of them are mean and nasty to any adult with a brain who question their dumb plans or life style.  What was your question again?

I roared yesterday when Kim gave her 'kiddo speech' to Chris about the Stewart women....it foreshadowed the snarky remark she made to Alison at dinner (at which I howled)!!! Poor Dr. Bob seemed to be in shock, but I bet HE was remembering his affair w/ Susan (hee-hee).

What would have been interesting would be if Ali threw the insult back in Kim's face -- that SHE had an affair w/ her mother's husband, Dr. Dan Stewart, when Susan was drowning in the bottle during the 1970s.....

Just goes to show that Kim still carries grudges, very close to the surface (Except for Fluff, who Kim wants to groom in her own image, imo).

Replies: (list all replies)

ITA! fee

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Posted by: gallyn
Date posted: Thu May 1 0:22:49 2008
Message:

Lisa's always been a buttinsky...annoyingly so at times...but it makes sense she would try to help out Mike.

I didn't think Kim was a "total bitch"...she apologized immediately. But she's got good reasons to be wary of another Stewart/Hughes relationship, and she always thought Chris and Ali were mismatched.

Margo...ITA. But I love the cattiness with Emily.

I like most of the vets (Lisa being the exception...) because I love the feeling of family they bring to the show. I'd much rather see Emma whacking Brad and Jack when they act like idiots, or talking to Luke, Faith, etc., than the hundredth rewind of Paul and Meg's torturous love gone bad.

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Posted by: Bertha
Date posted: Wed Apr 30 23:29:08 2008
Message:

So you are saying the non-vets are not snarky or mean? We must be watching a different show.

We want to see the actors who are vets.  They deserve air time.

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Posted by: Kevman
Date posted: Wed Apr 30 22:23:12 2008
Message:
The vets are the core of the show or they used to be before Goutman was put in charge. They are great actors who never get to show their wings anymore, instead we have constant love triangles shoved down out throats involving only a few characters.  The vets arent mean they are just written that way by a half-wit writer who has not the first clue of this shows history. Soaps are definitely written for the dumbed down these days.

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Posted by: fee
Date posted: Wed Apr 30 21:18:11 2008
Message:

Charlee, most of it is because we started watching these people when we were your age, and sometimes younger!   Now that we're old, it is totally cool to see the same people, playing the same characters, and talking about the things we remember from years ago.   There's no way you would be able to appreciate this.   But 30 or 40 or 50 years down the road, if you keep watching the show and still love it, and remember that you watched with your Ma, some of these same characters, and they're still there, and for you, it will probably be Fluffy on STILL trying to get every man in Oakdale, doing the same stuff, it's just a history thing that gets to you!   Kim is STILL giving her Kiddo speeches, and complaining about the time Susan tried to steal Bob from her.   What, 25 years ago?  Margo still acts like the same smug, crazy nut I've loved for almost 30 years, Bob is still embarrassed just like he used to be, Lisa is still causing trouble after probably close to 50 years!  

There's not much on TV that stays the same from when you were young, and this is like just about IT!!!!  This is just something you understand when you get old!  

Replies: (list all replies)

Very well said, fee. I've been watching since age 7, and now in my late 40s, I still get a kick from seeing Bob, Lisa, Susan...it brings back great memories. And yes--they are the reason the show has such a rich history! / eom. soaphound

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Posted by: Rosebud1
Date posted: Wed Apr 30 21:04:35 2008
Message:
What we're seeing now isn't how the vets were.  They weren't 'snarky' & they weren't mean--all the time.  They had occasion to be, but that was rare.  Now it IS all we see, unfortunately.  Even the truly evil characters on soaps had some balance to them, but that also isn't something that we're seeing.  These characters are shells of their former selves, so it is no wonder that you (& newer viewers) don't see what longtime fans do. 

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Posted by: Lucinda
Date posted: Wed Apr 30 20:11:14 2008
Message:
Well they're not the only vets. There's Tom, Barbara, Nancy, Emma, Lucinda who still have a lot to contribute to the show. I like seeing the vets but the instances you cite I chalk it up to poor writing. After all we have members of families return to town and seem to forget they're related to others already on the canvas (Paul/Chris, Chris/Will), wholesale rewriting of history (Brad shifting from Jacks older brother to his younger brother, Holden permanently losing his memory as that poriton of his brain had been removed, etc.)

Part of is the writing. Kim was unrecognizable today. She has no problem going off on someone who has wronged her (if I had a dime for every time she's addressed someone as "Kiddo"). I'm attributing it to poor writing. On the other hand her recent scene with Barbara was very good and much more true to form and was a welcome scene.

As for Lisa, I'd chalk that up to the writing, too. I think Lisa does have it in her to manipulate a situation like that but we haven't seen it in a long time and she would not have done it for someone like Katie and Mike. I can see her pulling something over on someone to help Lily, Kim, or Barbara.

Margo, well, she's been that way for a LONG time. Susan was snarky but I thought she was hilarious. Look, for someone who's daughter Emily has gone for younger men (Chris, at one time Paul was much younger, and this potential with Casey which she doesn't know about yet) I can see her jumping to the conclusion about someone like Brad who has a bit of a reputation although I don't ever recall Susan having a reason to go after Brad.

But for every instance you point out of a vet behaving poorly, there are instances of them doing well. Bob is always welcome and, except for his interactions with Chris, always is a warm presence. Barbara has been good in scenes with Sophie and Paul. Kim, despite her scenes today, has been welcome in scenes with Barbara. Lucinda is trying to help things along with Lily and Holden. All I can suggest is to not give up hope and not focus solely on the negative.

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Posted by: maggimae
Date posted: Wed Apr 30 19:59:09 2008
Message:
Because we remember when they weren't mean. That was before their dialogue was written to prop up another (newer) character or as a plot device.

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