Blog: Aloha, ‘As the World Turns’

Today, I must say goodbye to some old friends from Oakdale, Illinois. I have known many of them for as long as I can remember. For the past several years, I’ve been somewhat out of touch, only making sporadic visits, which makes me even sadder about seeing them for the last time today .

As the World Turns (ATWT) is the second longest running soap opera in the history of television after Guiding Light, which aired its last episode almost exactly one year ago. ATWT has been around since 1956, and some of its current actors have been on the show for nearly that long. But today, after nearly 14,000 episodes, the World has come to an end.

My mother has watched As the World Turns since its inception, when she was just a young girl. She watched it with her mother, and has been a devotee ever since. I remember looking forward to Wednesdays, my “half days” at school, when I was home in time to watch it with her. My mom felt slightly guilty about hooking me on a soap from such a young age, but she got over it, and as a consequence, ATWTbecame something my mom, brother, and I shared for the next 30-odd years. 

ATWT gave now prominent actors Julianne Moore, Meg Ryan, and Marisa Tomei their first big break and I still remember their 1980s characters on the show: Frannie, Betsy, and Marcy, respectively.

Throughout high school, ATWT was a procrastination tactic. During my time at Stanford, you think I might have given it up, but instead I found others who shared my passion and watch it with me in the dorm lounge. 

When I lived in New York City during my ‘20s, I ran into several of the characters going about town: “Aaron” at a East Village cafe, “Susan” picking up her photos at the Photo Mat around the corner from my apartment, “James” and “Lucinda” walking down my street on the Upper West Side, “Bryant” on the subway, and so forth. This was not a huge surprise, given the show was filmed in Brooklyn. I would smile at these people in recognition, but never have the nerve to actually talk to them. Still, there was always some form of acknowledgement in our exchanges that we shared this fictional world.

This blending of real and make-believe lives took more extreme forms when the characters would occasionally show up my dreams, mingling with my real friends and family members. Perhaps this was because I would often “check in” with my soap characters after a long day. During my time in New York I’d work long hours, then frequently go out late with friends. When I arrived back at my apartment, sometimes I’d have trouble sleeping, my head still buzzing from the day’s events. At these moments, ATWT was the perfect antidote to insomnia—a perfect 40 minutes of escapism if you fast-forwarded through the commercials. Certainly, my own anxieties were nothing compared to being kidnapped, discovering your aunt is actually your mother, and contracting amnesia—sometimes all in the span of one week!

After I had children of my own and moved to Hawaii, my time spent with ATWT gradually dwindled. Anytime I went home to see my family, we would watch the show together (even my dad and husband, who never officially watched the show but definitely had a strong grasp of the characters and plot lines, would usually be in the vicinity). Other than that, viewings were seldom to none. I’m not really sure why, except that my lifestyle changed and it was no longer part of my routine.

At this point, maybe I should have felt ashamed that this soap was part of my life for such a long time. If I were to count the number of hours I spent watching this show, and ponder the other more useful ways I could have spent that time, I would likely be horrified. But, oddly, I don’t feel any regret except for possibly being part of the demographic that caused its eventual ruin.

The truth is, my television viewing habits shifted along with my peers, moving towards various relatively high-brow drama series on HBO and Showtime, and reality shows like Project Runway. Soap ratings have been in decline for a long time now, yet I can’t help but feel somewhat responsible for the show’s demise, especially having just gotten off the phone with my mother, her voice quaking, saying, “It’s like they dropped a bomb on Oakdale!” 

And so tonight I will celebrate one last hurrah with ATWT, conveniently recorded on my DVR, joined by my husband and a bottle of Champagne.  After all, if the World is going to stop turning, shouldn’t it be with a glass of bubbly in hand?