END OF THE WORLD

Another World went off the air on June 25, 1999.  (I remember because my oldest son was born two days earlier.  I brought him home that Friday and didn't get to see the final episode until much later.  But, I digress...)

That final episode was chosen by fans as one of soaps' top scenes and featured in my book, Soap Opera 451: A Time Capsule of Daytime Drama's Greatest Moments.

Enjoy an excerpt from that entry, below....

MEMORABLE MOMENT: Another World’s Final Episode (1999)

BACKGROUND:
Another World went off the air after 35 years of broadcasting (1964-1999; it was revived in 2009 as an on-line text and video based serial continuation, http://www.AnotherWorldToday.com) with a wedding for Cass (Stephen Schnetzer) and Lila (Lisa Peluso) – following heavenly permission from his late wife, Frankie (Alice Barrett-Mitchell).  With the promise of happily-ever-after for friends like Felicia (Linda Dano) and Paulina (Judi Evans Luciano) – and the surprise re-appearance of a presumed dead Grant (Mark Pinter).

BEHIND THE SCENES:
Lisa Peluso:  The final episode was not an occasion without tears, but the show, even the last one, must go on. That's show biz!  It was bittersweet, because the show was ending. I, of course, would have preferred a less high profile option (than the Cass and Lila wedding) if we could have kept Another World on the air.

Alice Barrett-Mitchell: I was glad to be able to say a final good-bye to the show as Frankie and not (look-alike) Annie, and grateful that Frankie was given a place in the finale because I felt Frankie had been a thread in the fabric of the show and had earned a place at the table.  One funny thing I remember was that we were shooting so many episodes so quickly, that we had to do quick costume changes. They had a changing booth right on the floor. I remember changing as fast as I could and suddenly standing in the booth naked when (Executive Producer) Chris Goutman’s voice came over the system doing the countdown for the next scene…. I loved my final scene with Stephen (Schnetzer), where Frankie comes to him in a dream and gives him permission to be in love with someone else. It was really us saying good-bye. I felt whoever wrote those scenes really knew Frankie and knew her and Cass’s relationship really well.  I also really enjoyed working with a grown-up Charlie. There was a scene where, as Ghost Frankie, I was supposed to put my arm around her as we look up at the stars in the sky. Well, since I was a ghost she wasn’t supposed to see me and we weren’t supposed to be looking at each other. I lifted my arm to reach around her and bonked the poor actress in the head! She was a pro, but I was so bummed that the last moment Frankie has with her daughter is hitting her in the head!

Linda Dano: I’ve never seen the last episode; I’ve never been able to watch it. I know that sounds so dramatic, but I really haven’t. Steve Schnetzer and I always talked about pouring ourselves nice, big drinks, sitting down and watching it together. But, we’ve never done it. There’s something so final about that. For me, I’m better off believing that I’m on a vacation, and it really isn’t over. (Publicist) Vivien (Stern) came to get me that night. It was important to me that I was the last one to leave the building; I’m such a drama queen.  But I proceeded to go to every room. We went to wardrobe, all the production offices, every room, and said good-bye. You think I could get any more dramatic than that? I just had to. There was something so final about it. I suppose that’s why I haven’t seen (the last episode). And I’m sure I looked like hell that day, because all I did was cry. By four o’clock in the afternoon, I looked like I’d been in a prize-fight. I remember the day very well, there was a lot of press, everyone was saying good-bye to everyone else. Beyond awful. I just remember feeling like a life had ended. And it really kind of did. It was like not having your best friend around anymore. It was very emotional and tough, very tough. I remember Anna Stuart (Donna) saying, “Oh my God, it’s like a death.” And it was, it’s how we all felt about it.  For lots of actors who were on shows for a long time, primetime as well as daytime, you become such a family. You spend more time with these people than you ever do your own family. And when the time comes and it ends, as everything does, it’s just the saddest, saddest, terrible thing.

Judi Evans Luciano: It was so weird and surreal. Initially I couldn’t believe it and it really didn’t sink in at the time because we were already having to focus on getting the final run of episodes started (we were given really short notice on the cancellation). I think it took me a couple of years to really process it.

Mark Pinter: I left the show six months before it went off the air. They killed Grant, but then he reappeared in a stunt where you see him sipping a pina colada in a grass hut somewhere.  It was a great treat to be a part of the Another World family for almost ten years.  I was very, very lucky.  I got to work with some extraordinary people. I took away great memories.  Daytime players have always been kind of shift-workers. We’ve always been kind of a factory, in a good sense. Every day, almost fifty weeks a year, we produce product. That is amazing.

WHERE ARE THEY NOW:
Read the complete interviews below:
Alice Barrett-Mitchell: http://anotherworldtoday.blogspot.com/2009/10/interview-with-alice-barrett-mitchell.html
Linda Dano: http://anotherworldtoday.blogspot.com/2009/05/interview-with-linda-dano-felicia-aw_15.html
Judie Evans Luciano: http://anotherworldtoday.blogspot.com/2009/08/interview-with-judi-evans-luciano.html
Lisa Peluso: http://anotherworldtoday.blogspot.com/2009/05/interview-with-lisa-peluso-lila.html
Mark Pinter: http://anotherworldtoday.blogspot.com/2009/05/interview-with-mark-pinter-grant-aw_08.html

For more exclusive interviews and scenes fans voted best, check out Soap Opera 451: A Time Capsule of Daytime Drama's Greatest Moments on Amazon and B&N.