Dear Readers,
Some very vocal Another World fans are going nuts about Charles Keating's (Carl) dismissal from the show. And who can blame them? While the episodes surrounding Shane and Michael's car accident were as good as daytime gets, AW viewers have endured so much cast upheaval in the last year of so that some of them have just had it. At times like this, I wish shows weren't so cautious about revealing their motives for making changes. AW is facing very real anger from fans, who feel betrayed and ill-treated. But soaps as a rule are very sensitive to fans' wishes, and the decision to release a veteran star is never made lightly. Surely there was some reason - budgetary? political? an NBC bigwig ordering, 'get rid of the guy with the ponytail'? - that precipitated a move that undoubtedly wasn't made without careful consideration. There was a time, many years ago, when production companies didn't want actors' real names mentioned in the press, for fear of destroying the illusion that soaps create. They give fans a lot more credit now, and for the most part are quite
generous about sharing information...except in cases like AW's.
AW must have had a reason for firing Charles Keating. It's not because they don't care about their fans, and I doubt it's just
to 'provide a valuable story for Carl and Rachel' in May sweeps, as the official explanation goes. You might not agree with AW's thinking, but wouldn't you like to know what it is?
-Lynn Leahey