Evidently, hell hath no fury like Another World fans scorned. Charles Keating's dismissal from the role of Carl, which he has played on and off since 1983, has provoked a surprising fan uproar.
"My wife printed out about 15 pages [of Internet postings about the dismissal]. I looked through them, and I couldn't finish them," marvels Keating, winner of the 1996 Outstanding Lead Actor Emmy. "It was just so moving. As an actor, you can never assume that you connect with an audience. We all hope for that, but you never know until some bizarre thing like this happens, and suddenly you realize [that you did connect]. I am really touched."
Online postings are just the tip of the iceberg. The telephone numbers of key NBC execs were posted in Internet newsgroups, and fans flooded their offices with calls. The AW studio line was so jammed that the show had to change its phone and fax numbers. (There is an official viewer response line at NBC. To lodge complaints, call 212-664-2333.) There has also been talk of fans
picketing the AW studios in Brooklyn and collecting donations to pay for an advertisement in Digest.
"Another World suffers from a lack of coherent leadership and an unwillingness to seriously listen to the fans," suggests Tom Freeman, creator of the Another World Fan Brigade. Other fans point out that in 1998 alone, seven actors, including Robert Kelker-Kelly (Shane Roberts), Kale Browne (Michael Hudson), Amy Carlson (Josie Sinclair), Laura Moss (Amanda Cory), Timothy Gibbs (Gary Sinclair), Brian Krause (Matthew Cory) and John Aprea (Alexander Nikos) left Bay City. In some cases, of course, the actors quit, a circumstance beyond AW's control. But so many
departures in such a short time have clearly taken their toll.
The show's option, which expires in June, was picked up for an
undisclosed period of time - no one at NBC or Procter & Gamble will say. That silence has fueled speculation that AW could be cancelled in January '99 to make room for the new soap James E. Reilly is creating for NBC. (Conjecture is that the lower-rated Sunset Beach is less at risk because of its huge popularity overseas.) "Another World is not being cancelled," insists a spokesperson for P&G. "Charles Keating's exit will provide valuable story for Carl and Rachel throughout May sweeps, and will also be a storyline springboard for many other favorite
characters."