I grew up watching the show. My grandmother, mother and two aunts watched it religiously. Of course, as a boy, I didn't care for it, but I saw many episodes anyway.   I remember November 22, 1963 very well. I was nine years old and out of school that day for some reason. I was sitting in the floor and the TV was tuned to the show when Cronkite announced that the President had been shot.   I recall when my grandmother got her first color TV for Christmas, 1971. We hooked it up and the very first scene was of the show. It was a scene that took place in a car.   I probably hadn't seen a single episode since the early eighties until the 50th anniversary show in April, 2006. I watched it for old times' sake. Then, when Helen Wagner(Nancy) died a few months ago, I began recording it every day, hoping to see some old clips of her. They finally did a tribute show to her a couple of weeks ago. I must say that I was disappointed with today's finale. I was hoping they would show a lot of old clips, but they didn't show a single one. It would have been nice if they'd invited all the old actors(that are still living, of course) back and let everyone pose at the end and say "goodbye" to the home audience. I read that Helen Wagner delivered the very first line back in April, '56. I think it was "Good morning, dear" or something like that. The producers had planned for her to repeat the line on the last show, but of course, that wasn't meant to be.   It's very sad to see it go. 54 years is a very long time for a TV series. BTW, I saw a commercial that said that "Carly" is now a character on "The Young and Restless."

We all know how soaps are. Over dramatic, cheesy and completely unrealistic. But this is one soap, I find, that does it in a more clever way. It's actually enjoyable to watch, and sometimes even funny. I never liked day time drama. Sure, I'd watch for the sake of laughing at the awful writing and acting. But then I watched an episode of As The World Turns. And then the next day. Soon, I was addicted to it. The characters intrigued me and there story lines often made sense and were logical. The Luke and Noah story line made the show for me. Not many times do you find a day time drama with a gay couple on it, and the fact that ATWT took the risk, really impressed me and I enjoyed the show ever more. If anything, watch this show for them. I am a new viewer of this show, as new as they come. 1 months to be exact, but I've heard many people say that it's not as good as it was back then, when it first began. Well, I wouldn't know. As I see the show right now, I would say it is the best day time drama on television today.

During the period of 1983 - 1984, when Justin Dees portrayed Tom Hughes and Hillary Baily Smith portrayed Margo Hughes, they were held hostage in a house of horrors by a diabolical midget who had a woman bodyguard, which I THOUGHT was portrayed by Darlene Conley???? My question and inquiry is.... am I correct or was this Bodyguard portrayed by someone else that reminds me of Ms. Conley. I would like to put this question out to anyone that might be able to answer this question. I have watched ATWT since 1956, but it's hard to remember that far back. Anyone wanting to contact me about this can email me direct at [email protected]. Thanks, Marie Tuttle

I can recall watching this during summer vacation when I was a kid. My mother loved it. That was when Lisa was still in high school and hadn't even married Bob yet. Back then, Bob and his brother Don (the lawyer) had a sister named Penny. My mother always said she liked Nancy because, although she was usually found in the kitchen, she also seemed to really pour coffee instead of other shows where it was obvious the cup held nothing. Over the years, I watched Lisa marry just about every man in town and, like Erica Kane on All My Children, age never seemed to be a hindrance to childbirth. I know they say men don't like soap operas, but believe me, you can get hooked on them. In the 70's when I was in college it even became sheik to watch AMC and GH with the whole Luke and Laura thing. I don't know any of the characters on the shows anymore but there was a time when I knew them on The Edge of Night, Guiding Light, Search for Tomorrow, Another World, Days of our Lives. They didn't have any TV judges then, so just soaps and a few game shows to watch back then. Of course things don't change that much: staples are still hospitals and courtrooms, whose baby is it, and the ever-popular coma. You gotta love em.