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1[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/anotherworldtitle.jpg]]
2 [[caption-width-right:350:Title card from 1981-87]]
3->''You are my way (You are my way)\
4To another world (To another world)\
5You are the one who lets me fly so high\
6You are the rain when my spirits run dry\
7You give my life (You give my life)\
8A hope that's real\
9'Cause when I'm with you, you take me away\
10To another world''
11->''*Doo do do do dee da do*''
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13Long-running SoapOpera created by Creator/IrnaPhillips and William J. Bell that aired on Creator/{{NBC}} from 1964 to 1999 as a DramaticHalfHour. Notable in the soap genre for several reasons: It is one of the few American soaps to engender a spin-off (two direct spin-offs, ''Somerset'' and ''Texas''), and one indirect spin-off (''Friends and Lovers''/''For Richer, For Poorer''). Historically, it's was the first soap to expand to a full hour and, during an ill-fated ratings experiment, the only one to air for 90 minutes daily.
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15Set in the fictional Bay City, the show originally revolved around the super-wealthy Matthews and Randolphs. The show really hit its stride when it introduced the backstabbing social-climber Rachel Davis (originated by Robin Strasser, but most famously played by Victoria Wyndham) and her quarry, scion Steven Frame, and the love triangle between them and Alice Mathews. In the 1970s, the show moved its focus to the newly arrived Cory family, and discovered an unlikely {{super couple}} in Rachel and Mac Cory, which ignites a rivalry between Rachel and Mac's daughter Iris. The 1980s introduced several more long-running characters, including ''bon vivant'' writer Felicia Gallant, slick attorney Cass Winthrop, emaciated supervillain (and later ByronicHero) Carl Hutchins, and the Love family (Donna and her twin daughters Vicky and Marley), with Rachel elevated to the top of the pantheon.
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17''Another World'' had a tendency to reinvent itself quite a lot, even more so than other long-runners, as evidenced by the ever-changing titles (The lyrics above are from the ''[[NarmCharm faaabulous]]'' 1987 sequence.) Today it is most remembered for being replaced with ''{{Series/Passions}}'' in the daytime slot, making it the very last soap opera on American television to be cancelled and replaced with another one.
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19----
20!!This show provides examples of:
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22* AbortedArc: In the 1986/87 episodes, it was strongly implied when Donna's father Reginald came BackFromTheDead that his adopted son, Scott La Salle, was actually a third child of Donna and Michael, supposedly a non-identical twin of Vicky and Marley. In fact, the soap magazines of that time stated that Scott was indeed their child in their spoiler sections. Why this was abandoned is unclear, but it is probably due to the fact that Philece Sampler replaced Anna Stuart (who bore a strong resemblance to the actor who played Scott) as Donna.
23* AbsurdlyElderlyMother: Rachel gets pregnant--with twins!--when in her early 50's, an age at which most women are going through menopause, if they haven't done so already. Her own mother Ada was an example of this, having had her sister Nancy at a similar age.
24* ArtifactTitle: It was widely rumored that the show was originally envisioned as a spin-off of ''Series/AsTheWorldTurns'' (with frequent references to Oakdale and cross-overs by ATWT's Hughes family), but that Creator/{{CBS}} didn't have room on in their schedule to air the show, and refused to allow the show to operate as a spin-off on another network. However, neither Procter & Gamble nor series creator Irna Phillips intended to sell the series to CBS, as [=P&G=] had already produced four serials for the network at the time ''Another World'' was being developed[[note]]''As the World Turns'', ''Series/GuidingLight'', ''Series/SearchForTomorrow'' (which would eventually move to NBC, joining ''AW'' on its daytime lineup, in 1982) and ''Series/TheEdgeOfNight''[[/note]] and wanted to sell a series to one of the other major networks.
25* TheAtoner: Carl Hutchins tried to be this, with varying results.
26* BackForTheFinale: Carl briefly [[FaceHeelTurn turned heel]] again as a result of actor Charles Keating being shown the door (along with the other expensive vets) in 1998. He died again--and bounced right back up again to absolutely no one's surprise. He reunites with Rachel in the closing shot of the show, as the camera pays homage to Mac's portrait sitting nearby.
27** [[spoiler:A mere stone's throw from the final season, Grant Harrison was shot in his office. Turns out, he retired to the tropics and is living like a maharaja, having faked his death and escaped justice with all of his money. That's our boy.]]
28* BestServedCold: The layabout son of a wealthy businessman, Carl brokered a deal which folded his father's company into Cory Publishing. When the division was later shunted and the elder Hutchins discovered that his business had been sold for a pittance, he killed himself. Carl blamed Mac and set out to ruin him financially. When that didn't work, he tried to make Mac reenact his father's suicide.
29* BettyAndVeronica: The long-running love triangle involving Steven Frame was an example, with Alice playing the Betty role and Rachel playing the Veronica role.
30** Marley and Vicky were twin versions of this with Vicky usually in the Veronica role and Marley as Betty. However, this was reversed late in the series.
31* CrossOver:
32** After the show's cancellation in 1999, several characters (Jake, Cass, Lila, Vicky, Marly and Donna) became regular or recurring characters on ''As the World Turns''.
33** And the character of Michael Bauer from ''Series/GuidingLight'' appeared on Another World in the 1960s. Yes, a character from a soap on ''another'' network, CBS, crossed over.
34** Cass Winthrop also made appearances on ''Guiding Light'' as an attorney for the Santos crime family.
35* FanFic: Proctor & Gamble created an online continuation, called ''Another World Today'', picking up the show and the characters 10 years after the show's cancellation. The continuation is written based on fan-submitted plots and stories.
36* FreezeFrameEnding: The show would end all its episodes like this in the eighties.
37* FunWithAcronyms: Carl was one-third of the criminal consortium CLH. Fredrick Chapin and Reginald Love were counted as members.
38* HarmlessVillain: Business magnate (and onetime [[MayorPain mayoral candidate]]) Grant Harrison. The show eventually gave up trying to make him a credible villain, and he became something of an inside joke. However he may have gotten the last laugh after all, as seen in the series finale...
39* LovableRogue: Cass Winthrop.
40* LoveRedeems: Rachel's relationship with magazine mogul Mac was at the request of Victoria Wyndham, who was weary of playing the heartless {{foil}} to Alice's [[PuritySue pure]] character. The real motivator was Wyndham getting attacked by outraged fans in department stores who [[IAmNotSpock mistook her for Rachel.]] Alternatively, however, some accounts claim that then head writer Harding Lemay actually came up with the idea on his own due to being very impressed with Wyndham's acting range, which was inspiring him to take the Rachel character in different directions.
41** Ironically this happened with reformed villain Carl Hutchins later in the series.
42* MayDecemberRomance: Rachel and Mac/Carl. The age difference is less noticeable with the latter.
43* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: Felicia, the pulp romance writer, is based on Jacqueline Susann, author of ''Literature/ValleyOfTheDolls'' and something of a camp figure.
44* PrettyInMink: Felicia Gallant.
45* RealSongThemeTune: The show's theme from 1987 through 1996 was a pop song performed by Gary Morris and Crystal Gayle; it is the only soap opera theme song to chart in Billboard's Top 40.
46* SpinOff: As noted above, ''AW'' is one of the few soaps to engender a spin-off:
47** ''Somerset'' was created as a sister show to ''AW'' in the 1970s (in fact, the show was originally titled ''Another World - Somerset''); however, ratings issues led to ''Somerset'' going off on its own direction (including becoming a clone of ''Series/TheEdgeOfNight'' for several years).
48** ''Texas'' was created as a vehicle for Beverlee [=McKinsey=]'s character of Iris Cory Wheeler; the show never garnered good ratings (it originally competed against ''Series/GeneralHospital'' at the height of its success), and lasted only two years.
49* UnexplainedRecovery: Dying is practically Carl's nine-to-five job. Poison, bombs, bullets, it doesn't matter. Half the time no one even bothers to ask how he survived. It's just what he does.
50* WhereDaWhiteWomenAt: Marley and Tyrone towards the series end.

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