After 54 seasons and one unforgettable journey As the World Turns comes to an end. Watch the series finale promo after the jump.

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Before I get to today’s stunning episode of As the World Turns, in which Dr. Reid Oliver dies and donates his heart to his professional nemesis/colleague Dr. Chris Hughes, I have a few thoughts about not only the serial's final days on the air, but also —in a broader sense—fan perceptions about what a soap's last days should be like, themes that will be carried forward as we look toward ATWT's final hours.

First, with less than two weeks to go before its final fade to black, ATWT is ending its 54 year history in perhaps better dramatic shape than almost any serial since the cancellation of NBC's Texas in 1982, a specific observation I will expand upon in a few days. Of course, there is lots to gripe and nitpick about the woulda-coulda-shoulda’s of how the show might have wrapped things up. Many of those ideas are quite good and some are downright ludicrous, but in the final turn of events, all of that stuff is moot. The last scenes were shot, the sets have been struck, and the actors all went along different paths weeks ago. READ MORE

Next week, Noah (Jake Silbermann) sees Reid (Eric Sheffer Stevens) with another man (Chris, Daniel Cosgrove) and tells Luke (Van Hansis). Blackthorn (Billy Warlock) discovers a microphone bug on Carly (Maura West) and Dusty (Grayson McCouch) is pushed into a van. Watch the As the World Turns promo after the jump.
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