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Thank you very much for sharing all of these @vetsoapfan. The Theo Goetz article was wonderful. Please continue!!!

17 hours ago, danfling said:

What writer created the character of Dr. Joe Werner - Irna Phillips, Agnes Nixon, or someone else?

I really want to say it was Agnes Nixon, but she left at some point during 1966, the same year Werner was originally introduced (in fact, I think Joe Werner's debut TGL episodes are still up on YT). However, it could also have been any of the numerous writers who came after her. If I recall, wasn't there a lot of turnover for the next year or two until Irna, herself, wrote it again briefly?

On 5/30/2019 at 10:05 PM, BetterForgotten said:

I still hold Roger and Holly's returns to GL as the best character returns on a soap opera I've ever seen since my time watching soaps. Talk about breathing new life into a show (at least for a few years anyway). 

I completely agree. It was perfectly executed as best it could be, considering that there were only three characters at that point who were on TGL that would actually *know* who Roger and Holly were: Ed, Alan, and Ross, and only Ross was still portrayed by the same actor! It could have gone so wrong, but the writing team did a stellar job in taking their time and implementing Holly back into Springfield via a SORAS'd Chrissy/Blake. And yes, Holly's haunting scream when Ed pulled back the mask to reveal it was Roger...that still gets me every time I see it.

The only thing I really wanted was for Mart Hulswit to be portraying Ed again at that point (I wonder if @vetsoapfan agrees with me on that one?). Peter Simon's Ed wasn't the same as Hulswit's. Hulswit was generally warm and caring, but still had a massive temper when pushed to the breaking point. It also didn't help that the writers from then on really didn't keep Ed and Roger in much the same orbit after that.

With that said, I really loved Roger and Maureen's friendship. Parker and Zaslow were brilliant together, and I'm very glad they were kept as friends.

On 2/27/2019 at 5:33 PM, WhiteDressGhost said:

Born in 1979. Spent my childhood watching Guiding Light with my grandmother. I've been watching 1979 Guiding Light and now I'm up to 1980. Right now I'm watching Mike and Ed chase Roger in Santo Domingo. 

 

I remembered that I loved Christopher Bernau as a child, and my 10 year old self shipped Reva/Alan hard. As an adult, I've only seen him in old episodes of Dark Shadows until recently. No wonder I never warmed to Ron Raines' Alan. Bernau is sexy, conflicted, charismatic, charming, and dangerous. Hope never stood a chance. Watching these episodes has also made me really appreciate Grant Aleksander's casting even more. He physically looks like Justin and Jackie, but he holds his mouth and face like Christopher Bernau and has a similar sort of reserve, and there's something of Lezlie Dalton's Elizabeth about him as well. It's amazing.

 

Charita Bauer is so wonderfully alive and vital in all of her scenes and stories-she's especially good with the actress who plays Hope-and its so hard to believe she's going to be gone in just a few years. Mike Bauer is SO compelling. What a waste to let him wither off canvas for decades. 

 

The Dobsons have a great point about the trees, though. One moment I'm watching intense, well-written drama that has barely aged, and the next moment a 70s commercial for a funeral home is playing. It's jarring. The disco open is dated, but it fits the show's vibe so much better (Hope and Alan snuggling! Ross's hand blocking the camera while Bert glares! Mike and the gun!). 

 

ETA-Also, these episodes have changed my opinion on Roger Thorpe. I only remember him from his 1989- run, but DAMN he's so awful it's hard to imagine redemption. Zaslow is great, of course, (there's one scene between Bernau and Zaslow that's like watching two Shakespearean actors at work), but Roger has so few gray layers and is doing such horrid things. Alan at least seems conflicted in all of his scenes. 

 

Adam Thorpe, however, is a fantastic character and the actor does such a good job of playing a good man who sired a monster, a monster he loves. The scenes with he, Barbara and Christina in the hotel room as Mike, Ed, Holly, and Roger battle for their lives are excellent. 

 

Also, Alan was on the phone with a Josh Chamberlin in a March episodes. I wonder if that character was divided to make the Lewis and Chamberlin families?

 

 

@WhiteDressGhost: Bernau was incredible as Alan. He gave what could have been a one dimensional character so much range. Unfortunately, that's what ended up happening with Raines in the role. I never figured out who could ever take over adequately in the role. Zaslow was definitely correct - it would have been way too awkward for him to portray Alan. Someone mentioned to me almost two years ago that they wondered how George Reinholt would have fared as Alan Spaulding. At first I dismissed it, but then I thought about how Steve Frame definitely had some similar characteristics to Alan. Maybe it could have worked. I wonder if TPTB would have even considered Reinholt...

If you are referring to the Alan/Roger scenes when Roger comes back to Springfield in December of 1979 and stays at the Spaulding mansion while spying on the Bauer house,  Zaslow and Bernau knock it right out of the park. My favorite moment is when Roger first sneaks into Alan's house, grabs some spare cash from a desk drawer, then casually offers that SAME money to Alan when Alan comes in and finds Roger in his home ("Alan, do you need some money?")

As for the Bauers, I honestly think Gail Kobe had some sort of directive from P&G to do away with the Bauer family. Apparently Marland had been given the same directive when he assumed writing in 1980, but he managed to keep that directive at bay. Roussel (Hope) either quit or was fired, depending on who you ask, Stewart was out and out fired by Kobe, and Marsha Clark was killed off to bulk up the Susan Piper/Brandon Spaulding storyline. I think Kobe felt as long as she had Charita around, things would be fine. That didn't work out too well...

On 2/21/2019 at 10:15 AM, Mitch said:

 

When Joan Collins came on it should have been as Eilzabeth not Alex..and I would have loved her to be married to Mike Bauer...(for a long term storyline I would have not cast Joan in the role but...)

I wonder if that would have worked. Elizabeth (at least how Dalton portrayed her), was meek. I suppose in the almost-20 years since she was away from Springfield, she could have gotten a backbone. With Collins in the role, that would have been a SERIOUS backbone!

6 hours ago, vetsoapfan said:

 

Bert Bauer, Maureen Bauer, and Nancy Hughes were all treated to poorly-executed, insulting send-offs by their respective shows. I suppose they had it better than Jessie Brewer from GH, who simply disappeared without mention after Emily McLaughlin passed away, but TGL and ATWT failed their beloved matriarchs and the audience by offering us the half-assed "tributes" Bert, Maureen, and Nancy received. I would like to believe that actors Don Stewart and Elvera Roussel would have returned to TGL for one episode out of respect for Charita Bauer, and I'll bet Rosemary Prinz and/or Patrudia Bruder would have agreed to come back for Nancy's memorial on ATWT. Lee Lawson and Lisa Brown should have been seen during when Mo died on TGL. But instead of seeing Mike, Hope, and Meta mourning Bert, we had a fake Ed and the likes of Warren Andrews (!!!) in her post-service scenes, even though Bert had loathed Warren. Instead of welcoming Penny, Don, and Ellen back to Oakdale to say goodbye to Nancy, we had to gag our way through As Katie Grieves. UGH!

Bert Bauer's passing was handled POORLY, considering TPTB took over a year to figure out what to do after Charita had passed away. As you correctly stated @vetsoapfan, no appearance whatsoever from her son, Mike, who she was incredibly close to? Yes, Mike got mentioned in passing, but to not at least try to get Don Stewart to return was ridiculous. I think that Stewart would have returned out of respect for Charita, but I'm guessing no one even tried to reach out to him.

For Nancy...I've given Chris Goutman probably too much sympathy on this, since I'm thinking there was not enough time (or a proper budget) to get a proper service put together that would have included the extended Hughes family.

Maureen...that was all JFP, as I assume @DRW50 was alluding to - it was to prop up Ed, but then nothing came of it for Ed at all.

One of the best funerals TGL ever did was the funeral for HB Lewis. That was how you did it - invite former cast members to come back and honor the actor (yes, that even included Rebecca Hollen returning as Trish!!!). Another good one was for Alice on DOOL, although there could have been/should have been even more Hortons that came back for her service (again, I'm guessing budget was an issue?).

On 2/8/2019 at 2:35 PM, vetsoapfan said:

Do ANY of Peterson's episodes still exist?

@vetsoapfan - I can think of at least three that are supposed to exist:

1. 1940/07/17: Reverend Ruthledge chats with Ellis Smith ("Mr. Nobody from Nowhere") who has been blinded.

2. 1940 (unknown exact date): Ellen, the Ruthledge's housekeeper, is upset and wants to leave the parsonage. She speaks with Reverend Ruthledge and then leaves. Mrs. Martin later comes in and she and Reverend Ruthledge talk about Ellen and also about Ellis Smith who was, at that time, going through surgery to correct his blindness.

3. 1944/06/07: D-Day episode (Reverend Ruthledge sermon).

There are probably more, but these are the only ones I have notes on that are supposed to feature Reverend Ruthledge.

On 1/30/2019 at 3:01 PM, vetsoapfan said:

 

I was able to justify Meta's talking about Rev. Ruthledge by remembering that none of us knew everything that had happened to the Bauers before they were introduced on TGL in 1948, or everything about Rev. Ruthledge's history pre-1937. It's possible that Rev. Ruthledge had been sent around to do missionary work in various states/communities (including Selby Flats) before settling down in Selby Flats. Because it was not blatantly impossible for the reverend to have met Papa, Mama and young Meta before we, the audience, met any one them, I gave TGL a pass about the Meta/Rev. Ruthledge link.

 

The original "guiding light" was Rev. Ruthledge's Friendship Lamp, which he always displayed in his window to guide all the lost souls to his door. After he left the show, his lamp passed into different hands, and eventually stopped being mentioned or seen. I think the last time I saw it on-screen was when Rev. Keeler was appearing in the 1950s. I have at least one episode from that decade with the lamp featured. In my fantasies, I thought that a nice way to end TGL would have been if the Friendship Lamp had turned up again and been gifted to the Bauer family, in acknowledgement of the friendship Rev. Ruthledge had shared with Papa Bauer before we knew either of them (as referenced in some newly-discovered, vintage diaries that Ruthledge had kept from the 1930s.). The Friendship Lamp shining through the window of the Bauer kitchen would have been the perfect way to tie together the series' 72-year history. Alas, TPTB in the show's last decades never seemed interested in history.

Agreed. I too, gave the writers a pass on the Meta/Bauers/Rev. Ruthledge connection exactly for the reasons you stated, @vetsoapfan.

Side question - did Irna decide to kill off Reverend Ruthledge when Arthur Peterson Jr. decided to leave the show so that the character of Reverend Ruthledge had no chance to ever return (because Irna wasn't happy that Arthur wanted to leave the show)? I remember reading that somewhere, perhaps in either "A 50th Anniversary Celebration" or "The Complete Family Album"?

In my opinion, the damage had already begun the prior year, 1984. Oddly enough, the show seemed to spiral out of control the moment it hit #1. Gail Kobe, for whatever reason, had already let go of long-time favorites Tom O'Rourke (Justin) and Elvira Roussell (Hope), then continued the purge with Don Stewart (Mike) and Marsha Clark (Hillary) in 1984 before the biggest purge in 1985. As stated above, some of the actors left by choice, others did not (O'Rourke, Roussell, Stewart, Clark). I agree with @Khan - I think most of this was due to Gail versus Pam Long. Long's writing was strongest when characters simply interacted, versus trying to do things like "The Dreaming Death", "Susan Piper/Barbados" and the Largo organization.

Denise Pence was fantastic on TGL (I'm biased because I had a crush on her as a kid). I have a feeling that if the Dobsons (who created Katie and Floyd) had stayed with the show past 1979, they would have eventually introduced Katie's parents, further solidifying her in Springfield.

1 hour ago, vetsoapfan said:

 

Thanks. From past experience, we know that surprising goodies do pop up from time to time, but as long as no earlier episodes are known to exist as of right now, I won't go hunting. I'd love to get the very first show from 1937. You would think that somebody would have been bright enough to save the very first broadcasts of shows like TGL, ATWT, AW, etc. At least SFT's debut ep is floating around among traders, and TEON's second episode from April, 1956, too.

Agreed. I just have a copy of the script from the first episode of GL on radio in 1937 (which was available for a time, I think, on the GL website?).

20 hours ago, vetsoapfan said:

What is the earliest surviving episode from TGL's run?

 

I have a radio broadcast from 1940. Does any extant material precede that?

I believe that is the earliest *known* surviving episode.

14 hours ago, Graves72 said:

Jane played Liz well into 1972.  Irna wanted to kill her because Jane wouldn't give up the play.  Irna wanted the world to see Jane as sweet heroine Liz and her role in the play countered that image.  The network forbade her from offing the beleaguered Liz, who was enormously popular as the show's front-burnner young heroine.  (Susan Stewart was her nemisis.)  When her contract was up in '72, Jane had had enough and walked.  In those days, characters were often as popular as their portrayers.  Because Liz was popular and loved, the show had to replace her.  That's when Irna got her revenge by killing Liz (Judith McGilligan) and writing out nearly all of the large Stewart family.  She wanted no reminders of Jane House and Liz.   Irna died and the new writers brought back all the Stewarts whom Irna didn't kill.  (Dan, the girls, Ellen, Susan, Annie, Dee)  David and the old judge survived Irna's wrath but went onto the backburner until the banished Stewarts resurfaced.

Was Judith accepted in the role of Liz as well as Jane was?

12 hours ago, Graves72 said:

Yes.  Charlotte worked at the hospital where Tracy died.  Tracy had told Charlotte about her life and her Aunt Sara's inheritance.  So, after Tracy died, Charlotte assumed her identity.  Victoria Wyndham had everyone fooled (audience included) until Flip and Marty showed up.

Thank you! Was the Tracy/Charlotte reveal around 1968 or 1969? I'm trying to piece together if the reveal came when Victoria Wyndham was leaving the role of Charlotte. Any idea on that one?

On 9/16/2018 at 7:29 PM, DRW50 said:

Someone asked if Michael Zaslow took a break from GL during 1974. Does anyone know?

He was gone in 1973 and 1975, I believe. I don't remember him being gone for any extended time at all in 1974, but I could be wrong. I definitely remember him leaving in mid-1977 shortly after his affair with Rita was revealed, and him not returning to the show until a year later.

Very true, @Soaplovers. Marland was a better fit on ATWT versus TGL.

Holly *should* have become a stronger person post-Roger, not weaker. I really wanted to see a storyline after Roger's death where a proactive Holly aids Mike in trying to uncover what evidence Roger had on Alan. This would bring Mike and Holly closer together, which in turn would make Ed jealous (at the same time he's trying to reconcile with Rita).

1 hour ago, vetsoapfan said:

 

Actually, Steve Jackson vanished without explanation  in 1981, two years before Bill Bauer died.

I was actually surprised that Marland let Steve Jackson go. I figured that Marland would have kept Steve Jackson around, not only from a legacy standpoint but also because of his connection to Bert as a peer.

Lenore Kasdorf was asked to return in 1989 along with Michael Zaslow and Maureen Garrett, but she declined. I believe the reason was that she would have had to relocate back to New York. However, I think Pam Long would have written Rita very well, and would have definitely found ways to distinguish her from Reva. It would be hard for me to visualize Kasdorf with Simon's Ed, of course.

And yes, Kasdorf left in 1981 because she didn't think that Marland had a good handle on her character, and she was probably right.

3 hours ago, Soaplovers said:

I had asked this question about Holly and Roger...but I'll ask this about Josh and Reva.  Which of their love interests did you like them with best?  For me, I liked Reva with Kyle..and I liked Josh with Annie Dutton (pre going crazy).

I guess I was one of the few who liked Josh with Harley, though that pairing was very brief. As far as Reva...for a romantic pairing, I never did have a favorite for her.

11 hours ago, vetsoapfan said:

 

Thank you, Katie, for that insightful and heartfelt analysis of the Bill Bauer saga. You expressed it PERFECTLY.

 

I certainly did not hate Bill; indeed, I loved all the original core Bauer family members and loved watching their journeys unfold over the decades.

 

I saw Bill as an essentially kind-hearted, quiet man who would have been perfectly content working at a comfortable, middle-class job and enjoying a tranquil family life at home. But no. That was not good enough for Bert, who was quite a shrew and a harpy back in the day. Not content with what she had (which was a stable home and security), she kept nagging and nagging Bill to earn more, to be more, to achieve more, thereby pushing her poor husband out of his comfort zone and inflicting undue stress on him. Papa Bauer had his own, old-school ideas of what it meant to be a man, and I don't think he really understood Bill's underlying contentment with just having a simple, quiet middle-class existence rather than striving for high-stress-inducing jobs and greater (unnecessary) financial gains.

 

I think Bill turned to alcohol because he felt like a personal and professional failure, and he turned to other women because they made him feel like a desirable man. He got little support and little understanding from his family who put unreasonable expectations on him. This did not excuse his bad choices, of course, but his reactions were human and at least understandable. He was not a strong, naturally-aggressive person. He did not have the resources to fight the negativity he was receiving at home, so drinking and carousing were his coping mechanisms.

 

To her credit, Bert eventually started to come around and see how life had hurt her husband. She finally started to respect him for the person he was, rather than the man she wanted him to become.

 

One of my all-time favorite TGL episodes aired in 1966 (I think). Ed was railing to his mother about all of Bill's shortcomings and failures, and Bert finally had enough. She tore Ed a new one, vehemently telling him that Bill was a good man and a kind man; that he was ultimately a BIG man, and although it horrified her to acknowledge it, Ed was not. Ed was a nothing more than a small man who did not live up to his father in any way. IT WAS WONDERFUL to see such truthful, explosive family drama unfold that year, for characterizations to deepen, for Bert to grow as a person and come to realize her own guilt in  exacerbating Bill's problems.

 

What I always wanted the show to explore, was Ed's abject hypocrisy towards his father. For as much as Ed denigrated Bill for drinking, for infidelity, for failing the family, Ed HIMSELF became a drunken philanderer who abandoned and failed his own family in the exact same way.

 

I did not want Bert and Bill to remarry after he turned up alive in 1977, for that would have undermined all the progress Bert had made during his absence. She had grown into a moral, strong, sympathetic figure who put her family's welfare above her own needs and ambitions. She had became "the guiding light" of the Bauer family and of the show. And while I had all the sympathy in the world for Bill's pain over the years, his allowing his elderly father, wife, and kids to believe he was dead for so long was inexcusable. I wanted Bill and Bert (and Ed) to finally work through their long-standing issues and come to some sort of understanding; at least an uneasy peace. Bert and Bill could have become sympathetic friends and allies to support their family, not husband and wife again, and if he had died at that point, after the healing process with his family was established, then Bill Bauer's death would have meant something. It would have had emotional resonance with the audience. It would have brought the character around full circle, back into the bosom of his family and the hearts of viewers.  But the callous, indifferent way TPTB chose to kill off the character, with none of his issues dealt with, explored, or resolved, was simply a slap in the face. A cheap gimmick done for shock value that offered no emotional pay-off, no closure, nothing. An original character from the early days of the show, killed off for no reason other than to jump=start a ludicrous story that was not appropriate for TGL anyway.

 

Sigh.

Very well said regarding Bill Bauer, @vetsoapfan. I also wish they would have explored Ed's hypocrisy towards Bill in more depth after Bill returned from the dead. For the most part, Ed ended up being EXACTLY like Bill. Actually, both Bauer boys were philanderers, although Mike didn't seem to loathe Bill the way that Ed did.

Bill remained pretty much the same meek character, whether played by Sudrow or Bryce. Whenever I see old footage of Ed Bryce and Charita Bauer arguing as Bill and Bert, it reminds me of my maternal grandparents - they would argue and bicker just like Bill and Bert.

I always wanted to see TGL move forward with Steve Jackson and Bert. I wonder why the show never went there during the 1970's...

Like @Mitch, I wasn't a great fan of Fletcher, either . I did like him in the very beginning when he was introduced, but as 1984 progressed he seemed like he was in every storyline in some capacity. I also agree that he never really clicked with any of the women they tried to pair him with. I think on a friend basis, Fletcher and Hillary clicked. I would have loved for them to have eventually become partners in a PI firm in Springfield - Fletcher shifting focus from reporter to PI, and Hillary abandoning her nursing career to do something completely off the beaten path (against her family's wishes). I think Marsha Clark could have pulled this off.

As @vetsoapfan states, Brandon Spaulding definitely died on screen in 1979 (September or October?). For those who have the German TGL DVD set which has November and December 1979 episodes, the David Thomas version of Brandon Spaulding appears in a dream sequence that Lucille has in one of the November episodes included in the set. It may even be up on YT at this point?

And like @Soaplovers, my personal favorite era of TGL was the Dobson era, exactly for the reasons written in their post above. The interesting thing about this TGL thread is that it made me reevaluate the Marland era - I didn't care for it as much as I thought I did. Marland's era was "cold and depressed" for the most part, which is why I don't think Marland could have written for Rita, or could have ever come up with a character like Reva.

@j swift - I would have never paired Bill again with Bert. In fact, if Bill were to have been given some sort of redemption storyline, it should be just as you stated - Bert forgives Bill, but she doesn't forget. The divorce sticks. In fact, I wish the Dobsons would have just paired Bert with Steve Jackson after the "Bill is back from the dead" story imploded.

17 hours ago, JarrodMFiresofLove said:

 

I would have killed Bill Bauer off too, if I was in charge. He had been so infrequently seen since the late 60s that the heart of the family no longer included him. At least Long and Kobe got some drama and real mileage out of his death.

 

As I said previously I think axing Mike was the right move. However, I did not think Hope should have been written off...or if she was, why she couldn't have returned later, especially when Alan-Michael was aged and reintroduced. The worst part of Hope's exit was she had become a drunk and we were supposed to want Alan to divorce her. But I can also see how being married to a man like Alan might have turned anyone into a drunk. So part of it made sense. Still she could have come back later on after she'd sobered up.

 

I also wasn't crazy about Hilary being killed off. But I think she was kind of played out. She should have just left town like Mike and Hope did, with a possible return later. I found actress Marsha Clark to be almost too masculine in the role so I never bought her as a romantic leading lady in any of the character's possible romances. She was best as a pal of Katie's at Cedars. And her friendship with Kelly and Floyd was good. But in terms of soapy drama, she was never going to be a center stage leading lady.

 

I think refocusing the Bauers on Ed and Maureen was the right move. And giving Ed another child (Michelle) kept the Bauers going until Rick was old enough to take over as the Bauer patriarch. Subsequent head writers continued to make sure more Bauers were born. Rick had several kids. And technically the Bauer line continued through Alan-Michael and the Spauldings too.

The problem I had with the death of Bill Bauer is that it really didn't have much drama, and certainly no long term mileage. It was a problem I had with other soaps at that time - sacrifice a long-term character or historical character for a short-term storyline (Eli Simms, in this case). Plus, as you correctly stated, Bill hadn't been seen since 1978, so what true impact did his death have on that storyline? Not much. If Bill had been around a bit more leading up to his death, giving a chance for viewers to get acquainted/re-acquainted with the character, then I might have been more accepting of it. The more compelling story to kill off Bill would be to bring the character back to Springfield to try to finally make amends with his family. Give the storyline a year to play out (which would NEVER happen today), where Bill tries to make amends to Mike, Ed, and Hillary, and to seek forgiveness from Bert for everything he's done in the past. Bill tries to take an active involvement in both his kids' and grandkids' (and great-grandkid with Alan-Michael) lives. The catch would be that Bill is actually dying, or is very sick. An interesting cause would be liver failure (due to drinking) or lung cancer (due to smoking, which was very frequent on soaps during the 1950's and 1960's).

I will still disagree with the writing out of Mike Bauer. I would have been more accepting of even a recast at that point. There's no doubt that Long was going to use Mike not only in the love triangle with Lilian and Alex, but also with the whole "Susan Piper/Brandon Spaulding ain't dead" storyline (don't even get me started on that one). The problem was that during the reveal in November, there wasn't anyone still on the show with who had any history or experience with Brandon, only Alex. Fletcher, Tony, Annabelle, Jim, had no involvement or relation to it. Alan was gone, Amanda was gone, and any other Spaulding that would have been impacted by Brandon's reveal was nowhere to be found. Mike would have probably been there along with Alex, to show what a shock it was having Brandon fake his death. Why? Because Mike had history with the Spauldings.

Again, if the end game for Long was Mike and Alex, that would have been fascinating to see play out. Have Hope come back with a slightly older (but not 18 years old!) Alan-Michael, and you could have some very interesting family dynamics going on, not the least of which would be Alan Spaulding returning from the "dead" to see his arch nemesis married to his sister.

Hillary Bauer...Hillary was a great character, full of spunk. She was fun! While she was never going to be over-the-top like a Reva, she was still a breath of fresh air in Springfield. Hillary was a nice contrast to her two brothers. In Marland's term, it seemed like he would occasionally forget she was a Bauer. I liked Clark, because she didn't look like traditional leading lady. I think in the right hands and with the right story, she could have been - especially once Roger reappeared in 1989.

23 minutes ago, JarrodMFiresofLove said:

 

Yeah I think Bert was Long's type of character. Long liked telling stories with heart and Bert fit perfectly into that.

 

At the time I remember being upset when Mike was written out. I think instead of putting him with Alex they put him with Lillian for awhile, after the stuff with Bradley ended. But then Mike was sent packing to D.C. around October 1984.

 

Looking at the Dobson episodes I watched the other day, it's clear that Mike has exhausted a lot of his storyline by late 1977 and as the years wore on, there was even less they could do with him. Marland played up the Mike-Alan-Hope stuff but that could only last so long. By comparison, Ed was younger and had a younger family (Freddie/Rick, Chrissie/Blake and then Michelle). It's easy to see years of story ahead for Ed but not for Mike. So in hindsight I think Long and Kobe made the right decision axing Mike.

 

If Charita had not gotten sick again and passed away, Bert undoubtedly would have remained on the show. She would always have had a place in Ed's stories.

Actually, I think Long was starting to write a very interesting storyline for Mike in 1984. Mike had been heavily involved with Alan from the Spaulding family's initial introduction in 1977, and he was front and center in it  - even when Marland took over. The problem with Mike was that the character had no solid family at that point, unlike Ed. Mike was clearly the more stable of the Bauer brothers, but with no wife and his only child (Hope) SORAS'd and now with a grandson (Alan-Michael), he became more of a supporting character. This was probably due in part to Don Stewart's refusal to work with some of the actresses that Marland had planned for him (Jennifer Richards, for example).

By 1984, however, Pam Long planned a love triangle with Alexandra/Mike/Lillian. The repercussions of that triangle would no doubt have carried over into Lujack and Beth. However, once again it appeared that Stewart wasn't set on working with Bev. I think that was the final straw for Kobe, and she fired Stewart.

I still think that if Long's end game would have been Mike and Alexandra, that marriage (or potential marriage) could have sparked more years of Bauer-Spaulding storylines, especially when Bernau eventually returned to the show and if TPTB brought back Hope (and not a severely SORAS'd Alan-Michael).

On 7/6/2018 at 12:04 PM, Mitch said:

 Ed was there, played by the original Ed..I remember at the Bauer BBQ Holly mentioned that she got a letter from her brother and the actor started rubbing his arm as if remembering. Now he quickly disappeared so he wasn't there for crazy Holly, but he was there for the start...

Thanks @Mitch. I forgot Robert Gentry *was* there as Ed when Holly mentioned Ken (I would have figured he would have rubbed his hand versus his arm, but at least they semi-acknowledged it), but Ed was off canvas by the time Ken finally appeared, wasn't he?

@vetsoapfan: Just curious - what was the chemistry like between John Reilly's Dan and Marie Masters during the time Dan and Kim were falling in love?

On 6/21/2018 at 6:27 PM, vetsoapfan said:

 

Just being able to see Papa Bauer's funeral episode again was a welcome miracle. I had saved it on audiotape, but went in Nirvana when the full-color, excellent-quality video appeared.

 

We have heard, over the years, about so much vintage material from all areas of entertainment simply rotting away and being discarded by indifferent custodians/employees...it's infuriating.

 

Are there specific actors/characters from TGL whom you really want the chance to see?

 

A soap-trading acquaintance of mine has various vintage episodes on 16-mm film but lacks the facilities to transfer them. Don't 16-mm projectors still exist? He also has soap eps on U-Matic and Beta videotape, which he cannot play or dub to another format, either. I've him that I at least have a working Betamax, and would be happy to convert his ancient Beta tapes to DVD, but he said he was too worried that they would get lost or damaged in the mail. While that is possible, I think it's MORE likely that the tapes will rot into dust if they remain sitting in a box in his basement year after year, decade after decade. 

I would love to see, from ATWT, any footage of:

- The Dan/Liz/Paul saga (late 1960's/early 1970's).

- Footage of John Reilly as Dan with Kim (mid 1970's).

- Grant/Joyce/Don (late 1970's).

- The Bob/Kim/Jennifer/John/Rick Ryan saga from the early 1970's

From TGL, really any available footage from the late 1960's through 1979, in particular:

- Robert Gentry's last year or two as Ed Bauer. At least some clips from Gentry's final shows exist in black and white, as they were up on a GL website for a time. This was when Ed was arrested for drunken driving.

- Don Stewart's early years as Mike Bauer.

- Mart Hulswit's early years as Ed Bauer.

- Footage of Mike and Leslie (some with Rodell, some with Adams).

- Early footage of Lenore Kasdorf as Rita.

- Any footage of Lynn Deerfield as Holly.

- Any footage of Deerfield with Michael Zaslow and Mart Hulswit.

- More footage of Dean Blackwell from the late 1970's.

Basically, I'll take anything 

16 hours ago, All My Shadows said:

 

Roger Newcomb of We Love Soaps used to post here frequently and was heavily involved in the production of the DVDs. There was a separate thread for discussion of the releases, but I can’t renember if he ever shared why they stopped.

 

 

Aren’t those deteriorated to the point of being unplayable? I hate the thought of them being there but not being able to be seen.

Yes, Roger never clarified it - he was confused like the rest of us initially as to why Soap Classics all of a sudden lost the license. However, I will offer my own thanks to Roger, as he was able to help get out some classic episodes from ATWT and TGL that I never thought I would ever see.

As far as the UCLA film library, I'm hoping someone there at UCLA made an effort to digitize those films, as you are correct - those films may have deteriorated to the point of being unplayable. That's a huge shame - those films contain episodes I would love to see from TGL (and probably contains the only existing footage of certain actors on that show), but never likely will.

On 6/11/2018 at 9:11 AM, DRW50 said:

Thanks! Were Kit and Charlotte still on the show at this time? 

 

Do you remember this promo?

 

I don't know much about that Wilson Frost character.

 

I wonder who the woman in the hospital bed was. 

Sorry I missed your question earlier. The woman in the hospital bed (with Ed) is Janet (Mason) Norris.

On 6/14/2018 at 3:01 PM, Soaplovers said:

I know that when Ken returned in the late 90s... there was a scene where Holly went to Michelle and Jesse for help when he went missing.. and Michelle's body language was hostile to the point where Jesse asked her why she didn't want to help.. and she blurted out that Ken shot her father so why should she help find him.... and Holly felt bad about that happening.

 

I always thought Ken's return in the late 90s was wasted.. he provided good support when Holly was losing it.. but I always felt it would have been better had Ed been on the canvas to deal with what happened in the mid 70s.

 

I definitely agree. Even if it was Peter Simon in the role, the fact that Ed wasn't there was a missed opportunity. Even after 25 years (well, 30 soap time), Ed would be reminded of the man and the incident that made him unable to perform surgery. Ken, even after years of treatment, could still have resentment towards Ed for "stealing" Janet away from him. To help give Ken some added momentum, they could have cast Ken and Janet's daughter, Emily, who comes to Springfield to try to start or repair a relationship with her father.