Reverend Ruthledge

No. A different Alice. The one in 1952 is Kathy's roommate, Alice Graham. It can be confusing when the same character name is used more than once and I don't always mention last names in my synopses.

By the way, another thing that might be confusing is that Dick's sister also goes by the name "Bunny". So if you see the name Bunny and the name Karen, they are interchangeable. Bunny was a nickname.

Well, Mike killed Karl Jannings in a fight although he didn't mean to kill him.

Yes, she is.

I think I know the sentence you are referring to and I may not have worded that well. Bert was worried that her own baby (who would be Mike) might inherit the same Bauer trait that caused Meta to be a murderer. Meta was not pregnant. Bert was pregnant with Mike at the time.

-1/2/52 thru 1/31/52. Bruce helps Meta not to put her repressed memories back into her subconscious. Meta tells Bruce that she’s married and Bruce says that the marriage is a mistake and if Meta decides to end it, he’ll be there. Kathy has met a boy, Dick, while visiting a friend in San Francisco and is interested enough in him to attend Stanford. Joe, tired of Kathy trying to push him and Peggy together, tells Kathy that he’s married to Meta. Kathy becomes hysterical and screams to Joe that she hates him. Before Bruce heads back to NYC, Meta tells him that though the jury found her not guilty, she will forever have the stain of having killed someone. Kathy and Peggy discover that the boy Kathy is interested in is Peggy’s cousin. Margaret and Dick’s mother, Laura, are estranged sisters. Dick comes to Los Angeles to be with Kathy. Joe brings Meta home and the children make her feel unwelcome. -2/1/52 thru 2/29/52. Ray and Charlotte are moving to New York City and Bert wants to move into their house but Bill protests. A reporter finds out Joe and Meta are married and Ted’s murder is brought out in print again, causing Kathy and Joey to be even more fearful of Meta and to become pariahs in the community. It also causes Bert to question Meta’s sanity and if her unborn baby will inherit the same tendencies. Bruce shares his concern about Meta with Clyde and Trudy. Bruce thinks Meta could snap again with all the pressure she’s under in the Roberts home. Clyde, who dislikes Meta, says that both Bruce and Trudy should stay away from Meta and her problems. Meta fears she will never be free of the past. Ready to get away from home, Kathy goes to San Francisco to celebrate her 18th birthday and to see her best friend Louise and Dick Grant. Laura Grant, Dick’s mother, tries to get Dick to stop seeing Kathy. -3/3/52 thru 3/31/52. Joe and Meta discuss Joey going away to a boy’s school. Meta thinks Joe is sending Joey away because of her and she proposes that she leave instead. Joe thinks Meta is looking for an excuse to leave to be with Bruce Banning. Charlotte stops by to say goodbye to Meta on the eve of her and Ray’s departure from Selby Flats and Meta lets it be known how desperate she feels. Meta freaks Joey out by hysterically begging him not to go away. Meta fears she is losing her sanity again. Joe slaps Kathy when she becomes more defiant and starts sneaking out. Meta fears Kathy is going to make the same mistakes she made as she is the same age Meta was when she left home and has the same defiant attitude. Bert worries that if Meta is mentally ill, her child could inherit it. She thinks Meta is becoming unbalanced again and could possibly kill Joe like she did Ted. Bill, per usual, thinks Bert is overreacting. Bill and Meta discuss their closeness, her desire to try to reach Kathy and Bill’s lingering feelings for Gloria. Bill reports that Gloria married Sid Harper. Meta tells him not to idealize Gloria as she is in danger of doing so with Bruce. Meta receives a letter from Bruce and Bert pries into the situation. Bert goes into labor with Mike and Meta is haunted by memories of Chuckie. The birth of Mike Bauer. Meta has a hard time sharing the joy as she grieves Chuckie. -4/1/52 thru 4/30/52. Bert’s joy of her baby’s birth is quickly marred by jealousy when she finds out Bill is producing a TV show featuring Gloria. Meta, staying with Bert to help with the baby, isn’t sure she’s going back to Joe. Bill wants to name the newborn William Jr. but Bert, resentful of Bill for working with Gloria, names the baby Michael which Bill does not like. Joey starts to warm up to Meta and tells Joe he misses her. Dick’s sister, Karen, talks to Dick about the love of her life that she lost because she let their mother come between them and how now she feels she is settling with Laura’s pick for her, Charles. She warns Dick not to allow the same thing to happen to him. Bill refuses to call his son “Michael” and calls him “Butch” instead, resentful that Bert didn’t name him after himself. Bert tells Bill she won’t believe him that he’s not interested in Gloria anymore unless Bill stops working with her. Meta talks to Sid about the Bill/Gloria dilemma and Sid tells Meta that if Gloria’s TV show gets picked up nationwide, he will move to New York City with Gloria. Bert dotes heavily on Michael to the exclusion of Bill. -5/1/52 thru 5/30/52. Sid, out of concern for Gloria and not jealousy, pleads with her to forget about Bill as he’s married with a child now. Gloria agrees to move to New York. Clyde will be on a business trip for a month and Meta decides to go stay with Trudy while he’s gone so she can get away and decide if she and Joe should divorce. Kathy tells Meta she can do whatever she wants because she’s just ready to move out and start her own life now. Dick announces he doesn’t want to study medicine and tells Laura to quit trying to control him. Bill has to go to New York to work on Gloria’s show for a month and Bert wants to go along because she doesn’t trust Bill to be alone in New York with Gloria. Bert’s claws come out when Sid and Gloria stop by for a visit after dropping Bill home and Bert later regrets her behavior and gives Bill her blessing to go to New York alone. -6/2/52 thru 6/29/52. Clyde wants Trudy to be completely separate from the Bauers for her own well-being. Clyde, who doesn’t like Meta, thinks she’s stringing Bruce along. As her New York debut looms, Gloria gets stage fright and Sid tries to break her of her emotional dependence on Bill. Meta and Gloria meet and hit it off. Sid tells Bill to stop working on Gloria’s program and not come back to New York. Kathy admits that though she broke things off with Dick, she’s in love with him. Bunny gets engaged to Charles but feels like she’s settling thanks to Laura’s interference. Laura intercepts a letter from Kathy to Dick, Karen finds it later and confronts Laura. Bert goes to Bill’s boss and asks him to take Bill off of the account. Kathy graduates high school. Since she didn’t get a return letter from Dick, she decides not to go to college and gets a job in a department store with plans to move into an apartment with another girl, determined to prove that she doesn’t need anybody else. -6/30/52. First television episode. Meta is staying with Trudy in New York while separated from Joe. Trudy tries to convince Meta to call Joe but Meta feels there’s no hope because Kathy hates her. Back in Selby Flats, Kathy tells Joe that she’s moving out and getting a sales job at a department store so Meta can move back. -7/1/52-7/31/52. Sid tries to keep Bill and Gloria apart. Meta, visiting Trudy in New York, tells Bruce that she’s decided to go back to California and to her husband Joe. Kathy moves into an apartment with a girl named Alice. Bert is jealous of Gloria and wants Bill to stay at home. Knowing Joe and Meta have money, Alice introduces herself to Meta and tries to butter her up to get money out of her by lying that it’s for Kathy. Gloria starts drinking again. Bob wants to get serious with Kathy and talks marriage to her but she tells him she wants to hold on to her newfound independence. Kathy confesses to Alice that she’s still hung up on Dick, who hasn’t spoken to her in months. Gloria visits Meta to express her concern that Bill will start drinking again. -8/1/52-8/29/52. Meta is haunted by her past and blames herself for Kathy’s leaving home. Bob feels like his social inferiority is the reason for Kathy’s ambiguity about their relationship, not knowing that the real reason is Kathy’s physical attraction to Bob yet emotional attachment to Dick. When she finds out Dick is thinking about interning at Cedars Hospital in Los Angeles, Laura forbids him to see Kathy. Karen threatens to tell Dick that their mother destroyed Kathy’s letter to Dick. Gloria’s laryngitis may be psychosomatic and she wants to go away to a sanitarium for a rest. Sid is put out with Gloria’s lingering feelings for Bill. Sid calls Alice to replace as the singer for the show while Gloria is away for a month. Kathy strings Bob along because she’s lonely and he’s willing. Bob is inpatient to marry Kathy. Peaceful now that she’s at the sanitarium, Gloria tells Sid during his visit that she’s not going back to the TV show and tells Bill, during his visit, that she can’t keep working with him because of her feelings for him and that he belongs with Bert. With inner doubt and reluctance, Kathy elopes with Bob and immediately regrets getting married. Kathy tells Bob she wants to keep the marriage secret for the time being. -9/1/52-9/30/52. Meta is starting to be suspicious of Alice. Alice likes Bill and Bert is jealous of Alice. Joey visits with Kathy for the first time since she moved out and has a surprise run-in with Bob, oblivious to the fact that he’s Kathy’s husband. Kathy and Bob park along the ocean during a foggy night. Kathy tells Bob that she doesn’t love him, has always loved Dick and that she wants an annulment. A hurt Bob drives speedily away with Kathy in the car and crashes. Bob dies in the crash and Kathy leaves the scene of the crash. Later, Kathy tells Alice what happened and Alice persuades her not to tell anyone she was in the car. Dick confronts Laura about Kathy’s letter to him that Laura destroyed before he could read it. He tells Laura that she won’t interfere in his relationship with Kathy anymore and he plans to marry her. Dick goes to Kathy and explains about the letter and the two get engaged. Mac tells Joe that a woman’s lighter was at the scene of the crash and Joe suspects Kathy was in the crash. -10/1/52-10/31/52. Dick pressures Kathy into marrying quickly to spite Laura. Kathy tries half-heartedly to tell Dick about Bob but fails to do so. Kathy tells Meta that she secretly married Bob, was with him when he died in the car crash and that she’s pregnant with his baby. She guilt-trips Meta into silence by suggesting it’s all Meta’s fault. Bill tries to fire Alice for a contract violation and she tells him what she knows about Kathy and blackmails him into keeping her on contract. Crane is snooping around trying to find out who owns the woman’s lighter found at the crash. Dick and Kathy get married. Joe asks Kathy if she was in the car when Bob died and Kathy lies and says she wasn’t. -11/3/52-11/28/52. Kathy tells Dick that she’s pregnant but lets him believe the baby is his. Dick and Kathy tell Richard and Laura the news about the pregnancy. Laura is upset over the news and doesn’t trust Kathy. Crane finds evidence that Bob and Kathy were married and posits that Kathy might have killed Bob. Papa, Bill, Bert, Joe and Meta celebrate Thanksgiving. -12/1/52-12/31/52. Joe finds out from Mac that Bob and Kathy were married. He confronts Kathy about the marriage and she confesses but continues to lie about the night Bob died. When the newspapers drag the Ted White murder story out again, Laura is mortified and suggests to Kathy that she and Dick move to San Francisco and into her house to get away from it all. Kathy jumps at the chance to escape her problems but Dick refuses to be under Laura’s thumb. Meta blasts Bert for sticking her nose into the Kathy situation. Meta tells Joe the whole story about Kathy. Joe tells Crane the truth of what happened but Crane isn’t ready to drop the story. After a blow-up with Joe, Kathy goes to San Francisco and Meta goes to New York City. Kathy finally lays into Laura about her controlling behavior and Laura’s claws come out. Out of a job and with Crane breathing down her neck, Alice moves to New York. -12/25/52. Bill, Bert and Papa talk about how great it was to see Michael’s first Christmas through his eyes. Papa talks about the meaning of Christmas.

I know TGL ran until 1956 on radio but I'm just including the synopsis in this radio section up to when the show went on television. The Guiding Light 1952 -1/2/52 thru 1/31/52. Bruce helps Meta not to put her repressed memories back into her subconscious. Meta tells Bruce that she’s married and Bruce says that the marriage is a mistake and if Meta decides to end it, he’ll be there. Kathy has met a boy, Dick, while visiting a friend in San Francisco and is interested enough in him to attend Stanford. Joe, tired of Kathy trying to push him and Peggy together, tells Kathy that he’s married to Meta. Kathy becomes hysterical and screams to Joe that she hates him. Before Bruce heads back to NYC, Meta tells him that though the jury found her not guilty, she will forever have the stain of having killed someone. Kathy and Peggy discover that the boy Kathy is interested in is Peggy’s cousin. Margaret and Dick’s mother, Laura, are estranged sisters. Dick comes to Los Angeles to be with Kathy. Joe brings Meta home and the children make her feel unwelcome. -2/1/52 thru 2/29/52. Ray and Charlotte are moving to New York City and Bert wants to move into their house but Bill protests. A reporter finds out Joe and Meta are married and Ted’s murder is brought out in print again, causing Kathy and Joey to be even more fearful of Meta and to become pariahs in the community. It also causes Bert to question Meta’s sanity and if her unborn baby will inherit the same tendencies. Bruce shares his concern about Meta with Clyde and Trudy. Bruce thinks Meta could snap again with all the pressure she’s under in the Roberts home. Clyde, who dislikes Meta, says that both Bruce and Trudy should stay away from Meta and her problems. Meta fears she will never be free of the past. Ready to get away from home, Kathy goes to San Francisco to celebrate her 18th birthday and to see her best friend Louise and Dick Grant. Laura Grant, Dick’s mother, tries to get Dick to stop seeing Kathy. -3/3/52 thru 3/31/52. Joe and Meta discuss Joey going away to a boy’s school. Meta thinks Joe is sending Joey away because of her and she proposes that she leave instead. Joe thinks Meta is looking for an excuse to leave to be with Bruce Banning. Charlotte stops by to say goodbye to Meta on the eve of her and Ray’s departure from Selby Flats and Meta lets it be known how desperate she feels. Meta freaks Joey out by hysterically begging him not to go away. Meta fears she is losing her sanity again. Joe slaps Kathy when she becomes more defiant and starts sneaking out. Meta fears Kathy is going to make the same mistakes she made as she is the same age Meta was when she left home and has the same defiant attitude. Bert worries that if Meta is mentally ill, her child could inherit it. She thinks Meta is becoming unbalanced again and could possibly kill Joe like she did Ted. Bill, per usual, thinks Bert is overreacting. Bill and Meta discuss their closeness, her desire to try to reach Kathy and Bill’s lingering feelings for Gloria. Bill reports that Gloria married Sid Harper. Meta tells him not to idealize Gloria as she is in danger of doing so with Bruce. Meta receives a letter from Bruce and Bert pries into the situation. Bert goes into labor with Mike and Meta is haunted by memories of Chuckie. The birth of Mike Bauer. Meta has a hard time sharing the joy as she grieves Chuckie. -4/1/52 thru 4/30/52. Bert’s joy of her baby’s birth is quickly marred by jealousy when she finds out Bill is producing a TV show featuring Gloria. Meta, staying with Bert to help with the baby, isn’t sure she’s going back to Joe. Bill wants to name the newborn William Jr. but Bert, resentful of Bill for working with Gloria, names the baby Michael which Bill does not like. Joey starts to warm up to Meta and tells Joe he misses her. Dick’s sister, Karen, talks to Dick about the love of her life that she lost because she let their mother come between them and how now she feels she is settling with Laura’s pick for her, Charles. She warns Dick not to allow the same thing to happen to him. Bill refuses to call his son “Michael” and calls him “Butch” instead, resentful that Bert didn’t name him after himself. Bert tells Bill she won’t believe him that he’s not interested in Gloria anymore unless Bill stops working with her. Meta talks to Sid about the Bill/Gloria dilemma and Sid tells Meta that if Gloria’s TV show gets picked up nationwide, he will move to New York City with Gloria. Bert dotes heavily on Michael to the exclusion of Bill. -5/1/52 thru 5/30/52. Sid, out of concern for Gloria and not jealousy, pleads with her to forget about Bill as he’s married with a child now. Gloria agrees to move to New York. Clyde will be on a business trip for a month and Meta decides to go stay with Trudy while he’s gone so she can get away and decide if she and Joe should divorce. Kathy tells Meta she can do whatever she wants because she’s just ready to move out and start her own life now. Dick announces he doesn’t want to study medicine and tells Laura to quit trying to control him. Bill has to go to New York to work on Gloria’s show for a month and Bert wants to go along because she doesn’t trust Bill to be alone in New York with Gloria. Bert’s claws come out when Sid and Gloria stop by for a visit after dropping Bill home and Bert later regrets her behavior and gives Bill her blessing to go to New York alone. -6/2/52 thru 6/29/52. Clyde wants Trudy to be completely separate from the Bauers for her own well-being. Clyde, who doesn’t like Meta, thinks she’s stringing Bruce along. As her New York debut looms, Gloria gets stage fright and Sid tries to break her of her emotional dependence on Bill. Meta and Gloria meet and hit it off. Sid tells Bill to stop working on Gloria’s program and not come back to New York. Kathy admits that though she broke things off with Dick, she’s in love with him. Bunny gets engaged to Charles but feels like she’s settling thanks to Laura’s interference. Laura intercepts a letter from Kathy to Dick, Karen finds it later and confronts Laura. Bert goes to Bill’s boss and asks him to take Bill off of the account. Kathy graduates high school. Since she didn’t get a return letter from Dick, she decides not to go to college and gets a job in a department store with plans to move into an apartment with another girl, determined to prove that she doesn’t need anybody else.

Yes. And, although not murderous, she was also deceived by Charlotte Waring who posed as her dead niece Tracy Delmar. It's ironic as Sara was portrayed as a very intelligent doctor but she was conned a lot.

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Thank you for sharing!

Those are good points. The cast did get considerably smaller when they moved to TV and it was pretty much just the Bauers at the Bauers household for a large portion of the episodes. Definitely cut down cost and trouble of actors and sets. The early years of the radio show had a slew of characters. Almost too many. There were so many characters in that first year that it was hard to keep everybody straight. And, in radio, characters were all over the place but, with radio, you didn't have to worry about building all those sets.

-6/12/50 thru 3/15/51. 197 consecutive episodes. Episodes #791-988. Bert pushes Bill to live above his means which starts Bill’s drinking. Bill meets a sympathetic Gloria LaRue, who he is attracted to. Trudy and Meta fight over Ross. Meta files for divorce and she and Ted fight over Chuckie. Chuckie dies in a boxing accident. Meta shoots and kills Ted. Meta’s trial. Meta meets Joe Roberts who falls in love with Meta. Kathy Robert’s first episode. Ray and Charlotte adopt a baby named Penny and then take in her older brother Jimmy. -1/2/51 thru 1/31/51. Ross is located and Trudy doesn’t believe him that the prosecution is wrong in their accusation of him and Meta being romantically involved. Bill is angry that Ray has contacted Gloria. Meta’s trial. Joe tells Ray that he’s changed his mind about Meta. -2/1/51-2/8/51. Charlotte agrees to adopt Penny’s brother Jimmy. Meta’s trial is underway. -3/12/51 thru 4/30/51. The trial of Meta White continues. At the close of the trial, the jury deliberates and the listeners are encouraged to write in their verdict. Bill tells Papa and Trudy that he wants to divorce Bert to be with Gloria and they both plead with him to stay with Bert. Ray and Charlotte’s new adopted 14-year-old son, Jimmy, proves to be a problem child. The verdict in the Meta White murder trial is announced and Meta is not guilty. Trudy talks to Meta about her plans now that she’s free. Kathy tells Joe that she doesn’t like Meta and doesn’t want him bringing her over to their house. Joe gets his job back at the newspaper. As Meta navigates her newfound freedom, she senses that Joe is drifting away from her because of his children and she discovers she’ll never truly be free of the stigma she carries. Bert comes back from visiting her parents in Arizona and tells Bill she has no intention of getting the divorce that he wants. -5/1/51 thru 5/31/51. Bill gets a job with an advertising agency and Gloria makes note that she was the second person he told, after Bert. Meta wonders to Reverend Keeler if there’s redemption for her after having killed somebody. Meta asks Joe if he’s been avoiding her because his feelings for her have changed and assures her that his feelings are the same but Kathy isn’t ready to accept her father with a woman who killed a man. Gloria is afraid to let Sid make her a star because she’s afraid if she fails again it will lead her back to drinking. Bill tells Bert he’s in love with Gloria and moves out of the Bauer home but Bert refuses to divorce him. Meta writes Joe a letter from Mexico City, where she is vacationing, and Kathy hides it. -6/1/51 thru 6/29/51. Bert meets Gloria. Bert has gained weight and wears a maternity dress when she sees Gloria so Gloria thinks that Bert is pregnant. Joe finds out through Joey that Kathy hid Meta’s letter and confronts Kathy, who lies to him. Joe and Meta wonder how they’ll get Kathy to accept Meta. Gloria says she can’t see Bill anymore because Bert’s pregnant. Bill angrily confronts Bert about lying about her pregnancy to break up he and Gloria. Bert’s scheme backfires and Bill moves out. Bert suggests a trial separation for a few months, before a divorce, in a last-ditch effort to keep Bill. Ray tells Joe that Julie has remarried and that he hardly sees Roger, Susan and his two grandchildren. -7/2/51 thru 7/31/51. Meta and Kathy finally meet. Meta hopes to win Kathy over but Kathy remains hostile to her. Reverend Keeler and Joe both work to combat the Red Menace. Trudy is excited as she prepares for her big trip to Jamaica. Trudy meets Clyde Palmer in Montego Bay. At first, she is let down by reality when he says he read about Meta but they quickly drop the subject. Charlotte and Jimmy don’t get along which causes friction with Charlotte and Ray. Trudy writes a letter from Jamaica talking about her vacation romance. Meta is glad that Trudy finally has some good in her life but Bert is worried that Trudy is getting carried away and is in for a let down when she gets back. Clyde and Trudy visit Rosehall and discuss their growing feelings. Trudy can’t believe a sophisticated man like Clyde would be interested in her when they get home and Clyde tells her not to automatically think they’ll never see each other again once they get back to the States. Gloria signs with Sid, which upsets Bill. Clyde takes Trudy to her ship in Kingston to say goodbye. Trudy is content thinking it was just a wonderful summer romance but Clyde says he’ll be seeing her. Kathy tells Joe she can’t accept Meta because she killed a man and she’s scared that Meta could kill her father as well. Joe tells Meta he’s willing to break things off with her because she doesn’t deserve to have to wait for Kathy to come around. Bill goes to pick Trudy up at the airport to bring her back to the Bauer home as an excuse to be with the family again, missing them due to his separation from Bert. Meta and Trudy reconcile. -8/1/51 thru 8/31/51. Joe is in an automobile accident, possibly on purpose, while investigating certain organizations. Meta and Kathy rush to Cedars separately to see Joe. Kathy drives Meta away from the hospital even though Joe had said he wanted to see her. Mac tells Joe they’re not going to chase subversive groups anymore and leave it to the FBI. Joe tells Mac he has to give up Meta because of Kathy. He changes his mind and asks Meta to marry him and plans to keep the marriage secret. Bill tells Bert he wants to go ahead with a divorce but his main motive is to get Gloria to give up on her career. Bill thinks if Gloria doesn’t give up her career, it’s because she doesn’t want to be with him. Though she’s afraid of failure, she doesn’t want to give up her career. -9/3/51 thru 9/28/51. Clyde Palmer comes over to the Bauers for dinner to meet them. Mac finds a house for Meta and Joe but Meta doesn’t want to live there because it’s at the beach in Malibu where she was when her memory left her before the murder and she’s scared of remembering. Joe and Meta get married. Gloria breaks things off with Bill because she thinks his reluctance to divorce Bert proves he wants to be with her instead of Gloria. Gloria’s fears come true as her relational failure with Bill causes her to give a bad debut performance at the Coconut Grove and she falls off the wagon. Trudy has doubts about herself and Clyde ever really liking her. Bert says she’s ready to give Bill his divorce but Bill says he’s not going to marry Gloria and wants to try to put the marriage back together. Bill moves back home. Clyde wants to marry Trudy but she fears they’re too different and that she’s not good enough for him. Bert tells Bill they have to make a go of their marriage because she’s pregnant. -10/1/51 thru 10/31/51. Meta is already having doubts about her secret arrangements with Joe. Joey becomes ill and Mac calls Joe to come back home. Meta, alone in the secret house she and Joe share, finally remembers what happened when she murdered Ted. Joey has rheumatic fever and may be confined to bed for months, making it harder for Joe and Meta to be together. Meta can’t take the arrangement anymore. Clyde invites Trudy to NYC and Meta wants to go with her to get away from things an insecure Trudy is afraid Meta might upstage her with Clyde and his friends. Bert thinks Bill is still in love with Gloria. Sid lays into Bill saying his selfishness is what called Gloria’s downfall and he, being a fellow alcoholic, is the only person who can reach Gloria now. Joe brings in a live-in children’s nurse, Peggy Reagan, to take care of Joey. Joey and Kathy take an instant liking to Peggy. Trudy decides to let Meta go to NYC with her. -11/1/51 thru 11/30/51. Meta and Trudy leave for New York City. Kathy tells Peggy she’s afraid of Meta. Clyde and Trudy get engaged. Meta meets Dr. Bruce Banning, Clyde’s best friend, in New York. Gloria tries to get her life back on track and goes back to singing at the cocktail lounge. Trudy, back from New York, celebrates Thanksgiving with the rest of the Bauers sans Meta who stayed behind in New York. Meta confides in Bruce that she got her memory of the killing back and could use Bruce’s help. Bruce is eager to help her and not just medically. While Meta and Bruce date each other, Joe tells Meta that if she doesn’t come back to California, he’s coming out there to New York. -12/3/51 thru 12/10/51. Meta goes back home and is cold towards a frustrated Joe. Bill warns Meta to tell Bruce that she’s married. Kathy and Joey try to get Joe and Peggy together. Meta thinks about Bruce even though she’s back with Joe. Peggy tells her mother, Margaret, that it’s going to be hard to leave the Roberts family when her job is up in a few weeks now that Joey is recovering. -12/27/51 thru 12/31/51. Clyde and Trudy have been married. Joe has found out about Bruce. Joe, realizing that Peggy has feelings for him, has told her that he’s married. Mac gives Joe stern advice to bring Meta back home and get rid of Peggy. Gloria tells Bill that she loved him but she needs Sid. Meta leaves a New Year’s Eve party with Bruce to welcome in 1952 with Papa, hoping Joe will call. As Papa and Meta talk about the past and future, Joe calls right before midnight.

-6/12/50 thru 3/15/51. 197 consecutive episodes. Episodes #791-988. Bert pushes Bill to live above his means which starts Bill’s drinking. Bill meets a sympathetic Gloria LaRue, who he is attracted to. Trudy and Meta fight over Ross. Meta files for divorce and she and Ted fight over Chuckie. Chuckie dies in a boxing accident. Meta shoots and kills Ted. Meta’s trial. Meta meets Joe Roberts who falls in love with Meta. Kathy Robert’s first episode. Ray and Charlotte adopt a baby named Penny and then take in her older brother Jimmy. -1/2/51 thru 1/31/51. Ross is located and Trudy doesn’t believe him that the prosecution is wrong in their accusation of him and Meta being romantically involved. Bill is angry that Ray has contacted Gloria. Meta’s trial. Joe tells Ray that he’s changed his mind about Meta. -2/1/51-2/8/51. Charlotte agrees to adopt Penny’s brother Jimmy. Meta’s trial is underway. -3/12/51 thru 4/30/51. The trial of Meta White continues. At the close of the trial, the jury deliberates and the listeners are encouraged to write in their verdict. Bill tells Papa and Trudy that he wants to divorce Bert to be with Gloria and they both plead with him to stay with Bert. Ray and Charlotte’s new adopted 14-year-old son, Jimmy, proves to be a problem child. The verdict in the Meta White murder trial is announced and Meta is not guilty. Trudy talks to Meta about her plans now that she’s free. Kathy tells Joe that she doesn’t like Meta and doesn’t want him bringing her over to their house. Joe gets his job back at the newspaper. As Meta navigates her newfound freedom, she senses that Joe is drifting away from her because of his children and she discovers she’ll never truly be free of the stigma she carries. Bert comes back from visiting her parents in Arizona and tells Bill she has no intention of getting the divorce that he wants. -5/1/51 thru 5/31/51. Bill gets a job with an advertising agency and Gloria makes note that she was the second person he told, after Bert. Meta wonders to Reverend Keeler if there’s redemption for her after having killed somebody. Meta asks Joe if he’s been avoiding her because his feelings for her have changed and assures her that his feelings are the same but Kathy isn’t ready to accept her father with a woman who killed a man. Gloria is afraid to let Sid make her a star because she’s afraid if she fails again it will lead her back to drinking. Bill tells Bert he’s in love with Gloria and moves out of the Bauer home but Bert refuses to divorce him. Meta writes Joe a letter from Mexico City, where she is vacationing, and Kathy hides it. -6/1/51 thru 6/29/51. Bert meets Gloria. Bert has gained weight and wears a maternity dress when she sees Gloria so Gloria thinks that Bert is pregnant. Joe finds out through Joey that Kathy hid Meta’s letter and confronts Kathy, who lies to him. Joe and Meta wonder how they’ll get Kathy to accept Meta. Gloria says she can’t see Bill anymore because Bert’s pregnant. Bill angrily confronts Bert about lying about her pregnancy to break up he and Gloria. Bert’s scheme backfires and Bill moves out. Bert suggests a trial separation for a few months, before a divorce, in a last-ditch effort to keep Bill. Ray tells Joe that Julie has remarried and that he hardly sees Roger, Susan and his two grandchildren. -7/2/51 thru 7/31/51. Meta and Kathy finally meet. Meta hopes to win Kathy over but Kathy remains hostile to her. Reverend Keeler and Joe both work to combat the Red Menace. Trudy is excited as she prepares for her big trip to Jamaica. Trudy meets Clyde Palmer in Montego Bay. At first, she is let down by reality when he says he read about Meta but they quickly drop the subject. Charlotte and Jimmy don’t get along which causes friction with Charlotte and Ray. Trudy writes a letter from Jamaica talking about her vacation romance. Meta is glad that Trudy finally has some good in her life but Bert is worried that Trudy is getting carried away and is in for a let down when she gets back. Clyde and Trudy visit Rosehall and discuss their growing feelings. Trudy can’t believe a sophisticated man like Clyde would be interested in her when they get home and Clyde tells her not to automatically think they’ll never see each other again once they get back to the States. Gloria signs with Sid, which upsets Bill. Clyde takes Trudy to her ship in Kingston to say goodbye. Trudy is content thinking it was just a wonderful summer romance but Clyde says he’ll be seeing her. Kathy tells Joe she can’t accept Meta because she killed a man and she’s scared that Meta could kill her father as well. Joe tells Meta he’s willing to break things off with her because she doesn’t deserve to have to wait for Kathy to come around. Bill goes to pick Trudy up at the airport to bring her back to the Bauer home as an excuse to be with the family again, missing them due to his separation from Bert. Meta and Trudy reconcile. -8/1/51 thru 8/31/51. Joe is in an automobile accident, possibly on purpose, while investigating certain organizations. Meta and Kathy rush to Cedars separately to see Joe. Kathy drives Meta away from the hospital even though Joe had said he wanted to see her. Mac tells Joe they’re not going to chase subversive groups anymore and leave it to the FBI. Joe tells Mac he has to give up Meta because of Kathy. He changes his mind and asks Meta to marry him and plans to keep the marriage secret. Bill tells Bert he wants to go ahead with a divorce but his main motive is to get Gloria to give up on her career. Bill thinks if Gloria doesn’t give up her career, it’s because she doesn’t want to be with him. Though she’s afraid of failure, she doesn’t want to give up her career. -9/3/51 thru 9/28/51. Clyde Palmer comes over to the Bauers for dinner to meet them. Mac finds a house for Meta and Joe but Meta doesn’t want to live there because it’s at the beach in Malibu where she was when her memory left her before the murder and she’s scared of remembering. Joe and Meta get married. Gloria breaks things off with Bill because she thinks his reluctance to divorce Bert proves he wants to be with her instead of Gloria. Gloria’s fears come true as her relational failure with Bill causes her to give a bad debut performance at the Coconut Grove and she falls off the wagon. Trudy has doubts about herself and Clyde ever really liking her. Bert says she’s ready to give Bill his divorce but Bill says he’s not going to marry Gloria and wants to try to put the marriage back together. Bill moves back home. Clyde wants to marry Trudy but she fears they’re too different and that she’s not good enough for him. Bert tells Bill they have to make a go of their marriage because she’s pregnant. -10/1/51 thru 10/31/51. Meta is already having doubts about her secret arrangements with Joe. Joey becomes ill and Mac calls Joe to come back home. Meta, alone in the secret house she and Joe share, finally remembers what happened when she murdered Ted. Joey has rheumatic fever and may be confined to bed for months, making it harder for Joe and Meta to be together. Meta can’t take the arrangement anymore. Clyde invites Trudy to NYC and Meta wants to go with her to get away from things an insecure Trudy is afraid Meta might upstage her with Clyde and his friends. Bert thinks Bill is still in love with Gloria. Sid lays into Bill saying his selfishness is what called Gloria’s downfall and he, being a fellow alcoholic, is the only person who can reach Gloria now. Joe brings in a live-in children’s nurse, Peggy Reagan, to take care of Joey. Joey and Kathy take an instant liking to Peggy. Trudy decides to let Meta go to NYC with her. -11/1/51 thru 11/30/51. Meta and Trudy leave for New York City. Kathy tells Peggy she’s afraid of Meta. Clyde and Trudy get engaged. Meta meets Dr. Bruce Banning, Clyde’s best friend, in New York. Gloria tries to get her life back on track and goes back to singing at the cocktail lounge. Trudy, back from New York, celebrates Thanksgiving with the rest of the Bauers sans Meta who stayed behind in New York. Meta confides in Bruce that she got her memory of the killing back and could use Bruce’s help. Bruce is eager to help her and not just medically. While Meta and Bruce date each other, Joe tells Meta that if she doesn’t come back to California, he’s coming out there to New York. -12/3/51 thru 12/10/51. Meta goes back home and is cold towards a frustrated Joe. Bill warns Meta to tell Bruce that she’s married. Kathy and Joey try to get Joe and Peggy together. Meta thinks about Bruce even though she’s back with Joe. Peggy tells her mother, Margaret, that it’s going to be hard to leave the Roberts family when her job is up in a few weeks now that Joey is recovering. -12/27/51 thru 12/31/51. Clyde and Trudy have been married. Joe has found out about Bruce. Joe, realizing that Peggy has feelings for him, has told her that he’s married. Mac gives Joe stern advice to bring Meta back home and get rid of Peggy. Gloria tells Bill that she loved him but she needs Sid. Meta leaves a New Year’s Eve party with Bruce to welcome in 1952 with Papa, hoping Joe will call. As Papa and Meta talk about the past and future, Joe calls right before midnight.

Thanks, vetsoapfan, but I'm afraid there would be too few people interested in it. I think there are like ten of us in the world who would be interested enough to read it. LOL. Even in this forum, which is represents a minuscule percentage of the general population, most of the people here are interested in just the last years of the show. We're a subgroup within a subgroup within a subgroup.

Thank you! I'm glad you're enjoying it.

The Guiding Light 1950 -1/3/50 thru 1/31/50. Ray finds Charlotte in a doped up stupor and calls Ross who decides to put her in the hospital for her addiction to barbiturates. Ray starts to see his part in Charlotte’s mental problems. Ted continues to pressure Meta into accepting his marriage proposal which she finally agrees to do. Ray and Meta make amends. Reverend Keeler tries to take over the care of the parishioners from Reverend Matthews. Bill already sees signs that he’s not going to materially please Bert and he asks if they could move into the Bauer home as Bert’s mother is making things unbearable for him. Papa is finding it hard to be both mother and father to the children now that Mama is gone. Meta goes to visit Charlotte at the hospital and Charlotte begs her to get some drugs for her as she is going through terrible withdrawal. When Meta steps out of the room to talk to Mary, Charlotte takes Meta’s coat and purse and sneaks out of the hospital. Dr. Parker blames Mary for Charlotte’s disappearance and moves to have her fired, inciting Ross’ hatred of him even more. -2/1/50 thru 2/28/50. Ray finds Charlotte at her friend’s house. He decides not to take her back to the hospital and nurse her through detox by himself. Ted and Meta are married in a loveless, cold ceremony in Las Vegas. Ray has Charlotte’s pill supplier, Larry Lawrence, picked up by the police and then takes Charlotte up to an isolated mountain cabin to see her through withdrawal. Charlotte escapes out of the mountain cabin and out into the cold and snow on foot. Bill, fed up with Bert’s mother, gives Bert the ultimatum of choosing her mother or coming with him to live with his Dad. A desperate search for a lost Charlotte begins. -3/1/50 thru 3/31/50. Sid goes to Big Bear to help look for Charlotte and Ray tells him he knows he screwed up with Charlotte and that, if she’s found alive, he’ll step aside to let Sid have his chance with her. Ted tells Meta that he wants to accompany his father back to England. Meta doesn’t want to go and Ted says he’s going with Chuckie with or without her. Charlotte is found alive. Bert, tired of Bill not making enough money, hits up Meta for a job for Bill with Ted. Bill starts to get excited about having an important job with more money until he finds out Bert is behind it and then becomes livid. Ted, Meta, Chuckie, David and the governess leave for England. Mary meets Michael Cellini, a friend of Rev. Keeler’s that comes in for an appendectomy. An x-ray reveals Michael has tuberculosis. -4/3/50 thru 4/28/50. Charlotte returns to Selby Flats and her old home with Ray. Reverend Keeler gives a Good Friday sermon. Ray and Sid wait patiently for Charlotte to decide which one she wants to be with. Bert tries to push Ross and Trudy together and bashes Meta to Trudy, stoking old resentments. Michael and Mary become flirtatious with each other and Mary decides not to tell him that he has TB. Papa and Bill warn Bert to stop interfering and stirring things up. Meta returns from England with Chuckie and didn’t tell Ted she was leaving. She tells Charlotte she’s miserable with Ted and worried about how Chuckie is turning out. Charlotte tells Sid she’s chosen to go back to Ray and she and Ray reconcile. -5/1/50 thru 5/31/50. Ted offers Bill a job in the new television department, a move Meta realizes is just a way to get her indebted to Ted. Meta, angry at Bert for going to Ted to ask him to give Bill the job, tells Bert she’s tired of her machinations and to stay out of her life. Meta tells Ray and Charlotte that Chuckie’s personality has changed and she fears it is because Ted is warping him. Ray and Charlotte debate nature vs. nurture and wonder if Chuckie would have turned out the same if he had stayed with them or not. Ted and Meta argue over whether or not to raise Chuckie with Christian teaching. Bill and Meta argue when Meta is shocked to hear Bill take Ted’s side in forcing Chuckie into masculine pursuits against his desire. Michael proposes to Mary but she is reluctant to accept. Charlotte calls Bert out on her meddling and gossiping. Bert starts spending money above Bill’s means. -6/1/50 thru 6/30/50. Ted warns Ray and Charlotte to stay away from Chuckie. Meta and Ted argue over how to raise Chuckie with Ted thinking Meta coddles Chuckie and Meta thinking Ted is trying to mold Chuckie into another Ted. Meta is angry that Ted is forcing Chuckie to do things that he doesn’t like and is scared of and tells Ted that he’ll live to regret the day he forced Chuckie to put on a boxing glove. Meta tells Papa she plans to leave Ted when Ted comes back from the camping trip he’s taking Chuckie on. Trudy overhears and lashes into Meta again, accusing her of wanting Ross. The threat of Meta leaving Ted makes Trudy afraid of losing Ross and makes Bert afraid of Bill losing his job. Chuckie becomes afraid of everything and Ross recommends a child psychologist which Ted opposes. Meta is tormented by nightmares and fears that she’s going to lose Chuckie. Meta assures Trudy that she’s going to try to save her marriage to Ted, that she doesn’t want Ross and tries to get her to face the fact that Ross isn’t in love with Trudy. Trudy doesn’t buy it. Ted continues to push Chuckie into masculine pursuits which takes an emotional toll on Chuckie. -7/3/50-7/7/50. Bert tries to ingratiate herself and Bill to Ted. Bill is being pressured by Bert to get a house above their means. Meta warns Bill against taking a loan from Ted. -7/24/50-8/4/50. Ray and Charlotte talk about adopting a child, Michael and Mary getting together and Ted and Meta getting separated. Bill wants to enlist in the Korean War. Bert accuses him of just wanting to escape which causes Bill to storm out. Papa and Trudy warn Bert not to shame Bill as a man. Bill tells a worried Bert that Meta’s divorcing Ted. Meta tells Ted she’d kill him before letting him have Chuckie. Meta packs up Chuckie to take him to the Bauers. -8/16/50-8/24/50. Ted gets Bert to testify against Meta in Chuckie’s custody trial in exchange for financial favors. -9/18/50-9/25/50. Chuckie White dies. Meta shoots and kills Ted. -10/2/50-10/6/50. D.A. Hanley tries to get to the bottom of Ted’s murder. -11/6/50-11/10/50. The prison psychiatrist examines Meta. Ray prepares his legal defense of Meta. -12/18/50. Al tries to talk Gloria into staying clear of Bill. -12/22/50-12/29/50. Ray and Charlotte welcome their new adopted baby Penny into their home. Ross tells Trudy he’s moving out and Trudy blames Meta. Ray tells Charlotte that Julie is getting remarried and Ray learns Penny has a 14-year-old brother who needs adopting also. -6/12/50 thru 3/15/51. 197 consecutive episodes. Episodes #791-988. Bert pushes Bill to live above his means which starts Bill’s drinking. Bill meets a sympathetic Gloria LaRue, who he is attracted to. Trudy and Meta fight over Ross. Meta files for divorce and she and Ted fight over Chuckie. Chuckie dies in a boxing accident. Meta shoots and kills Ted. Meta’s trial. Meta meets Joe Roberts who falls in love with Meta. Kathy Robert’s first episode. Ray and Charlotte adopt a baby named Penny and then take in her older brother Jimmy.

-1/3/50 thru 1/31/50. Ray finds Charlotte in a doped up stupor and calls Ross who decides to put her in the hospital for her addiction to barbiturates. Ray starts to see his part in Charlotte’s mental problems. Ted continues to pressure Meta into accepting his marriage proposal which she finally agrees to do. Ray and Meta make amends. Reverend Keeler tries to take over the care of the parishioners from Reverend Matthews. Bill already sees signs that he’s not going to materially please Bert and he asks if they could move into the Bauer home as Bert’s mother is making things unbearable for him. Papa is finding it hard to be both mother and father to the children now that Mama is gone. Meta goes to visit Charlotte at the hospital and Charlotte begs her to get some drugs for her as she is going through terrible withdrawal. When Meta steps out of the room to talk to Mary, Charlotte takes Meta’s coat and purse and sneaks out of the hospital. Dr. Parker blames Mary for Charlotte’s disappearance and moves to have her fired, inciting Ross’ hatred of him even more. -2/1/50 thru 2/28/50. Ray finds Charlotte at her friend’s house. He decides not to take her back to the hospital and nurse her through detox by himself. Ted and Meta are married in a loveless, cold ceremony in Las Vegas. Ray has Charlotte’s pill supplier, Larry Lawrence, picked up by the police and then takes Charlotte up to an isolated mountain cabin to see her through withdrawal. Charlotte escapes out of the mountain cabin and out into the cold and snow on foot. Bill, fed up with Bert’s mother, gives Bert the ultimatum of choosing her mother or coming with him to live with his Dad. A desperate search for a lost Charlotte begins. -3/1/50 thru 3/31/50. Sid goes to Big Bear to help look for Charlotte and Ray tells him he knows he screwed up with Charlotte and that, if she’s found alive, he’ll step aside to let Sid have his chance with her. Ted tells Meta that he wants to accompany his father back to England. Meta doesn’t want to go and Ted says he’s going with Chuckie with or without her. Charlotte is found alive. Bert, tired of Bill not making enough money, hits up Meta for a job for Bill with Ted. Bill starts to get excited about having an important job with more money until he finds out Bert is behind it and then becomes livid. Ted, Meta, Chuckie, David and the governess leave for England. Mary meets Michael Cellini, a friend of Rev. Keeler’s that comes in for an appendectomy. An x-ray reveals Michael has tuberculosis. -4/3/50 thru 4/28/50. Charlotte returns to Selby Flats and her old home with Ray. Reverend Keeler gives a Good Friday sermon. Ray and Sid wait patiently for Charlotte to decide which one she wants to be with. Bert tries to push Ross and Trudy together and bashes Meta to Trudy, stoking old resentments. Michael and Mary become flirtatious with each other and Mary decides not to tell him that he has TB. Papa and Bill warn Bert to stop interfering and stirring things up. Meta returns from England with Chuckie and didn’t tell Ted she was leaving. She tells Charlotte she’s miserable with Ted and worried about how Chuckie is turning out. Charlotte tells Sid she’s chosen to go back to Ray and she and Ray reconcile. -5/1/50 thru 5/31/50. Ted offers Bill a job in the new television department, a move Meta realizes is just a way to get her indebted to Ted. Meta, angry at Bert for going to Ted to ask him to give Bill the job, tells Bert she’s tired of her machinations and to stay out of her life. Meta tells Ray and Charlotte that Chuckie’s personality has changed and she fears it is because Ted is warping him. Ray and Charlotte debate nature vs. nurture and wonder if Chuckie would have turned out the same if he had stayed with them or not. Ted and Meta argue over whether or not to raise Chuckie with Christian teaching. Bill and Meta argue when Meta is shocked to hear Bill take Ted’s side in forcing Chuckie into masculine pursuits against his desire. Michael proposes to Mary but she is reluctant to accept. Charlotte calls Bert out on her meddling and gossiping. Bert starts spending money above Bill’s means. -6/1/50 thru 6/30/50. Ted warns Ray and Charlotte to stay away from Chuckie. Meta and Ted argue over how to raise Chuckie with Ted thinking Meta coddles Chuckie and Meta thinking Ted is trying to mold Chuckie into another Ted. Meta is angry that Ted is forcing Chuckie to do things that he doesn’t like and is scared of and tells Ted that he’ll live to regret the day he forced Chuckie to put on a boxing glove. Meta tells Papa she plans to leave Ted when Ted comes back from the camping trip he’s taking Chuckie on. Trudy overhears and lashes into Meta again, accusing her of wanting Ross. The threat of Meta leaving Ted makes Trudy afraid of losing Ross and makes Bert afraid of Bill losing his job. Chuckie becomes afraid of everything and Ross recommends a child psychologist which Ted opposes. Meta is tormented by nightmares and fears that she’s going to lose Chuckie. Meta assures Trudy that she’s going to try to save her marriage to Ted, that she doesn’t want Ross and tries to get her to face the fact that Ross isn’t in love with Trudy. Trudy doesn’t buy it. Ted continues to push Chuckie into masculine pursuits which takes an emotional toll on Chuckie. -7/3/50-7/7/50. Bert tries to ingratiate herself and Bill to Ted. Bill is being pressured by Bert to get a house above their means. Meta warns Bill against taking a loan from Ted. -7/24/50-8/4/50. Ray and Charlotte talk about adopting a child, Michael and Mary getting together and Ted and Meta getting separated. Bill wants to enlist in the Korean War. Bert accuses him of just wanting to escape which causes Bill to storm out. Papa and Trudy warn Bert not to shame Bill as a man. Bill tells a worried Bert that Meta’s divorcing Ted. Meta tells Ted she’d kill him before letting him have Chuckie. Meta packs up Chuckie to take him to the Bauers. -8/16/50-8/24/50. Ted gets Bert to testify against Meta in Chuckie’s custody trial in exchange for financial favors. -9/18/50-9/25/50. Chuckie White dies. Meta shoots and kills Ted. -10/2/50-10/6/50. D.A. Hanley tries to get to the bottom of Ted’s murder. -11/6/50-11/10/50. The prison psychiatrist examines Meta. Ray prepares his legal defense of Meta. -12/18/50. Al tries to talk Gloria into staying clear of Bill. -12/22/50-12/29/50. Ray and Charlotte welcome their new adopted baby Penny into their home. Ross tells Trudy he’s moving out and Trudy blames Meta. Ray tells Charlotte that Julie is getting remarried and Ray learns Penny has a 14-year-old brother who needs adopting also. -6/12/50 thru 3/15/51. 197 consecutive episodes. Episodes #791-988. Bert pushes Bill to live above his means which starts Bill’s drinking. Bill meets a sympathetic Gloria LaRue, who he is attracted to. Trudy and Meta fight over Ross. Meta files for divorce and she and Ted fight over Chuckie. Chuckie dies in a boxing accident. Meta shoots and kills Ted. Meta’s trial. Meta meets Joe Roberts who falls in love with Meta. Kathy Robert’s first episode. Ray and Charlotte adopt a baby named Penny and then take in her older brother Jimmy.

Thank you for your thoughts! I miss not having a place to discuss the glory days of the show. Trudy could be very petty and bitter but it came from a place of low self-esteem. She was the Jan Brady of the Bauers. Always in the shadow of Meta. This takes an interesting turn later.

You're welcome. It's good to hear that people are enjoying it. I'll keep it up if that's the case. Yes, these were the radio years.

The Guiding Light 1949 -1/3/49 thru 11/30/49. Chuckie is born and Mary arranges for him to be adopted by Ray and Charlotte. Ray and Charlotte take their baby home from the hospital, not knowing that the baby’s parents are Ted and Meta. Rev. Matthews knows everything and has a bad feeling about it but keeps it to himself. Meta comes home for Papa and Mama’s silver anniversary which angers Trudy but thrills Mama. Meta meets Ross. Ted comes back from Europe, goes to see Charlotte and meets Chuckie. He tells Charlotte he broke off his engagement to Iris and lets it be known that he’s still interested in Charlotte. He says Chuckie could have been his son, unaware that he is. Ted runs into Meta who is upset to learn that Ted is still single which adds fuel to the fire of regret that Meta was already starting to feel for giving away Chuckie. Meta visits Charlotte and holds Chuckie longingly missing her baby, not realizing she’s holding him. Meta goes to Mama to tell her to give her the news that she’s moving out and breaks down, telling her everything. Mama tells Papa. Charlotte takes Chuckie over to the Bauers looking for Meta and Mama starts to suspect that Chuckie is Meta’s child. Trudy threatens Meta to move back home and quit breaking Mama’s heart because she could be guilty of killing her. Their fight, which culminates with Meta slapping Trudy, is interrupted by Ted. Mama tells Rev. Matthews that she knows about Meta having a baby, that she’s figured out it’s Chuckie and that, before Mama dies, she wants to see the baby returned to Meta. Mama changes her mind when she sees Charlotte with Chuckie and sees how much he means to her. Ross figures out the truth about Chuckie. Reverend Matthews and Meta argue about her wanting to get Chuckie back. Charles tells Ray that Chuckie’s birth mother wants him back but refuses to tell him who she is. Mama tells Papa about Meta and Chuckie. Papa and Mama disagree on what Meta should do. Rev. Matthews and Dr. Leland both urge Meta to drop her plans to get her child back. Meta goes to Ray for legal advice and Ray figures out that Meta is Chuckie’s real mother. Ted proposes marriage to Meta. Meta accepts even though Ted was honest about not being in love with her. Meta figures out that Chuckie is her son. Bert gets engaged to someone else because she’s tired of waiting for Bill to make a commitment. Meta tells an unsympathetic Trudy her whole story after she eavesdropped on a conversation between Mama and Meta. Ray busts Meta on her lies. They draw a line in the sand. Meta and Charles get into an argument. Charlotte learns the truth from Ray about Meta being Chuckie’s mother and wanting him back and goes over to Meta’s to blast her for being a selfish opportunist. Meta then gets told off by Mama, who has had enough of her behavior. Charlotte and Meta fight over Chuckie and Meta threatens legal action if Charlotte doesn’t hand him over to her. Charlotte starts to have doubts and considers that Chuckie might be better off with Meta. Rev. Matthews gives a Mother’s Day sermon about King Solomon and the two women fighting over a baby. Meta tells Ted about Chuckie and they both seek legal counsel. Ted tracks down Sister Maria and, under false pretenses, tries to get information on Jan. He breaks down Sister Maria enough to learn that Jan is part of the Bauer family in Los Angeles. Ted breaks off his engagement with Meta. Meta tries to get the support of the Bauer family and see if she’s welcome back into the home with Chuckie should she win her court case. Everyone is supportive except, of course, Trudy. Meta files suit to regain custody of Chuckie and lies under a written oath that Mary pressured her into giving her child up. Charlotte gets disgusted with Meta’s behavior and stops being sympathetic and regains her will to fight. Ray and Charlotte give Mary the news that Meta is throwing her under the bus and the three of them form a united front in the fight against Meta. Ted decides to file his own claim for Chuckie. Mama begs Meta to drop the lawsuit before she dies so she can die in peace. The trial for custody of Chuckie Brandon begins. As the judge starts to rule in favor of the Brandons, Meta has an outburst and pleads with Charlotte to give her Chuckie. Charlotte breaks down and decides to give Chuckie to Meta. The adoption of Chuckie is set aside but now Meta is faced with Ted, the intervening petitioner, getting custody as the court continues. To the relief of everyone except Ted, Meta is awarded custody of Chuckie. Charlotte and Chuckie have a tearful parting as Charlotte gives him over to Meta. The Bauers try to calm a distraught Chuckie as they take him into their home. Ray and Charlotte grow apart without Chuckie and Ray, resentful of Charlotte giving Chuckie to Meta, turns to his ex-wife, Julie, for comfort. Ross overhears Trudy blast Meta for being selfish and then later he lets Trudy know he thinks she’s being bitter and judgmental. Trudy’s hate for Meta grows as she now thinks Meta has even ruined her chances with Ross. Ted’s father comes from England for a visit with news that Ted’s estranged mother has died. As Ray and Charlotte move farther apart, he tells her that he wants to sell their house. Bill and Bert get back together. Meta is hurt that Chuckie is closer to Trudy than to her. Reverend Matthews’ trip out east to visit his sister and niece, Winifred and Pam, becomes permanent and he decides not to return to Selby Flats. David, Ted’s father, gives Ted a letter from his deceased mother that explains that David made her give away her rights to Ted when he was a child because she had fallen in love with another man. David introduces himself to Meta. Roger resumes his campaign to get Ray and Julie back together. Out of his unrequited love for Charlotte, Sid offers to buy the Brandon house incognito so that Charlotte doesn’t have to completely lose it. Charlotte begins to have a meltdown as she and Ray move out of their house and into an apartment. Meta goes to work for Ross, which makes Trudy hate Meta even more. Ray is furious with Charlotte when she learns she saw Chuckie and he runs to Julie who tells him she’s changed and he belongs with Charlotte. Ross starts to have feelings for Meta and Trudy tries to keep them apart. Ted wants to get into Chuckie’s life even if it means marrying Meta and he goes over to meet the Bauers, including Chuckie. Papa and Ted have a man-to-man talk. Ted tries to convince Papa he has no bad intentions and Papa, though dubious, comes to think that Meta should marry Ted for Chuckie’s sake. Trudy convinces Ross that Meta should marry Ted. The new hospital, Cedars Hospital, is dedicated. Ted wins over Chuckie with material things and begins to worm himself into Meta and Chuckie’s lives which Meta tries to resist. Mama’s cancer gets worse and she begins to decline even more rapidly. Bill announces to the family that he and Bertha will be married in December. Meta panics as she feels even more pressure to accept Ted’s marriage proposal even though she’s in love with Ross. Trudy tries to get Bill to encourage Meta to marry Ted but Bill refuses to get involved and tells Trudy she needs to give up on Ross. There is bad blood between the new chief surgeon at Cedars, Dr. Reginald Parker, and Ross as they have worked previously with each other and it was antagonistic. Bill decides to have the wedding at the Bauer home. Meta is torn because she doesn’t know what to do. She believes marrying Ted would be the best thing for Chuckie but she and Ross are in love with each other and yet Trudy is in love with Ross. Meta tries to curb her selfishness and decides to marry Ted but warns Trudy that Ross doesn’t love her. Meta tells Ross she’s considering marrying Ted in hopes that he’ll stop her but he doesn’t. -12/1/49 thru 12/30/49. Bertha Miller Bauer’s first episode is at Bill and Bert’s wedding on December 9th. Mama Bauer dies right after the wedding. Bert is already being ambitious and controlling of Bill. Bill and Bert are called back from their honeymoon when Bill learns of Mama’s death. Meta uses Mama’s death as an excuse to postpone her marriage to Ted. Ray and Charlotte talk about divorce. Ted tells Chuckie he’s his father. Charlotte is depressed and spaced out on barbiturates. Dr. Mary Leland tries to intervene with Ray and Charlotte. Reverend Keeler takes over as the pastor of the Church of the Good Samaritan after Charles Matthews leaves. Sid tells Ray that Charlotte had a nervous breakdown when she was 18 and spent a year in an institution. He also tells him that he saw Charlotte recently with Larry Lawrence, the man who dumped her back then. Trying to keep Charlotte from heading for a breakdown, Mary tells Ray that Sid was the one who bought Ray and Charlotte’s house and gives the deed back to Ray for Charlotte. Ray presents the deed to Charlotte but she angrily tells him too much damage has been done and she doesn’t want to go back.

-1/3/49 thru 11/30/49. Chuckie is born and Mary arranges for him to be adopted by Ray and Charlotte. Ray and Charlotte take their baby home from the hospital, not knowing that the baby’s parents are Ted and Meta. Rev. Matthews knows everything and has a bad feeling about it but keeps it to himself. Meta comes home for Papa and Mama’s silver anniversary which angers Trudy but thrills Mama. Meta meets Ross. Ted comes back from Europe, goes to see Charlotte and meets Chuckie. He tells Charlotte he broke off his engagement to Iris and lets it be known that he’s still interested in Charlotte. He says Chuckie could have been his son, unaware that he is. Ted runs into Meta who is upset to learn that Ted is still single which adds fuel to the fire of regret that Meta was already starting to feel for giving away Chuckie. Meta visits Charlotte and holds Chuckie longingly missing her baby, not realizing she’s holding him. Meta goes to Mama to tell her to give her the news that she’s moving out and breaks down, telling her everything. Mama tells Papa. Charlotte takes Chuckie over to the Bauers looking for Meta and Mama starts to suspect that Chuckie is Meta’s child. Trudy threatens Meta to move back home and quit breaking Mama’s heart because she could be guilty of killing her. Their fight, which culminates with Meta slapping Trudy, is interrupted by Ted. Mama tells Rev. Matthews that she knows about Meta having a baby, that she’s figured out it’s Chuckie and that, before Mama dies, she wants to see the baby returned to Meta. Mama changes her mind when she sees Charlotte with Chuckie and sees how much he means to her. Ross figures out the truth about Chuckie. Reverend Matthews and Meta argue about her wanting to get Chuckie back. Charles tells Ray that Chuckie’s birth mother wants him back but refuses to tell him who she is. Mama tells Papa about Meta and Chuckie. Papa and Mama disagree on what Meta should do. Rev. Matthews and Dr. Leland both urge Meta to drop her plans to get her child back. Meta goes to Ray for legal advice and Ray figures out that Meta is Chuckie’s real mother. Ted proposes marriage to Meta. Meta accepts even though Ted was honest about not being in love with her. Meta figures out that Chuckie is her son. Bert gets engaged to someone else because she’s tired of waiting for Bill to make a commitment. Meta tells an unsympathetic Trudy her whole story after she eavesdropped on a conversation between Mama and Meta. Ray busts Meta on her lies. They draw a line in the sand. Meta and Charles get into an argument. Charlotte learns the truth from Ray about Meta being Chuckie’s mother and wanting him back and goes over to Meta’s to blast her for being a selfish opportunist. Meta then gets told off by Mama, who has had enough of her behavior. Charlotte and Meta fight over Chuckie and Meta threatens legal action if Charlotte doesn’t hand him over to her. Charlotte starts to have doubts and considers that Chuckie might be better off with Meta. Rev. Matthews gives a Mother’s Day sermon about King Solomon and the two women fighting over a baby. Meta tells Ted about Chuckie and they both seek legal counsel. Ted tracks down Sister Maria and, under false pretenses, tries to get information on Jan. He breaks down Sister Maria enough to learn that Jan is part of the Bauer family in Los Angeles. Ted breaks off his engagement with Meta. Meta tries to get the support of the Bauer family and see if she’s welcome back into the home with Chuckie should she win her court case. Everyone is supportive except, of course, Trudy. Meta files suit to regain custody of Chuckie and lies under a written oath that Mary pressured her into giving her child up. Charlotte gets disgusted with Meta’s behavior and stops being sympathetic and regains her will to fight. Ray and Charlotte give Mary the news that Meta is throwing her under the bus and the three of them form a united front in the fight against Meta. Ted decides to file his own claim for Chuckie. Mama begs Meta to drop the lawsuit before she dies so she can die in peace. The trial for custody of Chuckie Brandon begins. As the judge starts to rule in favor of the Brandons, Meta has an outburst and pleads with Charlotte to give her Chuckie. Charlotte breaks down and decides to give Chuckie to Meta. The adoption of Chuckie is set aside but now Meta is faced with Ted, the intervening petitioner, getting custody as the court continues. To the relief of everyone except Ted, Meta is awarded custody of Chuckie. Charlotte and Chuckie have a tearful parting as Charlotte gives him over to Meta. The Bauers try to calm a distraught Chuckie as they take him into their home. Ray and Charlotte grow apart without Chuckie and Ray, resentful of Charlotte giving Chuckie to Meta, turns to his ex-wife, Julie, for comfort. Ross overhears Trudy blast Meta for being selfish and then later he lets Trudy know he thinks she’s being bitter and judgmental. Trudy’s hate for Meta grows as she now thinks Meta has even ruined her chances with Ross. Ted’s father comes from England for a visit with news that Ted’s estranged mother has died. As Ray and Charlotte move farther apart, he tells her that he wants to sell their house. Bill and Bert get back together. Meta is hurt that Chuckie is closer to Trudy than to her. Reverend Matthews’ trip out east to visit his sister and niece, Winifred and Pam, becomes permanent and he decides not to return to Selby Flats. David, Ted’s father, gives Ted a letter from his deceased mother that explains that David made her give away her rights to Ted when he was a child because she had fallen in love with another man. David introduces himself to Meta. Roger resumes his campaign to get Ray and Julie back together. Out of his unrequited love for Charlotte, Sid offers to buy the Brandon house incognito so that Charlotte doesn’t have to completely lose it. Charlotte begins to have a meltdown as she and Ray move out of their house and into an apartment. Meta goes to work for Ross, which makes Trudy hate Meta even more. Ray is furious with Charlotte when she learns she saw Chuckie and he runs to Julie who tells him she’s changed and he belongs with Charlotte. Ross starts to have feelings for Meta and Trudy tries to keep them apart. Ted wants to get into Chuckie’s life even if it means marrying Meta and he goes over to meet the Bauers, including Chuckie. Papa and Ted have a man-to-man talk. Ted tries to convince Papa he has no bad intentions and Papa, though dubious, comes to think that Meta should marry Ted for Chuckie’s sake. Trudy convinces Ross that Meta should marry Ted. The new hospital, Cedars Hospital, is dedicated. Ted wins over Chuckie with material things and begins to worm himself into Meta and Chuckie’s lives which Meta tries to resist. Mama’s cancer gets worse and she begins to decline even more rapidly. Bill announces to the family that he and Bertha will be married in December. Meta panics as she feels even more pressure to accept Ted’s marriage proposal even though she’s in love with Ross. Trudy tries to get Bill to encourage Meta to marry Ted but Bill refuses to get involved and tells Trudy she needs to give up on Ross. There is bad blood between the new chief surgeon at Cedars, Dr. Reginald Parker, and Ross as they have worked previously with each other and it was antagonistic. Bill decides to have the wedding at the Bauer home. Meta is torn because she doesn’t know what to do. She believes marrying Ted would be the best thing for Chuckie but she and Ross are in love with each other and yet Trudy is in love with Ross. Meta tries to curb her selfishness and decides to marry Ted but warns Trudy that Ross doesn’t love her. Meta tells Ross she’s considering marrying Ted in hopes that he’ll stop her but he doesn’t. -12/1/49 thru 12/30/49. Bertha Miller Bauer’s first episode is at Bill and Bert’s wedding on December 9th. Mama Bauer dies right after the wedding. Bert is already being ambitious and controlling of Bill. Bill and Bert are called back from their honeymoon when Bill learns of Mama’s death. Meta uses Mama’s death as an excuse to postpone her marriage to Ted. Ray and Charlotte talk about divorce. Ted tells Chuckie he’s his father. Charlotte is depressed and spaced out on barbiturates. Dr. Mary Leland tries to intervene with Ray and Charlotte. Reverend Keeler takes over as the pastor of the Church of the Good Samaritan after Charles Matthews leaves. Sid tells Ray that Charlotte had a nervous breakdown when she was 18 and spent a year in an institution. He also tells him that he saw Charlotte recently with Larry Lawrence, the man who dumped her back then. Trying to keep Charlotte from heading for a breakdown, Mary tells Ray that Sid was the one who bought Ray and Charlotte’s house and gives the deed back to Ray for Charlotte. Ray presents the deed to Charlotte but she angrily tells him too much damage has been done and she doesn’t want to go back.

Well, him faking his death was completely out of character and was written by the Dobsons who had zero history with the character. The real Bill Bauer would never have walked out on his family and would never lead them to think he was dead. The Dobsons writing that storyline is one of my biggest pet peeves. It was just a plot device that didn't honor history. Bill should have stayed dead in that plane crash in 1969, in my opinion. Yes, he had two affairs but he was torn up about them. He didn't leave Bert due to his sense of duty even though she was a battle-axe (during the first affair, in particular). Bert's selfishness and belittling really drove him to drink and into the arms of another woman. At least initially. It wasn't because he was emotionally distant and just catting around. He actually should probably have never married Bert to begin with (Bill and Bert were very mis-matched) but they got closer as Bert mellowed with age. When Bill "died" in 1969, they were closer than they had ever been. Which makes it even more unbelievable that he would have faked his death to be with another woman at that time. Plus, Bill would never have done that to his family. In spite of his affairs, he was perhaps too loyal. He denied himself and his personal desires to do what was "right". He got married and stayed married because that was the "right" thing to do even though he really wanted to be with Gloria and, later, Maggie. He did jobs he hated and didn't pursue his career dreams because he had to make a stable income for his family. He didn't live the life he should have (or wanted to) due to weakness and fear but also out of a sense of morality and loyalty. This is one of the reasons why he drank. Even though Ed hated Bill because of his drinking and affairs, it's ironic that Ed later became an alcoholic and adulterer. However, Ed's reasons for becoming those things were far less sympathetic in my opinion.

Not at all. If anything, he was too sensitive and emotional.

I nominate Frank Collins for the most hapless character in GL history. His wife wants to leave him to be with her ex. He's in a car accident that kills his two small children and paralyzes him for life. Then, he slides off a wet cliff to his death in his wheelchair!

I think it just took Irna time to find her way as she transitioned out of the old format into the new. The first year of "The New Guiding Light" was very much similar to the old show but then she decided to take it into the direction of a family saga which it remained for 30 or so years. She was leaving the religious, melting pot community vision of the original show and creating a whole different show. I think it just took a year or so after the reboot for her to decide to take it in that direction.