Speed Racer

Ah yes....Nadine! A shame how Nadine was marginalized for years, pining needlessly after the useless, weasel-like Buzz. Nadine should have been paired with Carroll, the truck driver, albeit in late 1993 and not late 1994. A lot could have been done there. I've long thought that the two together makes sense, being that both share the same blue-collar background and life, with the added plus that Carroll was a decent, grounded man who showed considerable patience and understanding. To make their pairing more interesting, have him woo her somewhat to her dismay. AFTER winning her over and the two getting married, have him bring her to a truck show (where merchants try to sell their semis and other vehicles) and have him whip out a checkbook and purchase maybe 3-4 semis on the spot. Such vehicles cost a minimum of $200-300,000 each. Nadine instantly learns that Carroll actually has SERIOUS money. It turns out he owns his own trucking firm company and has tens of millions on cash. Yet no one would know this just by looking at the guy, where he lives, or how modestly he lives. Rather than being angry, Nadine is both impressed and (surprisingly) thankful. Thankful that he requires little from her other than to be herself, and to be truthful and loyal. Meanwhile, as our own MLH suggested, Nadine obtains a realtor license and begins hawking properties. Carroll supports this as he knows she enjoys gossip, hobnobbing with elitists, wearing fancy clothes, country club lunches, etc. Carroll is good with all of this, provided that Nadine never compromises his trust, their marriage or his business. Hmmm.... (I'm good with Nadine being a realtor as it keeps her solidly where she belongs - on the periphery of Springfield goings-on - yet she knows what's up AND it doesn't require her to compete intellectually in the business world). It's an excellent fit. And Carroll's trucking business is a business that is highly complementary to Lewis Construction, so it'd be easy to have Carroll become part of the Lewis family sphere. An additional thought may be to have Carroll become an advisor/uncle type of figure to Harley and Frank, which would alienate Buzz, though I still prefer that Buzz get hauled off to a funny farm after accidentally putting a bullet through Lucy's head during a Vietnam-induced fit of PTSD rage. I digress... Lastly, over time, it could be that Nadine discovers that she isn't all that enamored with money, flash and Hollywood after all. Perhaps what she really wanted all along is acceptance, stability and security. Perhaps she realizes that she "went Hollywood goofy" in response to Buzz' behavior and long-term absence. BTW, did we ever learn anything about Nadine's parents or of any siblings? When the time came to write Nadine out of the show, you could have her leave town with Carroll in a surprisingly touching send-off. Have her last days in town be a decent, satisfying end to her evolution as a character. Have her depart on a high.

Say what? I don't remember a "golden temple" in Summer, 1982. Am I lost? Or a dunderhead? Was this Quint's intro? When was Nola kidnapped by Silas Crocker? And when did Gracie Middleton first appear as Nola's gal pal? My mental timeframe now is all screwed up.

Hey - wanted to draw everyone's attention to the name Lyle Sudrow (thanks, Paul). Sudrow was an on-stage participant in the 2002 celebration of GL's fifty years on television. He came on stage and his name was announced. I think that's cool as hell - that someone who appeared on the first televised episode of GL was on hand in 2002. THAT is how that kind of celebration should be done. I wonder how TPTB found Sudrow, or if he contacted them instead. His appearance begs the question: Why didn't GL have him appear on the show itself, alongside Meta. TPTB could've blown the minds of many viewers.

Unfortunately, that kind of story was never gonna happen with Reva in Springfield. It's why I gave up on GL. I, too, took Annie's parachuting out of the plane as my queue to exit. I'm not sure I would've had Holly pick up the bottle in response to Fletcher/Meg. I liked Holly best as a neurotic, which you don't often see on soaps. Further, Garrett nailed down "neurotic" with ease. Not easy to do. That said, I have no idea how I would have had Holly react. I haven't thought about it. Alexandra could be involved. Besides, the town drunk (for a while) should have been Phillip. He would have been a real, credible threat as a drunk.

I'm with you on this. Hulswit was great as Ed...and I think Simon was, too. A good many people liked Simon's portrayal. He was nominated for an Emmy at least twice, maybe even three times. I especially liked Simon when his Ed would get pissed off. Fun to watch! If you need some Ed/Simon support, you got it.

This was the only week of GL that I watched in 1999...I was home sick with the flu. Wiggin and Garrett had a very discernable, solid chemistry, and Garrett seemed to be really enjoying herself. I liked this a lot. Of course, any story of merit wasn't to remain in Springfield if it didn't involve Reva or the mob. I also watched about two weeks of 2002 (I think) when there was sudden market praise about a change of writers, and how rapidly things were improving. I witnessed Garrett and Simon having great, extended scenes together. Then, anything worth watching was quickly vaporized and I turned off the show again. Being insulted by "entertainment" is not something I stick around for. Show me some intelligence and manipulate the hell out of me, and I'll stick around as a viewer.

Is that online somewhere? I remember being very impressed, but remember none of the particulars.

Paul: Any details on the relationship between Holly and her poppa? Any storyline details? Deering was on the show from 1970 to 1976, correct? There must be story there. What was the relationship like between Adam Thorpe and Stanley Norris? Did Holly ever gravitate toward Adam in place of Stanley? Thanks.

Now, that's interesting...something you could do something with. At first blush, It could have provided a basis for Will's hatred of Reva, which didn't really exist but could have. Perhaps it should have been Will who tried to destroy her rather than Sonni/Solita. Making Will gay and Josh a closeted bisexual would've worked wonders for the show. It certainly would explain Josh's inexplicable loyalty to Reva, the crying, always blubbering, Diva of the Century. That both Josh and Reva are forever too dense to figure something like that out would add to the fun! Vanessa would figure something like that out fairly rapidly, which in itself fascinates me. Hmmm......there's an entire plotline in there somewhere. And lots of character development. A viable alternative to a scenario like that would be for Josh to become impotent, admitting to Reva that he simply isn't physically attracted to her anymore. Imagine a scene like that! And a very bitter pill for Reva to swallow, something that would derail her. With her stock in trade in permanent absentia, Reva begins to adopt a Baby Jane Hudson-like persona, complete with smeared makeup and lots of cheap booze. An appropriate end for a Diva.

"Also, talking about writing from character, the Dreaming Death storyline had nothing at all to do with the characters, it was totally plot-driven nonsense. But I've always assumed it was nonsense she was commanded to write so they could compete with GH. Yeah, Guiding Light was dumbed down considerably from 1983 to 1988. Idiocy was the strategy to steal viewers from other networks. And for a time, it actually worked. Reva, Dreaming Death, Reva, Infinity, Reva, Art Scam/Paul Valere, Reva, Johnny Cancer, Reva. Typical 1980s tripe. What a crappy decade overall for entertainment, regardless of outlet. It's no wonder quaaludes were all the rage.

"The GWTW obsession was a little much for me. I wonder if Robert Newman hadn't left if we would have found out that Josh actually was more love with a male school friend than with Reva in their Cat on a Hot Tin Roof replay. (Actually, that might have been interesting, LOL)." Dee, you make me laugh - thanks! This would have worked especially well had Josh's male "friend" been a drag queen. Think of the continuity! Josh moves on from one drag queen and marries another (Reva). It's a shame that during its final years, GL didn't turn Reva into Baby Jane Hudson. THAT would have been worth watching!

Yes - Reva driving off the bridge in 1990 does parallel well with Guiding Light driving off the bridge and into San Christobell in 1999! Good call, AMC, and LOL! Yet the first event had a most pleasant effect and somewhat long-lasting outcome. The second??

genteel Henry, not gentile

I don't think it's beyond the scope of possibility. Not at all, sad to say. Elder abuse as committed by adult women is more common than most people realize. And much of it is committed by family members. Unassuming, gentile Henry would make an easy target, no matter how unpalatable the thought. You could have Hawk or HB be the target of the abuse, but that would involve Reva, which means the story would be about her, her blubbering and how misunderstood she is. No thanks. Reva needed to be Patient Zero in a STD story that left some additional Springfield residents sterile. Have her sh*tty, self-centered behavior permanently (negatively) affect the lives of others. Reva deserved nothing less. Buzz needed to flip out in a PTSD rage and commit suicide.

I disagree. AFAIC, Maureen was an open book, especially post Ed/Lillian. GL95 came up with the great idea of having Maureen and AM (with whom Maureen bristled) go to work for Roger. A TON of possibilities there for Maureen's development. A lack of imagination is what limits a character.