Speed Racer

Glad that you think that - credit goes to several people on this board. Knowledge of a soap's history certainly helps! In an effort to sate my own ego once again(!)....this entire scenario is yet another reason Amanda needs to marry Ed. Surprisingly, Amanda takes the news about Brandon reasonably well, with poise, having had to deal with the 1980 trial in a public sphere. It is Alan and Alex who struggle the most with the news about what Brandon did to Amanda. Should Alan and Alex sympathize with or pity Amanda? Support her? Where's their support, dammit? Who coddles Alan and Alex and makes everything better for them, eh? Amanda marries Ed (after Eve dies in a sanitarium) and becomes part of a family. AM moves in and becomes a Bauer (except now he is conflicted with working for Thorpe Enterprises, where Maureen also works! Love GL95's idea). Matthew also moves in. That Amanda becomes part of a family unit leaves Alex quite bitter, explaining her animosity toward Amanda.

I like a lot of this Brandon/Amanda/Lucille/Alan/Alex thinking here as of late...it's really quite good. To it, I might add that Brandon deliberately gave Amanda to Lucille to raise because he knew that Lucille was a sicko/psycho, and Lucille's presence would effectively neutralizing Amanda's parentage question permanently. Brandon's thought being that if Amanda is as screwed up as Lucille, why would anyone question anything? And that for a long time, Brandon's strategy worked, with Amanda being stored away in an attic and Lucille keeping her there. That Brandon would purposely sacrifice his baby daughter Amanda to cover his tracks and preserve the Spaulding name would probably be the sickest storyline I've ever seen on any soap. Despicable and gross. All of Amanda's warped parenting orchestrated naturally by Lucille and not Brandon removes him from culpability. Lucille stays in town to blackmail Brandon for a few decades (remember that Lucille herself lived quite well - just where did she get her stash) and must keep an eye on any threats to Amanda's well-being. This last bit already depicted on screen - Lucille's desire to see Ben dead. Also, Lucille has known that Brandon has been alive the entire time - and it was she who drove him out of town. In Lucille's mind, Brandon has served his purpose - money. Now that she has it, he needs to leave. She's wily enough to know she can't have him murdered. Having Alan discover this in 1995 upon his return to town (it's not something revealed during the 1980 trial) would been a hell of a retcon story to tell.

"Holly is released from jail and has a farewell scene with Clara, her cellmate. I wonder if the Dobsons might have been planning for Clara to return in 1980, having been released from jail and meeting up with Holly." CLARA! Holy guacamole! I remember her...very likeable. She and Holly were two songbirds in a cage. I know that Holly wanted to see Clara sprung from the clink, too, and felt guilty about leaving her behind. I was surprised that Holly didn't pursue finding a route to make that happen, given her considerable wealth. Clara should have worked for Ross in some capacity, which would have created a bit of friction between her and Holly. It's Clara - along with Evie, who also befriends her - who steers Ross toward a better path.

Both Jennifer and Elizabeth should have been written as somnambulists, who were used to commit heinous acts, including murder, a la Cesare in The Cabinet of Caligari. That way, the dull-as-dishwater personas of both characters could have been maximized to move plot rather than extinguish anything resembling drama. You could have them bump into walls and each other for comedic effect, too. Or something. Anything. DeeVee, you are 100% correct in your assessment. And, having either poison Mike Bauer would have been most welcome. Of course, this comes from someone who very much liked Peter Simon as Ed, almost as much as Mart Hulswit as Ed.

Agreed. "Garbage Can" pales in comparison to many other B52s songs. "Private Idaho" is much more fun. Newer/younger GL viewers might be astounded by these clips, which is fantastic.

A few simple questions for everyone: Are you suffering from the winter storm? Do you have the blues? What you need is a well-deserved break. What you need is to boogie down! More so than you imagine. So, get off your duff, create some room to move around, and view the attached on the largest screen you have at your place. If Tom Neilsen (Floyd Parker) and Marsha Clark (Hilary Bauer) can let loose on tape, you certainly can do so in private. And you should! Enjoy! B-52's on Guiding Light 1982 Pt 1 B-52's on Guiding Light 1982 Pt 2 Private Idaho

"And like so many other opportunities during AM’s run, you can bring Hope back just as AM switches his loyalty to Roger/Thorpe Inc. Hell it even opens up for a bombshell return by Alan. (None of that Tangie mess, instead Alan finding out AM and Roger have teamed up?!? Explosive)" It'd be a great reason to bring Hope back. Perhaps Amanda (a very close friend of Hope's traditionally) calls her up re: AM/Thorpe. And it is Hope, not Amanda, who goes on the offensive. Amanda can't due to her new last name - and because she's pregnant with Ed's baby. Now in GL 95s world, Maureen is alive and also working for Thorpe. If so, then instant-rivalry for Amanda/Maureen. Puts teenage Michelle in a horrible position and embitters barren Maureen further. And as you say, it's a great way to bring Alan back without any Tangie/Toshua/Japanese nonsense. Alan just shows up at Thorpe's door with zero prior build-up, on the very day he's sprung from the slammer. And he's mighty pissed. Five years in the jailhouse kind of pissed. That'd be a great Friday cliffhanger. Viewers would lose their collective minds and it'd all be excellent. (I can just hear Zaslow say...yeah, Alan, your sonny-boy is no longer. He's mine now.) In my GL world, Phillip comes back in 1995 as a closeted drunk. Viewers see him carrying around lots of martinis for a while, yet nothing is overtly said on the show and there's no telltale foreboding music. (We're just thinking - what's with all the booze, Phillip?) Turns out that a quietly enraged, drunken Phillip is trying to destroy Spaulding Enterprises. It's not Roger/AM, as Alan and Alex believe. It does write itself, doesn't it?

You know, shifting AM toward Roger creates a fascinating, unconventional quadrangle: AM/Ed/Blake/Roger. Add Michelle and Holly to that for added kicks.

Having AM shift business loyalties from Spaulding to Thorpe is a fascinating proposal. Yeah, I agree that Roger understood AM better than Alex ever did. Maybe I'll swipe your idea and add it to my thought of Amanda marrying Ed, with AM shifting familial bonding attempts from Spaulding to Bauer. Amanda and AM were stated to be fairly tight...and add Matthew to it and you have something that Phillip, Alex and Alan never had. Add to THAT your idea of AM in business with Roger, and you have one hell of a mess. Perfect! The only thing lacking is AM progeny. Maybe AM and Gilly have some offspring. I don't think you've run across the AM/Gilly chemistry yet, which is off the charts. That's a late 1993/early 1994 thing. Lucy who??

YESS!! I thought I was the only one who say that unusual Blake/Nick chemistry. Not sure I would have had Blake sleep with Nick (overkill), but I would definitely have Blake sabotage Nick out of long-term loyalty for A-M. I liked the ongoing loyalty between Blake and A-M long after Blake hooks up with Ross. Especially Blake's loyalty toward A-M. Interesting stuff.

What appears to be a mid-1990s version of Springfield's family trees can be found here: The Guiding Light FAQ, Part 3 It's pretty decent. AlwaysAMC and GL95 take note. Was Paul Kincaid ever on screen? I started watching GL in Spring 1979 (I think), and I don't remember a Paul Kincaid (Bauer). Was Simone or another Kincaid family member ever on screen?

Isn't it great?! I watched it as well...the clarity is remarkable.

Count me in as another fan of Evie/Janet Grey. Evie certainly lent temperance to big sister Rita. I remember several instances where she gave Rita the "what for", some of which can be seen online. Theirs was a fantastic sisterly bond, very believable. I don't recall any scenes with Evie defending Rita against Barbara Norris. Loved those Barbara/Rita scenes. Berjer was wonderful.

That's one hell of a write-up re: Jackie, DeeVee. A big thanks for that. I'm convinced more than ever that GL very much missed the ball by not making Phillip a raging alcoholic. His four "parents" should have all suffered considerably at his hands, at any or several points from 1984/85 forward.

Another question - what's the backstory of Helena Manzini? She came to Springfield via Justin, correct?

I'm wondering.....was there ever a time on GL when Henry was put in a position of having to decide in favor of Vanessa OR Alexandra, to the serious detriment of the other? I cannot think of a time when Henry was put in that position. Would have loved to have seen that.

It would have been interesting to see Holly get the better of Vanessa, at least for while. Yes, Holly's too neurotic to beat Vanessa over the long term...but Holly conceivably could set Vanessa back on her heels without warning. Holly is both smart and calculating enough.

1994 was a shame. Not a horrible year, but so many lost opportunities to purposely up-end the scene. Yeah, bring Deitrich back...and test pair him with Vanessa. The two of them make a successful play for WSPR, roiling Holly, Roger, Gilly and Alan-Michael, and shocking Ross, who was no longer part of the WSPR scene. With Billy shipped off for a spell in the pen, why not have Deitrich woo Vanessa? Josh has returned and can help shore up things at Lewis Oil. (Maybe Josh hates Deitrich?) Further, this would allow Vanessa and Holly to very much be in each other's orbit. Guiding Light never did tap the potential between those two. I still like the idea of introducing an unknown, strong, semi-treacherous, manipulative married couple in 1994...with no one in town (nor the viewers) knowing the two are married until maybe a year after their introduction. In 1994, Alan and Roger were simply re-introduced to one another and nothing came of it! Bring back Rita instead of Reva (Rita's mere presence reignites all sorts of long-buried acrimony in Springfield), and have Amanda marry Ed. I wonder what a Rita/Annie rivalry would have looked like? Or a Vanessa/Deitrich/Rita/Holly/Roger pentad? Yowsah!

I remember that back in September/October 1982, there was a hurricane somewhere near Venezuela that led to the deaths of several Spaulding employees (and contractors) working on oil rigs. This was while Amanda was president but was all too focused on Mark/Jennifer. I'm sure I have some of those details wrong, but I distinctly remember the hurricane. An event like that surely could have been used by Alan to undermine Amanda in front of stockholders and the board.

Yeah, I'm a broken record on this, but I'll say it again: Amanda should have married Ed and become a Bauer. The legitimate story possibilities are nearly endless. You could have Amanda's Spaulding resentment bloom after she becomes a Bauer. Then have Hope return. Yes, AM is Amanda's natural ally. All the more reason for Amanda to marry Ed...move a chunk of the Spaulding influence and money into the sunken living room.

I don't think Raines was all that horrible, at least not to the extent that others here think. The guy had more talent than what we typically saw. Much of any skill he had was held abeyant. My problem with Raines is he was simply willing to go with the cards he was dealt. Pure supposition on my part, of course. I suspect he didn't spend much time watching Bernau. I suspect he never complained to the brass about character assassination. I suspect he didn't complain about the eradication of the Spaulding brand. A twirling mustache persona is light years away from who Alan Spaulding was. Dope-peddling is light years away from who Alexandra Spaulding was.

It's a funny thing about Ron Raines...I envisioned him as Justin Marler, not Mike Bauer. Raines seems like a doctor. Raines most resembled Alan in 1994, right after being cast in the role. Horrible writing and GL's non-commitment to the character took its toll. It was clear that no one knew who Alan was and didn't care to know. Reva was back and that's all that mattered.

And, yeah, I realize that Roger didn't resurface until 1989. He shouldn't have been reintroduced as Adam Malick, but as himself. Seeing Zaslow running around in a mask for seemingly endless months pretty much sucked. It would have been much more fun to see Roger suddenly inserted into an already hot quartet.

All this recent discussion is interesting to me as I didn't watch much of GL (at all) during 1987 and 1988. (The Paul Valere/Alan/India art scam was so bad that I had to ditch the show. That and everything Reva.) IMO, no triangle GL could dream up during that period could surpass the story opportunity/clash presented by the following pentad: Alan/Vanessa/Ross/Holly/Roger. The dynamics of those five operating off each other makes any triangle superfluous. Did Vanessa and Holly have scenes together prior to MG's departure in 1981? I assume not. If not, they certainly would have been aware of the other's existence.

Morgan Englund's first day on the show was at the Josh/Reva wedding, which was in July 1989. Coincidentally, the wedding was Kimberley Simms' first day as Mindy.