vetsoapfan

7 hours ago, Contessa Donatella said:

 

But, I note you haven't answered my question about whether you watch GH. The thing is, you see, I am regularly seeing people give opinions about GH when in fact they are not watching the show! And, that happens to matter. 

I am not the sort of person who critiques material without having first-hand knowledge of it.

I hope this puts your mind at ease.

2 hours ago, Reverend Ruthledge said:

Oh no! We finally have a difference of opinion! LOL. While I definitely think Hulswit was much more likable than Gentry, I never thought of the character of Ed as being likable so Gentry was more the definitive Ed for me. 

This is a first! Yikes!

Still, our opinions are not completely out of sync. I did say how much I liked Gentry in the role, and you agree that Hulswit was more likeable. Plus, we both agree that neither Peter Simon nor Richard Van Vleet gelled well during their tenures on the show. 

I don't see a contentious board war on the horizon. 

1 minute ago, DRW50 said:

Thanks. That was another I couldn't remember. I definitely get the feeling viewers weren't thrilled about the Dan return (and as others have mentioned, he also seemed to have aged quite a bit). He seemed night and day to Reilly, who started the whole story with Kim, IIRC.

Reilly was so handsome, so charming and so endearing as Dan's relationship with Kim blossomed. Sigh. *I* would have married him! IMHO, the chemistry between Kim and Colenbeck's Dan was noticeably more muted. (Though, to be fair, I enjoyed Colenbeck with Jane House's Liz Talbot.)

1 minute ago, DRW50 said:

All I've seen of Rodell in her ATWT and AW bits is very compelling. I can see where she might have won over GL viewers at a time when the show was having a lot of transition or compared to the more neurotic heroines so prevalent (like Holly introduced around the same time).

The vast majority of the time, I am resistant to recasting major soap roles; it diminishes my investment in the characters. Sometimes, however, the talent, charisma and "je ne sais quoi" of replacements cannot be denied. Along with Rodell and Reilly, Maureen Garrett was another example of a replacement who took over a role and made it more compelling than it had been under the original actress. And while I loved Robert Gentry as Ed Bauer, Mart Hulswit ended up being the perfect and definitive Ed for me.

5 minutes ago, DRW50 said:

I don't know how I'd feel if I went back and watched that time again, with more distance and less visceral disgust over so many of the choices made (like what they did to Ben Reade), but...life's too short. 

UGH! I could write a thesis on how disgusting the Ben Reade debacle was.

8 minutes ago, DRW50 said:

Reading a 1975 Daily TV Serials I saw a letter from a GL fan who complained that a Mike and Leslie love story article used  photos of Don Stewart and Lynne Adams. They forcefully pointed out that those story moments were with Barbara Rodell, not Lynne Adams. The editors explained that they used a photo of Adams because she was currently in the role. 

It reminded me, not for the first time, of what a chilly reception Adams seemed to get from a number of fans on her return, even though she had originated the role. I'm not sure if that is down to her, or if a lot of fans just loved Rodell (given her number of well-received soap roles). It's rare to have that happen with recasts and original actors returning to roles. The only other one I immediately remember is David Tom.

I loved Rodell in the role and accepted her immediately when she was cast. She projected a sweetness and a vulnerability that was not as apparent under Adams.  Count me in as one of those viewers who would have preferred to see Rodell continue on as Leslie.

Another recast I appreciated more than the original was John Reilly as Dan Stewart on ATWT. John Colenback was fine, don't get me wrong, but Reilly came across as more charming, more affable, more masculine, and had wonderful chemistry with Kathryn Hays. To me, Colenbeck always seemed more aloof, less passionate.

2 hours ago, DRW50 said:

Both men made me take breaks from the show for a while (especially Pelphrey, who was unwatchable to me), which I can't say Zimmer did. 

Something about Ehlers' portrayal of Harley lost all warmth for me around the late '90s. At the time I wasn't sure if it was down to the pairing with Philip, as he was such a draining presence, but even post-Philip, what I enjoyed most about Ehlers in her first run never really came back. 

I think  by the time Jonathan was introduced, I had become so disillusioned with the show, and given up any hope of its recovery, that I didn't watch much of Pelphrey. My mistake had been to actually endure scenes with other characters I loathed (like Buzz and eventually Harley) for far longer than I should have. By the time TP's Jonathan was being focused on, I was fast-forwarding through most of the show. I only kept recording TGL and ATWT at all, just to catch glimpses of the few remaining characters I still cared about. I know I should have abandoned both soaps long before The End, but a decades-long addiction was hard to break, LOL.

12 hours ago, Mitch64 said:

And it makes no sense..TPTB especially in these cost conscious times should be able to let an actor go if they demand too much.  GL let Kimmer's ego and Rauch's stupidity make Reva the "star" so she could write her own check.  They should have done as ATWT did in the late 70s..slowly reemphasize Reva (like they did Lisa) so she is not the center of the universe.  Lisa was always important (well until the time of the Gautman) and in the mix, but not the star. 

Anyone who wants to dis LW either on GL or GH is good with me! 

TPTB went too far in the opposite direction when they de-emphasized Lisa. Reducing her almost to the status of a disposable day player under Hogan Sheffer felt like personal contempt for the actress. No one actor should hold a show hostage, but if they are going to remain on the canvas, characters should at least be used effectively.

On 4/28/2024 at 8:41 PM, Reverend Ruthledge said:

They are good but have a lot of inaccuracies. In particular, when it comes to dates. 

Constrast the history books to the Soaps & Serials novelizations which were neither accurate NOR good. ((Shudder))

As usual, I agree with Reverend Ruthledge: the history books are good, and entertaining reads, but the inaccuracies are distracting.

11 hours ago, TEdgeofNight said:

Remember, if it’s in a book or an interview, it’s fact. lol So many books have wrong facts. Same with interviews. Public relations idiots made it sound like everyone loved everyone on every show all the time. 

In 1983-ish, a friend's brother bought a non-fiction book dealing with the history of television. It falsely claimed that Coronation Street was "the longest-running television series in the world." I pointed out that CS began in 1960, but currently-running American series like TGL (1937 on radio, 1952 on TV), Search for Tomorrow (1951), The Edge of Night and As the World Turns (1956) were older, and out-ranked Coronation Street in terms of longevity. The brother got curiously angry at my contradiction of his book's "fact," and insisted that the writer could not be wrong because, "It's printed in a book!" You can't reason with folks who are convinced that anything in print must be undisputed gospel.

7 hours ago, chrisml said:

My memory of GL starts from around 1986. I found post-Reva plunge GL (in Calhourn's tenure and a bit into JFP's) so compelling because a lot of the canvas was being used. There were long-term storylines that had actual ramifications rather than storylines for dramatic shock. However, I think Justin Deas and Tom Pelphrey did much more damage to GL than Kim Zimmer did.  

I can't disagree about the harm Deas, in particular, wreaked onto the show. We didn't need more ham in a can.

6 hours ago, GL Oldtimer said:

My favorite years of the show were between 1990 to 1994 as I felt like it was very much an ensemble at that point. It seemed to me that most characters had a least some sort of storyline, and I thought the writers did a nice job of having multiple characters interact with each other. Springfield felt like an actual community to me. I watched religiously for a nearly 12-year span, and the early 90s were just awesome.

I think many, if not most, viewers consider the early 1990s to be TGL's last, great hurrah.

6 hours ago, GL Oldtimer said:

Like most of you on this board, I didn't just watch one soap opera. I was also a fan of As the World Turns and One Life to Life. While I certainly had my favorite characters on each, I do think soap operas were a better viewing experience when they focused on multiple storylines involving multiple characters. I realize that there are going to be ebbs and flows with storylines and characters, but it's never good when one or two characters monopolize a show. I think Guiding Light was one of the worst examples of allowing that to happen.

One of the aspects I love best about soaps is the sense of community, with many different characters and storylines interacting and weaving together. Harping on one character to the detriment of many others is a turn-off.

6 hours ago, Sapounopera said:

You must agree that this type of heroine ("The Outsider" Reva, GH Carly, ATWT Carly) has changed soaps and turned them into flashy one-woman-shows. Not everybody loved this change. Even All My Children was never the Erica show.  

Exactly. And one commenting on this trend among the soaps, which includes (but is not limited to) TGL in a Guiding Light thread, is perfectly reasonable.

37 minutes ago, DRW50 said:

I would actually argue that Carly has taken over GH in the long term in ways even Reva did not with GL, but that would derail the thread and most people in here don't want to sit through all that.

I agree, in its own way, GH's infatuation with Carly (and Sonny and Jason) has hurt that soap the way the Reva tunnel vision hurt TGL. It's sad watching multiple soaps making the same sort of mistakes ad nauseum. No one wants to see another soap become extinct like TGL.

7 hours ago, DRW50 said:

I think Rebecca faced some of the same problems of actresses like Beverly Penberthy - too classy and understated for an increasingly histrionic genre. I also wonder if it's because she was the one Lewis who was not emotionally volatile. Even Long didn't seem to do that much with her - maybe because that just wasn't her type of woman. 

Classy heroines like Penny Hughes, Jessie Brewer and Nancy Karr have been underrepresented on the soaps for many years.

Reva Shayne and Carly Corinthos as leads is like Hollywood abandoning the likes of Grace Kelly and Audrey Hepburn in favor of Roseanne Barr and Rosie O'Donnell.

11 hours ago, P.J. said:

Of all the actresses that got shoved aside for Reva, I think Rebecca Holland is the one that surprises me the most. She's talented, gorgeous, and the most practical Lewis...and yet fades into the background. Trish and Vanessa should've been teaming up to keep Reva in check from day one.

Yes. I could never understand how a talented, charismatic, gorgeous actress like Rebecca Hollen could be dismissed, but to be fair, we don't know what TPTB were smoking in the 1980s, LOL.

13 minutes ago, kalbir said:

Pamela Long set in motion characters and storylines that would carry GL through its final 25 years: Lewis family expanded and elevated to a main family, Phillip/Beth, Reva, Alexandra.

Whether that ended up being an asset or a detriment depends on each viewer's point of view.

Aside from Trish, whom I liked a lot, I never grew to care about any of the Lewises.

I disliked Beth, under both actresses.

Reva's eating of the show became unbearable to me.

Alexandra was marvelous while BM was there, but once Marj Dusay took over, I felt the character became an abrasive and one-dimensional irritant.

Not to be a Negative Nellie (I know, I know: too late, LOL!), but IMHO, of the show's final 27 years, I only found about about five of them to be worthwhile.

32 minutes ago, DRW50 said:

If they were going for that approach you'd think it would make more sense to say, "We had her first."

PFS returning to DAYS was such a welcome event for me. IMHO, she and WJB had been the show's very best writers of all time. TPTB at NBC, however, probably just wanted to capitalize of the GH angle since under Douglas Marland and then PFS, GH had been such a hugely-popular cultural phenomenon.

32 minutes ago, DRW50 said:

It's a shame she didn't last long at GL, for whatever reason. 

It was so weird that P&G signed a renowned writer of her caliber, who had already proven she could succeed Douglas Marland to great effect, and then dumped her so quickly. At the time, Smith acknowledged she was mystified. I wonder if cost-cutting played a role. Pamela Long was a novice scribe, with no proven successes under her belt, and very little experience. It's not like her run on Texas was a ratings winner, so I wonder if TPTB went with her because she was significantly cheaper than PFS. Or maybe Gail Kobe had a mandate from the suits to dismantle and gut TGL the way ATWT had been gutted a few years earlier under Mary Ellis Bunim, to pander to the youth market. Kobe might have wanted to work with a writer she already knew.

Anyway, this is just speculation. The facts are lost to history at this point. But it's so disheartening that the show had continued success in the palm of its hand (heck, TGL had even done surprisingly well in the ratings during General Hospital's explosive heyday), and then threw it away. Pamela Long did improve over time, and some of her work was effective (Phillip and Rick's friendship, Bert's short story with Martin Brunner, for example), but she was no Pat Falken Smith.

PFS was one of the few writers whom I followed around the dial, from show to show. I knew I'd always enjoy her work (again, with the notable exception of Ryan's Hope).

Isn't it curious that some writers do brilliantly on some shows, yet just don't gel and/or fail at others?

Just now, DRW50 said:

Sadly, I don't know if any of her episodes are available to watch, aside from Quint and Nola clips.

I know, and I consider that to be a major shame. With the glaring exception of Ryan's Hope, I found Pat Falken Smith's material upon assuming the writing duties to be exceptionally good.

God only knows why her RH stint was so...tepid. I wonder if it came down to tepid production values and network interference at the time.

7 hours ago, P.J. said:

One thing I have notice re:Reva---everyone puts up with her sh*t. Everyone has to be made to understand that Reva's not a bitch, she's just "full of life". OTOH Nola and Vanessa start out the same way, manipulating their way through people's lives, but *surprise* no one lets them get away with it. They evolve. Reva's the same human wrecking ball she was when she first came to town. A little less gold-digger, but barely any wiser.

What killed me was that for so many years, the show treated Reva as The Irresistible Sex Goddess of Every Man's Desire. Um...no. 

7 hours ago, DRW50 said:

I can't really speak as I have only seen scattered episodes, but based on how moribund most of 1982 feels to me in those episodes (and frankly, a good portion of the Marland era I've seen in the scattered episodes), I can see how early Long/Kobe would have felt like a burst of energy. 

I'm reminded of what happened when JFP took over OLTL in early 1998 after years of the show feeling lethargic. That also ended up being a disaster in the long run, probably even more than Kobe/Long.

I found 1982 to be fascinating, with Pat Falken Smith's short tenure a breath of fresh air. She hit the ground running. It was clear she had studied the history of the series and had an understanding of the characters. I was relieved to see that the show would be in capable ands after Marland's departure, just as General Hospital had been when PFS assumed the writing reigns after DM left.

5 hours ago, Sapounopera said:

I think I have asked you before. Do you think that Kim Zimmer could have worked as a recast Hope in 1983? Josh was still a bad boy in 1983, right? Alan/Hope/Josh/Alex could be a little like Jason/Nola/Billy/Mona from THE DOCTORS.

Personally, I think Zimmer's own personality was too "big" and too "sassy" to be an effective Hope Bauer. If TPTB wanted to age the character (whom Don Stewart once said was supposed to be about 24 when Alan-Michael was born), they still needed to cast someone who could project the essence of who Hope was. I liked Elvera Roussel, but in 1983, if TGL didn't want to continue with her, I might have considered Jacquie Courtney for the part. Courtney was 36 that year (which was in sync with the SORASing Alan Michael), and Courtney had a solid reputation of playing kind-hearted, loving heroines.

15 minutes ago, P.J. said:

I do agree---'85-87 is a low point, and not surprisingly, most of the new hires were disposable and forgotten. And the '88 writers strike that brought us the interminable Sonni/Solita saga didn't help. Thank God Zimmer left in 90 and allowed the show to breathe again.

I wish there was more '75-80 online. I'd love to see more Jackie/Justin and the Andy Norris blackmailing scandal. That seems like good soapy times. 

LOL! That's so true: there were an overabundance of irrelevant, disposable, and ultimately forgettable newbies in the mid-1980s.

If the entire series were magically available to stream somewhere, I could see myself watching up through 1984, while my old favorites were still featured, but I'd pass right over the "forgettable newbie" period, and pick up again when Holly and then Roger came back.

Being able to take a break from Reva for a few years was such a relief. At the beginning, I probably could have taken her in small doses, but when she ate the show, I grew to loathe her. The painfully stupid stories foisted upon her (Reva the Ghost! Reva the Amish Amnesiac! Reva the San Cristobelian Queen! Reva the Clone!) did the character no favors!

15 hours ago, P.J. said:

I grew up on CBS soaps. I can remember when the line up included Love of Life, SFT, Y&R with the Brooks' sisters, ATWT and GL. They were always on. My GL memories go back vaguely to Adam and Barbara, Sara, and when Alan, Jackie, Justin, Rita and Evie were new in town. The first story that really hooked me was Nola/Kelly/Morgan. So '80 to '83 really feels like the start of "my" GL because so much of the acting core remains intact to (mostly) the end of the show. Ross, Vanessa/Henry, and Josh weave in and out of the show without being recast (aside from the occasional sickness or maternity leave). Phillip/Rick/Beth/Mindy drive story for years. Alan and Roger are presences even if not on-screen. 

I didn't really think about it critically then (only getting to watch consistently during the summer break) and now I don't feel qualified to when a lot of what's available is chopped up or missing large chunks of time. I have been amazed that the location shoots have such long tracking scenes. It feels like Nola spends forever underwater in St Croix, and really does nearly drown before Quint hauls her up on the beach.

I know the '84 changes are sweeping, and in general, I wasn't impressed with the Calla/Jessie/Simon and invasion of the Shaynes era. (There's no denying Kim Zimmer's acting chops, but the obsession with Reva the human wrecking ball seems even more ridiculous now.)

I enjoy '83 more than '82 for a couple of reasons. There's the fabulous payoff to the Quint/Nola romance, the beginning of Billy/Vanessa, the Eli Simms mystery and Phillip/Beth/Rick/Mindy, the four musketeers. 

Thanks for the reply.

I love reading other fans' perspectives on  their favorite/least favorite eras, and how they felt about controversial decisions and changes made by TPTB. (I don't always agree, of course, but differences in perception from fan to fan is always interesting.)

Historically, the earliest storyline on TGL which I followed regularly was from 1950, when Meta Bauer went on trial for killing her husband, Ted White. It was mesmerizing. There were so many stellar storylines in the 1960s and 1970s too. With writers like Irna Phillips, Agnes Nixon, Jane and Ira Avery, Robert Soderberg and Edith Sommer, the Dobsons, Douglas Marland, and even (for a very short time) Pat Falken Smith, I depended on the show to give me quality entertainment.

If your introduction to Springfield came in the 1980s, you are lucky that so many of your favorite characters lasted until the end days. Soap fans love the consistency of having familiar faces on screen. My problem was that almost all of "my" characters from earlier decades were gutted in 1983-84, so Springfield felt like a cold, unfamiliar landscape to me.

I couldn't stand the Calla/Jessie/Simon stuff and the invasion of the Shaynes either. Thank God for Jerry ver Dorn and then (years later), the return of Holly and Roger. They helped Springfield feel slightly like home again.

Regardless about how disillusioned I was with TGL's final decades, at least I was fortunate to have, watch and enjoy the soap during what I consider its halcyon days. It will always be at the top of my favorite-soap list, thanks to all the great years.

7 hours ago, Sapounopera said:

I live in Greece and I got to watch 1980-82 episodes via satelite tv and German network RTL. I was obsessed. After a while a Greek network bought 1985-1987 and I was horrified. The show was unrecognizable. Bad recasts, tacky, trashy characters and a completely different vibe. I still believe that GL lost something valuable when TPTB decided to erase the Allen Potter years and tranform it into something different.
After that I only enjoyed the Robert Calhoun era but I never stop keeping up with GL until Wheeler went insane with the new production model. 

I do think 1985-1987 were the nadir years of the 1980s. Like you, however, I kept up with the series long after the quality had collapsed, but the Wheeler/new production era did me in. Trudging through that dreck was a nightmare.

1 hour ago, P.J. said:

psst...1983 is better. 

Just out of curiosity, what year did you begin watching the show? In my personal experience (and of course this doesn't hold true for every single viewer; opinions always vary among soap fans), many folks who enjoyed the period of TGL before Gail Kobe took over as producer in 1983 had a strongly negative reaction to the sweeping structural and cast changes.

Did you continue to enjoy the show throughout the 1980s? Again, just curious. I know there are viewers who did.

On 4/21/2024 at 5:20 AM, Sapounopera said:

Like most of todays's shows and films it felt... plastic to me. Nobody cares for atmosphere and artistic view, they just want to appeal to the Netflix crowd. Even Almodovar's three last films have a different vibe, because... platforms. 

ITA.

That's why, when it comes to film, TV series, books, music and soaps, I gravitate towards the classics; tried and true and satisfying entertainment from years gone by.

11 minutes ago, DRW50 said:

When I got into GL around 1990 or so I didn't even notice as much that there was such a lack of a core family compared to other soaps (like ATWT) because there were several dynamic characters or actors who helped keep the canvas vibrant. Unfortunately, when most of those actors filed out in the early '90s, it did expose how hollow the show's core was, especially Maureen's death, as Alex and Mindy had been so poorly written by the time Beverlee and Kimberley left that they weren't at their strongest anyway. Maureen still felt more central. That JFP did this solely because she assumed viewers wouldn't care otherwise if Maureen died says a lot about how she approached soaps.

If you joined TGL in 1990, then you were lucky to come in at a time after the worst of the destruction had already taken place. I honestly don't know how anyone survived watching the mid 1980s. The show rebounded more than I ever thought possible under Nancy Curlee's writing regime, and through some miracle, many in the audience had come to accept Maureen Bauer as the warm, benevolent matriarch the show desperately  needed. As a bonus, Reva was off-screen for years, so we didn't have to endure over-the-top, ham-in-a-can histrionics. The cast at the time was strong.

The resurgence did not last long, alas, and a few years later the quality of the writing was gone, some of the best actors were gone, TIIC killed off Maureen, dismembering the Bauers yet again, and show went back to circling the drain. Only this time, it never recovered, and limped along on life-support until finally being put out of its misery.

It should have been laid to rest before Peapack, honestly.

1 hour ago, DRW50 said:

That was more of a time of experimentation in film, I suppose - some of the films that were mainstream successes at that time would cause jaws to drop today (I was just rewatching They Shoot Horses, Don't They not long ago), but when I first heard of/saw the movie I was surprised. And so much of it has held up today, no matter how much we think we've progressed. 

I avoided the Ryan Murphy adaptation at all costs.

Out of morbid curiosity, I felt compelled to watch the newer, Ryan Murphy version...just to see how badly they might screw it up. (I find so many remakes to be pointless, poorly done and ultimately annoying.)

All of those adjectives describe RM's adaptation, IMHO. It was just...bland and inferior and lacked the raw power of the original.

Curiosity killed the cat, as they say.

4 minutes ago, Soapsuds said:

@vetsoapfan

Season 1 release of the blu ray contains the pilot movie.

The movies were released on blu ray too but can't recall which season. I need to go back and check my collection.

Thanks. I am now tempted to keep an eye out for reasonably-priced blu-rays of the show, after hemming and hawing about purchasing the Lion's Gate releases or not.

It remains in my Top 10 Favorite Series list, even after all this time.

4 hours ago, DRW50 said:

This helps explain just why his performance of the bi guy who left his wife for another man in Boys in the Band felt so real. That's still the main place I know him from - wonderful work. He, Keith Prentice and Peter White were so enthralling to watch.

Reading a bit about it on DL it reads as if he might blame his brief flings with men on being groomed when he was a teenager, so I guess he may not see himself as bi anyway. 

Also seems to be some revelations about more tense moments with Lucille Ball...sadly, that's not a surprise.

I recently re-watched 1970's Boys in the Band, and realized how well-acted and written it really was. Soap actors for the win! (Keith Prentice from Dark Shadows, Peter White from AMC, Reuben Greene from AMC Robert La Tourneaux from The Doctors, Laurence Luckinbill from The Secret Storm).

I can only imagine the avalanche of hysteria that the film must have engendered among hyperventilating, pearl-clutching conservatives 50+ years ago.

2 hours ago, wonderwoman1951 said:

things deteriorated further when goutman took over and brought on hogan schefer. the [!@#$%^&*] really hit the fan in 2003, when barbra bloom took over at cbs daytime and start bringing on actors she worked with at abc. although, to be fair, the abcification began in 1997, when felicia mini behr took over from john valente and immediately replaced allyson rice taylor’s connor walsh with susan battan — possibly the worst recast ever!

UGH! The beginning of the end. The destruction Goutman and Sheffer heaped onto ATWT did not even surprise me very much, however, after seeing how other P&G soaps like TEON, AW and TEON has been crippled by painfully incompetent management and TPTB who just did not understand their shows or the soap medium in general.

Susan Battan was indeed a horrendous recast. But let's not forget Charity Rahmer (DAYS), LOL. Even our ATWT hired the inexplicably-cast Jason Kinkaid to play Tom Hughes back in 1984. What were they smoking???

4 minutes ago, Soapsuds said:

@vetsoapfan

The picture quality is pristine! All episodes are unedited. I was very pleased with the purchase of the blu ray release.

Thank you.

Since you've actually watched and listened to at least some of the eps on the Lion's Gate blu-ray boxset, I'll take you word for the quality.  Most of the amazon reviewers of the dreadful Imavision set simply waxed on about how much they lov ed the show itself, when they were kids. It's the QUALITY of the set I care about.

Does your set include the original pilot film and the three, 2-hour movies that were made after the weekly series ended?

Over the decades, I have lamented many times about how crushing a blow the 1983-84 Massacre of TGL was, and how it seriously crippled the series. I don't need to regurgitate my personal complaints in extended detail...AGAIN, lol.

I will say, however, that it's gratifying to see other posters, who had been watching prior to the Gail Kobe/Pamela Long era, acknowledge how abrupt, extensive and damaging the massive structural changes were.

The show gutted its core family who had been essential since 1948, changed the style, focus and tone, and chopped off most of the soaps' memorable history. 

In exchange, we got saddled with the Shaynes, the Coppers, the Lewises, the Santos mob, the Winslow royals, and a seemingly endless revolving door of irrelevant and pointless newbies. 

For me, 1982 was the last, great year of "The Guiding Light That Was."