vetsoapfan

It sure is.

Sad, but true. In the early 1980s, I watched in horror as the show killed off Bill Bauer (again!) for the sake of a dreadful and meaningless story, and then went on a rampage, eliminating Hillary Bauer, Mike Bauer, Hope Bauer, Sarah McIntyre, Justin Marler, Kelly Nelson, Amanda Spaulding, etc., etc.. etc. At the time, producer Gail Kobe pontificated about getting rid of the show's "dead wood," but that asinine comment was akin to a new Star Trek producer announcing that they would eliminate the Enterprise's "dead wood": Kirk, Spock, Bones, Uhura, and Scotty. TGL fans were furious, particular because so many of the characters who replaced our favorites were badly written and forgettable.

I might (MIGHT) have been able to tolerate Reva in small doses, but once she and her loudmouthed, abrasive, and irritating family began to eat up the show, my initial distaste for the Shaynes grew to abject and utter loathing. The asinine, cretinously-stupid stories given to Reva in later years (the ghost, the clone, the time traveling} truly destroyed any remnants of the "real" Guiding Light, which had always been predicated on recognizable human interaction and family drama. I NEVER would have authorized Zimmer's return to the show after the character had been killed off. Her absence allowed TGL to temporarily feel as if it could be saved. Right. Hanna Bauer was never part of the TGL's history and canon, and could not have realistically been part of "our" Bauer family. The show did not offer her the obvious role of Trudy Bauer, which would have made the most sense. Viewers always appreciated the likes of Pat Falken Smith, Douglas Marland, Harding Lemay, etc., at least in part because they studied, used, and added to their shows' histories. TGL was never lucky enough to have a writer do that in its final 15 years or so.

Not tying new people to characters from the past can only be explained if TPTB are ignorant of history, and don't do any research. As for Roxie, I loathed all things Shayne. I hated Reva, Hawk, Minnie Pearl (errr, Sarah), Roxie and Rusty with a passion. I did not want them on the show at all, so Roxie's story with Johnny was a turn-off for me.

Meta actually had a stepson named Joey, whose young-adult offspring could have been introduced, but I doubt TPTB knew he existed. He was never mentioned after Aunt Meta returned to Sprinfield in 1996. Ed's father Bill had potentially fathered a young man named Paul (Hillary's brother), whose arrival could also have expanded the Bauer family and provided story fodder, but again, TPTB did not know the show's history. Johnny's being Trudy's grandson would have made him a real, blood Bauer, but since TPTB did not ever acknowledge Trudy's existence, that family tie never panned out either. When Jeanne Cooper guested on TGL during its final weeks, I wanted it to be as Trudy, a significant nod to history, but instead she appeared as an irrelevant nobody, with no ties to the canvas. Yet another waste by stupid PTB. If *I* had been running the show, so much would have been different. LOL. As for Johnny, I was indifferent. His being a fake Bauer TPTB foisted upon us always left me cold.

Johnny was a "fake," newly created Bauer, who sprang from a branch of the family tree which had never existed. His parents were the middle-aged Jack and Lanie Bauer, who briefly popped up in Springfield in the 1980s, to little interest. They disappeared not long afterwards. Jack's father was supposedly a man of German descent named Otto, brother to the the original patriarch of the family, Papa Bauer. (Papa was Ed's and Mike's paternal grandfather, introduced to TGL in 1948.) In four decades of life with the Springfield Bauers, we had never heard of this "Otto" or his descendants; they never showed up for Christmases, weddings, or even Papa Bauer's funeral. Their sudden appearance reeked of clueless PTBs saying to the audience, "There you go, some strangers with the name Bauer. Now shut up about that family." It did not appease the fans who longed to see beloved, familiar characters of yore.

Yes, I believe it is! And Somerset's Renee Jarrett is in the same commercial! Good catch!

Oh my.

LOL! That comes across in his autobiography and interviews.

Hacks write long-term bibles all the time...just not WELL. 1986 was great. The episodes surrounding Chris' and Nancy's wedding anniversary alone were golden!

Aunt Meta had a sister named Trudy Bauer Palmer, but neither Trudy nor her husband, Clyde Palmer, have/had been mentioned for decades. I doubt anyone associated with writing the show after Douglas Marland quit knew they even existed. I think a soap like Y&R got away with refocusing itself around new core families (the Williamses, Abbotts, and Newmans) because most of the original cast playing the Brookses and Fosters voluntarily quit the series, and because the show had the brilliant William J. Bell guiding the ship through the transition period. It was far different on TGL, many of whose core actors were unceremoniously fired in the early 1980s, and whose writing was in the toilet for much of that decade. Jeff Ryder: blechh. Knowing that stalwarts like Mart Hulswit, Don Stewart, Elvera Roussel, Marsha Clark, Millette Alexander, and so many others, COULD HAVE continued on with the program, was infuriating to longtime fans, who did not appreciate having 2/3 of the cast gutted. We lost Mike, Hope, Hillary, and the "real" Ed Bauer, and got stuck with Jackson Freemont, Suzanne Saxon, Warren Andrews, and a host of irrelevant and/or nauseating characters who stunk up the screen. Nooooo, thank you.

Roussel was by far the best of the adult Hopes, and I really wanted her to return, although I would have accepted either Mattson or Barr in the role. Nobody in charge gave a damn about the Bauers, or the history of the show in general, however, and many decisions that could have stabilized TGL were never made. When Aunt Meta returned to Springfield in 1996, they never even bothered to address what had happened to her husband, Bruce Banning. We surmised he must have died, and some fansites reported that as suppised fact, but it was never referenced on air. Lousy, incompetent writing and producing.

I always had the feeling that Van Fleet was trying too hard to be sensitive, and it seemed forced, whereas Hulswit projected a natural warmth and vulnerability which drew the audience to him. It did not help Van Fleet, that the writing during the 1980s was generally in the toilet. Yes, Gentry was used on a recurring basis upon his return, which suggested TPTB were not really sure of him or whether or not they wanted to commit to the character. Gentry might have grown on the audience if the show had used him more, or more effectively, but it did not. No one in charge understood the importance of Ed Bauer to the show's core and legacy.

I was watching TGL in the 1960s, and at that time, I felt that Gentry fit the role of Ed quite well. Later, however, Hulswit added so much more depth, warmth, and substance to the role, and I was never able to accept any other actor in the part. I tried to accept Gentry again when he returned to the show years later, but he was too brusque and cold as Ed. Simon was too morose and listless. Van Fleet was too modelish and Chuck Tylery. The show failed big time by ever dismissing Hulswit, who could and should have become the show's touchstone after Charita Bauer passed away and Don Stewart was fired.

Yes, Chris Evans is delicious with or without clothing.

While technically a good actor, Peter Simon was always so morose and listless as Ed. The warmth, humor, and passion of Hulswit's portrayal was gone. And bringing back Peggy to stir some complicated feelings of jealousy in Holly would have been great.

Seriously, watching Chris Evans work a tight T-shirt is better than most porn, LOL!

Chris Evan owns this T-shirt. And this one. This guy fills out a shirt nicely as well. And this guy is just darned adorable! Not to mention....

I suppose you are going to want Jamie Dornan, too, LOL.

Well, yes, that too.

This thread always brightens my day. Nick Jonas: love the pants. Jamie Dornan: love the underwear. Henry Cavill: love the smile. Anonymous: love the view.

I loved Holly with Mart Hulswit's Ed, and would have happily accepted them as an enduring couple. I also adored Roger with Peggy , who brought out some vulnerability in him, and would have accepted them as a long-term couple as well.

He could shave, and...voila!

I daresay this is EVERYONE'S type of guy.

Oh no, Thursday has been deleted!