vetsoapfan

A very young Leigh J. McCloskey, who would end up as Damian Smith on GH, and Nick Benedict, the second (and weaker) Phil Brent from AMC

This is cute: wanna-be superhero Michael Hamm (seen above in his Spidey uniform) with Stephen Amell of TV's ARROW.

This guy loves to role-play as superheroes, and I think he's just cute as a button.

Wesley Pfenning was the worst, IMHO, and a painful, baffling choice for the role, but at least she did not last as long as Linda Borgenson, who was lethargic and colorless, and who had no chemistry with anyone. And no, I have not seen that youtube channel, but I shall check it out. Thank you for the heads up!

Interesting series of youtube videos, showcasing the various actresses who played Alice Matthews Frame on AW. Really, there's no competition. Jacqueline Courtney was the definite Alice. Some of the other "actresses" were horrid.

Model-actor Max Emerson: beautiful and goofy. What's not to love?

I'm computer-illiterate and had no idea how to post pictures on the net, so I wanted to experiment, and figured...why not try to share some hotness with my man-loving friends at SON? The only problem is, I am not sure how risque the pictures are allowed to be, ROTFLMAO, so I hope I have not crossed any lines. I wanted to post one shot I found, of a really sexy guy, but he's shirtless and standing in a bathroom, and I wondered, "Will this picture make everyone think I am a degenerate perv???"

But the show was in a better place. The stories might've sucked then but c'mon. You know you'd trade those rough years in the 80s of GL over GL from 03 to 09. At least the show still had a bit of heart then. At least the sets still looked plush and the acting was on point during that time too. The Peapack years pained me to no end. Well, that's like telling me I had to prefer rose-scented excrement to original-scent (LOL) excrement, after it had been lying out in the Peapack sun for too long. The 1980s on TGL pained me more BECAUSE the show still had some external trappings of its former, glorious self, but was an empty, rotting shell. By the time the Peapack years rolled around, I felt the "real" TGL was long dead, anyway, and so what Ellen Wheeler did to the bones was almost irrelevant. I meant compared to 2003-2009. ((Whew)) Thank you for the clarification. I withdraw my battle cry.

Understanable. However, I am sure many of those fans probably recanted their statements if they watched the show from about 03-09. While the show was overall in a better place in 1985, I can't really say that bizarre OTT trash like the Charlotte Wheaton storyline was that far removed from GL's last decade. Um...you thought TGL was in a good place in TGL? Now you've done it. This will be my first cat-fight on the SON boards!!! (I jest, I jest. Sort of, LOL!)

Was 1984 the year Hilary was killed off? If so, that explains it. I thought 85 was when fans started to hate the show b/c of Blue Orchid (or whatever it was called) mess occurred, which I know many GL fans loathed. Yes, I believe Hillary died in 1984. Fans were already in revolt over the mass cast/vet purge, and by 1985, with so many of the legacy characters killed off, long-running actors fired or replaced, and the writing in the toilet, TGL had become unwatchable for longtime fans.

When I think of ATWT, the *real* ATWT, I always think of the original grand, sweeping theme. TIIC for the last decade of the show simply did not understand its legacy, did not care about preserving it, and/or were too incompetent to manage the series well. Katie mourning for Nancy while Penny, Don, and Ellen were MIA says it all, alas.

I'd guess Larkin's appearance in later years - either that or the show just not remembering. I think many say 1984 was the downfall. Yes, for me the signs of the apocalypse were there in 1983, but by 1984 was show was being decimated, and by 1985 it was basically in tatters. It only started to revive in 1989.

Yes, after 1985, AW's writing and stories just got worse and worse.

It would have used three of the soap's most beloved actors, and it could have played effectively on the long-running Alice-feud. Alas, TPTB did not know what they were doing at that point, and they missed out on a golden opportunity.

Thank you for the article. Sad to read about the struggle of her last months - and hearing this about her mother suffering from dementia even moreso. It sounds like her daughter loved her a lot. Yes, Courtney's last few years must have been very hard. I've been in the situation of having to care for a parent with Alzheimer's, and it is a grueling, 24/7 job. I was happy to do it, and glad I did it, and I know it was the right thing to do, but it was extremely difficult. I do hope Courtney is at peace now.

An article written by the daughter of Jacqueline Courtney (Alice Matthews Frame), after JC's passing. https://www.aimatmelanoma.org/memorials/jacqueline-courtney/

From what I recall (and I could be wrong; my memory is not what it used to be), it was the show's decision to kill off Leslie. But even if Adams had precipitated the move by deciding to quit, the show had very successfully replaced her with Barbara Rodell in the past, and could have recast the role again. In fact, Rodell ranked higher than Adams did in the daytime TV Best Actress polls at the time, and readers of that magazine had letters published decrying the return of Adams, when Rodell was more sympathetic in the part.

I do not, but I wish someone with access to such information would compose definitive lists for all the soaps, about what vintage episodes from 1979 and earlier still exist. We know that DAYS, Y&R, THE DOCTORS, RYAN'S HOPE and DARK SHADOWS preserved most, if not all, of their episodes. B&B too, although that started in 1987 when VCRs were already in existence, so anyone who wanted to record that series was able to do so. We are lucky that so much early material from TGL, LOL, SFT, etc., is available on youtube, but it's rare to find eps from the golden age of Y&R, AW, OLTL, and other great series.

Yes, for whatever reason it seemed that Stewart had more chemistry with May back in 1979/1980 versus when she was recast as Ivy two years later. It's a shame that Marland killed off Renee, but to be fair Marland's plans were for Mike's new love interest to be Jennifer Richards. I also wonder if TOTB didn't consider bringing back Robert Gentry when they were looking to fire Hulswit. Although, I think Gentry was already on All My Children or Another World in 1981, wasn't he? I was not thrilled when the show killed off Mike's wife, Leslie Bauer, although I understood why they did that (to free up a happily-married leading man for more storyline possibilities), but of all the potential love interests who followed Leslie, I thought Mike and Jennifer would work best. Yes, I believe Gentry was otherwise employed at the time, but in any case, they never should have fired Hulswit. It was a bone-headed move which seriously damaged the core of the show. Speaking of bone-headed moves, one of the most idiotic decision ever made was to drop the article "the" from the show's title. At the time it was done, an executive deliriously pontificated about how this was designed to modernize the show and attract a younger, broader audience. WTF? Was anyone in charge truly stupid enough to think that making the show's title grammatically incorrect would bring in higher ratings and attract younger demographics?!? THE GUIDING LIGHT will always be *THE* GUIDING LIGHT to me. GEEZ!

The character of Ivy was not particularly interesting, and I found little chemistry because her and Mike. It's just as well that the show dropped her. And yes, Hulswit could imbue Ed with many different colors, much better than any of the other actors did (although Gentry was good during his initial 1966-69 run). Van Fleet was actually a good choice to play Chuck Tyler on AMC, and he played well against his co-stars there, but he was simply all wrong for Ed Bauer, looks-wise and temperament-wise.