vetsoapfan

I miss all my favorite soaps so much, but truth be told, TGL really holds an extra special place in my heart and if I could revive only ONE gone-but-not-forgotten daytime gem, I'd vote to see Springfield one more time. Sigh.

Happy Birthday, The Guiding Light! Today, in 1937.... Thank you for 45 great years of solid entertainment (from 1937 to 1982), and then another four or so more (1989 to 2003), which were an unexpected but welcome (if temporary, alas) rebirth. 49 out of 72 ain't really so bad. The painfully atrocious years with clones and time travel and mobsters and a crappy foreign island will never diminish the light for die-hard fans!😘

If there was a scene of Evie dancing with Ross and telling him she was leaving town, I missed it. Around that time I was hyper sensitive about characters being discarded from the show, so I think I would have remembered it, but you never know. I did not remember Ben forcing himself on Amanda either. maybe I just blocked it out because it was gratuitous and against the grain of the character. Yuck. With the actor they chose, I don't think Andy would have been viable as "the new Roger," just because the performer was capable but not particularly compelling, and the character was not as nuanced. Michael Zaslow brought levels of pain, torment, antagonism, sexuality and vulnerability to Roger which would have been impossible to emulate. As a short-term villain, Andy would have worked, but he did not strike me as having ongoing staying power. Except for Pat Falken Smith and Millie Taggart and Carolyn Culliton, the writers of the show from the 1980s onward seemed to know little about the show's rich history, and cared about it even less. It's a shame because TGL's strength came from its consistent storytelling and ties to generations of the Bauer family. Kristen Vigard may have been flaky and unreliable IRL, but she exuded a certain spark on screen that was alluring. You wanted to watch her even when the character was being annoying. Same with Kevin Bacon as TJ. Their replacements, Jennifer Cooke and Nigel Reed tanked in comparison. In the 1980s, the show became cold and brittle, and was damaged by weak writing, the casting aside of history, and the introduction of many irrelevant, pointless characters. Sigh, Thanks for posting that, so we have clarification. I've never heard anything about Yates' reaction to that awful plot, but I do remember Peter Simon talking about Tom O'Rourke ranting and raving in disgust as he left the building after he was fired, LOL.

Yes, Joe Bradley was killed off, which I always considered a mistake. The actor was great and the character was deliciously sleazy. I would have kept him around for years. Tim was recast with a fourth actor named Nigel Reed, who lasted until 1982, if I recall, but he remained backburnered. I couldn't understand how Reed had even gotten hired. He was not right for the role. He was sort of...icky, like Adam Brewster on One Life to Live. I do not recall Ben raping Amanda. Morgan and Kelly mentioned that Steve Jackson was invited to their wedding, but he disappeared without warning or explanation in 1981. In a ludicrous scene a few years later, Kelly asked Ed if he remembered who Steve Jackson was. Duh. The writers were ignorant of history, but Ed would have remembered his father-in-law and his son's grandfather, so Kelly came off as an idiot. I believe Evie lasted until 1983. After Pat Falken Smith was fired (idiot PTB!) Helena Manzi asked Justin how Eve was doing, and he casually mentioned she had already moved away to be with Ben. The 1980s were not the best years for TGL and its continuity.

And Mike and Pat had been involved in Bay City, back in the 1960s, so there was history between them. After Maureen died, having a beloved Bauer matriarch in Springfield, in the form of Pat, would have filled a great void.

Simon was not this morose and listless on Search for Tomorrow, but his Ed Bauer was irritatingly hang-dog and lethargic. He certainly was not a "younger, sexier" version of Ed, regardless of what TPTB claimed they wanted. Hulswit was adorable: cuddly, sweet, charismatic, with a hot temper underneath; in short, exactly what the character of Ed should have been. He was well positioned to grow into the new patriarch of the Bauer family. All that was lost when the show cut him loose. Douglas Marland was so obnoxious to refer to Hulswit as a "dodo" whom Lenore Kasdorf did not want to work with. After Simon left the first time, TGL should have jumped at the chance to rehire MH. Instead, they cast an even MORE inappropriate actor in Richard Van Fleet. EEEK! Yep, Simon was dour as Ed from the time he started. I thought he was great on SFT, where he had a lot more energy, LOL. He worked well with Morgan Fairchild. (I'll never forget their screaming fight, when she went hurling through a plate-glass door.) I agree about bringing back Mike. I wanted him to return, married to either Elizabeth Spaulding or Pat Randolph. The thought of Mike Bauer with Marj Dusay makes me cringe, however.

This is what a real soap should be. A sense of community, with all sorts of characters and their stories intertwining with each other. A plethora of "plates spinning" in the air: various plots, subplots, and character moments on display. Multi-dimensional characters colored in shades of gray. There's not one character I'd rush to eliminate. Adults having actual conversations that draw you in. Characters who are written as INTELLIGENT. MOVEMENT. No cartoon plots, low-brow camp or sci fi in sight. Older people with (gasp!) lives of their own. Ahhh, the good old days. We have nothing like this on daytime TV anymore.

Woohoo! Vintage TGL!!! Thanks!

Right. After she became a murderess, she had to be punished, so there was not much the show could do with Augusta for a long time. It's not like today on GH, when the more a character murders other people, the more air time she or he gets.

I thought eliminating the characters of Jane Dawson, Henry Pinkham and Augusta McLeod left the most noticeable holes in the canvas. Like Carol Hughes on ATWT, Jane was a likeable girl next door, an "every woman" whom the audience could root for and identify with. Henry Pinkham was a bit goofy but sweet. Augusta was a complex and colorful character, unfortunately written in to a corner, story-wise. I would have kept these people on the show because they were well-received and interesting players with more stories to tell. The other three characters were more disposable, IMHO. Although it was unsettling to see such a sudden and large cast purge, at least the new GH writers did not decide to axe any of the most important principle characters. During the same year, 1975, AW eliminated Jacqueline Courtney, George Reinholt, Virginia Dwyer, and lost Susan Sullivan when she quit. The loss of those major stars was much more painful than losing various supporting players on GH.

From Daily TV Serials, November 1975:

As soon as Hope became involved in romantic stories of her own, Doug and Julie were shoved into the parental-figure box and lost a lot of their former glamor, appeal and story focus. Doug and Julie were neither used well nor written well for quite some time before their departures.

Allowing Reilly to turn Days into a low-brow, campy cartoon ultimately crippled it, and sadly, RC is now carrying on in the JR tradition.

Yes, I do recall those plots, but I was referring to after Tony Lord died. By then, Pat was not given much to do.

Out of curiosity, what years did you watch her on AW and OLTL?

Or maybe it was because she was an enormously popular, award-winning actress with a huge fan base. Erica Slezak, Michael Storm, and many others had their contracts too, and I haven't heard about them being involved with any of the producers.

Just for clarification purposes, Jacquie Courtney's contract with ABC/OLTL was renewed not once, but twice AFTER the Maggie story aired.

That's why it's essential for GH to focus on at least SOME likable characters and charismatic actors. With toilet-level ratings, it's essential that a larger audience find characters on the show whom we CAN CARE ABOUT; couples who are charismatic and appealing enough that we long for them to get together. That's completely missing from today's degenerate-centric GH. The show also desperately needs a strong moral core; a Steve Hardy, Jessie Brewer, Tom Horton, Alice Horton, Bert Bauer, Ada Hobson type of matriarch or patriarch who can anchor the series and the troubled citizens of Port Charles with words of wisdom, warmth and integrity. GH's best bet there would be Lesley Webber, a familiar face played by a beloved actress who is connected to many other characters on canvas.

Oh no. The real heart and soul of Emmerdale is gone. RIP.

Imagine if all this could happen in one week! I agree, Brenda probably desereves better, and Sonny surely does not deserve any sort of happy ending. Death or a lifetime prison sentence are the only options, IMHO. Yep, there's something really unlikable about LW on-screen. She may be a wonderful person in real life, but both on TGL and GH, she's turned me off completely. The soap deserves better than having an unlikable performer as one of the leads. I am seeing more creativity from the fans than we ever get from the actual writers!

With the network in charge, I would not be allowed kill off everyone who needed the axe (if nothing else it would be redundant and creatively lazy), but some of the worst characters would end up six feet under, while others would be shipped off to jail or be placed in the Relocation Program.

After hogging (and ruining) the show for so many years, I know I'd need to write an exit story for Sonny and Jason, but it would be swift and permanent. Soaps simply must stop portraying sick, evil, disgusting low-lives as "romantic" heroes. It's incredibly irresponsible to showcase murderers, pimps, rapists, etc., as the sort of men young girls fawn over. It's bad enough real-life vermin like Michael Vick are celebrated by some unfortunate sports fans. Putrid scum should be in jail. Or in hell, but I digress as well. I had forgotten about Jax. I might keep him too, after checking to see how badly his character may have been tainted over the last several years. If Sarah Brown were to return, I MAY consider keeping Carly and trying to redeem her, but not with Laura Wright, whom I find alienating, cold and really unlikable. Wright's version of the character is not worth keeping, IMHO. The last full episode I watched (it must have been the anniversary show supposedly about Gail's death, but which basically ignored poor Dr. Baldwin) had Laura (!!!) singing Sonny's praises. I retched. Laura should be the heart of GH, not an apologist for walking filth. UGH. The ONLY way I'd keep Jason around for even a little while is if he were to regain his Q memories, and then have to experience abject agony and quilt for all his crimes. Then I'd send him off to jail. Does Sam really have a lot of fans, or just a few crazed stans with big mouths and a relentless presence on social media?

When I looked at the list of current characters, to decide whom I'd get rid of, there were many names I had never even heard of, which is not the case with any of the other three remaining soaps. I vowed I'd get rid of at least 20-25 characters from GH, but that was not counting any of the people I did not know at all. Before I axed anyone, I'd at least want to see how they fit into the fabric of the show. With the way GH is being run, however, I have the feeling that I'd be dumping most of the unknowns along with the original 20-25 on my hit list. I'd keep Laura, Scotty, Monica, Bobbie, Lucas, Felicia, Mac, Anna, Liz, Cameron, Kevin, Lucy, and probably Robert and Ned. I'd offer Jane Elliot and Denise Alexander the moon to appear in whatever capacity they wanted. Ditto Rachel Ames, but I know I am dreaming in Technicolor there, alas. Scummy, Snarly, Jascum, Scam and FrancNO would be the first to go.

A virulent new strain that instantly kills those who have ever murdered, raped, kidnapped, tortured, or gratuitously abused anyone. And especially any greasy character who mumbles.

His only remaining story purpose would be to suffer the consequences of all his evil deeds, before slithering into his grave. HA! That would indeed be poetic justice!