vetsoapfan

Right. Bringing Steve back only to kill him off AGAIN was just incomprehensible and stupid. An important character like that could have easily been written out in another way, thereby leaving the possibility open for him to return later on...under better writers and (preferably) Jacqueline Courtney as Alice. What a waste. Me too. Yikes!

It was easy for me to identify him as Ligon.

I am vague on the details now, after almost 40 years, but IIRC, Bell balked at the idea of CBS expanding the show to an hour, and Conboy, who was enthusiastic about the idea, went to TPTB and suggested they fire Bell and replace him with a writer who would not resist the expansion. Bell made his distaste for Conboy apparent in his Television Academy interview (available on youtube).

I grew up watching the traditional, very slow-moving soaps, so I actually find DS's early somnambulistic style relaxing and comforting, as weird as that may sound. As soap fans, it's almost a miracle that both DS and TD have a) been preserved and b) been made available to viewers. Have fun binging! After the pandemic is over and I can no longer spend long, leisurely days reading and watching TV, I may resent having to go back to work. I am becoming far too accustomed to spending my days curled up on the couch!

There may have been more to the story. When Conboy was still at Y&R, he attempted to get Bell replaced as head writer. That would annoy me too, if I were Bell.

It's frustrating when you start to watch a great series on a streaming service, but they never end up buying all the seasons. With so many DS episodes to watch, I could not only see the entire run of the show, but also be entertained for MONTHS. I mean, 1225 eps represents a LOT of viewing hours!

Me too!

I must admit, when I saw that all 1225 eps of Dark Shadows were on Prime, I screamed like a beyotch! It would not even have occurred to me to search for it. I just stumbled upon the show by accident. They also have The Carol Burnett Show and several other favorites from the past. I just wish I could find the television series Family, which starred Kristy McNichol and ran for five seasons starting in 1976. I have the first two seasons on DVD, but the final three have never been commercially released. I'd kill to find it streaming somewhere.

Yes, Prime has a lot of vintage films and TV series, which is where my interests lie, so I may end up watching Prime more than Amazon in the weeks ahead.

I just got Amazon Prime last week, so now I have both that and Netflix. There are so many things on Prime I want to watch. I was shocked to see that they had the entire run of the original Dark Shadows!

AND...who played LISA???? I have no doubt that poor Eileen Fulton got the shaft again.

Howarth has a rabid base of fangurls who idolize rapists like Todd and degenerates like Franco, I suppose.

Andrew...or even Paul Holroyd. But Howarth? God, no. He was a terrible recast.

I'm glad you found something to enjoy about Sheldon's run as head writer. After being treated to Henry Slesar's masterful writing for so long, however, I found Sheldon and almost everything he did to be quite a letdown. HS's TEON was intricate, sophisticated, witty; filled with colorful characters and lots of genuinely surprising twists and turns. I saw LS's work as shallow, low-brow camp. The only thing I appreciated about the closing run of the show was that Sheldon had the Karrs reunited with their daughter Laurie Ann. (I also liked that Nancy and Laurie had a touching conversation about past characters Winston Grimsley and Sarah Louise Capice.) I wish more people on SON could have seen Slesar's mesmerizing and quite terrifying story about serial killer Jonah Lockwood. Most soaps go the adolescent, "campy" route when telling such tales, but Henry Slesar's brilliant scripts scared viewers half to death!

And...voila! Thanks, Bill Bauer!

I had not heard that. He would not be my first choice for a partner.🤔

Isn't there material on youtube featuring Denton? I swear I've seen her during the last few years, although perhaps it was on one of my own videotapes/DVDs. Denton was okay in the role, but she never felt like Betsy to me. Davidson has always been the "real" Betsy!

Thank you, Sweetie! I am not disturbed in the least by the criticism. I fact, it gave me the biggest laugh I have had since this awful pandemic began. 🤫 Go for it! While I am always interested in hearing various points of view, I admit that it always baffles me when people praise certain writers and producers to the sky, when I, personally, find them to be soap killers. Yikes! Well, by giving me a good belly laugh, he at least served a useful social purpose! Thank you for the kind words. Your check is in the mail. 😉 Actually, that's a good point. Long after the name change, the announcer would still introduce the show using the article: "And now....THE Guiding Light!" I don't remember when that was discontinued.

Exactly, ROTF.

I would never stop posting about a genre I have loved for most of my life, just because a troll soiled itself in rage. You can't let trolls upset you, but you can...toy with them for amusement and sport.😛 It felt like the show wanted to rush through the funeral and grief, just to get it all over with. Pamela Long and Gail Kobe may have had no interest or emotional attachment to the longer-running characters, but the audience did. What a waste.

That's what its creator intended for it to be called. I'll take Irna Phillip's decision over a P&G suit's any day. Let's face it, a huge number of decisions made by TPTB during the show's last few decades were blunders.

Particularly if I am unwittingly driving them around the bend.🙄 I've been watching soaps for six decades. For most of my time watching TGL on a daily basis, it was called THE Guiding Light. Just like The Edge of Night was...THE Edge of Night. Dropping the article from the titles was a ridiculous decision that never made the slightest bit of sense, hence my continuing to use it. During tough times like this, laughter is always welcome! I always enjoy reading other people's commentary as well, even when I don't agree with it. That's what keeps the forums lively! P&G claimed that they dropped the THE in order to "modernize" the soaps (TGL and TEON) and attract a younger audience. (That excuse...er, explanation has always seemed delirious and stupid to me.)

Yep. Apparently, I have been enraging folks...without even TRYING! Now THAT is a rare talent! 🤣

Oh dear. It has been brought to my attention that I am contributing to the destruction of these forums. Without even realizing it, I am inflicting unbearable suffering onto certain members when referring to my favorite soap by its original (and grammatically-correct) name, which it only used for a mere 40+ years: THE Guiding Light. Gentle readers apparently cannot withstand being cruelly confronted by the article THE. Indeed, it's being said that so many people have fled the boards over this and similar egregious crimes, only eight posters remain. Who knew? I'd like to make up for the anguish I have heaped upon those whose sensibilities have been wounded by the correct use of an article. I'll be happy to donate to a charity chosen by the injured parties. Perhaps Soap Fans for the Promotion of Illiteracy (an offshoot of Melania's Be Best campaign). As well, I am being criticized for continuing to post here even though I have (allegedly) not watched soaps "since the 1970s." In my defense, I have never once made such a claim. I freely admit that the last time I enjoyed certain soaps was in the '70s, before the sci-fi craze took over, but I continued to watch ATWT and TGL (dear God in heaven, I cannot control myself!) until the bitter end. I suppose I should not be too hard on my critics for getting confused, however. Reading-comprehension is not for everyone. To those whom I offended, my deepest apologies.😪

Alan's interrupting potentially-interesting anecdotes is one of his very worst traits. Viewers, too, rolled their eyes and made faces when the atrocious stories of the show's last year were broadcast.