P.J.

Frankly, in a lot of ways, I had emotionally divorced myself from Guiding Light. I had my fond memories, but honestly, really hadn't rewatched more than the odd clip here and there (usually Nola and Vanessa's catfight, which I honestly still find flippin' hilarious.) I've always considered myself more of an ATWT fan. Before this last year, I doubt I could've come up with any HWs names other than Marland and Long. And of course, Irna.

Right? I admit, the last five years in particular were hard to sit through because so many of the characters I loved were either gone or almost unrecognizable (God in Heaven...Harley...) but I am forever grateful that I can revisit (and pick and choose) Springfield when I want. I mean, people criticize Marland's ATWT, FCOL. Ain't nothing ever gonna please everyone. What this last year has taught me though, is that the Curlee/Demorest/Reilly era deserves (and deserved) more respect. And Curlee (arguably) deserves to be talked about as a top-tier scribe.

You'll rarely get an agreement on what the "glory days" are. I admit, I get hung up on it too, but everyone likes what they like, and there are good and bad aspects of it. I know we all come off as negative about aspects of the show, but we wouldn't be discussing it if we thought it was "garbage". And I don't think GL would've had Olivia/Natalia if ATWT/Nuke hadn't been generating publicity for that story. There was nothing wrong with trying to engage the LGBTQ+ community---but how about doing that with good and honest storytelling, not suddenly switching up one of the biggest ho's in Springfield, literally because they slept through all the families in town? Not to mention making the other character---interesting instead of some near virginal sad-sack?

Count me in as loathing Olivia, almost from minute one. There is something about CC's acting choices that is just unlikeable. Olivia wasn't a "love to hate" bitch either. I never understood why they kept her past the initial San Cristobal crap. To cycle through families of men? They should've sent her on a train out of town when she knocked Billy off the wagon. And the Olivia/Natalia relationship was more about trying to latch on to the Luke/Noah buzz than anything else. Ugh...don't get me started on that. The only reason to go over that story dialogue line by line is to make sure you're not offending anyone...but you just wrote two cousins getting it on? HUGE EYEROLL.

Grant, Beth, Michael and Robert all left within like six weeks of each other. Rick isn't even at Phillip and Beth's wedding.

Well, this is according to wiki---not exactly mistake proof. 2005 was also a big turnover. I believe that was Daniel Cosgrove, Laura Wright, Nancy St Alban, and what's his name Danny, among others.

I think what Don said (in one of those Emmy Org interviews) was that he thought there were two interruptions. One at the top of the show, and then the one we know. They weren't told what was going on, he and his screen partner continued with the scene. It wasn't until he was going home (at Grand Central, I believe) that he heard Kennedy was dead.

according to wiki Grant Aleksander (Phillip), Aubrey Dollar (Marina), Lindsey McKeon (Marah), Wes Ramsey (Sam, Olivia's brother), Peter Simon (Ed), Marty West (Shayne)

I actually like Liz Keifer in the role of Blake. Losing SS was a loss, but the role wasn't gutted by horrible recasting like Mindy was. Why they stuck with Crampton is inexplicable to me. While I like Dusay, I do wonder how the stories would've changed had Beverlee stayed. Of course Zas getting the emmy was wonderful. I'm just sorry (and somewhat amazed) that Jordan was never nominated as Lead Actor.

thanks @slickjones these are invaluable!

As much as I hate character centered playlists, I wish there were more for stories '94 to the end. I'd like to revisit some stuff, (Davd/Bridget's antics, the Marian Crane story, the Peter custody fight, Phillip/Harley, Ross and Vanessa) I don't want to get bogged down by what I don't care for (Matt, Reva/Josh, Cassie, and a host of other stupidity). I occasionally dip my toe in, but it's hard. Jordan's departure in '93 is like the first domino in a host of bad things that drags out to the end. I know there were other bad decisions through the years, but now it just breaks my heart.

Without rewatching that insipid storyline, I'd guess that once Tori felt rejected by Ross, she decided to kill him. Thus it was less about "freeing" Blake and more about punishing Ross.

LOL...another (probably) unpopular opinion--while I prefer Judi Evans' Beth, there are times she is just too damn chipper.

The time he put into the blog and organizing the clips is a true act of love. God bless the man for finding positive things to say about late 00's GL. Although I'm still a little offended that in his blog on Masquerade (Alex's arrival/Billy and Van's 1st wedding/Tony's health crisis) he says it was before Maeve learned how to act.

There's a fair amount of 87-89 Guiding LIght up. But I've never seen a playlist of the triangle. Classic GL covers some of it in A Woman in Mind.

LOL...James Goodwin was likeable. It was just all the baggage around Johnny that turned me off. His family who are arguably the most annoying ever introduced, his romances with Roxie (she wasn't the only one driven insane...) and Chelsea (the faux Reardon who sung too loud in every scene...), and his "miracle" cure, not to mention the Paul Valere murder.

If you want a minority opinion---I liked Lucy. Sometimes it's just a matter of the comparison. I didn't hate the Coopers (well, except Nadine). I loved Harley, (her reaming out Buzz and Nadine after Frank's wedding is easily in my Top Ten GL moments of all time) and was aghast when Phillip cheated on her with Beth. But I did grow really weary of Buzz rather quickly. And I scratch my head over Frank lasting so long. My dislike for certain eras stems mostly from knowing how good it was, and how far it had fallen.

Honestly, you can't go wrong starting with any period you love. I end up skipping around my favorite eras for one reason or another. lol...true enough. But I don't think anyone gives a second thought to characters like Calla.

Basically...he practically steps into Josh's life. He got Billy as a brother, he's fighting with HB and lusting after Reva. Robert's last scenes aired late November 84 (HB has a heart operation, Vanessa gives birth to Bill) and Kyle shows up in town in late December. Then Josh returns after Kyle and Reva's aborted wedding. I'm not exactly sure of Malloy's last airdate, but it's soon afterward.

I just really found it odd that they'd obviously invested a lot into the character of Kyle, he dominates a lot of story, and *blip* he's gone in two years.

Did Larkin Malloy jump directly from Guiding Light to AMC? Did he leave on his own? Jumping from LaZimmer to LaLucci must have been....unique.

I didn't think Wert was the answer, but compared to Shawn Christian, he was bleepin' Olivier.

I don't think that's just your taste. I would've called it off-putting and amateurish.

Valid point re: Scott. But Breen was a very good and popular actor. I think ATWT would've at least tried to keep him happy. I think a lot of Mary Ellen Stuart, but she was no Julianne Moore. I don't think she could've handled a dual role.

Yep. It's a basic failure if you can't scout a better location for characters to talk than a random open field. And you can't tell me there's not one pretty place in that entire town. I'm sure that GL's crew did the best they could, but a lot of those sets were visual junk. Well, those shows certainly learned what not to do.