October 30 - November 3, 2006

[SpiritualJunkie]

Please..those 'two asshats' are a whole heck of a lot better than the hacks over at ABC. They've proven lately that they can write great scripts when they want to and give everyone a fair piece of the cake. They could have easily made the entire week about Reva but instead, paid just as much attention to the other characters who were being affected by her disease. Instead of playing the blame game (which I've seen just about a gazillion times on soaps), the writers did a great job of making the reveal center around human compassion. Why the hell can't we acknowledge good writing when it's there???

[Dan]

Please..those 'two asshats' are a whole heck of a lot better than the hacks over at ABC."

Wheeler and Kreizman did exactly what the ABC shows are doing a few years before. They stripped GL of its identity, fired many of the veterans, and hired on scores of talentless actors. That's why I sympathize with the AMC viewers because I know what they are going through. Are Wheeler and Kreizman really so much better?

Six months wasted on this cancer story (which could have been written with dignity and intelligence, by the way) and the resolution of said story gets GL only a one-point rise?

Call me bitter (and I am), but Wheeler and Kreizman are soley responsible for the piss-poor state of this show.

[Kwing42]

Yup you are bitter because you fail to accept that GL is doing just fine outside of the little box that you put it in.

They are not perfect, and GL was not stripped of its identity. Who on the show can not act? I know of TWO actors on the show that would be better off NOT being on there..TWO.

No Veterans? I guess Ron Raines, Kim Zimmer, Robert Newman, Michael O' Leary, Beth Chamberlan, Beth Ehlers, Jordan Clark...etc are not veterans?

I guess I am not seeing what you are seeing Dan. I am seeing a show that puts out a great product for the money it is given to operate. And with its ratings rising.....I think that is pretty damn remarkable.

Didn't like the cancer story? Of course not..because it featured veterans and featrued them very nicely...oh wait that is a positve. I guess you just had to crap on the story because your other "go to" was not available...that they do not use vets.....oh well.

If GL has to lose a "bitter" viewer to see its ratings rise...I am all for it!

Jump ship man...it is time!

[SpiritualJunkie]

Were Josh & Reva not around since the 80s? I don't know what your definition of veteran is but that's a pretty long time. Heck, I would even consider Beth Ehlers (who I'm not a big fan of) to be a vet.

And what is your definition of talent??? GL's cast is, IMO, the best in daytime...even most of the newbies are good. Not all of them are phenomenal but I wouldn't call them God-awful, either. The only one I find a drag to watch is Michelle Ray Smith and even she has her good moments.

I agree that the cancer story was a pain to watch but the resolution was really well-done. Only a .1 raise??? Geez...what were you expecting??? This is GL we're talking about...like I said, it wasn't too long ago that it was sitting at a 2.0, 2.1..and had trouble getting a 2.3 just to tie AMC and OLTL. You add the fact that GL has a screwed up schedule throughout the U.S. and isn't even shown in a lot of areas and you'll realize how huge that .1 gain is. If you don't, then...I don't know what else to say.

Uh, yeah...and because of it, you're overexaggerating how badly GL is doing. I know you like to look solely at GL but sometimes comparisons have to be made. If you were watching during the 'glory days', of course you're going to think the show now isn't the same...but that's the fact with every soap! But when you look at how each show is different given the money they are working with, the schedule they are working with, the promotion, the overall criticism, etc. and how they end up doing given all those factors and finally compare them...it doesn't take a genius to realize that the picture you get using comparisons is different from looking at things at a strictly individualistic level.

[Matt P.]

When I first saw this I had to do a double take. I thought GL only beat AMC but my mouth dropped when GL also beat OLTL. Finally! This is such a victory for GL and I'm so happy to see it go up, not down. Going from 8 to 6, can hopefully lead to bigger things.

Congrats GL, the show IMO deserved it after a hard many years.

[Miss Trudy]

His 'glory years' of Guiding Light was back when Paul Rauch was EP and Barbara Esensten and James Harmon Brown were appointed headwriters. Does that make you chuckle the way it makes me chuckle? Guiding Light isn't perfect but it sure is in better condition than half the other soaps on air right now and it is about damn time the numbers reflected it!

[bellcurve]

I respect your opinion, Dan, but the budget is the *MAIN* reason why GL had to rid itself of so many vets. I'd prefer if they got rid of the Bauers(just to complete the revamp of the show), but that is also a very unpopular opinion here.

I will be the first to admit, that I thought GL would be cancelled last year or even three years ago when Conboy's greasy ass hands were in control of the production. And, to this day(I know Kwing and Miss Trudy will probably disagree ), I still think that Rauch and then Conboy DROVE the budget and quality of this show into the f!@king ground. That was LONG before Wheeler and Kreizman ever came along. If anything, I say these two restored the drama to GL and made each episode into an actor's playground. Is GL perfect? No. But it's way better than other soaps on the air.

As much as you think GL sucks Dan, even the most observant soap fan can't see this as just "dumb luck." Throughout all the issues GL has had, they rose in the ratings last week. Even if it is a "half-point."(Lets not forget most soaps that are/were on the brink of cancellation can barely get out of their standard rut...just look at PASSIONS)

And let's not forget, AGAIN, that GL isn't shown in its regular timeslot opposite GH in most MAJOR markets in the country. GL isn't shown on SOAPnet(therefore doesn't have the extra exposure AMC and OLTL do).

I agree, Kreizman probably needs a co-HW or to be replaced altogether. But even YOU, Dan, can't deny that this is VICTORY. Even if this spike is short-lived.

I'm with you Miss Trudy.

[Dan]

Ah, Ms. Trudy you are back. Nice to hear from you again!

Honestly, I agree that because I have seen GL during the "glory days" (and by "Glory Days," I mean early 90s, Paul Rauch, and before that McTavish/Laibson were the beginning of the destruction), I have trouble seeing the show in a more, shall we say, reduced and watered-down way. But that's why I'm not watching and rarely do I comment on the state of the show on the boards (unless I'm totally bored out of my mind or the show is just begging to be ranted about, as in the case of the Marvel [!@#$%^&*] and this cop-out, ridiculously offensive "miracle cure" for Reva).

I will say this for GL. At least it doesn't have that unsteady camera work that AMC does. Phew! And it doesn't have the younger actors on that particular show (although I still say that the younger crowd, including Pelphrey, isn't nearly as talented as everyone says they are).

Unfortunately, with regards to the veteran characters, they are featured more but most of the characters are absolutely unrecognizable. Alan as some cartoon? Beth as some one-note bitch? Rick as some town pariah? Harley as a total hypocritical, nonsensical witch? Blake as the blogger?

Even Josh and Reva, who had finally been granted some maturity with regards to their on-again, off-again relationship, were dumbed down.

Hell, the only person I can think of who has not been destroyed is Frank, who was always a clueless dumbass.

My problem is that Kreizman is a surface-level writer. He has good ideas (the breast cancer story, Roger's death, et al.), but he has an inability of delving into the emotions and connections beyond the surface. Even the dialog lacks any real subtext. The only thing that gives the scene any is the actor. And I agree, we do have some amazing actors (Gina, Beth [who hasn't been on her game in quite some time, but I love her anyway], Robert, Liz, etc.). But even they aren't miracle workers.

[Dan]

Oh well. Perhaps I'll just spend the rest of my soap-loving days watching and salivating over older clips...

[SpiritualJunkie]

I love how this thread has become all about GL. It's so amusing.

Well, if there's one thing I agree with you about, it's the "miracle cure" for Reva. I think it would have been better if they had really killed her off. But instead, she's alive and kicking and still comes off looking like some hero.

I think your sentence got cut off...what were you going to say about AMC's younger cast?

And surprisingly, aside from Harley, I love them all. I don't see these characters as completely one-note and if they are being written that way, the actors are doing a wonderful job of giving them layers when there supposedly is none.

I do think GL's cast, though, are full of miracle-workers in that I never forget how talented they are. I've seen actors I used to love get crap for months or years that it gets to the point where I change my view on how great they are.

[Dan]

"I think your sentence got cut off...what were you going to say about AMC's younger cast?"

It didn't get cut off and was intended as a fragment. But the new, younger AMC hires do suck.

"I love how this thread has become all about GL. laugh.gif It's so amusing."

I think that if we can agree on one thing, it is that GL fans are passionate, whether they are enjoying the show or hating it.

[Matt P.]

This is GL's chance to pounce. They need to see this as an oppertunity to go higher in the ratings race. By doing so...make the story lines count. Don't go for boring/slow paces, go for that high drama we've known to come and love. Showcase more of the Bauers, make Olivia scream her head off, bring back Lujack (VI), and don't stop!

It's so close between the shows and now that DAYS is getting a lot of attention with Hogan as new head writer, if GL wants to stay or go further, they need to keep doing exciting/fast paced story lines.

[SteveFrame]

Anybody that says Tom Pelphrey is not talented has not watched his scenes recently esp. the day that Reva first told him she was going to commit suicide. Or esp. the day that he and Tammy broke up. And Stephanice Gatschet has been wonderful too.

I will agree that not all of GL's younger set are great but I would put them 3rd on Best Acting by a younger set at this point - behind 1) ATWT and 2) Y&R. They are leaps and bounds above AMC's younger set esp.

And no the stories are not the greatest in the world. And no they are not equal to any of the glory years of the soap which go far beyond the 90's. The glory years of GL were the Douglas Marland years followed by the Pamela Long years for me. Running close to them are the Dobson years and the Agnes Nixon years. Even the early 70's were great. But as SJ said no soap is as good as it once was - not any one of them.

GL is leaps and bounds above several of the soaps that are airing now. And I don't want to see it do stories exactly like all the other soaps. I want it to keep some individuality. They could up the pacing a little, but even it doesn't have to get much faster. The cast of GL does wonders with the pacing as it is as it allows them to give the characters layers. I admit we do need a better writer, but from what I have seen since I started watching everyday Kreizman is not a terrible writer. I will take him any day over McTavish or Higley. I wouldn't mind them keeping him and just giving him a co-headwriter. To change to another unknown may bring worse than what we have now.

And yes it is good to see this thread turn to talk about GL. This was GL's week for some attention. They beat AMC and OLTL overall, and even beat Days 3 days out of the week. With all the excitement around Days right now, that is big. I hope they keep it up, and cash in on the excitement of the week.

[MichaelGL]

Well it's not like she had been magically cured of cancer Dan. She had already beaten cancer. She was only in danger of losing her life when she was having a bad reaction to the treatment she was recieving. Which happens alot IRL.

I would agree that GL is quite good right now. Despite that, I feel like I've been watching a totally different show since EW and DK took over. Not in a good way exactly. No matter how many regime changes occured I always thought the show had always been able to retain that warm family feeling the show had about it. However I feel as if EW and DK have totally removed that feeling away from the show. Springfield feels more like a cold unfamiliar place these days despite the fact that vets like Billy, Reva, and Josh are shown nearly everyday. Maybe it's the fact that most of the sets are unfamiliar, cold feeling, and small, or maybe it's because DK has totally forgotten the fact the show needs the small family moments that a show like DAYS seems to be almost drowning in everyday. I dunno, GL just doesn't feel the same way anymore when I watch it.