GL: Week of July 16th

[Juliajms]

What's up GL fans? Is anyone warming up to BG as Dylan? I don't mind him, but I miss original Dylan. I won't mind if Dylan comes between GusH for awhile though.

I'm tired of both Ava and Olivia. A part of me is hoping CC jumps ship to OLTL because I just can't stand her story right now.

Josh needs to change his mind about becoming a minister. Seriously.

[SpiritualJunkie]

Gosh, I'm blind. I just mentioned in the Josh/preacher thread that I was too lazy to start a weekly GL thread and there's one here!

So I watched Monday and Tuesday's show the other night. And GL is actually getting interesting again.

I'm loving Dinah's storyline. Gina Tognoni has been on fire lately portraying a woman whose brain doesn't seem to be letting her do the functional everyday things. This is the first time I've seen this kind of thing done on soaps (I'm guessing it's been done before but it's rarely touched on) and it's interesting to watch.

Ava & Olivia getting along was a little too weird for me. But then Olivia set that guy to scare Ava...??? I'm confused. In any case, I still can't stand Ava. I'm not the biggest Ashlee/Coop fan but I'm hoping Ashlee runs that self-centered snob out of town.

Jeffrey & Reva...ehh. I'm sure there's a lot of people hating this pairing. I don't really care. They're not as aggravating to me as Josh & Reva.

Alex & Cyrus planning to get married. Weird but interesting. Can't wait to see how Marina reacts to this one after just being warned by Frank about Cyrus.

For a while, there was too much focus on the Rafe/Daisy circle..(I actually like their storyline overall..i just can't stand the pairing of Rafe & Daisy) but it's nice to see some balance happening on the show again.

[MichaelGL]

Liking Cyrus/Marina little twist and Dinah's storyline.

That Rafe guy has some freaky eye brows.

[Juliajms]

Yeah, I'm often too lazy to start a new thread too as if it takes some major effort. It's weird.

Olivia sent that guy after Ava so that Coop would come to Ava's rescue. Then the guy took it a step further than Olivia expected.

This is like Beth/Lizzie trying to come between Ava/Coop last year, so I'm not fond of that aspect of the story.

I'd rather see Coop struggle with dating someone that his friends don't find attractive. Maybe take some flak for dating "the Big Girl". That would be more realistic angst, but then Coop wouldn't look like such a hero if he caved to peer pressure for awhile. Plus Coop doesn't seem to have any friends. Oh well, Ava/Lizzie/Coop redux here we come.

[dc11786]

I rarely catch full episodes, especially the Inside the Light episode, but I thought today's episode was fairly interesting despite the clumsy premise that all of these people would go and see Reverend Ruthledge. I mean really. When was the last time any one of these people was even in a church? Speaking of which when was the last time "Guiding Light" had a church wedding? Sandy and Tammy's aborted wedding?

LOVE Lillian and Buzz. I hate the fact that Kreizman picks up and drops plots over the years, but I'm happy that I finally got to see these two together. Definitely a highlight.

Speaking of dropped and picked up plots, the stuff with Beth today was fairly interesting. I was thoroughly impressed with the actress playing Leah as she laid into Beth and Lizzie. At least the worse case of SORAS in soap history has resulted in a half way decent actress.

That said, I caught some of the 4th of July episode with Rick and Beth planning on getting married. In one scene, they corrected Beth Raines. I was pleasantly shocked. That said, have they brought up Phillip recently in the midst of this. I felt his presence should have been a glooming shadow as they planned their nuptials as Lillian painted Beth and Rick as true love. I know Beth and Rick have a past together, but Phillip's importance in Beth's life seemed to be glossed over. Yet, this was only one episode so I may be unfair in this assessment.

I really like Reverend Ruthledge, as I've sat through various scenes of this Josh wants to be a minister plot (which typically result in me flipping the channel), I found myself wondering why not just bring Reverend Ruthledge on as a contract player? The show certainly could use some new blood, and I doubt the guy playing Ruthledge would be that expensive.

As someone who doesn't like Nicole Forrester, I found I didn't mind her being paired with Robert Newman. Josh and Cassie shouldn't have been paired, at least the way they were, but I wish Forrester came on as a new character. Laura Wright will always be Cassie to me. Plus I don't like the direction Cassie has taken with the paternity switch and this post-Tammy Cassie is rather blah overall.

Alexandra marrying Cyrus to stay in the country? Didn't Kreizman already do this setup with Bill and Olivia a couple years ago? Last I saw Alexandra had hired Cyrus as her chauffeur. Have they at least explained why she is doing this? Hell, even when Alex was involved with the drug trade she was being blackmailed by an ex-lover.

It amazes me that in the constant cast turnovers that Frank and Marina still survive.

[SpiritualJunkie]

I thought that's why Olivia got that guy to go after Ava.

Yeah, Wednesday's show was fairly decent considering my not-so-high expectations.

So was a Lillian/Buzz pairing hinted at before? I rather like them together.

I also like the girl who plays Leah. I wonder why they brought her on, though if she's rarely ever on. I thought her badmouthing Beth and Lizzie was hilarious. They make a great dysfunctional familiy.

I'd like to see Reverend Ruthledge around more, too. He's witty and brings a comic air to the show as well as seriousness...I think it's safe to say that most religious roles aren't as well-rounded.

Not a big fan of Josh & Cassie anymore but I've always liked Nicole Forester and I think she and Robert Newman are really comfortable working together. I guess I wouldn't mind if TPTB decided to keep them together. As for NF being Cassie...I've accepted her into the role. Laura Wright's Cassie was just bitchy all the way through while NF's version is less so. I think she plays crazy quiet really well.

Believe it or not, the last church wedding was Jonathan & Tammy's.

[dc11786]

In September 2004, Buzz had a heart attack and Lillian was looking out for him at the hospital. When Phillip was trying to take over Company, Lillian sided with Buzz over her former son-in-law, which to me suggested they were going for a Lillian/Buzz pairing. This was just after the Buzz/Alexandra pairing had ended so it was nice to see Buzz with someone since I thought the Buzz/Olivia/Frank triangle was awkward and reaked of cancellation pairing.

I'm a big Tina Sloane fan, I'll sit through nearly anything if she's in it.

I think from a dramatic standpoint, a teenager made for better drama in the fallout of Mel and Rick's marriage. On the otherhand, Kreizman could have simply developed Mel and Rick's relationship enough where dramatic impact would have come out of audience investment in the characters, but in fairness Kreizman has done the most for the character of Mel.

I wonder if Kim Zimmer is going to be dropped soon. Especially since Josh appeared to be the buttinsky that Reva typically is during his Inside the Light episode. I really do enjoy Zimmer, but the material that's been written for her has been crap lately. I've seen Zimmer spin crap into award winning material before, but her menopause/cancer storylines have been highly criticized.

I felt sympathy for Laura Wright's Cassie. I think there was a lot of chemistry between her and Stephanie Gatschet. There mannerisms were so much a like. Laura Wright's final months on the show were awful though. Jeffrey and Cassie? Yuck. The baby storyline of 2005 were simply awful: Dinah losing the baby offscreen, Michelle's WTD that was dropped, Cassie losing so many children in the course of a year, and then everyone involved in the baby swap being gone by the year's end.

Because of the time she was hired, I haven't seen much of Nicole Forrester's Cassie. She was mostly whining about Tammy and Jonathan and then getting cozy with Josh. I don't think she was bad during the Mother's Day episode, but it seemed to be a side rarely seen of Cassie. I haven't like this crazyCassie. I saw some stuff with her stalking Beth and I cringed.

Since I wasn't watching at the time, I just assumed it was a quickie wedding. Thanks for clarifying. I miss the days of big weddings since "Guiding Light" has rarely had them in recent years.

[SpiritualJunkie]

I wouldn't mind if Kim Zimmer was let go. She might be one of those star-quality characters but her storylines lately (ie. abducting Lizzie to get bone marrow, hooking up with Jeffrey, etc.) seem like they're just being pulled out of thin air. She's just "there". And if I were a Jeva fan back in early 2006, I definitely wouldn't be one now.

I wish I had started watching GL before mid-2005 because what I got from Cassie for the most part was a self-absorbed bitch. Even worse than Reva at times.

You need to see Nicole Forester's scenes from Tammy's death. I thought she was just fantastic and very believable as a mother grieving for her child.

[Juliajms]

I'm not interested in Rafe and Daisy at all, but if GusH break up for awhile, I can live with that. I like Harley better with Dylan.

I hope we get to see more of Buzz and Lillian. Now there are two people who deserve to be happy. I never thought Olivia deserved Buzz.

[AddictedToSoaps]

I thought the same thing when I first saw him. Someone pluck them please! Anyway, I cannot stand the actor, the character, and his story. I hate it all. I used to like DK for a while, but GL is in a truly pathetic state right now, which is such a shame. At least we can look forward to Jonathan's return!! (even if it is for just a few episodes)

[Juliajms]

The Cyrus and Alex marriage is interesting. I bet anything Cyrus gives into temptation and consummates the marriage at some point, after a fight with Marina most likely. Poor Marina and Alex, I had high hopes for M&C, I hope they come out of this ok. Cyrus is one of the few newbies I like.

I like Dinah's new story. I hope it breaks Dinah and Mallet up down the road.

[SpiritualJunkie]

Rafe's eyebrows...not a big fan of the character but give the actor a break. Just goes to show how television has filtered out people with certain features to the point where they are seen as ugly, rare, or "abnormal".

Yuck!! I'd rather see a Lillian/Buzz/Alex triangle.

And agreed on breaking up Dinah & Mallet..but who would they pair her up with then? Frank?

[Dan]

Don't worry. Cassie has been a self-absorbed bitch since she came on. You got the right impression.

I really agree with this. I can understand that Kreizman and Wheeler want to bring the show back to its religious origins. I can even appreciate it. But Josh wanting to be a minister out of nowhere is an insane plot point, even for those two. A self-righteous hero on his high horse? Yes. A minister? Hell no! I would never be able to take Reverand Josh seriously, which is what I think you need to be able to do.

So Cyrus and Alex are married huh? An interesting twist actually. But PLEASE tell me she has an IRON-CLAD pre-nup. She wouldn't have married Roger without it so why would she with some two-bit thief?