How about Ellen Wheeler appears in the final episodes of GL?

[Y&RWorldTurner]

^This should be a clear message to the other soaps to never try such a poorly executed production model.

[Adam]

I had totally forgot about the Into the Light episodes..... yeah that was really where she lost her way.... You sum it up perfectly, and its the downfall of most executives currently in daytime. They are trying to revolutionize the genre.... a genre that doesn't need revolutionized. I forget who it was who said this, but it was a great quote how soap fans want to see evolution, not revolution. How true is that. I know someone had it in their signature here. I am thinking it was maybe Jerry verDorn from GL? Whoever it was, very smart comment.

[bellcurve]

Very poorly executed. I can't believe people had the gall to compare this to "The City."

[MichaelGL]

The last scene of GL should take place in the Bauer kitchen. Nuff said.

[Dan]

It was me and it was from Jerry. I can't remember the full quote since I changed it, but the crux was that viewers "don't want revolution, they want evolution."

[jfung79]

I am a huge fan of Ellen Wheeler, but no, I don't think it would make sense for her to be in the last episode as Irna Phillips -- too self-referential and postmodern.

As for the "Inside the Light" episodes, I loved them. Ratings went up during that 2006 year when they were a regular feature. They *were* an evolution, not a revolution. The new production model is also working great now that the kinks have been worked out.

[brimike]

I loved the idea of the Wednesday shows, but I think GL wrote themselves into a corner (no pun intended) by saying it was going to happen EVERY Wednesday, permanently. Some of them were really amazing, but others felt like "Oh, crap. It's Wednesday. We're up to an "Inside the Light" episode. Damn. Who are we going to focus on now... um... gee... um... how about a full episode of Reva's morning routine?"

I would have loved it if they were used monthly, or when the story called for it. Because after awhile, it felt like the writers didn't know what to do with them.

[MichaelGL]

You know what I want to see? Maybe it's not going to happen, but in addition to a well written final episode, how about allowing the show air it's end credits like they used to during the holidays? Maybe scenes of the cast of crew superimposed with a touching song playing as the credits roll.

Just a small wish I have.

[Y&RWorldTurner]

But anyway, JOHHNYSBRO'S obsession with Wheeler needs to stop, it's gotten to the point where it's just scary now.

[Dan]

I remember SOW had a category in their yearly wrapup saying that Wednesdays were the editors' least favorite day because it meant GL was airing another special episode.

Honestly, the ITL episodes were, at best, mixed. At worst, they just plain sucked. They sucked up a week's worth of one storyline in one day, screwing the pacing completely out of proportion to the rest of the show. Just look at Reva's first cancer story and see how those ITLs screwed up the pacing irreparably. Besides, I want character-driven writing everyday, not just one day a week.

[bellcurve]

Who could forget the Summer Solstice episode: "The Longest Episode of the Year" as some GL fans labeled it.

Damn, I loved the ideas of the ITL's, but not when they focused on lameass characters like Coop and Ava.

[MichaelGL]

In the end they really went off track, wasn't one of those special ITL episodes the one where Alan and Spaulding Enterprises developed a memory erasing serum? Any that featured Ava, Gus, Mallet, Marina, Cassie, Coop, or Jeffrey I was sure to stay away from.

[Dion]

Yeah I fully agree, ITL should never have been done every wednesday. Its a good idea to do something like that once in a while. EastEnders often does episodes like that (and i'm not just talking about the famous two handers either). But committing yourself to doing it every wednesday is a bit excessive and really interrupts the flow of the other storylines too.

[jfung79]

I, too, can agree that ITL would have worked better if it was not rigidly set for every Wednesday. I still liked it though.