Guiding Light Goodbye: Ellen Wheeler

[Rakesh]

http://www.tvguidemagazine.com/soaps/guiding-light-goodbye-ellen-wheeler-2394.html

[Greg's GL]

Goodbye, HACK. Thanks for destroying my show.

And what's up with EP's not admitting any mistakes? MAB and EW both think they have done no wrong! Unbelievable.

[DRW50]

I try to have some good memories of her run as EP, but I must say that I finally got what you were all saying about her weird behavior, I got it when I saw her interviews with 60 Minutes. She really was a mess. I think she may have been TOO close to GL, or her idea of GL. More distance would have been better for the show.

[bellcurve]

Not even Wheeler getting drunk off her power can ruin her initial second-wind the show experienced before Tammy and Jonathan left the show.

I loved the Inside the Light idea, even if it was overdone and poorly executed towards the middle of the show's run. I loved how hard everyone worked to deliver a quality product back then. I felt like when the show moved to those handheld cameras, people cared LESS about the work. And not just the actors, but everyone. There wasn't a cohesive effort to deliver a quality product on their budget.

[Greg's GL]

I liked the idea of that as well. Some were well-done and others (Harley as "The Guiding Light") were not. But it was an innovative idea. It could have worked well given a more experienced, capable EP. I always thought "Inside the Light" could be as good as some of the backstories/flashbacks they were doing at the time on LOST. But it turned out that EW did not have the EP smarts to pull it off.

[reallyhateskateonlost]

And don't come back to AMC..it's in enough trouble as it is.

[MichaelGL]

An Inside the Light episode could have been better if done in moderation, like once a month, or after the climax of a major story. Having it on every Wednesday and still managing to skip such characters as Alex and other vets was it's undoing.

I do credit Ellen Wheeler with a few things. When she became EP, she rejuvenated the show. The casting department improved vastly. She also got rid of Conboy's opening, (and replaced it with a decent one) which if JC had it his way, he would have kept that piece of s---- until the final episode. She also brought brand new focus to old characters who languished on the backburner, such as Billy, Buzz, and yes for a few months Holly. However, somewhere down the road, Ms. Wheeler lost her way.

[Vee]

I thought Wheeler had some innovative ideas early on, and I thought her run at the show began with a lot of promise. Unfortunately neither she nor David Kreizman could deal with unforeseen challenges, like the Grant Aleksander debacle, and Peter Simon refusing to return for the Sebastian/Roger storyline, which led to it devolving into Maureen Garrett's least favorite work on the show. They wasted a wealth of talent there. And Jonathan became everything to the show, while a potentially exciting, scandalous, but very delicate story (Cassie/Josh/Reva) was ruined by a recast, and terrible inconsistent and slanted writing.

Pretty soon, Wheeler's biases for certain characters and families, as well as her religious issues, began to show up in storytelling, and then she decided they apparently didn't need breakdowns or long-term plotting. That led to Peapack, and from there the show was doomed. No long-range planning, a lot of Mormon decrees on the stories (OTALIA) and a lot of grudges against certain couples and fanbases (no Dinah and Mallet, no Josh and Reva, etc) which led to many of them being hand-waved into the finale with all the grace and care of a petulant toddler who doesn't want to do something and absolutely will not do others (Otalia intimacy). She even forgot that as a Lewis, Daisy didn't need to worry about tuition for college - in Wheeler's mind, there were only the Coopers, forever and ever, amen.

I think Ellen Wheeler's not a well woman; I think she's a manic personality and it became very clear as the production spiraled downward in her last years at the show. The job was too big for her, she had a closed, stubborn mind, possibly some psychological issues, and she was not mentally or emotionally up to the task. And it's a shame because I think with a little more stability and a little less tendency towards personal dictatorial fiat, she could've been wonderful.

[MichaelGL]

^Somehow Vee I can't help but to agree with you, esp. on Ellen Wheeler's mental stability

[Greg's GL]

Yeah, she's bat-[!@#$%^&*] crazy.

Any HW and EP that would write a story for one character and turn around and use it for a completely different one (when said actor couldn't be lured back) should not be in charge of the show. They did that more than one time, didn't they? I know the "Beth goes off the deep end and starts hackin people up in the cabin" story was meant for Phillip. And it was a mild rip-off of "Misery" as well.

Anyway.....watch. Ellen will be co-EP of ATWT before long.

[R Sinclair]

At least she made it to the end of the interview before she started bawling. Either that, or Logan just ended it once she turned into a heap on the floor.

[Ann_SS]

The 60 Minutes video showed that Ellen Wheeler is a hot mess, but given everything that has happened it is not a surprise. I think GL has been mostly a nightmare under her tenure, but frankly, it is no different from ATWT in my view. I see the same symptoms on both P&G soaps. Wheeler has consistently made bad choices, but so has Goutman. Both shows have not been done well by P&G.

[NorrthCafe]

Two words: Reverend Josh.... that was almost as painful to me as Josh and Cassie. It didn't ruin the show, but that hot mess sure helped grease the slide on down to the ratings bottom.

[Mitch]

I think that the last paragraph said it all. I do think that only the dysfunctional world of soaps, (and the super dysfunctional world of today's P & G..the old days they would have gotten rid of her three months in) would a woman like Wheeler be in the position she is in. I do think it was "My way or the highway," with Wheeler, despite how cloyingly wispy and vunerable she comes off in interviews. I also think that she learned at the knee of MADD, who simply did not listen to anyone else. MADD came into her position as a woman during a very difficult time to do so..she NEEDED to come off as a force to be reckoned with who had a singular vision and did not listen to anyone else. However, Wheeler is working in a different time, she shouldnt have relied on an outdated management style. She NEEDED to listen to other people, especially since her "vision," (Cooper/Cooper/Cooper) was so f*cked up to begin with.