Guiding Light Discussion Thread

[DRW50]

Yeah, I'm very glad to get to see this era too. I'd prefer to see the Dobsons material, as I think it is less dry and dated than Marland's work, it has more heart and feels less laborious (for instance, the repeated conversations about what a changed man Ross is always make me kind of roll my eyes), but I know most of that is gone, so this is good too. I'm glad to get to see more of the whole canvas buildup to the Diane and Joe murders, and as you said, some of the day-to-day of Kelly and Morgan. And more info on weird bits like Vanessa/Ed, and pairings I never knew about, like Mike/Trish. Plus I never knew they were still having Nola scheme to get Kelly at this point.

I really wish they hadn't fired Jane Eliot so abruptly, because she barely had the chance to play an actual character. You can tell this Carrie is an artifice.

There are also '92 clips still being posted, but I have a lot of bad memories of what JFP did to the show so those are tough for me to want to watch again, especially since most of the clips revolve around Nick, a character I disliked. And I feel like JFP's work has also dated significantly.

Edited December 17, 2014 by DRW50

[katie_9918]

I've always felt that the saving grace of Jill Farren Phelps' era is the fact that that era was the last one that Springfield truly felt like a community. People on the periphery of other stories were still dropping in and there was a lot of overlap. That's probably more of a writing thing and it may very well have been a lingering effect thing from her predecessor, but once Laibson took over, it seems all the different plots were isolated from one another very quickly.

Of course, I'm also finding the Alan of this time fascinating. He's genuinely trying to turn over a new leaf, but there are still so many secrets he's keeping and he doesn't trust Hope enough to entrust those secrets to her, so they were as doomed as an in-character-with-no-real-growth Roger and Holly were in 1994.

Random observation: late 1996 as a whole seems pretty stale and boring. Annie never should have become the heavy so quickly. My sympathies are with her, and not Josh and Reva, despite the writers trying to make us sympathize with the lying emotional cheaters. A shame too. Josh had so much promise as his own character sans Reva for about a year there in 1994-1995. Sonni was my favorite of his wives for all that I don't actually remember that much about her.

[NothinButAttitude]

Why didn't you like Nick?

[katie_9918]

I don't know why Carl didn't like Nick, but he was too much of a self-righteous hypocrite for my taste until Nancy Bell's Susan Bates came along and made him bearable. By then, the writing was on the wall.

[NothinButAttitude]

I thought he and Kim Simms Mindy were HOT. I always wondered how Beth would handle Nick being in town. Would she fall for him because he resembled Lujack?

[DRW50]

A number of my favorite characters, like Alex and Mindy, were ruined for him. He had no real chemistry with most of the people he was paired with. He was smarmy and sanctimonious. I hated the way he preened and posed all the time. I hated the sound of his voice. I hated his pretentiousness (the worst of the soap cliches about journalists), I hated the way he said "Alexandra" and "Melinda" so we'd know he wasn't like everyone else. I hated the way the words came out of his mouth. I hated having to hear "Cambray" a million times, and hear endless backstory about Cambray and New York and his super duper parents Kip and Mary, who sounded like they got their names from a kids' detective book from 1940. I hated that many months of plot were based on the idea that of course Mary couldn't have had him, because she had a photo from the time he was in the womb where she had a flat stomach.

The idea of Lujack having a long lost twin should have been far more interesting than it actually was. Without Beverlee, the story was nothing, and it was clear that JFP saw Beverlee as a disposable third wheel plot device, just as she later saw Marj. A shrieking, hysterical mommy from hell.

[DRW50]

I liked him with Susan too, maybe because she wasn't made to be needy or pathetic. By that time he was being written out, but I thought they worked well together. I'm glad they got a happy ending.

[DRW50]

I agree about the sense of community. I have mixed feelings, because community and history are important, but if the stories and relationships don't work, then that's a huge tradeoff. I do think her last year or so had more somber, believable material, and had more heart, but the show itself had taken on so much water because of her mistakes in 1993 and early 1994.

I don't think Josh ever really worked on his own as a character, aside from his story with Harley. He was just too petulant and Reva balanced that out. I think by the last few years of the show, Newman had developed enough maturity that he could carry material (and I think the idea of him wanting to be a minister was interesting, although I'm not sure it suited the character), but 94-95, I don't think it was there.

On the one hand, Annie shouldn't have been demonized, but on the other hand, I thought Watros was so drab and overly mannered (a weird combination) that, much like Wendy Moniz (also very poor as anything but a bitch), the show did her a favor putting her in this light.

Edited December 17, 2014 by DRW50

[NothinButAttitude]

I love it when you get passionate and break it all down, buddy. One of the best features about you.

I think because I was so young when watching, I liked Nick and Mindy. I thought they were hot. I didn't like when he traded her for Eve but I loved Nick/Mindy/Alex/Roger quad.

[DRW50]

They had their share of fans. I'm just a bitter person, especially when I get overinvested in a show or a character, so I wasn't able to move past it. I just hated the whole thing at the time and it's tough to watch now. Many people did enjoy him with Simms, which is why I'm not sure why JFP was so fine with letting her leave. Arrogance.

[NothinButAttitude]

So Kim Simms left on her own accord--similar to a situation like Bev McKinsey? She didn't even put up a fight for her?

[amybrickwallace]

Thanks for clarifying about Peter Simon. His SFT replacement, Peter Rattray, is the father of Devin Rattray - who is best known as Buzz in the Home Alone movies.

[DRW50]

I think she wanted a year contract. JFP wanted at least two years. Simms walked.

[amybrickwallace]

Kimberley Simms never appeared on another soap, did she?

[NothinButAttitude]

That's bull sh*t. Jill should've given her the one year contract. Who know, Kim could've changed her mind during that stint and signed on for another year. I feel like Mindy was destroyed and lessened when KS left.

I don't think so.