Guiding Light discussion thread

[Paul Raven]

Don Stewart was not happy that Mike Bauer became a grandfather. He had been one of the most popular leading men of the 70's and this coupled with his desire to be paired with a younger woman could be seen as ego but maybe he saw the writing on the wall and was fighting to keep his position. Seeing Mart Hulswit dumped for a younger actor must have had an impact.also.

[Mitch]

Well, I don't think it was just the age of Hulswitt, but his weight gain that might have effected the decision. Stewart, while not my cup of tea, still was leading man....(he still looked great during the 70th anniversary bash) and could have continued on for years, yes, not as romantic hero but Patriarch of SF after Bert died. Ed was such a weak character in terms of personal strenght, and Simon lacked any kind of real warmth (though I think he had good chemistry with OLeary and the girl playing Bridget..) that it crippled the Bauers in the later years. Mike would have been the go to guy and town father if not for Stewart's ego..( I always felt that Fulton's ego as wanting to remain the romantic leading lady really pushed her aside around Dobson time.)

Its too bad they didnt bring Mike and Hope back in 86..they could have picked up the Alex Lillian thing then (Alex was mooning over the dumb Simon plot at that time and Lillian was doing nothing...) and would have made a nice lead in to the return of Alan and then the return of Roger.

[John]

i believe this was the time [1986] when Elissa Leeds says she was contacted about reprising Hope but nothing came of it for whatever reason.

[zanereed]

Well, technically Peter Simon (born September 27, 1943) was only 3 years younger than Mart Hulswit (born May 24, 1940), but I think Mitch hit it on the head - Hulswit's look at that time probably didn't help his cause. Simon certainly looked younger than Hulswit IMHO when he started.

[zanereed]

That would make sense. It's the only time I ever remember reading any mention of bringing Hope back. It would have been an interesting choice if they went in that direction. Leeds is 11 years younger than Elvera Roussel, and I can't recall how old Hope was supposed to be when Roussel was in the role - mid 20's or late 20's? I wonder how Leeds opposite Chris Bernau would have looked. Regardless, I would have rather seen Hope Bauer back than SORAS-ing Alan-Michael like they did the following year. In fact, I think that's the primary reason that they never brought Hope back again - with an aged Alan-Michael on the canvas, who could convincingly play Hope as both a mother of AM and someone who was supposed to be 20 years younger than Alan Spaulding?

Edited December 18, 2014 by zanereed

[John]

Im sorry I read that wrong. Elissa was approached by GL but it was in 1979. She turned it down & Elvera Roussel was cast in the role. Then she was offered Samantha on OLTL but also turned that down. OLTL then cast Susan Keith

Leeds then did a sitcom with Dorothy Louden which was quickly canceled

Edited December 18, 2014 by John

[DRW50]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1LY1W1ERBc

I guess Alan saw Diane as a loyal pet, not a person, but it's kind of sad to see how hurt he is by her betrayal. And it's also kind of sad to see that Diane was blamed for Vanessa's actions (stealing Rita's letter from Alan's apartment).

They really weren't being subtle about a murder mystery being on the way.

It's nice to see those Diane/Joe scenes within the full context of the episode. Pure melodrama, but very compelling, especially her cry of pain when he outs the Rita/Alan affair. Diane thought she knew everything but in the end she knew nothing.

The other interesting thing about this is that aside from Vanessa (who was mostly naughty), Joe and Diane were the only "bad" people in Springfield at this moment in time, so you see their wickedness catching up with them in the most brutal fashion. They can't even enjoy what they're doing. They're self-destructing on every level. What a contrast to today's soaps, where everyone in town is a thug and a murderer.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zeQRzZ_F0QE

Quint's first scene?

Those Carrie/Ross scenes are sweet.

Eve is dressed like a kids' show host, or a Doctor Who companion from some years earlier. She also reminds me a lot of one of the main characters on the BBC show Survivors (who had about as much luck with men as Eve did).

Poor Jackie. I can feel her pain and loss here. I wonder if Jarod Ross was onscreen for any of this material or if he just ran away offcamera.

Roger had been gone over a year by this point. I wonder how many new viewers they'd gotten (via things like Kelly/Morgan) who had no idea who he even was.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhh_pGJAhS4

I guess this is the last time we'll see Diane wander back and forth to the closet. I'm getting so nostalgic. And the last humiliation from Alan, who handled her terribly. I kind of wonder what might have been if they'd gotten involved - if she would have been satisfied or if, with her dream now realized, she would have felt it really wasn't enough. Sofia Landon and Chris Bernau are terrific there.

Vanessa is wearing one of those vampire victim outfits I always like seeing on soaps.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kC2Rd5O-RLE

You kind of have to laugh at the melodramatic pronouncements from Jackie and Ross.

Poor Diane. Her last secrets came out of the closet - literally. I feel so sorry for her there, in her final moments.

I'm always glad to see more of when Vanessa and Henry were partners in crime and he could read her like a book.

And the setup just makes her real killer all the more shocking, which is a clever twist on the typical murder mystery.

[zanereed]

Wow. I haven't seen Diane's final episode since if first aired.

Watching this again, Sofia Landon is so good here. I wonder why they decided to kill her off? Did Landon want to leave, or did Marland think that Diane had run her course?

I agree, Carl - Landon and Bernau were fantastic here.

I admit, I'm really enjoying watching Anna Stuart as Vanessa.

So, is this the last 1981 episode the poster has? I hope not, as I really wanted to see the Tenerife storyline again, as Alan takes Hope and AM there with Mike following close behind. I think that is where Josh Lewis also makes his debut?

[DRW50]

I think Landon was let go. I guess he wanted to use her character, who had been there for years knowing everything but just sort of quietly pining/plotting, to push story forward, and set up Carrie's story. I do wish they'd kept her, although I guess it would have been difficult.

They put up a 12/18 episode. I think they're going to try to get some more 1981 in January. I've only watched the first part so far, which is dominated by a lot of badly acted guest characters who remind me of an SNL sketch of the period, with a lot of expository dialogue about "Ramon," who is hitting on Morgan. The woman and the gay-ish guy with the curls look familiar to me.

There's also Nola/Quint stuff, and Mike/Alan/Ed/Wyatt (Wyatt seems like he's been sampling some of the department's coke supply...)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8RGcbVRH5k

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gqw1Gab4Inc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AP53O5gcpKA

[zanereed]

Doing a search for the user who is posting these, there are quite a bit more from the past few months I haven't viewed yet. For instance, the beginning of the final days for Bill Bauer (August, 1983):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-l1VdyfELo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzRd05af3Oc

Edited December 19, 2014 by zanereed

[Soaplovers]

Diane Ballard sounds like a fascinating character but sometimes characters just run their course and I think that was the case with Diane and Joe in 1981. I was reading some monthly summaries from 1980, and it was interesting that it mentioned Joe/Holly were being tested before she had departed. Makes me think that she would have been heavily involved with a lot of what happened with Diane/Joe had she remained.

[DRW50]

I never knew that. I always sort of assumed they would have paired her with Ed again. I guess she did have a thing for dangerous men.

Vanessa essentially took Diane's place on the show, which tells you Marland knew he needed this type of character. Maybe he just thought Diane was an obstacle to moving forward the stories he wanted to tell, or what have you.

If Ben had stayed around I wonder if the show might have tried something with them.

[amybrickwallace]

How long were the Lewises on the canvas before Kim Zimmer's Reva showed up?

[John]

Two years

[DRW50]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4zxDzkMwvA

That story with Henry looking for Sean seems to go on and on...I wonder when he did eventually drop it.

The other upload of this (which has lower picture quality) has a date of June 3. Do you know which date is right?

Jane Elliot was so good as Carrie. I'm sorry we never got to see the full plans for the character, and that Jackie was killed off because of truncating the storyline. Jackie not being alive for the Philip reveal was a big mistake.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQb1jkmXenE

Those flashbacks of the fight in the cable car are terrific. I guess Marland used this again with Frannie and Daryl on ATWT, but in a different context. I will say the score was wrong - it sounded like Mike was going to pop in and Goff was going to explain the history of cable cars to him.

Love the quick Bert/Derek scene. Bert was so good at those types of talks, at showing people that someone cared about them.

For someone undercover, Ivy is extremely aggressive at work. I guess Henry must know she's undercover.

Vanessa even has Diane's old hair and clothes here.

The group karate class always kind of cracks me up, as it just sort of looks so ludicrous seeing that group of characters all doing karate.

That Tim looks about 30+.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3kQAISdUrLw

Looks like Katie and Eve got new clothes and hair to mark the real arrival of the '80s (as the first few years were hanging on from the '70s). Katie's outfit doesn't suit her at all - it's very frou-frou lady who lunches. Eve's hair and clothes suit her, but they also make her look like the youngest daughter on Gimme A Break.

Mark is so sleazy and offputting. I know Jennifer was lonely, but he's just such an obvious weirdo.

That last scene with Carrie is terrific. Gives you the chills.

Some of the comments there were talking about why would Hillary ever want Tony over Derek. I tend to agree, but then I have a soft spot for guys like Derek. Tony's not as bad here as he was earlier on in terms of behavior, but he doesn't do tons for me.

I will say that I do wonder at times how longtime viewers felt at this point. The show seems somewhat disconnected from its core, especially when you have long, sour scenes of new or relative new characters like Josh and Vanessa bitching at each other, or the somewhat aimless, mostly new group doing karate, etc. At least there was still Bert...