Guiding Light discussion thread

[vetsoapfan]

In an interview many years ago, Douglas Marland spoke about how TPTB wanted to go younger and sexier with the character of Ed, and how Mart Hulswit was supposedly a "dodo," who was not attractive or fit enough to play a younger, sexier Ed. 

 

It was absurd, of course. Regardless of TPTB's opinion of what will or will not appeal to the audience, we do not all demand to see washboard abs and shampoo-model hair on every soap opera character. We have loved matriarchs and patriarchs like Bert Bauer, Lila Quartermaine, Joe Martin, Stu Bergman, Grandpa Hughes, Katherine Chancellor, and so many others, regardless of their physical attributes. Mart Hulswit was warm and comforting, and certainly attractive even though his waist was expanding and his hair was thinning. He was Ed Bauer. Peter Simon is a good actor, but much more aloof and reserved than Hulswit, and is he (or was he, at the time) significantly more attractive than Hulswit? I would say no.

 

The early 1980s saw the unavoidable loss of Bert Bauer, the completely avoidable loss of Mike, Hope, Hillary, and even Bill Bauer, and the pointless recasting of Ed Bauer.  It was a series of death blows to the core family and to the show, and TGL never actually recovered.

[DramatistDreamer]

Speaking of Ed Bauer, so Michelle was his biological daughter with Claire?  What happened to Claire?  I don't recall them bringing her back for Michelle when Maureen died and I'm surprised at this.  Did GL kill Claire off or something?

[NothinButAttitude]

Claire was brought back in the late 90s/early 00s. Watch this video of the whole history of Claire: 

 

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[zanereed]

I agree with this completely. Basically, I did not equate "younger and sexier" with Peter Simon (who is actually only 3 years younger than Hulswit). I still find it odd that Marland had such derogatory comments to say about Hulswit. Did he ever do this with any other actor?

[SoapDope]

That is a disgraceful to treat Mart Hulswit that way. I always wondered why the recast. 

[DramatistDreamer]

Thanks @Nothin'ButAttitude !  I'll take a look at this tonight 

[NothinButAttitude]

You're welcome. Claire played a pivotal role in Michelle's adult life though. I just wish they didn't write her into a corner and then send her off as a deadbeat mother yet again. I think Claire could've added so much had she stayed long-term the 2nd run.

[DramatistDreamer]

I fell off with GL by the late 90s but yeah, it seems like after Maureen's death that would have been the best time to return Claire to Springfield.  I feel like both GL and ATWT had this in common- the last decade and a half or so of the show's existence, both shows seemed to do Mother/Daughter relationships so poorly after having done so well in the previous decades.  

[NothinButAttitude]

 

I don't think it was just mother/daughter, I think P&G shows started to suck all across the board with generational bonds whether it is familial, friendly, or communal. What made a lot of people love these shows were how they had the chaotic youthful characters but you had a Greek chorus behind the youthful characters to guide and balance them. We didn't have that in the last decade of GL/ATWT, and haven't on any of the remaining shows. Instead, the older characters do stupid sh*t while the younger characters have taken the role as the Greek chorus. We don't have that anymore. We rarely see them interacting and forming bonds. It's all so isolated. 

[DramatistDreamer]

Oh yeah, I agree, the P&G shows did many things wrong the last 15 years of their respective shows, it just makes me too tired and depressed to list them all.  But yeah, the generational roles assigned to characters got screwed up somewhere along the way and have remained as such among other things.

[vetsoapfan]

I think Hulswit's being slightly pudgy had a lot to do with it. TPTB believe that the audience only wants to see thin romantic leads. (Well, it's getting a bit better nowadays, but in the past, it was rare to find any overweight characters of that sort.)

 

I was quite offended by Marland's referring to Hulswit as a "dodo," a mean-spirited bit of sniping that was so unnecessary (and so unlike the writer, who never seemed to have a bad word to say about anyone, even Allen Potter or Gloria Monty, both of whom he had had trouble working with.)

 

Seriously, I would take Hulswit's Ed over Simon's any day. (Although I would take Simon's Ed over Richard van Fleet's version.)

[DRW50]

The thing with Claire is she never wanted to be a mother, so I didn't mind her not being able to be a mother to Michelle. It's just that the stories themselves weren't very good, and there was no contract with Maureen, which would have driven real drama. I wish they'd gone through with the plan to have Ellen Parker return as a Mo-lookalike. 

 

I liked Peter Simon, I thought he was a very thoughtful actor and at times capable of humor and warmth...but he wasn't able to be the head of a family. And that's what GL needed with the Bauers. 

[NothinButAttitude]

^

I got that too with Peter Simon. He was too meek (and weak) to be a patriarch. His Ed lacked a backbone and it was jarring seeing him go toe to toe with the likes of Roger. 

[Mitch]

They needed to bring back a recast Mike to go toe to toe with Alan and Roger. When Simon left I never understood why McTrash didn't bring back a new Mike..especially since Alex was still there and that relationship would cause so much tension.  Claire should have been to the Bauers what Barbara was to the Hughes, part of the family, but set off a bit and a continuing pain in the ass to all, but you couldn't cut her loose because of the family ties. Claire had the added conflict of wanting to be part of the Bauers and disdaining them at the same time. They sort of did that with Meta taking Claire under her wing and ringing her beads at the same time but not enough.

[vetsoapfan]

Hulswit would have been perfect as the new patriarch of the Bauers. He exuded warmth, which reminded me of both Papa Bauer and Bert, but could also be strong and fierce when in righteous or protective mode. I appreciated Peter Simon on SFT, but his morose, often too internal interpretation did not fit the character of Ed.

 

Don Stewart would have been my first choice to bring Mike Bauer back to Springfield, of course, but after his passing, I could have accepted someone like Jed Allan in the role. After Michael O'Leary bloated out, I was afraid TPTB would sideline his character for not fitting into the romantic-lead hunk mold, and I'd have been okay with them recasting the role of Rick (whom I still want to call "Freddie," even today) with an actor like Tuc Watkins, who could play the comedic aspects Rick was known for, but who was also so attractive.

 

Elvera Roussel was by far the best of the adult Hopes, and I would have asked her to return to the show. If that did not work out, I would have offered the part to Robin Mattson. Mary Stuart was a great choice to play at Meta, and the show was lucky to have her.

 

Mart Hulswit as Ed. Don Stewart or Jed Allan as Mike. Elvera Roussel as Hope. Tuc Watkins as Rick. Mary Stuart as Aunt Meta. Woohoo! Bauer Power could have been in full force!