Guiding Light Discussion Thread

[zanereed]

It seems like vetsoapfan and I share the same view here. In my opinion, certain cracks were already beginning to show in 1983 with certain cast members being written out, but by the end of 1984 it was a completely different show, and not really for the better. For example, if you were a Bauer fan, September of 1984 was not a good month for you. Ed Bauer was recast again, Mike Bauer was written out, and Hillary Bauer was killed off - all in the same month!

Edited May 26, 2016 by zanereed

[NothinButAttitude]

I wonder if you picked her mind if she'd still feel this was a great choice. Again, I feel like Bill/Michelle/Ben were set up perfectly to be the new leads of the next generation of Guiding Light and they squandered it. I would've love to have seen Bill, Ben, and even Danny vie for Michelle affections than the material that was given for all of them in the last stretch of the show. Especially, Michelle. I hated ALL of Michelle's stories when NSA took over the role. She just became miserable and whiny. 

 

Given that MZ eventually died, it would've been nice for Roger & Holly to have ended on a good note for me. My perfect ending would've been for MADD to have allowed MZ to continue on the show and we saw Roger get diagnosed with Lou Gehrig like MZ had. It would've humanized Roger and I would've loved to have seen Holly be the one to be by his side as the once powerful Roger health's deteriorate. It would've been great to have seen Hart and Blake play pivotal roles in this too. Also, to have Ed, who could've been brought back at this time, be conflicted. Originally, not wanting to help Roger but finally putting to bed old demons with his enemy. 

 

It would've been more powerful to see Roger be taken down by an ailment than recast him and then later usher him offscreen. It frustrates me how they didn't use MZ's illness a story when he was all for it. 

[Mitch]

I agree about MZ but again, there was a LOT of issues there. What they did was WRONG, no doubt about it but I can see their issue.. it is a horrible illness and to watch him slowly go down..plus hard as hell to write 6 weeks out as you never know how it progressives. I don't have the answer but yes, they should have treated him with respect at the end.   And after he died they should have wrapped Roger up as others on this board wrote as ways to do so.

And Holly and Roger should have found closer and peace..but no walking off into the sunset ala Josh and Reva.

[John]

I had heard that then Ben turns serial Killer was because he was in the finals for Super,man returns and gL let him out for that but he didnt end up with the gig. Heard the story was last minute re-write

[DRW50]

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[AArredondo02]

Here's an idea how the Mike Bauer (now Banning, Meta's stepson) could have been used on AW during the sixties.

Mike Banning and his young daughter, Hope, come to Bay City following the death of Mike's wife, Julie (Hope's mother). Mike comes to work for John Randolph at his law firm and meets his young wife, Pat Matthews Randolph, and adult daughter from a previous marriage, Lee. Mike gets involved with both women. Pat and Lee both become pregnant. Pat would give birth to a girl, Marianne, who would be passed off as John's. Mike, unaware that he has fathered Pat's baby, is focused on doing the right thing and marrying the pregnant Lee to give their son, Michael (named after Mike of course), a name. 

John recovers and welcomes what he thinks is his daughter, Marianne, while Mike and Lee leave town with Hope and young Michael. Lee dies off-screen before Mike and Hope return to Springfield. Michael attends military school.

In the early eighties, Marianne, who is a Banning, and learns the truth of her biology following the death of John and becomes a rebellious adolescent. She rebels against her family by sleeping with Rachel's son, Jamie, who would be SORAS to 14 around the same time. It is done to preserve the character of Rachel who would be in her early-to-mid thirties by then.

Michael Banning returns to Bay City in the early eighties as an All-American teenager who joins the Bay City teen set with Jamie and Marianne. Michael's secret is that he is gay and falls in love with Jamie, who is unaware of MIchael's intentions since he is involved with Marianne.

The 1970s Michael Randolph (Lionel Johnston) stories could go to Dennis Carrington Wheeler, who would work for his grandfather, Mac Cory as a lawyer fresh out of law school.

Read more: Another World - DTS: Cancelled Soaps - SON Community http://boards.soapoperanetwork.com/topic/30343-another-world/?page=212#ixzz4AHN67oxR

[Khan]

I think much of Ellen Weston's GL consisted of last-minute rewrites.

 

It might sound crazy and unbelievable, but yes, I would take '85-'89 GL over '03-'09 GL any day.  True, it was not the best of times for a great many people; even MY favorites were gone by that point.  But as long as it wasn't on Johnny and Chelsea?  It still had its moments.

[SoapDope]

This probably has been posted before, if not here is a circa 1982 Michael Tylo interview.

 

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[DAMfan]

Wish I could see the Island of Hope again from Alan and Hope plane crash and stranded on the Island. 

[Dr Neil Curtis]

I really wish Hope Bauer could have been brought back between 1995-2000 and became a staple on the show along with Sara McIntrye. 

[zanereed]

You've probably already watched these on YT, but just in case, here are a few episodes with Alan and Hope on the island from 1979:

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Edited June 27, 2016 by zanereed

[DAMfan]

Thanks they were so good together. 

[Soapsuds]

Hope should have never left the show. I always liked Hope. I will never understand why she wasn't brought back. During that time period you mentioned should have been filled with Hope and India instead of those dreadful characters.

[zanereed]

I wish Hope had remaining on the show as well. As mentioned by others in this thread, there was talk of bringing back both Hope and Mike Bauer in 1986, but it never materialized.

 

I think part of the reason that Hope never returned after 1987 was the SORAS-ing of Alan-Michael in that same year. Although not impossible, it would seem a hard sell to put someone like Elvera Roussel next to Carl T. Evans or Rick Hearst and make it seem like mother and son. However, they eventually should have recast and had Hope return to involve herself in Alan-Michael's life. We never really saw Alan-Michael conflicted between him being both a Bauer and Spaulding.

[SoapDope]

I never understood why they got rid of Quint and Nola. They were a super couple 1981-1983, then by the time they left they did that stupid Nola Aerobics storyline. I guess when the Lewis family and Reva arrived, Vanessa was pulled in that direction and Nola didn't have her sparring partner.