Guiding Light Discussion Thread

[vetsoapfan]

 

Many fans, over the years, have proposed great plots that were significantly better than what the show actually gave us.

[JarrodMFiresofLove]

 

You're not factoring in entertainment value. A woman gaining weight on camera and questioning her attractiveness might not seem as fantastic or entertaining as the same woman stepping through a painting. Plus all producers and head writers feel the need to do stories that make people talk. We're still talking about the clone and the paintings all these years later.

 

Personally the story I disliked most was the Maryanne Carruthers mystery. It felt like a replay of the Susan Piper tale from the mid-80s (with the same actress Carrie Nye which also gave it a "we've been here done that before" feel). But despite Weston's dreadful writing, the story was still watchable thanks to Zimmer. Psychic Reva was completely absurd. And her conveniently losing her psychic abilities when Carruthers was brought down and the plot ended, was just as far-fetched. But Zimmer gave a great performance in that big climactic episode where Reva has those visions of how Maryanne's niece Carolyn died.

 

I honestly thought Zimmer was having a nervous breakdown on camera, she went all the way in that episode. She totally took Reva to the brink. It was riveting. I don't know how she did it. She had to have been emotionally and mentally drained when it was over and the director yelled "cut." So even in a hokey storyline that stretched the limits of credibility we'd still get these great on-camera moments.

 

Is this episode on YouTube? I'd love to see that scene where psychic Reva has her huge breakthrough again, just to check whether it was as good as I remember.

[Vee]

This is the most anyone's talked about Reva and the time traveling paintings in over a decade, including possibly when the story aired, judging by GL's viewing figures at the time.

[vetsoapfan]

 

There's is always value in offering honest critiques of how a producer's failures forever altered (and in this case, damaged) a once-fine show.

 

 

Well said.

 

 

Kim Zimmer was quite the sex-bomb when she first joined TGL, but to be brutally honest, as the decades went on, she aged just as we all do. During the Peapack years, with her added girth, often tacky wardrobe, and poor make-up  (there were times when her hair looked plastered to her head), the idea that she was still this irresistible love goddess was as dumb as some of her worst sci-fi plots.

[Vee]

 

Oh God! I was just thinking it was those awful pantsuits that were ruinous to Zimmer. The lighting and hair coupled with that??

 

I think the later years, oddly enough, handled Reva better in that respect. They knew she was an aging good time girl and let her just be that, flaws and all - possibly because the budget and production had fallen apart but still. It was the Rauch era trying to pretend she was the queen of desire that embarrassed me.

And for the record, I grew up watching Dark Shadows on Sci-Fi - I know that show backwards and forwards. Doesn't mean it wasn't laughable on GL.

Edited September 5, 2018 by Vee

[JarrodMFiresofLove]

 

Maybe on this site. But people talked about it on SoapNet's message boards. Reva's fantastic adventures were legendary and many people do not forget them. Also it's easy to recall details from these episodes, and I haven't seen them since they were first broadcast...probably because they were so outlandish/memorable. But if the goal here is to trash producers and trash head writers instead of celebrate a show, then I should stop and let you get to it.

[Vee]

 

SoapNet had message boards? Okay.

 

Reva is unforgettable as is her heyday. Her bad OTT stories sprinkled through her last ten years? Not so much.

 

 

Are you really that new to this forum? No one and nothing is sacred. We don't pretend stuff we've thought was shít is spun gold.

[JarrodMFiresofLove]

 

I'm not pretending anything. But I don't consider it a constructive conversation when Person X says "I liked this story" and then three people immediately jump on and say "oh god that was awful, the show was in decline, that producer and those head writers deserved to be fired." Even in things I don't like, such as the Carruthers mystery, I try to point to some value in it. Otherwise I'm just here to bitch, when I'd rather be positive on what was good (to me) about the show. I can waste time being negative elsewhere. I'm not going to do that here. Anyway your posts are starting to annoy me because I can see we approach an appreciation of the show differently so I'm going to have to refrain from directly posting with you unless by some miracle we can find a positive common ground on something we both like about that show. Regards.

Edited September 5, 2018 by JarrodMFiresofLove

[vetsoapfan]

 

True, there are viewers who find entertainment value in low-brow material, but in appropriate venues. Tuning into Here Comes Honey Boo-Boo or Hey Vern, It's Ernst!, viewers know what they are in for. Those who tune into Downtown Abbey do not expect to see the Great Gazoo. Sure, soap fans are still talking about TGL's sci-fi plots today, the same way fans of other genres continue to refer to Manimal, Cop Rock, Plan 9 from Outer Space, etc. Decades-long derision is not necessarily a good thing, or what any producer or writer hopes for.

[Vee]

 

If this is your criteria for posting and speaking to literally anyone on this forum I wish you the best of luck at your table for one. This is not going to work out for you.

[JarrodMFiresofLove]

 

You're right, it probably won't. I am here to talk positively about soaps I love. So I guess it's unfortunate. I did like the history related to soaps I find on this site. But I don't like the negativity, it's a deal breaker for me. Regards.

Edited September 5, 2018 by JarrodMFiresofLove

[vetsoapfan]

 

I've often received comments from irked viewers along the lines of, "If you were a REAL fan, you would remain loyal to a show and not criticize its failures!" 

 

I don't see the point in pretending that the Emperor is dressed to the nines in fine clothes, when he's actually parading around buck naked. To me, real fans respect their favorite shows enough to expect the best from them. Real fans praise the successes and acknowledge the failures. Reading through this thread, one can find praise for the many fine years of acting, writing, and entertainment the show gave us, as well as criticism for the terrible years. That's the way it goes.

[Khan]

 

ICAM.

 

 

IOW, you want everyone to agree with you.

Edited September 5, 2018 by Khan

[JarrodMFiresofLove]

 

No. What I am saying is I'm not here to bitch, bash and bellyache. Before this degenerates, I am just going to look for another site where I can talk about GL with others in more positive terms. I am not interested in reading mean words about producers, and writers, then follow-up comments where someone tries to excuse being mean by saying that's what a fan does. No, not for me. It feels like bad manners.

 

I said I didn't care for Ellen Parker but I didn't really go into why I strongly dislike her acting. Like I could have been very, very cruel about her and said ugly things about her, because I dislike her so much, it would have been easy to do. But it wouldn't have been constructive. Instead I focused my comments on the way her character (Maureen) didn't resonate for me. I tried not to make it personal and not to use the website to spew venom. I feel I was successful in mostly sticking to the high road, not the low road. So it does distress me when I see comments where it appears others are using this great website to trash people when they could also exercise caution and try to focus on more positive aspects of the show. Anyway I don't want to go round and round about this. I had about 250 posts on this site and that's enough. I want to be done with this. Take care everyone.

Edited September 6, 2018 by JarrodMFiresofLove

[Vee]

Why do you dislike a woman you've never met so much? We're talking about fictional storylines on a fictional TV show.