Jump to content

Guiding Light Discussion Thread


Paul Raven

Recommended Posts

  • Replies 17.3k
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Top Posters In This Topic

Posted Images

  • Members

 

And what used to look like blossoming romance has now been replaced by sex by a dumpster or countertop sex, which I guess would be considered a step up from dumpster sex.  And you know all these couches being used as makeshift beds are not due to spontaneity but due to budget restrictions.

Love in the afternoon, my eye!

 

I miss the feeling of comfort where you can fully delve into the world of a particular soap and actually care.

 

Now that I think about it, Maureen Bauer's non-funeral very much reminds me of what ATWT did to Nancy Hughes (Nancy's was worse), two of Nancy's children weren't even there. For their oldest character, who had actually spoken the first bit of dialogue for the series debut, it was a pitiful send-off.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

 

I know. Soaps used to have an underlying, positive moral center. Villains would eventually suffer for their misdeeds. Since mobster-rapist Luke Spencer became a national sensation back in the early 1980s, soaps have glamorized and glorified even the most degenerate behavior, and allowed mass murderers, rapists, pimps, drug dealers and other scum to become the "romantic" leads. It repulses me. We used to have heroes like Mike Bauer,  now we have slimeballs like Sonny (gag me) Corinthios and Jason  Morgan.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

 

As bad as ATWT was at the end, I still preferred Nancy's sendoff to Maureen's. Beyond the strong scenes Ellen Parker had in her last few episodes I didn't feel like any of it was actually about her - it was more about Ed's "manpain," as they would call it today. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

 

I see your point but imagine if GL had given Bert Bauer the type of sendoff that Nancy Hughes got.  Maureen was an ascendant matriarch by Nancy had already been a matriarch for decades.  Her sendoff didn't match her significance to the show.  That's why I said that it was worse.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

 

Bert Bauer, Maureen Bauer, and Nancy Hughes were all treated to poorly-executed, insulting send-offs by their respective shows. I suppose they had it better than Jessie Brewer from GH, who simply disappeared without mention after Emily McLaughlin passed away, but TGL and ATWT failed their beloved matriarchs and the audience by offering us the half-assed "tributes" Bert, Maureen, and Nancy received. I would like to believe that actors Don Stewart and Elvera Roussel would have returned to TGL for one episode out of respect for Charita Bauer, and I'll bet Rosemary Prinz and/or Patrudia Bruder would have agreed to come back for Nancy's memorial on ATWT. Lee Lawson and Lisa Brown should have been there when Mo died on TGL. But instead of seeing Mike, Hope, and Meta mourning Bert, we had a fake Ed and the likes of Warren Andrews (!!!) in her post-service scenes, even though Bert had loathed Warren. Instead of welcoming Penny, Don, and Ellen back to Oakdale to say goodbye to Nancy, we had to gag our way through As Katie Grieves. UGH!

Edited by vetsoapfan
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

 

Alas, after Nancy Curlee departed there was no more good writing (at least not on a consistent basis), and TPTB were hell-bent on offering the audience clones, ghosts, time travellers, effete princes and pretty-boy mobsters instead of complex, nuanced, interesting characters.

Edited by vetsoapfan
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

That could have been interesting if she came and moved in with Aunt Holly...maybe she had a few issues like her father and Holly has a belated spurt of maternal care (like she did with Chele) and Blake becomes a bit jealous....or instead of that stupid Tory thing it was this girl who fell for Ross in a twisted father figure way like Blake did...

 

But whatever, there were tons of offspring/lost relatives to drive story from Stacie and a recast "J" , to Roxie, and I know it would drive longtime fan nuts. but I would maybe have had Hope marry offscreen and have kids, or Mike...(since we heard nothing from him since he left...) Maybe Mike and his wife come to town to take the place of Ed and Mo and they have college age kids...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

 

Bert Bauer's passing was handled POORLY, considering TPTB took over a year to figure out what to do after Charita had passed away. As you correctly stated @vetsoapfan, no appearance whatsoever from her son, Mike, who she was incredibly close to? Yes, Mike got mentioned in passing, but to not at least try to get Don Stewart to return was ridiculous. I think that Stewart would have returned out of respect for Charita, but I'm guessing no one even tried to reach out to him.

 

For Nancy...I've given Chris Goutman probably too much sympathy on this, since I'm thinking there was not enough time (or a proper budget) to get a proper service put together that would have included the extended Hughes family.

 

Maureen...that was all JFP, as I assume @DRW50 was alluding to - it was to prop up Ed, but then nothing came of it for Ed at all.

 

One of the best funerals TGL ever did was the funeral for HB Lewis. That was how you did it - invite former cast members to come back and honor the actor (yes, that even included Rebecca Hollen returning as Trish!!!). Another good one was for Alice on DOOL, although there could have been/should have been even more Hortons that came back for her service (again, I'm guessing budget was an issue?).

Edited by zanereed
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

God..Bert's passing was terrible and yes, GL was a [!@#$%^&*] show at that time. After the huge ratings drop when the show got away from the core...they should have used her death to bring Bauers back to SF.. Mike, Hope and Aunt Meta...Mike for Alex, Hope for Ross and Aunt Meta taking up dutie in the Bauer kitchen. But Kobe probably thought this was the chance to finally get away from the past.

 

I remember when they asked her why she waited a year she tried to hem and haw that it was painful to the cast and that she wanted Bert to always stay alive so Rick could get on the phone and say, "Grandma...I have a problem!" What an idiot.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Unfortunately, your content contains terms that we do not allow. Please edit your content to remove the highlighted words below.
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.




  • Recent Posts

    • I don't think they had any idea who he was this time last year. I think they were keeping their options very open. Same with totally dropping the Trina romance that was spoiled for him in the mags once FV clearly took a shine to him. Frank's priorities are bright and blazing in one color. I do think Gio and Emma seem to have worked out given that she is very dry and sarcastic and he is like a hot golden retriever, but I'd still play the field or explore quads with both with very different people - Emma with a scheming young man (of color), Gio with possibly Trina or someone else, or even a boy. Then maybe put them back together, who knows. But of course none that will happen.
    • Please register in order to view this content

    • Please register in order to view this content

       
    • He definitely got lost in the shuffle last year. First, they were implying that he was Drew’s son, then he was nothing more than just Violet’s bff

      Please register in order to view this content

      And then they changed him to being Dante and Brook Lynn’s son, which was clunky at first but I’m enjoying the storyline now. 
    • GM is adorable, charming and fun onscreen despite months of nothing to do until recently, and has a bodacious bod. I'm not cosigning the show or this story - I haven't watched a full episode in over a month - but I think we're all taking the small victories in 2025 at this point. I'm open to testing this theory!
    • I think Jason might've posted some numbers for the syndication a while ago and the numbers for Falcon Crest was horrible. Like 1.5 rating or something, which was terrible.    ETA: it was actually Paul Raven:   New to syndication 60 min Fall Guy 67 markets 3.1/8 Falcon Crest 110 markets 1.1/5 To get into the top 40, you needed a 4.6/9 rating for reference - and Falcon Crest managed to get into a lot of markets to begin with. In the fall of 1985 Dynasty, Dallas and Knots were syndicated (show / rating / share / coverage % / markets): Dallas 3.4 10 51.7 92 Dynasty 3.4 10 48.7 47  Knots Landing 3.3 10 12.5 20  So, Knots as an example trippled Falcon Crest's rating with 20 markets - I'm sure those were major ones but it just goes to show you how much Falcon Crest bombed in syndication. 
    • It's not bad but the stories move too slow. It's the same problem when Dan O'Connor was CO-HW with Van Etten, they have a million stories and they all drag on endlessly with no resolution. I'd argue the majority of the stories airing now are good but you get sick of waiting months for something to happen.
    • Thanks. I must have missed that period entirely for Lifetime. 
    • Thanks. I know Marland did that type of thing sometimes but it's less likely with these characters. I don't even remember Alex ever mentioning him.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy