Guiding Light Discussion Thread

[BetterForgotten]

I still hold Roger and Holly's returns to GL as the best character returns on a soap opera I've ever seen since my time watching soaps. Talk about breathing new life into a show (at least for a few years anyway). 

[SamandWillowFan]

Thank you, I liked them together in the few clips I saw.

[vetsoapfan]

 

ITA. It was a remarkable achievement. The beloved actors returning, coupled with great material by writers who BOTHERED TO STUDY AND USE HISTORY, was a huge success. 

 

Contrast that to Jacquie Courtney's return to AW as Alice in 1984...night and day. (It still annoys me that writer Gary Tomlin acknowledged he knew very little about the long-running history between Alice and Rachel, which probably contributed to JC's comeback being such a failure. YOU'RE THE WRITER, DO YOUR DAMNED JOB AND LEARN! Pat Falken Smith, Douglas Marland, Claire Labine, and their ilk always made sure to study a show's rich past when they assumed the reigns as headwriters.)

[Emma1420]

 

There returns were fantastic.  They gave the show a much needed shot in the arm.  Because the late 80's?  Was not GL at it's best.  

[BetterForgotten]

I generally consider Pam Long's second HW stint her best stint, but I wonder how much of that is due to the influence of Robert Calhoun, Nancy Curlee and Trent Jones (her Co-HWs for much of that second stint). 

[vetsoapfan]

 

I'd say that 1984 to 1988 were painful to watch. The entire series was decimated, gutted, and dumbed down.

 

 

During her second reign, Long was surrounded by people who understood TGL. I'm sure that helped minimize her weaknesses and maximize her strengths. Her first stint at TGL did show heart and some potential, but the massacre of the longtime characters,  the insanely stupid sci-fi/supernatural stories, and the unnecessary trashing of history outweighed the good, IMHO.

 

Plus, she inflicted Meva Shayme on us, LOL, for which I have never forgiven her.

[BetterForgotten]

On the flip slide, Long and Kobe did bring Beverlee McKinsey/Alexandra to the show. It must have been wonderful for soap fans to see lightening strike twice with Ms. McKinsey after she iconically played Iris for so long.

[vetsoapfan]

 

Touche.

[victoria foxton]

I can enjoy some parts of 84,85.even 86. But 1987 is so bad. Even at her worse. During her first run. I still enjoyed parts of Pam long's run. But the HW's that followed were really bad. The gutting of the show. Is really felt in 1986.

Edited May 31, 2019 by victoria foxton

[Emma1420]

 

I haven't seen much of the mid-80's and so I can't comment on that, but 87 & 88 were terrible.  

 

And I wasn't a huge fan of Long. because she introduced not only Reva, but also Harley.  And l hated Harley.  However, she also introduced the Lewis family, and I thought they were a massive airtime suck.  The best part of the Reva free years was that the airtime wealth was spread more evenly.  

 

But, mostly she was responsible for Harley.  To be fair, I tolerated Harley during her first run (and I even liked Mallet with her), but her second run made me want to punch her daily.

 

Edited May 31, 2019 by Emma1420

[VanessaReardon]

A little bit of useless trivia here. Those May, 1989 church scenes where Phillip gets shot and Roger swings through the church were shot in Another World’s studio in Brooklyn instead of GL’s studio on East 44th Street. GL’s studio couldn't accommodate the high ceilings needed for Roger to swing down so GL went on location, so to speak to one of AW’s sound stages at its bigger studio. 

[robbwolff]

 

To be fair, it was really Doug Marland who introduced the Lewis family. Josh and Trish arrived when Marland was head writer. And Billy and HB were both mentioned by name when Marland was writing. I'm not sure how much of Marland's vision for Billy and HB that Long used. I do remember Billy mentioning his ex-wife Joanna in the summer of 1983. When the character finally showed up that fall, Joanna's named had been changed to Reva.

[BetterForgotten]

I wonder if that's why Beverlee McKinsey wasn't in these episodes (though it was explained why Alex wasn't at the wedding), she hated traveling to that Brooklyn studio and admitted that's partly why she didn't return to AW after Texas (that, and she felt they had ruined Iris on Texas).

 

That iconic studio was later home to ATWT after AW ended. Sadly, it was torn down in 2014 - so that history is sadly no more.

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Edited May 31, 2019 by BetterForgotten

[Emma1420]

 

I tend to forget about Marland's contribution to the Lewis's.  Although I also don't think Marland was just like most HW.  He had his own pets and created a bunch of new characters.  It's just that generally I tended to like his new characters.   Mostly, because I felt like under Long's first tenure that it GL was becoming like Texas in Springfield.

[Eboneece]

Spauldingfield just posted a character profile of Mel Boudreau on YouTube. I remember how promising the Boudreau family seemed at first. I wish they had linked Felicia to Vivian Grant. Anywho, I was reminded of how Mel went from doctor to attorney within the course of a few weeks during the Rauch to Conboy transition. Forget the big decisions like Maureen’s death and the clone that made viewers flee... details like Mel’s ridiculous career transition (and the XXXL sorasing of Leah Bauer) and the Caruthers story that made no sense left me with zero trust in this show.