Guiding Light Discussion Thread

[Forever8]

Both great ideas. He also would've been good in a Bauer theme episode too with Peter Simon, Ellen Parker, Michael O'Leary and Rachel Miner too. 

[Soapsuds]

Lucy was another filler character for me. Even though she was part of a core family she felt useless.

Rick should've been in a Frank D., Melina and Grant Aleksander reunion package. But I am glad he'll finally be on. And yes @victoria foxton he's always been hot IMO.

[BetterForgotten]

In another era, Rick Hearst should have been a leading man on some show. Alan-Michael was his best overall role, but he was still largely the ingenu during most of his time on GL. He never stood a chance on GH with Benard, Burton, and Geary hogging everything there. And obviously the roles on Y&R and B&B weren't meant to last...

 

I know Nancy Curlee recalled that Rick was one of those actors who she should clearly hear in her head as she read through scripts and writing. 

[Mitch]

Yea, we had a Super Dooper Cooper episode..lets see a Bauer one.

 

I do think I would like to see a Spaulding one...RR, GA, both AM's both Amandas (did they ever have a recast with an original.) I know everyone LOVES Cullen's Amanda but I thought she was wall paper paste...and while the deaging and any of her storylines worked, from the Malibu Madame to Brandon's daughter (that had potential tho) I think Poser got screwed by the writing and the general upheaval of that time.. I loved her Amanda.

[Asb23]

Lucy was merely a bad attempt at replacing Harley.

[Soaplovers]

Lucy, as a character, was a good idea..but she should have come in earlier (before Harley left) and the writing should have developed her more. 

 

Frank/Harley didn't have parents growing up so both had more defenses and resentment (played out quite nicely). 

 

So imagine both finding out that Buzz had a daughter..one that he raised.  Both of them woujld have been more resentful toward Buzz and would have been cold/distant to Lucy.

 

Nadine and Lucy had a close relationship develop over time..so having that could have made Harley and Frank even more jealous and resentful against Lucy.

 

It would have worked had the show written Lucy as a character and not a Harley replacement 

[BetterForgotten]

Sonia Satra was a major FOJ, too. But damn, that voice made my ears bleed...

[Faulkner]

I thought she was a LOT better on OLTL. But the voice is still grating. So nasal...

[RavenWhitney]

She was the worst possible actor to play this role when the show was suffering.  Reminded me of Felicia on GH or Bobbie on GH in later years. Completely annoying with that nasal, mousey voice.  The other GL actress that completely ruined every scene was the one who played Olivia's daughter in the last year or two.  OMG.  And of course every cute male Conboy hired was god awful!

[Faulkner]

I can see how Felicia’s voice might annoy people, but she never used to bother me as much as Lucy. Maybe because Kristina Wagner had such infectious charisma and cuteness. Lucy was just dreary. 
 

I know people thought the Brent/Marian story had some merit, but Lucy and what GL became in the mid-‘90s broke my heart. I was young and loved early ‘90s GL so much, like it was a member of my family, and I’d never experienced a show I treasured gutted like that. I guess a lot of people would say late Rauch or Conboy or Wheeler/Peapack were the moments when the show went beyond the point of return (and I did enjoy GL’s 1997 resurgence, short-lived as it was), but I was older and more prepared for those later periods of decline. And I’d seen other shows crash and burn (like the entire ABC lineup).

[victoria foxton]

 

  

[Aback]

 

WOAH!

[RavenWhitney]

When is Alan going to get another writers group together. I'd love to see McTavish on at the same time as Curlee. Krystal and Alexis!

[DRW50]

 

After Maureen's death and the unbearable Nick and Buzz domination, I was pretty much already defeated by GL by the time of Brent/Marian. As a result, it didn't bother me as much as I know it bothered other fans, although killing Nadine in the manner they did was grotesque, and falsifying Lucy's HIV test results was gross. The story was well-executed and the show as a whole improved around that time, making me care about most of the people in Springfield again, so I could be more forgiving (it completely crashed by summer '96, sadly, and the show was very, very lucky that it was not canceled). I hate the idea of raping a character to make viewers like her, but I do think Sonia Satra's performances improved dramatically (being beside an immense talent like Frank Beaty probably helped). As for Felicia, I do see the comparisons, but Kristina Wagner was a much warmer presence and her nasal voice didn't stand out as much on GH (her frequent scene partner Jackie Zeman also had a nasal voice, when she wasn't baby talking).

[Faulkner]

Between late ‘93 up through ‘96, I was torn between GL and GH, but my allegiance was leaning strongly toward Port Charles for the reasons you mentioned. Nadine was a favorite, and I stopped watching almost entirely when they killed her off like that. As much as Maureen’s death crushed me, at least there was huge fallout and amazing acting from a talented cast, but Nadine’s death felt almost trivialized. The town didn’t even know she was dead for months. And of course, they brought on Michael Dietz, whose Alan-Michael was unacceptable. I knew Frank Beaty was a HUGE talent, but I just wasn’t invested anymore. At least not until Annie went off her rocker and dragged me back into the fold.
 

 

Edited July 16, 2020 by Faulkner