Guiding Light Discussion Thread

[Soapsuds]

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[Mitch64]

I remember that actor, a Sean someone...cute muscle guy but, uh not convincing as straight. The scenes were obviously on two different days right.

Hayden is looking good here. I know they made her a frump to up play Dinah's glam. I always wondered how Bridget would do paired with Rick...kind of moving in to take Mo's place. MOL and Melissa look like "normal" people but not sure if they would have chemistry.

[Soapsuds]

Sean McDermott. I don't recall to much of him. So he came off gay? I don't recall his buff looks either.

[Mitch64]

I just remember him being shirtless on a rock for some reason..(well I know the reason I remember it, I just don't remember why the character was doing that..) I just remember thinking..."Who is the new gay Hart,"  I have to watch myself as on a ATWT FB page I was called homophobic for suggesting that Henry was gay...I really do undestand now why the nets were reluctant to have any gay characters...even now people acting like they are being progressive, are really thinking "gay" is an insult. And really, Henry???

[Khan]

To me, Sean McDermott didn't come off as gay so much as he came off as wooden.

[MissPalmer]

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This episode is 7 January 1982 or 1 July 1982?

[~bl~]

Sean McDemott was the male romantic lead in Miss Saigon on Broadway in the 90s, so I think he was more comfortable on stage than soaps.

[Soapsuds]

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[Paul Raven]

Re the Ellen Wheeler interview.

WTH was going on at that time?

To hire someone who not only had had limited experience but to do it in such a haphazard fashion?

I could understand if it was someone who had worked their way up and had a connection and experience with the show. But with Ellen it seemed out of the blue.

I wonder if money came into this as more experienced EPs would have had to be paid a lot more?

MDD was probably under huge pressure from P&G and fighting for her own survival.

Nice that Barbara Bloom mentioned Ellen being a mom but I wonder if a man would be given the same consideration? Probably not as he would have a wife to take care of the family.

I wonder about some of those other names we see in the credits in production capacity who never got the EP positions.

 

Edited March 13, 2022 by Paul Raven

[John]

They probably saw Wheeler as someone who do whatever was told and not argue

 

Thought I heard GL wanted Wendy Riche but she said No

[soapfan770]

Wheeler had actually been up for the job after Rauch left in ‘02 but was rightly considered too green from what I recall. Of course MADD’s oddball choice of Conboy turned out to be a complete catastrophic failure. 
 

By 2004 I don’t think anyone wanted the EP job at GL. There was rumors that MADD had approached ex-EP Laibson and former AMC EP’s Francesca James and Jean Dadario Burke but all three apparently flatly turned down the offer. 
 

Giving the EP job to Wheeer and promoting Kriezman was probably the cheapest way to go especially after the WesCon budget debacle.
 

I hadn’t considered MADD fighting for her own survival though. Where as her predecessors Trach and Fitts were based out of Cincinnati MADD was set up her own NYC office. After her contract ended in 2005 P&G closed it down and eliminated the position altogether. 

I do wonder whatever happened to MADD after she left, never have seen interviews and seems she just simply vanished after exiting P&G. 

[Vee]

IIRC Wheeler worked her way up under Chris Goutman at ATWT, who was considered a solid success story at the time with Sheffer before that show completely fell apart. Wheeler seemed like a promising protege. I understood the choice at the time. Of course, it didn't work out.

[victoria foxton]

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[Khan]

I think that's because John Conboy proved to be such a disaster that anyone would have been an improvement.

[Sapounopera]

@vetsoapfan do you think that Jacqueline Courtney could take over as Alexandra Spaulding after Beverlee's exit?