Guiding Light Discussion Thread

[Contessa Donatella]

They were comfortable enough with each other that by long habit they negotiated their own contract stuff so there was no agent or manager or lawyer between her & him. The year before she had voluntarily taken a substantial cut in pay because she knew the show needed it & she could afford to do that. This year all she wanted was to have the same number of days. He said no. He wouldn't give a reason why. He wouldn't discuss it or if anything was up. He let her know she wasn't needed anymore. They agreed that they would not discuss 'outside that room' the terms or lack of terms or anything, that they would just announce her departure. And, she didn't say anything -- until he shot his mouth off about how she'd been unreasonable in her demands & he'd had no choice but to let her go. Then, of course, she felt free to speak, although the tale she had to tell was certainly puzzling, to say the least. When the show got the cancellation notice, Noelle Beck who had been playing Lily, offered up front to him that she would leave so Martha could be back to take her to the barn, so to speak, and she made it clear that she thought that would be the only right thing to do. He wouldn't hear of it. Again, no discussion. And, it was during that time period, generally speaking that he was in a Q&A with the SOD Editor for ATWT, Jennifer Lenhart, that he said He didn't need to hear what the fans wanted, that he knew what was best for the show & he'd really rather not get letters & stuff from the fans at all. She even asked him if he was sure he wanted that to be in print, that the way it sounded wouldn't be good, and he wanted it like he had said it. Jenn & Melissa (the P&G Editors) were both flabbergasted. Goutman said not long ago that he never said he didn't want to hear from the fans. That he didn't want to hear from the magazines. But that's not true.

[soapfan770]

Even though Wheeler went off the rails psychologically and the budget was trashed at least I felt Wheeler cared about the dying show even though what was occurring onscreen wasn’t great and pretty reckless. 
 

The villain of the month stories on ATWT in its last 3 years were pretty insulting as was one character was trashed right after the other. Goutman didn’t care and hated the show. Any regret he feels now is probably because of his divorce and failed academic career lol.

[Contessa Donatella]

I wondered if they would divorce & then I saw where they were together & I was surprised & lots of time has gone by without my hearing or seeing any word a'tall till now. So, that makes sense now. Personally I figure he was nickel'd & dimed to death with the micromanaging & without the Exec-in-Charge of Prod. position being still existent & filled with someone who would help fight. He was clearly so bitter. Lynn Liccardo thinks that's what changed him, too, although she puts it in her chapter called 'don't let the bastards grind you down'. He was certainly a different man compared to the last days of AW. It's a shame & to happen to the ATWT clan who were so known for just working fast & playing hard & being a happy set.

[Contessa Donatella]

I finally got around to looking at that clip of Laura Wright & Cynthia Watros on GL & nearly bust a gut laughing my head off! I had forgotten how much Cassie seemed like a floozy! And, my god, her hair! She had so much of it & it was glorious but it was so OTT. Then it was just being in style, I guess.

[Asb23]

Wow! I had no idea. 

Thank you for sharing.

[Contessa Donatella]

Sure thing. I felt like we were watching a man come apart at the seams.

[MichaelGL]

I like the idea of Reva being a more earthy and raw matriarch, the potential to have her run some dive bar in Springfield and befriend all sorts of patrons who would frequent her establishment, tons better than how they were playing her as in the 90s. 

[Liberty City]

I know this has been explained, but this is what I've gathered in my research:

In February 2008, Martha Byrne announced her decision to depart the series following an impasse during contract negotiations between herself, the series and executive producer Christopher Goutman. In a statement, Goutman remarked, "We made Martha an incredibly generous offer in hopes of that she would remain a valuable member of the ATWT cast. [...] Unfortunately, Martha has decided to leave despite our best efforts to keep her." While some sources claimed the shows offer was more than generous, some debated that Byrne wished for more concessions from the series in order for her to sign a new contract. Weeks later in March, Byrne opened up about her decision to depart the series on her official website. While she rebutted claims that she wanted more storyline control, remarking "no one gets that," Byrne did confess that her breaking point was about the number of episodes she'd been offered for the subsequent working year. She admitted that a casting call was put out the same day she rejected the new deal terms to recast her character. Byrne also refuted claims that her decision to decline a contract was over money.

Following Byrne's departure, it was announced that former Loving actress Noelle Beck had been hired to take over the role of Lily, beating several actresses including Dedee Pfeiffer (sister to actress Michelle Pfeiffer), Susan Haskell (Marty Saybrooke, One Life to Live) and Tracy Melchior (Kristen Forrester, The Bold and the Beautiful). Beck opened up to Michael Fairman about replacing Byrne, saying, "When I met with Chris Goutman about taking over for Martha, it did not dawn on me that I was going to have this tough task. I thought, 'Oh, she does not want to stay. And, you are finding somebody new?' Well, I did not realize it wasn’t as kosher as everybody made it out to be." In April 2009, Beck was taken off contract and was dropped to recurring status, and in September of the following year, Beck revealed she offered to step aside so that Byrne could return to the role prior to the series finale. She remarked, "It was her job. She played the role for 20 years. It was sad, because I think a lot of people wanted to see her. I didn't realize when I took the job how loyal the fans are." Byrne admitted in an interview that she was aware of Beck's offer, calling it "a very unselfish act on her part," but that the show brass had no interest in bringing her back, telling: "Of course, I would [return] in a second. You have to be asked first. It's like going to the prom -- you wait for the phone call and it may never come. There's people who make those decisions, and their decisions have been made. It's unfortunate because I do love the show and, of course, I would love to be a part of it again before it goes away forever."

In March 2020, Byrne opened up to Soap Opera Digest about her exit. She revealed, "I knew I couldn't stay. I couldn't stay there anymore and that was painful to come to that realization that I can’t come back here anymore. And yes, does it come down to a contract? But that's how it started; it didn't end that way…. I look at it now as like 99 percent of my time there was perfection and the one percent, the end sucked. And I have to focus on the 99 percent because what I’ve decided in my life [is] that if you focus on the things that person did that were the positives as opposed to what that negative was, you'll feel better…. And I've kind of gotten to that kind of peace about that a long time ago."

[DRW50]

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[Contessa Donatella]

Thnx for adding that! As to her summing things up with "I look at it now as like 99 percent of my time there was perfection and the one percent, the end sucked." And, I bet they all felt that way.

[Contessa Donatella]

I have a question: was Mike Bauer, who maybe was sometimes called Michael, an attorney? I'm trying to place Mitchell Dru an atty from Oakdale who was in Bay City & an atty also of Oakdale who worked for him, Donald Hughes in Bay City & Mike Bauer is there. And, I know that Mike & Hope were in Bay City, but what I've figured out only works if Mike was an atty. like these other guys. They are in a confab about Pat Randolph's murder trial & John is leading the way. This matters to maybe 3 people in the world since Mike & Hope were the only ones from out of town who were actually onscreen. Such a little thing! As always, mucho thnx.

[Mitch64]

Agggh.. Guiding Coopers...with Lucy in her "Harley Spunky" phase!! I HATED endless scenes of Nadine and Jenna making a fool of themselves over Buzz.

[Patrick D]

Haha, they tried really hard with Lucy. Why GL killed off those two actresses and kept Buzz till the very end will always be a mystery. 

[Contessa Donatella]

Except for a  strange phenomenon where the lead actress's consort dies, soaps kill off more women. Violence against women on soaps is a trope isn't it?

[Liberty City]

Yes, Mike Bauer was an attorney. He appeared, via several actors, on Guiding Light from 1952–1965, 1968–1984 and 1997. From 1966 to 1966, he crossed over to Another World, portrayed by Gary Pilar.