Guiding Light discussion thread

[Mitch64]

I love Springfield real estate! Despite how haphazard the history was against ATWT, as compared to that show, GL kept many of it sets and landmarks like..in real life. Yes, there was retconning...but at least it was connected to history, as yes, the Spaulding mansion as an old house did not exist. Alan had a mansion, drippy Hope didn't like it, they moved to a house that shared a back yard gate with the Bauers, which of course allowed Rita and Alan to get their nooners on when Ed and Hope were at work. That later was retro written to be the Spaulding mansion land abutting the Bauers but it stayed that way to the end. The Bauer house was the Bauer house to the end, Company and the Boardinghouse stayed until the end (though they called the living quarters a being "above" Company when the skanky Coopers lived there) the Carriage house lasted a long time, Reva Bend did indeed become Holly Bend when Holly bought it, but then it suddenly became the Jessup farmhouse when Cassie moved in..Vanessa and Billy's house she "gave" to Jeva, who lived there until everyone lost their homes (I heard it was so old that it was falling apart) the Bauer cabin and Cross Creek stayed in play, 5th and 7th Street still were there, as was the "Hill" that the Spaulding, the Bauers and at one time the Lewises lived.  You could never tell the georgraphy or the homes on ATWT...Chis and Nancy'ss house disappeared, as did Bob and Kim's thought the kitchen became a set at WOAK..etc ATWT didn't have any long lasting landmarks.

[Soapsuds]

 

[vetsoapfan]

I fully acknowledge that I could not have listened to every line of dialogue in the show's painful last decade, so if they did mention that Meta was in Nova Scotia, I completely missed it. 

I do remember that when Mary Stuart returned to TGL for her final run (after being off-screen for an extended period), the first thing Michelle Bauer said upon seeing her was, "Aunt Meta! WHERE have you BEEN?"

I took this as the writers winking at the audience, since so often older characters just drop off the face of the planet without any on-screen explanation. Would Michelle have asked that in such a shocked tone of voice, if everyone had known where Meta was all along?

I always watch out for references to past or missing characters like a hawk, because I loathe when they just disappear without warning, or when their extended absence (even for weddings and funerals) makes it look like they never existed in the first place. (Hello, Tommy Horton from DAYS!)

When Charita Bauer passed away and TPTB had her leave town to care for Meta who had had a stroke, it was said on-air that Bert and Meta were in Florida. Soap Central incorrectly gave the location as Washington.

Egregious fan fiction is evident in various Soap Central bios, so at this point, I can't trust much of their reporting.

[antmunoz]

ATWT had the Stewart living room with the mantle, which existed from the 60’s until almost the show’s end. It was inexplicably Susan’s house after former MIL Ellen moved away. 

[Mitch64]

True, but there was really no continuity...it's just like it was a set, and they forgot why Susan lived there. Besides the Snyder kitchen...(and the pond) there were no landmarks like GL...even the eavesdropping porch disappeared...how was anyone to find out who anyone's baby daddy is if the porch is gone!

 

[antmunoz]

Well, you could say the same of the GL sets I mentioned.  They were reused for other characters pretty randomly.  At least the Stewart set stayed in the family, since Susan’s daughters were biological Stewarts. 

[Mona Kane Croft]

Yes, that house stayed within the Lowell/Stewart family from day-one of the show, until it's final appearance, just a year or two before the cancellation.   At the time, the Lowell/Stewart set was the oldest set in daytime, and had been for years and years.  Far older than even the Horton house on DOOL.  

 

 

Edited August 4, 2023 by Neil Johnson

[SamandWillowFan]

Did anyone ever slap Harley? I really don’t like the character from clips I’ve seen.

[Contessa Donatella]

I know that Harley Cooper has her detractors intellectually but emotionally as a huge fan I always do a double take, whiplash, reaction to hearing there's someone/s who is not totally in love with her!! 

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[GLATWT88]

So I was on a ratings spiral the other day and noticed an outlier week for GL in the W 18-49 rating for the week of December 29-2003 - Jan. 2, 2004.

GL scored an impressive 2.1 in the demo. What makes this impressive is that the last time GL scored a 2.1 was on the week of Jan. 14 2002 - almost a whole two years earlier. Also, January 2002, would be the last time GL would score a 2.0 or higher in the demo (besides the week of 2003/4 posted below). 

Furthermore, GL scored mostly between the range of 1.4 - 1.7 in the demo in 2002 and 2003. The week before positing a 2.1, it scored a 1.6 in the demo, so a significant .5 gain over the previous week. 

I remember bits of this week and not thinking much of it. I didn't find the character of Shayne well utilized in GL and don't even know if I was ever that invested. I also can't remember caring much for Marah and Jeffrey either, but I'm also quite forgetful. 

I'm curious on your takes on this. 

 

Also, credit to Jason47 for the ratings info.  

 

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I actually liked Harley. It wasn't until I joined this board that I heard pretty negative stuff about the character and actress. It made me wonder a bit if I was wrong. 

[Contessa Donatella]

Was this during ConWest? EP Conboy & [ahem] *cough cough* "writer" Ellen Weston? If so, which co-HW was keeping the writing above the level of drowning?!! And, if it was a Shayne week, was it Marty West's Shayne? And had he pulled himself away from selling his wrestling tapes out of the trunk of his car? 

 

Yes, special thanks & kudos go to @Jason47 !! 

No, you're not at all wrong. Harley & Beth Ehlers were hugely popular. But, there are some people who dislike the entire Cooper clan & consider them interlopers.

[GLATWT88]

Yep, Conboy and Ellen were involved. Both would only last a few more months by the time the above episode aired. Actually, Conboy walked off GL sometime in December 2003 and returned, but not for much longer. 

It was Marty West in the role of Shayne...what about wrestling tapes

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[Soapsuds]

He still looks so good!

 

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[dc11786]

I suspect it might have been a holiday spike/weather spike. As I recall, the Christmas 2003 episode was noteably strong compared to what had been happening in the months leading up to it. Blake and Ross remarried. A lot of characters who hadnt been seen were pulled out. There was a dopey, but holiday oriented, story about all the men to dress up as Santa because the kids stopped believing. I think that may have led into the next week of good will. Also, the East Coast got blasted that year was snowstorms (I was a senior in high school and remember catching stuff from the Salem Serial Killer a month later). I dont remember specifically if it was that week, but I feel like I remember it just snowing a lot that winter. 

I can only speak for myself personally. I enjoyed Harley and Phillip. I wasnt happy when the show went with Harley and Gus, but didnt see them as problematic at first. Wheeler and Kriezman made GusH the new Danny and Michelle. They were everywhere, they did everything. It seemed like everything revolved around Harley. I remember there was a potentially great story in the fall of 2005 (or maybe 2006) where Beth was going to assume the reigns of Spaulding. She had married Alan (who I think agreed to marry Beth to get Phillip to come out of hiding). Anyway, there was a board meeting. They even brought back Mary Kay Adams again. The conclusion: Harley as CEO of Spaulding. Good grief. 

The Coopers were treated differently under Wheeler and Kriezman. They were probably the most cohesive onscreen family (on-contract) that Wheeler and Kriezman inherited, but they were not interesting by that point in time. Frank was a C-level lead at best. Buzz was fine when Justin Deas was reigned in; I remember him (and I think Crystal Chappell) being one of the few people to get a decent performance out of the forgotten last hire by Conboy Kit Paquin. Harley was a strong lead when she didnt dominate the story. Mandy Bruno was bland and constantly paired with the wrong actor (they should have gone Marina/Jonathan, in my opinon).  

Marty West made some wrestling tapes prior to appearing on ¨Guiding Light." I believe the tapes surfaced online pretty quickly though West made them under a pseudonym. I´ve never seen them myself, but would happily accept a link in my messages lol). 

As of a few years ago, a lot of that GL younger set seemed to be in touch. Stephanie Gatschet had a pretty active Facebook a while back and had some (non-serious, as I recall) medical issues with her daughter and people seemed to be pretty supportive. West, in particular, I remember commenting and I feel like some others did too (maybe Justin Klosky). 

I know that teen scene wasn´t the strongest, but they were there during my final years of high school and first year of college so they are very memorable to me. 

[Contessa Donatella]

See, I am one who thinks that ConWest put more nails in the coffin than anyone else! Yes, I blame them. My information is that he overspent his budget, which left EW with a minus staring out on her budget. And Westons was just NOT a HW, she could hardly write at all. As a matter of fact, she couldn't even be interviewed properly, she was so incompetent. 

Marty West had videotape of himself wrestling. You can imagine him in the little singlet. He sold copies of them, literally out of his car. And, he dropped his drawers in one scene causing the show to be fined. All that along with his inability to act! I think we know what Conboy chose him for. I felt so sorry for Mandy Bruno. 

See, we have very different views on Harley, Buzz & GusH. But, I can respect your views & just agree to disagree I'm not even sure that I am free of bias because I love Harley, Beth Ehlers, Buzz, Justin Deas, Ricky Paull Goldin & GusH just that much. But I sure know what it's like when you feel one character is taking over the whole show, so I have empathy!