Guiding Light Discussion Thread

[Contessa Donatella]

Good Morning! Today is Monday, September 18, 2023 & that makes it the 14 year Endiversary of Guiding Light which broadcast its last show on September 18, 2009, concluding a 57 year run on CBS that began on June 30, 1952. My God, do i ever miss GL! Honk if you miss GL! Well, that was supposed to be an emoji of a goose. 

So, last night I was talking to a close friend who worked at GL at the end & we were reminiscing & talking about how much we miss GL & also how much we miss the whole NY soap scene. We of course got on the subject of CBS & P&G & ATWT & GL & even NBC at AW. We both said how both Paul Rauch & Mickey, MADD Mary Alice Dwyer Dobbin, no matter how much there might be to say critical of them, one thing was clear which was that they were ferocious in their defense, and offense, of their shows! He also made me aware of a CBS Daytime VP named Richard Mensing who was a champion of GL ... until the time he was gone & at that point all of those champions of GL were gone. And the show was left with non-fans Barbara Bloom & Les Moonves at CBS. No one at P&G. And, strictly on their own, EW at GL & Goutman at ATWT with no one to either do battle for them or even stand up for them in moral support! It was a sorry state of affairs that things had devolved to. 

Anyway, here's to many great years at GL & legions of excellent fans! 

So, this CBS guy Richard Mensing who was a champion of GL was gone as of 2002. That's the same year that Paul Rauch left. And, MADD left in 2005. Conboy was unfortunately the EP 2002-2004 with his special friend Ellen Weston the HW who could not even be properly interviewed as a writer because she wasn't one, 2003-2004. Not for the first time I appreciate Ellen Wheeler, Jill Lorie Hurst, David Kreizman, Donna Swajeski, Chris Dunn & Lucky Gold for everything they did from 2004 to the bitter end. And, yes, I understand that they made mistakes. EVERYONE makes mistakes. It's called being human. Oh, and I appreciate Carolyn Culliton also as she was the co-HW to Weston, surely that was a thankless job!

Edited September 19, 2023 by Donna L. Bridges

[j swift]

Please register in order to view this content

Thank goodness the price of these are going down to match the demand.  The last listing I saw for one of the AW books was $67 for a used paperback!

Now, could someone remind me, Who's Robin?

Edited September 19, 2023 by j swift

[Paul Raven]

Robin was Kathy's daughter who was killed off in 68. She got married Mike Bauer at one point.

[Mitch64]

I guess Rauch and MADD were not that effective as we suffered the clone (MADD thought it was a success) and San Cristobal...(that had Rauch written all over it...outdated 80s crap the budget couldn't support, cartoon characters, showcase for who he thought the "star" was..I am surprised Reva didn't to to Eterna or back in time to the Old West) 

Why did CBS not like GL..what made it different than ATWT? I agree that the real baddie here is Babs Bloom, (the originator of the Clone idea) how that woman had a job all those years...

[RavenWhitney]

I believe it was CBS exec, Wendy Fischman, who created the clone story.

[Contessa Donatella]

Oh, I think CBS hated P&G so hated both GL & ATWT. GL had Rauch & MADD fighting for her till 2002 & 2005 respectively. A CBS exec Richard Mensing was a champion of GL but he answered to Barbara Bloom & then he was also gone as of 2002. Once he was gone no one at CBS liked GL, period. But, they also disliked ATWT just not quite as much. GL suffered more obviously from CBS's "new production model" but ATWT did suffer with a new narrative style. CBS had the audacity to insist they throw out the traditional tapestry philosophy of soap storytelling & replace it with what Lynn Liccardo dubbed "pod storytelling". ATWT was just bleedingo ut a bit slower. Read Liccardo's book if you have not. I was one who said the clone sounded just like Paul Rauch & later had to eat my hat because he fought tooth & nail against the clone, saying it was  a story DAYS or OLTL could do but not the family show that GL was. His quote on why that was & how the show would never recover from it is quite elegant. 

[Mitch64]

Yes, you are correct..thanks!

 

 

[TEdgeofNight]

Ellen Wheeler, David Kreizman and Jill Lorie Hurst were the final nails in GL’s coffin. They pounded those nails in pretty hard. 

[DRW50]

The final nails in GL's coffin were nailed in about 15 years earlier. The miracle is that the coffin stayed open as long as it did. 

[soapfan770]

Wow I haven’t heard Wendy Fishman’s name in years until the other day when she did a recent interview, and now I’m seeing it twice lol.

Here’s Fishman’s interview, she only mentions working on GL briefly:

https://canvasrebel.com/meet-wendy-fishman/
 

 

[Contessa Donatella]

Hmm, interesting. I think that is probably a great way of expressing what happened. Do you think there is consensus that the first nail was the unnecessary death of Maureen Bauer? I believe there is no hope of having consensus on what were the last few nails. 

[TVFAN1144]

Was the same person who thought up the clone story also do the Holly stalker story?  Almost as stupid 

[soapfan770]

 

I looked up my old notes from Media Domain and WOST and found this, saved alongside the anecdote about Victoria Wyndham’s 1994 ice cream shop incident: @j swift

 

“Now the cast and crew were thrilled to get Willmore after Kobe left for BOLD as there was no love lost there. However as the EP Willmore was just mere figurehead as the real person in charge was Long for sure. But the immense pressure of keeping the show going through of the writers strike, the long grueling hours, and being steamrolled by larger egos both on and off the show caught up with the man. In winter 1989 Willmore finally popped. Irate over a malfunction on set, Willmore morphed into Bobby Knight, and hurled a folding director’s chair across the set. Needless to say like Kobe before him, there was no love lost when he exited as the beloved Robert Calhoun came in. Calhoun was the one EP who was also beloved when he retired.

Of course it should be noted I have never seen or heard this story being substantiated. Closest thing I’ve seen was Zimmer’s story about Willmore vomiting in her book. 

Edited September 24, 2023 by soapfan770

[kalbir]

Robert Calhoun ushered in the early 1990s golden era but for whatever reason the ratings were still dropping during his run. Yes, JFP first year got the ratings up but the momentum didn't last and JFP first year was coasting off the groundwork laid by Robert Calhoun.

[Contessa Donatella]

And as I noted recently Calhoun outright said that Holly was partly to blame for being raped by Roger. I think, or maybe hope, that today no producer would "blame the victim".  I can only imagine that the top of Maureen's head might have blown off at that moment.