Guiding Light Discussion Thread

[TEdgeofNight]

The crazy nut insisting that GL was the only soap making money is delusional. Y&R, B&B, Days and GH insist otherwise. GL was a fricking disaster under Wheeler and Kreizman and the god awful Jill Lorie Hurst. 

[dc11786]

I understood why Phillip was made the big bad in his exit... to facilitate the murder mystery plot. You couldn't have nice guy Phillip just being killed off without having a list of suspects. Weston and Conboy had Phillip go off the deep end and committed him to Ravenwood. During that time, Olivia had returned to Springfield after leaving town (to facilitate Chappell's maternity leave) revealing that her baby had died. We quickly learned she was simply hiding the child to keep her safe from the Spauldings (Lizzie had manufactured a fall for Olivia around August, 2003). Olivia married Phillip and moved into the Spaulding mansion once it was revealed Emma was alive. I remember one of the conditions was that Alexandra had to live in the potting shed. Anyway, Philip was released from Ravenwood in April, 2004, and he set out to get revenge against Olivia. The Olivia/Phillip material from April - July, 2004, was incredibly strong (in my opinion). Phillip was certainly making Olivia's life hell, but she was playing her long game as well. 

It was Kriezman who just leaned into it with the whole eminent domain stuff for the Coopers and then deciding he was going to take a bunch of kids with him when he left town. Kriezman had this way of deconstructing characters, but making no effort to rebuild them; I had very real issues with the way they handled Tammy once they decided Tammy/Jonathan were going to be more than just a part of Jonathan's revenge plot. 

Phillip in the shadows over the next few years was dumb. I kept trying to get back into the show in those years (2005-2007), but always something stupid would happen. I remember tuning in for Ross' death and learning that Phillip and Rick were apart of it and tuning out again. 

[China Jones]

While I respect the fact that some people liked Bolger, please no!!! For one thing, he would have probably looked way too old next to his on-screen father. 

I assume that the writers would have addressed his mental fragility in the future but shifted course and went with the physical illness to wrap up his storyline once they learned of the show's cancellation. His return is the whole reason I recently chose to watch those final seven months of the Peapack era.

[Vee]

That part I understood, yes. I actually found his descent into madness intriguing. But what I meant in my OP was that I found it inexplicable that it was mostly ignored when he returned after wreaking havoc for years both before and after he exited. They just swept everything he'd done (including Grady) under the rug.

Edited December 27, 2023 by Vee

[soapfan770]

So many things above I have to agree with……

 

I recall my main thing I think I personally overlooked a lot from 2004-07 was I just wanted GL to succeed and do decently so I know myself I did take a blind eye to some things, namely Jonathan & Tammy while I still couldn’t stand Manny fans. 
 

Of course by spring 2007 I realized how awful the show had become yet I still celebrated that Emmy win or when GL beat AMC & OLTL in ratings for a few weeks straight when I really shouldn’t have. 

Phillip’s last three years under Gold, Taggert, Weston, and Kriezman were all crap to begin with you just summarized it perfectly.

[SheenaSoaper]

If someone is going to continue to claim that GL was making money in its final years, then please come up with proof. If it was such a huge money maker, then why was it canceled before ATWT?

And who cares about Ed Dour Bauer. Peter Simon was low energy and never wanted to be there. All of the other Eds were fat and old. Hardly leading man material.

[Contessa Donatella]

Basically CBS canceled the last of the P&G soaps at the same time. Yes, literally, they were different dates but it was known that as one went, so did the other. They could've flipped a coin to see who was first. 

The claim about GL being the only soap actually making (some) money was in an article in Digest. And, exactly who said HUGE MONEY MAKER? Right, no one. 

[Mona Kane Croft]

If you are on a Guiding Light message board and expecting GL fans not to talk about Ed Bauer, I'm afraid you're fighting a losing battle.  Seriously.  

And nobody is saying Ed Bauer was leading man material. But he was a fan favorite, middle-aged and assuming the patriarch role of the show's core family, which had been largely abandoned by the powers that be.  And yes, we're going to discuss him here.  Alot.  

Edited December 27, 2023 by Mona Kane Croft

[Contessa Donatella]

And, I imagine most of us understand why EW began wanting Peter Simon, although we probably disagree with endlessly waiting. 

[Vee]

Don't feed the troll.

[Contessa Donatella]

Oh my god, we thought we saw someone starving. So sorry. 

[SheenaSoaper]

Ed could have been a more viable character with a different actor. PS didn’t care to be there after a certain period and it was obvious. 

[MichaelGL]

Bless it. 

[Khan]

No, I don't.  There was speculation, though?  I think it would have been odd to see "Dr. Alan Quartermaine" now playing "Dr. Ed Bauer," to say the least.  Plus, given SD's health at the time, I am not sure he would have been up to relocating to NYC and playing any role on any soap full-time.

I agree.

There came a point in GL's final year or two when it was obvious they no longer had a long-term plan for anything and instead were making up stuff based on which part of Peapack they were filming in that day.

[soapfan770]

That reminds me that that disgusting Grady, G or whatever they called him was one of the worst characters ever on the show. They tried so hard to make him Jonathan 2.0 it just bombed so badly at a time when the show had hit its nadir in the summer of 2008. 
 

Phillip throwing him off a cliff with nobody caring and no one ever finding out was hilarious and satisfying especially since it was a well deserved death and punishment for such a despicable character.