Guiding Light Discussion Thread

[DRW50]

I do wonder if he was originally meant for the part Floyd plays in the story.

[Broderick]

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He really does appear to be playing a "pre-Floyd" version of Floyd.  Maybe Mark Arnold will elaborate on what happened.  

[Paul Raven]

Floyd was already there. Marland could have done a quick rewrite that Floyd already knew Nola. he had hardly been frontburner under the Dobsons so stuff could have been happening that we didn't see.

And Kelly could have been Billy Fletcher,Peggy's son. An immediate and legit connection to the Bauers and he was Roger's stepson.

Edited January 3, 2024 by Paul Raven

[jam6242]

Thanks @DRW50

[Vee]

To be clear: These March episodes are from right after Marland took over?

[Khan]

Yes.

[DeliaIrisFan]

This is an interesting perspective, and probably not wrong from what I've seen.  I'm slowly working my way through 1986 ATWT and I agree it's got an energy that I've never gotten watching Marland's later work.  I think it's also probably true for most head writers after shows expanded to an hour, so I'm not sure if some of that is burnout. 

What's interesting with Marland is ATWT's ratings were actually better (at least relative to other shows) toward the end of his run.  That's probably due in large part to attrition: GH being dethroned after 10+ years in the top two and the other mid-range shows losing their way.  Although of course Marland's GL was the highest-rated non-ABC soap for the entirety of Luke and Laura's heyday right out of the gate.  I still can't help but wonder what might have been if he'd been hired at ATWT long-term in 1979, when the show was just a year or two away from being #1 in the ratings, if he'd managed to introduce a story that successfully drew in younger audiences while perhaps luring back some lapsed viewers.

[Mitch64]

Agreed...I think Roger being written out hastened her exit but she would have been gone..she did not work with Rauch's thing...she was a bad girl but Poser always gave Amanda an bravado that she was not crazy like Annie or neurotic like Dinah...Rauch also bet that Amanda could replace Alex but that didn't work.  As I said, I loved Poser and she did well with the dumb Malibu Madame...the slooow drawn out time between Laibson and Rauch taking over and the interim writers making her Brandon's kid, which then was dropped (that could have worked with the right writing and Alex still there...Amanda..who always did not seem to fit in the Spaulding dynamic....as a Spaulding but yet, not really accepted as one...) I think she could have really worked as a smart amoral woman not letting anyone screw her over and flagrant with her sexuality...kind of like Raven on Edge of Night who had a more sterotypical male attitude on sex "Hey, it was fun but that doesn't mean we are getting married or even exclusive." 

Plus she had one of my favorite lines..pre clone...Josh attacks Alan, with overacting RN acting and overacting RR in the lab..Amanda is walking around checking things out, not concerned in the least when Alan says, "Amanda..he tried to KILL me!!" and Poser barley acknowledges this and  underplays it with a "Who HASNT???"

Edited January 5, 2024 by Mitch64

[bboy875]

Does anyone know the show's plans for Roger/Holly/Amanda and the arrival of at least 1 Black Spaulding before Zaslow and then his replacement were let go? 

Did anyone find a definitive answer in regards to whether characters moved from Selby Flats to Springfield or if the show magically changed locations? I realized Fran Myers was there, and if she's on social media, she'll know the answer

[Mona Kane Croft]

That still seems to be a big mystery.  Nobody has ever found a script or an old episode that mentions an on camera move of the characters from one city to another.  And when Mike Bauer was appearing on Another World, at the same time as GL changed locations, those scripts ARE available.  Interestingly, on AW Mike never used the term Selby Flats or Springfield -- he only refers to "my hometown" -- never actually saying the name of either city.  So that seems to be some evidence that GL just magically changed locations without mentioning any real move.  On the other hand, there are some fans who swear they remember episodes of GL in which the Bauers and the Fletchers actually discussed moving from Selby Flats (which was in California) to Springfield.  I suppose at this point, the only way to definitively solve this mystery is for someone to research the old GL scripts form that era, and see if a move is mentioned in any of the dialogue.  

[SoapDope]

Why were the Dobsons replaced by Marland ? I love their material from the late 70's episodes that have been uploaded. 

I wish Cindy Pickett had stayed in the role of Jackie to finish out the reveal to Elizabeth that she and Justin are Phillips biological parents. The storyline was bit of a let down with the recast.

I also wish Lezlie Dalton had stayed as Elizabeth, but I take it was her decision to leave. She always talked with a breathy whisper. 

 

[Mona Kane Croft]

In addition to what I said in my previous post on this topic, there is one more possible piece of evidence. Although I am not an expert on Guiding Light sets, it does appear that Bert Bauer's house set was the same house both before and after the location change.  There were some modifications and enlargements over the decades, but if you view older and later episodes, it does seem to be the same house (or set). If I am wrong about this, I'm sure some one will correct me.  So if the Bauers actually moved from California to Springfield on camera in 1965-66, one would assume they would have a new home (and a new set) at the same time.  And it appears they did not get a new set, so . . .

Edited January 5, 2024 by Mona Kane Croft

[SoapDope]

I found a interview with Bridget Dobson online explaining why they were moved to ATWT. Proctor & Gamble insisted that ATWT be the # 1 soap on CBS and GL should be at best # 2. Since GL was # 1 in the ratings, the executives were pissed off a bit.

She also said her parents (the creators of GH) were jealous of her and her husband Jerry's success as writers and they refused to watch anything they had written. OUCH !!!. She said her sister happened to be visiting them when they went into an outburst about it and told her what they had said. They were also super pissed that Bridgett and Jerry were approached about creating their own soap for NBC (Santa Barbara) and they were not having their shows bought. They both died by the end of the 1980's 

[Contessa Donatella]

It wasn't that the Dobsons were replaced by Marland. The Dobsons were very happy at GL. ATWT was not doing well in ratings, etc. so P&G asked the Dobsons to switch with Marland & them HW ATWT instead. They didn't want to but they felt they had no choice. So you see you have it turned around. 

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BTW, and this is something that will be of use to you & that is the spelling of Procter, it's with an E at the end, not an O. 

[SoapDope]

Thanks for the info and correcting my goof on spelling Procter. There is a local business that spells their name with and O instead of an E so it was locked in my brain to spell it that way without checking.