Guiding Light Discussion Thread

[Franko]

Awful sad that Frank and Doris may or may not have been able to look past their allegedly longstanding and permanent writeoff of Bridget's worth.

[Soaplovers]

I think it was more that ATWT was the #1 show for many many years so that when it faltered it threw P & G for a loop.

I'm thinking maybe P & G thought that GL was in a strong place so they placed Marland there and decided to place the Dobson's over at ATWT to work their magic.  I think forcing them was probably the wrong move because it sounded as though neither one wanted to head-write the show.. and perhaps it would have been better if P & G let the Dobson's pick which soap they wanted to write instead.

[Contessa Donatella]

It is true that P&G ideally wanted to have #1, #2 & #3. The explanation that ATWT was not doing well makes so much more sense. That brief period with ATWT 1, AW 2 & GL 3 they were in hog heaven. 

Yep, this is what I think happened. So, Marland was happy but the show wasn't doing well enough. The Dobsons were happy & their show was. They played around with things & no one was happy. Ugh. 

[kalbir]

Plus CBS and P&G were really shaken by ABC huge rise and dominance, thus CBS rearranging the soap block and changes to the shows themselves.

[DRW50]

I'm never sure how much the comments reflect viewer opinion at the time - I imagine couples like Kelly/Morgan were more fondly received than anything I've ever said about them. I can see why in the random clips it would be easy to rag on Eve but she seems alright to me, especially compared to the versions of her on ATWT around this time. 

The actress who played Lainie showed some comic flair in The Guiding Plight. I feel like Marland just wanted rid of the character, maybe because all she did before he arrived was pine for Ed (a decision that felt unnecessary considering Holly was already there for that purpose).

[Soaplovers]

From what I recall reading from 1979 summaries, the Dobson's had Lainie develop a crush on Ed.. but she also was dating Floyd.

Once Marland took over, he broke Lainie/Floyd up.. paired Lainie with a guy named Carter and then left for Australia in early 1981.  I'm guessing that Marland wasn't inspired to write for her character.

I kind of liked Eve, and I think she lasted until late 1982/early 1983 before she left town.  Reason she lasted so long beyond Rita's departure was because she was tied to the Jackie story.. and also Marland was slowly reuniting her and Ben.   So I think the interim writers between Marland and Pam Long just reunited Ben/Evie.. then both just left town.   However, I think the main function for Eve was to show how Rita could potentially be as an individual if she felt secure and lvoed.  Because Eve loved her sister unconditionally, you saw Rita more relaxed and confident in her interactions with Eve.

[DRW50]

I forgot she was dating Floyd. Thanks. 

Carter Bowden seems more her type than Floyd, given her crush on Ed, but it's always kind of awkward watching people get together just because they're being written out of the show.

Then when she returned briefly in 1982 she was pregnant, although I think the actress herself was pregnant. Still, they really burnt through a lot of life changes for Lainie in a short space of time, and almost entirely offcamera. Having her stay around, maybe clash with Carrie, would have made more sense to me. 

I was shocked when they mentioned her briefly when Ben Warren came to town in '98 as up to that point I'd never heard her mentioned on the show and had only seen her in the GL anniversary book.

I wish more of 82/83 was around just because I would like to know how much of the Eve/Ben reunion was oncamera. For a while I thought that Ben left right after his Amanda split and then Eve eventually said she was moving to Rome (?) to be with him. Then I read he came back briefly, I guess they got back together, he left again, then she eventually left. 

Edited January 6, 2024 by DRW50

[Soapsuds]

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[DRW50]

Thanks @Soapsuds . Sad to think how many more episodes of that era we might have gotten if P&G hadn't stopped releasing DVDs.

I know the narrative reasons, but I wonder how viewers at the time felt about Jackie and Elizabeth trading off the same three men. 

[SoapDope]

Another jarring recast was the sudden firing of Mart Hulswit and the hiring or Peter Simon. I guess Marland brought him over from his stint on ATWT. I grew up with Simon in the role for the most part, but prefer Hulswit. I read that his weight gain was part of the reason he was let go and Marland thought he was fuddy duddy.

They also exchanged hairdos. Jackie went short and blonde and Elizabeth went long and brunette.

[DRW50]

I imagine P&G and their wanting to get glossier were another factor. I wonder if Peter's work at Search was what helped him - what I've seen of his ATWT role was extremely dull.

[SoapDope]

He was very dull from what I saw of him on ATWT. If you really look back at all the soaps during the 70's, most of those actors would not be considered or hired by the mid 1980's. By then soaps wanted to fill their casts with pretty people whether they could act or not. 

[DRW50]

As shown with the decision to hire Richard van Vleet when Peter Simon left in 1984. I'm half-surprised they brought Simon back.

[SoapDope]

I forgot about Van Vleet replacing Simon for a period of time. I couldn't imagine someone like Tony Geary being considered " A Find" by the mid 80's. He was lucky he hit pay dirt at the end of the 70's. If it wasn't for the Luke & Laura hoopla (which he has pissed and moaned about for decades and resented), he would be forgotten by now, let alone brought back to GH in the 90's. 

[Khan]

Wait, you've never heard about his star-making role in the movie "Disorderlies"?