Guiding Light Discussion Thread

[Khan]

Exactly.  There's no time anymore to work with these actors (especially ones with little-to-no experience) in developing characters who aren't just variations of previous roles on other shows.  

[Contessa Donatella]

However not all of them complain about having too many lines to learn ... like Steve Burton did! 

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[Contessa Donatella]

Oh, here's some Kool-Aid. Sorry I was so slow as a hostess. 

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[Maxim]

[Lujack4Ever]

When a character loses their 'anchor' an actor/actress loses their contract.

Instead of writing a character off there were times I wish GL had made the effort to develop the character further. Two examples from the '80's come to mind.

I.Q aka Martin. As soon as Lujack breathed his last, I knew Jaison Walker was done in the role. To their credit they did bring him back for one episode for the funeral for the first time Beth "died" and even Philip was happy to see him. Still, it would have been great if they could have kept him around and tried to work him into the fabric of Springfield but instead, he got a recording contract for his vocal work on Out In the Streets and was gone.

Then you have Miss Sally Gleason played by the awesome Patricia Barry. When both Kyle and Billy left the canvas, her days were numbered. They kill her off and assassinated Alexandra's character by having her drive Sally to a heart attack and basically does nothing to help. Losing Sally was too bad because she kind of kept Kyle alive on the canvas even being seen coming out of his hospital room after his off-camera plane crash. I remember there was one scene she was taking Mindy to the airport, and I thought that was nice that they were playing up her grandmother angle....I feel like they could have developed that and given Mindy a positive role model in her life. If she had been around, I could easily see her being suspicious of the amnesic/reformed Will Jefferies. Plus Dylan would eventually come along as another grandchild and of course Fletcher was raising her grandchild, Ben. Unfortunately, they didn't bother developing any of these ties and killed her off short sightedly.

[Mitch64]

Agree on the first...but Miss Sally?  GL had enough problems keeping older actors around, Bea Reardon with her multitude of children and grandchildren and anchoring a longstanding SF touchstone, the Boardinghouse would make more sense...(especially as they could have used her as the intro to many new younger characters who would live in the Boardinghouse when they first came  to town.) I do agree with them butchering Alex (was Pam Long on vacation when they wrote that...) as standing by while Sally kicks it, they also threw in Alan who suggested that Alex actually physically did something to killl her and was happy about it. 

I think Miss Sally could have been one of those characters who flowed in and out of town when the plot needs her or there is a family event. I always found it so weird when close friends and family members would leave town never to be seen or hear from again. Having characters jump back for short arcs would make things seem more realistic and also entertaining fro the audience,.,

[TEdgeofNight]

I agree. But the specific story that I was referring to was Pam Long denying in an interview that she wrote Reva's postpartum depression story and the end of Reva at that time. How can you be a headwriter of GL and forget Reva driving off the bridge and say "I'm coming Bud"!! That was unforgettable. And as I said earlier, Pam later backtracked and remembered it. But my main point overall is that just because someone says something in an interview or because something is in a book, doesn't make it true. 

[Contessa Donatella]

And everyone knows that is so but it doesn't mean we stop reading books or watching interviews! 

[TEdgeofNight]

But you don't have to run here and post something as fact. Bill Hayes being the first to sing on soaps?  lol The research expert who is constantly wrong. lol

[Lujack4Ever]

Yes, that could have worked. That was the approach they took with Hawk and it was much more realistic  having him pop (no pun intended) in from time to time right up to the very end. I remember when they brought Bea back for a little while but they just didn't seem to want to commit to the character.

[Mitch64]

Yea, it was weird as I felt Long wrote the Reardons better than Marland did..(besides Nola) other writers brought Bea back but then Long got rid of her..so it seems to be all on Long. I think Bea forming a friendship with Hawk would have been fun and then Sarah comes back (I would have made Sarah harder and trasheir then they made her....a "hiya doll" kind of woman.) 

Speaking of Hawk and Nola, during McTavish's time the one of the only time they wrote Nola fun was when she was conspiring to get the Spaulding greenhouse for Van and Matt's wedding. Hawk was suing Alex for some goofy reason and Nola tells Alex if she agrees to let them use the space, she will get Hawk to drop the law suit so she trips Hawk so he dumps something on Alex's expensive coat...so they call it even...goofy little scene but fun use of Hawk and Nola and what could have been if they kept people around to add color and even if they were not in BIG storylines.

[Mona Kane Croft]

Approximately what year was this?  And who was playing Alex at this time?   

[Mitch64]

95/96...when Nola came back...Marj was playing Alex.  

 

[GL Oldtimer]

Are soaps not rehearsing scenes at all at this point?

I'm glad I was a fan of the genre in its heyday when every major network had several soaps on in the afternoon. Those were some awesome days! I remember how much I looked forward to the new issues of Soap Opera Digest and Soap Opera Weekly to hit the newsstands. I just remember it being an exciting time to be a fan.

Annette

[Contessa Donatella]

No, I think they now work so fast that they don't take that time. Working fast = working cheap.