Guiding Light Discussion Thread

[P.J.]

Yes. there was a time I was on atwt.com all day long. I know the agreement to make those collections ended rather abruptly. And honestly I probably wouldn't have been interested in the GL collections at the time. I'm just surprised there aren't more. I'd kill now to have the week of Quint and Nola's wedding, or the end of the Diane Ballard murder, or early Ross/Vanessa stuff on dvd.

Maybe GL was a little harder to do collections because of the music. I am astounded by how much background music episodes have on (at least in the late 80's-early 90s) . Maybe it's my imagination, but it seems to have a lot more than ATWT did.

ugh...the Shayne invasion. 

[Contessa Donatella]

I too have been surprised at how much popular music was used. 

[DRW50]

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[DRW50]

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[DRW50]

I think this is Carrie Mowery (the doomed Jackie Marler recast) in the ad at 42 minutes - if so it's the only place I've ever seen her outside of GL.

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Edited July 27, 2024 by DRW50

[DramatistDreamer]

I know it will never happen, but I would have loved for one of these soap vlogging YouTube channels to interview the Soap Classics people to get their perspective on that era. They didn’t just sell DVDs they ran two soap streaming platforms. 

[P.J.]

Should be the 11/2/89 episode. Gives me hope other episode not up on youtube will pop up. 

I wonder what Roger's doing now. He was a very dedicated soap historian.

[Liberty City]

He produces the Annual Indie Series Awards.

[DramatistDreamer]

I was thinking about the company that he was helping curate the collections for, Soap Classics was a company (maybe they dissolved by now?) that distributed the collections and operated the streaming platforms. I could be mistaken but I thought it was two guys that ran the SC operation. I’ve always been curious about them, they seemed mysterious.

 

He also has worked (perhaps still does) in PR for the Bronx Community Health Network. 

[P.J.]

Was Rusty Shayne the first full-time cop character GL had? I know GL had been historically focused on the hospital, and Mike was a lawyer. Lt Wyatt's a staple at least through the '80's, but he's recurring, we don't learn anything about his personal life. 

It just seems odd to me, but then again, I couldn't tell you a full-time cop from ATWT either before the '80's when they made Margo one.

[Reverend Ruthledge]

Very good question, and, surprisingly, he may have been. I'm stretching my brain trying to come up with an earlier character who was a cop and while there were many small-part characters who were cops, I can't remember a full-time character being a cop until Rusty. Same with Margo on ATWT. And Hope Williams on DOOL. It was definitely an 80s trend to make main characters policemen and policewomen. I'm not sure why. 

[Mona Kane Croft]

I can't answer your question directly.  But I do know many soaps did not have a full-time cop (on contract) until well after transitioning to the 60-minute format.  And most soaps did not have a standing police precinct set until well after that.   

[DRW50]

Likely Hill Street Blues and later Miami Vice.

[Reverend Ruthledge]

That's actually what I was thinking. There seemed to be a slew of cop shows in the 80s. Not that there wasn't in other decades but it just seemed more popular in the 80s. 

[Khan]

I agree!