Guiding Light Discussion Thread

[DRW50]

Jim Muneco has put up a bunch of episodes from January 1981 and a few from 82/83 that were among the DVD releases. And two from 1988 that weren't on DVD.

@P.J. I can't remember if you were asking about the date for the Quola wedding but it was 6/24/83.

This is probably the most interesting to me as it fits around a few of the 1982 episodes on Youtube and it's just interesting in general to see the end of Marland's GL run. 

I guess this could have been on the Philip DVD. I'm not sure. 

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[Sapounopera]

I love the Allen Potter years.

Is this veranda set part of the Spaulding mansion we know? It was lovely. 

[Mona Kane Croft]

Can anyone please tell me, what year did Marland began and as head-writer, and what year did he leave?  And what year did Pam Long begin?  Any idea why Marland left GL?  Did he leave at the end of a contract, or somewhat unexpectedly?  Any chance he was pushed out in favor of Long?

[DRW50]

He began in early 1980 and left in summer 1982. He left early because of conflicts with the producer, Allen Potter, along with the firing of Jane Elliot and quick wrapup of her storyline, which upset him. He wasn't pushed out in favor of Pam Long. There were two headwriters or more in between them (Pat Falken Smith, L. Virginia Brown, etc.).

Edited August 15, 2024 by DRW50

[Contessa Donatella]

I don't know if you know or not, Mona, but P&G at one point did a swap. The Dobsons had been writing GL & Marland had been writing ATWT, the first earlier time. So, P&G wasn't happy with ATWT. They asked the Dobsons to swap with Douglas. They did not want to but agreed. At that point Douglas indicated he had no vacation, so the Dobsons wrote both shows for a month. While Marland was writing GL he hit upon the idea for the 3 Carries storyline. As the lore goes, he was not pleased with the ratings at that point & he fired Jane. This would have been midway in the personalities being introduced. Marland said to be furious indicated he was quitting as soon as he could do so. (Marland quit 3 different shows in this same basic way - GH, GL & LOVING.)

However, I have read one article which suggests that in fact Jane's contract year had come up & it was just Allen Potter dotting the i's & crossing the t's. 

[Paul Raven]

I believe that Jane had signed a year contract but was happy to renew.

However, Allen Potter was not happy with the story and I guess Jane's contract renewal would have seen an increase in salary.

So he decreed Jane has to go. Marland was not happy (maybe about some other stuff as well)

The recastasting of Ed and dropping Barbara,Steve and Adam were not his decisions.

[Contessa Donatella]

Thanks, Paul, that goes right along with the article that I read.

[SoapDope]

I don't know what it is, but I always found Jane Elliott to be a bit intense in everything I have seen her in. Like and underlying rage beneath the surface.  What I have read she is pretty much that way in real life.

I remember reading a hilarious article with Leigh Taylor Young where she said back in the 60's she was encouraged by a friend to get an agent to start working in TV. She said the friend asked Jane Elliott to come over to help put her in touch with one. Jane came in and she and the friend discussed Leigh and Jane never once spoke to her. She just looked her up and down and said " She won't be any competition, sure I'll give you my agents number and walked out. Leigh said she just sat there in a daze kind of laughing to herself at what happened. A few weeks later she was screen tested for Peyton Place. 

[Contessa Donatella]

Interesting. I've read quite a bit about her & I have never once gotten anything remotely like that impression. Right now on GH I find her to be regularly one of the things that makes the show watchable! I thank Soap Jesus for her needing insurance & coming back from retirement for it. There are so many wonderful stories about her & the gang & Gloria Monty & those good ole bad days. 

[DRW50]

Watching the July 1982 episode and I am as is often the case with the Carrie story extremely impressed by Jane Elliot's work but left unsure as to why Marland thought it could go on for much longer. I'm glad to get to see the reveal of her third personality. 

I had to laugh at Josh going around in his sunglasses. I can't remember if this is before or after he got a shitkicking from Kelly. I think it's before. Around the same time Vanessa would also go around in sunglasses to show us she like him was bad to the bone.

The scene where Vanessa drops her act and is so upset to learn about Jackie is an early reminder of what she could be and also of the strong connection between Maeve and Jerry. A real contrast to the frivolous, tedious material with Vanessa as spoiler to Hilary/Tony. I love the idea of wicked Vanessa being draped in layers of cream-colored clothes, even if she looks like she is on her way to a Sunday service.

The scene with Tony and Bea is a pleasant change of pace, but otherwise the character remains the same boring/off-putting presence for me, especially in an episode with such emotional content elsewhere. I can't complain about multiple scenes of him wandering around shirtless, but that's about all he has going for him.

Quint and Nola were barely in the episode but they made sure to have them at the start and the end, I guess due to their popularity. This must have been around the time Lisa Brown was on Broadway. I love Lisa Brown but I'm never quite as into this pairing/story as I want to be.

Ed and Maureen laughing and having fun was a nice surprise. Peter Simon did so well at somber Ed that I think people tend to forget he did have a few comic or warm moments. (and that scene would be in the opening credits soon enough)  

The scenes with Justin struggling to grieve for Jackie were the highlight, especially when Katie, with that very very very Marland-esque tone stamped to her forehead, pushes hard for him to be in touch with his feelings, and he tells her he has said the same thing to so many patients over the years. Tom O'Rourke was very strong. And as always I don't know why they got rid of him as he was still such a handsome man.

When Katie started telling Philip it was OK to cry, I wanted to hear him say - who are you, lady? I guess he would have known her from being around Justin at the hospital, but she was being very overfamiliar.

The little moment with Bert walking away after talking about Samantha growing up without a mother got me. I kept wondering if she was going to talk about what it was like when she lost her husband but Charita played that sense even if it wasn't in the script.

I know they had written Philip out at this time for recasting, but I really wish they'd brought Jarod Ross back for the episode. Him learning offcamera didn't feel right.

Edited August 15, 2024 by DRW50

[Mona Kane Croft]

Thanks for the information.  I wasn't watching GL during the Marland era, but I remember the show getting a lot of attention from young viewers.  

I was aware of the switch, but that's about the extent of my knowledge.  So thanks for the additional context.

I never understood why P&G moved the Dobsons to ATWT, because they were so happy with their work at GL.  But when the Dobsons got to ATWT, they seemed like two entirely different writers.  Their writing at ATWT seemed very dissimilar from their writing at GL.  Why did they change their writing style so drastically?  Or perhaps they didn't change.  But it seems to me that they did.  

[SoapDope]

Greg Beecroft (Tony) I take it was not pleasant to work with for some. I remember Melanie Smith mentioning that he was one of the few actors she worked with that she did not get along with. He has that cocky persona that bleeds over into his work. He knows that most people find him attractive and he has an ego about it. 

I agree that Jarod Ross should have been brought back to wrap things up. It was already a let down that Cindy Pickett vacated the role of Jackie before Elizabeth finds out about Phillip. With the re-cast it fell flat for me. It seems that within a few years all of the players in the late 70's drama surrounding Phillip would be gone (Jackie, Justin, Elizabeth, Mike, and eventually Alan till his return in 1986. 

 

[DRW50]

You're right. Even here they are straining to explain why Elizabeth isn't around, or Philip. There was so much potential with Philip's parentage that the Dobsons set up and nothing was ever done with it, unless you count the pointless return of Justin in the late '80s. 

 

[SoapDope]

I agree. It was like " We're done with this, now let's move on". They should have taken a lesson from Bill Bell how to milk storylines from something like that for years(or even decades). 

[Sapounopera]

Quinton and Nola were fun, but the 80s were obsessed with supercouples and their stories become boring rather quickly. Nola was way too fascinating as the antagonist and they ended it way too soon.

Who wrote the "Quinton is Henry's son" story? I think it took a lot away from him, along with the Sean Ryan story.