Guiding Light Discussion Thread

[Paul Raven]

That stunt was well done. Who was that fighting with Lee? 

Reminds me of Ed Zimmerman's (Joe Werner)novel he wrote about a daytime soap. One of the characters was a Hollywood actor who constantly forgot his lines.I think that was based on Ray Fulmer(Lee).

Another character was a lecherous older actor who played a beloved onscreen senior. I think that was based on Stefan Schnabel (Steve Jackson)

[Reverend Ruthledge]

It was Joe. 

[P.J.]

i never would have guessed that was Millette Alexander on the floor. It's a little weird thinking of Sarah having a sex life. I was shocked when I read she and Justin had a thing back in college. I just remember her as the sympathetic (if seemingly ineffective) psychiatrist listening to everyone's problems.

[Paul Raven]

When Sara first came on I think they talked about a past college romance with Paul Fletcher, but that didn't track with his past story of being a loner till he fell for Anne Benedict.

Then a decade later, when Justin was introduced, they talked of a past b/w Sara and Justin which seemed to contradict the Paul/Sara story.

 

[Franko]

Sara kept inducing false memories with these dudes. Luckily, she stopped before doing so with Alan or Ed.

[DRW50]

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[P.J.]

I'm sure she's a nice person, but she ruined Michelle for me. 

[chrisml]

Nancy St. Alban looks wonderful. I never had a problem with St. Alban as an actress or as Michelle. The writing was at fault as she got saddled with ridiculous stories (Maryann, that kid she was protecting/mentoring). While I liked her triangle with Danny and Tony, I know I'm in the minority. 

[P.J.]

I didn't particularly like Michelle's stories when Bethany Lenz played her either, but at least Bethany had some inner fire in her.

 

*sigh* the challenge in watching episodes in German is you can't always discern the subtext. I'm in early '82, and can't decide if Josh is trying to tank Trish and Vanessa's friendship, just out to irritate Vanessa, or trying to undermine Tony. I think it's mostly undermining Tony (who's asking questions about Josh managing Floyd...rme) but there are moments when Vanessa seems to be poking into what Josh is up to at Spaulding and he doesn't like it.

[Mitch64]

I get why they cast her as she comes off as a typical suburban soccer mom, which would have been fine but they aged Michelle when they cast her and Chelle had her own inner demons which Lenz played (even if the writers were not writign that) and lost her fire the Lenz played (I know it is dumb but I just love her stamping her feet and tossing her hair when Carmen threatened her and how annoyed Carmen would be with her having a backbone.)

I think if they had cast her as a new character, and paired her with Rick she could have played out warm kitchen scenes, but Labine wanted Chelle to do that and be like Mo and Lenz was a perfect combo of being raised by Mo, but having an edge like Ed and Claire. I wish Lenz would have stuck around to work more with Pratt.

[Reverend Ruthledge]

Yeah, they made Michelle too bland and, with Rick already being bland, that was sort of a guarantee that the Bauers would be less prominent and fade away. 

[Mitch64]

That is why it was weird when the placed him with Mel, the actress was beautiful (maybe too much so to realistically be interested in Rick at that uh, stage in his life) but she was bland as hell. Mo and Ed worked as Ed had his problems and Mo was the comforting Mom, but still had a backbone...Rick and Abby just blanded the hell out and Mel was even worse.  It would have been interesting to give Rick a partner of color, who actually had fire and really disliked what the Santos and to a lesser extent the Spauldings did the community and that would cause problems with Danny and of course, with Rick's true love Phillip.

[Reverend Ruthledge]

The Bauers were my favorite soap family because they weren't always "the good guys". They were complex, had strong faults and were sometimes even the "bad guy" in various storylines. By the time the family got watered down to Rick and Michelle, that was all lost and they were just the boring good guys with no complexity. It was like the writers were afraid to make them anything but bland and we know no stories can come out of that. 

[P.J.]

I never quite get why so many soap kids are so much blander than their parents. It's not like we don't know all the little traumatic events that would've shaped them. 

[Mitch64]

So true...as we discussed, why were Shayne and Maura so bland and boring..you would have thought they were raised by Mike and Carol Brady instead of Reva (who was presuemed dead during their early childhood and erratic during the rest of their time) and Josh(who, when not obsessed with Reva was marrying psychos or vixens.) Annie would have made a big mark on them...(Especially since McTavish spent so much time with those toothsome child actors going on and on about "MommyAnnie" and LOWHAD.