Guiding Light Discussion Thread

[P.J.]

sigh...I wish Tom (or anyone) had also run into some long term document for Marland's GL. 

LOL..."Clem".

[wonderwoman1951]

i was working on a ‘world turns project in 1996, when i came across marland’s original gl longterm with his papers at the wisconsin historical society in madison (the atwt longterm is not — why i don’t know).

stupidly, i did not make a copy. the only thing of note that i remember is that he originally intended for nola and kelly to be the end game — a story i would have to seen unfold. 

[P.J.]

Now I remember having discussed Marland's papers ending up in UW-M a while ago in the thread. I don't know if the UW would digitize them and make them accessible to the general public. That would be fascinating to read. 

Edited January 10 by P.J.

[Contessa Donatella]

Unless they had student interns, or similar, available to them probably not digitized. Probably still photocopies. Although maybe digital files if they were jpegs of the pages. Another thought would be as pdf files.

[DRW50]

Andy was so one-dimensional and unpleasant - you could say the same about Tonio on ATWT, who filled some of the same type of role, but I think it's even worse with Andy because everyone around him also seems depressed and one-note. 

I think Marland was in a bind at GL compared to ATWT in terms of history because P&G was so set on phasing out the past and focusing on younger people. And GL didn't have as much history to draw back on - they had been on longer but more of their characters had died or just weren't relevant. 

I do wonder if he might have considered doing more with Bill Bauer if he'd stayed on. 

I find Marland's GL distant enough to where I wonder if he had the same connection and love for it to dig deep the way he did at ATWT. Sometimes just seems flat onscreen compared to his ATWT work.

[kalbir]

 

Michael Zaslow original run ended April 1980. Maureen Garrett original run ended November 1980. Not much of 1980 has surfaced AFAIK. To those who watched back then, was Holly floundering in the final seven months of her original run?

[DRW50]

The only bits we've seen has had her still in Ed's orbit and not doing much else. I guess this likely helped push Rita toward Alan. It doesn't seem like there's any real interest in Holly as a character.

[P.J.]

Well, one could have said the same thing about Craig. Or Roger. From what I've seen, Andy seemed to have real feelings for Hope. Obviously Andy wouldn't have been some "deep history" dive into GL's past, but it would've been an on ramp to bringing back Holly sooner (had MG wanted to) or Barbara, and played across the canvas---Ed and Mike watching Hope fall for him after her marriage to Alan ended, Maureen's perpetual need to see the good in people irritating them both; Billy and Ross livid at the effect on Vanessa and Trish, Katie realizing she was still damaged from the end of that romance, Alex feeling some need to keep A-M's legacy safe having her join forces with Mike and give them that romance that was teased. 

I don't doubt Marland had the same respect for GL as ATWT, he just didn't have the same tools. Other than the Bauers and perhaps Sara, I can't think of characters that pre-dated the Dobson era on canvas at the time. 

[DRW50]

I think Bryce or Zaslow were able to give their characters more depth.

I think Marland must have had some respect for GL, but compared to the Dobsons, the characters lack much more of an inner life to me. I am not entirely sure why, and admittedly, we have not seen a lot of his run.

[Contessa Donatella]

And, remember, Marland did ATWT, then GL and only then did he do his second pass at ATWT, which was when it became sorta golden. 

[P.J.]

Point taken. I haven't seen enough of LePlat's work to judge if he could've given Andy more layers. 

I do tend to forget Marland had a "primer" for ATWT in that time he had before the Dobson's showed up.

[SoapDope]

I have read over the years that Don Stewart (Mike) often disapproved about some of his onscreen pairings. I felt he and Lezlie Dalton were sexy onscreen. Did Stewart like that pairing or was she one of the actresses he complained about ? He was also being thrown together briefly with Pickett's Jackie which went nowhere before Marland brought in Geraldine Court as Jennifer.

Who were the pairings he griped about ?

[Paul Raven]

As for using GL history, as PJ stated there was not much that could be exploited.

All of Mike wives - Robin, Julie, Charlotte, Leslie were dead so there wasn't anything there.

Ed's ex Janet could have returned. He did bring back Andy but Ken was also out there.

But that was pretty much it.

That's why bringing on Billy Fletcher and have Peggy appear might have helped.

As for Holly, Maureen Garrett felt that after her marital rape and prison experience, Holly should have been stronger but Marland didn't write to that, so she was ready to move on and he probably didn't fight to keep her.

Not sure which pairings Don Stewart objected to. By the end he was seeing Lillian and Alex, right? 

How heavily were those romances played? I recall scenes of Mike taking Alex flying. But was it backburner stuff?

Did Don leave b/c he wasn't happy with Mike taking a lesser role or did Gail Kobe decide he was too expensive and not worth it?

Things would have been different had Mike stayed on. At least in terms of continuity.

[Contessa Donatella]

Well, to clarify, since the Dobsons didn't exactly "show up." Marland was at ATWT & the Dobsons were at GL & the lore says that P&G was unhappy with ATWT & asked the Dobsons to switch. They didn't really want to since they were very happy where they were but they felt that they really had to, so, the swap was made. Later, as I said, Marland has his second shot on ATWT & I believe that to be the time we think of as so very good for Marland & that show. 

[Mitch64]

He always wanted younger women..so I am sure he was not happy with being paired with both Alex and Lillian..so he cheated himself out of a job and gave Kobe a reason to get rid of another Bauer. The "romances" were played as Story B...Mike helped Lillian and Beth with Bradley, and he took her out to dinner and she hadnt been on a date since Bradley, so when he said, "Wait until you see what I planned for desert," she thought he was wanting to get down with her. Alex, it was a slight flirtation and he took her flying as you said, etc.  I do remember when they brought him back for the anniversary, they actually had a scene with he and Alan where he tells Alan, "Don't ask me about Hope" and ruffles Alan. Alex comes up and asks what is wrong and then she said, "I always preferred Ed." Its so weird that these writers don't just look back at old tapes or scripts or history. 

I wish they had recast Mike (I found Stewart stiff) and had that romance with Alex right before Rog came back..much prefer it then..Fletcher.

About GL and Marland..I think that the show was a bit more sophisticated and "sexy" then what he was used to. Even during the Dobs time it was more freewheeling and humorous.  The Bauers were really first generation "upper middle class" with Ed and Mike, while the Hughes were dyed in the wool WASPS. Bert, with her bitchy past was more fallible, human, and warmer then Nancy Hughes,etc.  I think that is one of the reasons the Dobs weren't good at ATWT...they brought in more humor and camp and it didn't really fit, and they probably did not know what to do with Nancy Hughes. a colder, more domineering matriarch yet not a villain.