Guiding Light discussion thread

[slick jones]

I agree with this. I found Olivia off-putting for years, mostly because I loathed San Christo-Hell. Having her Round Robin the Spaulding and Lewis men and then hitch her trailer to the boredom known as Natalia was the last straw for me with Chappell on GL. FF material for me.

[Mitch64]

I know what you are saying, but if my work told me...yea...we will call you when we need you and just pay you for those days, I would look elsewhere too. It shows you are not valued...especially when they keep Cole around playing that misogynitic tw@t he was playing. It also show poor planning. They did that to Marj during Rauch, and just when the FauxAnnie was starting to get interesting because Alex was ready to take her on, they didn't write for her so she said...yea later, and moved to AMC. 

Though Beth Chambelin worked more on recurring then she seemed to on contract so...

Jessica was raped?  I never liked her much but this long term character who was a black woman of power..they had someone rape her and NO ONE thought..uh, let's not do this?

[Contessa Donatella]

 

At ATWT in the period we are talking about Ellen Wheeler was either one of the Directors or a Line Producer or as I mentioned, was shadowing Goutman ... absolutely none of that would have had anything at all to do with any story, content, plot, etc. What makes you think she was heavily involved in a story?

[Contessa Donatella]

Contract & recurring are not somehow big issues that automatically connote employee philosophy or worth. They're just facts of life of the entertainment industry which can be used correctly or misused. Now, I've said ad nauseum what a huge mistake it was with Jerry & why. My point is that Wheeler's error was in taking him for granted & thinking that good ole Jerry would continue to be there. Mark Derwin blew that up! The show & us fans paid a heavy price for Wheeler being like a bad boyfriend, if you'll go to that spot with me.

 

You are questioning JFP & firings & treatment of women at AW? Didn't happen there? I'm questioning because it was so egregious, so I'm trying to make sure I understand. 

[Mitch64]

I can't imagine that VW put up with any of JFP's crap. JFP's worst nightmare was women like VW and KZ who knew their own worth and were not going to let her walk over them.

 

 

[Contessa Donatella]

It's like there are two different JFPs - one fully in power & one on the way out with distinctly waning power. We have to remind ourselves that actors - some of them - like this person. I doubt that either VW or KZ tangled with JFP, but VW was in a position to tell a fan daily whatever the fans needed to know about goings on. That is why her plan to kill off Donna failed! We knew & began an organized protest as soon as it was said at the studio. Of course that's a bittersweet victory because we saved Donna but lost Frankie, dammit.

[DRW50]

Wasn't Wheeler just a director at ATWT?

[chrisml]

To be clear, I was referring to Wheeler as a director on ATWT and she was directing at the time of the Marshall/Jessica storyline and she had made comments during that ridiculous storyline that made me go "ugh."  The fact that P&G okayed the rape storyline for Jessica is just insane to me, but that's for another thread.

As for JFP, I am talking about workplace treatment. I'm not talking about casting decisions or the way her storylines ended up misogynistic messes. It's possible there was something going on at AW but I don't recall. I know there was a lawsuit at GH and a threat of a lawsuit at OLTL because of JFP.

[Vee]

I don't know of a lawsuit threat at OLTL. I'd be interested in hearing about that.

The GH legal mess was amateur night and completely avoidable by Jill, but she just had to have Jensen Buchanan ASAP. In the end that whole year in the saddle torpedoed her career as any kind of creative executive at ABC.

Edited 17 hours ago by Vee

[TEdgeofNight]

You said it much more succinctly than I could. It didn’t make sense that Olivia was suddenly gay. Brings back bad memories. lol Wheeler was such a mess. 

[Reverend Ruthledge]

I wasn't watching much when Olivia was on but not only was she straight but I also always thought she was man-crazy. Perhaps she went through all the men so she was only left with women? 

[chrisml]

On GH, there's also the Kari Wurher lawsuit for being fired for being pregnant which is what happened to Laura Bonarrigo-Koffman on OLTL (who threatened to sue). I don't know if LBK actually sued, but Wuhrer's claim did make the papers, but I've never been able to find any resolution to it.

 

[DRW50]

I never saw Olivia as man crazy as much as desperately needy and prone to melodramatic romances. For that reason, her being involved with Natalia didn't really bother me. If GL had lasted the relationship never would have stuck anyway, because Olivia just never was going to be happy.

I was more surprised when I learned that she had been involved with Frank and Buzz.

Thank you. I never saw the comments. I didn't watch her GL run very closely but I'm not sure she had anything as repulsive in terms of assault and consent. I might say "Jammy" due to the origins, but I know many loved that story. Matt sleeping with Dinah when she had brain damage might be another, although maybe she was meant to be A-OK by then. 

Edited 15 hours ago by DRW50

[Mitch64]

She had a "zest for life!" So Liv being overly sexual I could see her just going wherever the wind blew.  I think some people just read more into this romance as it was one of the few featured on soaps (never got why people liked the ATWT gayling storyline.) and it actually had a beginning middle and end...and despite it being gay, it was pretty old fashioned soap, with longing and road blocks that came from within the character and not an outside force, and believe me I thought Natalia was dull as dirt. 

I gotta say tho. Liv and Phillip were hot as hell. Funny that the actors didn't really like each other that much. 

[Contessa Donatella]

It was incredibly easy to look at Olivia & her relationship history & conclude that she tried over & over again with so many different men & had failure after failure after failure & then BIM BAM BOOM she found true love & a love where she was able to be giving, generous & unselfish in love with a woman. 

Besides the fact that some women aren't gay & there's just this one woman they are 100% vulnerable to. 

GL never tried to sell that they were gay, just that they were in love.

That scene with Olivia & Phillip in her hotel room, directed by Bruce Barry where they end up on the floor between the bed & the wall, where his bicep completely covers the top of her body making it appear they're naked is one of the 

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est scenes I have ever seen!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RkDa52LUCU8

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Edited 15 hours ago by Contessa Donatella