Guiding Light Discussion Thread

[Mitch64]

Infinity rode off of the fumes of the last year of Long/Kobe, which I will say was really good. Everyone was in play and most of it was as grounded as a soap could be in 1984. And what you said is true..all those temp characters...(Suzanne Saxton,,, that David whatshisface...Jackson Fremont...) running around...anytime you see a record company on  a soap you know its gonna suck...everyone ran around with big hair and shoulder pads as "Sampson Industiries " was added to a medium sized midwestern town...it was all really stupid...(and what was it that Infinity wanted exactly....and who the hell was Largo...) and Mindy and Kurt's wedding, while beautiful...led to nothing for them or anyone else. 

[Reverend Ruthledge]

Agnes seems to have stopped writing after November 1966. At least, that's when the scripts from her GL collection stop. 

Irna wrote from December 1967 to May 24, 1968. During this period she co-wrote with John Boruff. Robin died in October 1967 so, no, Irna didn't pen that story. 

If I can speak for the poster, they mean 1966 is when Ed came back on the show after having been gone for many years. Mike was already gone as he left GL in 1965. Mike didn't come back until 1968 and that was the first time he and Ed, who was still on the show, shared air time as adults. Ed, when he was Billy, was strangely never seen much. He was always kind of around but not seen. He didn't become a prominent character until 1966 when he came back as Ed. 

Edited February 23 by Reverend Ruthledge

[P.J.]

ugh...I count Miss Sally, Kyle, Kurt, Maeve, even Lujack among the temp characters cluttering up the canvas. I don't know if it was ever explained why Sampson Industries/Kyle were targeted by Infinity, other than he was KYLE SAMPSON, the be all/end all. RME.

I really wish we got the tea on how/why Mindy's wedding was this blowout extravaganza. They could've had a sufficiently "big" wedding for November sweeps without a location shoot that involving carriages and horses.

[Reverend Ruthledge]

Who knows why writers make these decisions. I would imagine that both characters may have been written into a corner. Even though I loved the character, I wish they would have kept Bill dead after 1969. Faking his own death was way out of character for Bill. He had already left Bert to be with Gloria so I don't see why he would feel the need to fake his death to be with Simone. Plus, he would never let his family think he was dead. And the most egregious thing about it is that there was no need to bring him back as he wasn't even around long before he just faded away. The ONLY thing his back from the dead storyline accomplished was to give Bert a storyline and to introduce Hillary. And then his second and final death was just nothing but an insult to the character. A character who had been around, off and on, for over 30 years, mind you. 

[VelekaCarruthers]

Well, let's ask Robert Soderberg and Edith Sommer, GL head writers at the time! I have their 6 month story projection. I'll have to scan into PDF and offer to this community by email but for now here are the relevant pages from their (second draft) story projection that reference Bert/Bill. In sum, (although any contract or budget reasons for killing Bill are not discussed) the story is framed as a backdrop to Ed/Mike story.  Here are the first two pages of the four discussing this story.

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Here are the other 2 pages.

[dc11786]

@VelekaCarruthers Thanks for sharing. Is that the same document where the Soderbergs originally mentioned that they were literally replaying the Mickey/Bill scenario and I believe Mike was suppose to rape Leslie? Or it might be Ed. I don't recall. 

I think the other thing that I remember being bandied about when Bill's death was talked about years ago was that Bill's heart transplant had realistic only extended his life by something like 5 years so once Bill had the surgery, he was living on borrowed time. Realistically, he wasn't suppose to live into the late 1980s. 

 TV Editors in the newpapers of the time said that Ed Bryce asked to be written out to explore other opportunities (some said acting and at least one said he wanted to try directing). 

[Reverend Ruthledge]

If that's true, I would imagine it was Ed. Mike had already raped Julie. I doubt they'd have him rape Leslie too. 

Are you saying that heart transplants only give you five more years in real life? 

[Contessa Donatella]

I know in the past of someone who was told it only gave him 12 more years of life. 

 

[soapfave06]

Thanks for sharing that, very fascinating to see a glimpse into their outline! 
 

Did Lee end up framing Sara for malpractice at that time? 

So they were hired on the premise of Bill’s death and Lee Gantry tormenting Joe and Sara? 

[dc11786]

I was told that, in the scripts, it was said that Bill after the heart transplant didn't have long to live. Heart transplants were relatively new and the life expectancy wasn't high. My brief (googled) understanding is that anti rejection drugs weren't introduced until the 1980s. It may have been 12 years as stated above. I thought it was shorter, but I could very well be wrong. 

[VelekaCarruthers]

No mention in the document of Micky/Bill or rape.  When Ed returns in summer 69 he does have a one night fling with Leslie and she gets pregnant (this is in the story document, not sure how it actually played out). Oddly, the Soderbergs only briefly address the pregnancy in that they say that Mike thinks the child might be his.  No other mention of the pregnancy throughout the document. Bill is killed in a plane crash.

[Mona Kane Croft]

At what point does Leslie marry Stanley Norris?   And why was she attracted to a man old enough to be her father? There must have been some interesting stuff leading up to that union.     

[VelekaCarruthers]

Lee Gantry's character is first described by the Soderbergs in the main part of the story projection, and their original projection is completely different from what ends up happening.  They first envisioned Lee to be an airport mechanic who's suffering from mono. They state clearly that over time the audience will discover he's dangerous and psychotic which plays out in the on air story later. The Soderbergs specifically mentioned that they want a 1 year suspense/mystery story to descend on Springfield to broaden the canvas. I believe Lee's story ends up being exactly that with him gaslighting Sara (having killed his first wife Alice) and working in cahoots with an evil housekeeper who Sara kills (none of this is in the original projection). Interestingly, the projection document dated April 9, 1969 has an April 24th addendum that was written by the Soderbergs after they met with the network and producers. They rewrite Lee's bio and story projection mentioning that he inherited a broken down farm from his deceased wife. He's prone to depression and violent outbursts. They mention the second story beat is the gaslighting and the final beat is Lee's death which may put Sara on trial for his murder. They wanted the story to play out for one year but I think it played for more than that as the actor who played Lee was on from late summer 69 through sometime in 71?

I love the Soderbergs! The following is how they concluded the addendum to the Lee/Sara story projection:  "On a happy note, In the beginning of the marriage Sara is madly in love with her husband, Lee. Their sex life is splendid for her - maybe not so splendid for him, but everybody can't have everything!

 

Some other cool things in the projection:

The Soderbergs intended to plant the seeds of a romance between Bert and Steve Jackson.

They loved the young actress playing Hope and indicated they would give her more story if she continued to progress and mature.

There's a whole section devoted to the expansion of Peter Wexler's family and mention that the Wexlers would replace the Fletchers as a prominent Springfield family.

They also conclude the main story document by mentioning that "somewhere out there is Charlotte's mother who deserted her when she was a baby." Not sure if they ever played this story.   

They mention that they don't need the DA character of Ira after the end of May (and the conclusion of Peggy's trial) but that someone should give actor "Sorrelle Book" a daytime Oscar "he was beautiful casting."  Sorrell went on to have a long career in nighttime television. most notably as Boss Hogg on the Dukes of Hazzard. 

Edited February 23 by VelekaCarruthers

[soapfave06]

That’s fascinating, I’ve always wondered about that story. Sara just happens to be on for the same time period I’m most interested in GL-late 60s to early 80s, I haven’t had much interest outside of that. What a cool way to deep dive into these long forgotten stories by seeing the original outline! 

Do you have the rewritten document or you just know how the original document played out? 

I forgot to add, it is interesting how they fit so well at GL while their ATWT ended not so great. Maybe they were at ATWT for too long. 

[DRW50]

@VelekaCarruthers Thanks for all these details. I know nothing of the Wexlers - I see on Wiki that Peter was recast, which may have dampened their interest. Wiki also mentions that he had a wife played by Margie Impert who killed herself. What was that story about? Peter then presumably left town.

Margie Impert was cast on AW just a few years later. I wonder if that was down to her work here.

Unless the Dobsons were also superfans of the Wexlers I assume Lucille had no ties to the family.

Edited February 23 by DRW50