Guiding Light discussion thread

[P.J.]

I'm not sure Tony/Annabelle even get a send off. I just saw an episode where they've just decided to go on a world trip for summer vacation. Quint and Nola get a rushed goodbye which is just insulting. And Jim Reardon just kind of disappeared. 

I have wondered over the years if the story of Billy's parentage hadn't originally been planned for Josh, and just got switched when Robert Newman left. Josh not being a full Lewis (either from HB's philandering or an affair of Martha's) would've explained the initial conflict between HB/Josh.

[Mitch64]

I don't think they did get a send off..Jim just vanished but I believe it was because he was supposed to come back but the actor had another gig and Kobe let him off (she invented the "friends of" way before JFP) The way Nola and Quint left was truly stupid. It was rushed and all the characters including Bea and Henry, made Nola feel quilty for wanting to stay in SF and run her business (as dumb as Nolaaerobics was)  while Quint went off..I can't believe that in 1985 they were still, "You need to be by your husband's side" ) The did do a scene where Henry told Nola she could have time to write and she says, "Oh yea, maybe the adventures of Nola" which would have been a great way to bring her back in 95, she is an author if potboiler romance/adventures (under another name) who resented being force to move for her husband all those years ago and comes back triumphant and rich to spar with Vanessa and whomever else..(much better then the sad mopey Nola whose husband cheated on her.) It would have been funny if they had her write a roman e clef on Springfield, with her heroine having a bitchy, stuck up sister in law and a brother in law is a multiple adulterer...(and a mousy nurse who has an affair with him...)

That trial clip really does show how boring and weird the show was becoming...the Lewis in the center bugging their eyes, Maeve in bed...(for god sakes she spends the better part of the year laying in bed being boring..) India chasing after Simon..with his dumb magic show...faux Ed showing he has no charm..I can't believe the execs thought this was an improvement.

[Paul Raven]

GL was always a one family show and the Bauers were pretty limited with only Mike and Ed, who by the 80's were aging and had been through several marriages. There were only 2 grandchildren Hope and Rick. Meta and Trudy were long gone and they had no children either.

Doyg Marland recognized that and brought in a new family-the Reardons with a number of siblings to provide story for years.But he kept the Bauers present.

Wisely, he introduced the Reardons slowly .First Bea and Nola, then Tony and Maureen, with others offsscreen. Maureen married into the Bauers.

That was the setup but Kobe/Long were not interested. They basically wanted to create a new show and get their own characters onscreen. Slowly previous characters were dropped and those that remained were used to service the new characters /stories rather than respect their history.

The Reardons, set up for years of story,were pretty much gone.  Tony/Annabelle were there for one plot based story and then written out, as was Jim. Nola exited. Mike, Hope, Hilary were dumped. 

It was not a wise move to decimate the foundation of the show for newbies, many of whom were shortlived also. By 85 there was hardly anyone with more than a few years on the show left.

[Vee]

It does amuse me that they went all in on Larkin Malloy/Kyle and a couple years later once they can get Josh back he is memory holed and never mentioned again. Yet I believe it was the same recurring creative regime, wasn't it? Long wrote his first year, left and then came back and wrote him out?

[DRW50]

As @Mitch64 has mentioned, Long/Kobe did seem to give the Reardons story, and in some ways may have improved the family (I find them tedious and find Tony borderline unwatchable in much of the Marland material), but then they all leave. I guess a lot is down to actor departures, other than Lee Lawson. Unfortunately, other than the Lewises, the replacements are extremely dull and hollow.

[P.J.]

Long was the one who wrote Tony the only real story he led, and certainly the only romance. She created Annabelle. She wrote Quint and Nola's wedding. She created Jim (bringing on the guy from Texas).

I'm not seeing that she "wasn't interested" in the Reardons. I think both Quint/Nola and Tony/Annabelle were victims of their own success.  The audience would've revolted at trying to break up Quint/Nola, and she made some kind of attempt at a Tony/Annabelle/Jim triangle after Hillary's death that went nowhere. 

I'm not saying it wasn't mismanaged, but I also don't know if Lisa or Greg were interested in staying. Recasts of Nola and Tony would've been rejected by the audience. Jim was a dud. Don't even bring up Chelsea, (IMO the fake Reardon) who she didn't create, but certainly pushed enough story on when she returned.

And not mentioned to the point that Ben is rarely, if ever, referred to as Kyle's son or even related to Billy while Fletcher raises him.  Although he is sorta the "boogeyman" when Reva thinks Marah might be his child.

I'm not sure when Pam Long returns in '87, but I think Kyle was gone before then. Wasn't it supposed to be March, when Reva poured herself back into a red dress and gave Alan some sob story about her childhood?

[bboy875]

If you're talking about the couple giving Mindy the evil eye, I don't quite remember, but I think Mindy found money that was stolen or counterfeit and used it to pay for the wedding and reception. I think she paid the couple for services, they found out about the money and told the police, which is why she was arrested. If someone else remembers, hopefully they can clarify it because my mind is hazy about that period

Kyle was gone before Long returned. I think Kyle leaves, and then Reva finds out she's pregnant. Long returned after Marah was born

[Vee]

I just wonder what made them pull back on Kyle so fast other than Josh, unless LM was that much of a nightmare BTS.

[P.J.]

The money Mindy found was the ransom for Kyle. (David Preston had hidden it in a jukebox). Mindy used it to pay for her wedding (she knew that Billy was broke). The lady (a wedding planner/caterer) was suspicious that Mindy was paying for everything in cash and checked the serial numbers. She reported her, which was why Mindy was arrested at the reception after Billy. The DA then put both Billy and Mindy on trial as conspirators in the plot to kill Kyle. (Preston had left documents framing Billy.)

[bboy875]

Thank you!

[DRW50]

Lisa did join ATWT the same year she left GL, but I don't know if Michael Tylo would have wanted to stay on and I know Lisa and Michael both said no one after Marland understood Quint and Nola. 

I am not sure how things went with Greg at GL, but I don't think he was ever known as easy to work with. 

The only time I remember GL mentioning Kyle again is when they killed him off in the early '00s. 

[P.J.]

Do you mean Ben? 'Cause I thought they killed Kyle off sometime before that. Sally came back briefly in '87, and I thought that was because Kyle had been in an accident.

They must've at least considered recasting Kyle. No reason to say he'd had reconstructive surgery otherwise. 

[DRW50]

I may be wrong, but I thought they killed him off in the early '00s as Ben inherited his money.

[VelekaCarruthers]

I believe Larkin left at the end of his two year contract (Dec 86/Jan 87). Long returned to GL on Sept 10 1987 episode, I believe.  

[dc11786]

I believe the money Ben inherited in 2003 under Weston was after the death of his grandmother, Julia Stoddard. I don't think Julia was mentioned by name. Just that his grandmother died and left him money. If I recall correctly, Ben was hoping that now he had money he and Marina could get back together, but she had moved on with Shayne. If my timeline is right, this was probably around June-July 2003.