Guiding Light Discussion Thread

[Contessa Donatella]

Yes, Scott & Ellen both shadowed Goutman for a period & then they chose EW, who I get we'll never agree on but that's okay, too. I disagree here about "better show". I think Scott would also have been drowning in the shallow end of the pool without enough money, just as Wheeler was. However, he might not have put Jerry on recurring, maybe. 

[Matt Powers]

I tend to take all McTavish’s claims with a grain of salt. I find her quote she attributed to Agnes re: Susan Lucci totally unbelievable.Lucci was the star of that show—no way Agnes would jokingly or otherwise disparage her. I will concede to her point that Lucci as a Vegas showgirl at that point in her life was a stretch. It seems to me McTavish is one of those folks who have to tear others down to feel better about themselves.  

[Khan]

You know, "Desiree DuBois" wouldn't have been the first past-her-prime showgirl to work the Las Vegas Strip.  But I thought it was a bridge too far to presume no one would recognize world-famous supermodel Erica Kane hiding under that gloriously cheap, blonde wig.  Victoria Lord Gordon Riley Burke Riley Buchanan Buchanan Carpenter Davidson slingin' hash in Paris, Texas?  Believable.  Erica Kane Martin Brent Cudahy Chandler Roy Montgomery Montgomery Chandler Marick Marick Montgomery Fortensky doing kick lines in some sleazed-up Vegas casino?  Absolutely not.

Edited March 19 by Khan

[Mona Kane Croft]

I think Mitch is correct here. The plot was not transphobic. Brent was not trans.  And I'll take it a step further -- he was not even a crossdresser.  If I'm not mistaken, people who identity as crossdressers enjoy crossdressing.  They do it for pleasure or as a way to express themselves.  Brent disguised himself as a woman so he could commit crimes, and for no other reason.  So unless I'm wrong about all this, I don't understand how the plot could be transphobic.  

 

Edited March 19 by Mona Kane Croft

[Soaplovers]

Ellen was not a good choice.  She was too delusional and too into her emotions to be an effective EP.

She should have just remained a director and kept away from the EP chair.

 

The idea that Megan wrote in the book to counteract the showgirl idea would have been better and more befitting of Erica.  She probably would done either a cabaret show, or been a singer ala Lyla Montgomery of ATWT fame.   

 

[Contessa Donatella]

I am more than happy to agree to disagree with you. Wheeler was neither delusional nor was she "too emotional". But, what she was, was inexperienced & unsupported & that is on P&G both for not supporting the show financially & for not replacing MADD when she retired & for putting a newbie EP in the position they did & some of it is on Conboy & Weston, but it would have been the same situation with Scott in the role. There would literally only have been one advantage to Scott over Ellen & that is that KZ would've reacted better (much) to a male boss. And I know and like both Scott & Ellen. There's a long tradition of good leadership in our shows from women at the helm. If you think about Kim's book & her saying Ellen cried there's a notation in the margin in my handwriting saying "And Kim cried, too." 

[Efulton]

I 100% agree with all of this.

[Contessa Donatella]

Mona, I think this was really good explanation & clarification. You & Mitch, I think, are dead-on. 

[Vee]

The issue with Brent/Marion is much more about optics than its actually attacking transgender people, which it didn't at the time. But the fact is its story at the outset is you have a guy who has been set up as a serial sexual predator and rapist dressing up as a frumpy, ugly woman and getting a kinky thrill out of terrorizing, victimizing, etc. heterosexual cisgender women, making them think they have STIs, potentially trying to take advantage of them again, etc.

That all plays into old stereotypes of 'crossdressing freaks,' deviants, etc. and all goes to transphobia in the light of today. I don't think Psycho or Brian De Palma's Dressed to Kill, for example, are transphobic, I still enjoy and value those films a lot. But I can see the argument in terms of what they have done negatively to trans visibility due to their prominence in media. Doesn't mean I want to burn them from memory or cancel them.

By contrast, the Brent/Marion story feels much more mean-spirited and overall exploitative. Transphobic? No. Tacky, nihilistic and dark, yes, and so I can reckon with its bigoted lens much more easily. It was absolutely Megan having a ball with the shocking visual of a 'crossdressing psycho.'

Edited March 19 by Vee

[alwaysAMC]

Probably a silly question, but if Springfield is based in the Midwest, why is the lighthouse their symbol and why is there a lighthouse in town?  Are they near a beach/coast?  Anyone have that backstory?  

[Contessa Donatella]

I don't know the answer but it reminds me of a story that is told about James Lipton. In it supposedly he wanted to write a hurricane in this inland city with no access to a body of water, at all. He was mad when they told him he could have a tornado, sure, but not a hurricane, even when they slowly explained why. 

[alwaysAMC]

LOL!  

I mean, given GL's history and how long it was on the air (and radio) - there has to be some reason they based the show around a lighthouse, but in an inland city... right?  

[Reverend Ruthledge]

I assumed Springfield was located along one of the Great Lakes. 

[Contessa Donatella]

I'm very glad you like my James Lipton anecdote. If anyone ever asks me about how he was as a soap writer, I am quick to reply that he was an incredible host of "Inside the Actor's Studio". 

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[Reverend Ruthledge]

The Guiding Light originally referred to the lamp Reverend Ruthledge put in his window to let people know they could come in for help. It also represented God in a more symbolic sense. It wasn't until the setting moved to Los Angeles that the symbol of the show became the lighthouse. That sort of stayed until the end. When the setting moved to the midwest, as I said, I just assumed they were on the edge of one of the Great Lakes. 

Edited March 19 by Reverend Ruthledge