Guiding Light Discussion Thread

[chrisml]

Those comments from Roger and Fletcher....  That has JFP's touch all over it. UGH. Was being a sexist a prerequisite for GL producers from JFP to Conboy? I don't know enough about Wheeler's tenure to put her in the mix but it wouldn't surprise me if she were. 

Nancy Curlee seems like an intelligent and thoughtful writer in the Locher interviews, but then when I read her comments in the soap columns from 1993 onwards, I think, "Who is this? She's spouting nonsense. She sounds like a used car saleswoman." Interesting JFP listed her favorite GL writers and did not list Curlee but did mention Broderick, Demorest, and Reilly.

I know Pamela K. Long's second tenure on GL and then her disastrous work on SB. Have no idea what she did on OLTL. I don't know what I think of her work. Her time at SB was so bad. 

 

 

 

[DRW50]

Very little of her OLTL run is reminiscent of her past stories. My guess is JFP just told her everything and then she left, but who knows.

[Contessa Donatella]

Who is Leonard?

[DRW50]

Leonard Stabb.

[alwaysAMC]

Ohhh what else did Jean Carol say?  I remember what McTavish allegedly wrote in her 'memoir' about Jean and the Nadine death, but I was always curious what Jean's version was and how she reacted to being let go.

The Dylan/Carroll thing and Ed's relapse happened October 1994, and then Dylan left town to go to that school for the blind on NYE '94, so all right before I started watching. I found a good website that lists critical milestones/events that happen every year. I try not to read what happens in the future, so I don't spoil myself too much in the moment for a particular episode I'm watching, but I read back through the key events of 1994, leading up to my 1995 watch, and its been helpful.

That's so great to hear about Leonard's friends and co-stars being at his side through all these years.  

 

[Contessa Donatella]

Oh, the actor who had an unfortunate accident. 

Thanks!

[P.J.]

Because any woman over a size 4 couldn't have possibly been desirable to a man, rme. Oh, and I forgot the most weird thing of all----Maureen crooning The Doors "Light My Fire" on the video Van gave Ed and Michelle (that Nadine accidently played after the funeral.) "Our love become a funeral pyre?" COME ON. Maybe I could see Maureen having been into The Doors. But there was no flippin' way in hell Vanessa (to whom appearance is everything) is giving Mo's daughter that kind of imagery to remember her mom by. 

And then someone (whoever's writing in '96) basically copied and pasted this ridiculous idea to Van's memorial. Minus the singing. RME.

I was completely unaware Roger had had a vasectomy. So, sort of like Roger also raping Rita...it got lost in the dustbin.

[Contessa Donatella]

Do you know how it was decided each & every year how the sizes would run for DKNY which stands for Donna Karan New York. The skirt that fit Donna Karan herself IRL was deemed to be their size 6 & everything else was scaled up or down accordingly. 

Edited yesterday at 12:19 AM by Contessa Donatella

[P.J.]

Thanks--I had wondered if Vanessa had interactions with Nadine during that time period. I see she didn't. It probably would've irritated me, but I would've thought it would've been a natural story point to at least have them occasionally bristle at each other. 

Yes, Billy's in jail until NYE '97, I think. 

HB, Billy and Bill are Harlan Billy Lewis I, II and III. (Although I'm not really sure if it's Harlan William, Trish would occasionally call Billy "William" when she was irritated with him.) HB is HB to everyone (except Reva, who occasionally reverted to Harlan). Billy is Billy. Bill started out as "Little Billy", until he and Vanessa leave town in '88. When she returns in '89, she tells everyone that he wants to be known as Bill. His family occasionally slip back into "Little Billy", but for the most part, he's Bill from then on.

[DRW50]

I don't know why I thought he was Little Billy for that long a period of time. I remember him as that. 

Billy does return briefly in fall 1996 for Vanessa's funeral but as you mentioned he was still in jail at the time. I remember being surprised they brought Jordan back, although I'm very glad they did.

Edited yesterday at 12:42 AM by DRW50

[chrisml]

They had her singing that song after her character died in a car accident?? Insane. No wonder Maeve Kinkead said so much of the storyline was so ghoulish. Why didn't someone step in and say, "This is too morbid and insulting?" I just...

[P.J.]

Well, like I said, his family occasionally slipped back to "Little Billy." And for a while, when Billy and Van were on the outs, they were constantly talking about "their little boy" and how they had to try and get along for his sake. It was kind of their excuse to have their feelings and interact, no matter who they were officially involved with at the time.

You're right---Billy was at Van's memorial. I was happy they brought him back too, although he never again drives plot the way he had. But he truly is one of those lynchpin characters that GL was sorely lacking in the show's last years.

RIGHT? I think it was supposed to have been at a Bauer BBQ. I don't know if it was in the script, or if Ellen Parker was giving them a subtle finger after getting fired by belting out a random song.

[alwaysAMC]

Very helpful, as always! 

Remind me, when did you stop watching and what was the reason - because you didn't enjoy it anymore (which I get from your previous comments), or life got too busy, or you watched others that were better at the time?  Just curious

Please register in order to view this content

 

Wow - Vanessa dies in 1996? I'm surprised by that. I knew she didn't last forever on the show, but didn't realize it was so soon (for me). Was that Maeve's choice or did the writers/EP make that decision? 

[DRW50]

Sorry, I didn't mean to spoil.

It's not real. Maeve had wanted to leave or at least have a leave of absence. She makes some appearances and then returns on a more frequent basis again around spring 1997.

Edited yesterday at 01:34 AM by DRW50

[alwaysAMC]

Hahaha, no its ok, I can't be surprised by spoilers from that long ago...  just don't tell me yet how she dies

Please register in order to view this content

  JK - but am curious if that was Maeve's decision and she moved on or if she was forced out.