Guiding Light Discussion Thread

[DeeVee]

Brandy was an odd mish-mash of a character. A radical during her college days, then a journalist/romance writer, I believe? But not so much of a radical that she had a problem chasing millionaire Alan, LOL.

The actress, JoBeth Williams, went on to have a pretty good movie and prime time career.

[DRW50]

I think even if Marland had wanted to write more for Sara/Adam, his hands would have been tied as Robert Milli was one of the actors dumped by P&G due to his age. 

From the bits and pieces I've seen of that period, Sara does have a key role in the Carrie plot, and Marland briefly gave her son Tim a more important part. I'm not sure if they just gave up on Tim once Kevin Bacon left or if they never really cared. I did not even know for many years that there was an actor in the part after Kevin...and then not one, but two. The Spauldingfield video on Tim doesn't even show the last actor (Nigel Reed), which kind of says it all.

Anyway, I do get the sense Marland has some use for Sara, or for Millette. It's only after he goes that she is dumped. Of course he didn't ever hire her for his other shows, so maybe I'm wrong. (then again he never hired Geraldine Court either and he seemed very fond of her)

Ann is an odd character to me as she is a proto-Lillian in being defined by pining for a Bauer brother and being involved in the death of one of their wives. I do wonder what else they could have done with her. She was friends with Diane, wasn't she? They could have had Diane manipulate her against Mike, I suppose.

Edited yesterday at 09:53 PM by DRW50

[P.J.]

Assuming that Marland had been allowed to write the Carrie story the way he'd envisioned, Millette would've been involved in the story. And she might've played a role in Andy Norris' return (if the speculation on that had ever materialized, and Marland loved bringing back bad boys) But he doesn't seem interested in Sara's personal life. And the women of Springfield could only be analyzed so much.

[DRW50]

That's true. He may have ended up keeping her on a recurring basis, like Dr. Michaels on ATWT.

I'm trying to remember if GL had a similar long-running therapist.

[Paul Raven]

More Guiding Light 1976

At dinner the next evening, Grainger tells Rita he still can’t understand why she inherited from his father and he’s hired a lawyer to help him discover what her role was in his father’s death. Telling her he knows she lied to him, he again warns that he will destroy her reputation in this town. As Rita insists she’s done nothing wrong, Grainger, growing even more angry, lashes out, “Ill see you charged with m—”. Suddenly he clutches his head and collapses to the floor. As people rush to help him, Rita quickly slips out of the restaurant.

Grainger is rushed to Cedars and treated for stroke. Rita is even more frightened and upset when it appears that he’s going to recover under the excellent treatment and care of Ed, who is assigned as his attending physician, and Peggy, who is a fine specialty nurse. Rita, drawn by an unseen force to his door, is further shaken when Peggy, seeing her, presses her into
temporarily spelling her so she can take a short break. Ed is determined to come to Rita’s aid, as she did his, and brings a big steak for dinner to her apartment. But Rita is too unnerved and shaky to even be with Ed, and disappoints him by asking him to leave before dinner, explaining that she’s extremely tired.
Ed knows it’s more than that, and is doubly determined to help her out of this depression, but when she starts to cry, he leaves her, as she wishes.
Roger, remembering how Grainger fired him from the oil fields for- being a friend of Rita’s, is disappointed to learn that Grainger has come out of his coma and that Ed feels Grainger’s paralysis and inability to talk may just be temporary. Rita is pressed to assist Tim with a spinal tap on Grainger, and is frightened when her presence causes Malcolm’s pulse rate to rise rapidly. His doctors are unable to understand his rapid pulse changes.

Rita tells Roger why Grainger is so hateful toward her. While she was his father’s special nurse, Malcolm made physical advances toward her and she fought him off. His father noticed her bruises~and instantly guessed his son had manhandled her. The old man then swore to her he’d never forgive Malcolm for this cruelty. Roger again warns Rita that nobody is to know about his connection with her and with the Graingers. He fears that if Peggy learns about it, she will leave him. 
Ed continues to press his concern and support on Rita, and while it helps to a certain degree and she’s grateful, Rita can’t bring herself to tell him what the source of her worry is. Each day, as Grainger rallies a bit more, her fear and tension increase.
Finally, Grainger is able to barely murmur, “Lie... father ... Rita,” to Peggy and manages to crudely letter “RITA S” on a pad of paper. Peggy, assuming that Rita has somehow managed to get Grainger to respond, summons her to the hospital in the hope that she can further stimulate him and thus hasten his recovery. But a major catastrophe, a train derailment,
- has immobilized the entire area, and Cedars, as well as all local hospitals, is being overrun with patients.
Even though she’s off duty, having served her full shift, Rita is pressed into distributing the patients’ medication. Peggy, explaining that Grainger has already had an accidental delay of medication, which could have caused a major setback, must receive his dosage exactly on schedule. The sight of Rita again agitates Grainger, but she finishes her extra duty and returns home, drained and oversensitive as well as exhausted.
When the regular nurse does her usual check, she finds Grainger lying over the side of his bed, unconscious.
She issues a “Code Blue” call for the emergency team, and Steve, there almost immediately,
starts resuscitation and then gives adrenalin, right into the heart, but Grainger is dead.
As soon as he hears, Ed rushes to Cedars in amazement. This is all impossible to him, as he saw Grainger’s recovery as a certainty. He immediately institutes an investigation to determine the cause of death. Roger, told by Peggy what has happened, notifies a stunned Rita just before Ed arrives to question her about everything she can remember about the
last time she was in Grainger’s room. Rita, unable to understand what’s happening around her, breaks down in tears, crying that she could be responsible for his death. Ed comforts her, assuring her that he’s not blaming her, just trying to find out what happened.
 

 

[DRW50]

Thanks @Paul Raven 

That Grainger story always reads like hog-wild melodrama, not very similar to the more subtle stories for Rita in her last few years. I wonder how Lenore played the material.

[P.J.]

Dr Linden. She treated Vanessa's drug addiction (although Vanessa seemed to forget that by Henry's suicide attempt) , and she's mentioned during Reva's PPD. Although I can't recall if she's actually shown right off the top of my head. She probably was temporarily shelved when Sonni was a therapist (between her crazy times)

And I think Billy sees her after he falls off the wagon after Reva's death.

Edited 21 hours ago by P.J.

[DRW50]

Thanks. 

 

[Soaplovers]

I know that Sara did eventually become Carrie's therapist, but I was curious if the show had her make comments regarding Carrie's stunts of making it seem as though Justin was cheating on Jackie.  Given that Justin cheated on Sara with both Jackie and Brandy, I wondered if it was wise of her to counsel Carrie given the conflict of interest involved.

@DRW50I think once Adam/Sara end up married.. Marland didn't see any reason to explore Sara's personal life after the actor playing Adam was released.  I know that Sara lasts until at least Christmas 1982 on the show.. but I don't think she ended up staying on for very long into 1983.

The period between Marland quitting and Pam Long starting was the perfect time to clean house on characters that had outgrown their usefulness  (i.e. Ben, Evie, Sara, Jennifer, Morgan).. and tying up stories started by Marland that were too complex (Mona Enright, Mark/Jennifer/Amanda triangle).

[DRW50]

I think Ben had already left while under Marland and only returned briefly to reconcile with Eve. The whole thing confuses me as I thought for a long time that Eve left the show to go be with him and that was when they reconciled, but it seems like he returned, they got back together, then he left and maybe they were still together until she left to join him? I have no idea. 

It does seem like the interim writers were using some characters like Justin and Helena who were quickly dumped under Kobe/Long, which is a shame. Helena is one of those characters who likely always had a shelf life but Rose Alaio was such a vibrant screen presence, if Kobe/Long had just been patient, she likely would have fit in well in the Reva era.

[P.J.]

The last I remember seeing Ben, he was divorcing Amanda. He came to tell Evie that he still loved her, but was leaving town so that Amanda wouldn't blame Evie for his divorcing her. I'm not exactly sure when, but Evie doesn't leave town until sometime after Nola and Quint's engagement ball. I'm not sure if she leaves before or after Justin leaves in Sept(?) of '83.

I grew to like Helena when she became friends with Vanessa, once she's edging her way out of Quint's life.

[Paul Raven]

Kobe/Long had their own template and pretty much gutted the cast. As soon as contracts were up established characters were dropped. They needed to free the budget for the new characters.

Going back to Ann,I wonder why the Dobsons renewed her contract around 78? After her initial story she became supporting and they didn't seem to want to pursue a romance with Mike. Maybe the feedback was that viewers blamed her indirectly for Leslie's death. If Mike hadn't taken on her case etc. Did she decide not to disrupt her son's life? Seems odd after everything she didn't claim him back.

1976 continues...

Joe Werner is just not bouncing back after his recovery as he should, and Sarah, concerned about his sometimes morbid-seeming depression, consults Justin Marler. They agree that Joe is becoming a “cardiac cripple,” and know this kind of overcompensation for illness and overprecaution can not only be a permanently depressed condition but can actually cause a
setback for him physically. 
Marler releases Joe into Sarah’s care, but it’s soon apparent that just being out of the hospital hasn’t done anything to boost Joe’s spirits about his return to a normal existence. Marler finally lays it out to Joe—the choice has to be his. He can choose to lead a normal, productive life as a doctor and as a husband to the best wife he could have, or he can choose to become an invalid and live on the outside looking in for the rest of his days, sentencing Sarah to the same fate. Realizing the selfishness of what he’s doing to —Sarah as well as the narrowness of the confinement he’s set for himself, Joe begins to see his preoccupation with his illness as the self-pity it really is and decides he’s ready to return to the hospital for a one hour shift each day. Sarah is overjoyed by his turnabout, but full happiness is hers on the day she
overhears Joe telling a fearful patient that the world is beautiful and worth any. effort to get back into it.
Steve and Adam are thrilled to learn that Cedars has been the recipient of the Levy Grant for expansion of hospital property. But they have learned, as they report to Ed, that the land they were hoping to build the new research facility on, the land immediately adjacent to the hospital, has been purchased by Dr. Justin Marler. Both Adam and Steve feel that Justin is expanding a power base at Cedars and the land purchase is just one more block in Justin’s power play.
When Ed asks Marler why he purchased this particular parcel of land, Marler explains that he bought it with the express intention of someday building his own offices and facilities convenient to the major facilities of Cedars. When the subject of the hospital’s needing the land arises, Marler meets with Adam, and they agree that he should realize a fair profit from his property and that an unbiased assessor should be engaged to evaluate the market value of the land so they can agree on a selling price. When Sarah comments on the fact that Marler is to realize a profit on the land, he bitterly replies that no matter what he’s done since coming to Cedars to prove that he has changed. since she last knew him, she refuses to see
him as anything but what he was all those years ago. Sarah insists this isn’t true.
But Marler then calls Adam for a meeting and informs him that the land is not for sale at any price. As Adam begins to grow alarmed, Marler continues that the site for the new building will be his personal donation to the hospital. As Adam expresses profuse thanks and appreciation, Marler wryly notes that the tax deductions he’ll realize on this contribution to a
charitable institution will benefit himself almost as much as Cedars.

When Steve Jackson learns that Marler is to be elected head of the research wing that will be built on his property, he expresses the conviction that this was the exact intention of the gift. Adam, however, assures Steve that the donation wasn’t a factor in the hospital  board’s decision, they were concerned only with Dr. Marler’s reputation as a doctor.

| After lengthy consultations and meetings. with the hospital  staff, Ed assured by the head nurse that her nurses performed commendably despite the added pressure of the train wreck, presents his findings to the hospital review board. Steve arrives at two possible
explanations for the facts. Either Grainger, more active than usual due to the previously delayed medication, reached for the writing pad and inadvertently disconnected the breathing tubes, or he was in a state of extreme upset because of the delayed medication and.in the excitement a surge of adrenalin within his system caused his brain aneurism to start hemorrhaging.
"
Upon learning that the review board has ruled out negligence in Grainger’s death, Ed tells Rita, who takes her first free breath in a long time. But Ed hasn’t thought to tell Rita that he’s been in touch with Grainger’s attorney, Mr. Schafer, who, knowing that a woman was at the base of Grainger’s investigation, is coming to Springfield to try to find out who the woman -
was who walked out on Grainger when he collapsed —in the restaurant.
Peggy, learning that Rita’s “forgetting” to deliver Holly’s message was instrumental in their divorce ‘being finalized, tells Ed that Holly wanted to reach him to stop the divorce. Immediately after, Peggy is torn by doubts, wondering if she did the right thing.She confides in Barbara, who then discusses the situation with Ed. He tells her he and Holly have discovered a new closeness now that they are building their separate lives. Barbara quickly contradicts him: Holly is not building a new life. Barbara gently cautions Ed, saying, “People change, feelings change, and what seems right now may not be right a year from now. No decision is irrevocable.” Ed agrees with this.

Now that Ben has declared his love for her, Hope finds herself apprehensive, fearing that she might be making a mistake, as she did a few years ago, when she was sure she was in love with her college professor. Explaining that she doesn’t want to make another mistake, she asks Ben to be patient, and he agrees.
When Mike expresses his disapproval of Ben’s overstated independence, his need to be beholden to no one, Hope quickly jumps to Ben’s defense, and Mike apologizes. But Ben, surprisingly, accepts Mike’s assessment as constructive criticism. Later Hope, examining her feelings and desires, tells Ben she does love him and wants to belong to him. Later that evening, after they’ve made love, Ben asks Hope to marry him.And, delighted, she replies that she will.
At Hope’s instigation, Bert has a family dinner to which Ben is invited, and Hope announces their intention to marry over glasses of wine. Mike politely offers best wishes while Bert thrills the couple with her offer to' make a Christmas wedding for them. Bert later tells Mike he must accept this engagement with good spirits for Hope, and later, seeing the joy she’s feeling, he gives his daughter his approval.
But Ben finds another problem on his very own doorstep: his brother Jerry, who announces he’s left home after several bad fights with their parents. He refuses to tell Ben what they were fighting about. As Ben is showering, Jerry borrows his car and goes out for an hour. The phone rings, but Ben can’t hear it. Shortly after, two uniformed officers visit Mike at home to tell him that his late wife’s car has been involved in a delicatessen robbery earlier in the
evening. Since Ben bought Leslie’s car, Mike accompanies the officers to Ben’s apartment. Ben curtly informs the police that he had nothing to do with the robbery and makes it clear that he feels they wouldn’t be there if he didn’t have a record and that his exoneration doesn’t prevent his being hassled like any ex-con,as they tell him he has to go to the police station for questioning.
Hope tells Ben she called him earlier, and when he replies that he must have been in the shower, she accepts his word unhesitatingly.Jerry finally returns to Ben’s place and under questioning from Ben admits that he robbed the store,explaining that he has debts. Ben is now in a quandary,as he feels he must protect his brother but doesn’t want to be unfair to Hope. He tries to ease the situation by withdrawing $185 from the joint checking account he opened with Hope and repaying the delicatessen owner. He then sends Jerry out of town to stay with a friend. His relief at having solved the problem is short-lived, however, when Mike informs him that, despite the reparations, the robbery was a felony and the police will continue to investigate.
Hope is badly upset to learn while making a deposit that Ben withdrew’a sum which Mike tells her is equal to the amount stolen. This shakes her belief that he _was really home when she called, and she goes to him, asking for an answer to put her mind at rest. Ben can’t betray Jerry and asks Hope to trust him, promising she will have the whole story eventually. But Hope can’t accept this; she needs complete honesty and openness in her relationship and without it cannot goon. She painfully tells her father that the wedding is off despite her love for Ben, and tells Bert to stop preparations. Mike goes to Ben, reminding him that half the money in the account is Hope’s and she has the right to an answer. But Ben won’t say any more and refuses Mike’s offer to represent him legally, again stating that he doesn’t need a lawyer, because he’s done nothing wrong. 
 

 

[DRW50]

I think she left before Justin.

I remember someone saying her last scene is dancing with Ross at the ball, telling him she's leaving to be with Ben.

[P.J.]

A--I wish someone would post a better vid of the entire ball, as it must be out there. And B--nope. Evie is only in a small segment of the ball with Phillip, Rick and Mindy. She doesn't dance at all. Ross dances with Helena and Amanda. I'm not even sure why Evie is at the ball---Vanessa heartily disliked her.

I did see that Billy actually asked Henry to introduce him to Vanessa, which I hadn't realized.

Edited 6 hours ago by P.J.

[DeeVee]

Strangely, it was Phillip who invited Evie to go to the ball with him. She had been taking care of Samantha, so I guess it was a way to thank her for helping Justin after Jackie's death? So she was not invited by Vanessa. Phillip brought her as his plus one.

That Evie stayed on the canvas so long is extremely odd, especially since Ben was gone way before her. My theory is Marland was going to bring Rita back, so they wanted Evie to remain in place as her sounding board. When he left and Potter was still EP, that might have still been the plan. Once Kobe came in, that would have been thrown in the dumpster along with a lot of other story plans and characters.