Guiding Light Discussion Thread

[kalbir]

Did Jordan Clarke have a departure sometime between 1985 and 1989?

I know Robert Newman had three runs: 1981-1984, 1986-1991, 1993-end.

[P.J.]

Jordan was gone from '87 to mid-'89. He left just weeks after Robert's late '86 return.

[kalbir]

Thanks @P.J.

If my math is correct, Jordan Clarke runs were 1983-1987, 1989-1993, 1997-end.

[P.J.]

There was the one appearance in '96, but otherwise, that's correct as far as I know.

[Soaplovers]

Unpopular opinion, but I didn't think the show should have reunited Billy/Vanessa at all until the final stretch of the show.

When watching the 1989 episodes when both Vanessa and Billy return after being off the show... I liked that Vanessa had moved on from him and that the show was hinting at her wanting to reunite with her first love Ross while looking down at Nadine for being the one Ross was dating.  And I loved the twist where Billy and Nadine teamed up to keep Vanessa/Ross apart.   This was an interesting concept that sadly the writers dropped with the show deciding to make Vanessa pine over Billy between 1990 and 1993 when they finally reunited.  

To me, Vanessa pining over Billy seemed out of character.

At least once Billy was carted off to prison in 1994... she and Billy divorced and stayed divorced until the final months when they finally found their way back together. 

During the years when they were divorced, I liked that they had maintained a friendship and connection.. with viewers (like my late mom) wondering if they would ever decide to make it work again.

I wish the show had tried that with Josh/Reva because by the time of the final episode when they rode off into the sunset, I didn't care because we'd been through the make up and break ups between them for over 10+ years by that point.

[Mitch64]

I know they were popular, but once they tamed Van's shrew, I thought Billy just brought Van down. Since they had just Nola and Billy sitting around in 97, an interesting thing would be if they had developed a friendship that turned into something else while Van was "dead". Maybe Billy lives at the Boardinghouse (to work on repaing his relationship with Bill) and works at Company instead of the stupid diner. Nola and Bridget give him a job there and Nola and Billy (who had originally been a bit antagonistic) slowly build up a relationship and then Van returns. A returned new lease on life Van would return to her "high hat ways" and take on the Spaulding's for control of the company with Billy helping her behind the scenes. 

I know that Jordan was on sporadically because of his issues and them not know if they could trust him not to fall of the wagon, but they could have done it slow..and give Van and Nola a new reason to get in each others hair (I love a good Van/Nola tussle.)

[kalbir]

From what I can put together, the 1980s had several actors with interrupted runs.

Michael Zaslow: 1971-1980, 1989-1997

Maureen Garrett: 1976-1980, 1988-?, ?-end

Christopher Bernau: 1977-1984, 1986-1988

Peter Simon: 1981-1984, 1986-1996, ?-end

Maeve Kinkead: 1981-1987, 1989-1996, 1997-end

Robert Newman: 1981-1984, 1986-1991, 1993-end

Jordan Clarke: 1983-1987, 1989-1993, 1996, 1997-end

By 1989, I believe the longest-tenured cast member without a departure was Jerry verDorn.

[TheyStartedOnSoaps]

Tina Sloan tied Jerry VerDorn record when Guiding Light was cancelled - 26 years uninterrupted 

[DeeVee]

So, pretty sure Zaslow, Garrett, Kinkead, and Newman all chose to leave the first time. (If that's wrong, please correct me).

Bernau - not sure why he left the first time. Was it voluntary? Or did they decide to write him out? They were writing so many out during that time period. It always seemed odd to me that they introduced Alex, FINALLY giving him someone he could talk to, and then he was written out. Or maybe that's why they made Alex his sister, so she could take his place as the head of the Spaulding family? Would love more intel on that if anyone knows.

Simon - was he replaced by RVV? Or did he voluntarily leave the first time? It seems to me like one of those times TPTB decided to sex up or glamorize a character (and it clearly flopped). If he was fired, interesting he came back. Again, would love if someone could spill the tea.

Clarke - I've always assumed he left because of his personal issues, but not sure if that was the case the first time.

[P.J.]

I don't know how you want to count Maeve. She "retired" in '00, but would come back for appearances. I don't know however if she made an appearance in '01 or '03. In '02 I believe she came back for Josh and Reva's wedding. I assume she came back when Gina Tognoni took over the role of Dinah. And I know she was back for Ross' memorial service.

Maureen Garrett was around until at least '00. I don't think Holly was in town when Ben returned though.

I just got pissed off about Jerry all over again.

[kalbir]

I didn't know of any interruptions for Maeve Kinkead after her 1997 return. Her runs would then be 1981-1987, 1989-1996, 1997-2000, short arcs until the end.

I knew Maureen Garrett second run was interrupted from a 2009 interview but I couldn't recall the exact year. Her runs would then be 1976-1980, 1988-2000, short arcs until the end.

[P.J.]

Wasn't there a break in Zaslow's first run? I thought Roger was off-screen for a while, and when Zas came back, Roger was hiding at the boarding house and Nola figured out there was something hinkey about him.

I'm pretty sure Simon chose to leave the first time and was replaced by RVV.

I don't want to assume Jordan's issues played a role in his first departure, but Maeve said in an interview that at some point, it became very hard for her to work with him and she asked to work with him less. That seems to fit 1986, where suddenly Vanessa is essentially Ross' law clerk and not at every Lewis family moment.

Edited 3 hours ago by P.J.

[DeeVee]

No. There might have been a slight pause for dramatic effect after his "death," but pretty soon after they showed him in France getting plastic surgery and getting involved with his doctor, then planning with her to bring Christina to France. (She thought he had good reason to do it; she wasn't a bad person or anything).

Now that I think of it, there must have been some kind of pause before that, during the 70s. Rita was accused of killing a private patient for an inheritance when she lived in Texas. Part of the backstory was that Roger had been there, too. Not sure exactly when or how long that was.

Edited 2 hours ago by DeeVee

[P.J.]

I'm not sure it's as unpopular as you think. 

I just think the show knew they were in a bind, and needed a proven couple for the viewers to invest in. Trying to reunite Vanessa and Ross had just failed in 87. I don't think Ed and Holly's affair was well received, as Simon and Garrett had a brother/sister chemistry. Enter Billy and Vanessa, who give you history and an out not to try and do a Josh/Reva/Billy triangle, which would've really wrecked the relationship between Josh and Billy.

I'd have been ok with trying Vanessa/Ross again, and doing a Vanessa/Ross/Holly/Billy quad for a while. I hated Nadine. HATED. She had to be the most insufferable also-ran before ATWT's Julia Lindsay.

This is where I wish I knew Roger's history better.

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[chrisml]

YT keeps commending GL clips to me. I discovered Kathleen Cullen was on in Christmas 1987. Was there any talk of making it permanent  or was this just a special visit? I wish they had made the visit permanent. I liked her chemistry with Grant Aleksander.