GL now joins some illustrious company in the cancelled soap thread.

Let's share memories and ask questions here.

9 minutes ago, chrisml said:

I know more about her tenure on SB which I saw all of and it was atrocious. I don't think I saw any of her work on OLTL.

There are writers whose work I love on one show but find their work on another show abysmal. There are probably a lot of factors that can cause this phenomenon: who the EP is, the network it's on, if they have to deal with a sponsor, what condition the show is in when they take over, if there's a big star's ego that needs to be accomodated, etc. 

I loved AW during the Harding Lemay years but never saw another soap he wrote that I thought was any good. 

I think the acting reels are now 20 minutes worth of material during the eligible time period, which this year is apparently going to be bonkers because of them moving the Daytime Emmys from June to the fall. If I understand correctly they can do one episode or two or three & they do not have choose scenes which tell a story. I believe it was 15 minutes recently  & many actors felt they had cut too far back.  They had been intentionally trying to make the reels shorter because of the problems they have getting all peer level potential voters to watch all of everyone's submissions. 

9 minutes ago, DeeVee said:

I loved AW during the Harding Lemay years but never saw another soap he wrote that I thought was any good. 

He does seem like a one hit wonder, huh? I love Pete. I think I can say it. Part of me wants to suggest that he never was given another opportunity to go for the gusto & then he became a professional soap writing consultant! 

8 hours ago, Soaplovers said:

My late mom and all of her GL watching friends in the Chicago area loved Jeffrey/Reva as a couple... that they thought he seemed to accept her for her without wanting her to change.  I think they related to her because they were in the same boat/close to the same age as the Reva character... and most of them rolled their eyes at the Josh/Reva coupling.

What's funny was my mom went on a rant when the show was ending about how Pam Long ruined the show... and I asked her what characters/couples she loved on GL.

 

Did your mother & her soap pals watch anything besides GL?

Wasn't GL in Chicago broadcast at 10 in the morning & "Day Before"?

14 minutes ago, Contessa Donatella said:

I think the acting reels are now 20 minutes worth of material during the eligible time period, which this year is apparently going to be bonkers because of them moving the Daytime Emmys from June to the fall. If I understand correctly they can do one episode or two or three & they do not have choose scenes which tell a story. I believe it was 15 minutes recently  & many actors felt they had cut too far back.  They had been intentionally trying to make the reels shorter because of the problems they have getting all peer level potential voters to watch all of everyone's submissions. 

He does seem like a one hit wonder, huh? I love Pete. I think I can say it. Part of me wants to suggest that he never was given another opportunity to go for the gusto & then he became a professional soap writing consultant! 

Did your mother & her soap pals watch anything besides GL?

Wasn't GL in Chicago broadcast at 10 in the morning & "Day Before"?

That was why she and her friends were about to watch GL in Chicago at 9 AM central time.  Most of them started work at noon so GL was the only soap they could watch live.

My mom and her friends all watched other soaps, but the only one all of them watched to discuss was Guiding Light.   

 

38 minutes ago, DeeVee said:

There are writers whose work I love on one show but find their work on another show abysmal. There are probably a lot of factors that can cause this phenomenon: who the EP is, the network it's on, if they have to deal with a sponsor, what condition the show is in when they take over, if there's a big star's ego that needs to be accommodated, etc. 

I loved AW during the Harding Lemay years but never saw another soap he wrote that I thought was any good. 

I get the Lemay part. I thought Michael Malone's first half of his initial tenure on OLTL was brilliant. When he goes to AW, it's as if every bad habit follows him. I don't think Pamela Long understood Santa Barbara or what made it so special. She ruined everything that made it so unique. She was paired with Paul Rauch who was a disaster so it was just a mess. Rauch followed Conboy on SB and Conboy followed Rauch on GL.

8 hours ago, P.J. said:

Well, Reva and Josh get more explicit love scenes (and honestly, at this time on GL I'm sure it was risque..) and honestly, except for a flashback of what led to Dylan's conception, Billy only slept with two women on the show, Vanessa and Nadine.

So even though it's a rather limited field, let's just say Billy seems like he'd be fun in bed. Whereas Josh would be playing "mother may I?"

GL did a really good job of sex scenes IMO. Bruce Barry directed many & I loved his eye & his choices. An Olivia/Phillip scene that he directed is possibly one of my favorite sex scenes on daytime. She's cheating on Alan & I can't think if Phillip was breaking any vows or not. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RkDa52LUCU8&list=RDRkDa52LUCU8&start_radio=1

 

40 minutes ago, Soaplovers said:

That was why she and her friends were about to watch GL in Chicago at 9 AM central time.  Most of them started work at noon so GL was the only soap they could watch live.

My mom and her friends all watched other soaps, but the only one all of them watched to discuss was Guiding Light.   

 

It's just so fun that they did that!

About Frank Grillo...he also plead guilty of securities fraud during the 1990s.  So not only was he married and banging his married co-star during his time on GL, he also was dealing with a protracted Securities & Exchange Commission issue.  Quite the hat trick!  So stressful...

Kim Zimmer seems to be a real peach, based on what's been posted here during the past two weeks or so.  I do find supposition about Zimmer needing money to be laughable, no matter if I accept it as fact or dismiss it as ludicrous.  Supplementing a massive ego can cost a lot of dinero apparently.  "I Am Woman, Hear Me Roar....I Am Strong (Strong!), I Am Invincible...I Am Woman!"  LMFAO!  What B.S.

Billy was *always* the more fun Lewis brother; Josh was the responsible, fussy stick in the mud.  It's obvious who'd be better in the sack.

And, on a positive note, I do find it refreshing how little plastic surgery prevailed among GL actors over the years.  Numerous West Coast actors look like cheap dime store mannequins.

 

16 minutes ago, Contessa Donatella said:

GL did a really good job of sex scenes IMO. Bruce Barry directed many & I loved his eye & his choices. An Olivia/Phillip scene that he directed is possibly one of my favorite sex scenes on daytime. She's cheating on Alan & I can't think if Phillip was breaking any vows or not. 

Well, yes. But that's in the '00's. And if memory serves, before the Janet Jackson/Justin Timberlake debacle.

I meant in 1983/84 when the first love scenes for Billy/Van and Josh/Reva aired, Jeva's were more risque by the standards of the day, which dictated that women had to have some clothes showing, even married characters. But by the early '90's, the standards had loosened, because I recall a hubbub over Nick and Mindy's love scenes.

12 minutes ago, Speed Racer said:

 

Billy was *always* the more fun Lewis brother; Josh was the responsible, fussy stick in the mud.  It's obvious who'd be better in the sack.

And, on a positive note, I do find it refreshing how little plastic surgery prevailed among GL actors over the years.  Numerous West Coast actors look like cheap dime store mannequins.

 

Billy is, isn't he? Even when Josh was a bad boy, he was as serious as a heart attack. 

Ugh...the actresses who ruined their looks getting surgeries. And now the young actresses who get it---SMH. I know there's pressure, but damn.

Another positive note - the overwhelming majority of GL actors/actresses that have carried themselves publicly quite well over dozens of years now.  It's impressive.

I wonder whether Betty Rea played a role here...spotting people who could not only act but also retain a sense of dignity and class throughout.  Likely subconscious, I know.

I am surprised that the actors from numerous soaps haven't put together a book of sorts, sharing their experiences and reflections of Rea.  Each actor could submit 1/2-1 page each, then present it to Rea's family.  Offering thanks.

 

 

1 hour ago, P.J. said:

Well, yes. But that's in the '00's. And if memory serves, before the Janet Jackson/Justin Timberlake debacle.

Oh the memories - I was actually at that Super Bowl when that happened, front and center. In the moment, no one knew how big that story would become... 

52 minutes ago, Speed Racer said:

About Frank Grillo...he also plead guilty of securities fraud during the 1990s.  So not only was he married and banging his married co-star during his time on GL, he also was dealing with a protracted Securities & Exchange Commission issue.  Quite the hat trick!  So stressful...

Kim Zimmer seems to be a real peach, based on what's been posted here during the past two weeks or so.  I do find supposition about Zimmer needing money to be laughable, no matter if I accept it as fact or dismiss it as ludicrous.  Supplementing a massive ego can cost a lot of dinero apparently.  "I Am Woman, Hear Me Roar....I Am Strong (Strong!), I Am Invincible...I Am Woman!"  LMFAO!  What B.S.

Billy was *always* the more fun Lewis brother; Josh was the responsible, fussy stick in the mud.  It's obvious who'd be better in the sack.

And, on a positive note, I do find it refreshing how little plastic surgery prevailed among GL actors over the years.  Numerous West Coast actors look like cheap dime store mannequins.

There were also some nude photos of Grillo from earlier in his career that came out around the time he was on GL (tasteful nudes). He was always full of surprises.

I'm glad GL ended before the Botox, facelift, eyelift obsession wreaked even more havoc on soaps...as you said, so many heartbreaking death masks on GH and the Bell soaps.

1 hour ago, P.J. said:

Well, yes. But that's in the '00's. And if memory serves, before the Janet Jackson/Justin Timberlake debacle.

That was around the time the P&G soaps were starting to experiment with male nudity. I can't see that lasting even without Nipplegate, but I do wonder what might have happened. One of the problems is by that point the show didn't have any hot couples anyway (sorry to Shane/Marina fans...).

3 minutes ago, alwaysAMC said:

Oh the memories - I was actually at that Super Bowl when that happened, front and center. In the moment, no one knew how big that story would become... 

well, that's a unique moment in history. surely unforgettable.

3 hours ago, chrisml said:

I don't know about Pamela Long's tenure on GL to have an opinion one way or the other. I saw some of her work and I liked some, didn't see a lot (did not see her first stint), and didn't like other stuff. I know more about her tenure on SB which I saw all of and it was atrocious. I don't think I saw any of her work on OLTL. My major problem with her is a decided lack of humor and witty dialogue, but maybe I just haven't seen the right stuff.

Beyond putting more focus on Clint Buchanan (which didn't last long as Clint Ritchie was let go), I can't think of anything she did on OLTL that was similar to her past work. It was a very dark, ugly show - literally ugly. McTavish said in her memoir that JFP likes to just tell writers what to do, or write the show herself, and that is likely what was going on during Long's tenure.

I thought Pam Long at OLTL could've worked solo. But it was JFP's micromanaged show and JFP's favorites being spotlit. After Long's brief tenure (where she did talk about working on the disastrous fake DID story for Roger Howarth), JFP went without a HW for almost a year before being forced to hire McTavish.

59 minutes ago, DRW50 said:

 One of the problems is by that point the show didn't have any hot couples anyway (sorry to Shane/Marina fans...).

I will say some of the Edmund/Cassie sex scenes under Conboy(?) were some of the kinkiest I'd ever seen on daytime, then or since. It was crazy seeing DAM of all people moaning onscreen about how Cassie was 'bringing out the bad boy in me.' That period was sort of the apex moment for soaps pushing the envelope, and they backed off after the Super Bowl.

Edited June 20Jun 20 by Vee

4 minutes ago, Vee said:

I will say some of the Edmund/Cassie sex scenes under Conboy(?) were some of the kinkiest I'd ever seen on daytime, then or since. It was crazy seeing DAM moaning about how Cassie was 'bringing out the bad boy in me.' That period was sort of the apex moment for soaps pushing the envelope, and they backed off after the Super Bowl.

I'd forgotten about them as the story moved so fast past that early sex point. You're right - in spite of not believing Cassie would be with him, they did have chemistry. Laura Wright's performance style had shifted around that point so it worked more than it would have a few years earlier.

Edited June 20Jun 20 by DRW50

2 minutes ago, DRW50 said:

I'd forgotten about them as the story moved so fast past that early sex point. You're right - in spite of not believing Cassie would be with him, they did have chemistry. Laura Wright's performance style had shifted around that point so it worked more than it would have a few years earlier.

They did have major chemistry, which is the only way it could have come off. That stuff was like Cinemax.