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

Let's share memories and ask questions here.

21 hours ago, alwaysAMC said:

Same!  No judgment here, I think that's normal haha.

I do believe that since the dawn of movies and television, it has been the case.🙂

8 hours ago, alwaysAMC said:

Oh I actually love a beard and think most guys look better with a beard or some scruff. But, I think it's the 80s mop on his head that's too much for me. The 80s style for men, for me, usually isn't my thing. Although Riker in ST:TNG was perfect, much better with the beard, but still tidy up top  

Who is your type in Springfield?  

Currently on GH I want Marty/Martin (Michael E. Knight) to have the facial hair put back on his face where it belongs! Pronto! I didn't know I needed it until he had it & then it vanished. OY! 

19 hours ago, MLH said:

 It also mentioned he was 'featured' a movie called Surprises that was to come out that summer. However, I can't find anything.  Does featured mean a small part or what? How does one find what happened to that movie?

Surprises was the working title for Seven Minutes in Heaven. The movie was filmed in 1984, but it was just released in 1986.

7 hours ago, kalbir said:

1989 picks up when Springfield learns Roger survived the fall off the cliff in Santo Domingo. Once Robert Calhoun becomes EP, then GL will really hit its stride. 

SOD named GL most improved in 1989, and I think the combination of Roger's return and Robert Calhoun becoming EP were the main factors.

I agree. IMO, TGL had felt like it was on its death bed for a number of years, but with the advent of Calhoun and then Nancy Curlee, it made a remarkable comeback. Unfortunately, the renaissance was short-lived, but it did confirm that TGL could have been saved if competent PTB were to stay in control of the show.

(Spoiler alert: they did not.🙄)

18 hours ago, Reverend Ruthledge said:

For any historians of the show that might be in here that would care about this topic, it appears that the first Bauer BBQ was in 1957.

I always appreciate the fascinating, in-depth and accurate contributions you share with the SON community, about soap history. It's great to have information about the shows' earlier days, which we otherwise would never know.

Thank you.👏

7 hours ago, chrisml said:

I agree and somehow I don't mind that the Sonni/Will portion is so prominent. When it's just Will and Sonni, I was/am riveted. Reva and Josh are a bit lackluster in comparison. I like Elizabeth Dennehy and Alexandra Neil and I wish the writing had been better for them. Obviously, Stringfield comes in and lights up the screen, but she also had consistent writing on her side. The writers decided on what to do with her character. Dennehy's Blake changed so often I'm surprised the poor woman didn't get whiplash.

It just feels like it's being dragged out way past it's expiration date. But at the same time, given the other lackluster plotting going on (Alan plotting to punish Phillip by exposing him to Rick, Mo moping around while Ed diddles Holly, Alex being fascinated by MaskMan) I can see why they tried breathing more life into it. But omg...spare me Reva wringing her hands over Marah's kidnapping.  

I've softened on Dennehy--her writing is atrocious. Not that it's any better for Goulet and Neil, but those characters are just so ill-conceived I don't think anyone could've made either work.

Edited July 31Jul 31 by P.J.

6 hours ago, DRW50 said:

Tylo had great cheekbones and an aura of mystery and chemistry at various points. I think the phrase, "I'd like to know less about you," applies to him. Once they got into so many complicated secrets and he had to settle down there was less to be interested in. In the long run I'm still not really sure if making him Henry's son was worth it, although that story probably is what kept Henry and Vanessa on the show through the 1982 and 1983 purges.

It seems like GL had purges through almost every year in the '80s...

Re: Henry and Vanessa: I think it's Vanessa's pot-stirring that solidifies their spot in town. Springfield was full of do-goody types at the time (Hillary, Morgan, Trish, Hope, Amanda, even Nola is changing her spots). Vanessa is running around upsetting apple-carts in everyone's perfect little lives because she can.

3 hours ago, little_blue_eli said:

Surprises was the working title for Seven Minutes in Heaven. The movie was filmed in 1984, but it was just released in 1986.

Great detective work!  Thank you. Always interesting how things like that turn out.

If I were Susan, I would have put their screenplay they wrote for "Allison" into book fiction. Or sold copies of the script to raise money. It was in pre-production  Does that mean they already sold the rights to that script? 

@vetsoapfan @P.J.  In 1989 I liked how they had Billy and Nadine first meet via her talk show interview with Hamp.  I liked how they handled the whole WSPR atmosphere. Although, they dropped the ball with the newspaper.  In the mid-90s WSPR was totally wasted and the newspaper too focused on.  Only weak spots were Johnny/Chelsea and Fletcher.  They didn't know what to do with them. 

 

6 hours ago, vetsoapfan said:

The first guy on the show I found truly adorable was Johnny Fletcher, as played by Don Scardino. Sadly, I can't find any good pictures of him from that era.

he was my first celebrity crush. from the same era (late 60s), also found robert gentry (ed bauer) dishy. 

Edited July 31Jul 31 by wonderwoman1951

39 minutes ago, P.J. said:

Springfield was full of do-goody types at the time (Hillary, Morgan, Trish, Hope, Amanda, even Nola is changing her spots).

I have to say, once Marland left, it was kind amazing to see almost every one of the do-goody types stop being so do-goody. Unfortunately, most were then purged from the show.

Watching 1983 now. I LOVED watching Morgan giving Kelly, Amanda, Jennifer, and even Hillary the finger. Jennifer Cook was so blah before because the character was blah. They finally gave her some spark, and then it was "into the garbage pail with you."

Same with Hope. I still hate the sudden, unmotivated change in Alan where he  loved her one day and was emotionally abusing her the next. But now that I'm seeing more of the storyline, watching Hope unravel and having to face her fairy tale life was never real is quite compelling. It was stupid to use that just as an excuse to write her off the show instead of letting this legacy character evolve and move into new stories.

12 hours ago, Speed Racer said:

Wanna bet!?   How wrong you are...I am proof.  I had a great time throwing parties for family, friends, co-workers....lol.

People would show up early to my house, not late.  I was good with it.

Be yourself and everyone will have a great time.  Be an uptight/nervous host, serve cheese-and-crackers, onion dip and other staid nonsense, and your party will suck.  The Bauer July 4 BBQs were a snore, for obvious reasons.

I'm not talking about that..we have parties all the time and the neighbors (unfortunatley sometimes) drop by unannounced like were a sitcom..I tell my partner "WTF is the Bob and Kim's house or are we the Bauer kitchen" which he looks at me in confusion.

I am saying that the last thing you want to do when throwing a big party is take a break from your guests to go up and screw, which is what Rick and Abby did for a 4th. It was supposed to be cute, but all I could think was..."They do know the dishes are piling up..."

1 hour ago, MLH said:

@vetsoapfan @P.J.  In 1989 I liked how they had Billy and Nadine first meet via her talk show interview with Hamp.  I liked how they handled the whole WSPR atmosphere. Although, they dropped the ball with the newspaper.  In the mid-90s WSPR was totally wasted and the newspaper too focused on.  Only weak spots were Johnny/Chelsea and Fletcher.  They didn't know what to do with them. 

Being one of the ret-con, "fake" Bauers, I never really warmed up to Johnny Bauer, and I found both Chelsea and Fletcher to be tedious. Various factors did keep up my interest, however, like the return of Holly and later Roger. I was glad I saw TGL's last hurrah, which in my mind was the period written by Nancy Curlee and produced by Robert Calhoun.

34 minutes ago, wonderwoman1951 said:

(Don Scardino) was my first celebrity crush. from the same era (late 60s), also found robert gentry (ed bause) dishy. 

Yes, Robert Gentry was an attractive man, but I found his Ed to be so temperamental and inflammatory, it was hard to find him sympathetic. Johnny Fletcher was like a sweet puppy. It was impossible not to root for him.

What did you think of Erik Powell, who replaced Scardino in the role? I was disappointed, as I felt he lacked Scardino's charm and warmth. On the other hand, Mart Hulswit (who replaced Gentry as Ed) won me over immediately and he became by favorite Ed.

1 hour ago, wonderwoman1951 said:

he was my first celebrity crush. from the same era (late 60s), also found robert gentry (ed bause) dishy. 

That pic is not bad. Maybe this one from the AW Home Page is slightly better. He did so many roles & then went behind the camera, what a career! And, he never seemed to lose that wonderful smile!

   

On 7/30/2025 at 10:58 AM, Mitch64 said:

God I LOVE XANADU..(I guess I can keep my gay card!) Where else can the lead actress be in dance numbers and she just stands there and sways and smiles while everyone else works their ass off, but she wins the audience over just by being..pretty and nice!

I also adore Xanadu when they are singing and dancing. How do you create that fantastic rock/40's mishmash and then direct those painful dialogue scenes? When the dancing and singing stops, it's not good. I know Xanadu is not GL related, but it does remind me of how a soap can have something that works beautifully and then everything else is just a mess (GL 1986-1988). 

14 hours ago, DeeVee said:

t's no secret that I did not care for Daniel Pilon as Alan. BUT...towards the end of his time on the show, he grew a beard. And I was like, hmm, he looks really good with the beard. I could maybe get into him as Alan with the beard. And then, of course, he was permanently off the show.

I think Pilon was sexy and that he could have stayed longer. He didn't get the best material (a common theme back then) but he did the best with what he was given. He had more chemistry with other characters. He had potential. I don't get the decision to fire him. 

 

3 hours ago, P.J. said:

It just feels like it's being dragged out way past it's expiration date. But at the same time, given the other lackluster plotting going on (Alan plotting to punish Phillip by exposing him to Rick, Mo moping around while Ed diddles Holly, Alex being fascinated by MaskMan) I can see why they tried breathing more life into it. But omg...spare me Reva wringing her hands over Marah's kidnapping.  

I've softened on Dennehy--her writing is atrocious. Not that it's any better for Goulet and Neil, but those characters are just so ill-conceived I don't think anyone could've made either work.

I would agree the Sonni story was dragged on for a long time, but it was the only story that had any life to it especially (as you note) compared to other stories. I think they knew the viewers loved Michelle Forbes and just kept playing that up. It would have been interesting to see what Long would have done with the character, but she may have just turned Sonni into a supporting character for Reva's upcoming stories. 

I remember when Alan Locher asked Dennehy about her favorite stories, and she looked at him like he couldn't possibly be serious. Goulet and Neil never had a chance which is a shame because they are so talented. It's so frustrating when soaps hire talented performers and do nothing with him.

15 minutes ago, chrisml said:

I also adore Xanadu when they are singing and dancing. How do you create that fantastic rock/40's mishmash and then direct those painful dialogue scenes? When the dancing and singing stops, it's not good. I know Xanadu is not GL related, but it does remind me of how a soap can have something that works beautifully and then everything else is just a mess (GL 1986-1988). 

XANADU is marvelous beyond compare! Or alternately, me, three!

15 minutes ago, chrisml said:

I would agree the Sonni story was dragged on for a long time, but it was the only story that had any life to it especially (as you note) compared to other stories. I think they knew the viewers loved Michelle Forbes and just kept playing that up. It would have been interesting to see what Long would have done with the character, but she may have just turned Sonni into a supporting character for Reva's upcoming stories. 

That's where I was. Loved Forbes!!!! 

15 minutes ago, chrisml said:

I remember when Alan Locher asked Dennehy about her favorite stories, and she looked at him like he couldn't possibly be serious. 

I love it!!! Alan is only on firm ground when he has some real life reason to KNOW THAT MATERIAL. He'd do so much better if he really did research when he doesn't already have intel on a who or a what!