10 hours ago, DeeVee said:

Floyd is pretty much the only character created by the Dobsons that Marland improved. The cynic in me wants to say it was because he was needed for his Kelly/Nola story.

There were a few hints dropped that Katie and Floyd came from a harsh, even abusive background. They definitely could have done more with that.

Denise Pence (Katie) has a YT channel with some candid videos about her GL tenure. She clearly is still a tad bitter about her dismissal from the show. 

Marland was smart, incorporating Tom Neilson's music into Floyd's storyline. While the "let's turn Floyd into a rock star" story was lame, Floyd's music gave him a way to express himself and showed you he wasn't a complete clown. 

Cynically, yes, Marland needed a sperm patsy for Nola, and maybe it was a way of keeping Lisa happy.

11 hours ago, Soaplovers said:

They would need to start at the beginning of 1989 in order to get to the good stuff in the 2nd half of 1989.  

What's up from the first half of '89 is a little spotty. 

@Speed Racer yes, 1998 is basically the end of classic GL, with all the gangsters and island people flooding the show in '99.

23 hours ago, DRW50 said:

On paper, this could have been a strong story for Holly, especially when you add in Holly's career, regrets over keeping a baby she hadn't planned, her history of depression (it was implied in 1992 at least, IIRC), but I don't think it was ever going to happen.

Not to mention her fractured relationship with Blake, which never seemed to really heal.

I don't really seem to recall Guiding Light doing social issue stories. At least not in the way Marland's ATWT did. (which could get a little preachy, admittedly) Characters dealt with situations, (Bridget's teen pregnancy, Billy and Ed's alcoholism, Sam and Mallet's paralysis) but there's not a lot of focus on educating the audience. If this makes any sense...maybe I'm forgetting parts of the stories.

If I were new to this period of GL I would recommend trying to stick it out to the end of B&E's run - summer 2000 or whenever it is, just for completion's sake. I will acknowledge they were running on fumes.

@Mitch64 I'd forgotten they didn't have a Bauer barbecue one year. For shame.

13 minutes ago, P.J. said:

Not to mention her fractured relationship with Blake, which never seemed to really heal.

I don't really seem to recall Guiding Light doing social issue stories. At least not in the way Marland's ATWT did. (which could get a little preachy, admittedly) Characters dealt with situations, (Bridget's teen pregnancy, Billy and Ed's alcoholism, Sam and Mallet's paralysis) but there's not a lot of focus on educating the audience. If this makes any sense...maybe I'm forgetting parts of the stories.

You're right - not many along those lines. There were some but the stories would usually lend into the melodramas (like Lillian's breast cancer or Beth's abuse). One of the few I remember was that clunky piracy story from late 2000 that presumably was put on them by the government.

23 minutes ago, P.J. said:

I don't really seem to recall Guiding Light doing social issue stories. At least not in the way Marland's ATWT did. (which could get a little preachy, admittedly) Characters dealt with situations, (Bridget's teen pregnancy, Billy and Ed's alcoholism, Sam and Mallet's paralysis) but there's not a lot of focus on educating the audience. If this makes any sense...maybe I'm forgetting parts of the stories.

I believe they had intention of educating with the marital rape storyline. Oh, and maybe Rita's sexual dysfunction story?

Way, way back in the show's history, they did a story about Bert having uterine cancer. Which I think caused quite a stir at the time and inspired more women to get screened.

That's pretty much all I can come up with.

Edited October 16Oct 16 by DeeVee

41 minutes ago, DRW50 said:

You're right - not many along those lines. There were some but the stories would usually lend into the melodramas (like Lillian's breast cancer or Beth's abuse). One of the few I remember was that clunky piracy story from late 2000 that presumably was put on them by the government.

Yes--Billy's alcoholism would pop up, and he'd eventually go to a few AA meetings, but mostly it was about driving his story. Most shows probably would've explored Mo's quest to have a child, but it's a reoccurring plot enhancer, a point of contention between her and Ed.

 

33 minutes ago, DeeVee said:

I believe they had intention of educating with the marital rape storyline. Oh, and maybe Rita's sexual dysfunction story?

Way, way back in the show's history, they did a story about Bert having uterine cancer. Which I think caused quite a stir at the time and inspired more women to get screened.

That's pretty much all I can come up with.

I don't think social issue stories were really a thing until the mid-80's, were they? Yes, shows would do cancer stories (Bert's cancer, and there was Jennifer Brooks' breast cancer on Y&R) or alcoholism stories as we as a society began to discuss them openly. I don't know how much they did with TJ's teen alcoholism story. Holly pressing marital rape charges was definitely one. But a lot of times, issues like Vanessa's pill addiction and even Reva's suicide attempt, were simply plot points. Even in the '90's, other than Lucy's rape and maybe Susan's HIV status (that was the girl Nick ended up marrying right?), I can't think of anything that comes close. Well, maybe Vanessa pressing attempted rape charges, but I don't think anyone much even suggests her getting therapy/counseling. Beth did, now that I think about it, after her rape.

 

 

13 minutes ago, P.J. said:

I don't think social issue stories were really a thing until the mid-80's, were they?

I think it’s a really interesting question.

There were definitely socially relevant stories before the 1980s, like the interracial relationship on DAYS, but they didn’t seem designed to be instructive. The impact was often incidental, and sometimes beneficial to the audience, even if that wasn’t the goal. I agree that the shift in intention became more noticeable in the ’80s. When Jill and Katherine went for a mammogram on Y&R, it was followed by a PSA, which wasn’t something you’d typically see in the ’70s.

I wouldn’t call the earlier stories exploitative, but I would argue, the idea of soaps actively trying to provide education on social issues (as opposed to moral values) wasn’t really part of the conversation until the cultural climate changed. I imagine that the response to the AIDS crisis in cities like New York and Los Angeles played a big role in that shift.

Edited October 16Oct 16 by j swift

The Pam Chandler character was an unwed mother in the mid  70's which was a social issue type story. But more a reflection of the times than an out and out message story.

GL never did a teen pregnancy story eg Hope didn't get knocked up by some sleazy boyfriend.

I guess Bill and the Ed's alcoholism showed how it could be generational.

But otherwise they seemed to stick with affairs, murders and villains causing problems.

11 minutes ago, Paul Raven said:

GL never did a teen pregnancy story eg Hope didn't get knocked up by some sleazy boyfriend.

I guess you could count Daisy and her abortion.

7 hours ago, Paul Raven said:

GL never did a teen pregnancy story eg Hope didn't get knocked up by some sleazy boyfriend.

Peggy Scott was still a teenager when she got knocked up by the sleazy Marty Dillman. 

1 hour ago, Reverend Ruthledge said:

Peggy Scott was still a teenager when she got knocked up by they Marty Dillman. 

Forgive my ignorance, is this the same Peggy Roger was involved with? 

I'm really not sure how they dealt with Ed's alcoholism in the '70's either. 

52 minutes ago, P.J. said:

Forgive my ignorance, is this the same Peggy Roger was involved with? 

I believe it was, but don't quote me on that, lol.

30 minutes ago, Khan said:

I believe it was, but don't quote me on that, lol.

And it's not like GL didn't reuse names constantly. I just wouldn't be sure how she got from Scott to Fletcher....

1 hour ago, P.J. said:

Forgive my ignorance, is this the same Peggy Roger was involved with? 

I'm really not sure how they dealt with Ed's alcoholism in the '70's either. 

Hey P.J.

Yes, Peggy Scott became Peggy Fletcher after marrying Johnny Fletcher and then eventually married Roger Thorpe.