4 hours ago, DeeVee said:

No. He was probably the least popular Ed. His recast coincided with the storyline where Ed made Claire pregnant with Michelle. I think that p!ssed a lot of viewers off. Clearly, they were trying to make Ed more conventionally attractive and less dour. Also, I think maybe some felt he was playing Ed as though he was Chuck Tyler.

As @Spoon pointed out, there were SO many major recasts around that time. There was nothing at all wrong with Bolger; as pointed out, he was handsome and sexy. But the storylines combined with the strangeness of the new actors worked against them, IMO.

This is the wine talking tonight haha - but Chuck Tyler being the father of Greenlee on a different show (GL) - wow, I love this 😁 You know what I mean... but I find it interesting, many folks here think the 94/95 and beyond ruined the show, but I hear so much now about the mid-80s being terrible... so what truly was the golden era of GL? Was it pre-1985... was it 89-93? Do we know much/care about the 70s? I'm enjoying reading about the 50s in those other threads, but haven't heard much about the 60s/70s of GL.

4 hours ago, DeeVee said:

Seriously, I can't think of any other soap wedding that even comes close to being this over-the-top. Not even any of Erica Kane's weddings. Cliff and Nina's--MAYBE. But no one was dressed up like a Disney prince.

I don't know - in terms of looking like prince and princesses, Erica/Dimitri and Edmund/Maria yes - but the whole fanfare and long-term location shoot like this one, definitely no.

Oh and what was "Infinity" - what is that term in relation to the wedding or storyline there?

31 minutes ago, alwaysAMC said:

but I find it interesting, many folks here think the 94/95 and beyond ruined the show, but I hear so much now about the mid-80s being terrible... so what truly was the golden era of GL? Was it pre-1985... was it 89-93? Do we know much/care about the 70s? I'm enjoying reading about the 50s in those other threads, but haven't heard much about the 60s/70s of GL.

In my life, GL had two golden eras: 1976-1982 EP Potter and HW Dobsons/Marland (I wasn't alive for part of Potter/Dobsons though) and 1989-1991 EP Calhoun and HW Long/Curlee.

I've accepted we'll probably never see Potter/Dobsons 1976-1978 episodes so any Potter/Dobsons episodes from 1979 and 1980 that surface are such a treat.

55 minutes ago, alwaysAMC said:

Oh and what was "Infinity" - what is that term in relation to the wedding or storyline there?

Someone else will remember in more detail than I do, but there was a whole storyline tying in a record label to help Lujack become a rock star while simultaneously hypnotizing Billy into shooting Kyle, the newfound half-brother he despised. Lujack died in an explosion helping to defeat them. Billy did shoot Kyle, IIRC, and went on trial, but was exonerated.

If you want more of a glimpse at '60s GL, there is an episode or two from earlier in the decade and then a chunk from summer 1966. This is near the end of the show still being 15 minutes and also when they were phasing the show from being in Selby Flats to Springfield.

The Guiding Light - June 1966 (Vol. 1)

The Guiding Light - June 1966 (Vol. 2)

The Guiding Light - July 1966 (Vol. 1)

The Guiding Light - July 1966 (Vol. 2)

The Guiding Light - July 1966 (Vol. 3)

The Guiding Light - July 1966 (Vol. 4)

I think there are a few later July 1966 episodes on that channel too.

As for what is the good or bad period of GL, GL was a rollercoaster for most of those last 25 years. In some ways that kept the show feeling punchy and more like a survivor than shows that are just consistent, but I would have loved a longer flavor of what is available of the Dobsons (late '70s to 1980) or from somewhere around 1989-1992.

GL surviving so long was a miracle. The show's whole existence, being revived so many times in radio, being the only radio soap to really survive the transition to TV, was a miracle. It can be difficult to pick a best and worst sometimes in that cradle.

Edited 12 hours ago12 hr by DRW50

AlwaysAMC:

In response to your question, I've assigned a standard grade to each year I watched:

1978 - B

1979-1981 - A. The best year was 1980.

1982 - C

1983- B

1984-1988 - D. 1987 and 1988 are both an "F" if not for Michelle Forbes. Would have loved it if Forbes had signed on for another three years into 1992.

1989 - C (a big improvement from 1988, but a not good first half of the year). Steady improvement from August through December.

1990-1992 - A minus. Very disappointing that The Vault is so skimpy re: 1990-1991. You'd love it, Always, especially March 1990 through July 1992. Intricate. Purposeful. Strident, confident new opening as of Jan 1991. Great dialog and acting. Umbrella stories that intertwine. Communal, broad landscape. A few dud storylines here and there (Daniel St John) but not many. Even the non-eventful days could be fascinating, which I loved.

1993 - B A decent year though August (B+), slips some from September onward (C+).

1994 - C

1995 - B

1996 - D

1997-1998 - C (would both be a "D" if not for Watros)

1999 - F. Insultingly bad. Atrocious. Screeching fanbase idiocy.

8 hours ago, alwaysAMC said:

so what truly was the golden era of GL? Was it pre-1985... was it 89-93?

For me, it was the Dobson era. I didn't see all of it; I watched sporadically from late 1976 (I was in high school and we didn't have a VCR yet), becoming a regular viewer in early 1979 during the Roger/Holly rape story. Unfortunately, except for 1979, not much is available from this time period now.

While I complain about it a lot, I mostly enjoyed the Marland tenure, and also the early Ryder/Long era.

The Dobsons created the Spauldings, they turned Roger and Holly into one of the greatest toxic couplings on soaps, they wrote all the characters, but especially the women, as very layered and nuanced. Not everything they did was great (they are the reason Sara McIntyre went from major heroine to side character) but overall to me that era of GL was the most engrossing and best written.

1985-1986 was an awful period. As mentioned, they gutted the cast and many new characters flopped. There were frequent HW changes. Long returning to the show in 1987 improved it, but she inherited some weird stuff (i.e. the Sonni storyline) and this is when Reva started eating up a lot of the show.

Then Zaslow and Garrett returned. It was a shot in the arm for the show. 1989 was not a great year (the wild contortions they did to write Roger back in and write Alan out were the major problem). Then there was a regime change and Zimmer left. That period is considered one of their best, at least creatively.

By the mid 90s, I had dropped off as a regular viewer (this was for all the soaps I had been watching; this was the start of the genre's major decline). If they had done a decent Alan recast and had not let the returned Zimmer take over the show, I might have stuck with it.

I moved in with my mom during the late 90s when she was ill. She still watched the show. So I got treated to the clone and San Christohell stories and other delights of their declining era, LOL.

2 hours ago, DeeVee said:

For me, it was the Dobson era. I didn't see all of it; I watched sporadically from late 1976 (I was in high school and we didn't have a VCR yet), becoming a regular viewer in early 1979 during the Roger/Holly rape story. Unfortunately, except for 1979, not much is available from this time period now.

While I complain about it a lot, I mostly enjoyed the Marland tenure, and also the early Ryder/Long era.

When I was a kid my Mom was watching so in the summer we would see the Dobson's GL waiting for "Match Game" to come one ("on most of these CBS stations.") So that was the GL I knew and "Fat ED' was my Ed (who I still think is a DILF.. PS..not so much!_

I became a regular watcher in high school with Nola's antics, though I thought the rest of Marlands GL was pretty dry.

I LOVED early Long/Ryder and still think that was the perfect GL.. there was a mix of families that all got equal time with the Bauers being the center. Reva and KZ was fresh and brought a sense of sexiness and fun, the Lewis were great in first incarnation (H.B. was a total scoundrel, Billy was a force) but they didn't take over the show. Alex was introduced,(the Alex I will always think of being THE Alex, sophisticated, strong, sly, and could be your best friend or your worst enemy..not the son obsessed Alex of the Nick era, or the shrieking shrew of the Marj era) the 4 Ms..etc.

Fall of 84 it all fell apart and the show was crap with the recastings, the obscuration of the Bauers, the influx of the Sampson Industry people, the Lewis domination of the show and Van became a sad sack hausfrau.

I also like Long's second run, first half of JFP, and thought Taggert/Culliton was damn good!

Edited 45 minutes ago45 min by Mitch64

7 hours ago, Speed Racer said:

1990-1992 - A minus. Very disappointing that The Vault is so skimpy re: 1990-1991. You'd love it, Always, especially March 1990 through July 1992. Intricate. Purposeful. Strident, confident new opening as of Jan 1991. Great dialog and acting. Umbrella stories that intertwine. Communal, broad landscape. A few dud storylines here and there (Daniel St John) but not many. Even the non-eventful days could be fascinating, which I loved.

1999 - F. Insultingly bad. Atrocious. Screeching fanbase idiocy.

I love your write-up on 1990-1992 here, I wish I could watch every episode.

LOL at your 1999 review. I've got to say, I'm in March and so far I'm not loving it. Not F territory yet, but maybe C- for me... but there is more to go.

Thanks also to @DRW50 @kalbir @DeeVee @Mitch64 for your perspectives!

3 hours ago, DeeVee said:

I moved in with my mom during the late 90s when she was ill. She still watched the show. So I got treated to the clone and San Christohell stories and other delights of their declining era, LOL.

LOL at the bolded :)