Guiding Light Discussion Thread

[shadow]

Thats Nancy Pinkerton the original Dorian from OLTL

[shadow]

Yep James Rebhorn was back before and all during this storyline, when Beth runs away from the Hospital it's Bradley who finds her at the stables .

[MichaelGL]

I figured much. That's the last time I ever look up Pinkerton's IMDb profile ever again. It said she was on GL in 1985

Edited February 10, 2011 by MichaelGL

[DRW50]

IMDB has become a mess in recent years, because it's so tough to correct.

I thought Bradley was killed off in 1984, I keep forgetting he was still alive. Was he also on ATWT then as Angel's father?

[MichaelGL]

Yes, I think it might have been around 87/88, a year before his return to GL in the "Beth is alive" story.

[DRW50]

From the October 1955 Radio TV Mirror. Daytime Diary, a synopsis of each soap. I'm not sure how far behind this was.

The meeting between Kathy Lang and Marie Wallace leaves each of them wistfully certain that the other is the woman in Dr. Dick Grant's life. Are they both wrong? Meanwhile, Kathy's friend Bertha Bauer struggles through a serious problem as her recently widowed mother shows every intention of taking over her daughter's life and home. Will Bill permit it? How will young Michael react?

[DRW50]

From the April 1952 Radio TV Mirror Daytime's Diary.

In spite of the warnings of her stepmother, Meta Roberts, Kathy Grant allows moral cowardice and stubbornness to keep her from revealing to her young husband, Dr. Dick Grant, that the child she is carrying is the result of her brief secret marriage to Bob Lang. Only when Kathy is accused of planning Bob's death does Dick learn the truth - from the police. Will he ever feel the same toward Kathy?

[MichaelGL]

Thanks for these Carl. They're an interesting read.

I've been hooked on these recent uploads of GL from 1989. Much of what intrigues me about much of these episodes is the fact that the show was going through a transition that year; from the well intentioned, but sometimes misguided EP Joe Willmore to the EP who would set in motion GL's next golden age, Robert Calhoun. Everything from the tone/direction in the writing to the simple aesthetics of the show seemed to shift into what viewers saw during much of Curlee’s tenure, like more emphasis on family and the characters themselves, rather than the trends in storytelling at the time, which pretty much defined GL for much of the mid to late 80s.

One thing I am curious about is the Holly/Frank flirtation, or better yet Frank's infatuation with her. In the video below Frank seems to take it pretty hard that Holly is seemingly not interested in him. Does anyone know, how far did this story go? Or was it simply dropped entirely? I wonder if writers at the time had planned a May-December romance/pairing for Holly, involving Frank. How would GL fans have taken such a story? I wonder if Long had serious plans for the two before exiting the show in 1990, would we had gotten a Holly/Frank story instead of the Daniel St. John.

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Edited February 16, 2011 by MichaelGL

[DRW50]

Thanks for reading them. Unlike other soaps, we know quite a bit about GL of the 50s, so I appreciate you still reading those even though you probably know all those stories.

I have been meaning to watch more of 80s GL while I have a chance. I've been trying to get through ATWT and that's been taking quite a while.

[DRW50]

From the December 1954 and January 1955 issues of Radio TV Mirror.

Bertha Bauer's campaign to revive the marriage of Kathy and Dr. Dick Grant acquires several assistants - her own husband and Dick's father among them. Dick's friend, Dr. Jim Kelly, once felt the same way, but how would he feel now if Kathy, of whom he has become so fond, showed new interest in her ex-husband? Is Dick too involved in conflict with Dr. Thomson to wonder about his personal life?

Dr. Dick Grant has only his own indecision to blame as he finds himself under the brusque authority of Dr. Thompson, the surgeon hired by Dr. Baird to fill the position Dick could have had. Will nurse Janet Johnson find in Dr. Thompson the tool she needs to carve her revenge against Dick? Meanwhile, Dick's ex-wife also courts trouble as she tries to forget her marriage in a round of gaiety.

[DRW50]

From the May 1954 Radio TV Mirror.

[DRW50]

The May 1966 TV Picture Life says John Boruff (Henry Benedict) was assisting Agnes Nixon in writing scripts.

How long did that last? How long was he on the show? I think IMDB lists him as 65-66. Did he ever work for her again?

[LegalGirl82]

Bradley went to prison in early '84, after his rape trial, Carl.

In addition to his stint in '89 for Beth's return story, Rebhorn also appeared briefly as Bradley in the Spring of '85, when Lujack went to prison for the murder of Andy Ferris. Bradley by then had become sort of a mentor to the new inmates, who referred to him as "The Professor". Upon coming face to face with "The Professor", Lujack knew who he was, and initially resisted even talking to him. Ultimately, though, Bradley proved to be helpful when Lujack planned his escape from prison during the talent show. Lujack accepted his help begrudgingly. Beth, who aided Lujack in his escape, was unaware of the connection until she literally ran into Bradley as they were making their escape. She understandably freaked out momentarily, nearly derailing the escape.

[DRW50]

I never knew he was in the Andy Ferris story. Thanks. I guess someone at the show must have wished they hadn't given him such a dark role, to keep bringing him back. I wish GL had brought him back in the last year to play out story with Lillian and Beth, instead of wasting him at ATWT a year later with the pointless role of Reid's uncle.

[LegalGirl82]

If there was regret on the part of the showrunners; I'm very glad they didn't try to do a quick redeem on Bradley. I thought he served the show well in the '85 and '89 returns, but didn't feel the need for anything further. The initial wrap-up of the rape story and later his part in Beth's return story in '89 really provided a sufficient and thorough enough end to Beth's rape story, as well as the relationships between Bradley and Beth and Bradley and Lillian. His story was done.

I'm okay with them not bringing him back in the last year of the show, since he died offscreen in '03 and it would have just been a rehash of a story that was done, anyway.

One story I always wanted for Beth, and would have liked to have seen before the show ended, would have been for her to find out more about her biological father.