Guiding Light Discussion Thread

[soapfan770]

It's funny 1982 seems to be a lost/transitional year for GL compared to 1980, 81, 83, and 84. Maybe it was that awful disco theme. I'm not familiar with the Helena character who was she? The actress looks a lot like Barbara Carrera(though she was from South America) in my opinion.

Another 2005-2007 set that really bothered me was the 5th Street set. Yes it was fun and spacious at first but it quickly became overexposed and used ALL the time including for the Bauer Barbecue and Ross' funeral.

[DRW50]

Helena was an old associate/love of Quint's who was dangerous and tied to some of Quint's enemies. She was one of Quint's harem, along with Nola and Mona/Rebecca/whoever. She was a lot of campy fun, as was Vanessa, who also floated around that storyline.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-UmaTk5_nY4

Rose Alaio's other major soap role was Rose on Ryan's Hope. I loved her on that show. She was fired around the time of the 1981 writers strike.

Edited March 29, 2011 by CarlD2

[DRW50]

There is a lot more of Helena at quintnola's Youtube channel. There are a few scenes at ClassicGL under The Prisoner. Here are one or two others that I enjoy just for silly, sentimental reasons, like when they worked in a bit of a Nola fantasy to Key Largo.

Marland's GL was so damn stylized and dense. I could analyze every scene. Yet I can see why it fell apart after he left.

Please register in order to view this content

Edited March 29, 2011 by CarlD2

[soapfan770]

Thanks for the clips and info! Carl do you think Quint and Nola could have survived alongside Josh and Reva? I've always thought it was funny Kim Zimmer played a Nola on The Doctors.

[DRW50]

I don't know. I know many feel only Marland could write for them. Quint was such a very unique character and Michael Tylo has never seemed very interesting outside of that window. Nola I think had more potential but I'm not sure. It's a little hard for me to imagine her in the late 80s or early 90s GL, but you never know. I would have liked to have seen her become friends with Reva, cause mayhem around town - imagine Vanessa's reaction.

[Khan]

That's because, for the most part, those who came after him didn't have the same feel for Gothic romance that he did. (As usual, though, I think Nancy Curlee would have done right by them, had she been given the opportunity. Next to Marland, she seemed to be the one who "got" GUIDING LIGHT the best.) Once Marland left, Quint and Nola's relationship became more about wild adventure - which was cute, don't get me wrong, but it never had the same enchanting air of mystery that their earlier story did. Also, Quint, an eccentric (and possibly antisocial) archaeologist and explorer, was thrust suddenly into the corporate sphere thanks to a paternity reveal that was entirely unnecessary (Henry Chamberlain could have been like a father to him instead of his actual one - and don't get me started on Quint suddenly became "Sean Ryan"); and Nola just became an all-around kook and businesswoman. (Remember "Nolaerobics"?) These new functions just didn't suit them all that well, IMO.

Edited March 29, 2011 by Khan

[Khan]

Well, it did seem odd for the Kelly/Morgan relationship to end that quickly over something as (relatively) small as his jealousy. But I think the real issue here is that Quint & Nola began to take up a lot of the show (the same way Reva and the Lewises would down the road), and others resented that, b/c TPTB treated them like second-class citizens. Plus, with Marland's departure and Pat Falken Smith's arrival, a lot of the stories were suddenly in freefall, and very little of what any character was doing at that moment made sense either to the actor(s) or to the audience.

Edited March 29, 2011 by Khan

[DRW50]

Did Morgan or Kelly leave first? I know Kelly was with Claire but never heard of any story Morgan had after the one with Josh and the birth control pills and such.

I was never sure who made Quint Henry's son. I know Diane Ballard was blackmailing Henry with the info that he had a secret child - did Marland not intend that to be Quint?

[Mitch]

First of all, they were dummies, the Diner was on 5th Street, it burned down and Buzz bought Company from Nola which was on 7th Street! Anyway, I never understood why they wasted that much space with that boring street. At least make it charming looking. Also, use it so you are able to drop walls down, etc. to make it something else. They could have used that space by having a Country Club set by dropping some walls down,etc.

[DRW50]

Please register in order to view this content

What was the temple for?

Edited March 31, 2011 by CarlD2

[Soapsuds]

Love this...lol....after all these years

<iframe title="YouTube video player" width="480" height="390" src=http://www.youtube.com/embed/zSKAY5Fh0UM frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[soapfan770]

We never did see Sam actually jump out of the car did we?

[DAMfan]

delete

Edited April 12, 2011 by DAMfan

[DAMfan]

Guiding Light: Character Profiler-Edmund Winslow

Please register in order to view this content

[MichaelGL]

Still viewing episodes from the short-lived Long/Calhoun era. Here's an episode from October 1990 that features two characters I never knew interacted, India and Roger. The episode also features a Blake and Harley cat fight, a Mindy and AC Mallet romance, and the seeds of an impending Nadine/Vanessa rivalry.

Please register in order to view this content