Guiding Light discussion thread

[Contessa Donatella]

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[Mona Kane Croft]

Well, I guess that depends on how one defines the lighthouse opening.  Didn't the real lighthouse first appear in the opening a year or two after GL had changed its location to Springfield?   

[alwaysAMC]

Ahh this makes a lot of sense - thank you!

Ok!  This works, because Oakdale is actually established in Illinois.  

I just googled and there are 200 active lighthouses on the Great Lakes, so that works too!  Thanks, all  

[Reverend Ruthledge]

No. The lighthouse opening began in 1954 when the setting was still Los Angeles. 

[GL Oldtimer]

THIS! I remember being a teenager and wanting to look just like her!

I finished reading Megan McTavish's book and I was surprised she talked about the mental health and addiction struggles some of the actors she worked with faced.

And if Maureen Garrett was considered "old" in her late 40s, then sign me up. I wish I looked half as good as she did in her late 40s when I was in my 20s. Being one of only three actors at that time that had roots dating back to the 70s, a time that some fans consider one of Guiding Light's best eras, the actress brought a lot of value to the show, as did the character.

I'll never understand why so many soap operas find it challenging to write for "older" characters. I'm convinced that audiences will watch good content, even younger viewers will watch stories about older characters if the stories are compelling and written well. Guiding Light had some of the best actors in the business in the mid-90s; actors capable of delivering the goods. The show was firing on all cylinders when Roger and Holly made their return in the late 1980s.

Personally, I was challenged by the storylines during McTavish's tenure at Guiding Light. While I did understand her wanting to end Roger and Holly's romance, I did struggle when the two stopped being in each other's orbit. There was so much history between the two characters, not to mention Garrett and Michael Zaslow were just magic on screen together. I was just mesmerized by them, but all of that came to a halt when Holly was paired with Fletcher and Roger with Dinah.

And there's no doubt that Holly's pairing with Fletcher stifled the character. All of the sudden she was wearing flannels and hair scrunchies and acting as a shoulder to cry on for all of Springfield's characters. This was certainly not MG's doing though. I imagine she must have found the lack of storyline for Holly as frustrating as I did. The creative team really pigeonholed a character that was at one point one of the most interesting on the show. 

[kalbir]

I'm a 1990s teen as well. It was being a redhead that set MG apart from the sea of blondes that permeated CBS Daytime back then, especially Y&R/B&B.

 

[Contessa Donatella]

That SOD article reads 

My question is does anyone know what episode this was? Has anyone seen a clip that shows this scene?

Fun Fact: These cities in the Irnaverse & some more fictional cities not named here, were meant to symbolically represent the bedroom communities around Cincinnati where giant P&G had their headquarters. 

 

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Edited 15 hours ago by Contessa Donatella

[alwaysAMC]

Whelp, I got hooked.  Thanks to this YT channel that has daily full episodes, I decided to give it a try.  I'm a slut for the 90s, especially that era of soap operas, and GL isn't disappointing.  I like how there is a mix of corporate/rich and middle income with reporters/police officers/diner owners.  Makes things more relatable.

I wanted to start from Brent's first episode, which is Feb 14, 1995.  But, I decided to back up to the Friday before to get an idea of the storylines and see that cliffhanger, so I started with Feb 10, 1995.  Plus, I knew Reva returns soon after in April 1995, so figured this was the perfect time.  I watched through Feb 21 (8 episodes) today and I'm really enjoying everything.  

Alan-Michael seems to have taken over running the family business and has a feud with his father.  Wish I knew that backstory, but I'll figure it out.  He seems to have a secret crush on Lucy, but is pushing her away and encouraged Brent to ask her on a date.  Here it starts...

I'm glad I started on Feb 10, because I got to see Josh and Annie's first flirtatious encounter and then subsequent date.  They have real chemistry, so I'm excited to see where this goes.  I'm probably just enamored by Robert Newman though, he is so attractive and has tons of charisma.

Nick and Mindy are trying to adopt a baby which seems to be bringing them back together from some apparent rocky relationship, although Nick doesn't seem as sure about this idea as Mindy does.  I don't know their backstory, but Alexandra seems to be happy with this and I love watching Vincent/Marj together again.

Eleni is mysteriously held up in Greece on an island and trying to compromise with Christo, who is ruining her family.  Frank just left for Greece to find her.  This story is giving me gothic vibes.  So far so good.  

Holly just chose Roger over Fletcher, but Roger knows she has a secret that she isn't telling (that she slept with Fletcher).  Tanjie just arrived back in town and knows the secret, so Roger is pressing her.  This story is a little slow for me, mostly because I don't know the backstory, but the Fletcher character seems annoying so far.  I did LOL at this random scene of Roger with his secret Japanese mentor or something, and this knife magically appears and they're talking in shadows.  No idea what that was about, but it was LOL to me.

There is a couple - Vanessa and Matt - who seem to have just fallen in love.  Is she older than him?  I'm getting the vibe there is an age difference that not everyone in Springfield likes.  What is her relationship to Josh?  They seem to be living in the same house right now.  Dinah just showed up from Paris and is meeting everyone.  She seems mysterious/has a secret.

I'm really enjoying it - I can't believe I'm going to start this journey, but here we go.  My goal is to get through the Brent/Marion storyline in 1996 and see how I feel.

Oh - does anyone know if there is another site/place that has higher quality episodes?  These YT videos are slightly blurry just given how old they are, which is doable but not ideal.  I wish I could see faces more clearly, especially when the camera is zoomed in on their faces or when it's dark outside/inside.

 

[DRW50]

RIP Mark Dobies.

Mark Dobies Dead, Guiding Light, One Life to Live Obituary

[P.J.]

Vanessa is Josh's ex-sister-in-law.  (That also makes her Mindy's ex-stepmother) Vanessa was married (twice) to Josh's brother Billy. Billy shot Roger when he learned Roger was his adopted son Peter's grandfather. He's currently in jail.

Yes, Vanessa is older than Matt.

If you find yourself hooked, you might eventually want to go back to 1989, which is when Roger returns from the dead. (And you'd get the entire history of Roger and Billy's feud, but I digress.)

If you've found the playlists I'm thinking of, no, I haven't found better quality. 

Man, it's been a tough year for soap star deaths already.

[alwaysAMC]

Thank you!  So why would Vanessa still be living in the same house as Josh?  Although Dinah did just make a joke that everyone seems to be living in this mansion 

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  And how is Roger already a grandfather?  He doesn't seem old enough, but this is a soap haha.  Who is his son/daughter?

I wish I could go back farther in time, but I had to make a choice and stick with it haha.  I almost decided on 1993, but I said no, I committed to this journey for a reason and I had to draw the line somewhere.

Here is a link to the playlist I'm watching.  Bummer there isn't something more clear out there quality-wise, but I'll take what I can get.  I'd even pay a fee if there was something better out there.  

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[Contessa Donatella]

Is this by any chance the YTer who goes by "Blake Marler". I ask because she is very good & she has so much good stuff. As a matter of fact, it has been suggested that she has the entire catalog that used to be "Bandstand Mike". Who if you recall had nearly all of the last decade of GL. 

[alwaysAMC]

Yes! That's the name tied to these daily episodes I've been watching.  Its quite amazing, no commercials and no ads.

[Mitch64]

The only lighthouse's in Illinois are in Chicago and the Northern Burbs.  It makes sense that Springfield was in Michigan on Lake Michigan, which would also make it close to Goshen...(not that anyone wants to relive that story..) I don't get why they just didn't say where it was...when they did say Oakdale was in Illinois.

I think it goes to laziness of the soap writers and producers..along with their writing of corporations inner workings...( I get it has to be sensational and entertaining but some semblance of reality would be great..not the constant back of forth of the Spauldings ruling the corporation with no backlash from the board, stock holders or investors..and Harley becoming CEO) and the East Coast bias of the midwest (Lipton I am looking at you) that they cant even look up what weather patterns are like or like Guatman and others, thinking kitchen scenes are old fashioned and everyone eats out..

Roger has a son Hart, who knocked up Bridget Reardon, who is Ed Bauer's niece by marriage...(the Reardons are a working class family who run a boardinghouse and bar...) She and Vanessa share custody of Peter, much to Roger's dismay as, as wiley as Bridget is, Van has known Roger for years and she knows his every move.  Matt is Bridget's sister (and dull as hell if you ask me..) Hart is gone from town and he and Roger have an acrimonious relationship...(as Roger has with EVERYONE...)  

The house is Van's and Josh moved in when he recently returned from "Europe" looking for Reva. The explanation is that they didnt have to create a new set for Josh (and wait until you see the ugly annoying set they give him later..) and it makes GL sense... Van and Josh treat each other like brother and sister, and he has kids as does Van so they formed a family unit.