Jump to content

Guiding Light Discussion Thread


Paul Raven

Recommended Posts

  • Replies 17.8k
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Top Posters In This Topic

Posted Images

  • Members

I had forgotten this was Sherry Stringfield's last episode on the show, and what a way to go out. She'll always be "my Blake."

 

Also, few soap opening scenes have stuck with me as much as Holly dropping that tray. I've said it a million times, but Maureen Garrett was and is so damn underrated - it's actors like her that made me fall in love with soaps, and Holly was so wonderfully complex during this era.

 

Please register in order to view this content

 

Edited by BetterForgotten
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Mine too. Loved her as Blake. Losing both Sherry Stringfield and Beverlee McKinsey (RIP) in the same month was a huge blow to the show. I stopped watching not long after.

 

I was feeling nostalgic over the holiday weekend and found myself rewatching summer/fall 1989 episodes. CBS daytime on the whole was so awesome in the late 1980s/early 1990s, with the game show block and 4 daytime dramas at full steam.

 

I had totally forgotten Michelle Forbes was on GL. I started watching in spring 1989 and I believe she was gone by the end of year, so I only watched the tail end of her run. I looked Michelle Forbes up on IMDb and she's been working steadily for the last 25 years and in some big hits, I'm impressed. Her latest entry on IMDb is the upcoming Hunger Games movie, wow.

 

Anybody know what became of Kimberley Simms? I thought she was really pretty, and looked a lot like Christie Brinkley. I read that she was considered for two major recasts in the mid 1990s, Jennifer on Days and Ashley on Y&R, but as we know nothing came of it. Her IMDb entry only has a couple of entries post-GL so she might have retired from acting.

 

I didn't watch GL for very long (spring 1989 to summer 1992) but I'm glad I did for those great years.

 

Edited by kalbir
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

The general ensemble for the show was incredibly strong in the late 80's/early 90's. Only ATWT really came close for me in terms of the actors.

 

In my time watching soaps, that era for the two CBS P&G soaps really had the best acting (there were duds for both soaps of course, but overall amazing). 

 

Edited by BetterForgotten
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...
  • 4 weeks later...
  • Members

^^^Each year my love for those two characters just grows deeper and deeper. I don't think I'll ever enjoy a duo or dynamic between two soap characters as much I did with those two. Roger and Holly just touched a part of my soul that very few things in the entertainment world touch. It also helped that they were both deeply fascinating characters away from one another and were played by two superb (not to mention underrated) actors.

 

Not surprisingly, my favourite eras of this show tend to have Roger/Holly as a main focus point. I always knew when I watched them as a kid that I was watching something very rare and magnificent. I really didn't realize how lucky I was back then, and re-watching clips on YouTube just reaffirms it to me. 

 

There will never be a dynamic or two characters like this on soaps ever again. They were truly one of a kind. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

MZ & MG had a chemistry that was unmatched. Despite all the heinous things Roger did to Holly, I wanted those two to end together. I hate how MADD fired MZ instead of giving Roger and Holly the proper ending they deserved. I would've found it more compelling for the big, bad Roger Thorpe to become stricken with ALS (much like MZ) and to succumb his ailment than to be written off and to have some bastard child (Sebastian) come back and avenge him. I think MZ and MG would've given EMMY worthy performances had they just wrote MZ's ailment into the show. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

They were both very flawed and troubled people. At times, Holly could be very unsympathetic, yet I loved her and strangely wanted the best for her. 

 

Regardless of the terrible treatment P&G gave Zas, I do think it's fitting Roger and Holly never got a happy ending. They were not that kind of couple, and someone once said they were the true definition of an anti-supercouple, and I love that. I loved watching the two of them move in and out of each other's obit at different times, but I always knew that whatever peace they found with one another was always going to be tentative, even if they loved one another deeply despite everything.

 

I could go on forever, but those of us who witnessed the greatness of these two characters are so lucky. I don't think GL/P&G ever quite expected that this duo would ever be as popular and vital to the show as they were. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Unfortunately, your content contains terms that we do not allow. Please edit your content to remove the highlighted words below.
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.



  • Recent Posts

    • I can't fully remember, but I don't think they tried to get Beth Chamberlin back. I think Laibson/McTavish likely saw Beth as old news and wanted to move Philip on; either that or have her return only when Philip was closely tied to a new woman. Thanks as always for these recaps. I think I had stopped watching around this time and mostly kept up by reading in the soap magazines. Bridget's degradation was horrible to watch, as the character had grown so much over the years and was clearly regressed just to be a foil for a couple viewers had zero investment in. 
    • Having the majority of the cast on those low numbers is no way to tell story. And just 2 dayplayers for the month. So sad for the #1 soap.  
    • I believe it was. And this is actually one of the cases where I wouldn’t mind some dumb soap opera bringing back from the dead. They gave Mishael, Amanda, with all of Hilary’s connections but none of the personality except for fleeting moments. Hilary absolutely should’ve just left town. They decided to kill her and the baby. Just baffling,
    • That was Mal Young right? He thought a tragic death was a better option than crafting a story where Hilary leaves town. Was it a case of punishing someone who wants to leave? And then they have to jump through hoops to bring the actress back.
    • Ooo @TaoboiI will say I just watched Amanda give it to Abby and I loved it. Honestly just made me miss Hilary more. I will never understand or get over that decision to kill her off. Also call me crazy but I could definitely see the Damian actor playing NuTed on BTG. Very much still enjoying the Lily attraction.
    • I rewatched these episodes---they broke my heart. Somehow, Nola had seen Vanessa leave the hospital, and follows her home, and Maeve just lets out this primal scream---chills went down my spine. And knowing the history between them---never quite liking the other and always getting on each other's nerves (to put it mildly)---makes it a much richer to have them put it all aside in the moment and be family to each other. I've never seen/heard what Maeve thought of the story itself, but she did want a break, so it's not like she was fired and then brought back. Yes, Vanessa could be this stubborn and unwilling to ask for help. She'd pretty much always been an "I can do this on my own" type of woman, although when she first came to town, she would still run to Henry. But after she met Billy, she stopped relying on her father. It's part of the reason she (briefly) got addicted to pills after Bill's birth---she was determined to take care of him all by herself and became obsessed with the idea she was the only one who could. Of course, nothing before to this extreme. I should say, there's no way (IMO) they could've told this story---Vanessa letting her loved ones thinking she'd died---if her father Henry had still been alive. She never would've been able to do that to him. And it does chafe that she's letting Bill believe it, when her mantra had been all about protecting him since the day he was born. I honestly don't recall what I thought about it at the time. But now I'm thrilled she's free of Matt at least. LOL.
    • I had no idea Peter Reckell was 70. He doesn’t look or feel it and I guess I thought Bo and Hope were closer in age than 9 years. Wow even the new writers had to have Jack praise Leo. Melissa Reeves continues to slip back in effortlessly as Jennifer. I like Ari and Holly being old friends. Holly learning about John’s death reminded me of how John used to call her Nikki if my memory is serving me right. Doug who happily sleeps in high school Holly’s room shirtless and in his underwear is now asking about birth years. How old is he anyway?    The Cat and Chad romance is insulting. 
    • Her husband is Marty Levy. Chocolate Fortunes (her company) was started in 1987.  So that explains the mystery of 'Whatever happened to Pam Peters?' She had been running a successful business for decades.
    • KMH's Emily was a harbinger for the lack of dignity many characters would face in the last decade of ATWT. On paper, many of the stories given to Melanie Smith's Emily could have been extremely sleazy, but she was treated with respect and understanding in the writing. By 1996 the show went from often not knowing how to write for KMH's Emily to giving her outright reprehensible material. There were breaks from this treatment, but not enough, with even those breaks often being poorly written or just used to make her look even worse (like her grotesque rape story turning into her using her rape to destroy Margo's marriage).  By the last years I don't even know what the hell they were doing. Wasn't there some kind of mother-daughter whoring story with Emily and Alison? Wasn't Emily getting beaten up by johns? Whenever I think of how they wrote for KMH's Emily I'm reminded of Pauline Kael's quote about Ann-Margaret's '60s movie persona - calling her "dirty" and saying the people who made the movies "knew what men wanted to do to her."  Even as much as ATWT started hiring softcore actors in the mid/late '90s, the Emily treatment was on a whole other level. I have never known what audience they thought they were going to be attracting.
    • At this point the options are 1. Leslie is going to be caught out, arrested and jailed. Hit and run, blackmail etc. 2. She gets off due to lack of evidence. Second option keeps her on the show but how are they going to keep her a viable character? No one should want to have anything to do with her. If they keep her around, won't other characters come off looking stupid for putting up with her? I'm interested to see where they go with this character/story and hope not to be disappointed.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy