Guiding Light Discussion Thread

[victoria foxton]

By 1994 the high quality of the writing dropped. GL would never get that back. Even through the  Brent Lawrence/Marion Crane saga was over the top, dark and sensationalist. The story some how worked. Other tales like Blake being pregnant with twins fathered by both Rick and Ross didn't. The worst of these sensationalist tales penned by Megan Mctavish was Gilly and Griffin  falling in love. Unaware they were father & daughter. Out of the Amish nonsense that reintroduced a resurrected Reva we got sweet yet strong Abigail. But we would also get Reva and Buzz chewing the scenery. Cynthia Watros as Annie would add a spark to Josh/Reva/Annie triangle. With her layered and multifaceted performances. A de aged Amanda was reintroduced  her personality and backstory changed. Beth's personality would also be alter for the worse. Ed who never completely recovered from Mo's senseless death would come and go over the years.  The strong and sarcastic  Holly would be damaged by the Nursery Rhyme Stalker story.  GL during the mid 90's & late 90's was ok. It wasn't firing on all cylinders like it was in the late 80's & early 90's. Then came the cheesy country of San Cristobal, cartoonish mobsters and an overexposed Reva being clone. One of the few hightlights of this era was Danny Santos and Michelle Bauer's romance. Carmen's attempts to kill Michelle were reminiscent of Wile E Coyote trying to kill the Road Runner. The last decade of GL is a blur to me. As GL quality eroded even further. Until we got the Peapack era of GL.  

Edited July 13, 2017 by victoria foxton

[katie_9918]

Sorry, but I have to disagree about the Danny/Michelle story. As much as I side-eyed Rebecca Budig, the Michelle who actually fell in love with the violent criminal who forced her to marry him was a complete stranger to me and so I didn't care about her or her criminal husband.

 

And I so very much resented the attempts to make the gangster Santoses look better by making Ed an absentee father who just didn't give a damn.

 

For that reason alone, I refuse to accept anything Santos.

Edited July 13, 2017 by katie_9918

[GH_Girl]

 

It's funny that they couldn't do it with them, when they had just done it with Blake and adjusting her character to Liz Kiefer.

[Soaplovers]

 

Blake had to be adjusted...just seeing Liz's first days as Blake and how she delivered her lines...they had to adjust the character.  SS had a very dry and sarcastic way she delivered her lines...made Blake cool and calm...with a biting wit.  Liz's reading of those lines was more like a spoiled rich girl hence the adjustment to the character.

[NothinButAttitude]

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[DRW50]

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Was it @Mitch who said he couldn't stand the Chelsea/Johnny duets? If so you may want to avoid this one...

 

 

 

I remember KDP saying that they brought Blake in and gave her everything of Chelsea's - job, love interest, storylines, etc. 

Edited July 14, 2017 by DRW50

[Mitch]

Regarding Chelsea and Johnny Fake Bauer....Good God..where was Ray Rooney when you needed her!!! What was up with Weber...why was he doing a bit part and why was he acting like it was a bad skit??

 

That promo ....Raines acting...what...the....hell....and again, I love Marj..but it was not fair to her to have to try and match Bev. They should have written Alex off and brought in Marj as an ex "show girl"(soaps love them)  who married H.B. (I would have killed him off before this...) and through him got a TON of Spaulding stock and was a perpetual thorn in the side of EVERYONE particularly Alan and Reva.

[DRW50]

 

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I noticed that too. I think this wasn't long before he hit it big. I'd forgotten he was on GL.

 

Was this Blake's first episode? I remember an interview after the writers' strike where Pam Long said that the interim people I think had no idea what Blake's secret was supposed to be, so they just stalled things out with Blake for months until Long returned and did the reveal. I'm not even sure if Liz Denehy knew.

[NothinButAttitude]

 

Or they should've made her Brandon Spaulding's bastard child instead of later retconning it to Amanda. 

 

Weren't there rumors that they were considering Robin Strasser as an Alex recast?

[Soapsuds]

Lawd...Michael O'Leary looks older than Peter Simon.

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[DRW50]

 

JFP had her in to talk about taking over the role. Strasser had agreed to talk with OLTL first if she ever considered another soap, so she went to see Gottlieb or MADD or whoever, and decided to return as Dorian. Supposedly JFP was upset with this and that's why she treated Strasser so poorly at OLTL.

[NothinButAttitude]

 

If true, that's stupid that JFP held a grudge all this time. She should be happy that she got to employ yet another Santa Barbara alumni instead. 

[KateW]

JFP brought in a good number of Santa Barbara alums to GL during her run: Vincent Irizarry, Justin Deas, Marj Dusay, Marcy Walker. Am I missing anyone?

 

I know JFP was around when Alan was recast but surprisingly that role went to a virtual unknown instead of a known soap actor.

 

I believe JFP was already gone when Amanda was recast and that role also went to a virtual unknown. I've read some big soap names were considered when Amanda was recast in 1995; among them were Kimberlin Brown, Crystal Chappell, Nancy Lee Grahn, Lauren Koslow, Lisa Peluso. 

[Sapounopera]

For some reason I thought that ED's Blake would turn out to be Beth.

 

JFP's recasts were horrible. Alan, Alex, Blake, Alan-Michael Mindy. With the right actor in the part, the show might not have needed Reva back. 

 

Marj could have played Rita Stapleton.

 

 

[vetsoapfan]

 

The show NEVER needed Reva back!

 

AAAAAAAAAACK!

 

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