Guiding Light Discussion Thread

[Mitch]

LOL..I went back to watch a few scenes from JoanAlex on You Tube. What a strange period..the show was getting back to itself and there was some good writing, history being used and of course, a bonafide star/celebrity on the show and then when Rauch left MADD let it all go to hell. Why?

 

Anyway,  there are some great lines from Joan and she oozed self confidence as Alex....( my fave line after Carmen tried to threaten her..."Well I AM Alexandra SPAULDING and I couldn't care less!"  ) and some lines I just imagine Marj shrieking out while Joan purred them out "Oh Mindy, no one held a gun to your head!"  Anyway, its just amazing that in a short time they bring back Marj, Alex starts screaming and throwing chairs, she becomes Reva's stalker, Alan gets the best of her, then we are led to believe she was dealing drugs all along???

 

 

[KMan101]

 

Liz Keifer (like Marj and Ron, and others I've mentioned) is another recast that they tried to write Blake in character for but as Vee said, Liz Keifer is just soccer mom-ish and it didn't work. Sherry's Blake had so many layers that just seemed wiped away when Keifer took over. Looks wise, I can see why they picked Keifer. But acting wise? No comparison. I do think all three Blake's bore a resemblance to Maureen Garrett.

[KateW]

25 years ago this month

 

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[titan1978]

I have watched a lot of the Curlee and team HW era of the show thanks to YouTube.  Didn’t watch it back in the day, and I was truly missing out.

 

I can’t imagine watching it so sparkle for a great run, only to see it start to unravel and be dismantled brick by brick with not great casting decisions and terrible management.  I can’t think of another soap at that time that had so many riches and was using them all as a true ensemble with well written characters of all ages doing stuff that made you want to watch.  And was willing to take chances!

 

I know she gets bashed plenty.  But JFP really does cast a lot of bland women, produces shows where they are always in competition with each other and fighting, kills off all the wrong people, and centers her shows on talented men that she lets or demands dominate everything.  I will give her credit at GL (certainly the writers were responsible) for not shoving all the vets aside.

 

On her watch Alexandra, Blake, and Mindy were replaced by people that are just not quite right in my opinion.  And Alexandra and Blake’s characters became nothing like they were.

[Mitch]

Its odd to see RR in this, being, kind of sexy, and how quickly his Alan became a windbag.  I still think he was wrong for the part...(always thought he woudl make a good Mike Bauer instead..) but can see why they cast him as a kind of more roguish Alan.

[victoria foxton]

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Bio's on Susan Piper and Amanda Spaulding

Edited November 27, 2019 by victoria foxton

[DramatistDreamer]

While watching a 1993 episode on YouTube, I noticed in the comments that someone mentioned that Tangie didn't quite seem to fit but couldn't put his/her finger on just why Tangie didn't fit.  That got me to thinking, just about every time Tangie appeared onscreen, whether I agreed with that statement and if so, what are the reasons for it.

I think I came up with some reasons why.

 

The timing and how the character was introduced seemed to be sort of a stumbling block.  JMO but it seemed as though the writer(s) couldn't decide what type of a character Tangie actually was.  Was she a trickster who liked to play games? Was she seeking a deeper, more meaningful relationship with Josh while hiding her true intentions, so as not to scare him off? Was she obscuring an emotionally fragile center at the heart of her personality with big gestures? Was she testing Josh somehow out of a deeper insecurity?

 

It was as if the writing worked hard to stay away from any aspects of Reva's personality, lest the viewers be tempted to compare the two, yet on the sly, they still seemed to be trying to infuse the relationship between Josh and Tangie with some of the 'push-pull' element that made Josh and Reva such a draw.  It's odd to watch. 

 

When Josh first arrived back in Springfield, he made it sound as if he knew a good deal about Tangie. He talked about how much time she spent with Mara and Shayne, who both seemed to really like her.  Then when Tangie gets to town, Josh tells Vanessa that he barely knows Tangie. There are moments when Josh makes it seem like a crazy fling, then the next moment he's talking about his concerns about getting intimate with Tangie and what that could mean for their relationship.  Ambivalence is fine, but at least get the timeline correct.

 

The writing for Tangie seems very muddled and it has me confused.  There was a really great scene between Josh and Tangie where Josh is trying to unclothe Tangie but the zipper gets stuck on Tangie's sequined cocktail dress.  Josh wants to cut it off but Tangie, afraid the dress will get ruined, says she doesn't want her dress to get ruined.  Then she proceeds to tell Josh why the dress is so important to her.  Marci Walker really shined in that scene and she and Robert Newman really showed what chemistry was possible between them when the writing is done well.  So far, that has been the only time when I thought that Tangie has possibilities but the opportunities are too few and too far in between. 

 

The other problem is I feel as though the writing is too hastily trying to shoehorn Tangie into scenes involving the Lewis family.  Little Bill seems to worship Tangie like a goddess and somehow she's already becoming a fast confidante with Mindy.  Vanessa, who is usually circumspect seems to be already encouraging Josh to pursue a relationship. HB within one meeting seems to be charmed and even the caretaker at Cross Creek (where Tangie made a spontaneous visit after commandeering the Lewis jet somehow) seems to love her.  It's all too much at once!  

The writers are forcing things so fast and not allowing the viewers to take to Tangie gradually.  Maybe the writers sense that some of the other storylines have either wrapped up or are wrapping up and are panicked and trying to generate something else fast.  It just seems like too much too fast where Tangie is concerned.

[kalbir]

This must have been Nancy Curlee's last major storyline

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1SsQHgcz2s

 

 

 

[BetterForgotten]

Yes, the beginnings of the Who Shot Roger stuff was her last hurrah. 

[DramatistDreamer]

Speaking of Who Shot Roger? stuff, I was jonesing for some GL but there are no further episodes of this storyline have been posted yet, so somehow I've ended up watching a Christmas episode from 1986 and seeing these scenes with Phillip and Dinah, it occurs to me that they were cousins.  Were there any emphasis on this fact going forward in the show, in subsequent years, after re-casts?  I really don't remember this.

[NothinButAttitude]

 

I don't think it was. 

 

I do hate that they didn't address Ross like they should've when Phillip came back the last year. That should've been Dinah's driving force that last year instead of Shayne. Dinah was her best when she wanted to get one over on someone. 

 

My dream story would've been for Phillip's return to have caused a ruckus amongst Marler, Bauer, and Spaulding clans as they had such close connections. 

 

I would've loved for a SORASed Jason and Dinah to join forces in wanting to take down big cousin Phillip as they blamed him for their father's death; meanwhile, Kevin, "the good twin," would be conflicted about the whole ordeal. 

 

Kevin would've been conflicted due to him being a young intern at the hospital taken under the wing of Rick, who was once believed to be his father. And having forgiven Rick for his part in Ross' accidental death, he would grow to forgive Phillip too, as that's why he'd believe Ross would want. That relationship alone would unnerve Blake, Jason, and Dinah, as they felt Kevin was trying to replace Ross with Rick. 

 

My vision of Jason would be that he'd be a dastardly, young professional like grandpa Roger. He'd be trying to come at Phillip on all fronts. Him and Dinah trying to usurp Phillip from Spaulding. He'd also be trying to bed Leah, Rick and Mel's daughter, knowing it'd cause grief for Rick and by proxy, Phillip. And Leah would loathe Phillip as his actions caused her life to spiral as it caused Rick to eventually drift in Beth's orbit, thus ruining Rick/Mel's marriage.

 

The story potential could've been endless if GL was given more time on air upon Phillip's return. 

[Mitch]

Good God that was bad..Buzz was starting to take over...I can't believe that Curlee was involved in Lucy, and shrieking hissing Marj/Alex..what a weird change from Bev...

 

That would have been great...I can't believe that DInah did not have a bigger reaction about Ross, with he and Henry gone she lost her two anchors.

[KMan101]

Honestly they sort of did the same with Mallet as they did with Buzz. Harley existed for Mallet as he whined and screamed and petted his dog. I wasn't impressed with him either. Early Mallet is FAR better.

 

It really is sad watching such a vibrant show become what it did. Phelps absolutely rips the heart out of every show she's on and just stomps all over it.

 

Re-watching Curlee's GL and Labine's GH this past week and then immediately watching some later stuff, I just want to cry at the destruction. You know about it, see it, but for some reason, comparison just really makes it hit home. Heck, even by 1996-1998 GH was on the decline without Claire and it was clear as day ... her return of Luke and Laura? Re-establishing Laura. The house of Laura's dreams. My God. It's amazing to watch. We are such a far cry from that. And to think how Phelps just destroyed it. Such strong relationships were just battered to the point of no return. Under Claire you could literally go from a sitcom sequence to such human drama with Luke, Laura, Bobbie, etc. Sigh. Anyway, back to GL ...

 

Gone is the care and devotion and effort at really putting on an amazing show. I mean, this is no new revelation, but the destruction was truly devastating. 

 

EDIT: It always bothered me they dumped Nola (but they had no idea how to write for her anyway) and then slotted in Selena (who I liked at the time) and made Drew Selena's daughter. Would have been better if Drew were Stacy and Nola's daughter. I wonder what could have been with Nola had Curlee still been the head writer and no Phelps around. It's like Phelps shrugged and said "here's Nola so shut up about Maureen"

Edited December 7, 2019 by KMan101

[Faulkner]

What I loved about Curlee’s GL (and Labine’s GH) was how it respected soaps as a female genre—centering female diversity and female friendships—while also populating the show with complex male characters who felt absolutely credible, lived in, and with unique points of view that weren’t always likable but always recognizably human. They weren’t just himbos who existed solely to be shirtless or knights in shining armor or self-pitying misogynists or cretins (like Todd Manning or Jonathan Randall or the various dubious “heartthrobs” we saw emerge in the late ‘90s and 2000s). Springfield and Port Charles were such rich, interconnected canvases. If something major happened in one story, you saw how the effect rippled across the entire community.

[victoria foxton]

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