Guiding Light discussion thread

[John]

I watched GL starting in 93 on a semi regular basis til 2009 so my First mindy was Barbara Crampton

I ended up liking Krista in her returns in 2002, 2009 and only saw Kim and Ann in YT vids they both werent bad

 

what are thoughts on all the Mindys

[DRW50]

 

My first Mindy was Kim Simms. I thought she was perfect - sultry, likeable, believable as Billy's little girl, yet capable of layers. Krista's Mindy seems slighter to me, shallower, but she's fine for what Mindy was in those years, and she had a good chemistry with Michael O'Leary. Barbara Crampton mostly just seemed very bland to me - I was so disappointed as I was such a fan of hers on Y&R. Ann Hamilton was just there.

 

I had seen these episodes once about a decade ago, back when Megaupload was still a thing, but I had never saved them. They'd never really been on Youtube - until now. 

 

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(Bert bitching about Bill and Meta as Papa tut-tuts never, ever ceases to entertain me)

 

 

(this one has Ruth Warrick @SFK )

 

 

(that one is among the episodes where Bert's mother is so horrid that Mike runs away) 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 30, 2020 by DRW50

[titan1978]

From what I have seen watching tons of eps on YouTube, Simms is my favorite Mindy, followed by Krista.

 

Krista’s Mindy is very much Billy’s daughter- flashy, determined, a little bit nasty at times but not an evil person, and feels like a Lewis right next to Billy and HB.

 

Kimberly’s Mindy has all those layers too, and also more of a serious and sultry personality.  It’s almost as if Josh raised her- she’s still a Lewis, just more internal.

 

I cannot imagine the original Mindy in the affair with Roger storyline.  At all.

[DramatistDreamer]

 

Nope, Tesreau's Mindy would more likely have reached up on tiptoe and popped Roger in the jaw after stomping on his foot, if Roger ever made a move, lol.

[Soaplovers]

Simms' Mindy I wouldn't have bought being part of the original 4 mouseketeer at all.  It was interesting seeing her first few months on the show finishing out the stories started by Krista's Mindy.  She and rusty didn't have chemistry nor did you buy her and Will together.  She played Mindy more like how Melanie Smith played Emily on ATWT.  Serious, sultry and tortured with a temper.

 

Krista's Mindy was the spoiled princess with a youthful spirit.  You both loved her, yet also wanted to slap her. 

 

I don't recall much of Ann Hamilton's Mindy except she was neither spoiled/playful like Krista nor sultry like Simms.

 

Barbara's Mindy was hindered by the fact the show kept pushing her with Nick when they didn't click.  The last few months she was there..it seemed like she found her niche as Mindy...and sadly she was the only Mindy that chemistry with Michael O'Leary's Rick...

[chrisml]

I came across a book that talks about soap fan culture, and they included a letter to the Soap Opera Weekly editor complaining about GL and Ann Hamilton as Mindy. The letter also proves that JFP was rewriting history when she said that she didn't know people thought killing off Maureen was a huge mistake until years later. I was a kid but I remember reading furious letters in the soap magazines about Parker's firing. 

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[Vee]

I do still think you could resurrect GL today, as has been said before, with perhaps a more online-friendly, streamlined setup - the blended Bauer clan under one roof, perhaps with single/widowed Michelle and kids, maybe Ed and Holly, maybe not. (If Rachel Miner can still perform with her illness she'd be welcome.) Generational tensions, Michelle being back because of the economy and her health, etc. Reva and the Lewises, etc. could be threaded back in as well.

Edited May 31, 2020 by Vee

[DRW50]

 

Of all the soaps I think GL and EON could be the most easily revived today, but that may be bias on my part. I agree with your ideas.

 

@chrisml thanks for posting that for us. I agree with many of their points. Not about Mallet. That dullard was shoved all over the screen in JFP's tenure. If he was not getting airtime by this point it's likely because they knew Mark was leaving. 

[Vee]

You could revive EON in fifty years too, there's so many primetime shows like it.

 

I still think OLTL is the most contemporary in spirit, but AMC and GL are evergreen in the same way to me.

[DramatistDreamer]

 

GL tried to make Ann Hamilton's Mindy some type of 90s version of Annie Oakley.  I just remember there were many scenes of her Mindy at Cross Creek taking target practice with a hunting rifle and wearing waders while fly fishing. It was quite a departure from the ultra-femme versions of Mindy that had come before.

 

Although Smith had chemistry with a lot of actors that you wouldn't guess that she would. She had surprising chemistry with Benjamin Hendrickson in the scenes that I saw them in, as well as Andrew Kavovit, Scott Bryce, and Jon Hensley, Anthony Herrera and Greg Beecroft probably most of all. Those characters were nothing alike yet she had chemistry with them all. 

[GLATWT88]

I have been watching the 1992 blackout episodes and while searching for the first episode of the blackout, I noticed that GL had intros at the beginning of many episode with character summaries. Does anyone know if this was GL specific or if the other CBS soaps were doing something similar as well at the time.

 

Here's an example:

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Edited May 31, 2020 by GLATWT88

[DRW50]

Were those promos that aired outside of the episodes and they're just put together here?

[BetterForgotten]

If I ever revived GL, things that spring to mind:

 

-  Maybe start off the show with a funeral for Meta that sees various Bauer's and characters return to Springfield. Meta must be over 100 by now, but we can fudge the timelines...

-  Peter Reardon would have to be a central character - a character connected to the Thorpe's, Reardon's, Bauer's, and Lewis's. This character could have been a goldmine if written properly

-  I'd use it as an excuse to revive Nola and Quint/the Reardons as have them running Company again or possibly turning it into a boardinghouse again. No need for any Cooper's of any kind. 

-  Reva cannot lead a story ever gain. Sorry, Reva needs to settle into a Bert Bauer-esque matriarchal role. Zimmer may not like it, but that's who Reva should now be

-  Find a competent actress for Marah Lewis that can actually lead story

-  Ross isn't dead, or I'd pretend that sh!t never even happened. Ross and Blake's kids would also be younger generation leads 

              - Sherry Stringfield would be playing Blake again, if we can secure her 

-  Hope Bauer can return to be some type of matriarch for the Bauer's. Maybe she's living with Ed and Holly, and Michelle's kids 

-  Maybe they can finally try Alan-Michael and Gilly (who would return to Springfield) again. I'd try to get Rick Hearst to plan Alan-Michael again

 

And sorry, I'm all for taking the show into the new generation, but I don't know that I'd have 'Otalia' in my revived version of Springfield. We can have better written representation with other characters...

 

I'm actually not entirely sure what I would do with Phillip and Beth, or the Spaulding's in general (outside of Alan-Michael, who would feature as much with the Bauer's as with the Spaulding's if Hope returned). I know they need to be represented somehow, but I don't know if I need to see that twit Lizzie again. But Phillip and Beth's other kids could take center-stage. I'd also recast Alexandra with an esteemed older Southern actress that's more similar to Beverlee McKinsey, Alan can remain dead. 

 

Oh, and Billy and Vanessa - I'd keep them together, they don't have to be permanent characters, but I'd use them heavily in a recurring capacity. 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 31, 2020 by BetterForgotten

[GLATWT88]

I believe these ran at the start of the episodes. Many of the episodes I watched during this blackout storyline from 1992 included them and they were always at the very beginning. Also, the episodes that had commercials had the promos with the commercials and they didn't look like these character summaries. There was one for Gilly, Lujack, Mindy and a few other characters. I tried searching to find out if other CBS soaps were doing the same or why GL was airing these (possibly as an attempt to lure viewers and give them a bit of background). 

[Vee]

I'd gut most of the cast tbh. Certainly no Otalia. People would make appearances or slowly be phased back in, but centrally you'd have Michelle's family, maybe Ed, Holly, Reva tending some bar or something and beyond that everyone is pretty flexible. I also might say the Spaulding empire has fallen or moved away, or severely downsize its presence and only keep one or two of the younger ones doing business, perhaps with Phillip in an elder role. AMC 2.0 did a fairly wise clean sweep of a ton of stuff, but I'd do something more drastic after it's been so long for GL, and given our current times. You can build or rebuiId more traditional soapy institutions, like corporate intrigue in Springfield, USA, over time. Other shows like OLTL or AMC can have more trappings off the bat because their foundation is either more baroque and edgy or more plotty, or with AMC simply more of a blend. To me GL's oldest and best strength is its sense of family and its heart.

 

Though yes - I would throw money at Sherry Stringfield to play Blake, scheming local power broker.

Edited May 31, 2020 by Vee