Guiding Light discussion thread

[InLoveWithSoaps]

I'm probably alone in this but I always think they had the perfect opportunity to bring back Hope when they cast Selena. Patti d'Arbanville could have easily been believable as a Hope recast and is one of the only times they cast a 50-something blonde actress in later years and they kind of let Selena fizzle out after a while. They could have tweaked the story a bit, get rid of the ex prostitute angle, but keep her as Abby's cellmate because of a DUI that could have led to a mystery, with the Bauers having a hard time processing one of their own ending up in prison, with her being Abby's cellmate thrusting her into the dramas of her family right away, keep Drew as her daughter giving another angle to her friendship with Michelle. And then bring back A-M.
I also think of Terry Davis as another one who could have worked in the role.

[DramatistDreamer]

Chris Bernau definitely did so much for that character- he was that good.

When you see what came after, it was obvious how much of a factor Bernau had been in that character's success.

[zanereed]

Absolutely, 100% correct. That character could have easily been a one-note villain archetype, but Bernau brought such depth to the character that even if his motivations were less-than-admirable, Bernau's Alan always believed he was doing the best for Alan

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Pilon and Raines didn't bring that to the character at all. Alan became the one-note archetype. I remember either P & G or the soap press was lauding the hiring of Raines, as they said he would remind the audience of Bernau. Uh, no.

As for Hope, they could have brought her back at any time during the 1990's and 2000's. Unfortunately, if they had brought on Mattson, I'm sure they would have wanted to pair Hope with Buzz (for that Mattson/Deas Gina/Keith reunion).

I still think a good Alan recast in 1993 would have been George Reinholt, and I can't even take credit for that idea...someone mentioned it to me back in 2020. I never thought of it before, but I think Reinholt could have made Alan a complex character in the vein of Bernau. Roscoe Born would have been perfect, as well, but I really like the idea of Born as Andy Norris, Andy being fresh out of his prison stint and looking for help from Holly. 

[vetsoapfan]

I would rather watch a thousand mob-inspired shoot-outs in the Bauer kitchen than have any Bauer associated romantically with the dreaded Buzzard. 

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[Soapsuds]

Here's the GL directors reunion with Bruce Barry and Scott Mckinsey.

 

[Spoon]

Ron Raines Alan was a mustache twirling clown.  CB portrayed the role with such class.  Even Daniel Pillon(?) was better in the role than RR, so of course RR was in the role the longest!

i knew the show's birthday was this month, the show would've turned 85 this coming Tuesday.  SAD.

[zanereed]

So true, but I can't help but believe that TPTB would have hired Mattson, looked at Deas, and go, "Oh, yeah, we'll just pair Hope and Buzz together - that'll set ratings on fire !"

Agreed 100%, although I think Pilon still went down the "Max DuBujak" route versus trying to give some depth to Alan, as Bernau had.

[MichaelGL]

I think the show missed the boat with Holly's family, in later years. There was so much potential. 

 

You also had the fact that Andy had a past with Trish Lewis; he could've ruffled some feathers within that family as well. 

[Khan]

Deep within the bowels of my GL fanfic lurks an Andy Norris/Samantha Marler hookup.  Except, I imagined Philip Brown as Andy, and Cady McClain as Samantha (now an attorney, living once again in Springfield, running a private practice with uncle Ross).

[vetsoapfan]

Sadly, considering how incompetent and out of touch with both the show and its audience TPTB were during TGL's last few decades, I'm sure that is exacly what they would have thought.

[Khan]

I'm not as anti-Justin Deas/anti-Buzz Cooper as the rest of y'all.  I was okay with both actor and character being on the show; but, like every other character, he just needed to be used more properly.

But I DID think it'd be fun to have Margaret Colin join him on the show for a brief arc as Lucy's mom, Sylvie.

Listen, once you've survived the horror that was Joel Fabiani as Roger Thorpe....

[j swift]

Wow, now that's a BAD recast.  Charmless, uninteresting to look at, and tripping over his lines.  To paraphrase history, I knew Roger Thorpe, Roger Thorpe was a fine looking man, and that sir is no Roger Thorpe.  Although I did appreciate the old soap troupe of having everyone call him by his full name so that we remember which part he is playing.

 

[Khan]

They could have had Paul Michael Glaser or Vincent Baggetta fill in for Michael Zaslow and it wouldn't have been as jarring to watch.  Fabiani was just so wrong for Roger, even as a temp.

[Darn]

Why does Alan-Michael have a picture of Roger wearing the same outfit he has on in the previous scene?

Also Rick Hearst is/was so hot.

[zanereed]

You have me, there. OUCH.

Absolutely. To their credit, the show did bring back Barbara Berjer in 1995 as Barbara Norris, but I don't think Barbara was utilized enough at that time. There was so much history between Barbara and Roger, for example. Roger always hated Barbara for her constant interference in Holly's life. In fact, they should have brought in Roger's father, Adam Thorpe (Robert Milli), on a contract basis to further complicate things - Adam and Barbara had been married in the 1970's. As it was, Barbara left again in 1996.

Then, TPTB brought Roger Newman as Ken Norris in 1998, but again - I don't think they had a good plan on what to do with him. Imagine if both Ken *and* Andy suddenly arrived on Holly's doorstep - Ken being released from the mental institution and looking to reconnect with his family, and Andy also being released from prison around the same time - Ken having learned his lessons, but Andy not having learned a thing and concocting his next big scheme, which probably would have had something to do with Spaulding Enterprises.