Guiding Light Discussion Thread

[DRW50]

A great end of the year gift! The last few minutes are missing but that's definitely nothing to complain about as this is one of those transition periods that we don't have much of. Two more episodes after this as well.

@Vee @dc11786 @Khan @SoapDope @soapfan770 @vetsoapfan @Khan @Mitch64 @Dan @Donna L. Bridges @slick jones @FrenchFan @Soapsuds @MichaelGL @jam6242

[Soapsuds]

Oh wow!

Thanks!!

[Contessa Donatella]

Amen. Isn't it the truth?! We the fans could have been jubilant. The actors would be anxiously awaiting every script! Morale could have gone through the roof. 

[Soapsuds]

Just subscribed to the channel.

[DRW50]

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[Contessa Donatella]

Tagalooza! Thanks for including me! Loved seeing MG's Holly at this point in time! 

[vetsoapfan]

What? Additional rare, classic episodes of TGL, right after the TEON treasure was unearthed?

Stuff I am overjoyed to see, which I don't already have in my collection?

The soap gods' love is shining down upon us these days!

Thanks @BoldRestless and @DRW50!

[Aback]

Just out of curiosity: are these episodes getting uploaded to the Vault?

[kalbir]

Thank you @BoldRestless and @DRW50 for sharing these 1980 episodes.

1979 and 1980 episodes that feature Roger/Holly storylines are ones I look forward to because they set in motion everything we saw a decade later.

This is early in Douglas Marland run and he hasn't missed a beat from where the Dobsons left off, at least based on the episodes I've seen from 1979 and 1980.

From the 1980s ratings thread we saw that the Potter/Marland era held its own against pop culture phenomenon General Hospital but the cynic in me can't help but think that it was CBS's highest-rated soap only because Y&R was a mess from it's expansion until the first half of 1982. Remember prior to the expansion Y&R was challenging General Hospital for #1 but then the expansion, time slot changes, EP change, cast changes derailed all its momentum. Also notice Marland 1982 departure overlaps w/ Y&R getting back on track.

[Contessa Donatella]

In the Bill Bell book I am currently re-reading, I have just taken these notes. My paraphrase: Y&R expanded to an hour on Feb. 15, 1980. The show lost 4 share points. It took them 3 years to get them back. Everyone had been hired on contracts that stipulated a half hour show. No one was legally bound to stay. Some did new contracts. However, some left. They thought they could get some mileage out of the time they'd been on this new show. Specifically, Jamie Lyn Bauer let Bill know that she would work out the rest of her contract but then she was out. She would not sign a new contract. She told him she needed a break & she told him not to talk her out of it. The way he reacted to losing her was indirectly why & how he changed the families of the show. He didn't want to recast her & he couldn't bear to have her family & friends go on without her. 

[Paul Raven]

It was Feb 4 1980...

[Contessa Donatella]

You're right. Notes say that. Fingers typed some stupid number. Bad fingers! Sending them to bed without any supper. 

[Soaplovers]

I can suss out the weakness in the day to day scripts that plagued all of Marland's run shows (too much talking/exposition). but they appear not to be so noticeable in these March 1980 episodes... probably because Marland was carrying out the Dobson stories.

Killing off Diane Ballard was a boneheaded move of Marland's.  

Edited January 1, 2024 by Soaplovers

[DRW50]

It was an awful move - Diane was a spark plug character who could have easily fit into many parts of the canvas. Marland was a brilliant writer but he always (in my opinion) struggled with complex characters, aside from some terrific exceptions like Lucinda Walsh. 

[j swift]

For me, the interesting possibilities for Diane are outweighed by the mystery and stories that came from her murder.  I think Marland's mystery writing skills are often underappreciated, and this is my favorite type of daytime drama.  Not only is the outcome surprising, but there were so many secrets attached to Diane that were exposed as part of the solution that it feels like a story that could only be told within the soap opera structure.  A two-hour movie could never utilize as much backstory without tons of inorganic exposition.  And a prime-time drama would need too many recaps for the audience to follow the plot on a week-to-week basis. 

So, I disagree with the critique of the story as an example of Douglas Marland's weakness. Because, I feel, it was a brilliant way to transition out of the stories of the previous writers and into his own concept for the show.

Edited January 2, 2024 by j swift