Guiding Light Discussion Thread

[Maxim]

I am literally getting goosebumps watching 1982! THIS SHOW IS ON FIRE.

[Maxim]

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Even if I have to watch 1982 to 1991 just to get to this point... I will.  

[robbwolff]

Johnny Bauer was actually a Mary Ryan Munisteri creation as he arrived around June 1986. Sheri Anderson was responsible for Johnny's dreaded sister Lacey who arrived in June 1987 and was gone by August.

[kalbir]

TV years to TV years for comparison. I'm aware of the radio history.

The build up to this episode starts June 1989 when Robert Calhoun becomes EP and this episode was the culmination of his run.

[Maxim]

Thank you so much for this heads up! I am writing this down.

I also want to thank  @Sapounopera, @robbwolff for the responses and additional info. 

[Maxim]

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I couldn't contain myself.

[Mitch64]

As a kid I caught some of GL during school breaks and then in high school got caught up in Nola and her shenanigans and watched it ever since.  I love the Dobson's more sophisticated characters and Marland's time...(more Nola and gang than anything else..) and really loved the first few years of Long/Kobe. The Bauers were the center of it all still, Reardon's provided warm working class action, Spaulding's were the rich and troubled families, the Lewis brought eccentric zest to the town (LOVED H.B. and Mindy) and Reva was great...earthy, sexy, full of heart and still could cause trouble..Zimmer was on fire then. The changes didn't bother me so much but even then it all fell apart,  it was unnecessary to write out Hope and Mike, kill Hillary (all could have been recast if the actors were problems) recast Ed, obscure the Reardon's make Van a boring housefrau (which she never really recovered from) and make the show all about Reva and the Lewis family.  The changes could have worked with the backbone of the Bauers and Reardon's in place to offset the OTT of Reva and the Lewises. The show never recovered from there. 

Sadly, in 1985 the show could have used Bert's death as a turning point and bring back Mike and Hope (especially since Alan was lurking in the background) bring back Aunt Meta or at least Bea Reardon to provide a matriarch (but no, we get Sarah Shayne cause of course...Reva...) The show bumped along until Curlee really took over a lot of the writing. Had a few great years, and then all went to crap again (and I dumbly watched to the end..cause I loved this goofy show and saw the potential.) 

[TEdgeofNight]

Please try to. You literally posted the show that this scene was in yesterday. 

[P.J.]

I recently rewatched the buildup to Alex's takedown of Roger. I found myself getting mad that Maureen was so willing to give Roger the time of day. After everything that he'd done to all these people she knew....ugh.

Edited April 18, 2024 by P.J.

[slick jones]

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[kalbir]

Maureen being the anchor/tentpole of the community saw the good qualities in everyone and showed kindness to everyone, and yes that included Roger. While Roger didn't care about what the rest of Springfield thought of him, he cared about what Maureen thought of him, and that's evident when Roger and Maureen are trapped together during the blackout and when Roger visited Maureen's grave.

 

[Maxim]

Thank you for quoting and getting attention to the amazing edit I made. I hope all of you liked it.

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[chrisml]

Going off what Kalbir wrote, I think the Maureen/Roger friendship was an important one and it should have been explored. That's something soap never understood. Viewers appreciate these odd friendships because they not only give depth to the characters, but it provides more avenues for drama. That's something so many producers don't understand. It's not about these big sweeps storylines or dramatic storylines; it's about the character interactions and the ramifications. 

[P.J.]

I understand that point of view, and the value of those kind of connections. But in this specific case, Roger really was doing villainous things, and Maureen never got the full tea. Granted, I don't think they really ever did much other than have Maureen occasionally give the occasional grace to Roger or try to reel someone back from obsessing over him. But when she comes back from the country club and says "I feel dirty", yadda yadda---all I can think is that she's never had Roger screw with her life for his own gain.

[DRW50]

I think you have a fair point. Maureen was essentially just used to make Roger look better. Ellen Parker and Michael Zaslow and the scripting team made it work. If Maureen had lived I think she probably would have ended up changing her views considering how much Roger was regressed as a character by the mid-90s.