Guiding Light discussion thread

[FrenchFan]

I find this era of Guiding Light totally fascinating. Here a few more episodes from late 1967. Sorry they are not all consecutive. I had no idea they had brought Meta but her talk with Paul about Robin's death is fascinating !

#5185 – Friday, October 13th 1967

At the Hayes’, Jane picked up letters and told Peggy she had a letter from Cedars. Peggy anxiously read that she was asked for an interview and imagined she might have passed. Jane was sure Peggy would be a terrific nurse even if she would miss her at home. Peggy thanked Jane for her help. Jane told her that George was at the airport to pick up Johnny. Peggy felt guilty Johnny had left town previously. She knew he was coming for Robin’s funeral but hoped it could be a new start.

At the airport, George greeted Johnny. He was shocked by Robin’s death. It all seemed very sudden. George confirmed what Ed told Johnny by phone – Robin was walking on a dark road and she was hit by a car. Johnny remembered when Paul was a widower for the first time. Johnny wondered why he and his father couldn’t seem to understand each other.

George had left Johnny at Paul’s. Paul was happy to his son back home. Johnny said he wished he had told his father and Robin nicer things back in the day. He added that Paul supported him but then Paul could lean on his son.

#5195 – Friday, October 27th 1967

At Cedars’, Paul was surprised to hear Martha on the phone telling that Sara was going to attend a medical meeting in St. Louis. Paul met with Sara and told her he thought it was a good idea for her to attend this meeting. It would be a much needed vacation for her. He was worried that Sara might go with memories of what Robin told her before dying. Paul assured Sara that Robin was mentally ill and that Sara shouldn’t feel guilty for her death. After Sara left Paul, Martha told Sara it was sad Paul couldn’t go with her as he would need a break.

Dr. Jackson asked Sara to talk with her for a few minutes in his office. Sara told Dr. Jackson she was happy to leave for the medical meeting for a few days. She needed to release the pressure and assured Dr. Jackson she only confided into him that she was in love with Paul. Sara felt bad Robin found out what she was really feeling for Paul despite her denying. She couldn’t help but feel guilty. Dr. Jackson could listen to her but he couldn’t do much more to help Sara.

#5235 – Monday, December 25th 1967

Leslie woke up Ed in bed on Christmas morning and brought him coffee. She was disappointed Ed had to go to the hospital on Christmas day but Ed assured her they would have a perfect Christmas dinner. Ed felt that surgery was a burden for Leslie who worried about the time Ed would spend at the hospital.

At Sara’s, Tracy was very anxious to open the Christmas presents but Sara thought they should wait for Paul and Johnny. Tracy asked how Johnny was but Sara said she barely knew him. Tracy said she heard about him from Peggy whom Johnny used to have a thing with. Sara greeted Paul and Johnny. Paul told Sara he had a very exciting present from Johnny – his son had decided to become a doctor. As Paul made a toast to old friends, Tracy flirtly made one to new friends while looking at Johnny, who clearly caught her eye. Tracy asked Johnny for a walk and Sara and Paul complied.

At the Bauers’, Papa and Bill were on the phone with Hope and Mike wishing them a Merry Christmas. Bill wasn’t happy Ed and Leslie wouldn’t be there for Christmas but Bert told him that was their little Christmas and they wanted to be alone but they would come and say hello. The doorbell rang. Papa was shocked to see Meta, who decided last minute to visit her father.

#5236 – Tuesday, December 26th 1967

In his office, Paul told Stephen Jackson he was wrong to drag this into Joe Werner and Ed Bauer’s bickering even if he understood Jackson was in a bad position as Joe was his protegee and Ed his son-in-law. Paul told Stephen that he wouldn’t bring Ed before the committee for censure. It was only a matter of intern discipline for Stephen to deal with. Paul only wanted Ed and Joe to understand their personal difference had to stay out of the hospital and Stephen had to tell them.

Dr. Jackson reunited both Joe and Ed in his office. He told Ed he wouldn’t be brought before the committee as a decision of Dr. Fletcher but Joe and Ed had to stop acting like fighting kids. Joe admitted it might have been a misunderstanding the night Ed was supposed to be on call. Both Joe and Ed agreed to forget about this.

Meta visited Paul in his office. She said Bruce couldn’t join her but she wanted to see the Bauers for Christmas. She told Paul she had some medical issues which kept her from attending Robin’s funeral. Meta didn’t want Paul to feel guilty. She remembered when she married Joe Roberts, his daughter Kathy messed up her life until she met Mark Holden. And Meta blamed herself for Kathy’s unhappiness and for Robin’s – Kathy’s daughter – too. But she didn’t anymore : she knew Robin was born in tragedy, lived in tragedy and died in tragedy. Meta was sure that Robin never got over her mother’s tragic death. It was ironic a car took Robin’s life too. Paul hoped it was really the car. Meta asked him if he suggested Robin killed herself. Paul said he hoped he was wrong and told Meta he would like her to meet someone.

#5237 – Wednesday, December 27th 1967

In the morning at the Bauers’, Bert couldn’t understand what happened with Ed not being brought before the committee for censure. Bill told Bert he felt she was too much involved with working at Cedars. She had taken this job when he lost his but as he had a new job, Bill saw no reason for Bert to keep working. Bert didn’t understand this sudden change of heart. She said she had already thought of stop working when Mike and Hope came back to town but Bill insisted he wanted Bert to be a full-time housewife like she used to be.

Later, Leslie arrived to help Bert plan dinner as she would come with Ed. Bert was pleasantly surprised as how Leslie could manage her new life as a married woman after the luxury she knew as a youngster. Bert assured Leslie that the the first blessings of marriage would end someday. Leslie felt Bert was not feeling too well and added she’d like to consider Bert as her mother, as hers died when she was young.

In the living room, Ed and Leslie waited for Bert and Bill who were in the kitchen while Papa had left to fetch Meta, who had insisted to stay in a hotel. Leslie was proud to tell Ed she got closer to Bert that afternoon. She added Bert would stop working at the hospital which raised Ed’s suspicions. When Bill and Bert entered, Ed told Bill that Bert should have decided by herself if she wanted to keep working or not. Bert got angry and told Ed to mind his own business.

#5238 – Thursday, December 28th 1967

Back at their apartment, Leslie asked Ed why he had to get into an argument with his father. She wondered how much Ed still resented his father. Ed told his wife that her father is a big man while Bill was only a little one. He wouldn’t tell her how many failures Bill had in his life. Ed admitted he was afraid to take a drink because he could become like his father.

The following morning at Cedars, Sara was in Paul’s office. She told him that she would stop working with Dr. Jordan in February as the grant should be given to a neurologist and her speciality was internal medicine. She was thinking of going back to Chicago. Paul told Sara he had the idea of offering contracts to keep the best residents at Cedars. She agreed to think about the option.

At her home after dinner, Sara told Tracy she was thinking of going back to Chicago in February and of course would like Tracy to come with her. Sara admitted research was fascinating for a while but she missed working with patients. Tracy asked her why she couldn’t practise medicine here. Sara admitted she could, she had an offer. Tracy told her aunt she noticed she was very fond of Dr. Fletcher.

#5239 – Friday, December 29th 1967

At the Bauers’, as they waited for Bert to come back from Meta’s hotel, Papa noticed Bill seemed moody. Bill admitted he was thinking of his fight with Ed. He told Papa that everytime he got closer to his son, he felt like Ed was drifting away. Ed was full of anger. Bill was afraid Ed would end up destroying himself because of this anger.

Bert was having coffee in Meta’s room after sharing dinner with her sister-in-law. Meta admitted to Bert that she felt Ed was not well, always angry but Bert assured her son was very fine. Meta thought that Leslie was a very nice young girl and marriage with her might help Ed turn off his rebel side. Meta reminded Bert of how ambitious she used to be with Bill and maybe she transfered her ambition towards Ed. Bert turned the conversation to Meta who admitted she had been ill but didn’t want to worry the family. That’s why she came for Christmas, she had to see Paul and explain why she missed Robin’s funeral.

At the Fletchers’, Paul asked Johnny if he had thought about areas of medicine he might be interested in and Johnny talked about psychology. When Paul talked about how excited he was about the new project for Cedars, Johnny asked why Paul didn’t accept to become Medical Director years ago. If Paul had closed his private clinic sooner, Anne wouldn’t be dead. Johnny couldn’t understand why he took this decision too late.

[DRW50]

Thanks @FrenchFan

This is good use of Meta as a character. There's so much left with this Bauer setup - losing Bill and Meta by the end of the decade hobbles them. Did Ed Bryce want to leave or did the show write Bill out? 

I had wondered if the show had deliberately made so many parallels with Kathy and Robin in death. I guess I have my answer. 

There is something so unbearable about the idea that Robin was just damned, with no possibility of ever having her own happiness. A good reminder of the stark tones that many live their lives by even today, and which helped soaps connect with so many viewers. 

This period of GL seemed to be doubling down on these heavy emotional moods. I wonder if the shift to being more plot-driven in the early '70s, with the characters mostly being whirled around by one baddie after another, is what led viewers to move away from the show.

[BetterForgotten]

Kimberly J. Brown is getting mainstream press coverage for her wedding , but because of her Disney work. lol

Former Disney Halloweentown Costars Kimberly J. Brown and Daniel Kountz Are Married: All the Details! (Exclusive)

[DRW50]

Kimberly still looks so similar to when she was on GL (no wonder it felt odd when she returned a few times in the late '00s - still wouldn't have minded seeing her come back for the finale).

I did not know how popular those films were until Debbie Reynolds died. 

[Reverend Ruthledge]

@FrenchFan I've said it before and I'll say it again. Your command of the English language is incredible! That, on top of the fact that you have excellent taste in soaps. You are right in that the late 60s were a great time for soaps, in general, and Guiding Light, in particular. Also As the World Turns, Days of Our Lives and Another World. 

Edited April 20 by Reverend Ruthledge

[Paul Raven]

I'd always assumed that killing off Robin was Irna's doing when she came back, but this was all before her return.

I guess Gillian Spencer wanted to leave as she never stayed beyond her original contracts - see OLTL and ATWT. Same with AMC but she did return, something she couldn't do at the other shows.

So perhaps they decided yet another recast was unwise and they had got 10 years out of the character-she had no relatives and a death would be dramatic, so goodbye Robin.

Re Sara and the engagement to Paul, about 10 years later Justin turned up with a similar backstory of a romance with Sara back in the day. She did well on the never mentioned past romance retcons.

[Reverend Ruthledge]

Yes. Robin's death was erroneously attributed to Irna in Christopher Schmering's book and in, possibly, also Julie Poll's book. However, Irna did not write Robin's death. 

[FrenchFan]

Thanks !! I studied English and nearly became an English teacher in France, but finally chose another teacher area. I'm sure my English is not perfect but I do my best 

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I fell in love with the 1960s' soaps, mostly CBS ones. I try to find the most about ATWT, GL but also EON (very very difficult to find scripts but I have finally ordered some 1967 scripts), LOL (very complicated too), SFT (every script seem available but it is expensive to order), TSS (1967-1969 are nearly complete so I will order everything I can too from this era).

[Paul Raven]

@FrenchFan Your efforts and willingness to share are much appreciated. The 1960's soap era is not well documented and much misinformation has been printed and reprinted, so these scripts are the only way of getting true info.

Thinking about Sara, she was GL's first woman doctor-a sign of the times.

ATWT had Susan around this time also. TD had lead the way with Maggie and Althea and Days had Laura.

Patricia Roe would have been playing Sara at this time- she continued throughout 68 until Millette Alexander too over.

I wonder what the circumstances were? 

Was it a case of Millette wrapping up her EON stint and GL grabbed her and decided to replace Roe? Nowadays we have so much more info on this sort of stuff.

The Ferros only lasted about a year. They had to follow Agnes' long run. I wonder if their stories were well received ? Maybe not...

[FrenchFan]

I agree. This era is not well-enough documented.

I hope I will find more about Susan's early days on ATWT. It was definitely a change to have women doctor. I like Sara on GL. Alexander played Julie Jamison on EON until New Year's Eve 1969. I think she moved to GL in January 1969. Jill Andre played Sara between Roe and Alexander. She was in the role in early Sept. 1968 as I have her name on a script. Don't know exactly when she took over from Roe.

The Ferros were there in late 1966 after Nixon and at least until Christmas 1967. The Averys are then credited for some 1968 scripts I have before Sommer/Soderberg starting in 1969.

[Reverend Ruthledge]

I don't mean to be pedantic, but Dr. Mary Leland was actually GL's first woman doctor. Back in the late 40s. It was a major part of her storyline to struggle with sexism in that field. In fact, she could only get one patient, Mama Bauer. That was when Mama was sick with cancer. Mama loved her but the rest of the Bauers were against a woman treating Mama. They only went along with Mary treating Mama because Mama insisted. Surprisingly, even Trudy was against Mama having a female doctor. 

[Mitch64]

Parker seems to have confirmed that in the Locker Room one on Mo's death..."I think they needed money to pay for Justin" and was not throwing any shade on Deas...(must be an actor's life)  Total agree Mo initiating divorce, moving back into the boarding house...having to reluctantly take sides with Bridget against Van when the truth came out about Peter...(would be great scenes between MK and EP.and pave the way for a reunion with Ed when he too supports Bridget.) I do think a romance between her and Roger would have been too much...I always thought it made sense, Mo had so many brothers that she was used to taking care of bad boys, would have an affinity to both Ed and Roger.  And then Claire returns to light a match on the whole thing (I think during Ed and Holly's affair Mo mentions she never legally adopted Chelle, which made no sense as Chele always called her Mom..) it would finally give Fletcher a reason for existence to have them question Cheles paternity. 

Much better then Buzz screaming at the top of his lungs but we could have had both..they could have freed up money by getting rid of Nick whose story was long stale..

[P.J.]

A) it would've been EPIC to have Vanessa and Mo go at it over Bridget and Roger's involvement in Peter's life. Their friendship was great, but it's always good when established characters get to air out some old laundry when the story calls for it. 

B ) Nick, Julie Camaletti, Jenna, Eve....or just not bring Buzz at all. And honestly, Fletcher. 

[kalbir]

Vincent Irizarry return overlapped w/ JFP becoming EP. I consider that the first Friend of Jill incident. 

There were four Friend of Jill incidents: Vincent Irizarry, Justin Deas, Marcy Walker, Marj Dusay. We also saw Mark Derwin become a Friend of Jill.

JFP coasted off the groundwork that was laid during the Robert Calhoun era. I still cannot believe JFP run (July 1991 to May 1995) was nearly twice the length of Robert Calhoun (June 1989 to July 1991) and JFP got the ratings up during her first year (then again, the ratings increase was helped by ABC big three tanking at various times during that year and Days being in their post-supercouple/pre-Reilly mess era).

[TEdgeofNight]

Any idea why Calhoun only lasted 2 years? 

I disagree that JFP coasted. Yes, GL was in great shape when she came in and she enhanced the foundation that she inherited. Fast forward a year and the blackout to the best week in daytime ever. Calhoun had nothing to do with that. And, unpopular opinion, I know, and I don't care, but Maureen Bauer was BORING! I agree with that focus group that decided that they wouldn't miss her and JFP went along with it. I never missed Maureen after she was killed off.