Guiding Light discussion thread

[soapfan770]

Weird to realize the show went off the air exactly 15 years ago yet it still feels like it was on yesterday or still should still be on the air. 
 

@DRW50 Of the two actresses that surprised me the most in the late 90’s it was both Blanchard and Moniz.

Dinah’s descent was pretty riveting and Moniz played that little girl lost routine so well during her final year it practically erased all that McTavish 95-96 era crude out of my mind.

Blanchard’s turnaround was really remarkable especially for what started off as a dismal supporting role. By the summer of 1999 I was fully invested and interested in Drew’s storylines especially about building a family and adopting Max at a time the show was becoming utterly garbage time between San Cristobel and Santos Mob and new characters galore, to the point where came the episode where Jesse and Drew were the most senior characters on

Please register in order to view this content

[kalbir]

Wow, 15 years already since the end. It doesn't feel like it's been that long.

[DRW50]

 

I'll never stop missing GL. Due to how little seems to change in culture now, the end of the show doesn't feel as far away or dated as it might have in past decades. I am just glad to know there are still others out there who loved the show and still do. GL and P&G truly put us through the wringer.

I agree Moniz and Blanchard were both at their best in the late '90s. And even though Drew's stories had no long term impact, I agree I was more invested in her plots than most of the rest at the time. She had such a vulnerability, I had to care about her.

[MichaelGL]

I was watching episodes of early 90s ATWT which had a scene with Tom Wiggin as Kirk. I suddenly remembered the brief character he played on GL, named Sam. Anyone remember that bizarre storyline/near romance he had with Holly before quickly leaving town? It was odd, the story seemed to start, and then was just dropped. 

[Mitch64]

LOL..you and everyone else! I did know as they were posting it on the GL FB pages and Candice Mack (who is invested entirely too much of her energy in making friends with the cast) went on about how Frank was dedicated to his "craft" (what standing there, fluffing his hair?)

 

Its weird but I always liked Moniz...she has to play a certain type and having her as a heroine did not work...(neither did her going around town being snotty to Van and of all people Bridget, who never could snark back and had to always back off for her...) But I think TP's quality of Old Hollywood might have made it work as Nola's daughter who grew up on those old movies.

I watched some of those scene the other day, and while it was stupid that Van would arranger her get away (and not have to suffer any legal or social consequences) Moniz is really good and it makes you feel its all real (though I could care less about Grillo's Hart...)

That was during Holly's recovery and they brought back Fletch for it too. Hammer insisted on a three month contract (smart man) but they ended it all to sacrifice to Cassie being poor and then San Crud. Many things changed during this time and I can only think it was an edict from above or Rauch finally having the freedom to make GL as craptastic as his OLTL.  MG and TW had great chemistry and it would have worked but I am sure some focus group said they were too old and would rather watch a permed blonde woman in a dumb archaic fantasy island storyline.

[DRW50]

As this is being mentioned in a few other canceled soap threads, may as well here too:

Karla Mosley is joining Beyond the Gates. 

[P.J.]

As is Tamara Tunie!!!! 

I knew Frankie D was going on the Locher show, but honestly.....*shrug* other than the triangle with AM and Eleni, his stories wouldn't really interest me. 

[P.J.]

Well, God knows Van having to suffer Cassie's snottiness was punishment enough.

[kalbir]

When factoring in real time (Spring 1989 to Summer 1992) and watching online (Fall 1992 to Spring 1994), I didn't watch GL for very long but I'm glad I was there for the Calhoun years and that I got to see the best work of two of daytime's finest Michael Zaslow and Beverlee McKinsey.

[Contessa Donatella]

I, too, came late to GL. But when I found her, OMG, it for me was like ANOTHER WORLD all over. Frankly, it was probably dumb luck that I found her, at all. But, I remain steadfast in my love, respect & adoration of (most) all things Springfield-ish. No idea why it took me so long to get there but when I did I came on like gangbusters. I've been crying, of course. 15 years seems both a very long time but also like just the other day. I did a rewatch of the last 3 days. It's bittersweet.

[soapfan770]

It’s really amazing to me how far Karla Mosley and Lawrence Saint Victor have come from their GL days.
 

I remember loathing LSV’s acting (along with the online jokes about the prestigious acting school) and initially remembering finding the whole Remy and Christina quickie marriage thing coming from out of nowhere when it occurred. I remember many here at SON being appalled and groaning at both of them. I personally found  the quickie marriage comical and entertaining but was also puzzled by it, but hey to see Remy stop being sanctimonious and finally set himself free from Ava was worth it.
 

Both prevailed and they ended up being a bright spot in GL’s final year and of course LSV and KM both became major fan favorites on B&B (despite Thudley misusing them over the years).

[Mitch64]

I loved when Van came back for Jeva's 8 millionth wedding, during the anniversary shows..Cassie sneered at her and Van gave her the ice queen cold shoulder, from her hey day!

He just seemed to be typical muscle model boy from the Rauch years but then he was..okay..not great...but certainly Frankie D like acting okay...(which may be damning with faint praise...) they just never explained who Remy was beside Mel's bro and they had a hard time writing for her. I can see where he would work better on a show like Bold. She seemed just like another of Wheeler's twee young girls she would cast like the Marina/Lizzie/Ava actress that made my teeth hurt.

[Contessa Donatella]

Please tell me you are not talking about Aubrey Dollar?!

[prefab1]

Aww... I really grew to like LSV's Remy, and I thought he had great chemistry with Karla Mosley's Christina. I also really liked how his relationship with Ava developed, culminating in the great twist where her baby was born and his skin color was a dead giveaway that the father was Remy and not Bill. But I agree that they could have spent more time on Remy's backstory. I thought the subtext was clear enough--that Mel and Remy's high-achieving intellectual parents had put immense pressure on them to be educated professionals, and Mel followed their wishes wholeheartedly while younger brother Remy rebelled, instead opting for more blue-collar work. But we only really got to see that dynamic at work when Montel Williams would put in a guest appearance as Clayton Boudreaux. When a soap isn't willing to put in the time and money to give its Black characters fully-defined family lives, it's no wonder that they often come off seeming like ciphers. 

[Contessa Donatella]

Which reminds me NOW on GH of poor TJ, who is really not at all up to the ladies in his life. He has what we call a problem with the writing for him.  IT LACKS!