Guiding Light Discussion Thread

[BetterForgotten]

Oh, I don’t think either would have been “great” but I think they would have been less corrosive than what Conboy did. The show likely would have had much more of a soul in its waning years than it ultimately did. We probably would’ve avoided Wheeler altogether since she was an abrupt hire. 

Conboy was just wrong for this show at all levels. It makes my teeth itch that MADD went out of her way to hire him and lure him back to daytime for what we ultimately got and what he did to the show. 

[Paul Raven]

I want to know how someone in charge could spend money they didn't have. Isn't there someone overseeing such things?

I've read that at times the network might pitch in if some special event is planned eg a location shootor wedding but on a weekly/monthly basis wouldn't someone be saying 'Sorry, no can do on the baseball set etc'

[Contessa Donatella]

I well remember a time when I seemed to stand alone in my criticism of ConWest. I've held down many "Minority Rapports" in my time but that was a lonely one. It's so much better now. 

Now, here, this is what I have long been curious about! "They" say he did it. I scratch my head. HOW?!! Some way to arrange deferred billing, so the piper doesn't have to be paid until you're well out of the range of company ire? Or what? I'm left at HUH? and D'uh? That bills for his spending would not come in until he was gone & be marked against the next guy's tab is literally the only thing my brain can come up with. 

[DRW50]

You're right. I wonder why she even had such a push for Conboy - did they have a history together in the industry? 

I remember being a bit excited and positive at first but you could tell nothing was going to work out.

James might have been the best fit of the names mentioned. She wasn't great at AMC, but she had her moments, especially considering McTavish was so out of control during that period. (similar to her GL run...and most of her soap runs...)

[chrisml]

I highly doubt in a genre where the execs micromanage every detail that Conboy would have been allowed to go over budget or make financial decisions without approval. This was years after JFP spent a lot of money on the ER set for AW. I remember reading (as I wrote before) that Conboy was let go because of the moral panic that set in after the infamous Janet Jackson/Timberlake fiasco. If Conboy did sink the budget for yrs to come, he was allowed to do so. As for the visual look of the show, I don't think Rauch improved it. I thought it looked incredibly dark and rather bland.

re: Conboy. I was a fan of the idea behind his GL opening, but that theme was mind-numbingly bad. It didn't feel GL-related at all. I liked the visuals seguewaying into the episode. Rauch's version looked incredibly cheap and the less said about Wheeler's versions the better.

[BetterForgotten]

I wan’t in charge of accounting to know if money was being spent that didn’t exist (if that’s the case, MADD and higher-ups needed to be fired and charges should have been filed against them for lack of fiscal oversight) but anyone could see Conboy was spending money in stupid ways. We got a baseball set for Shayne that was probably used 5 times, and Maureen Garrett had to be taken off contract to free up money? The budget was being mismanaged regardless if it existed or not. 

 

Edited September 21, 2024 by BetterForgotten

[Contessa Donatella]

I've read all of your recent posts but I'm not clear on what it is that you're alleging. It's not the show being fined by the FCC over Marty West exposing his buttocks in one scene where he lost control of his sweat pants? What exactly is it that you're meaning? And, please don't misunderstand. This is not a challenge. It's literally a question. 

[DRW50]

Goutman also had nudity on ATWT around the time of the moral panic, so I think other factors must have been involved. Admittedly those scenes aired earlier than GL's.

I had totally forgotten he briefly walked out in December 2003:

https://www.soapcentral.com/guiding-light/news/2003/1222-conboy.php

Edited September 21, 2024 by DRW50

[MichaelGL]

Yeah definitely think there was more at play other than the moral panic. Didn't GL see a bump slightly in the ratings with him (I know, undeserved)?

[DRW50]

They did, yes.

[Khan]

I truly cannot recall being excited when I heard the news of Conboy's hiring.  I remembered only too well his work on CAPITOL and SaBa (and had seen at least bits and pieces of his work on Y&R) and believed he was an odd choice for GL's new EP, to say the least.  Conboy had always been about opulence and old-school glamour, two things which GL never was about, even during the height of the Gail Kobe/Pam Long era.

[Contessa Donatella]

And, GL certainly was not in a position to hire someone known to like to spend his way through to a goal at the particular period of time we're discussing, evaluating! 

[P.J.]

Exactly. Kim embraced people into her life much easier than Vanessa ever did. (which made her friendship with Mo so unexpected.) But where Kim would boil over when she'd had enough, start shaking her finger and call you KIDDO!... Vanessa's control cracks and she shivs you with cold vitriol. 

 

[chrisml]

I wanted to refresh my memory so I did a search on Conboy and all of the news stories about his exit at the time. The articles indicated he was fired because of the nudity.  A couple articles said it was the last straw which indicates Conboy had been battling execs for a while (as the walkout article posted above confirms).  In fact, a spokesperson even came out to say the nude scene that aired (the Marty West behind) was not what had been approved. I find that hard to believe, but who knows? IT felt like CBS passing the buck. Conboy's firing is even listed many places as a consequence of the Jackson/Timberlake debacle. Interesting that Goutman was not fired even though Mark Collier's backside was seen. Marty West has not worked as an actor since. 

[DRW50]

He wasn't working as an actor then either.

To be fair, he did seem to have success in casting, if that is the same Marty West (you can never tell with IMDB).

Edited September 22, 2024 by DRW50