Guiding Light Discussion Thread

[Mitch64]

As I said, this is a great time for GL...even with Cheesy Rusty on view...(how much money to pay for extras in the cop station...it was a bit overkill.) How much did the GL cast ruing the ozone layer with their hair spray...Frank and Rusty alone) 

It's weird to see Frank kiss Mindy, nice that they didn't waste her on him for long. Java had chemistry back then, not the forced chem of the Rauch years...nice that back then you did not have to be a steroid or sculptured guy to take off your shirt, and Jeva as usual are the worst parents on earth...they don't seemed to be concerned where Marah is.

The only thing missing is some energy in the direction...(though I love this version of Alex/Alan having each other's numbers..much preferable then Marj/RR where she acted like she wanted to make out with him.) 

[NothinButAttitude]

Speaking of Frank (and Frank Dicopolous), can we acknowledge how that character and actor has to be the luckiest in GL history? Never have I seen a pointless character survive so many regimes and not get slashed. Frank should've seriously been cast off after the original Eleni left the show. He truly served no purpose in the later years as we had Harley and Gus handling the police business. 

[DRW50]

One thing I will credit Long for is how willing she was to play up the obsessive, toxic side of "Jeva," especially on Josh's end. They also uploaded the end of a March 1988 episode where Sonni is going through a miscarriage and she finally convinces Will to tell Josh. Will doesn't even get the chance as Josh immediately shuts him down...he has to keep worrying over comatose Reva. 

After Reva returned, the show rarely had Josh be that obsessive, other than the clone story (which they did not properly handle - Reva should have been much more disgusted and confused long term). 

I would have to give that to Lillian or Buzz. Buzz was a huge drain on the show his first few years and while he became more tolerable after that, had lengthy periods of just (loudly) taking up space. Lillian probably could have been easily written out after Maureen's death, as she was despised by a number of fans. She then had little to nothing in story until Beth returned, and even then rarely had much to do until the last few years of the show. 

Frank was also lucky, he could have easily gone at any time, but he was fine as a support character...certainly easier to watch than anything that Harley had become by the '00s. I'm glad they gave him that little bit of story/happily ever after with Blake as the show wound down.

Edited October 11, 2024 by DRW50

[kalbir]

If my math is correct, by the time of the final episode, GL's longest running cast members without a departure were Tina Sloan (26 years) and Frank Dicopolous (22 years).

[NothinButAttitude]

Oh, I totally agree about Buzz and Lillian, too. The last time Buzz was viable was when Jenna was on. Once Jenna was killed off, Buzz should've been tossed aside. Yes, Justin Deas was a good actor (when he actually clocked in), but he phoned it in post-Jenna to the bitter end. 

As you pointed out, Lillian wasn't necessary after the affair with Ed. She should've seriously just left town to be with Beth or Calla. 

Thinking about it now, I think one of the main issues with GL throughout its history is they didn't know when to cut certain characters when they no longer served a purpose. Primarily supporting characters. Jeffrey, Frank, Buzz, Lillian, Ashlee, Doris, etc. shouldn't've stayed long after their expiration dates. 

[Mitch64]

Frankie D is the luckiest "non actor" on earth, though I am convinced at the very end he was paying THEM to keep him on.  I did read somewhere that he and Sloane were very cheap to keep around...Sloan as she has a rich husband and just liked doing it and Frank as well, what other show would hire after he quickly aged out of hunk status? I do think that Lilian was needed as a nurse and Frank was fine as supporting post Melina but just that. I think MOL post Abby was the same, keep him around as the town doctor but no need to create a love story for him. It's too bad as I do think that Rick and Abby had it in them to be the tent pole couple but after she left...he was adrift. 

I think shows do need these supporting actors...in addition to the above, Buzz could work in support (Deas was actually good with the young inexperience actors) doling out coffee (but yes, I would have just wrote he and Jenna off happy if instead of killing him) at the diner, Nola or Bridget tending bar at Company ( I still think Nola as the eccentric but supportive land lady like Mrs. Madrigal, Brown was also good with the young actors...) Doris was good as the disreputable DA but again, only when needed, (no need to give her a daughter or a story) I would even throw Holly in there, as the ironic no nonsense media queen,)  those kinds of characters make a show seem more real and familiar and its nice to get a break from the hyper drama affecting everyone else in town. 

[NothinButAttitude]

We need supporting characters but not Buzz, Frank, and Lillian. We didn't need a nurse at Cedars. They could've easily hired a day player to play various nurses. Lillian was never a Katie or Hillary. The nurse's role could've also easily been filled by a SORAS Leah, who decided to go into medicine like Mel and Rick. And Company should've been returned to the Reardons. Out with Buzz and Lillian. In with Quint, Nola, their kids, and nephew Tom. 

I would NEVER refer to Holly as supporting. Holly is a queen. IMO, she has always been more viable to GL than Reva ever could be. Holly should've been made the Bauer matriarch if it were up to me. A sensible writer would've had Holly running WSPR while being involved in the antics of Blake, her grandkids, Rick, and Michelle. I would've brought Rita to stir up trouble for Ed, Holly, and Alan. Hope too. I always felt that they should've revisited Rita allegedly leaving town pregnant with the father being in question. 

I think the issue with MOL and Rick (in general) is he never got much great content. He was always put in that goofy best friend role while Phillip got all the juicy content. I think had the show continued on, Leah (if written well) could've provided him with tons of content. Especially, with the return of Phillip. I always felt Leah would've been bitter toward Phillip being the demise of her parents' marriage. 

 

[kalbir]

100% this. Holly was a big part of the early 1990s golden era.

[NothinButAttitude]

Holly, Roger, Gilly, Bridget, David, and Kat were the characters that made me sit at the kitchen table and start watching soaps with my grandma and mother at the age of 4. 

I loathed what they did to Holly post '94. I did not want her to be latched to Fletcher. I hated her being the Nursery Rhyme Stalker. I hate how they ruined her relationship with Michelle during that story with Roger's long-lost son. 

I loved smart, sexy, neurotic Holly in a power struggle with Roger at WSPR with poor Gilly caught in the middle. While it was totally wrong, I miss Roger/Holly's forbidden love for each other. 

I miss Curlee's Guiding Light. It's what made me love soaps. It's what made me want to be a screenwriter. 

[P.J.]

It is odd how foreign 1988 feels to me. 

The show is revolving around two newcomers who are really only tied to Josh. As talented as Forbes and Breen were, it's always dangerous to shove newcomers down viewers' throats. And it's telling that just a year later, they are gone with barely a ripple to mark their exits. 

The Miracle of Dicopulous is that they found anyone he had chemistry with. He shouldn't have even lasted long enough to meet Melina. I would say he was luckier. Sloan's character was mostly there for decoration. Other than the affair with Ed, most of her time was spent as a talk-to character. Lilian never had a purpose or life outside of Beth. Frank got an entire family, (granted, mostly thanks to Beth Ehlers) and kept getting women. Mindy, Blake, Eleni, that girl Dana. Julie went whacko over him. HIM. C'mon.

Also posted were a couple more October 88 episodes. Apparently Phillip's objection to Meredith is that she screwed him, and now she's not good enough for Rick...oy vey. Phillip/Rick may be more toxic than Josh/Reva

And ditto on characters who stayed on long past their expiration date. The last decade-plus was filled with them. Matt, Jenna, the Santoses, anyone who called San Cristobel home, Doris and her annoying daughter, half the cast at the end, etc, etc, etc. 

Edited October 12, 2024 by P.J.

[kalbir]

Once again, I totally agree. It was so wrong to root for Roger/Holly because of their past, yet it was so right to root for them. Even when they were not together, there was always something brewing between them.

MG herself said that she and MZ connected right away as actors and clearly the writers and the audience saw that connection as well. 

I still think the best description for Roger/Holly was the anti-supercouple.

[Mitch64]

Hey...don't get me wrong... I LOVE Holly and MG but TPTB at the end didn't and she disappeared for long periods of time..I would have always had her present, even if she was not on contract. 

I HATED her with Fletch...and as I wrote before, he would have been Brent/Marion's victim, NOT Nadine...(I would have just had her leave town..) Brent pins the evidence on Roger, Alex and Alan bribe the D.A. to prosecute on flimsy evidence...everyone else in town feels he did it except Blake..putting a wall between she and Ross, Holly at first things he did it and is out for blood, etc. I would have had the story veer from Lucy being at the center to Brent turning his attention to Roger and Holly, who together, but separately are trying to find out the truth..maybe he kidnaps Lucy, while setting a trap for Roger and Holly.  After that she would be freed up to get with Ed again, who actually makes his peace that Roger will always be in the back of her mind. That would have given MG things to do when Zaz gets sick...(and how interesting to have Holly married to Ed but secretly caring for Roger..) 

Anyway, I did love the Stalker Storyline...Holly was smart, acerbic and sexy running around in her leather...the one thing to ruin it was Reva saving the day. 

[DRW50]

I think Frank had good chemistry with some ladies early on. He clicked with Sherry Stringfield and Melina. I thought he and Jennifer Roszell were OK too considering they were never written for. And the Julie story made sense to me as he was the only one who was kind to her. 

Once the show lost interest in the character and clearly weren't writing for any of his relationships I would agree the chemistry wasn't there. I am still confused when I hear that he and Buzz both dated Olivia. 

I think of how Michael O'Leary would joke about Rick being in love with Philip and of a scene when Philip and Beth were leaving where Rick tore up a stuffed animal. Clearly the show was never going there, and I don't think they had any reason to, but the show definitely could have done much more with the relationship than they did in later years. Even stories that should have had more of a pop, like Rick having a child with Harley or Rick's involvement in Philip's "death," didn't seem to go anywhere.

[P.J.]

Not that I'd ever check about how serious it was, I do recall something about ghostNadine and ghostJenna arguing about which man was better for Olivia. I don't for the life of me recall Buzz/Olivia. 

All soap relationships veer into the toxic for a while. I loved Rick and Phillip's friendship. It's weird to see it blowing up over Meredith of all people. I did catch part of the episode before Rick and Meredith's wedding where Phillip now supports it and he, Rick and Mindy have a sweet 4 Musketeers moment.

Like I said, 1988 is very strange to me.

[kalbir]

Nielsen people meters and writer's strike messed up 1988. That year was a write off for most shows.