Paul Rauch interview April 97

[Mitch]

I think it was a variety of things, but more likely it was her pissing and moaning that she didn't have anything to do but "hang balloons up at the Bauer BBQ." By that time it was definately Zimmer's show and the storyline for Jenna was over at that point (i.e. she came back heavy reunited with Buzz,etc.) and it seemed that she was going through a "downtime," for a while, but she, like Newman and Zimmer, couldnt take a downtime without moaning and bitching, and she didnt have the pull (or the crazed fans) of Zimmer. I always liked Jenna but HATED her with Buzz...sorry, I am not doing this to be "cool," but I never liked the Coopers that much, Frank and Harley were just retreads of Tony and Nola,,the only reason that Harley stuck around was that Ehlers, as much as she grated on my nerves for the last five years, was bursting with talent and made Harley stand on her own, that family lived and died with Harley...and Deas under Phelps ate the show whole, just to regurgitate it and eat it up again.

Rauch has some interesting comments (none of the least was, since we are talking Ehlers, how he talks about bringing her back, and then ended up HATING her and trying to replace her with Hayley Sparks) and who knows how much of this went askew because of MADD and Johnson and E & B's ineptitude. While he bought into the whole, "if it works lets shove it down people's throughts," i.e. Reva and Annie, but for the most part his GL was, up until the Mob and San Crud took over, entertaining and still "GL." I think he understood GL but didnt understand how to reconcile that with his idea of "Grand Opera." I will also give him credit that as long as he was there, the Bauers were still prominent, and vets like JVD, MG, and LK still had their jobs...(I wont go into their storylines, but hey, I liked Holly becomes a bitchy, hot leather wearing stalker," so who am I to judge?)

[DRW50]

What did you think of Nadine? She was always my favorite Cooper, I thought she was the heart of the family.

For me Harley was never the same after her permanent return in 1997. I didn't like her with Phillip, I thought he was a burden to her character, and she became so cold and increasingly smug. I think she and Gus had potential but then they were too deified.

[Mitch]

I do think that she and Gus could have worked as a "real," offbeat couple. I actually kind of liked Gus at first, when he was the odd man out who everyone in town thought was "weird," and Harley at that time had great potential, she was the connector to about every family in town, having kids with a Spaudling and a Bauer and a Lewis...everyone in town had a vested interest in her welfare and having this goofball come to town. But as you said, the deified the couple, who were a fun collection of quirks and faults, into this GRAND passion couple and having other characters mouth off that they were "forces of nature." The big mistake was Taggerts, in making Gus a Spaulding, he should have always been the odd man out, a more benign John Dixon type character who everyone had to put up with cause Harley loved him. But they also isolated Harley in her Super Dooper Cooper bubble, which fragmented the show. I dont think in any way Harley could have or should have been a Maureen type character, but she tied all the families together in a way a new viewer could see without having to know the histories. However, Harley should never have been a BIG romantic heroine who every man in town fell over. She was a great combination of good and bad, had an annoying family getting into her business, had friends all over town, both male and female, and had two kids she had to take care off while juggling it all. In other words, a real person.

[MichaelGL]

And yet I cherish his years on the show than the last four years GL lingered on air. What a change in EP's and HW's will do to a fan.

Rauch is a cocky bastard, he doesn't listen to anybody and does what he wants to do 24/7/365 days a year. I wish soaps would stop hiring the guy. Didn't he retire in 2002, which was why he departed the show in the first place? He should have stayed in retirement.