What I meant was that Pam's general style of characterization and dialogue was closer to the Dobsons. Long and the Dobsons wrote warmer and lighter moments more so than Doug, who was a super serious writer. His tone was deadly serious. There was little overt humor under Marland. Also, in my opinion, his characters tended to be more black-and-white than those of Pam and the Dobsons, who seemed to write characters with greater shades of grey. Again, this goes back to the earlier topic of Marland's vision and what worked best for him. His stories were often centered around business intrigue, rather than emotions, thus a serious approach, where the drama is life or death, seemed suited to his dramatic structure. The writers before and after him wrote more for emotions and sentiment, so that a warmer, more touchy feely tone was needed. I may sound to some that I am criticizing Doug, and I am not. I thought that his storytelling was more solid than Pam's, his attention to history was certainly superior, and his mysteries more intriguing than the Dobsons. It is not that I think he was bad; he was just different than that to which I was accustomed.

The bits I've seen of Marland's GL run seem to have some humor, although some may not be intentional (Vanessa). The biggest humor seems to come from Nola and her fantasies.

I have only seen some of the last year of the Dobsons - do you think they had some humor they aren't given credit for? All I've seen is Katie and Floyd.

You know, I truly have to give Doug Marland, the Dobsons and Pam Long (not to mention, Nancy Curlee) credit for never alienating GUIDING LIGHT's core audience the way other, later HW's did. Each writer had his or her strengths and weaknesses, of course, but overall, they seemed to respect the show and its legacy among the viewers, which is why I look to all of them as major influences on my own work.

You know, I truly have to give Doug Marland, the Dobsons and Pam Long (not to mention, Nancy Curlee) credit for never alienating GUIDING LIGHT's core audience the way other, later HW's did. Each writer had his or her strengths and weaknesses, of course, but overall, they seemed to respect the show and its legacy among the viewers, which is why I look to all of them as major influences on my own work.

Very true...GL was always GL under those writers, can't say the same for some who followed.

Has eveyone received their GL DVD packs??? After 5 weeks, I haven't received the pack yet....

I got mine in about a week.

Same here

You should contact them. They've been pretty good when I've had any questions or issues.

I'm watching the episode where Maureen finds out about Ed and Lillian and that Mindy recast is just as bad as everyone has said. She looks too old for the role and is also a completely different type of actress and in turn, character. It's almost as if the writers didn't realize the character was on before and just conceived her in their own way. Even if you disregard the previous Mindy, this is a terribly bland character and she can't stand up as a Lewis. I can't believe how bad that recast is. Pre-Wheeler (sans Tognoni) I thought this show was good with recasts.

JFP was not all that great with recasts. The main problem is she reinvented the characters and this just made it even more difficult for the actors. She did not give a care about most of these characters or what they were supposed to be. Marj Dusay or Liz Keifer was probably her most popular recast, then Wendy Moniz (although Dinah had been gone a long time and it was easier to totally rewrite her personality).

You should see the Billy recast. This was my reaction:

Edited March 4, 201214 yr by CarlD2

JFP was not all that great with recasts. The main problem is she reinvented the characters and this just made it even more difficult for the actors. She did not give a care about most of these characters or what they were supposed to be. Marj Dusay or Liz Keifer was probably her most popular recast, then Wendy Moniz (although Dinah had been gone a long time and it was easier to totally rewrite her personality).

You should see the Billy recast. This was my reaction:

LOL...I thought Liz Keifers Blake was a bore.....Marj became so cartoonish as Alex......Had that episode not contained Ed and Mo it would be the worst episode in GL history or close to it.

Nu Mindy...oh dear gawd...sucked donkey balls.....such an awful actress.

Watched the Quint/Nola wedding episode. I didn't realize they still had the disco theme at this time.

The location footage was just beautiful. I loved the building they used for the church exteriors, and those trees, and the scenes of Nola running around the streets - it made Springfield seem like a small town, with heart.

Nice to get to see some of the early days of Billy/Vanessa, and when Vanessa was still not close to anyone. Who was the blonde bridesmaid? Gracie?

It's so strange to see Ellen Dolan as Maureen. I can't remember if Ellen Parker ever said "Edward."

I still can't take to Bea, for some reason. There's just too much silliness.

I felt sorry for Quint, essentially all alone, aside from Henry, and locked up in a room for the entire episode. I don't understand why Gail Kobe fired Beulah Garrick before the wedding? Shouldn't Mrs. Renfield have at least stayed for the wedding?

I finally whipped out my Reva DVD and since I'm working overnight I didn't want to waste time on a potentially good episode, so I stuck with the 2006 one. Surprisingly enough, I found this to be a very enjoyable episode. Was strange seeing only three regulars (Josh, Reva & Cassie), but it worked. I also found a new appreciation for that Towers set, which was fabulous. Didn't this set get re-designed twice after this? Or was it just once for the Peapack era? Whatever the case, I love what they had going here. Other things like the lighting was still very poor. Especially in those scenes at the lighthouse. Also, no attempt AT ALL at wind? That's just ridiculous.

Watched the Quint/Nola wedding episode. I didn't realize they still had the disco theme at this time.

The location footage was just beautiful. I loved the building they used for the church exteriors, and those trees, and the scenes of Nola running around the streets - it made Springfield seem like a small town, with heart.

Nice to get to see some of the early days of Billy/Vanessa, and when Vanessa was still not close to anyone. Who was the blonde bridesmaid? Gracie?

It's so strange to see Ellen Dolan as Maureen. I can't remember if Ellen Parker ever said "Edward."

I still can't take to Bea, for some reason. There's just too much silliness.

I felt sorry for Quint, essentially all alone, aside from Henry, and locked up in a room for the entire episode. I don't understand why Gail Kobe fired Beulah Garrick before the wedding? Shouldn't Mrs. Renfield have at least stayed for the wedding?

The blonde was Gracie Middleton. Mrs. Renfield was at the wedding (and so was Fritz, the houseman, who used to have a crush on Gracie). Mrs. Renfield told Quint at the reception that she was leaving. I believe that was the last we saw of her. I remember they were on the porch of the boarding house when she told him goodbye.

Watched the Quint/Nola wedding episode. I didn't realize they still had the disco theme at this time.

The location footage was just beautiful. I loved the building they used for the church exteriors, and those trees, and the scenes of Nola running around the streets - it made Springfield seem like a small town, with heart.

Nice to get to see some of the early days of Billy/Vanessa, and when Vanessa was still not close to anyone. Who was the blonde bridesmaid? Gracie?

It's so strange to see Ellen Dolan as Maureen. I can't remember if Ellen Parker ever said "Edward."

I still can't take to Bea, for some reason. There's just too much silliness.

I felt sorry for Quint, essentially all alone, aside from Henry, and locked up in a room for the entire episode. I don't understand why Gail Kobe fired Beulah Garrick before the wedding? Shouldn't Mrs. Renfield have at least stayed for the wedding?

I saw Lee Lawson on Maude a few weeks ago and it's always so weard for me to see her younger because I think I first saw her as Bea.

The blonde was Gracie Middleton. Mrs. Renfield was at the wedding (and so was Fritz, the houseman, who used to have a crush on Gracie). Mrs. Renfield told Quint at the reception that she was leaving. I believe that was the last we saw of her. I remember they were on the porch of the boarding house when she told him goodbye.

Thanks. I didn't see her in the episode. I wish they'd had her with Quint, since he seemd very alone.

I saw Lee Lawson on Maude a few weeks ago and it's always so weard for me to see her younger because I think I first saw her as Bea.

It's strange seeing her in photos as troubled stepdaughter Barbara Latimer on Love of Life. And then she was on OLTL for a year or so as a Wanda recast. I think that role may have suited her more.