Guiding Light - General Discussion

[David T. Cole]

Discuss Guiding Light here.

[LisaM]

I watched GL at various times over the last 30 years. I would watch for years at a time - and then stop watching for many years.

Olivia and Natalia

Vanessa and Matt's romance

Roger's villany

[sev]

I followed the e show a lot during the mid eighties, as it was aired about lunchtime after school. It was about the time Reva came to town, the four musketeers, as Christopher Bernau was still the best Alan!

I really liked the earlier Reva and Josh stories, especially the one with Sonni/Solita. Michelle Forbes is so god at selling both sides, the sweet one and the harsh one. For an evil twins trope, this story had a really good twist.

It's all a bit foggy now but I remember enjoying Quint and Nola (something about an old house and deja vus... and I'm not referring to the Reva time travel thing).

In the last years of the show, I liked the Olivia and Natalia relationship, but got really disappointed (and bored) once Frank was included into it.

Edited April 7, 2014 by sev

[Bastet]

I watched from the late '70s through mid '90s and then watched a few episodes in the final weeks (and the very last two episodes).  Holly was my favorite character, and I liked all her storylines with Roger and loved the storyline with Michelle after Mo died.

I liked the Sonni/Solita storyline, despite its wackiness; Michelle Forbes did a great job turning a trope into compelling television.

[harrie]

The Nola/Quint story line was good, but I enjoyed just about everything Nola did.  She obsessed about Kelly, who was paired up with Morgan, and tried to break them up with the old get-him-drunk-'til-he-passes-out-and-in-the-morning-tell-him-you-did-the-deed trick. Her movie fantasy sequences were great, or at least I found them entertaining.  Nola was a lot of fun. 

[Future Cat Lady]

My favorite soap storyline is the Blake/Ross/Holly/Roger story from 1992. The Holly/Blake scenes were the best. To me it was a mother/daughter story. 

[Bastet]

Holly announcing she "quit" as Blake's mother was one of my favorite things ever.  But there was also some really nice stuff in there with Holly trying to get Roger to understand he was doing Blake no favors by always swooping in to clean up her messes.

And I love that, while his primary emotion was disgust that his daughter was sleeping with a man he hates, Roger was also genuinely pissed off on Holly's behalf that she'd been played for a fool.

[hypnotoad]

 

Blake/Ross/Holly/Roger story from 1992

 

Yes! This is one of my favorites from GL too. I actually started watching the show right around the time Blake and Ross were first hooking up. It was a great storyline.

 

 

In the last years of the show, I liked the Olivia and Natalia relationship, but got really disappointed (and bored) once Frank was included into it

 

I thought the Olivia/Natalia stuff was the best storyline of the last couple of years of the show. Though the writers really messed it up once Natalia ran away from her wedding with Frank. Suddenly, Frank showed up every single time Olivia and Natalia had a scene together. It was quite tiresome.

[Guest]

I loved everything about Buzz/Jenna and Phillip/Harley teaming up to take down Jeffrey Morgan and Pharley's fake relationship becoming real and then Jenna/Harley forming a detective agency.  Those four were just fabulous together. 

 

The "Nursery Rhyme Killer" indirectly leading to Jenna's death (not to mention what it did to Holly), Phillip cheating on Harley and Beth, and Harley consoling herself over the divorce with Rick basically killed everything I loved about this show.

[tribeca]

Phillip, Mindy, Rick and Beth.  The Prom.  Running away to New York.  "Nick".  I loved whenever Nick showed up :)   

[LadyNebula]

I loved everything about Buzz/Jenna and Phillip/Harley teaming up to take down Jeffrey Morgan and Pharley's fake relationship becoming real and then Jenna/Harley forming a detective agency.  Those four were just fabulous together. 

 

The "Nursery Rhyme Killer" indirectly leading to Jenna's death (not to mention what it did to Holly), Phillip cheating on Harley and Beth, and Harley consoling herself over the divorce with Rick basically killed everything I loved about this show.

I loved Pharley! Probably my favorite GL pairing ever. Around that time, we got that awful clone storyline as well, but I actually really like Peter Hermann. I'll never forget Michael's death scene - I was sitting in my hotel room in Disney World, putting off heading to the Magic Kingdom because I had to see Michael's send off. I'll never forget his,"I'm dying, I'm dying." Ah, well... Peter's gone on to better things, like Mariska Hargitay.

[AndySmith]

Just about any storyline involving Beverlee McKinsey playing Alexandra Spaulding. From her love/hate relationships with Alan and Phillip, to her battles with India and Blake, to her marriage and subsequent divorce and take down of Roger Thorpe (the way she eviscerates him at the Country Club is such a classic scene), to trying to build relationships with Brandon/Lujack and Nick...she made just about every story she was in a joy to watch.

 

Of course, it also helped that BM had loads of chemistry with just about every she acted with. But then, you stick her in a scene with just about anyone, and she would have chemistry with them.

[Bastet]

I, too, loved Beverlee McKinsey's Alex with just about anyone. Especially India.  And I liked the temporary friendship of sorts she formed with Holly when the teamed up to take Roger down in Acapulco; they had a really nice conversation when Holly was in hospital.

 

I know McKinsey and Michael Zaslow couldn't stand each other off screen, but they sure were fun to watch together on screen. 

[tribeca]

Watching some clips on YouTube.  Wow so many cast members were involved in the Brent/Marion story!  That was a creepy but fascinating story IMHO.  One of the comments on the video said Frank Beaty had a breakdown from this role.  Is that true?  He really was amazing in the part.

[andromeda331]

Phillip and Harley, Danny and Michelle are tied with my favorite couples. I hated what they did to Phillip and Harley. Aside from them most of my favorite storylines were usually parent to kid ones Holly and Blake, Reva and Jonathan, etc they always seemed a lot more interesting then anything else.

[Bastet]

I loved the relationship between Holly and Blake.  It was a lot of fun when it was antagonistic, but also really sweet when it evolved.  And one of the gazillion things I loved about the Holly/Michelle storyline (after Mo's death) was Blake being jealous.

 

I always liked how Roger remembered Blake’s childhood as better than it was, Blake remembered it as worse than it was, and Holly was generally honest about how she screwed up but was unwilling to let Blake use that as an excuse.  And I loved Holly’s palpable frustration with Roger enabling Blake’s behavior by fixing things for her so she didn’t have to deal with the consequences of her actions and thus learn from her mistakes.  That she knew – and acknowledged – that, although it was misguided, it was borne out of Roger’s love for Blake and his desire to make up for lost time made it all the more compelling.

[tribeca]

re-watched the last episode on YouTube.  I most of it.  Alan dying was a surprise but it fit with the end of show.  Wish we had seen some more of Dinah and Mallet (they were a fun couple).   Have always been a fan of Josh & Reva was the ending of them driving off and reva saying "always" seemed perfect JMHO.

[Bastet]

I never could stand Josh and Reva together, so I had to stifle my gag reflex at them being the final shot, but it was hardly surprising so I didn't get upset by it (and since, prior to tuning in for the final episodes, I hadn't watched the show since the mid-90s, it would have been difficult to get worked up about much of anything). 

 

But ...

 

I'd have ended it at a Bauer barbecue.

 

With Rachel Miner playing Michelle.

 

And I'd have never stuck Blake with Frank Cooper.

[katie9918]

I would have brought Eleni back for that "online couple" story with Frank. That poor guy was stuck in Otalia hell for most of the last year and if it wasn't Otalia, it was dealing with his worthless father and... uh... not much else.

[FireFoxy]

Jonathan and Tammy living happily ever after.

 

Dinah/Shayne happy. I can't help it, I loved them together.

 

Eleni and Frank reuniting.

 

Rick and Abbie running into each other and the promise of coffee or a drink left out there.

 

Harley/Phillip starting to rekindle their relationship. 

 

Ross is alive and comes back to town to win Blake back.

[Souris]

I watched GL from the late '70s to early '90s. I adored the Four Musketeers time period, and when Rick and Mindy followed Phillip and Beth to New York. Harley and Mallet were my all-time-favorite soap couple. I just adored them. The "Who Killed Jean Weatherill?" mystery was especially memorable for me. Michelle Forbes was fabulous as Sonni/Solita -- such a soap thing to have her at one point portraying Sonni pretending to be Solita pretending to be Sonni, LOL. Beverlee McKinsey was all kinds of delicious as Alexandra. Ross was always a favorite of mine, and I hate hate hate what they ended up having happen to his character (because they dropped Jerry ver Dorn and he got a new job).

[Guest]

I watched GL from the late '70s to early '90s. I adored the Four Musketeers time period, and when Rick and Mindy followed Phillip and Beth to New York. Harley and Mallet were my all-time-favorite soap couple. I just adored them.

 

It was tough when Harley returned to the show because I just did not believe that Mallet would cheat on Harley.   But I'm also kind of easy when it comes to Harley.  I tended to be a fan of all of Harley's relationships (even Josh).  But as I said before, destroying Pharley ended it for me.  I probably could have gotten over it but Rauch was punishing the actress and there was enough of a lull in Harley having any kind of story, other than character assassination, that I was done by the time Gus came around.

[Souris]

I actually stopped watching sometime in the period when Harley was off the show, though I vaguely kept track of what was going on for old time's sake. But I never, ever believed that Mallet would've cheated on Harley. They just sort of became different characters with the same names for me, LOL.

[Bastet]

Ross was always a favorite of mine, and I hate hate hate what they ended up having happen to his character (because they dropped Jerry ver Dorn and he got a new job).

 

I had stopped watching by then (Laibson and McTavish so ruined the show for me, I gave it up after 20 years), but my mom still tuned in occasionally, so one day I got a "Oh my god, they killed Ross!" call.  I was pissed off for the rest of the day, to the point my assistant kept asking me what was the matter.  Ross was a great character, and served as a bridge between so many other characters on the show.  I can't believe they killed him off.

 

The "Who Killed Jean Weatherill?" mystery was especially memorable for me.

 

I have a lot of that saved on VHS (that I really need to get around to transferring to DVD someday); I loved it.  Soaps don't often do mystery well, but that was an enjoyable storyline that nicely tied together a bunch of side storylines within it.

[33kaitykaity]

So glad to see all of the love for Michelle Forbes as Sonni/Solita.  That's my all-time favorite.  I wish someone would put together a DVD set of just that story from beginning to end.  The end on the bridge is on YouTube, with, of course, Reva coming to the rescue, and some other full episodes, but I'd love to see it again, the affair with Will, manipulating Alan, her wearing that leather skirt with the knee-high boots.  And can you believe MF was only about 24 when she was doing all of that?  Amazing.  

Edited February 23, 2015 by 33kaitykaity

[MrsRafaelBarba]

Watching some clips on YouTube. Wow so many cast members were involved in the Brent/Marion story! That was a creepy but fascinating story IMHO. One of the comments on the video said FArank Beaty had a breakdown from this role. Is that true? He really was amazing in the part.

That was a good one.

And yes, according many folks working on GL the actor suffered

a nervous breakdown back then.

The marital rape s/l with Roger and Holly was o n e of the best as well.

Edited March 19, 2015 by MrsRafaelBarba

[UYI]

A great story about Jordan Clarke's (Billy) second job as a handyman:

 

http://www.buzzfeed.com/davidkushner/my-handyman-my-soap-star#.cmnrpnvbL

[babyhouseman]

On The Talk on CBS, they celebrated 30 years of CBS being number one in daytime. Grant Aleksander(Phllip), Beth Chamberlin(Beth), Kim Zimmer(Reva), and Robert Newman(Josh) were there. The segment was too short, but it was good to see them and clips.

[harrie]

So sad I missed it!

[ByaNose]

17 hours ago, babyhouseman said:

On The Talk on CBS, they celebrated 30 years of CBS being number one in daytime. Grant Aleksander(Phllip), Beth Chamberlin(Beth), Kim Zimmer(Reva), and Robert Newman(Josh) were there. The segment was too short, but it was good to see them and clips.

Robert Newman (Josh) looks AMAZING!!! I can't believe GH, DAYS, B&B or Y&R haven't snagged him up.

[rcc]

On 10/13/2016 at 1:56 PM, ByaNose said:

Robert Newman (Josh) looks AMAZING!!! I can't believe GH, DAYS, B&B or Y&R haven't snagged him up.

I thought the same thing. Unless he lives in NYC and doesn't want to commute.

[cleo]

I've been watching the bits and pieces on YT I can find with Jane Elliott. Such a shame it was cut short.

I wish I could find more old eps.

The disco ball opening is the cheesiest thing I've ever seen, I love it.

[slf]

Problematic fave: Danny and Michelle. I started watching GL when I was a kid stuck at home during summer. Danny and Michelle had great chemistry and were 'forbidden' so the drama reeled me in, lol. Only as an adult do I appreciate how sketchy so much of their relationship was, with her being forced to marry him and him pressuring her to have sex; but those were pretty normal storylines at the time, not just on soaps, so nothing seemed weird to me when I was a kid. They were almost iconic for me.

[voiceover]

Quint & Nola.  They were my Super Couple; forget GH & that "other" one.

Quinton's living room was one of the coolest sets on daytime.

[rcc]

I loved watching Nola and Quint. Quirky and funny with a huge dose of love. Great couple.

[AndySmith]

I wouldn't call them a couple worth rooting for (onscreen) and the actors may not have been fond of each other in real life...but damn if Alex 1.0 and Roger weren't amazing to watch together.

 

 

[Bastet]

I miss both of them.  (And it's almost hard to believe we're coming up on 20 years since Michael Zaslow died.)  I know they absolutely could not stand each other in real life, but they were fantastic to watch together.  I think Marj Dusay did a fine job as Alex, but it was when she'd spar with Roger that I really missed Beverlee McKinsey.

[AndySmith]

I thought Marj Dusay was ok as Alex, but the writing of the show (IMO) wasn't as good as it was when Beverlee was on. Alex suffered quite a bit as a character from the early 90s onward, and never quite regained her 80s/early 90s glory.

And Beverlee McKinsey was just so fantastic as Alex, anyone following her would have a hard time.

[Bastet]

1 minute ago, AndySmith said:

Alex suffered quite a bit as a character from the early 90s onward

That's around when I quit watching -- in '95.  The writing took a dive when Nancy Curlee, who was able to turn some of Jill Farren Phelps' bad ideas into good stories, was no longer Head Writer, so for a while I was pretty much only watching for Holly (my all-time favorite GL character) and Roger, and then those tools of Satan, Michael Laibson and Megan McTavish, came along and completely ruined everything, and I was out.

[AndySmith]

Megan McTavish was disappointing. Her work on All My Children before she joined GL was actually pretty good, so once she joined GL...meh. Very disappointing.

But if anything, the real decline of the show started with Jill Farren Phelps. Beverlee McKinsey seemed to  see the writing on the wall, and bailed at the right time.

Edited May 1, 2017 by AndySmith

[Bastet]

1 minute ago, AndySmith said:

But if anything, the real decline of the show started with Jill Farren Phelps.

Definitely.  But Nancy Curlee had such a sense of - and love for - the characters and their history, that when she was there she could somewhat temper Phelps' bad impulses; she slowed the decline.  Once she was gone, it was just an unfettered path to the bottom.  It felt so hopeful to get rid of Phelps, and should have been a time of transformation when Laibson/McTavish came in, but they just made things worse, or bad in different ways.  It was sad to walk away from something I'd watched since childhood, with characters I loved still there, but they were all written so poorly they didn't feel like "my" characters anymore, so it was more like walking away from a show I'd tried for a few years and didn't like. 

[roughing it]

On 10/16/2016 at 8:28 AM, rcc said:

On 10/13/2016 at 11:56 AM, ByaNose said:

Robert Newman (Josh) looks AMAZING!!! I can't believe GH, DAYS, B&B or Y&R haven't snagged him up.

I thought the same thing. Unless he lives in NYC and doesn't want to commute.

Last I read, Robert Newman and his family moved to Los Angeles to try to work there.  I've seen him on an episode of Criminal Minds, and an episode of Homeland.  So good looking and a good actor, I don't understand how he hasn't caught on.  It may be a soap stigma kind of thing, but these actors worked their asses off on soaps - all the dialog and blocking they would have to memorize every single day. 

[Guest]

On ‎5‎/‎1‎/‎2017 at 3:12 PM, Bastet said:

Definitely.  But Nancy Curlee had such a sense of - and love for - the characters and their history, that when she was there she could somewhat temper Phelps' bad impulses; she slowed the decline.  Once she was gone, it was just an unfettered path to the bottom. 

I actually ended up really enjoying the show again early in Rauch's tenure which probably had to do with how much I liked Harley and Phillip (and Buzz and Jenna) more than anything.  But then that turned to crap when Rauch started pulling his usual tricks and started using backstage strife to inform storylines and screen time. 

[cleo]

So I never watched this show when it was on, I just started watching clips on youtube but it is so good. I'm really addicted and wish there was more on Youtube then there is. I've seen some clips from way back in the 50s, then some from the 70s including part of Holly's rape story and Roger's trial. I've watched what I can find up to about 1983. I just find the storylines and actors really good, it seems better written than other soaps. It is very understated, but some of the scenes are intense, like between Roger and Philip.

I've also jumped ahead to some in 2000, 2001, mainly bc I caught a couple clips from Harley at this time and got hooked in some of the playlists. I know for people that saw the whole thing by this time it was in decline, but I still find the actors and some of the story compelling at times, even though there are more noticeable gaps and ridiculousness. I really like the family dynamic with Harley, Frank, and her father. I'm looking forward to going back and seeing the start of those characters. 

I also caught a few clips from 2005ish and they were more unwatchable, (Harley's ghost or angel mother coming in a flowing dress? yeah not into it) it's a shame.

Anyway I like a lot of the characters and am going back to the 80s and very slowly working my way through them. Just wanted to pop in and say how good I thought this soap was, and hopefully I can find more of it! 

[BBHN]

If you can, try and find clips between 1983 and oh, say, 1993/4....lots of good stuff during that time. Heck, for many, the early 90s is when the show begins it's decline until it gets canceled (of course, there are a few bright spots here and there).

[Guest]

I just came across some clips from late 88.  Its interesting to watch Phillip spend time helping Harley gain confidence in fitting in with the Spauldings when she was engaged to Alan Michael (brother to Phillip).

I remembered them mentioning that when Phillip came back to town years later and they became friends on the way to romance. 

I don't watch anything after the late 90s.

[cleo]

So I've got up to 1984. I like Mindy, even though she is spoiled and immature, there is a just a warmth about the character that is appealing. Beth on the other hand is just super boring. 

I don;t really get the big deal with Alexandra, I'm sort of neutral to meh but I also haven't seen her in any meaty storylines. Her ouster of Alan- most of it wasn't online that I could find, so I just got parts of it. I did find her relationship with Alan interesting but that evaporated when he left of course. I also find her voice a bit irritating. I'm at the part where she is sleeping with Warren, who is nauseating, and I don't believe Alex would fall for him and his shtick. 

Really miss Alan's presence on the show. 

Kim Zimmer's character- I'm not old fashioned I don't think, but's kind of gross she was involved with Billy, Josh, and then their father. And seriously with the father- WTF? I didn't see how that happened, just one clip where she was with Josh sort of, then away somewhere with his father. 

I miss the old bitchy Vanessa lol. 

[Jan Spears]

On ‎5‎/‎1‎/‎2017 at 2:04 PM, AndySmith said:

But if anything, the real decline of the show started with Jill Farren Phelps. Beverlee McKinsey seemed to  see the writing on the wall, and bailed at the right time.

Michael Logan's 'exit' interview with Beverlee McKinsey:

http://iriswheeler.tripod.com/tvguide19920811.html

McKinsey may have been exhausted after two decades of work on soaps (minus a short hiatus between leaving Texas and joining Guiding Light.) But she would have been savvy enough to realize that the decline had begun after the Pam Long glory years and jumped ship when she could. (Her maneuver with the contract was worthy of Alexandra.)

Love the part in the interview when she mentions "stale tacos and bad Margaritas"!!!

[Dr.OO7]

I was never a huge fan of this show, having always preferred the ABC soaps, but I loved everything Lucy and Alan-Michael. With the exception of their tacky wedding. What the hell were the writers thinking with that one?

[Dr.OO7]

Lucy and Alan-Michael reuniting. Or at least some mention of it happening off screen. I hate that they fell victim to what so many soap super couples do--go through hell to be together, ride off into the sunset, then one half comes back years later to reveal that the marriage is over.