The Best of 2006, part 2

Welcome to part two of The Best of 2006!
I’m just going to jump right back in.

April 5: There were a whole lot of things wrong with Blake’s INSIDE THE LIGHT episode. Way too much story crammed into one day left many viewers with the feeling of having been hit by a speeding truck that quickly disappears over the horizon. It’s a shame that Blake is so unimportant to the writing staff at GL that this story couldn’t have been given its proper due, but, after watching the episode again months after the fact, I’ve come to the conclusion that we may have overlooked some of its finer aspects. First and foremost, the appearance of Maureen Garrett as Holly is, in and of itself, worth the price of admission, automatically qualifying the episode for an appearance on this list. Garrett is a joy to watch and her work in that episode is as sensitive and well crafted as you’d expect from this amazing actor. But, beyond that, Liz Keifer (Blake) and Gina Tognoni also turn in deeply heartfelt performances as Ross’ grieving widow and daughter. For all its faults (and, believe me, there are many!), this episode still has much to recommend it.
Love Lost—clip 1 , clip 2 , clip 3 , clip 4 , clip 5 , clip 6

April 26: One of the best complete episodes of the show all year is this blistering, brutal, and beautiful ITL featuring Gus as he grapples with his addiction to pain medication. Beth Ehlers is really wonderful here, but it’s Ricky Paull Goldin’s raw, honest, heartbreaking portrayal of the agony of withdrawal that leaves the viewer breathless and completely captivated. This episode also features a masterstroke of directing brilliance via a knock-down-drag-out physical fight between Gus and Harley that is filmed in silence through a window. The effect is that it shields the viewer from some of the more disturbing violence of the fight while simultaneously applying a megaphone the underlying horror of the event.
I can’t say enough about this amazing episode, except that it doesn’t matter whether you like the couple or not, this is daytime drama at it’s finest.
Aba Daba Daba—clip 1 , clip 2 , clip 3 , clip 4 , clip 5 , clip 6

April 28: What accounting of the best of 2006 would be complete without a look back at the Daytime Emmys? What a proud, exciting, and glorious night for GL and its fans! I still tear up watching Jordan Clarke (Billy) win his Emmy, no matter how many times I see it. GL is so battered, abused, and disregarded in so many circles and this tremendous evening of prolonged recognition was especially thrilling for those of us who know what a great show it still is thanks to the fantastic cast.
2006 Daytime Emmys—clip 1 , clip 2 , clip 3

May 9: Caitlin Van Zandt is an exciting find for GL and her portrayal of Ashlee is a breath of fresh air on the show. What I appreciate most about the humor in Ashlee’s scenes is that she’s actually funny, in contrast to a lot of the forced “humor” that gets put forth, not just on this show, but on all soaps. Gus, Lizzie, Mallet, Dinah, and a few others all have had their time in the comedy sun, but Ashlee has me laughing more loudly and more often than any current soap character. No, it doesn’t work every single time, but when this girl is “on”, boy, does she get the job done!
This scene with Tammy contains more than a few hysterically funny bits, not the least of which is her simple but hilarious reaction to the discovery that Tammy is in love with with her own cousin, as well as a surprisingly moving moment right in the middle of the scene. And, of course, there is her magnificent and inspired reading of the line that I chose as the title of this clip: Jealous?

May 10: This sweet and wonderful ITL features a trio of ghosts from GL’s past returning to earth to advise their children. All of the ladies are welcome sights, but it’s luminous Fiona Hutchison as Jenna that steals the show. The moment where ghostly Jenna sadly moves away from Buzz at the hospital is pure soap heartbreak and there are lots of other great scenes and performances as well, including a surprisingly appealing Lillian/Buzz exchange.
Mother’s Day—clip 1 , clip 2 , clip 3 , clip 4 , clip 5 , clip 6 , clip7

May 15 & 16: This deeply satisfying (at the time, anyway) and unrelentingly emotional group event surrounding the reveals that not only is Phillip alive, but he and Rick were indirectly responsible for Ross’ death were, without question, some of the best viewing of the year. 9 of Springfield’s best and most interesting characters played by 9 of GL’s best and most interesting actors playing a story that spoke directly to the history of the show with decades-old, very high stakes! Blockbuster performance upon blockbuster performance from an array of GL’s brightest lights ricocheting off of each like super-heated particles of pure energy! Beth Chamberlin, Michael O’Leary (Rick), Gina Tognoni, Liz Keifer, Ron Raines (Alan), Beth Ehlers, and the rest all at the top of their game! It’s not overstating my case to say that these two days in May were simply glorious. Unfortunately, because the story contained no Reva and no Jonathan, it was almost immediately dropped except for a few of the plot threads that were halfheartedly squeezed in between Reva featurettes and Jonathan featurettes .
This event shows very clearly that GL, as it stands today, has what it takes to be what viewers want, if only they’d write for the entire cast.
Phillip Is Alive—clip 1 , clip 2 , clip 3

May 18: I teared up several times this year while watching GL. The Gus/Harley detox ITL, several Billy scenes, and Dinah/Mallet’s aborted wedding among others, but there was one time in ’06 where I was actually sobbing. It was the day Beth miscarried. Beth Chamberlin, always one to “go all the way there,” plumbed the bottommost depths of the despair and grief that losing a child can cause. Her work in this episode is absolutely shattering. There’s nothing more to say except that I will be furious when GL politics inevitably prevent Chamberlin from receiving the Emmy pre-nomination that she quite clearly deserves.
A Mother—clip 1 , clip 2 , clip 3

May 30: There were several truly fine moments during Reva’s cancer storyline. It really is a pity that it was allowed to eat the entire show whole for six months (with only the equally interminable baby story as respite) because when you inundate viewers with the same thing day after day after week after week after month after month, it really does become a nearly indecipherable blur, regardless of its quality.
Having said that, the story did provide more than a few truly searing experiences in ’06, the very best of which is this brief but indelibly heartbreaking vignette near the beginning of the cancer saga. Kim Zimmer is at her best when she lets go of the bluster and the bravado and the creepy, forced sexuality to let us see the human being beneath Reva’s “act”. This scene finds Reva naked, scared, and very suddenly dying and it finds Zimmer similarly defenseless and particularly effective.
In a Moment

June 5: One of the things, I love about daytime is the ability to examine and display the “smaller moments” of a story. GL had a pretty spotty track record with taking advantage of this ability in ’06, but these lovely scenes featuring the chemistry-rich but seldom together Mel and Jeffrey fairly sparkle with easy comfort and natural rhythm.
An Organized Mind—clip 1 , clip 2

June 7: Mallet’s “THE LAW” ITL was crap on a stick and practically unwatchable (despite Rob Bogue’s game performance and off the charts sexual magnetism), but the theme sequence to GL’s reality-show-within-a-show is actually rather clever and very funny, so I chose to include it (the theme sequence only, mind you!) on this list for the satisfying creativity on display
THE LAW

The hits just keep on coming! Stay tuned for part three in what’s now looking to be a four part series!
---ivnkplng

The Best of 2006, part 1

What can be said about GUIDING LIGHT in 2006? Well, plenty…
Even the shallowest dip into the internet pool yields an avalanche (Enjoy the mixed metaphor! It’s free!) of criticism for daytime’s oldest drama and the material it put forth in 2006. To be sure, there was a lot to complain about: the force-fed overexposure of Reva and Jonathan, the underuse and/or misuse of longtime characters like Alexandra, Vanessa, and Blake, the promising storylines that were dropped without warning, the bizarre and unfortunate de-SORAS-ing (and that’s exactly what it was!) of Marah. But this writing is meant to focus on the best of 2006. We come to praise GL, not to bury it! I’ll leave the worst of it to those better suited to the task (Yes, SOD’s Carolyn “If it ain’t Reva, it’s crap!” Hinsey, I’m talking to you!)

GL has always boasted an embarrassment of riches in the acting department and 2006 provided wonderful opportunities for many (although certainly not enough) of the amazing cast to shine. Gina Tognoni (Dinah), Beth Chamberlin (Beth), Ricky Paull Goldin (Gus), and Crystal Chappel (Olivia) did some of the best work of their careers. New hires Nicole Forester (Cassie), Marcy Rylan (Lizzie), Michelle Ray Smith (Ava), and Caitlin Van Zandt (Ashlee) all displayed varying degrees of potential and exciting possibility. Returning heroes David Andrew MacDonanald (Edmund) and Fiona Hutchison (Jenna) showed why they’re so loved and missed with crackling good performances that went above and beyond the call of duty. Obviously, this was the year of Kim Zimmer (Reva) and Tom Pelphrey (Jonathan) and they were certainly responsible for a certain portion of the cream of ’06, but it’s a testament to GL’s wealth of talent that this list isn’t one long cavalcade of Reva and Jon.

In selecting material for the Best of 2006, I was struck by the sheer volume of engrossing, intriguing, and just plain lovely soap drama that the show provided over the last 12 months. From Rick and Mel hammering out the problems in their marriage in a morgue (!) in January to Lillian blasting sulky, blustery Alan at his own Christmas party in December, GL was the home of breathtaking drama, gut-busting comedy, and everything in between.

I can hear all of you out there shouting “Come on, come on! Enough blather! Make with the clips!”
Okay, here’s The Best of 2006--
January 6: Restless Mel tracks Rick down at the morgue after an awkward conversation with Josh. The Bauers attempt to determine the state of their marriage in these disarmingly human, subtlely acted scenes.
Us Against the World--clip1 , clip 2

January 11: The first truly great INSIDE THE LIGHT episode featured Josh and Reva creating a video taped message for Marah and Shayne. A touching picture of the Lewis and Shayne families emerges as Reva and Josh collect footage of themselves, Marina, Hawk, Cassie, Jonathan, Tammy, Billy, and others in this thematically brilliant and genuinely heartwarming episode.
In Our Hearts—clip 1 , clip 2 , clip 3 , clip 4, clip 5 , clip 6 , clip 7

January 20: David Andrew MacDonald breathed fire during Edmund’s brief return displaying all the electricity, charisma, and passion (and then some!) that made the character into one of the most unforgettable creations in GL’s history. In this clip, Edmund gives Cassie and Josh good reason to doubt that Jeffrey is who he says he is.
Something About Richard

February 10: Alexandra and Olivia cross paths on the way to presumed-dead Alan’s funeral. As brilliant and beautiful as it is brief, this scene is a very straightforward, perfectly played piece of evidence that Marj Dusay and Crystal Chappel are two of the best that GL has to offer.
What Remains Behind

February 14: I tend not to be a huge fan of Gus and Harley as a couple, but when they work, they work reeeally well. These gorgeous scenes from Valentine’s Day show “GusH” at their best: vibrantly romantic and down-to-earth, with the appropriate amount of their trademark humor (and by “appropriate”, I mean with humor that’s actually funny and none of the baggy pants/Vaudeville garbage that they lapse into too often). In these alternately sad and thrilling scenes Harley (Beth Ehlers at her most vulnerable and appealing) spends the evening with the “ghost” of presumed-dead Gus while a newly fiery Beth literally wills the real Gus (her captive) to hold onto life.
Survive—clip 1 , clip 2

February 15: This ITL centered around a sexual “whodunit” featuring a group of Springfield residents at an inn rented by Olivia. The entire show is filled with wonderful, chemistry-rich interplay between a dazzling array of different combinations of characters in delightful “present” and flashback scenes as Lizzie tries (and fails) to figure out who “did the deed” after finding evidence of sexual activity at the beginning of the show. Very funny scenes and surprising bits of tenderness highlight this charming episode
Who’s Been Sleeping In My Bed? -- clip 1 , clip 2 , clip 3 , clip 4 , clip 5, clip 6

February 23 & 24: Very rarely in this the age of spoilers am I left with my jaw on the floor, shocked by a turn of events on a soap. Beth’s cabin rampage and physical and mental torture of Alan and Gus, so savagely and hungrily played by the astoundingly good Beth Chamberlin, was a complete surprise to me that remitted joy after satisfying joy for me as a viewer. The phrase “tour-de-force” doesn’t begin to cover the iron-fisted command and complete ownership of the material (nay, my very TV screen) that she displayed on those two days. Soap columnist Mimi Torchin recently wrote that this story didn’t work on any level. I’m at a loss to explain how she could feel that way and I respectfully and completely disagree. These stunningly powerful and delicious scenes might be the very best thing that happened on GL all year.
Control—clip 1 , clip 2, clip 3

March 1: Alan-Michael’s ITL was very much a double-edged sword. On the one hand, it was very good—and I mean very good! It featured a revelatory and poignant look into the inner workings of the character, highlighted by some of the best “new” flashbacks I’ve ever seen on a soap. It made excellent use of the A-M/Alexandra relationship and contained the only worthwhile moments of the A-M/Marina romance. It set up a fantastic corporate intrigue storyline for Spaulding Enterprises with high stakes, featuring a disparate variety of characters.
On the other hand, this episode was the beginning, middle, and end of any genuine effort put into the A-M character, the relationships shown in the episode, or the storyline begun here (except as pertained, of course, to Harley).
This beautiful episode is a fascinating pleasure, undercut by the fact that nothing ever really came of anything shown.
Prodigal—clip 1 , clip 2 , clip3 , clip 4 , clip 5 , clip 6 , clip 7

March 8: I think I’ve made my appreciation for the work of Beth Chamberlin known. She’s very good and that’s on display here in the Beth ITL, but, in addition to her riveting and inspired performance, this episode is especially noteworthy for its construction. The Hitchcockian use of the “ticking clock” device creates a panicked, claustrophobic mood for the viewer that mirrors what the character is experiencing (I especially love the “ticking” digital clock and the repetition of the “ticking” theme with the coffee spoon.) as she struggles to come to grips with the fact that she has left Alan and Gus to die. This show takes us inside Beth’s mind (to a degree) and really does a fantastic job of fulfilling the potential of the ITL’s.
Hickory Dickory—clip 1 , clip 2 , clip 3 , clip 4 , clip 5 , clip 6 , clip 7

Well, that’s part one, folks! Y’all come back for part two! There’s plenty more GL (and my opinions) where this came from! Happy New Year!

---ivnkplng

Beneath the Surface

References to Carrie Todd Marler still appear regularly on GL message boards and other printed resources to this day, nearly 25 years after her last appearance on the show. Carrie was a creation of legendary daytime writer Douglas Marland. Famous for his (and Gloria Monty's) revitalization of GENERAL HOSPITAL in the late 70's, he left that show to take over GL and his reign as headwriter remains among the best loved eras in GL history.

Carrie was played by Jane Elliot (best known for her work as GH's Tracy Quartermain), a powerfully inventive and disarmingly natural actor whom Marland selected to use as the instrument to tell a complex and disturbing tale of (what was then known as) Multiple Personality Disorder. Right in the middle of the story, then-executive producer Allen Potter fired Elliot and then Marland quit in protest of his friend's treatment. By the end of 1982, Marland, Elliot, the character of Carrie were all gone. But the legends remained.
Beneath the Surface finds us at the beginning of 1982, as Carrie (freshly acquitted of Diane Ballard and Joe Bradley's murders) marries her true love, Ross Marler. This is after several frightening revelations at the trial, but before a series of even more horrific events and discoveries in the months to come.

Unfortunately, this clipset does not contain the real "meat" of the Carrie story. It does however present a very good opportunity to "get to know" Carrie and, believe me, it's worth it! Jane Elliot's work in the role is really quite lovely and the story is fascinating.

This sequence is also notable for featuring the very first meeting of Ed Bauer and Maureen Reardon, as well as nice moments with Henry Chamberlin, Vanessa Chamberlin, Sara McIntyre, Mike Bauer, and , obviously, Ross and Justin Marler. Jackie Marler is played, for better or worse, by questionable recast Carrie Mowery. Also featured are some nice moments with the zany kids from the Tangled Web clipset, including bad boy Josh Lewis still focused on Morgan Nelson.

Rest assured, readers, that I am on the hunt for more Carrie clips and will present them when/if I get them. In the meantime, enjoy Beneath the Surface.

clip 1 , clip 2 , clip 3 , clip 4 , clip 5 , clip 6 , clip 7 , clip 8

bonus Carrie/Ross clip (probably from 1981)


FYI: It will be a little while until my next blog entry because I will be spending the rest of the month adding clips from 2006 for a year-end retrospective which will be the focus of my next entry. In the event that I receive an older clip or clipset that absolutely can't wait until January, I will post about it, but unless that happens, there will be no new entries until the end of December. If you want to keep up with the 2006 clips I'm putting up, I'll be doing regular progress updates for the retrospective at the GLMP message board

Small Steps

Maureen Garrett is sublime. Maureen Garrett is complex. Maureen Garrett is beautiful.

I could go on... and in fact, I will. The character of Holly has been one of my favorites since I started watching GL and I never tire of watching Garrett work her special magic onscreen, transforming her hard luck trainwreck of a character into a thing of unique beauty and mystery. The intelligence and passion that she brings to every word of dialogue or even the smallest motion is always breathtaking and fascinating.

She grabs and holds my attention and makes me feel, even when the material fails her, as it often has in the lean Holly years of 21st century GL. It seems my Holly has fallen by the wayside for the powers that be at GL and that's a shame because she could be contributing so much to the show.

Today's actor spotlight is on Maureen Garrett (obviously), who joined GL in 1976, replacing the original Holly, Lynn Deerfield. Deerfield played the role for six years beginning in 1970 and by all accounts was pretty good in the role, but it was Garrett who turned Holly into a daytime icon through the character's decades-spanning, tortured relationship with Roger Thorpe (played by the late Michael Zaslow). Zaslow's untimely death in 1998 left the show (which already seemed to be running short on a desire to really write for Holly) in a quandry as to what to do with the character. 1999 saw a disatrous story turn in which Holly was cast as a demented Pied Piper, kidnapping the children of all of Springfield's young heroines (and one of Reva's children too ). This led to a skimpy decade following this character-breaking tale and that's the decade I'm focusing on today.

It says quite a lot that Garrett was still able to elicit sympathy for Holly in the years following the kidnap tale, but she did. She did it by seizing what could easily have been crippling to another actor and using it as a powerful engine to add new layers of complexity to her already troubled character. The years between 2000 and 2005 were, as I said above, lean years for Holly stories, but when they came, Garrett made magic-- an indefinably special, wholly unique, rapturously engaging magic.

What follows are some of Garrett's best moments from this decade, two new clipsets and two individual clips from previously posted sets.

Small Steps (from 2003-- also featuring Ed, Michelle, and Bill)

clip 1, clip 2, clip 3

He Is Just Away (from 2004-- also featuring Blake, Sebastian, Phillip, Ross, and Alan)

clip 1, clip 2, clip 3, clip 4

2002 clip (also featuring Ed, Reva, Lillian, and Richard-- this clip goes a long way toward illustrating why I much prefer Garrett over Kim Zimmer)

2001 clip (also featuring Buzz, Meta, Phillip, Rick, and others)

A YouTube cavalcade of Holly clips from many decades can be found here. As loyal readers of my blog know, the clips marked "ivnkplng" and "classicGL" were posted by me.

Mountains

I love the 1970's era of GUIDING LIGHT. One of the most striking things about it is the humanity and realism that every scene is crafted with. Even the most outlandish of situations is underpinned with a wonderfully grounded acting and directing style that I find mesmerizing and incredibly satisfying.

Mountains finds us in 1979 and the primary focus of this set is the romance of Amanda Wexler Middleton (this is before she discovered she was a Spaulding) and Ben McFarren (not to be confused with Ben Warren or Ben Reade, who are different characters). Kathleen Cullen took some getting used to for me because, before I started this project, the only Amanda I knew was Toby Poser, the curly-haired Amanda of the 90's. As much as I loved Poser, Cullen really has become something very special for me because of the depth and beauty of her work. It's truly remarkable the crystalline beauty and haunting sadness that she brings to her fragile character which, in the hands of a lesser actor could easily have gone in a more cloying or otherwise unappealing direction.

In addition to Amanda and Ben, this set also features Eve Stapleton, Justin and Jackie Marler (although at this point, Jackie was married to a presumed-dead Alan), a very young Ross Marler, Rita Bauer, Diane Ballard, GL mainstay OB/GYN Margaret Sedwick, and the delicious Rita Lloyd as Lucille Wexler.

Mountains is a gorgeous look at one of the loveliest eras in the history of GL and i can't recommend it highly enough.

clip 1 * clip 6

clip 2 * clip 7

clip 3 * clip 8

clip 4 * clip 9

clip 5 * clip 10

Irresistible

One the stupidest decisions in the history of GUIDING LIGHT was the decision to kill off the character of Ben Warren. Hunt Block, one of the most wildly magnetic and talented actors I've seen on a soap or elsewhere, made Ross' bad boy brother Ben into a sexually charged, charismatic figure with limitless possiblities. The clipset featuring Ben that I present today is only five parts long because I'm rather short on Ben Warren material for now, but rest assured that I will present more as materials become available. Also, it doesn't deal at all with his death, but rather it gives a good picture of his life.
Irresistible finds us in 1998, with Reva and Harley leading a gaggle of Springfield's ladies in a march against their hated common enemy, Ben. D.A. Ben is prosecuting Abigail Blume (the future Mrs. Rick Bauer) for the murder of Roy Meacham, whom she shot in open court. Reva, of course, needs to control the situation and see to it that the laws against murder are bent to accomodate her and her friend Abby and so she assembles Harley, Jenna, and Blake to figure a way to ride Ben out of town on a rail. The problem with this plan is that Blake is engulfed in the fires of uncontrollable lust whenever anyone so much as mentions Ben's name (I feel ya, Blake!)

Across town, Phillp and Rick are drowning their sorrows and trying to cheer each other up, after which, Phillp engages in another round of trying to maintain control of Beth's life while telling her constantly that he doesn't want her.

But the focus of these clips is big Ben Warren all the way: sarcastic, whip smart, indomitable, Irresistible.

clip 1

clip 2

clip 3

clip 4

clip 5

previously posted Ben/Beth/Harley/Phillip clip

Woman In Mind

The year is 1988 and Sonni Lewis is creating a whole mess of trouble in Springfield. Woman In Mind focuses on a group of complicated women interacting, reacting, and battling each other and themselves.

The main focus is the efforts of desperate Sonni to keep smug Reva Shayne away from Sonni's husband Josh. Before putting this series together, I had no real experience with this character, but had (as everyone has) heard many people sing the praises of Michelle Forbes in the role. You can be sure that I was not disappointed. Forbes is dazzling as devious and determined Sonni.

Also featured is tormented Rose McLaren, played by Alexandra Neil, who can be recognized from any number of the soaps she's called home during her long career. I first saw her as Teresa Donahue/Poppy Lincoln when SOAPnet was rerunning episodes of RYAN'S HOPE from 1979 (when Neil was known as Dianne Thompson), but she's currently at ONE LIFE TO LIVE as Paige. Having gone through this clipset, I have to say that I like her better as Rose than I did/do any of the other roles I've seen her in. Neil is very natural and sympathetic as Rusty Shayne's recovering addict girlfriend.

This sequence also features big, heaping helpings of Reva Shayne, Josh Lewis, Will Jeffries, Mindy Lewis (as played by Krista Tesreau), and Alexandra Spaulding (Beverlee McKinsey version). It's also worth mentioning that the Alan Spaulding here is Daniel Pilon. With apologies to any Pilon fans out there, these clips are damning proof that it's a very good thing that Pilon's stay on GL was a brief one.

Woman In Mind is a nice look at the GL of the late 80's, an era that I've been remiss in not presenting since I started the GLMP. Well, I'm making up for it today. Late 80's fans, don't say I never gave you anything! Woman In Mind is 28 parts long, so enjoy!

clip 1 * clip 7 * clip 13 * clip 19 * clip 25
clip 2 * clip 8 * clip 14 * clip 20 * clip 26

clip 3 * clip 9 * clip 15 * clip 21 * clip 27

clip 4 * clip 10 *clip 16 * clip 22 * clip 28

clip 5 * clip 11 *clip 17 * clip 23

clip 6 * clip 12 *clip 18 * clip 24