In the Interests of the Child

The late 70's were a GUIDING LIGHT period filled with struggles over children. An interesting thing about the two main conflicts is that their subjects both became major GL characters in the 80's, 90's, and 00's, even marrying one another briefly. I refer, of course, to Phillip and Blake.

The battle for Blake (who was then called Christina) was a bit more straightforward. Holly had a baby by Roger, but married Ed. Roger eventually got both Holly and Christina, but it all ended very famously and badly after that.

The Girl Is Mine is a brief "snapshot" of the middle of the battle. It's 1977 and Ed is raising Christina as his own daughter, a situation that does not please Roger at all.

The Girl Is Mine

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Far more complicated was the custody battle for Phillip Spaulding. It seems that Alan had "bought" Phillip from a shady doctor who convinced Jackie Marler to give him up at birth when her marriage to Justin crumbled. Alan then presented the boy to his then-wife, Elizabeth, as a replacement for the baby that she lost without actually telling her that her actual baby had died! Alan and Elizabeth's marriage eventualy failed and a custody battle began. Jackie was the only one who knew that she was was the boy's birth mother and married Alan to be close to Phillip, only to be disappointed when Elizabeth won custody with the help of her new lover (and Alan's hated enemy) Mike Bauer. Got that?

Picking up in early 1979, as the custody verdict is announced, In the Interests of the Child focuses on Jackie's internal struggle and her unique relationships with Phillip and Alan. Jackie is beautifully played here by Cindy Pickett who would go on to a very long a successful television and film career which continues to this day.

In the Interests of the Child

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