Masquerade

Okay, kids. Don't say ivnkplng never gave you anything!

As many people know, I have a lot of very unpopular opinions about GUIDING LIGHT. One of those opinions is that the show really lost its way and became something it should never have been between 1983 and 1989. Yes, I know. This time period is, far and away, the most popular in fan circles. Yes, I know. This time period was the most commercially successful in the show's history.

What I also know is that during this time, the show turned into a very different animal than it had been in the decades before or the decades after. To many, that's a good thing and this time period is regarded as GL's "glory days." By my reckoning, nothing could be further from the truth. It lacks the warm sincerity of the radio and early television days, the psychological complexity of the late 60's, 70's, and early 80's, the dazzling intelligence of the early and mid-90's, or even the pioneering irreverence of post-milennial 00's GL.

I know I'm speaking blasphemy about one of the most beloved eras in daytime, but it's how I feel. I've immersed myself in the history of the show and I'm a viewer of GL today. I feel that I know quite a bit (not everything, obviously) about what GL has offered over the course of the last 70 years and this mid-to-late 80's era remains my least favorite, coming across as a parodic ripoff of other television shows and genres.

This is the reason that I've generally sidestepped this period of time in my Memory Project, but today I present to you, gentle readers, a veritable smörgåsbord of mid-80's delights. Reardons and Lewises everywhere! All the Four Musketeers you can eat! Maeve Kinkead before she learned to act!

I want to be clear that Masquerade is not totally without merit. There are some really effective sequences with Tony and Annabelle (played the always worthwhile Harley Jane Kozak) pertaining to Tony's deteriorating medical condition, as well as the debut of the delicious Beverlee McKinsey as Alexandra Spaulding. And then there's Lisa Brown's costume, which must be seen to be believed! This long clipset from 1984 culminating in the wedding of Billy and Vanessa is my way of spreading the wealth as far as representing the different eras of the show.

I hope people don't take offense to the sharing of my opinion and I encourage those with dissenting views to express them here at the blog or at the GLMP message board.

So 80's fans, strap in and enjoy Masquerade.
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