To Tell the Truth

I'm starting to think that I've been giving the GUIDING LIGHT of the late 80's a bad rap. My very negative feelings about mid-80's GL remain as they've always been, but the more I see from 1988 and beyond, the more I realize that I may have unfairly lumped together the entire decade beyond Douglas Marland's departure in one heap.

Today's blog entry finds us once again 1988, this time at the tension-filled wedding of Rick and (Fletcher's sister) Meredith. This is a really great clipset for quite a few reasons, not the least of which is the first good look I've been able to provide at Nicolette Goulet's portrayal of Meredith. My first experience with Goulet was a few years ago when SOAPnet reran her tenure as Mary Ryan on RYAN'S HOPE. Goulet is always compared (and always unfavorably) to the original and definitive Mary, Kate Mulgrew (best known as Captain Janeway on STAR TREK: VOYAGER), but I enjoyed Goulet's work on RH quite a lot and I don't think that she was evaluated fairly for what she contributed to the role.

So coming to this clipset as a big fan of Goulet's work, I was thrilled to see how much she'd grown as an actor by the time she got to GL. She sets a really wonderful tone for this story and is incredibly watchable and sympathetic as Meredith hopes against hope that her world isn't crumbling down around her.

This series is also notable for the most vital and interesting use of the Rick Bauer character that I've ever seen (although I suppose the final days of Phillip from 2004 would be in roughly the same league). It's great to see Rick (and Michael O'Leary) really driving story in a meaningful and dramatic way.

To Tell the Truth is a lovely look at the Springfield of this time. Peter Simon shines as always in the role of Ed. Elizabeth Dennehy provides a fascinating glimpse at the beginnings of Blake, including some intriguing hints at the impending reveltion of her Bauerhood. Krista Tesreau is charming and pixieish as Mindy. Maureen, Phillip, Fletcher, Alan-Michael, and many others are all there, as well as Kassie Wesley (before she became a DePaiva) as Chelsea, making this a thoroughly enjoyable and suspenseful set of clips.

To Tell the Truth--
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The Wedding Guest

In 1996, GUIDING LIGHT was changing. But isn't it always? Well, yes, but this was a time of significant, sweeping change. In 1996 alone, there were three different sets of writers.

The show was in the middle of of a quartet of "fan favorite" returns. Rick and Reva had already made themselves at home again. Phillip's return is presented here today in this clipset, while Harley's comeback was just a little over half a year down the road at this time.

As "fan favorites," these characters were awarded lots and lots of airtime and prominent storylines. Also, the changes in headwriters meant that the literate, sophisticated style that had defined the show earlier in the decade was gone, replaced by a more pedestrian brand of dialogue and storytelling.

All these changes were so profound and so consuming, that the show that I fell in love with in 1993 was an almost completely different product by the end of 1997. Reva, Phillip, and Harley very much ruled the day and the fans were thrilled-- well, except for me. This period of change also signaled the beginning of a ratings bleed-out from which the show has yet to recover.

But onto the main event: The wedding of Alan-Michael and Lucy! This event was marked with a lavish location shoot at Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida and featured the long awaited joyous union of (literally) tortured Lucy Cooper and her hero, reformed bad boy Alan-Michael Spaulding. Having survived cross-dressing rapist Brent Lawrence as well as their feuding families, the couple had certainly earned their right to a moment in the sun. Fittingly, the Sunshine State of Florida was selected as the place to cast some much needed light into the lives of the beleaguered couple and they wed atop the marquee of the Pantages Theatre with friends and family gazing up from below.

For all the pomp and circumstance surrounding the wedding, the bride and groom end up with second billing, upstaged by The Wedding Guest: prodigal son Phillip Spaulding. It's Phillip's return (complete with a chip of epic proportions on his shoulder) and the spectacle of Alan and Buzz competing for the right to drool over Reva that end up taking center stage in this clipset.

For my money, the the bickering between Alexandra and Amanda is the best thing going here. I've spent a lot of time getting to know Kathleen Cullen's portrayal of Amanda in the last year and really fallen in love with her, but this set reminds me just how much I loved Toby Poser in the role. Her brassy, luxurious, cigar-smoking Amanda, while worlds away from Cullen's characterization, is truly a joy and seeing her here again is great fun.

And so, enjoy The Wedding Guest--
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For a look at some of Alan-Michael and Lucy's troubles with Brent Lawrence, take a look at the Cracked blog entry. As Brent material comes in, I will be presenting a better look at this storyline, hopefully within 2007.

Loaded Gun

I mentioned in recent entry that Rita Bauer is a character that still comes up fairly often in online conversations between GUIDING LIGHT fans. Another such unforgettable figure who is still the subject of devotion and remembrance is Ben Warren, brother of Ross Marler.

A controversial storyline in 1998 found Blake almost completely unable to resist her powerful and growing attraction to her brother-in-law. Ben initially began his conquest of Blake out of a desire to punish Ross, but almost immediately developed real feelings for her. This set, Loaded Gun, focuses on the disastrous consequences that come when Ross walks in on the two after Blake has finally given in to her tortured lust.

Ross' accidental shooting of Blake came as a great surprise at the time, marred though it was by the heavy, overwrought style of Esensten and Harmon-Brown's writing. (Not for nothing, these two just this week slammed GUIDING LIGHT and rewrote history when they announced in Soap Opera Digest that their new appointment as headwriters of ALL MY CHILDREN was the first time they'd assumed control of a show "that wasn't on life support"-- a mighty brazen assertion, considering the shameful amount of damage they did to GL!)

This clipset also gives a good picture of the friendship between Ben and Beth as well as showing just how very snide, petty, and vicious Harley was when it came to Beth. It features a classic set-up of Phillip needing to maintain total control of Beth's life, Harley feeling threatened by Phillip's obvious feelings, and then attacking Beth for it. Also on display is a rapidly declining Holly as she sneaks secret nips from her flask and marches ever closer to her fateful "Nursery Rhyme Stalker" story.

All the characters collect at Cedars in the wake of the shooting and become involved another shocking confrontation as Ross, consumed with grief and rage, holds Ben, Beth, Holly, and Hart (Frank Grillo in his last months on the show) at gunpoint. I really enjoy group events like this that bring together a variety of characters, so this is my favorite part of the set. It's also the part that (I think) does the best job of ramping up the drama quotient without lurching too far into the land of hamfisted melodrama.

This really is a great set of clips and a good look at one of the more successful stories of this time period. With Hunt Block and Jerry verDorn front and center, it's nearly impossible to go wrong and this storyline really did make great use of them both, for the most part.

So, enjoy Loaded Gun

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******

For another look at the attraction between Ben and Blake, refer to the Irresistible blog entry.

Meanwhile, I'll see you all right here next week!

---ivnkplng