I agree, after 1982 and mid 1983 the show did fall apart. It turned into Texas in Springfield since Gail Kobe and Pam Long Hammer wrote the show after Douglas Marland left.
Hi Mar. I totally agree w/your comments 4 days ago. I was so into GL from about 1975-85 but hated when Reva and Billy and all those hillbillies came onto the show and all the core, excellent characters were just dismissed w/out any concern to how that would affect the shows value and strength. I also remember that it started to become a teen-like show to compete w/Luke and Laura and hated the way GL was going and my interest in the show waned until i stopped watching. my fave storyline was the amanda/jennifer (jane marie stafford)/lucille wexler one. pure genius by story writer doug marland. he really kept the audience glued to their seats and i remember the iranian hostage crisis interrupting jennifer's testimony on the stand and how mad i was! so much more could have been done w/main characters but all were just written out.
I love reading your comments about Diane Ballard. I loved this character. Sofia Landon just nailed this role. in her last scene with Alan she says....I loved you more than anyone should ever love another person. so sad, hard to watch but it was Emmy worthy. Yes the show was being taken apart. Did Doug Marland write Diane off to give Jane Elliot the big story?
I agree they should have let Diane be in a coma and survived the attack to reveal that it was Carrie who attacked her. That would have been much more dynamic and saved a legacy character. Like everyone has stated when the Texas team took over they ruined the show.
Although the Diane Ballard murder storyline was well acted, I agree with those who feel that killing Diane was a waste of a character with years of potential. If it had been an attempted murder storyline, it still could focus on Carrie's multiple personality disorder; and we still could have enjoyed Sofia Landon Geier's brilliaint performances. Indeed, far too many beloved characters were written off during the early-mid 1980s, and too many hokey stories would take the place of character-driven stories. It's a shame that in later years, the Shaynes and Coopers would eat up the show.
+1976mcil In the bunch of episodes from this specific era of GL, I can easily think of 5 or 6 characters whose deaths would not make worth noting. Yes, killing off Diane provided a catalyst for a number of characters' upcoming storylines, but was it really worth it? I think not.
Rather sad, actually. Diane's murder made for a great mystery story, but it was part, I believe, of an overall calculated effort to dump most of the existing characters to change the show into what it ultimately became ("The Reva Shayne Show"). Over the course of roughly two years (1981-83), two thirds of the ongoing characters were written out (Rita, Eve, Ben, Sara, Adam, Mike, Ann, Diane, Jackie, Justin, Holly, Barbara, Amanda, and some others who I'm probably forgetting). This is when it really changed from a great, nuanced, character-driven drama to the campy parody that it ultimately became.
Mar Thivierge After watching these episodes I agree with you 100%. Not to say I disliked the Reva character, but once she and the Lewis clan became more front burning characters, the show went into a different direction. The show by 1984 seemed to have focused more on fashion and glamour than good storylines and a lot of the storylines were campy, that continued well into the 2000’s.
its funny....when Kim Zimmer left in the early 90's the show started to improve greatly! without the focus on Reva all the time we got Annie Dutton, Dinah Marler...Wendy Moniz' version, the Ed, Maureen, Lillian story and many others. When she came back a few years later she absolutely sucked all of the air out of the show. They destroyed Annie Dutton....to give Reva back to boring Josh. the plunge really began.
I really wish those episodes were available, but I've never been able to find them. I'd also kill to see some of Carrie's murder trial, but they're nowhere to be found as well. :-( As for Quinton/Sean, I think the first time we ever laid eyes on him was the night Diane Ballard died. Another suspect thrown into the mix in this whodunnit. Of course at that time, we didn't know who he was.
Thanks for the reply :) I love watching these in the lead up to Nola's redemption with Quinton. I was in High School when these aired so it really brings back some memories.
I agree, after 1982 and mid 1983 the show did fall apart. It turned into Texas in Springfield since Gail Kobe and Pam Long Hammer wrote the show after Douglas Marland left.
Hi Mar. I totally agree w/your comments 4 days ago. I was so into GL from about 1975-85 but hated when Reva and Billy and all those hillbillies came onto the show and all the core, excellent characters were just dismissed w/out any concern to how that would affect the shows value and strength. I also remember that it started to become a teen-like show to compete w/Luke and Laura and hated the way GL was going and my interest in the show waned until i stopped watching. my fave storyline was the amanda/jennifer (jane marie stafford)/lucille wexler one. pure genius by story writer doug marland. he really kept the audience glued to their seats and i remember the iranian hostage crisis interrupting jennifer's testimony on the stand and how mad i was! so much more could have been done w/main characters but all were just written out.
The Lewis clan was when GL jumped the shark and never recovered.
I love reading your comments about Diane Ballard. I loved this character. Sofia Landon just nailed this role. in her last scene with Alan she says....I loved you more than anyone should ever love another person. so sad, hard to watch but it was Emmy worthy. Yes the show was being taken apart. Did Doug Marland write Diane off to give Jane Elliot the big story?
I agree they should have let Diane be in a coma and survived the attack to reveal that it was Carrie who attacked her. That would have been much more dynamic and saved a legacy character. Like everyone has stated when the Texas team took over they ruined the show.
79-83 in my opinion the marland years were the best. I wish marland had stayed there til his death.
Although the Diane Ballard murder storyline was well acted, I agree with those who feel that killing Diane was a waste of a character with years of potential. If it had been an attempted murder storyline, it still could focus on Carrie's multiple personality disorder; and we still could have enjoyed Sofia Landon Geier's brilliaint performances. Indeed, far too many beloved characters were written off during the early-mid 1980s, and too many hokey stories would take the place of character-driven stories. It's a shame that in later years, the Shaynes and Coopers would eat up the show.
It may be that Geier may have wanted to turn her attention to writing for soaps instead of acting in them. She was a writer for many years.
Michael J. Stark, best known as Dr. Jeff Manning MD on The Doctors portrayed Joe Bradley
A tribute to Diane Ballard, Guiding Light villainess: ua-cam.com/video/HJ4FjP0_cjU/v-deo.html
Diane Ballard being written out of the Guiding Light was a tragedy. She should have taken over Spaulding in a fight w/Amanda.
+1976mcil
In the bunch of episodes from this specific era of GL, I can easily think of 5 or 6 characters whose deaths would not make worth noting. Yes, killing off Diane provided a catalyst for a number of characters' upcoming storylines, but was it really worth it? I think not.
It was too bad that she was written out, but then it was also one of the best soap murder mystery stories.
Rather sad, actually. Diane's murder made for a great mystery story, but it was part, I believe, of an overall calculated effort to dump most of the existing characters to change the show into what it ultimately became ("The Reva Shayne Show"). Over the course of roughly two years (1981-83), two thirds of the ongoing characters were written out (Rita, Eve, Ben, Sara, Adam, Mike, Ann, Diane, Jackie, Justin, Holly, Barbara, Amanda, and some others who I'm probably forgetting). This is when it really changed from a great, nuanced, character-driven drama to the campy parody that it ultimately became.
Mar Thivierge After watching these episodes I agree with you 100%. Not to say I disliked the Reva character, but once she and the Lewis clan became more front burning characters, the show went into a different direction. The show by 1984 seemed to have focused more on fashion and glamour than good storylines and a lot of the storylines were campy, that continued well into the 2000’s.
its funny....when Kim Zimmer left in the early 90's the show started to improve greatly! without the focus on Reva all the time we got Annie Dutton, Dinah Marler...Wendy Moniz' version, the Ed, Maureen, Lillian story and many others. When she came back a few years later she absolutely sucked all of the air out of the show. They destroyed Annie Dutton....to give Reva back to boring Josh. the plunge really began.
We take a jump in these from the 10th to the 25th, does anyone have the missing ones? Also, what date did they introduce Quinton aka Sean?
I really wish those episodes were available, but I've never been able to find them. I'd also kill to see some of Carrie's murder trial, but they're nowhere to be found as well. :-(
As for Quinton/Sean, I think the first time we ever laid eyes on him was the night Diane Ballard died. Another suspect thrown into the mix in this whodunnit. Of course at that time, we didn't know who he was.
Thanks for the reply :) I love watching these in the lead up to Nola's redemption with Quinton. I was in High School when these aired so it really brings back some memories.