BEST STORYLINE

Jonathan’s adopted dad messes with the Lewis clan

What an addition Ritchie Coster made to the show. Playing Jonathan’s evil adopted dad, NateAlfred swept into town and made life hell for Jonathan, Reva and Joshua. Here’s the thing: There’s not a weak actor in that bunch. And everyone gave 100 percent. It was inevitable that NateAlfred had to die, but it was such a rollercoaster ride all the way up until the end. Coster had chemistry with everyone, he oozed an appropriate amount of sleaze, charm & smarts. I had no problem takin’ the ups, the downs and the crazy curves this storyline threw at us.

WORST STORYLINE

Wow. There’s so much to choose from. Let’s see. Sandy’s BIG secret. Harley’s jailhouse blues. Dinah carrying Cassie’s baby. Oh I know.

Reva’s Menopausal Self

Well you can’t spell menopausal without “me.” This monumental “change” in a woman’s life could’ve been a great opportunity to tell a story that’s just not explored much on soaps. But nooo...it turned out it was just another way to destroy Reva & Josh. At this point, I don’t even care if the two get back together. And they are my favorite supercouple of all time! Reva became “ME-va” to the nth degree. And while there were some really great scenes involved within the story, it really only served to assassinate a truly great couple.

WORST REAL LIFE STORYLINE

The Fall Exodus

Guiding Light lost so many actors this year. Some were storyline-dictated. Others wisely jumped ship. In my opinion, the show was still hurting from letting Grant Aleksander go. But this fall, it was ridiculous. In a matter of weeks, Daniel Cosgrove left to return to primetime television. A recurring Jerry ver Dorn got some much deserved respect when ABC’s One Life to Live lured him with a contract to their show. He’s now playing Clint Buchanan and doing a fine job, if you ask me. In a shocker move, Laura Wright jumped ship to Guiding Light time slot rival General Hospital where she plays the conniving Carly Corinthos Alcazar. Don’t know how she’s doing. Can’t watch GH. At all. And I tried when Laura first got on the show. The dashing David Andrew Macdonald got his walking papers so cruelly handed to him. (Note: He’ll be back for a couple upcoming episodes) And let me tell you, what they did to Eddie on the way out was criminal. Literally. Making him snatch Michelle’s baby via a forced induction, well, that was just uncalled for. And it was just too easy to make him an over the top unredeemable cartoon villain. Just like they did with Phillip at the end of his run. Can you tell that I’m still bitter? So, of course, we all know that the show let Nancy St. Alban and Paul Anthony Stewart. At least Danny and Michelle were reunited. But not really that much of a consolation. And now comes word that Crystal Hunt is done too. That upsets me as well, because I love Crystal and her portrayal of Lizzie Spaulding. She’s grown as an actress over the years and I wish her well. (Wow, how many times have I had to write that or something like that this year?)

BEST ACTOR

Tom Pelphrey

The guy is fearless, what can I say. Even when I don’t like his storylines, I applaud his acting choices. The guy has chemistry with just about everyone on the show - male or female. I particularly loved his work during the NateAlfred stuff. And just put him in a scene with his real life ex - Gina Tognoni - and the two just sparkle. But the guy is great in scenes with Kim Zimmer, Robert Newman, Jordan Clarke and Crystal Chappell. Not to mention with everyone else he’s in a scene with. Let’s see, just how long will GL be able to hold on to such a find?

BEST ACTRESS

Gina Tognoni

I can’t say enough about Tognoni. I just think that no matter what the writers and producers give her, she hits it out of the park every time. Like Pelphrey, she makes some great acting choices. She plays a character that’s just not supposed to be likable. But I find myself rooting for her. Yes, Gina’s that good.  Dinah went through a lot this year, what with talking Edmund into letting her carry his and Cassie’s baby; being preggers; miscarrying the baby; trying to make Eddie fall in love with her; bringing Hope back to Michelle; getting it on with Jonathan; flirting with Mallet; and trying to get her act together. This journey that Dinah’s been on has been fun to watch because Gina rocks.

WORST ADDITION

Ava

Sandy had supposedly been sporting a ginornous secret for like ever. And it turns out he’s married to Ava? The actress is fine, but the character serves no purpose and is completely and utterly dull.

BEST RECAST

Robert Bogue

I loved Mark Derwin’s A.C. Mallet so much that I didn’t really want to give this new guy to the show a chance. But guess what? I took to Bogue almost right away. He immediately had chemistry with Beth Ehlers/Harley. And then with Gina Tognoni. This was a good casting decision by GL, in the midst of so many bad casting decisions.

WORST ASSASSINATION OF CHARACTER

Edmund Winslow

Well, I know that Eddie was once an evil thing that did many bad, bad things. I know it. But still, having him steal Michelle’s baby so he could still have a connection with Cassie was just not cool. Building an exact replica of Cassie’s house to lock Dinah in? OK, that’s more of his MO. But I still don’t like the way Edmund went out.

WORST USE OF AN AWESOME COUPLE

Buzz and Alex

So, I’m going to keep this short and sweet. Buzz and Alex belong together. They’re funny. They’re cute together. They belong together. Not showing Alex and having Buzz pine over Olivia is ludicrous. Just ludicrous. Put these two back together already.

BEST SCENES

Reva & Josh’s too real marital struggles

Well, let’s forget about the menopause for a second. During the whole NateAlfred business, Reva & Josh shared some scenes that were really painful to watch. And I mean painful in a good way. Reva was taking Josh for granted. And maybe Josh was feeling way too comfortable with this relationship. Josh finally had his fill. Here’s some of his dialogue to Reva.

If you ever decide to go bunjee jumping with our marriage again, do not assume that I will take the jump with you. And if you ever decide to take that jump on your own, do not assume I ll be waiting at the top for you to come bouncing back from your plunge.

Just because I love you doesn t mean I m thick between the ears or dead below the waste.

Maybe I should start acting more like Jonathan...Alfred or Nate or whatever the hell his name is. You know, show more of my dark side. If I did that I might have a better chance at gaining your respect.

You make me sound more like a valet than a husband.

I just couldn’t get enough of these scenes. Kim Zimmer and especially Robert Newman did such good jobs.

MOST WASTED CHARACTER

Jeffrey O’Neill

I still don’t know anything about this guy. It seems like that’s gonna change soon - we’ll find out his secret, I guess.

BEST COMEDIC PROP

Blake’s book: Love in the lockup

I laughed every time this book became part of the action.

STUPID MOVE 1

Phillip is alive!!!!!

OK, that was a no brainer. But I figured they would never do this without having secured Grant Aleksander’s return. I was wrong.

STUPID MOVE 2

Sebastian works for Alan Spaulding

I don’t know why the show kept Sebastian longer they had to. When Alan hired Roger’s long lost son (yawn!), he then became involved in stupid, pointless scenes opposite Olivia and went after an on the run Gus and Harley. Oh plus he kidnapped Lizzie before slinking out of town.

BEST MOMENT

Michelle remembers Danny...

And then proceeds to make love to her hubby. Which is what I would have done in the same situation. Of course, then she went back to his cousin Tony. Which is what I wouldn’t have done in the same situation.

MOST ANNOYING OCCURRENCE #1

The Coopers overtake the Bauer household

It all fed into the whole bye bye Bauers mindset of this year.

MOST ANNOYING OCCURRENCE #2

Harley is Spaulding CEO

I was speechless when this happened. It really made me think ‘what in the world is going on with my show?’

MOST ANNOYING CHARACTER

Marina Cooper

I really, really tried to like Marina. But I can’t. I just can’t. I really, really tried to get into Marina and Danny. But I just couldn’t. I just couldn’t. Marina Cooper is self-involved, self-righteous, selfish, basically anything with the word “self” in it. Now her thing with Danny is over, they want to put her with Alan-Michael? How about finding a way to make her tolerable? Don’t put her in yet another relationship where there is no chemistry.

BEST CASTING DECISIONS

TIE: Ritchie Coster & Linda Dano

Boy, were these two just great this year. I had never seen this guy before but it didn’t seem like Ritchie was a soap newbie. He came on and instantly made everything better when he was on air. As for the veteran Dano, she added her famous flair to those grey jailhouse scenes that were difficult to get through. I was so sorry to see both of these awesome actors go.

CHANGE OF OPINION

Sandy/Tammy

At the beginning of the year I totally loved these two. By the end, not so much. It seems like the show made Sandy an even more boring character to make way for Tammy and Jonathan. For me, I did stop liking Sandy. But did it get me to jump on the Tammy and Jonathan bandwagon? Nope. Sorry.

MOST STUPID USE OF A SONG

Unbelievable

Just writing the name of the song I start to shake and convulse just thinking about that ridiculously cheesy tune. That song. Bad.

GOOD MOVE 1

Jordan Clarke

Upping Clarke’s airtime was a good move. I don’t like it when Josh doesn’t have Billy around.

GOOD MOVE 2

Bringing back old favorites

Vanessa & Matt, India, Rusty & Hawk all made appearances this year. I love it. Too bad some of them can’t come back for longer than a few episodes.

NEVER SAW THAT COMING

Beth marrying Alan

I didn’t think I’d like this unholy union. But I kinda do. But I also kinda want someone to save her from this marriage as well. A juicy triangle would rock.

BEST COUPLE

Gus and Harley

I feel like these two get this category by default, cause there’s no one else in this town that’s happy (that they show on a regular basis, anyway). They went on the run. They got married. They have flaws even though they’re married. They’re cute. Actually, they just get it by default.

GOODBYE

Well, I just want to say, that this is the end of the road for me. I will no longer be writing the Guiding Light column. I wrote The Lighthouse for exactly two years and I had fun doing it, yes, even during those times when I wasn’t enjoying the show. But like I said at the top of this column, life happens. Plus, I have come to the conclusion that I just can’t watch Guiding Light anymore. I do wish the show well. And if they ever get Grant Aleksander back, then I’ll be back. I want to thank all my faithful readers who have given me great feedback over the last two years. I want to say that I will always love Guiding Light - it was the first soap I ever watched. And I had the pleasure of covering some of the best actors in daytime.