GUIDING LIGHT: Maureen's death

[Steve Winwood]

Looking back, I realize just how stupid Jill Farren Phelps was for killing off Maureen. I mean, since Bert died, Maureen was the mother figure of the show, and killing her threw the whole show off. Yet again, we were left without a central figure. Plus, Mo was a beloved character and the show's ratings declined steadily. Phelps repeated that mistake yet again by murdering Frankie Frame on ANOTHER WORLD.

Thoughts? Opinions?

[Steve Winwood]

Here's video of Maureen and Ed's final confrontation before her accident

[PT Freakin' G]

I think the amount of letters by outraged GL fans that flooded CBS shows that you are not alone in thinking Maureen's death was a mistake.

[Steve Winwood]

It was nice that Ellen Parker got an Emmy for that episode, however

And they brought her back a few times, when Ed or Michelle flashed back/dreamed about her

[Dr. Ackerman]

Jill Farren Phelps has a habit of building up a soap, then tearing it down. She did this on GUIDING LIGHT. The first couple of years she was in charge, the show was great, and ratings started to go up. Then she fired Kimberly Wells (Mindy) and got Beverlee McKinsey (Alexandra) to quit in disgust. But these losses weren't enough for her. She inexplicably thought it would be a good idea to kill off Maureen, who by this time had replaced Bert as the show's tentpole character.

After Maureen's death, the show began losing viewers steadily, ending up at the bottom of the ratings, where it remains today. It's been 14 years since Maureen died, and GL still hasn't recovered.

[Steve Winwood]

Then she fired Kimberly Wells (Mindy)
.

I think you meant Kimberley Simms.

Very good point though

JFP caused all sorts of trouble on SANTA BARBARA and ended up killing off Frankie on ANOTHER WORLD as well

[AaronA]

Maureen's death was wonderful soap opera with great acting. I have always had mixed feelings about the characters death...on one hand, I thought it was an emotional, well done story with characters we as the viewers care about. It also was a story about middle aged adults with no villain and no clear cut answers as to way the affair occured (since Ed was pretty much happily married). With Moe's death, great scenes between so many characters occur (Holly and Ed, Ed and Vanessa, Michelle and Ed, Nadine and Bridget, Holly and Michelle, etc..)

Then on the other hand, did Moe have to die? It is difficult since she was one who all the other characters went to for advice and was the voice of reason.

[kassidy_katherine]

Mo dying was a mistake...they kind of had a matriarch-like figure in Meta, but then Mary Stuart died and I mean, you can't replace her. I so wish GL would improve again...I used to LOVE watching it...now I can take it or leave it.

[AaronA]

I don't recall Kimberly Simms being fired - I think she left on her own accord. It was too bad because her Mindy and Vincent Irizarry's Nick were a great couple and with Beverlee Mckinsey's Alex, it was such a great story...one of GL's best.

Even though GL got a lot of bad press regarding Maureen's death, the aftermath of it, Buzz's return, Frank and Eleni's marriage, Nadine being caught, Roger being shot, Eve going crazy/her redemption, Juila's wedding bust to Dylan and Harley/Mallet relationship still made GL one of the best soaps of 1993. GL's rating troubles really started in 94....when Tangie (I think that was her name) and Lucy Cooper started to dominate too many stories.....

[Norrth]

The big question, for me, is why the same daytime writers and EPs get to float from show to show, killing off the soap fanbase, and the networks keep hiring them. I get sick of hearing about how the 'OJ' trial killed daytime ratings. It's the same small group of people who carry bad ideas from one show to the next.

GL hasn't even tried to replace Maureen with a character who could serve as the central character. I loved, and loved to hate Roger Thorpe... Maureen was such a central character that she made me feel compassion for him, even when I didn't want to. I never wanted to see them as a romantic couple, but I loved their relationship.

The only thing that's ever come close to it is brother-sister pair, Vicki Lord and Todd Manning, on OLTL.

[AaronA]

GL hasn't even tried to replace Maureen with a character who could serve as the central character. I loved, and loved to hate Roger Thorpe... Maureen was such a central character that she made me feel compassion for him, even when I didn't want to. I never wanted to see them as a romantic couple, but I loved their relationship.

Yes, I agree with that. I enjoyed Maureen and Roger scenes and somehow it made Roger seem more human. Do you remember the blackout where the two of them got trapped? There was some great scenes in that -

[Daniel Avery]

Jill Farren Phelps is a pox on the soap world. I've loathed that woman for decades, and my hatred really kicked into overdrive when she decided to bump off Maureen Bauer. JFP's main problem back then at GL (and well into her reign of terror over OLTL and AW) was that she did not (probably still does not) understand the dynamics of soaps. Concepts like "tentpole characters," "matriarchs," and "the fabric of the show" are not very high on her list of priorities. She lives and dies by the ratings point--do whatever it takes to get that ratings spike, and damn the consequences.
In Maureen's case, JFP employed some focus groups to give her feedback on certain aspects of the show. Rather than take the time to examine the cast of characters and how the characters support one another, she got a group of strangers to tell her their impressions of the show, and simply used their input as the basis for making sweeping changes (or at least using them as the excuse to make the changes). Since Maureen's character provided simple, unadorned morality and wasn't a "flashy" character, she didn't really "grab" the focus groups....but she wasn't designed to do that.
JFP must have decided that since no one really made a big deal about her, that viewers would not "miss her" if they killed her off. Just goes to show how this woman can be in charge of and entire show and not have the slightest idea about what makes the show tick. Of course we viewers let her know in no uncertain terms that Maureen did matter to us, and it was soon very obvious to the writing staff that they'd punched a hole in the fabric of the show. The Bauer family was supposed to be the central family, but they became more and more unimportant as the years wore on (which is a shame). JFP got her precious (and fleeting) few weeks of ratings, but in order to get that quick spike, she created a hole in the fabric of the main core family that couldn't be repaired. In JFP's mind, however, she could care less because it was a mess that she could leave for others to clean up after she was run off (um, after she decided to leave). JFP's largest flaw is how she cannot think "big-picture". Any show she runs becomes a series of small, often unrelated "events" (fire! flood! murder! shooting spree!--and that's just this week) that don't serve to develop characters or benefit the overall program over the long term. In fact, just the opposite occurs; the characters become generic and interchangeable, plugged in to the latest plot-driven catastrophe, and the show slowly loses its identity.

Oh, and did I mention I just can't stand this woman?

[Dr. Ackerman]

^^ I agree with everything you said.

The other point to make is that JFP probably deserves very little credit for the high quality of GL from 1990-1993. The true credit belongs to the underappreciated head writer, Nancy Curlee. I don't know where she came from. GL seems to have been her only job in daytime, according to IMDB. But her writing was marvelous, thoughtful and emotional. She loved to write three-dimensional characters and give them memorable, un-cliched dialogue to say (to this day, I still remember some of the speeches and conversations she wrote for various characters). In fact, the only saving grace of Maureen's death was that the aftermath of her exit was so heartbreakingly written: the guilt and mourning of Ed and Lillian, the smoldering anger young Michelle had for Ed, and Holly's stepping in as Michelle's new "stepmother" (which harkened back to the days when Holly had young Christina in tow).

NC did such a classy job that she deserves to be put in the same class as legendary daytime writers like Doug Marland, Agnes Nixon and Bill Bell. And when you factor in that she achieved this high quality while working under JFP, she probably deserves a medal.

[AaronA]

^^

The other point to make is that JFP probably deserves very little credit for the high quality of GL from 1990-1993. The true credit belongs to the underappreciated head writer, Nancy Curlee. I don't know where she came from. GL seems to have been her only job in daytime, according to IMDB. But her writing was marvelous, thoughtful and emotional. She loved to write three-dimensional characters and give them memorable, un-cliched dialogue to say (to this day, I still remember some of the speeches and conversations she wrote for various characters). In fact, the only saving grace of Maureen's death was that the aftermath of her exit was so heartbreakingly written: the guilt and mourning of Ed and Lillian, the smoldering anger young Michelle had for Ed, and Holly's stepping in as Michelle's new "stepmother" (which harkened back to the days when Holly had young Christina in tow).

NC did such a classy job that she deserves to be put in the same class as legendary daytime writers like Doug Marland, Agnes Nixon and Bill Bell. And when you factor in that she achieved this high quality while working under JFP, she probably deserves a medal.

Yes, Nancy Curlee was wonderful!!! She deserved an Emmy for her work on GL.

I think some of the viewers are being a bit harsh on JFP as there was a time in 1992 where pretty much all of GL's storylines were great - I remember many in the soap press stating that GL was the best soap of 91, 92 and 93. As the EP, JFP deserves some credit. Actually, that was some of GL's best years.....

I must say though that I was surprised that with the backlash JFP got by killing off Maureen, that she killed another fan favorite - Frankie on Another World. I had a friend who watched that show and was sad that Frankie was killed. I never watched AW but heard that fans of that show were upset by this....

[Dr. Ackerman]

I must say though that I was surprised that with the backlash JFP got by killing off Maureen, that she killed another fan favorite - Frankie on Another World. I had a friend who watched that show and was sad that Frankie was killed. I never watched AW but heard that fans of that show were upset by this....

I didn't watch AW either, but I heard about the controversy. Apparently, fans were outraged that Frankie, a likeable character, was stalked for an entire episode and killed, onscreen, by a serial killer. Supposedly, JFP had originally intended to kill off popular character Donna Love, but when word of that leaked out, there was such a backlash from fans that she had to switch plans at the last minute and kill Frankie instead. And, just as in the Maureen Bauer debacle, JFP blamed a focus group for her decision. (Those danged focus groups, ruining our soaps!)

But she can't seem to help herself. She's now producing 'General Hospital,' and during February sweeps, she killed off long-time character Alan Quartermaine, who had been played by Stuart Damon for the past 30 years. She definitely has a real sadistic streak, and she gets off on killing characters.

[Daniel Avery]

Speaking as an AW devotee, I have to say I had mixed reactions to the killing-off of Frankie.

JFP had been foisted upon the show when it really wasn't in trouble. Sure, AW's ratings had been stagnant for several years, but NBC thought AW should have been remodeled into a DAYS clone, which scared the living beejesus out of us all. AW was an old-school soap, and when JFP was handed the show, she immediately realized that although turning it into a second hour of DAYS-like mayhem (think: characters possessed, buried alive, etc.) was too much to try, she could at least tear everything down and remake "her vision" (God, I hate that phrase--everyone used that as code for "her destruction plans") of AW as a combination of prime-time shows ER and NYPD Blue. To this end she had that endless parade of violent crimes and consequent visits to the hospital. It wasn't broke, but she wanted to fix it anyway. All she did was put the skids under the show and give it a great big push toward the door.

But back to Frankie. JFP's sole motivation was monetary: she'd been ordered to eliminate an actor with a mid-level salary in order to finance the hiring of another (expensive) actor (if I'm not mistaken, Robert Kelker-Kelly), and Anna Stuart and Alice Barrett-Mitchell were two in that range (so was Judi Evans-Luciano). The serial killer story that claimed Frankie (Mitchell) was so ill-plotted that there was no need to show a motivation for the murder, so they could basically plug in anyone they liked. Stuart got a reprieve, though JFP made sure Donna Love was made so irrelevant that she might have well have died. I feel guilty for being relieved Frankie was killed off, because Donna was (still is) my favorite daytime character of all time. But I was happy to jump on the "Let's stone JFP" brigade that ultimately got her run off the show in the aftermath of Frankie's murder.

It wasn't just that she got rid of a popular character. It could have been done differently. Maggie DePriest (the head writer) penned this hour-long horror show where Frankie was lured from her home, stalked, and cornered by the killer. She was this strong character who ended up begging for her life, invoking the name of her infant daughter, and as the killer strangled her, we saw the life drain out of her. It bordered on obscene. dePriest claimed (and I tend to believe her) that this was how JFP wanted it to play out; JFP claimed that she had not wanted it to be "graphic", but luckily this whole firestorm not only got JFP fired, it got DePriest drummed out of soap writing as well.

[Mason]

Maureen's death was, without a doubt, the single biggest mistake ever made on GUIDING LIGHT, in my opinion. Not that JFP viewed it as a mistake I'm sure, in spite of the heavy criticism she got for it. I'm sure even to this day, she feels she made the right decision (same for Frankie on AW), even though it left a void in the show that has never been filled. JFP wants what she wants, the viewers be damned. The woman's like a plague on daytime that refuses to go away. Thank God for the night she got cut off at the Emmys. THAT made the rest of the crappy show that year worth it.

[AaronA]

Maureen's death was, without a doubt, the single biggest mistake ever made on GUIDING LIGHT, in my opinion. Not that JFP viewed it as a mistake I'm sure, in spite of the heavy criticism she got for it. I'm sure even to this day, she feels she made the right decision (same for Frankie on AW), even though it left a void in the show that has never been filled. JFP wants what she wants, the viewers be damned. The woman's like a plague on daytime that refuses to go away. Thank God for the night she got cut off at the Emmys. THAT made the rest of the crappy show that year worth it.

I do think JFP regretted killing off Maureen and if she knew how upset the fans would have been, she may not have done it. While Maureen was a beloved character, remember she was never a lead character (not while Ellen Parker was in the part at least) in a front burner storyline. JFP probably thought the fallout of a great supporting story - the Ed/Moe/Lillian -would be the death of one of the characters.

The other issue is that GL could have created a different character that could become the heart of the show....but GL has never was able to do this. In my opinion, it should have been Michelle - Maureen's daughter. But instead the show, aged the character, created cheesy storylines for her (remember the Angel?) and later attached her to a mob family.....

[Daniel Avery]

The other issue is that GL could have created a different character that could become the heart of the show....but GL has never was able to do this. In my opinion, it should have been Michelle - Maureen's daughter.

While I agree that they needed to find a new tentpole character, Michelle would not have worked because she was simply too young. I always thought their best bet would have been re-introducing Hope Bauer Spaulding. As Ed's niece, Alan-Michael's mother, Alan's ex-wife, and a Bauer, she could have returned with built-in brownie points with the audience.

[AaronA]

While I agree that they needed to find a new tentpole character, Michelle would not have worked because she was simply too young. I always thought their best bet would have been re-introducing Hope Bauer Spaulding. As Ed's niece, Alan-Michael's mother, Alan's ex-wife, and a Bauer, she could have returned with built-in brownie points with the audience.

I never watched GL when Hope Bauer was on but that seems like a good suggestion because she would be connected to the Spauldings as well.....