1993-07-16 Roger Crashes The Party Part 2

[@jacktheman2895]

GL lost the edge it had over other soaps when Michael Zaslow left. No other soap had a villain like Roger.

[@laminage]

Exactly and although some Male Actors tried, they couldn't measure up because he set the Bar so high. I told UK Soap Fans about Michael Zaslow and what happened to him and they were appalled. Another great Soap Actor was Larry Lamb who spent One Year as Businessman Archie Mitchell on Eastenders but also played Mr. Nice Guy on a Sitcom called Gavin & Stacey. Sadly enough UK Soap Actors also fall on hard times. Barbara Windsor had to leave her role as Peggy Mitchell on Eastenders because she had Alzheimers and couldn't remember her lines. Leslie Grantham (RIP) who played Dirty Den Watts was Homeless for awhile, and Daniella Westbrook who originated The Role of Samantha Mitchell in the 1990's was at one point The Hottest Young Actress on UK Soaps. She was the victim of a Rape, A Drug Addict, she now has the Bone Disease Osteoperosis, and Cancer. Their downfall is just as bad as The US.

[@Nigelsmom2136]

What the powers-that-be did to Michael Zaslow was cruel and disgusting. They should have had the character either die or go abd stay gone. They showed no gratitude for all the years of great performances he gave.

[@jjh2456]

Roger was the best villain on daytime TV. Michael Zaslow was an amazing actor.

[@laminage]

Yes, he's the only Soap Character who gets sympathy from Fans. I remember him saying to Meg who has Down's Syndrome that if anyone gives her a hard time, come to him. On UK TV they have Folks who have Down's Syndrome on Shows. Bad Girls, Call The Midwife and Soaps like Coronation Street, Eastenders, and Emmerdale. James Morris who has Cerebal Palsy recently won The UK Equivalent of a Emmy for his work on Emmerdale as Ryan.

[@keeganthorpe]

God GL was so good during this time. Around 1990-1994. Roger was the best villain in daytime.

[@magkatcar]

I clearly remember those 4 years on GL, and I agree. This show was on absolute fire those particular 4 years. It was the first and only time I liked every single storyline on a soap opera. Every single one of them were well written and interesting. I loved it.

[@nickx4576]

Doesn’t get any better than Roger

[@Nigelsmom2136]

Too bad the producers weren't as appreciative and loyal as his co-workers were.

[@GeminiladyJackson-xq6hc]

The Guiding Light producers had no compassion for Michael Zaslow.

[@DoubleAgents]

I think the feeling has always been that so long as certain iconic characters were still in the mix, the show always had a fighting chance. Tony Geary represented a similar beacon of hope for GH fans as the show fell to the verge of cancellation in the late 2000s-early 2010s. After the way Proctor & Gamble treated MZ, it turned even more fans off of the show who in many cases, never returned. Then came the disastrous format change and without a good amount of legacy characters in the mix, GL was doomed.

[@theenforcer9605]

Another World and Guiding Light got very careless with their legacy characters. One Life To Live did as well. All three shows would go on to struggle in the ratings and eventually would get cancelled.

[@cheetahinireland18]

Well, speaking as a big GH fan...we ended up really paying for how well TG was treated by the showrunners. Tony Geary was basically and primarily responsible for destroying Luke and Laura's legacy, simply because the man had quite the ego and was sick of being best-remembered as one half of a supercouple. For us, it wasn't so much about GH firing fantastic actors (like the way MZ was treated) as it was absolutely terrible, out-of-character writing for them. Trust me when I say that almost everybody was ecstatic when TG FINALLY left (of his own accord, of course). However, I will say that in the case of MZ, I absolutely understand what you mean. He certainly deserved so much better.

[@9291987]

Double Agents This is how The Young and the Restless has survived for 45 years

[@laminage]

@@theenforcer9605 Yes, on The UK Soap Opera Coronation Street, The Barlows who are the longest running Soap Family (Four Generations), took a backseat but now they are on the Front Burner. I had no idea that Robert Milli who played Adam Thorpe played Wayne Addison on it's Sister Show Another World and Michael Zaslow wrote for the show when he wasn't on Another World.

[@nicoleackerman205]

@@cheetahinireland18 I agree he is example of why actors should not get complete say in their characters and wanting their characters to be more like them. That is not the point of acting.

[@ranielalmaria6612]

Powerful acting.

[@GeminiladyJackson-xq6hc]

Michael Zaslow was the best actor on Daytime TV. No one could ever replace him😢

[@steffiphill]

Michael was truly one of a kind. To this day, I believe if he was alive and had been on GL, the show would have kept going - even with the crap writing at the end. They tried to have Philip go this route, but it didn't seem to work, Alan was a different type of villain, and G? What a joke. The actor was great, the character sucked.

[@nicoleackerman205]

Phillip was just an annoying control freak.

[@MRInvincible569]

I agree. 1994 was an awful year for this show yet the only reason I put GH on the back burner was because I was fascinated by Roger and Holly.

[@elvinperez2213]

Amazing I remember like it was yesterday

[@RenegadeCossack]

I can not believe Maureen Garrett is a Lesbian, she is so feminine and beautiful.

[@scootover7]

Roger Thorpe my favorite villain on daytime tv. I wish I had the money to start up a soap opera channel (that would be better than SoapNet ever was). Guiding Light is one of the soaps I'd want to air (from 70's to the end, or whatever tapes that is available) . I didn't get to watch Guiding Light as much as a lot of people, so I've wondered how many times did he come back from the dead.

[@nyc78]

Powerful!

[@laminage]

I just remembered that this was probably the First Year Maureen Garrett started living with her Wife Janet. I'm not sure if they are still together though. She helped co parent her Three Sons who are active in environment awareness organizations.

[@heathermonroe7020]

They are divorced

[@laminage]

@@heathermonroe7020 Aww, what a shame. In The UK so many UK Soap Actresses are Out, Gay & Proud and bring their Wives and Lifepartners to events. Amanda Barrie who knew she was Gay in the 1980`s who played Alma Sedgewick on Coronation Street hid her Lifestyle. She`s off the show whose Wife is a Mystery Novelist Hilary Bonner.

[@laminage]

​@@heathermonroe7020Aww, that's too bad. I wish she could have talked to UK Soap Actresses who are Gay in real life. Actresses from Coronation Street, Emmerdale, & Eastenders are out and proud. Some even have children. 😊

[@GrowthruGod]

He was the greatest!