From: Marni Centor <marni@panix.com>

GUIDING LIGHT UPDATE -- THURSDAY, JANUARY 23, 1997

                       POWERLESS!

Highlights:
* Roger & Amanda find a cryptic clue in Alex's room.
* Michelle becomes an hysterical idiot.
* Annie tries to enlist Blake against Reva.
* Harley & Phillip have a great heart-to-heart.
* Dinah pouts; Jean-Luc pounces.
* How many Springfielders does it take to turn on a light?

SPAULDING MANSION: Amanda suggests continuing their search later, but 
Rog is anxious to find "the key to Spaulding Enterprises." Neither of 
them know exactly what they're looking for, but Rog thinks that makes it 
more interesting. He vows to get what he wants. "Promises, promises," 
pouts Amanda. Rog calls her attention to Alexandra's nightstand.

COUNTRY CLUB: Michelle blubbers hysterically to Rick about a yacht & 
people dying. Zachary's gone out after them in a boat, but it's so foggy 
he won't be able to find his way back. Billy says the light will guide 
them back, but Michelle explains that the light's not working yet. 
"Well, let's get it working," suggests Buzz. "We have to, or Zachary 
will die!" cries Michelle melodramatically. [So?]

Rick tells Michelle to calm down & promises to take care of it. Holly 
comforts Michelle. Rick & Fletcher organize people to help. Billy says 
he's called the Coast Guard. Josh suggests that they don't all rush out 
at once, so they won't ruin the party. Abby wants to help, but Rick asks 
her to stay at the party where it's safe. Fletch brings Holly her coat & 
asks her to go to the Journal. She says she's going with him to the 
lighthouse, & asks Abby make sure Michelle doesn't leave. Abby tries to 
comfort the desolate Michelle.

Josh tells Annie he's going to the lighthouse to help. Reva asks Billy 
for assurance that it's not a dangerous mission. He says they're just 
going to turn on the light & everyone will be coming back. 

Hart tells Dinah he's going to help too. She complains that he's ruining 
their big night & asks if this is her punishment for dancing with Jean-
Luc. Exasperated, he says everything's not always about her. "I guess I 
just do everything wrong all the time. I don't even know why you're with 
me," whines Dinah. Hart rolls his eyes & leaves. Dinah blames herself 
for screwing everything up. Jean-Luc comes over to cheer her up. He 
thinks she's perfect just the way she is. She asks for more champagne & 
he leads the way. 

Michelle pulls away from Abby & leaves the ballroom, but Meta stops her 
just outside. Michelle insists that she wants to be at the lighthouse 
when Zach returns. Meta decides to go with her.

Buzz exits the ballroom & Jenna follows shortly after. Behind her, Jeff 
notices that the party is thinning out. Jenna thinks there won't be much 
chance for a substantial profit tonight & suggests calling off the job. 
She reminds him how risky it is. Jeff says their not leaving millions of 
dollars worth of jewels. Jenna says they do better in much larger 
crowds, but Jeff says they do fine wherever they are. He refuses to 
leave empty-handed. Jenna says she'll take care of the bar.

Alex comments to Alan about the mysterious exodus from the ball. She's 
also upset about AM possibly leaving town. Alan says they have more 
pressing things to worry about, like Amanda & Rog. They've been gone a 
long time.

SPAULDING MANSION: Rog finds a slip of paper with numbers on it. Neither 
he nor Amanda know what the numbers mean, but Rog intends to find out. 
He thinks it's a combination or code. The paper says "39-76-10-75." 
Amanda wonders if Alex is playing the lottery. "She's so embarrassed, 
she hides her numbers under the night table." Rog sort of doubts it. He 
puts the paper back & says it's time to return to the ball.

COUNTRY CLUB: Phillip returns & gets caught up on what's going on. He & 
Matt & Bill are about to head over to the lighthouse when Frank stops 
them. He says Rick promised to call if they needed more help. He didn't 
want Vanessa's evening to be ruined. Matt decides he & Bill should stay.

Alan greets his old nemesis/ex-father-in-law Mike & asks how things are 
in DC. Mike mentions running into one of Alan's "friends" recently; 
someone who'd gotten out of jail but was now back in for racketeering. 
Alan jokes that Mike must have been the guy's attorney. "It's no wonder 
your sons don't want to be around you," comments Mike. AM updated him on 
everything & he thanks god that Hope isn't still married to Alan. Alan 
asks how she is. Mike refuses to talk to Alan about Hope & walks away.

Alex comes by & comments to Alan that Mike is pompous & self-righteous & 
she's always preferred Ed. Alan can't stop looking at Phillip & when 
Alex presses him on it, he whines that he's lost both his sons. She 
tells him to give it time. Alan can't decide which is worse: AM leaving 
or Phillip staying & hating him. Alex insists that Phillip doesn't hate 
him. Alan vows that one day he & Phillip will be father & son again.

Annie asks Fran if she's seen Reva. Fran saw her a little while ago. 
Annie tries Abby, who thinks she saw Reva getting her coat to go home. 
Annie thanks Abby & mutters, "Sure she was," as she heads out the door.

FOGGY SHORE NEAR LIGHTHOUSE: Buzz suggests contacting the harbormaster. 
Billy says he'll do this, and most everyone else heads for the 
lighthouse. Josh & Buzz remain on shore & Jenna soon arrives, but they 
don't see her. Reva arrives too & offers to help.

INSIDE LIGHTHOUSE: Fletch says there's no power to the light. Rick says 
the switch is dead. Holly announces that the radio isn't working either. 
Rick says the problem is that there's no power at all. 

SHORE: Michelle arrives & stares uselessly out toward the water. She 
remembers when Zachary saved her from drowning, then she remembers 
kissing him. She remembers their conversation on the lighthouse deck 
before they ran away together, then she remembers asking him to relieve 
her of her virginity when they were stranded in the snow. Finally, she 
remembers their last conversation on the deck, when he told her to 
leave, then kissed her again. Michelle cries.

Meta arrives to comfort Michelle, who cries that Zach is alone in the 
fog. She doesn't want anything to happen to him. Meta says Zach is very 
capable & a 1st-class sailor. If he wasn't, he would never have tried 
this rescue. Michelle drops to her knees & prays for Zach's safety. 

LIGHTHOUSE: Josh plays with the circuit box while Reva says dumb stuff 
like, "The light's not working? I thought Zach was supposed to fix 
everything." Josh says they have to figure out a way to get the power 
working. Buzz says he hasn't found a power source yet & complains that 
Zach didn't leave any clues. Josh heads up to the deck & Reva goes with 
him. Buzz decides to go back downstairs & runs into Jenna. He asks why 
she's there. "I don't really know," she responds. 

COUNTRY CLUB: Phillip & Harley reminisce happily. It was all so long ago 
& now they're old, jokes Phillip. Harley expresses her sympathies over 
the breakup with Beth. Phillip is sorry too. He loved her so much, from 
the 1st time he saw her. She was 16 when he met her & the so beautiful. 
He fought so hard to win her heart, but he took her for granted. He 
thought their marriage was strong, but he realized too late that there's 
nothing so strong that neglect won't kill it. Nothing makes sense. It 
took half his life to marry Beth, but only 6 months for her to divorce 
him. How could that happen? Harley doesn't know. 

Harley asks about Lizzie & Phillip's face lights up. He breaks out the 
photos & Harley makes all the right noises. All of a sudden, Phillip 
apologizes, thinking he was being insensitive because of the baby Harley 
gave up for adoption. Harley tells him not to be silly. He asks if she 
thinks about her daughter a lot. Every day, says Harley. But she knows 
that Daisy/Susan is happy & fine. Phil says Harley did the right thing. 
"I missed you," he says & gives her a big hug.

Phil mentions that he saw Harley with Reva earlier & asks what happened. 
Harley says they're fine now; Reva didn't mean to hurt Buzz. "She never 
means it," laughs Phil. He just hopes she doesn't hurt anyone else.

Outside the ballroom, Annie dials Reva's number & gets no answer, just 
as she suspected. She has a pretty good idea where Reva is, though. 
Blake comes by & Annie complains to her about her night with Josh being 
ruined. Blake says a lot of guys went to help out at the lake, but Annie 
says it's not about that, it's about Reva. "People could be dying, but 
Reva wouldn't miss the opportunity to run after Josh," Annie seethes. 
Blake advises Annie to calm down, seeing as she fainted earlier. She 
needs to think about the baby. Annie agrees.

Blake mentions that she saw "Annie's friend" from the fertility clinic 
with Phillip. Annie warns Blake that only the 3 of them know that her 
baby was conceived by artificial insemination [or was that "Annie's 
fertile imagination"?] Blake hopes Annie is right, but wonders how long 
she can keep this secret from Josh. "About as long as you can keep your 
twins' paternity from Ross," warns Annie.

Back in the ballroom, Dinah mopes. Jean-Luc offers a slow dance. Dinah 
just looks at him glumly.

Alan & Alex talk about how their father taught them to never give up. 
Alan is glad Alex is his sister. So is she. They look up & see Roger & 
Amanda enter the ballroom. 

Harley sees Lucy & asks where AM is. Lucy says he's getting their coats. 
Harley's disappointed that they're leaving so early, but Lucy says it's 
been a long night. Harley can't believe how different Dinah is from when 
she last saw her. She used to be really sweet & quiet & nice. Harley 
wants to get to know Lucy better. She's glad Lucy & AM are happy.

Frank joins them. He mentions that he just ran into AM--why didn't Lucy 
tell him they were thinking of moving away? Frank says he'll really miss 
her. Both his sisters will soon be living far away. Harley promises that 
from now on, she'll be making lots of trips home. The sisters laugh 
about how easily Frank cries. Frank says he's concerned about Buzz. 
Harley says Buzz will have Frank, but Frank doesn't know how he'll take 
care of Buzz. Both sisters agree that Frank can take care of anyone.

LIGHTHOUSE: Still no luck with the light. Buzz wishes he had a clue as 
to what he was trying to do. Jenna takes over at the circuit box. She 
calls for tools like a surgeon in the OR. [Did you know that "spanner" 
is the British term for a wrench?] Buzz had forgotten how handy Jenna 
was with electrical systems & wonders if she still has her hand in "the 
business." Jenna tells him not to be silly; she gave up jewel-thieving 
years ago, but there's somethings one doesn't forget how to do.

Josh comes down from the deck & says the lamp looks like it's in good 
shape--they just need to get it some power. Rick's still having no luck 
with that. Fletch wonders if maybe there are some flares around that 
they could use. Rick says if they find flares, they should keep shooting 
them off so the people in the boat can see the shore. 

Suddenly, the radio comes to life with a May Day call. The voice says 
they're lost in the dark & his wife is not a good swimmer. Everyone 
rushes around trying to do something that will help.

COUNTRY CLUB: Alex asks Amanda where she & Rog were. Alan notes   that 
they were gone a long time. Amanda wonders where everyone has gone. Alan 
fills them in on the distressed boat. Rog asks if anyone is hurt. Alan 
doesn't know, but he makes sure to mention that the Reades rushed out 
after the story, no doubt followed by a WSPR crew. "Who would have 
thought Holly would make such a dedicated newswoman?" Alan asks 
pointedly. Rog isn't surprised; Holly puts her heart & soul into 
everything she does. Amanda figures Holly just didn't want to be left 
alone at the ball. "Some women are like that," comments Alex.

Amanda laughs when Rog says he wants to see if he can help. She reminds 
him that all those people hate him. "Since when have I ever let that 
stop me?" asks Rog. He's sure Alan would be there too, if he could. Alex 
seconds this notion. Rog heads for the door & Amanda follows him out. 
Alan hopes Rog will fall into the icy water, never to be heard from 
again. Alex seconds this idea too.

Dinah tells Jean-Luc she really doesn't feel like dancing. He says they 
will do whatever she wants. She decides what she really wants is clear 
her head--she thinks Hart was right & she had too much champagne. Jean-
Luc leads her to the terrace for some fresh air.

Outside the ballroom, Blake tells Annie to knock it off. They both know 
that neither one of them is going to spill the beans to the other's 
spouse--they're friends. Annie thinks Blake should understand her 
position--she loves her husband & will do anything to keep him. "Is that 
a threat?" asks Blake. Of course not, says Annie, she didn't mean it to 
sound like that. "What did you mean to make it sound like?" wonders 
Blake, on her guard. 

Annie is worried because Reva is after Josh & she doesn't know how to 
stop it. Blake thinks Annie is very resourceful & will come up with 
something. Besides, Annie is pregnant. Josh won't leave her now. Annie's 
not so sure. Blake tells her not to be so negative. Annie says she has 
to find a way to get Reva out of Josh's life & Blake has to help her. 
Blake's not too keen on this, especially after Annie practically wrecked 
her life by telling Rick about the twins. Annie pleads no harm, no foul. 
Besides, Blake is the only person she can trust. Blake says she hardly 
ever sees Reva, but Annie catches a glimmer of something in Blake's eye. 

LIGHTHOUSE: Josh & Reva climb up to the deck with flares. Reva shivers & 
worries about the boaters. Josh says they just have to hope the others 
get the light on in time. While he fumbles with the flares, Reva 
apologizes for her actions on the dance floor, explaining that she was 
angry because Josh took Annie's side. Josh says he was just trying to 
keep Annie from being upset. He's just worried about the baby. Reva 
knows, but she hates the whole situation. Josh asks her not to give up 
on him yet. "I'm trying," says Reva.

SHORE: Michelle shivers & stares out at the water. Holly comes over & 
Michelle asks if they've got the light working [as if she wouldn't be 
able to see it if they did!]. Holly says they're still working on it & 
Michelle starts freaking out again about the people on the boat & 
Zachary. Holly says she's going to call the Coast Guard; maybe they've 
been rescued already. Michelle doubts this & runs off to the lighthouse, 
hoping she can see Zachary from there.

Billy comes out of the fog & asks Holly if there's been any progress at 
the lighthouse. She doesn't think so & is on the way to her car to get 
her cell phone. Billy heads for the lighthouse. Holly trips & twists her 
ankle. She falls to the sand in pain. After a minute, she tries to get 
up, but starts to fall again. Roger comes out of the fog & catches her.

COUNTRY CLUB TERRACE: Jean-Luc reminds Dinah of the fun times they had 
in Europe. He sees that she's crying. He wants to wipe away her tears, 
but she gets concerned about Claudine & Giorgio. She says she came to 
the ball to party & that's what she intends to do. Jean-Luc points out 
the difference between partying to have fun & partying to hide your true 
feelings. He says she can't hide anything from him because he knows her 
too well. He can tell she feels all alone. Dinah lets him embrace her & 
cries in his arms.

BALLROOM: Amanda tells Alex she can't believe AM & Lucy are thinking of 
leaving town after how hard he fought for his position. Alex thought AM 
had everything he wanted. Alan says they shouldn't get all negative yet, 
since AM & Lucy haven't made their final decision. Amanda decides it's 
time for some punch & heads out of the ballroom, right past Blake & 
Annie, who hightail it back into the ballroom.

Blake says what she knows about Reva has nothing to do with Josh or 
Annie. Annie tells Blake to spill it, whatever it is. Blake says she ran 
into Reva in Ross's office & learned she was a client. Annie pressures 
Blake for more information, but Blake insists she doesn't know anything 
else. Annie wants Blake to find out, but Blake respects lawyer-client 
confidentiality & refuses to ask him. Annie guesses maybe it was about 
Reva's divorce from Buzz. Blake says this happened way before the 
marriage broke up, right after Sarah died.

LIGHTHOUSE: Josh sets off a flare & asks Reva how many more cartridges 
they have. Four, she answers. He asks for one more. As she hands it to 
him, their hands touch & they look into each other's eyes. 

Downstairs, Michelle & Meta arrive, but stay out of the way. The guys 
are looking for a crowbar. Billy says they have all the leverage they 
need & the guys all head off to do something requiring great strength. 
Rick sighs with frustration. Abby shows up & tells Rick she couldn't 
stay away. He hugs her.

BEACH: Roger lifts Holly up into his arms. "I gotcha, Holly," he says, 
looking dashingly vampirish as the screen fades to black.

--Marni (marni@panix.com)



