From: Marni Centor <marni@panix.com>

GUIDING LIGHT TGIF UPDATE -- FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 1995

HIGHLIGHTS
* Van & Ross argue about Dinah
* Dinah & Matt size each other up
* Christo plays games with Frank & Eleni
* Tangie goes after a story
* Annie shares a fantasy with Josh

It's Studmuffins on Parade Day in Springfield & some Aegean island...

LEWIS HOUSE: Vanessa (sporting a new haircut) greets Ross at the door. 
She's really happy he & Blake came to her party & is glad they seem to be 
healing their rift. Ross asks why she's stalling. It turns out she really 
wants to talk about Dinah.

BLAKE'S CAR: Dinah sits behind the wheel & yells at the car because she 
can't make the wheel turn or the window open. The door opens & Matt pokes 
his head in with a smile. He asks if she's trying to steal the car.

DINER: Lucy & Brett enter as Buzz shouts at someone on the phone because 
he can't hear what the other party is saying. Something is happening in 
Crete.

CHRISTO'S HOUSE: An exasperated Eleni finds a sweaty Christo & asks where 
he's been all day. He's been out riding. Eleni is upset that he left her 
alone. He says she's safe, but she doesn't believe him. She calls him a 
madman: "You tell me we are married; then you disappear!" She insists 
that they are not married. "We are, on this island," he replies.

DINER: Josh searches for a seat & Buzz waylays him. He rants about not 
being able to get through to Crete & segues into the horrible cutbacks in 
city services, price gouging by contractors & the impossibility of 
finding contractors to help them rebuild at reasonable rates. "The 
whishing sound you hear is just our lives going down the drain." Josh 
says Lewis doesn't do construction anymore & he hasn't been involved in 
that end of the business for a long time. He doesn't see how he can help. 
Buzz says he can help if he wants to, like he did during the fire itself, 
& it would be a shame to let the neighborhood go down the tubes. Josh 
agrees. He'll try to do something. Buzz buzzes off.

Annie, who has been observing with interest, tells Josh she's intrigued 
by his background in construction. It seems she has this fantasy of Josh 
in a plaid shirt, hardhat & toolbelt (& nothing else?). Josh is 
nonplused. 

Stavros has no better luck with the phone than Buzz, so Buzz exits in 
search of a phone that works, much to the consternation of Stavros & 
Lucy, who are left to handle the busy diner. (Lucy ought to know better 
than to eat at the diner when she's on a date!)

CHRISTO'S: Christo hands a paper to Eleni. She reads it & says it means 
nothing. He asks if she's forgotten her country's language as well as its 
customs. The paper is the agreement signed by both their grandfathers. 
Eleni says it means nothing. Christo insists that on the local islands, 
the agreement means they are married. "It is the law." The phone rings & 
Christo answers. He tells Eleni that his brother's boat is about to land 
& he has to go meet the boat. Eleni says it's more important for him to 
stay & talk to her. She wants to resolve everything so she can go home. 
Christo says he wants to talk to her too, but later. He wants her to go 
to take a horse & ride out to the temple ruins on the other side of the 
island while he meets with his brother. When she returns, they will talk. 
She reluctantly agrees. 

LEWIS HOUSE: Ross & Van are both thrilled that Dinah's in town & they 
agree that they should both do their best to make her stay pleasant. Van 
wants Dinah to spend some time with her after she's spent some time with 
Ross. Ross asks if Van's discussed this with Dinah; she might have other 
plans. Van hasn't talked to Dinah, but is sure Dinah will want to stay 
with her awhile. She figures Dinah's sleeping in & recovering from her 
jet lag, but Ross informs Van that Dinah's been up for hours. Van makes a 
derogatory comment about Dinah's smoking habit & Ross agrees. "Why don't 
we just say what's on our minds?" He thinks Van is desperate to have 
Dinah spend some time with her & that she's also "scared to death." 

JOURNAL: Tangie is ticked because her lunch was ruined because she has a 
story that she must finish by 2 p.m. Alan saves the day by breaking out a 
bag of take-out Chinese. He tells her she's glowing. She says the trip 
did her good. She's concerned about Alan's recent confrontation with AM. 
Alan brushes it off as typical father-son stuff, but Tangie's not 
convinced. Alan's more interested in his own relationship with Tangie,  
but his attempt to get serious is interrupted by the arrival of Cutter, 
who gives Tangie an enthusiastic hug, which she returns in kind. Cutter 
gives her a little bit of a hard time for not sending more postcards or 
calling. She says she tried to call him several times, but he was always 
busy fighting crime. Alan watches their repartee with a blank face, but 
he winces a bit when Cutter grabs an eggroll.

FIFTH ST: Dinah informs Matt that she borrowed the car from Blake. "Does 
she know she loaned it?" Matt asks. He wonders why Dinah was able to 
start the car at Ross's house, but can't restart it now. He also wonders 
what she's doing in this part of town. She thinks he's nosy, but tells 
him she had a friend who lived in the area & she wanted to see what kind 
of damage was caused by the fire. Matt gets into the car & looks around. 
"Drive much in Europe?" he asks. He explains the operation of the anti-
theft wheel lock & starts up the car. Then he turns It off & invites her 
to try. She deduces that he "majored in shop" & calls him "Mr. Blue-
Jeans-Make-Me-Cool." He retorts by calling her "Miss Smoking-Makes-Me-
Feel-Grownup." He thinks she's "just a cheap imitation of those Eurobrats 
with too much makeup."

LEWIS HOUSE: Van asks what Ross thinks she's scared of. "You're worried 
she might be rebelling against you," says Ross. He figures she's 
determined to make arrangements because Dinah chose to stay with him 
instead of her. Van claims she's just trying to organize her busy life. 
Ross demurs. Van is sure Dinah will be calling her any minute. Ross 
doesn't disagree, but notes that Dinah is a little sad. He tells Van 
about Dinah's broken heart. Van feels badly that Dinah didn't talk to her 
about it & wants to call her daughter. Ross discourages this, saying 
Dinah has already confided in him & if she wants to talk to Van about it, 
she'll bring it up herself. Van thinks Ross is being awfully smug about 
his new closeness with their daughter. She's jealous & she's upset. Ross 
points out that Van invited him over; he did not go out of his way to 
throw any of this in her face. 

"It is not my fault that Dinah chose to stay with me, but I know that you 
can't stand that because you don't want me anywhere near the girl. From 
the moment she was born, you have tried to wipe out all traces of me as 
her father! I am not going to give up my one chance to have her love so I 
can play the long-suffering Ross to your Vanessa-guilt. Now if you have a 
problem with that, let's hear about it." 

Vanessa insists that Ross is wrong & she wants Ross to have a close 
relationship with Dinah. "I want what's best for her." Ross thinks it's 
BS. He recalls with pain Dinah's 18th birthday, when Van wined & dined 
her daughter & never even brought her around to see Ross. He doesn't have 
much sympathy for Van right now. He's happy just to finally have some 
time to spend with his daughter. "And I'll be damned if I'm going to talk 
her out of it!" Exit Ross.

FIFTH ST: Dinah cares little about what Matt thinks of her. "I've seen so 
many guys like you... wannabe studs convinced the world owes them a 
living because they look good in tight jeans. Or, in your case, they 
think they do." Zing! Matt is not fazed. Dinah says she knows what guys 
like Matt are good for. "And Momsy knows too." She winks. Matt suggests 
leaving Van out of the conversation, but Dinah doesn't want to let it go. 
Why else would Van keep him around. "She is keeping you, isn't she?" Matt 
informs her evenly that it's none of her business. Dinah figures that 
kind of limits the conversation between them & things could get kind of 
awkward. Matt is not concerned, since Dinah will soon be "blowing this 
burg," & he'll be around, with Van, for a long time. He walks off.

DINER: Annie thinks Josh looks good in whatever he wears (including a 
hospital gown), but she thinks he'd look great in "work clothes." The 
subject moves on to Josh's leg, which he wants to exercise with a 3-mile 
run. Nurse Annie says this is not a good idea. "I knew you were too 
physical to sit behind a desk."

Buzz & Stavros return. They learned from Eleni's brother that Frank is 
nowhere to be found, and when last seen, he was very angry.

ISLAND: "Welcome to my island," says Christo to Frank's back. Frank turns 
& assesses "the boy." They swap accusations of rudeness. Frank is sick & 
tired of "your ways." He introduces himself & asks for his wife. Christo 
says Eleni has left the island & is on her way back to Crete. Frank wants 
to take a look around. Christo doesn't stop him.

DINER: Buzz congratulates Lucy on how well she's been handling the lunch 
crowd. Lucy points to Brett, wearing an apron behind the counter, as her 
helper. She introduces her lunch date to Dad. Smitty says Brett makes a 
mean hamburger, then orders another. Buzz & Stavros leave again, in 
search of a phone that works, leaving the diner once again in the capable 
hands of Lucy & Brett.

ISLAND: Frank sees the picture of Eleni in Christo's room. Christo says 
he understands Frank's mistrust. "Lies are a way of life in your 
country," he knows. Frank wonders why so many doors in the house are 
locked. "Do you think I have Eleni locked up? I would never have thought 
Eleni would lowered herself enough to marry a man like you." Frank 
demands to know where Eleni is; Christo insists she's not there. Frank 
asks one more time, "Where is Eleni?"

JOURNAL: Alan says it's helpful to see Tangie with Cutter; she can see 
what she likes in friends. She asks about Alan's argument with AM & 
whether it had anything to do with Spring Electronics. Alan thinks she's 
beginning to sound a lot like a reporter. Tangie apologizes & says it's 
an occupational hazard. Alan says he knows what she's up to.

Tangie apologizes for asking too many questions. She at first denies that 
she's after a story, but then admits the truth. She apologizes, but Alan 
says he's not offended & she's dealing with the King of the Hidden 
Agenda. He laughs at the situation & says he has to be able to take what 
he dishes out. Tangie has proved that she's human to him. She can be 
manipulative just like anyone else. He offers to answer her questions. 
She wants to know the story behind the Spring Electronics sale. Alan says 
he'll tell all.

FIFTH ST: Cutter shows his badge & Dinah gets defensive. "Is it illegal 
to smoke outside in this stupid town?" she asks. Cutter just thought she 
might need some help with the car. She says it's fine & that she came to 
see "the old neighborhood." She tells him she used to hang out there with 
her friend Harley Cooper. She reminisces, and says it was so long ago. 
She asks if it's OK for her to finish her cigarette. Cutter says yes, but 
warns her to be careful "about where you park you butt." ;-) This brings 
a smile to her face, but after he's gone, she decides that Springfield is 
worse than Mayberry.

ISLAND: Frank & Christo rehash everything that has already happened: 
Eleni broke the agreement; Christo won't back down. And she's already 
gone, he reiterates. Frank doesn't really believe Eleni would give in so 
easily. Christo says Eleni is on her way to Athens, and then straight 
home. Frank pretends to accept this & leaves.

DINER: Lucy gives Josh & Annie their check. They pay & exit. Buzz returns 
& tells Lucy that Frank hired a helicopter to go to Christo's island. 
He's confident that Frank will find Eleni & they'll both be home soon.

ISLAND: Eleni enters Christo's room wearing a white dress & looking like 
a Greek goddess. She complains that when she returned from her ride, her 
clothing was gone. Christo says he sent her stuff to be cleaned. He 
thinks the gown he left for her becomes her. She is uncomfortable at the 
compliment. They chit-chat about the ruins. She says his island is very 
beautiful & asks about the meeting with his brother. She asks if he has 
decided to end the feud & he says he thinks it would be for the best. She 
gets all happy. He says he will give her whatever she asks, under one 
condition: "I want you to spend the night with me."

A PAY PHONE: Ross leaves a message on Van's machine, trying to smooth 
things over. He knows they both only want what's best for Dinah. He's 
sure that Dinah will call Van later. 

LEWIS HOUSE: Toward the end of Ross's message, the shot switches to Van's 
answering machine, then we pan up to Van leaning on Matt, on the couch. 
She looks depressed & he looks thoughtful. Van says it was nice of Ross 
to call. She admits that most of what Ross said earlier was true. Van 
just wants Dinah to forgive her for giving Dinah up as a baby, and to 
love her. Matt warns her not to get her hopes up. Since Dinah showed up 
so suddenly, she might leave the same way. "She wouldn't do something 
like that," Van says without much conviction, and leans against Matt 
again. He cradles her head as the screen fades to black.


Marni (marni@panix.com)



