From: Marni Centor <marni@panix.com>

GUIDING LIGHT UPDATE -- THURSDAY, MAY 23, 1996

                  WHOLE LOTTA HUGGIN' GOING ON

Written by Pete T. Rich and directed by Bruce S. Barry

[And for those of you who follow these things, Sharon Epstein is now 
listed as one of the regular dialogue writers, while Betsy Tooker-
Transom's name is gone from the list. Marshall Hilliard, George Pilgrim 
& Rebecca Budig were all missing from the closing stills.]

Highlights:
* The newlyweds smooch up a storm.
* Blake resolves everything with Ross & Rick, for now at least.
* Alan & Amanda serve up a bitter dish to Reva & Buzz.
* Alex entreats Phillip to help her bring Alan to his senses.

BAUER KITCHEN: Blake rushes in, calling out that she has news for Mr. 
Smartypants. She's surprised to find Ross there with Rick. Ross says 
they were just discussing the twins. "You told him everything, didn't 
you?" Blake asks Rick with quiet concern.

YACHT: Lucy stands on a ladder & calls up to Alan-Michael to be careful. 
She's worried that he'll fall & thinks they should have kept the crew 
after all. AM says everything is fine & comes down the ladder to join 
her on deck. He says they're about 100 miles off the coast of Savannah & 
points out a deserted island called Crescent Cay. Lucy is excited at the 
thought of an island all to themselves & the newlyweds smooch it up. 

SPAULDING MANSION: Alan is on the phone, saying he likes a man who 
crunches people as well as numbers. He wants to know the details if Buzz 
manages to wriggle out of the latest evil plot twist. enters & listens 
in from behind as Alan vows that heads will roll if Buzz isn't out of 
business within a month. He hangs up & suggests that Alex hide if she 
intends to eavesdrop. She's more interested in Alan's plans to torment 
"poor Buzz Cooper." Alan refuses to talk about it. Alex knows AM's not 
going to be too thrilled to learn that Alan has destroyed Buzz "just 
because he got the piece of pie you were after." Alan leaves without a 
word, even as Alex shouts after him that his son will turn against him.

Phillip enters & says he's heard enough to know arguing with Alan about 
this is pointless. "You have lost him to his old demons, and Amanda." 
Alex says she hasn't, if Phillip will help her.

DINER: [This scene opens with an aerial shot of Springfield, clearly 
situated along a river.] Buzz & Reva hand out stacks of flyers to 
volunteers, urging everyone to save 5th St. The volunteers head out & 
Reva compliments her "silver-tongued sweetie." As they're joking around, 
Amanda interrupts & hands Buzz a piece of paper. Reva takes a look at it 
& shoves Fifi to the floor, calling her an "overgrown tarantula." [LOL!] 

SPAULDING MANSION: Alex butters Phillip up, telling him he's always been 
Alan's favorite. Phil won't enlist in Alex's war against Amanda. He says 
he's too busy to do her dirty work. Alex says it's not about Fifi or 
Reva per se, but about saving the family. Phil laughs, saying the 
Spauldings are more like a pride of lions than a family. Alan is king 
for the time being, but if Amanda goes down, she'll take him with her & 
AM can rule with Lucy for awhile. 

Alan interrupts to ask Phil to let him know as soon as Amanda gets back, 
then quickly exits again. Alex notes that Alan obviously doesn't trust 
her, but he's loved Phil all his life. He's in pain right now & Amanda 
feeds off it. She's pushing him into an armed battle with AM. Alex 
doesn't want to see Alan lose AM's love again after all Alan did to 
regain it. "I think this could be the end of it." 

DINER: Buzz helps the sputtering Fifi up & keeps Reva at bay. Reva 
advocates shaving Fifi's head & sending her back to Alan hog-tied, with 
an apple in her mouth. [Love that image!] Buzz suggests that Amanda 
leave before Reva learns where the deep fryer is. "I'm not afraid of you 
people," asserts Amanda. "That's what mirrors are for!" rejoins Reva. 

Amanda says she & Alan bought the diner's mortgage from the bank & have 
learned the Coopers are 2 months behind on payments. Full payment is due 
in 30 days or they will foreclose. The total is about $225,000. Buzz's 
jaw drops. Reva protests that it's illegal. Amanda says it's a standard 
mortgage clause, but banks rarely enforce it because they don't want to 
get stuck managing properties. But the diner is worth more to Advantage 
Systems as rubble. Buzz calls Fifi a sorry excuse for a human being. She 
gloats as she indicates the spot where the wrecking ball will come hit, 
then saunters out. Reva & Buzz stare at each other in shock & fury.

BAUER KITCHEN: Ross asks why Blake is upset, since she already told him 
everything. Blake says that's true, Ross already knows they got drunk & 
kissed & regretted it immediately. Rick already told Ross they were both 
very sorry. Ross told Rick that he was not pleased, but he takes some 
responsibility because of the situation with Amanda. He would like to 
forget the whole sordid mess. Blake & Rick heartily agree, & Blake hugs 
Ross. As an afterthought, Ross asks Blake what Rick could have told him 
that he didn't already know.

YACHT: The newlyweds continue their smoochfest on deck after skinny-
dipping. They play footsie & drop their towel. AM carries Lucy inside. 

DINER: Buzz stops Reva from going after Alan & ripping his tongue out. 
Reva says it's all about her. Alan is mad at Buzz for marrying her. Buzz 
smiles because Reva is talking like his wife. Reva feels awful because 
she's brought Buzz nothing but grief. Buzz thinks going to the Prince of 
Darkness won't solve anything. "Don't give him the satisfaction He'll 
laugh in your face & turn up the heat." Reva realizes Buzz is right, but 
thinks there must be another way to handle it. "I can't let my life mess 
up yours & your family's. I mean it, Buzz. I want a divorce."

BAUER KITCHEN: Blake gives Rick a meaningful look as she tells Ross that 
she specifically asked Rick not to discuss the chromosomal testing so 
Ross wouldn't worry about all the things that could go wrong. Rick backs 
her up & says Blake was trying to protect Ross, but Ross has the right 
to know the truth. Ross gets annoyed at Rick for worrying Blake about 
things that *could* go wrong. Rick shakes his head & Blake says she 
asked Rick for the information because of baby Meg. Ross tells them both 
to stop & clarifies that the test showed that everything was fine. 

Blake says he's right, & as usual, she just overreacted. Ross is glad 
that they can now put all this behind them. They will need 2 godfathers 
for the kids & he intends to ask Ed, but he'd also like Rick. Rick 
declines, but Ross says he wants his boys to grow up with Bauer values: 
honesty, integrity, decency. Rick says the Bauers are far from saints. 
Ross says he knows that Ed & Rick would treat the kids as if they were 
their own. Blake thinks Ross is putting Rick on the spot & says she'll 
talk to him. Ross heads off to see to the nursery construction.

As soon as he's out the door, Rick accuses Blake of lying to him about 
the test. "Who fathered these children?" "Ross did," replies Blake, in 
the perfect definition of a half-truth. Rick doesn't believe her.

Blake gets defensive, but Rick points out that she's already lied to him 
several times, so why should he believe her now? Blake marches to her 
purse & hands him the test results. Rick could care less about Fern 
LaPlant, but Blake explains about the alias, in case the babies were 
his. She didn't want to take the chance of the news leaking & Ross being 
made a laughingstock, or of Rick snooping through her records. Rick 
thinks, "This is rich!" [an oblique reference to today's writer? Check 
the credits!] Blake has no business talking about ethics when she's 
letting Ross believe they only kissed. Blake says her conscience is 
clear. "Why don't I believe you, again?" asks Rick.

Blake flashes back to her encounter with the Zippy Print man who changed 
the test results for her. [She gave him Twin A's results & a blank form, 
instructing him to copy the data to the blank form, changing A to B.] 
She turns back to "Dr. Misfire" & says he can plainly see that his DNA 
doesn't match that of her babies. "Ross hit a double & you struck out." 
Rick looks at 2 pages of test results & says he has a problem.

SPAULDING MANSION: Alex blames the origins of the family's problem 
dynamics on Grandpa Brandon's twisted values. They worked hard to undo 
the damage & things were starting to get better. Phillip wonders if it 
was due to AM. Alex postulates that AM's good Bauer genes rose to the 
top & Lucy's good nature is infectious. Phillip ponders "kinder, gentler 
Spauldings" & predicts that they might soon become warm-blooded. Alex 
says Phillip may not have been around to see it, but it's true. 

Phil says he wasn't there because someone didn't want him there & framed 
him. Alex says no one forced him to play "Cops & Graverobbers." It was 
that or go to jail for a crime he didn't commit. How can Alex have 
forgotten everything that happened? Alex tries to make this seem like a 
reason for Phil to help her; saying if Alan has Phil back in his life, 
he'll dump Amanda. Phillip rightly replies that Alex isn't making any 
sense. Why didn't Alan write or call his favorite son in 5 years? And 
he's barely spoken to Phillip since he got back. Alex says Alan reacts 
badly when his pride is wounded--just look at Buzz & Reva. 

Alex fumes over the way Amanda has filled a vacant spot in Alan's heart 
& clings to it like a barnacle. She predicts that if Alan gets Phillip's 
love, Amanda's influence will go down the drain like her hair clogs. 
Phillip thinks it may be too late. Alex begs him to try.

Amanda waltzes in, trilling to Alan that he can stick a fork in Buzz & 
Reva, because they're done. Alan hugs his daughter, as Phillip looks on 
wide-eyed & Alex looks ready to puke.

DINER: Buzz offers Reva moussaka instead of a divorce. Reva, verging on 
tears, says she married him for her kids, not to ruin his life. And Buzz 
isn't the only casualty--it's all the people of 5th St. She insists she 
isn't worth all the trouble Alan is causing. "Who are you & what have 
you done with my wife?" demands Buzz, trying to exorcise the selfless 
being that has possessed Reva. He asks what happened to the Tulsa 
Tamale, the passionate woman he married. Reva says she's there, but he 
doesn't deserve this. Buzz knew she had enemies when he married her & 
they're his enemies too. Reva thinks he's crazy. Buzz says he's crazy 
about her. If they go down, it will be together. She agrees, no divorce.

Now all Buzz has to do is figure out how to get $225,000. "We could rob 
a bank," jokes Reva. "Frank hates it when I do that," replies Buzz. Reva 
suggests going to another bank for a loan. Buzz likes this idea & says 
they will give the pin-striped pinheads a surprise they'll never forget.

BAUER KITCHEN: Blake asks what Rick's problem is--Cedars ran the test. 
Rick has a problem with the results, but it doesn't concern her. He 
congratulates her on getting her heart's desire. "You and Ross made 2 
identical healthy babies." [Oops--Rick'll know the jig's up if the boys 
come out with different hair & eye colors! Even if they look similar 
when they're born, the truth will eventually be obvious.] Blake realizes 
Rick's disappointed because he's not the dad. She didn't know it meant 
that much to him. Rick admits that he hasn't had much luck with women or 
kids, even though he likes them both very much. Blake just knows that 
Rick will have kids of his own someday & will be a great dad. 

Rick says it's best that things turned out this way, but he did have 
this picture in his head of a little kid sitting on his knee. A son, 
with curly hair like dad's & a big laugh. Blake is sorry. She never 
meant to hurt him. Rick never meant to hurt her either. Blake starts to 
tell him he's sure to meet a nice girl, but Rick threatens to get sick 
in her purse. They shake hands & Blake tells Rick to take care. 

Before she leaves, Rick asks why Blake backed off of telling Ross the 
whole truth. Blake says she started to, but when she looked into Ross's 
eyes, she chickened out. She couldn't hurt him. Rick says what Ross 
doesn't know won't hurt him. Blake thanks him for not saying anything. 
Rick says if she'll just have 2 healthy babies, they'll call it even. 
Blake leaves & Rick looks pensive.

YACHT: Lucy & AM engage in post-coital cuddles & pillow talk. AM says 
she's all he's ever wanted or needed. Lucy echoes his sentiments. Now & 
forever. Kiss, kiss.

BANK: Buzz, in full chef's regalia, & Reva, in fetching hostess mode, 
approach the loan officer with a large insulated duffel bag. They've 
already spoken to him on the phone about a loan for their bistro. Reva 
hands him some papers with the figures he requested, but says they're 
just "boring old numbers." The LO says he still needs to see the bottom 
line. "Why not taste it?" suggests Buzz, as they set a meal before the 
man. He protests that this isn't the way they do business, but Buzz & 
Reva suggest maybe it should be. Reva urges him to try the food & sticks 
her cleavage in his face. "How long has it been since you've had a 
really, really good..." The LO admits that his wife can't really... Buzz 
says it's OK, if you can't get it at home, it's OK to go out for it. 
"You expect it to be good when you pay for it," adds Reva. Buzz 
describes the food & Reva feeds the LO a bite. He moans with pleasure. 

They start clearing the food away as Reva suggests pushing the loan 
through as soon as possible. "I'm not through eating yet!" protests the 
LO. Buzz says they have more courses & pulls out dessert. "You give us 
what we want & we'll give you what you want." The LO asks to see the 
figures again. He glances over them quickly, anticipating the dessert 
that Buzz is holding just out of his reach, & says it looks doable, 
pending an inspection of the restaurant. He leaves to run the numbers by 
his boss. "The way I cook & you simmer, we make a great team," Buzz 
tells Reva. Reva agrees that Alan & Amanda have met their match.

SPAULDING MANSION: Amanda complains that Reva got violent, but she kept 
her cool & didn't fight back. Alan applauds her good sense. Phillip 
watches with interest. Alex tells him he has to do something.

The phone rings & Alan answers. It's the loan officer from the bank & 
Alan tells him if he gives Buzz & Reva a loan, the bank will lose a big 
chunk of Spaulding business. He hangs up, pleased with the response. 
"Check & mate," he says to Amanda. Alex says she won't let the madness 
go any farther. She implores Phil to tell Alan that if he continues, he 
will lose the rest of his family. She is only trying to help Alan. Alan 
says she must decide whether she is with him or against him.

BANK: Buzz & Reva anticipate their success. She thinks they'll get the 
loan below prime rate after he tastes dessert. Buzz thinks the LO will 
want a cigarette after she serves it to him. The LO returns & says he'll 
have to get back to them about their application. He's all business--
won't even taste the dessert when Reva offers it to him & asks them to 
leave. She doesn't understand what's going on, but Buzz figures out that 
Spaulding is pulling strings. The LO won't admit it, but Reva can see 
it's true. They leave in a huff. The LO starts to dig into dessert, but 
Reva returns & grabs it from the "wing-tipped wimp," saying he'll have 
to pay for it like everyone else. He looks disappointed.

YACHT: Lucy & AM, now clothed, discuss their next stop. Looks like 
Bermuda. AM is about to go weigh anchor when Lucy sees something 
disturbing in the distance. AM says it's a water spout, but Lucy thinks 
it looks like a tornado. AM says it's moving away from them, so it 
shouldn't be a problem. Lucy still looks worried.

BAUER KITCHEN: Rick picks up a stuffed doll & thinks about baby names. 
Freddy Jr., Rick Jr., none of the above. "Maybe next time," he broods.

MARLER YARD: Blake arrives to find Ross measuring boards. He's planning 
to build a play castle for the twins, complete with turrets, drawbridge 
& sand-filled moat. He predicts it will be ready for their 3rd birthday, 
if he can find a structural engineer to help with the hydraulics. Blake 
thinks Ross is awfully cute & clever. Ross agrees with clever, since 
he's using the leftover wood from the nursery, which will save $$, which 
they'll need for college. Blake warns that he's getting ahead of himself 
again, but he's too deliriously happy to care. They hug & agree they're 
both very lucky. The phone rings & Ross runs inside to answer it. 

Blake tells herself that Ross shouldn't have to pay for her mistakes. 
She burns the test results, saying "All's well that ends well."

DINER: Defeated, Buzz & Reva return. Reva kicks herself for not shaving 
Amanda's head & choking her with the hair when she had the chance. "I 
should have let you," agrees Buzz. Reva apologizes. Buzz likens Amanda 
to Medea & vows that they will save the diner & make Alan so miserable 
that his head will explode. Reva would pay to see that. They hug.

SPAULDING MANSION: Phil pours himself a drink & watches the A's spar. 
Alex wants what's best for Alan. Alan says she's jealous of Amanda. Alex 
calls her a manipulating, lying suck-up. Amanda just wants Alan's love. 
Alan says Amanda understands & supports him. Alex believes this will be 
to AM's detriment, which is exactly Amanda's plan: Divide & conquer & to 
the victor goes Daddy. Amanda pretty much admits this. Alan demands that 
Alex stop attacking Amanda. Alex reminds Alan how she's helped him all 
his life & won't stand back & watch him destroyed by "this flesh-
peddling pimp of a woman." Phil licks his lips with enjoyment.

Alan is appalled & demands an explanation from Alex. "You heard me," 
replies Alex. "Amanda is a whore." Freeze frame on Alan as the screen 
fades to black.


--Marni (marni@panix.com)


