From: Marni Centor <marni@panix.com>


GUIDING LIGHT TGIF UPDATE -- FRIDAY, AUGUST 4, 1995
                          or
                    A Day in Court
Highlights:
* Tangie testifies, to Alex's sick amusement
* Gilly & Sid have it out, once and for all
* Rog vows retribution for Tangie's treatment
* The Coopers loiter & make small talk
* AM & Lucy let loose in the park

COURTHOUSE: Tangie promises not to testify if Alan will confess publicly 
to his crimes. Yeah, he'll have to go to jail, but she'll know he really 
loves her, so she'll stand by him. Alan doesn't understand how, if she 
loves him, she can ask him to go back to jail, knowing what it will do 
to him. "If you love me, it should be easy," she answers. Nick & Sid 
barge in. Nick wants to know what Alan's up to now & Sid wants him to 
get back in the courtroom. "I do love you," says Alan (to Tangie, not to 
Sid). "Then prove it," replies Tangie. Sid drags Alan away & Nick shakes 
his head & asks T if she's OK. "Ask me again when it's over," she says.

Out in the hall, Alex strides through a drooling pack of reporters. 
Roger steps in & "rescues" her. She will make no statement before its 
time. Aside, he opines that it's a lovely day for a hanging. "Destroying 
your son... sounds rather noose-worthy to me," he puns. Alex says AM 
destroyed himself by testifying against Alan. Rog admires AM's candor. 
It was all lies & Tangie's about to tell some more & then it will all be 
over, says Alex. Rog grins knowingly. Tangie will stand up just fine & 
so will the truth, he thinks, & he's looking forward to seeing Alan get 
what's coming to him. He exits in search of a ringside seat.

Sid drags Alan through Pavlov's news-hounds & into the courtroom. He 
warns Alan to tell him where he's going in the future & worries that the 
judge will find out Alan was badgering a witness. Alan asks what kind of 
sentence he would get for a guilty plea. Two-to-five years, replies a 
confused Sid. The judge enters, cutting their conversation short. 
Everyone sits & the people call Tangie Hill. The bailiff swears her in.

Robinson starts out with some easy questions--how long have you lived in 
Springfield? Since Oct. 1993, she answers. [Has anyone else noticed the 
recent trend of characters announcing how long they've been in 
Springfield? Fletch did it a few weeks ago, Eleni did it just a day or 2 
ago, & I could swear that others have been doing it as well, though I 
can't recall any other specific instances. What do you think it means??] 

Tangie answers questions about where she works & how/when she met Alan. 
It was a year ago at the Roadhouse, right after he got out of jail. She 
says they were friends. "Would you please describe what that friendship 
was based on." Alex rolls her eyes & we fade to Robinson thanking Tangie 
for her testimony.

The judge calls for Sid's cross & he announces that Alex will be doing 
it. "Does the term `SLUT' mean anything to you?!" she demands. Robinson 
objects & Judge Alex overrules him. [Whoops! I think we just slid into 
nightmare-in-daytime land!] Tangie maintains her cool as Alex questions 
her on the definitions of "whore," "gold-digger," "truth," "liar" & 
"perjury." Tangie fails the vocabulary quiz & says Alex is twisting her 
words. Counselor Alex says it's just how Tangie twisted Alan around her 
"greasy, greedy little false fingernails." Tangie is so cool, she's got 
icicles hanging from her hair. She admits she tried to gain Alan's 
confidence, but denies that she tried to learn about his financial 
holdings. She cops to having written a flattering article about him.

Counselor Alex explodes when Tangie doesn't answer with a simple yes or 
no. She throws some easy ones at T: was she Alan's guest at the Towers? 
(yes) And on his jet? (a slightly smug yes) And at the country club & at 
his home, where she spent the night? (yes, yes & yes) Spent the night 
with him? T waffles & Robinson objects, but Judge Alex overrules. "I 
loved him," claims T. "You used him! You never loved Alan Spaulding!" 
insists Counselor Alex. She says Tangie took Alan for all he had, then 
turned her back on him. Both Alexes badger her until she stands & yells, 
"Fine, yes! I confess! I never loved you; I was just using you. I loved 
your money & I loved your power & I hope you rot in jail for all of your 
miserable little lies!" Couns. Alex basks in her victory & Judge Alex 
finds T in contempt of court & guilty of perjury & too many other things 
to mention." Gum-chewing, southern-accented Bailiff Alex enters to take 
T away. T protests that it's not right & the spectators do "the wave" [I 
kid you not--ROTFL!] as she's led out of the courtroom. Judge Alex 
pronounces Alan innocent of all charges. The onlookers applaud & Alan 
hugs his lawyer-sister, telling her she was brilliant. 

Fade from happyAlan to nervousAlex, sitting among the spectators as 
Robinson questions T about Brent. They go over Brent's accusations 
against Alan & Alan's initial claims that Brent was a disgruntled 
employee. This leads to rehash of the incident when T wrote Brent's 
story under serious deadline pressure (i.e., gunpoint) & the subsequent 
events. Sid objects several times during this tale, but the judge wants 
to hear it all. Through the magic of time-lapse fades, Tangie finishes 
the story in record time, ending with her accompanying the police to 
Brent's hotel room & finding him already gone. She tells about finding 
the button & her later conversation with Alan. When he continued to deny 
involvement with Brent, she became very upset because she thought their 
relationship was based on trust & honesty, & she wanted the whole truth. 
"What is the whole truth?" asks Robinson.

Tangie tells about following Alan to his office & overhearing his 
argument with Sid (silent flashback). Sid was refusing to deliver a 
briefcase. Later she found out it contained a large sum of cash (silent 
flashback of wads o' cash falling out of the briefcase). She accused 
Alan of planning to pay off Brent to leave town & keep silent about 
their connection. Alan denied it, but eventually admitted it was true. 
Big gasp from the gallery & an admonition from the judge. Over Sid's 
objections, T recounts Alan's entire confession--he had Brent cook the 
books to discredit Alan-Michael. The money was for Brent, so he would 
"just disappear." (More gasps.) Robinson is done & Sid gets his turn.

Sid offers Tangie water & promises to make his questions as painless as 
possible. He asks if she & Alan ever "cohabited." She says they never 
lived together. Does that mean she never moved into the Spaulding 
mansion at any time? She admits she was there for a few nights for her 
own safety. Sid cuts her off enough to make it sound like her 1st answer 
wasn't entirely true. AM & Lucy look worried. Sid asks whether Alan gave 
her clothing. Tangie says he loaned her a period gown. Sid cuts her off 
& asks about jewelry. Alan gave her a pin, which she returned. Sid cuts 
her off again & presents a receipt for $25,000. (The gallery rumbles.) 
Tangie speaks directly to the judge, complaining prettily that Sid is 
twisting her words. The judge responds kindly but firmly that T must 
restrict her answers to the questions asked.

They discuss the pin's significance some more and Tangie allows that she 
had a romantic relationship with Alan for a short time. Sid asks about 
other romantic relationships since she's been in town. Robinson objects 
& the lawyers approach the bench. Rog gives Tangie a thumbs-up & motions 
for her to stay calm. The judge calls recess to consider the objection.

HALL: As they walk down the hall, Gilly gives Sid grief for doing his 
job. They go into a private room, where she says some things are more 
important than work. She objects to his skewering of AM & Tangie on the 
stand. Sid thinks she's picked a very bad time to unload on him, but 
looks her in the eye & maintains that he loves her. She thinks if she 
were up on the stand, he'd slice her to shreds as well to protect his 
"sleazebag" client. Sid says defense attorneys are supposed to get their 
clients off. "Do they all sell their souls in the process?" asks Gilly.

JUST OUTSIDE THE COURTROOM: "There are some really weird vibes in 
there," notes Nadine. [Her hair is elegantly upswept, but she's wearing 
that tacky leopard-print suit.] "There are weird vibes wherever you 
are," responds Buzz. :-) Buzz thinks maybe he should give Tangie his 
religious icon for good luck.

Eleni fumes to Frank over Sid's treatment of Tangie. Frank says it's 
just Sid's job & that the American justice system is the best in the 
world. Eleni doesn't understand a justice system that lets people who 
tell the truth be made to look like a criminal. She realizes the same 
thing would have happened to Lucy if Brent had ever gone to trial for 
rape. They agree it's better that he's dead. Eleni wonders why it's 
always the woman who ends up with her morals being questioned.

Nadine's surprised that Buzz found his icon & asks where he found it. He 
says it's no big deal. Nadine thinks Buzz has been "tense" lately & he 
turns it around on her. Where's Carroll? How come he's not hanging 
around anymore? Nadine is evasive & says she doesn't keep tabs on him. 
Since when? Buzz wonders. Nadine says Carroll's off on a long truck 
haul. Buzz detects trouble in paradise. Nadine tells him to shut up.

Eleni says all the arguing must be inspired by "this place." The police, 
the law.... Frank doesn't want to hear anything against the police. 
Nadine suggests a soda & leaves with Eleni. Buzz tells Frank something's 
up with Nadine & Carroll. He doesn't want to let Carroll get away with 
hurting Nadine. Frank says they should make sure Alan Spaulding is taken 
care of first. Frank is proud of Lucy for the way she's handling the 
whole situation. He's impressed with how much Lucy & AM care for each 
other. Buzz hopes so. He wants to find Tangie & give her his icon.

Alex approaches AM & reams him for the way he "went after" his father. 
She doesn't consider him a member of the family anymore. "Well then, 
we're even, because I haven't felt like one lately." Alex calls him 
spoiled & self-centered. Lucy tries to interfere, but Alex waves her 
away like an annoying fly. She warns Lucy that AM is as power-hungry & 
controlling as his father. AM says if that's true, it's because he had 
such a good teacher. Alex dredges up AM's past dirty dealings; AM says 
Lucy "knows the disease I carry with the name Spaulding." It's ruined 
Alan's & Alex's life but AM is cured. He's going to run the company as 
he sees fit, but he won't forget what's really important. He takes Lucy 
by the hand & walks away. Nick congratulates AM on telling Alex the same 
thing Nick's been trying to tell her for a long time. 

Rog makes a crack to Alex about family togetherness; she warns the pot 
about calling the kettle black. She remembers that Rog had a hand in 
raising "that blonde tart." Rog warns Alex to back off, but she keeps it 
up, implying that Rog was not only a surrogate father, but also "Big 
Daddy." Rog gives Alex a message for Alan: If he lets Sid drag Tangie 
through any more mud, he'll have more than the judicial system to 
contend with. "He'll have me."

Gilly follows Sid to the courtroom as they continue their argument. He 
says she's taking it too personally. She reminds him that Alan killed 
her LA job so he could hire Sid as his "private assassin. If that's not 
personal, I don't know what is." She glares at him, then turns on her 
heel & walks away. Sid closes his eyes & takes a deep breath.

Tangie returns to the stand. Alex whispers to Alan that it's going well. 
The judge lets Sid pursue his line of questioning. Sid looks torn & 
doesn't respond at first when the judge asks if he's ready to continue. 
Finally, he wakes up & decides to go on. He asks T if it's fair to say 
she's been intimately involved with "a number of" Springfield men. "It's 
not fair to even suggest it." Sid has Tangie confirm that she was 
involved with Josh. Then he rattles off the names of Alan-Michael & 
Patrick Cutter. Tangie says she & AM are strictly friends, and the same 
is true with Cutter. There was nothing physical going on. 

Sid reminds her that she & AM spent several weeks together last summer 
in a house with 1 bed. She maintains that the relationship wasn't 
physical. Sid asks if she always makes a habit of living with her male 
friends. "Of course not, do you?" she retorts. Sid seems a bit taken 
aback. He asks if it's true that Tangie "struck out" with all three of 
these men--that they rejected her. No, she says. Sid ignores this & asks 
if it's also true that her testimony against Alan is motivated by the 
fact that he also spurned her. Tangie insists that her story is true. 

Sid asks T who raised her after her traitor parents were sent to prison. 
Roger Thorpe, she answers. And did you know that Rog considers Alan his 
bitter enemy? Sid asks. T says it goes both ways. She characterizes the 
men's relationship as one of mutual hatred. She admits to caring for 
Rog, but denies that she takes on his battles. Sid brings up Rog's 
interest in Spaulding, but Robinson objects, saying T can't know what 
Rog wants & it's not relevant. The judge sustains this, but Sid goes 
around it. Tangie is forced to admit that Rog has told her he wanted 
Spaulding back, but when Sid asks if it's "all about helping your 
surrogate father get what he wants," she says, "None of it's true. Alan 
told me the whole story." Sid snickers & says he's done.

Robinson gets a chance to redirect. He asks about Alan's visit last 
night, when he asked her to run away with him to avoid prosecution. How 
did you respond? he asks. "I said no," she replies. Robinson reminds the 
court that he doesn't have to prove Alan guilty right now--he just needs 
to present enough evidence to hold him over for trial. He summarizes 
that evidence: two witnesses to whom Alan confessed.

Sid's summary is that both witnesses have the same motive--to see Alan 
hurt. Robinson says he has also subpoenaed Cassie Lawrence, who is 
willing to testify to her brother's involvement with Alan. Sid says 
Brent was a rapist who tried to frame AM, so why wouldn't he want to 
frame Alan as well. The lawyers both feel they've made their case. The 
judge calls a recess while she decides whether to bind Alan over for 
trial. AM & Lucy are the first ones out the door. Alan just sits there.

"You're going to win, I can feel it!" sings Alex to Alan. She's thrilled 
that Sid was so good. Alan is upset that Tangie had to be hurt. "Who 
cares? She asked for it," says Alex. Alan tells her to shut up, because 
he loves Tangie. Alex can't understand this. "She loves me too. I just 
couldn't be the man that she wanted," Alan says, almost to himself. Rog 
interrupts. Alan either didn't get his message or chose to ignore it. 
Bad call, either way. Rog tells Alan he'll be a lot safer going to jail 
than sticking around town after the way he hurt Tangie. Rog remembers 
last Xmas, when Alex set him up & ruined things with Holly. And Alan, 
who took him for a ride with Spaulding. They both laughed at Rog then, 
but Rog is doing the laughing now. He walks away, chuckling.

HALL: Now Sid is chasing Gilly, trying to defend himself. They rehash 
how Alan got Gilly fired. Sid only found out a few days ago. And you 
didn't tell me, reminds Gilly. Sid saw no reason to further upset her. 
Gilly says he just didn't want to quit working for Alan. Sid says it was 
too late to get her job back anyway. "It's not too late to give this 
back," she says, removing her engagement ring & handing it to Sid. He 
stares at it in his hand. "We're finished, Sid," says Gilly.

PLAYGROUND: Two boys & a girl stand at the top of a slide, arguing about 
who's going to go down first. While the boys argue, the girl just goes. 
"It gets worse, guys," says AM with a smile. Lucy laughs. They check out 
the spinning toy (one of those platforms that you spin by pushing it 
while you run, then you jump on & either enjoy the ride or puke. We used 
to call it a "vomit machine."). They both start running & pushing, with 
AM bragging about how fast he can make it go. They laugh happily.

After the commercial break, the three kids are sitting in the middle 
while Lucy & AM continue to push. One of the moms helps push too. AM 
decides it's time to stop, before he pukes. The kids run off & AM 
loosens his tie. He says he's free--he did what he had to do for 
himself. "No matter what happens now, I win."

COURTHOUSE: Sid can't believe Gilly is breaking their engagement & says 
she's blowing it all out of proportion. Gilly doesn't agree. She says 
he's lost his sense of judgment & decency. All he's got left is his 
ambition. He reminds her that she's been ruthless in the past, but she 
says she never hurt anyone who didn't deserve it. Sid reminds her that 
her first marriage ended because Hamp couldn't deal with *her* ambition. 
"I certainly understand Hamp a lot better right now... Now I understand 
that there are some things that aren't worth the price it takes to get 
them." She walks away & Sid's lip quivers as the bailiff announces that 
court is back in session.

COURTROOM: The judge returns & announces that she has reached her 
decision. Close-up on Alan as the screen fades to black.

--Marni (marni@panix.com)




