From: Marni Centor <marni@panix.com>

Hi everyone! Just wanted to let you all know that this will be my last 
update for about a month, as I am getting married next weekend & will 
then be out of town for a few weeks. While I'm gone, Leesa will be 
pinch-hitting. See you in October! --Marni

GUIDING LIGHT UPDATE -- THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 1996

               THIS EPISODE NOT WORTH NAMING

Written by Sharon Epstein & directed by Brian Mertes

Highlights:
* AM & Philip fight it out in the boardroom.
* Matt grieves.
* Zach gets back on track.
* Michelle & Nola reconcile.
* Hart wants to take care of Dinah.
* Blake freaks when she sees what's become of Roger.

Evening in Springfield...

GYM: Zach is working out when Lucy shows up, looking for Alan-Michael. 
Zach says AM was there earlier with Philip. Lucy is concerned.

SPAULDING ENTERPRISES: AM asks Philip why he's not on a plane to 
California. Philip says he's planning to take a later flight because 
there were some aspects of their deal that he wanted to work out first. 
AM suggests that Phil wait in his office. One of the board members asks 
what's going on. Phil explains that AM offered him a job earlier, and he 
accepted. Glenn Taggart asks AM why he was just insisting that Phil 
didn't belong at Spaulding. AM bites his lip & Phil asks if he misunder-
stood their deal. 

BOARDINGHOUSE: Bridget is saddened when she looks at the fridge & sees 
Peter's schedule, with days marked for herself and for Vanessa. Dinah 
arrives, looking for Hart. Jet asks if Dinah is nuts & says every time 
she sees him, she puts him at risk. Dinah doesn't want to hear it. Hart 
comes downstairs & hugs Dinah.

REARDON HOUSE: Matt sits on the couch, depressed beyond words. Nola 
cleans up around him. Michelle helps. The doorbell rings & Nola invites 
Blake & her casserole in. "I didn't think you cooked," comments Nola. 
Not usually, says Blake. She asks where everyone is. J is home studying 
& Bill & Josh are taking Billy back to prison. Nola wishes Matt would 
eat something. Blake makes some nice noises about the memorial and Matt 
actually responds to her, if only minimally.

Nola answers the phone; it's Dr. Dobson, looking for Dinah. Nola gives 
the call to Blake. Rog, sitting a few feet behind the doc, hears Blake's 
name & says he'd love to see her. The doc says she's been trying to 
reach Dinah since Rog woke up from his first ECT treatment. Blake needs 
the term spelled out, and when she understands, she is livid. "You gave 
my father shock treatment?!" 

BOARDINGHOUSE: Bridget acts angry while Dinah & Hart hug. Hart says Jet 
can't dictate who he sees or doesn't see. Jet, ticked off, tells Dinah 
she can't hang out in the boardinghouse because there are too many 
people coming & going. Dinah says they're nearly all family & friends. 
Jet says it only takes one person. Hart says it doesn't matter because 
he's moving out.

REARDON HOUSE: "Roger is not..." Blake stops herself & instead asks who 
authorized the ECT. Dr. Dobson said the court did & Dinah signed off. 
Blake says she's coming right over. 

MIDLAND HILLS: Dr. Dobson says Blake is coming over & Rog is thrilled.

REARDON HOUSE: Blake tells Matt to come by any time, then rushes out. 
Matt suddenly gets up & leaves, not answering Nola's query about where 
he's going. Michelle wanders around looking morose.

GYM: Lucy doesn't see any signs of carnage & hopes AM & Phil didn't 
fight. Zach tells her AM offered Phil a job. Lucy is thrilled & thinks 
it means AM finally realized how stupid the competition was. She knows 
that deep down, he loves his brother. Zach is surprised to hear this. 
Lucy sings AM's praises some more, then leaves to go celebrate with AM.

SPAULDING ENTERPRISES: Phil wants to hear what AM has to say. Phil takes 
a seat next to Glenn, & AM realizes that Glenn told Phil about the 
meeting. "Some of us believe he deserves a 2nd chance," adds Glenn. AM 
says Spaulding was a disaster under Philip, & is doing gangbusters under 
him. AM accuses Phil of causing dissension before he's even working at 
the company & of forging an alliance with Glenn to work against him. "We 
cannot afford to fight against ourselves," says AM, which is why he 
thinks it's a bad idea to hire Philip. Philip agrees 100%. 

Phil says he has complete faith in AM's ability to run the company. If 
he didn't, he wouldn't have just bought so much stock. AM is waiting for 
the "but." Phil says there is none. When he was president, he was too 
young, too cocky & more than a little disinterested. But that was a long 
time ago. Phil, as a mature, responsible adult & parent, is now ready to 
do his part for the company. One board member asks how. Phil says he can 
contribute his special understanding of the markets. "I make a lot of 
money; that's my particular skill," he notes. He'll be happy to furnish 
his financial records for the past 5 years as proof. He stresses that he 
will give 110% at whatever the board wants him to do, and would never 
allow the board to fracture as it has in the past.

AM says Phil doesn't know a thing about the way the company works & he 
never has. Phil disagrees, but admits he doesn't know as much as AM. 
"Certainly not enough to join Spaulding at its top level," says AM. Phil 
disagrees again, citing the Ukrainian deal. If AM hadn't been so 
involved in Lucy's family problems, he probably would have also picked 
up Belarus & Russia. AM says that wasn't a possibility, but Glenn's not 
sure. Another board member asks AM if they could have had a bigger deal. 

Phil says AM should be commended for putting his family first, but being 
human means being fallible. This is where Phil thinks he could pick up 
the slack & provide a 2nd opinion. He can run around & shore up cracks 
so the company continues to run well. AM says the Spauldings have a bad 
history of not working well together. Phil notes that AM was ready to 
give Amanda a job. "You're not Amanda," states AM. "That's true; I 
actually pay my taxes," jokes Philip. The board members laugh on cue. 
Glenn thinks they should offer Philip the job Amanda was supposed to 
get. AM says they have to get beyond Phil's charm & persuasiveness & 
look at the facts. Phil would be a disaster for the company.

Phil hoped they could find some common ground, but sees that they aren't 
getting anywhere & apologizes for wasting everyone's time. Glenn tells 
Phil to stick around. AM doesn't have the final say in this; the board 
does. He moves for a vote on making Phil the Senior VP in charge of 
corporate acquisitions. AM says they should wait for Alex to return, but 
the board wants to get it over with.

BOARDINGHOUSE: Hart says now that Jet's ankle is better & Nola is back, 
there's no reason for him to stick around. Jet says he should do 
whatever he wants & hopes he doesn't get caught with Dinah. "I'll take 
that chance," he says. Jet slams upstairs & Hart & Dinah hug again.

Hart tells Dinah how much he wanted to be with her earlier. Dinah says 
it was so hard to say goodbye to her mom. But looking over at Hart gave 
her strength. She just wants to be together with him now. Hart says it 
will happen sooner than she thinks. Dinah says there's something she has 
to tell him about Roger.

MIDLAND HILLS: Rog putters around his room as Dr. Dobson enters. He sits 
down at his desk with a book & starts rambling on about African violets 
& how well they grow in artificial light. He turns around & is delighted 
to see Blake. He gives her a big hug & a kiss. He comments on how 
beautiful she is, and makes poetic comments about her hair. "What have 
they done to you?" asks Blake in horror.

Rog suddenly notices that Blake is pregnant & is even more thrilled when 
she says it's twins. He's so happy for her. Blake says he's known about 
this for months. Rog says his memory has been a bit problematic, but 
it's nothing to worry about. He gets down on his knees & asks if he can 
touch her belly. He waxes poetic on the joys of bringing life into the 
world & guesses that Ross is ecstatic. Blake is dumbfounded at this 
performance. Rog has never cared about what Ross thinks. He hates Ross. 
Rog says not anymore; he can barely remember what that felt like. He now 
thinks family & friends need to be cultivated like beautiful flowers. He 
mentions that he heard about Vanessa & regrets that never had a chance 
to make peace with her. Blake can't believe what the shock treatment has 
done to Rog. Dr. Dobson points out that it's had a remarkable effect 
after only one treatment. "I don't even recognize you," worries Blake. 

Rog assures Blake that he's himself & he's fine. Except for his 
temporary memory loss... But his feelings are real; he loves her. Blake 
worries that the shock treatment has done something to him. Rog says 
it's the best thing that's ever happened to you. "It's changed you," 
complains Blake. Rog says this is probably a good thing, considering 
what he was like before. He asks the doc if he can have some time alone 
with Blake. He suggests a game of cards. Blake doesn't want to. She 
promises to return as soon as she kills a few people. After she & the 
doc leave, Rog looks a little disappointed.

BOARDINGHOUSE: Hart wants Dinah to stop beating herself up over Rog. She 
called off the shock treatments & that's all that matters. Dinah says 
it's important, but Hart doesn't want to hear it. She gives up trying to 
tell him as he asks what she's going to do now. He suggests she stay 
with Ross & Blake but Dinah deosn't want to be underfoot. Hart thinks 
she shouldn't be alone so soon after losing Van. He says it's OK for her 
to let people take care of her, especially the man who loves her. He 
kisses her to make his point.

REARDON HOUSE: Nola continues to clean up, then notices Michelle staring 
at the photos on the wall. Michelle points to a picture of Van & says 
she'll never get any older than that. Bill will get older, though, as he 
continues to look at the unchanging image of Van. "When's it going to 
stop? When are all the people we love going to stop dying?" she asks. 
Nola hugs her & admits she doesn't know. "It feels like we've lost 
everyone," cries Michelle. Nola says it doesn't help that Ed's not 
there. Michelle doesn't know if she can take much more. Nola invites 
Michelle to come spend some time at the boardinghouse & says family has 
to stick together. Michelle thinks this is a strange offer, coming from 
Nola. She knows all about what Nola did behind her back.

BEACH: Zach finds Matt staring out at the water. Matt says this was his 
& Vanessa's place. He used to think he could keep Vanessa safe. "What a 
joke." Zach urges Matt not to spend the whole night there beating 
himself up. Matt gets angry & says he's not Zach's personal project & 
he'll do what he wants. Matt says he has no life without Vanessa. Zach 
blurts out that there's plenty of life & Van wanted him to live it. "How 
do you know that?" asks Matt.

REARDON HOUSE: Nola doesn't know what Michelle is talking about. M is 
still ticked about Nola ordering J to stay out of her life, because Nola 
thought Michelle wasn't old enough to handle him. Nola says that's not 
it; no one is old enough to handle J! Michelle says J has a way of 
making every girl feel special & his exotic travels make him even more 
intriguing. Nola says that's why she was concerned. Michelle explains 
that she understands this now & isn't taken with J anymore. She thinks 
he's a real womanizer. Nola says J has a big heart & doesn't mean to 
hurt people, but he does anyway. 

Michelle says she should be allowed to live her own life. Nola agrees, 
but says if she hadn't interfered, she wouldn't have been doing right by 
Maureen. "She would have done anything to protect you," she adds, "and 
so would I. Michelle, I love you," she whispers. Michelle says she's not 
mad at Nola anymore. She admits that she also acted like a jerk with J & 
did a lot of stupid things. She went to the motel with him because she 
had convinced both him & herself that she was "ready." But you weren't, 
says Nola. Michelle agrees, but says she's learned from it that guys 
have to like her for herself, not for what she can give them. "No," 
corrects Nola, "guys have to love you." 

M swears she'll never do anything so stupid again & Nola believes her. M 
asks Nola to treat her like an adult from now on. Nola agrees that M is 
doing a great job of taking care of herself, but the offer to stay over 
is still open. M opts for a walk instead. Nola asks her to call when she 
gets home, but a look from M makes her relent. M leaves & Nola thinks 
Maureen would be proud. 

BEACH: Zach says he just made an assumption based on the fact that Van 
loved Matt. He says Matt shouldn't give up because a miracle could 
happen. Like Van coming back to life, asks Matt sarcastically. Zach says 
Matt lost Van, but other people might need him. Matt doesn't care & 
tells Zach to get lost. Matt stalks off down the beach & Zach sits down. 
The old fisherman is suddenly sitting there beside him. Zach wonders how 
things turned out so bad. The fisherman says it was because Zach 
interfered in something that wasn't his business. "You forgot what you 
came here to do."

SPAULDING: The ballots are in & Glenn starts counting them. The count 
goes to 3 and 3, with one remaining. The final vote is in Philip's favor 
& the board members congratulate him. Glenn tells AM that he's sure the 
brothers will resolve their differences for the good of the company. The 
board members file out & AM takes his anger out on Philip. Phil says 
he's just interested in what's best for the company, but AM doesn't buy 
it for a minute. Ever since he returned, Phil has been trying to tear AM 
down & take his job. Phil says he doesn't want AM's job. AM tells Phil 
to cut the good-guy routine. He thinks Phil is the spitting image of 
Alan & vows to bury him "a lot deeper than 6 feet." Lucy arrives in time 
to hear this last bit & looks none too pleased about it.

BEACH: Zach knows he got sidetracked with Van, but he couldn't walk away 
because he had so much to make up for. The old guy warns Zach to "stay 
away from that memory." Zach asks why. The old guy says he shouldn't 
question. He must stay on course. He's there because of AM & Lucy. 

SPAULDING: AM asks Lucy to wait in his office, but Phil thinks she 
doesn't need to leave. AM thinks Phil just wants a chance to gloat. No 
matter what AM thinks, Phil insists that it was never about getting AM's 
job. Phil says he gave AM a chance & trusted him about the job offer. AM 
says Phil put on the happy-big-brother routine to get his foot in the 
door. Phil says all he wanted to do was work alongside AM. AM refuses to 
accept any of what Phil has to say & insists that their family can't 
work together. Phil says of course not, when AM won't let it happen. He 
knows the whole reason for today's meeting was to keep him out of the 
company. AM says he did it to protect his family & his business. Phil 
asks if AM wants an all-out war.

BOARDINGHOUSE: Hart fixes some food & wants Dinah to eat something. She 
picks. He sits down beside her & they kiss some more. He wants her to 
come out to the farm where he can take care of her. He promises to hold 
her in his arms all night long. Blake enters & she is mightily pissed. 
Hart & Dinah are playing "Secret Lovers" while Rog is reading plant 
books. Hart is confused. "Our father has gone stark raving weird & it is 
totally your fault. Do you realize what you have done?" Hart says no & 
turns to Dinah. "Do you?" he asks. 

MIDLAND HILLS: Dr. Dobson brings Rog a plant mister & he spritzes his 
plants. He thinks they're lovely, but not as lovely as his daughter. He 
can't believe she's pregnant. The doc thinks it's good that Rog is 
taking an interest in his family. Rog agrees that he was previously a 
narcissistic SOB. He wants another ECT treatment, so he can always feel 
as good as he does right now. The doc says if she thinks he needs 
another treatment, she'll have to get the OK from Dinah first. Rog asks 
why. The doc explains that she wanted to stop the last treatment, but it 
was too late. But she needs to evaluate Rog's progress first. Rog hopes 
he can continue to play the piano in the meantime. The doc agrees & they 
head for the rec room together. 

SPAULDING: AM says he's not looking for a war, but he's not backing down 
to Phil either. Fine, says Phil. He'll have to play it the same way. He 
apologizes to Lucy & leaves. Lucy asks why AM did this. AM says he has 
to do what he knows is right. Lucy doesn't look happy.

BEACH: Zach says he'll finish what he set out to do. But what if he 
fails? The old guy says no one is guaranteed success, but that's no 
reason not to try. Zach agrees. Looking into the distance, he spots 
someone he recognizes. "It couldn't be," he says. "Look, it's her."

BOARDINGHOUSE: Blake rants about Rog turning into a plant-loving nimrod 
while Jet listens from the stairway. Blake finally spits out that the 
ECT is to blame & Hart says that's not possible. Dinah looks worried. 
Blake says Rog is nothing like himself. "I don't know who this man is, 
but he's scaring me." She can't believe Hart let this happen. Hart goes 
to Dinah & asks her what happened when she went to talk to the doctor. 
Dinah turns to answer him as the screen fades to black. 


Marni (marni@panix.com)



