Tuesday, August 14, 2012

50 Greatest Soap Couples: #13 Quint & Nola From GUIDING LIGHT

COUPLE: Quinton "Quint" McCord Chamberlain & Nola Reardon
SHOW: GUIDING LIGHT
RANK: 13
PLAYED BY:
Quint: Michael Tylo
Nola: Lisa Brown
YEARS: 1981-1985, 1996-1997

STORY:
Nola spent a year manipulating Kelly and Morgan (John Wesley Shipp and Kristen Vigard) in an effort to keep them apart even pretending to be pregnant with Kelly's baby.  When the truth came out--the baby was Floyd's--Kelly told her off and the entire town of Springfield learned of her deception. Shortly after, Quinton, an archaeologist looking for a new start, came to town and moved into a mansion on Thornway Road.  Quint met Nola when he interviewed Nola for a job as a live-in assistant,  but it was not love at first sight.  She thought he was dark and spooky and he thought she was odd.  But Quint fascinated Nola and he became the subject of her vivid fantasy life.  Despite their growing attraction something always seemed to stand in their way.  But on a trip to St. Croix to search for an artifact known as The Temple of Gold, Quint rescued Nola and they shared their first kiss on the beach.  But their happiness was short-lived with the arrival of Qunt's ex, Helen Manzini, followed by Nola being kidnapped by the evil Silas Crocker (Benjamin Hendrickson).

Nola was eventually rescued and Quint declared his love her in the hospital thinking she was asleep (she wasn't).   Quint eventually admitted his feelings to Nola face to face but their life remained complicated with Helen living in the mansion with them.  Soon Nola learned Quint was hiding another former lover, Rebecca, on the third floor of the mansion.  Rebecca schemed to keep them apart lying to Nola about what had transpired with Quint in the past.  Eventually Rebecca shot her husband, Samuel Pasquin aka Mark Evans, who fell off a cliff.  She jumped off after him to her death.  Quint and Nola were now free to be together and became engaged.  Nola had discovered that Henry Chamberlain was Quint's biological father and Henry threw them an engagement party (this was the infamous episode were Nola and Vanessa showed up wearing the same dress).  Quint and Nola married and a year later their son Anthony James was born (fans voted on the name of the baby).  In 1985 they left Springfield when Quint got a job in Tanquir.  Nola returned in 1995 and it was eventually revealed Quint had cheated on her.  Quint showed up and it seemed like they were going to reunite but the characters were written out with their story in limbo.  In GUIDING LIGHT's final week Nola returned and gave Vanessa a gift from both her and Quint implying they were still together.

IMPACT:
Quint and Nola were instant fan favorites who captivated viewers wondering when they would finally get it right all the while enjoying Nola fantasies like Wuthering Heights and Casablanca.  Brown and Tylo played the odd couple to perfection.

CBS said at the time of the Kelly/Nola reveal, Lisa Brown and Nola received more hate mail than any other character on the network since Lisa in AS THE WORLD TURNS twenty years earlier.  The fact that so many people came to love Nola, and Nola with Quint, is a true testament to the genius of Brown.  She was named Best Actress by Afternoon TV magazine in 1981 but, sadly and unbelievably, was never nominated for an Emmy for her beloved work at GUIDING LIGHT.

Brown went on to star as Iva in AS THE WORLD TURNS (where she did receive two Emmy noms).  Tylo played memorable roles in multiple soaps including ALL MY CHILDREN and THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS.  Their reunion on GUIDING LIGHT was cut short when the show said they didn't have enough time to focus on the characters.  Thankfully Nola's gift line (see above) in September 2009 gave fans a bit of much-deserved closure.

From Patrick Erwin (A THOUSAND OTHER WORLDS): 1981 is remembered in soap history as the year of Luke and Laura, but for me and millions of others it was the beginning of Quint and Nola. Their story was only on air for a few short years but their journey, as individuals and as a couple, was magnificent and memorable. It had everything: humor, mystery, romance, love and family.

CLASSIC CLIPS:
Nola's early Quint fantasies 
Silas kidnaps Nola (1982)
Quint and Nola's wedding (1983)
The birth of Anthony James (1984)

Share your thoughts on Quint and Nola in our Comments section below or on our message board.

RELATED:
- 50 Greatest Soap Opera Actors: The Complete List
- 50 Greatest Soap Opera Actresses: The Complete List
- THE COMPLETE LIST: 25 Biggest Blunders In Daytime Soap Opera History

13 comments:

  1. Quint & Nola was funnies couple on daytime, and Lisa Brown 1 of the best actress.

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  2. They were wonderful. How I miss them! I also LOVED Kelly and Morgan. Kristen Vigard was just so earthy and refreshing as Morgan.

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  3. As editor of Afternoon TV the year we gave Lisa Brown her Best Actress award, I clearly remember the ceremony, which was held on the GL set. Lisa giggled. Doug Marland, who won for Best Writing, gave a beautiful speech (although there was hardly anyone present) and burst into grateful tears.

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  4. The above comment is from Connie Passalacqua Hayman.

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  5. I Absolutely Loved Quint & Nola On GL--Yay!

    Brian :-)

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  6. They were the best and I will always remember them fondly from my childhood. This is a wonderful accurate article about them. I was one of the people that started www.quintnola.com . .everything about quola with perfect accuracy. We don't update it anymore, but it is a great archive. Thanks for this great write up. Fans can also check out http://www.youtube.com/user/quintnola for the most complete video collection of quola anywhere. Many thanks go out to our wonderful friend from Finland who took a great interest in Quola even though she wasn't even born when they were first on GL.

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  7. Roger, you forgot to put Lisa's last name Brown on top of the article's description! Thanks for finally revealing the #14 and #13 couples on this list!

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  8. Loved Quint and Nola. Great couple. So much chemistry. Both such unusual characters, far different from most of the characters who populate daytime, then and now.

    Have always wondered what Doug Marland would have done with them if he had stayed on the show. Pam Long did what she could with them, but they suffered without Marland there to oversee their story.

    As a slight correction, the character's name was Helena Manzini, not Helen.

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  9. I loved the couple but one wonders if we would ever see the same magic today? Nola was supposed to be plain, and as an actress Lisa Brown was funny and romantic, but she wasn't glamorous. I don't think a soap today would be willing to cast someone who looks as different as Nola looked.

    This is not bash the looks of any actress. Just a note to say that actors like Ms. Brown, and my favorites like Gerald Anthony and Matthew Coles would never get hired today when the edict is that every actor has to almost unbelievably beautiful. I was drawn to soaps because the of the odd characters and now I lament that sex appeal has become more important than charisma.

    Even a character like Spinelli on GH, who is supposed to be poorly socially skilled, still has cut abs and a nice haricut.

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  10. I don't think I agree with their ranking. I'd out Bo n Nora, Lily, and Holden, Carly n Jack and eve Steve n Kayla way above them! Still looking for Mac n Rachel.

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  11. OH no they deserve this ranking they were a magical couple and magical time at GL! Lisa Brown was awesome on any level of story, rather deceitful, scheming, heart-felt, protector, or comedy. MT & LB's chemistry was uncanny, they weren't the most "glamerous looking couple" as soaps today go with...stand & model pretty people and not as strong in acting abilities, where MT & LB could act.

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