Translation: TPTB, at least the ones in place now, are N-E-V-E-R going to give up on Manny. And as long as Manny helps them woo viewers, this current regime is not going away any time soon either. They depend on each other for success, so you can put to rest your worries about Manny breaking up if you haven't done it already.

How significant Manny is to TPTB? Its success means they were right, and we all know how they like being right.

* They specifically picked Joie Lenz and Paul Anthony Stewart to create this couple, and they were right. They specifically wanted JL as Michelle Bauer (when they initially thought of bringing her back as a Shayne), and they specifically wanted Stewart as Danny Santos (a character who was linked to the young adult crowd, not Cassie, the "logical choice" for some.) They took risks when they didn't necessarily have to (Lenz had already proven successful as a Shayne and Stewart had already shown he had chemistry with Laura Wright ('Cassie') on Loving) and those risks paid off handsomely.

* They then chose to separate Lenz's Michelle from the rest of the young adult crowd once and for all, and put her with Danny, and in that process pushed them front-burner -- another huge risk. Which paid off.

* They then chose to keep them on the front-burner for months. And it paid off.

* They also spent money (not an easy decision considering all soaps' budget problems) on new sets, a lavish wedding (barely a month after they became a couple), and casting Danny's family. That too paid off.

And on, and on.

Can you not guess how proud and pleased they must be of Manny and its success?

Also, if Manny indeed becomes one of Guiding Light's most popular couples (better yet, one of its super-couples), Paul Rauch and the rest of this regime will go down in GL's annals as the rare people who succeeded in creating a supercouple with a Bauer. We all know how the Bauers are integral to the show, yet they haven't been really "used" as supercouple material. With the youngest member of one of the show's original families (the only one left) as half of Manny, and a brand-new character from a brand-new family as the other half, its success can become very symbolic of the revitalization of a 62-year-old soap moving into the next millennium.

Characters like Drew or Cassie are not as important to the show as Michelle Bauer. No way. The Bauers have been Guiding Light's guiding light for decades, yet they have been disintegrating slowly and slowly over the years. We haven't had a front-burner story with a Bauer for years and even with the few we had, the focus was never really on the Bauers themselves. (eg. Ed with Roger/Holly, Rick with Blake/Ross.)

It is with Manny.

Still worried they'll put Danny with someone else?

kristi