A sad note from the world of television. CBS Television announced this week that "The Guiding Light," which is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest-running television drama has been canceled and will air its last episode on September 18, 2009. "The Guiding Light" debuted in 1937 as a 15-minute radio serial and premiered on television on the CBS network in 1952.
I admit here, which will surely lead to some ridicule, I watched Guiding Light for many years. My mother was a big fan of the CBS soap opera lineup: "Search for Tomorrow," "The Young & the Restless," "As the World Turns," and "The Guiding Light." My viewing years included the short-lived "Capitol," as well. "The Bold and the Beautiful" made its debut during this time as well, but I didn't watch that one. I had some dignity. My mother watched these shows religiously. Once VCRs became commonplace, she began to tape the episodes if she was out and then would watch them later.
I might have to fire up the DVR to tape the final episode. I am sure, wherever she is, my mother will be watching. I believe that in heaven you get to meet and talk to anyone you want. So I am pretty sure that my mother has been hanging out fairly regularly with Charita Bauer, who played the matriarch of the Bauer clan for 34 years. One of my mother's best days was when she went to a luncheon featuring Guiding Light actors and got to sit with the actor who played the villain Alan Spaulding. "The Guiding Light" featured the firmly-middle class Bauer family and the high powered Spaulding family, which ran Spaudling Enterprises.
I, of course, could drag you down into the depths of the twists and turns featured over the years on Guiding Light, but I won't do that to you. The end of Guiding Light will close a significant chapter in television history. In addition to the many records it holds, the show also served as a launch pad for many well-known actors, including Kevin Bacon, Sherry Stringfield, and Hayden Panettiere, just to name a few. James Earl Jones and Ruby Dee also appeared on the show, making Guiding Light the first show to feature prominently African-American characters. Many other Hollywood stars made appearances on the show for a few episodes.
So the Guiding Light is getting turned off. But, truth be told, haven't they just been telling the same story over and over and over? Isn't that the definition of a soap opera? And in my defense, while I watched Guiding Light, I enjoyed the parody of them a little more (see Tootsie and Soapdish).
6 comments:
How sad. I used to watch "Guiding Light" in high-school... Actually it was my first soap in English, and I watched it for many years. How I used to hate Philip's father, and how big of a crush did I have on Rick... and let's not forget Reeva & Billy and Josh... I remember vividly when Beth was sexually abused by her father (of step-father) and to this day I still don't like that actor! I guess he was really good in his role!
This is truly sad for television...especially after all this time...
I never watched GL (I have looked in on some of the other "stories" over the decades, dipping in an out of them while on vacation). But I do know enough about it and its history to understand the impact of the cancellation.
Yeah, from what I've read, soap ratings have been down compared to their heyday. Production companies have been struggling with soaring costs, leading to some soaps dropping big name stars (see: recent moves at Days of Our Lives). Sounds like it is awfully challenging to get the veteran-newbie, contract player/off-contract player balance right. And then there is the challenge of pitching stories that fit the varied viewing demographics. Glad I don't have to try to figure that stuff out.
I gather from what I've read that older viewers look for stories featuring their faves but those are the people who usually make the biggest salaries. So the producers have to weigh fan campaigns for more storylines against salary issues. Wasn't there a dust-up a year or so ago about the actress who plays Reva and whether a salary cut was in order for stars of her magnitude?
When I was an undergraduate in college (1969-1973), the daytime serial I followed was Dark Shadows. When I joined the working world, I was surprised to hear that one of my colleagues at NARA had gone to school with one of the young actors in DS (the one who played the character David). You never know what degrees of separation you're gonna run into!
Thanks for the interesting post, makes for a nice and most welcome break. . . .
Maarja
I had to laugh when my "macho" ex b/f got hooked on soaps while recovering from a work-related broken finger. I also remember coming home during that time to find that he'd shaved one leg. In retrospect, perhaps I wasn't seeing the red flags fast enough. *LOL*
I actually read some of the soap oriented magazines and my sense is there is a pretty wide range of viewers, of differing orientation and gender, although there do seem to be more female than male viewers. I have the impression from reading viewer feedback that people turn to soaps for some relief from the stresses of real life. That it's a way of immersing yourself in someone else's stories. Years ago, during the early 1990s, I tried taping a couple of shows (including The Young and the Restless). But I had so little time to watch what I had recorded, I stopped doing that years ago. What time I have after work, I spend more with books or people than in front of the tv!
Seems to me that people do all sorts of things to relax, hey, whatever. Case in point: during the late 1980s and early 1990s, I was a huge Redskins and Capitals fan. I even had partial-plan Caps tickets and used to go out to the arena out in Landover for hockey games with a few other people from NARA. Not necessarily a girly thing for me to do back then, but who cares, it worked for me! My boyfriend isn't a big sports fan, I probably know more about hockey than he does! Although I have almost no time to look in on soaps these days, I totally get why many people enjoy 'em. That GL was cancelled isn't a huge surprise, however. There have been a lot of rumors of late about some of the lower rated soaps.
Maarja
Interesting. I'm not surprised to see the soap opera market drying up, though. I'm sort of surprised it's lasted this long.
We were an ABC line up family. I can't count the hours I spent watching General Hospital before I went to college. Haven't watched it regularly since, though.
Paw - I'm right there with you, except for the crush on Rick part, well maybe a little.
Maarja - welcome to the Brave Astronaut orbit. Thanks for your comments.
Lana - OK that's a story to hold on to. Perhaps we should have a contest for craziest boy/girlfriends. That one's a winner!
C - What? No time for TV anymore? What you have kids or something?
Post a Comment