Now that Guiding Light is destined to become another sad memory of lonely housewives nationwide, CBS is hoping an old daytime tradition will pull them away from their housework. And for those of you now engulfed in hate flame who've found the fuel to write some snide comment about my Mad Men-ish view of soap opera viewers and women, please calm the #*$& down. One, I realize this is not the 1950s and women don't all strive to stay at home barefoot and pregnant. And two, who the hell else watches soap operas? Only male hair salon stylists and hospital patients who don't have the physical ability or cognitive capacity to operate a bed remote.
I hope this means more game shows are on the way.
The very thought takes me back to those sick days from school that I spent at my grandmother's house in Uptown New Orleans. Grandma and Grandpa Gallagher were the last two people on Earth to get cable, so I had to make due with five channels all day until The Real Ghostbusters came on in the afternoon. This is the "walk 10 miles every day to school in the snow" anecdote I will some day give to my grandchildren.
The only saving grace was the block of game shows that ran the entire morning. They loved watching all the old classics with me like Password, Classic Concentration, The Price is Right and (of course) Press Your Luck. But never Tic-Tac-Dough. The dragon actually scared me. Call me a coward, but a child knows evil when they see it.
I'll never understand the attraction kids have to these shows. Maybe it was the game. Maybe it was the spirit of competition and the clash of intellectualism. Maybe it was the schadenfreude-boners they offered, like when a Whammy would turn a single mother of three's hopes of ever sending her kids to an accredited college to dust by running a lawnmower over her score.
I do understand why my grandparents loved to watch them with me. It was something we could do together that we both loved. It also got me to sit still for four whole hours without some kind of sedative being involved and didn't require knowing how to jimmy open a locked door after your grandson had just locked you out of your house. That's a whole other post.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
4-07-2009 @ 12:37PM
HD said...
The world would be a better place with a few more "50's housewives" - when did being a wife and mother make you less than a woman that works 40 hours a week?
As to game shows - I agree, I have fond memories of shows like "Press your Luck, and "Tic Tac Dough" and "Hollywood Squares" among others. I just hope they don't cut out theme music to fit in another commercial.
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4-07-2009 @ 12:59PM
Denise said...
You sexist twit, there are plenty of men that watch soap operas as well as women. And, there are plenty of *professional* women who watch them as well. You forget that we live in the era of VCRs, DVRs, TIVO, etc. and people who watch soaps aren't necessarily people who spend their afternoons doing nothing but knitting and laundry.
I have watched both Guiding Light & As the World Turns, off and on since I was in Junior high. My dad watches Young & Restless. My male friends in college watched Days of Our Lives. A male customer of mine watches Bold & Beautiful faithfully.
What sexist close-minded planet did you arrive here from?
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4-07-2009 @ 1:14PM
Eric said...
Hey.... Archie Bunker.... how could you write such a stupid thing as only housewives, male hair stylists, and hospital patients watch daytime dramas??? You should be locked in a room with that Tic Tac Dough dragon for being so idiotic.
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4-07-2009 @ 1:42PM
HD said...
I love that dragon - also fond of: no whammies, no whammies, STOP! WHAMMIE!
4-07-2009 @ 1:15PM
stewartwallace said...
Consistently the dumbest writer on TV Squad...
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4-07-2009 @ 1:44PM
HD said...
I think networks are missing the soap boat - Telemundo airs soaps that have what people want (the ratings are amazing all things considered).
Nice REAL locations as opposed to being filmed on a closed soundstage or a parking lot in New Jersey. Women get the over the top romance and drama, men get half naked, feminine women who are...uh, lets say "friendly". You don't even have to speak the language to enjoy it.
Telemundo is sexist and low budget and way better than anything on the big three soap wise.
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4-08-2009 @ 12:40AM
DapperDan said...
I still miss Ryan's Hope and I wasn't a gay hairstylist stuck in a hospital bed ;)
game shows ya ya ya
Crosswits, Password, Pyramid, $ale of the Century, Card Sharks, Tattletales, Match Game,
and I miss those Whammies too ! (press your luck)
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4-08-2009 @ 2:01AM
Chris said...
So I guess saying only women and "male hair stylists" (which I guess is code for gay men) and people who are too sick to change the channel is your way of showing you're a macho guy since you don't watch those stupid soap operas. Soap operas are just for those crazy women and silly gay guys, right? But no we shouldn't call those comments old fashioned. We shouldn't make any "snide comments" about what you say about soap operas and it's fanbase. But God forbid somebody makes any "snide comments" towards you about what you say about a TV genre that many people love. If you're that thin skinned maybe you shouldn't be a blogger.
For you're information I'm not a gay male, oh excuse me a "male hair stylist" or a woman and I enjoy soap operas. You talk about your fond memories with your grandparents as a child by spending quality time with them watching game shows. Well I have the same kind of happy memories with my grandparents when we would watch game shows (like The Price Is Right, Family Feud, Press Your Luck, $100k Pyramid) and SOAP OPERAS (the CBS soaps) together. So excuse me if I take offense to what you have to say about soap operas and your broad generalizations about the people who watch them.
You may see GL's cancellation as a good way of bringing back the $100,000 Pyramid and relive some childhood memories. But I see Guiding Light's cancellation as the end of a happy memory from my childhood and the end of a show I (a non "hair stylist" male) and my grandparents enjoyed for many years.
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4-23-2009 @ 8:33AM
JonSea31 said...
I love game shows, I kid you not. I hope for a revival of Press Your Luck, and/or maybe even Card Sharks (with the same set as the Bob Eubanks version) in the future. I really enjoyed those shows, and it is too bad GSN (Game Show Network, for those not in the know) cancelled both those series along with Blockbusters, Child's Play (which I wasn't that fond of myself), and many others off the schedule late in March. GSN has turned to LSN (Lame Show Network, as I call it) afterwards, and I feel that daytime game shows need to make a comeback after 20 years of inactivity. The Price is Right is just not enough nowadays.
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4-27-2009 @ 11:29PM
Susan said...
Just make it entertaining, please.
http://Susan-livinghealthywithchallenges.blogspot.com
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4-27-2009 @ 11:32PM
Susan said...
I don't seem to be able to get my post on. What is wrong?
http://Susan-livinghealthywithchallenges.blogspot.com
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4-28-2009 @ 12:54PM
Howard Luloff said...
Ever since The Price is Right became network TV's only daytime game show in the 90s, I have always felt that we need more game shows since the r3est of the daytime schedule is not that interesting as it was 30 years ago. With Guiding Light shutting off after 72 years, it would be a great opportunity to see more daytime game shows instead of another soap opera.
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