There are interviews with the producers and writers of the show as well as a few cast members, along with scenes from the final episodes.
Grant Aleksander-related stories
60 Minutes goes behind the scenes of Guiding Light
No, Morley Safer didn't go behind the scenes of the CBS soap with a hidden camera to find some scandal or catch someone doing something illegal, he talked to the cast and crew because the show is ending tomorrow after 57 years on the network.
There are interviews with the producers and writers of the show as well as a few cast members, along with scenes from the final episodes.
There are interviews with the producers and writers of the show as well as a few cast members, along with scenes from the final episodes.
It's official: Guiding Light is canceled
The die was cast today. CBS canceled Guiding Light, the longest running TV program still on the air. The soap opera will cease broadcasting on Friday, September 18, 2009.
As I wrote the other day, the prospects looked grim for Guiding Light, and apparently my idea of letting the show continue until it reached its 75th anniversary (three years from now) was only popular with fans. I heard from many the past couple of days. They, like me, are sorry to see Guiding Light come to an end.
Continue reading It's official: Guiding Light is canceled
CBS to decide Guiding Light's fate this week
It looks the lighthouse may be switched off before the end of 2009. CBS is expected to determine whether or not to renew Guiding Light later this week. All things considered, I think the network is going to call it a day for the 72-year-old soap opera. The ratings have been lagging and the way Guiding Light is situated around the country – being broadcast in different time slots instead of having a regular fixed time like the rest of the CBS soaps – it's not likely to ever challenge in the Nielsens.
Continue reading CBS to decide Guiding Light's fate this week
TV Squad Soap Report: Aleksander the Grant
It's been a little over a year since Guiding Light bolted from the confines of a New York studio to create a reality based production, a sort of cinema-verite style that brought to life a real New Jersey town to "play" Springfield. The results have been middling at best, but recently GL has lurched forward in a positive way and that can all be explained in two words/one name -- Grant Aleksander. The actor is back as Phillip Spaulding, one of the most important characters in the history of the show.The last year of GL hasn't only been about the new production. Coinciding with all that physical change which has set more and more scenes outdoors and in "wild" set, the cast has been undergoing massive change. Top line veterans Ricky Paull Goldin, Nicole Forester and Beth Ehlers have all departed, and recently John Driscoll was tragically killed off.
Continue reading TV Squad Soap Report: Aleksander the Grant
Wow, I might have to start watching Guiding Light again
I watched Guiding Light every single day for a couple of decades. I never thought there would come a time when I stopped watching it (no matter how pathetic that probably sounds), but then the show got rid of cast members that were vital to the show, the writers created plots and characters that were paper thin and just lousy, and they started screwing up with the show's history, too. Those are three things that are unforgivable in a soap opera.But things might be getting better at Guiding Light. After several years and lots of negotiations, Grant Aleksander is returning to the show as Philip Spaulding.
Continue reading Wow, I might have to start watching Guiding Light again
CBS renews Guiding Light for another year
It's with a big sigh of relief that I report that Michael Logan at TV Guide has confirmed that CBS has booked Guiding Light for one more year. That'll make it 72 years of continuous broadcasting -- radio and television. No program can match Guiding Light's longevity, and I would hate to see CBS cancel a show with this kind of legacy.That said, Guiding Light needs to have a better year going forth than they've had looking back. In fact, since tying with The Young and the Restless last June as Outstanding Daytime Drama at the Emmys, the show has been going through major transitions. The new style of filming, shooting on locations in a New Jersey town that's being used as the fictional Springfield, began on February 29, and it hasn't been welcomed by the critics or viewers.
Continue reading CBS renews Guiding Light for another year
Guiding Light celebrates 70 years by helping others
The CBS soap Guiding Light is celebrating its 70th anniversary this year. It's the longest running TV show in history (it started on radio in 1937 then switched to television in 1952). But they're not just throwing a party. Today they launched a new web site and a new campaign to help others. The cast and crew went down to the Gulf Coast to help victims of Hurricane Katrina, and they want fans to go to the site and share their stories of how they've helped someone.
I think they're tying it into the show somehow as well. A new plot has the cast finding a giant sum of money in a bag along with a mysterious note.
This is fantastic, but I think GL can do some other things to celebrate their 70th anniversary.
Continue reading Guiding Light celebrates 70 years by helping others
Andy Richter: The TV Squad Interview
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Mike Henry and Daryl Hall on a Cleveland Show Thanksgiving
