GuidingLight-related stories
Posted Oct 19th 2009 10:03AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: OpEd, Daytime, Video, Casting, Reality-Free
I'm still not really over
the end of Guiding LIght, but if there's one thing soap fans know, you have to move on. You get over the end of
Santa Barbara, mourn the loss of
Another World, remember forever that before vampires were in vogue in prime time, Barnabus Collins ruled daytime, despite rickety sets and off-the-rack costumes.
That said, even while people are saying that soaps are dead -- or dying -- I'm excited about
Crystal Chappell returning to
Days of Our Lives.
You want to know how excited? I'm going to watch. After
Deidre Hall and Drake Hogestyn were unceremoniously dumped by the soap, I drifted away. But I'm willing to give
Days another try, especially because my curiosity has been piqued about Crystal's return.
Continue reading I'm psyched about Crystal Chappell's return to Days of Our Lives
Posted Sep 18th 2009 3:28PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: OpEd, Daytime, Reality-Free
It's a tough day for Daytime Emmy-winning divas. It's the
last episode of Guiding Light, which means
Kim Zimmer and her four Emmys are available for a new gig. And now the news comes out that
Sarah Brown is leaving General Hospital. Sarah Tweeted her exit yesterday, saying, "It's been nice being back at
GH, but it's time for the character to come to an end, at least for me."
Actually, Sarah -- a three-time Emmy winner -- had a tough go-round this time on
General Hospital. She returned to a familiar setting, but instead of resuming the role she originated, Carly Corinthos, she was playing Mafia princess Claudia Zacchara. (Laura Wright is the current Carly.)
Continue reading Sarah Brown's out: will Claudia be killed off General Hospital?
Posted Sep 18th 2009 11:08AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: OpEd, Daytime, Reality-Free, TV Squad Ten
When
Guiding Light airs its final episode today, it won't just be the end of a remarkable television success story -- one that has endured on radio and TV for 72 years -- it will also lower the curtain on some of the most memorable characters ever. In the past 25 years that I've been watching
Guiding Light, I've had the pleasure of watching the likes of Michael Zaslow, Justin Deas,
Michelle Forbes and
Kim Zimmer portray some of those characters.
So, in honor of what
Guiding Light has achieved, the fabulous writers who have created these stories and characters, and in salute of all the wonderful actors who've brought them to life, here's
Guiding Light's 10 greatest characters from the past 25 years.
10. Josh Lewis (played by Robert Newman)
With the creation of Joshua, the Lewis family became a foundation in Springfield, as integral as the Bauers and the Spauldings, and Josh was the key. He started as a young, upstart oilman with a romantic streak and over time has morphed from a business tycoon to a minister. And through all the years, he's had one great love, Reva Shayne.
Continue reading TV Squad Ten: Guiding Light's greatest characters of the last 25 years
Posted Aug 31st 2009 9:29AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Food/Home/DIY, OpEd, Daytime, Celebrities, Awards, Emmys, Reality-Free
History was made at the
Daytime Emmys last night... twice.
The Bold and the Beautiful won as the top Daytime Drama and the hosts of
The View finally were winners. Good for
B&B, the last of the half-hour soaps, coming off a terrific year. And it was great for the ladies of
The View, who were probably starting to feel like getting the gold was an impossible dream. Unfortunately, they weren't there -- not one of them -- to accept.
However, amid the joyful wins and a jolly 40th anniversary salute to
Sesame Street, there was a sad quality to the Daytime Emmys. Perhaps it was the over-arching reality that daytime TV is struggling, a point made clear when Betty White hosted a farewell to
Guiding Light. No offense to the delightful Ms. White, but the salute was lackluster and hardly worthy of a show that has been broadcasting for 72 years! The cast appeared to receive a final ovation, but nobody spoke for the show.
Continue reading The sweet and bittersweet Daytime Emmys
Posted Aug 3rd 2009 11:27AM by Danny Gallagher
Filed under: Game Show, Pickups and Renewals, Reality-Free
Game show fanatics will be pleased to learn that network game shows are returning to daytime television. Finally, people who take actual sick days will have something else to look forward to other than another mind-bending dose of NyQuil.
CBS has confirmed they are replacing the outgoing
Guiding Light with a remake of the classic
Let's Make a Deal.
The ex-Tiffany network has already shot a test pilot of the updated show with smiling crooner Wayne Brady in the host's chair. Brady hasn't officially won the job, but he's the front-running favorite. CBS executives are expected to make Brady's deal official later today at
the Television Critics Association hoedown, unless, of course, he chooses to go for what's behind Door Number Two. Don't do it Wayne! It's just a lifetime supply of goat feed!
Continue reading CBS makes a deal for Let's Make a Deal with Wayne Brady
Posted Jul 28th 2009 2:30PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Industry, OpEd, Daytime, Watercooler Talk, Reality-Free
There will be no reprieve from the governor, no last minute miracle save. No, the end is approaching and
Guiding Light will stop filming the week of August 3. The CBS soap opera will air its last show on September 18, 2009, and the 72-year-long run of America's most enduring daytime drama will officially wrap.
Fans have been hoping that somehow, someway
Guiding Light would find a new home, but neither CBS nor Procter and Gamble have been able to save the show. Soapcentral.com has reported that efforts have been made to no avail. "We have not been able to secure an outlet to carry the show moving forward. We are extremely disappointed with this outcome, but we are confident we have exhausted every possible option," said TeleNext Media SVP Brian T. Cahill.
Continue reading The end is near for Guiding Light
Posted May 13th 2009 8:02AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Daytime, Casting, Reality-Free
You may think the soap world has thrown in the the towel because
72-year-old Guiding Light has been canceled, but think again. Daytime TV is buzzing along as usual, and that includes
The Bold & the Beautiful snagging three-time Emmy winner Rick Hearst from
General Hospital.
Hearst, who was facing the prospect of a demotion to recurring status (as opposed to a contract player), will return to
B&B as Whip Jones, a character he introduced and played for a brief stint in 2002.
Continue reading Three-time Emmy winner Rick Hearst jumps to Bold & the Beautiful
Posted Apr 7th 2009 12:02PM by Danny Gallagher
Filed under: Game Show, Pickups and Renewals, Reality-Free
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.
Continue reading Are more game shows headed to daytime? I hope so
Posted Apr 2nd 2009 9:45AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Pickups and Renewals, Breaking Bad, Reality-Free
Yesterday was a sad day for many TV fans.
Guiding Light was cancelled after 72 years of continuous broadcasting (radio and TV). Even people I know who don't watch soaps, were upset by the end of this program.
That said, it's with some real glee that I tell you that
AMC has picked up Breaking Bad for a third season. It's not just that the Vince Gilligan's show is one of the best dramas on television – it might be the best! – it's the fact that renewing the program for year number three restores my faith that idiosyncratic, unusual stories like
Breaking Bad can find a place to thrive and survive on the tube.
Continue reading Breaking Bad is renewed for a third season
Posted Apr 1st 2009 3:27PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Daytime, Cancellations, Reality-Free
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
Posted Mar 30th 2009 5:05PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Daytime, Reality-Free
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
Posted Mar 4th 2009 10:55AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: OpEd, Daytime, Reality-Free
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
Posted Mar 2nd 2009 2:04PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Daytime, Reality-Free, TV Squad Ten
Did you know that double Oscar winners Dustin Hoffman and Robert De Niro acted in soap operas? It's true. Many of today's biggest stars honed their craft by doing New York soaps like
As the World Turns and
Another World. Before she was
Buffy, the Vampire Slayer,
Sarah Michelle Gellar was Susan Lucci's daughter on
All My Children.
Hollywood soaps like
Days of Our Lives,
General Hospital, and
The Young and the Restless also produced stars.
Tom Selleck, for instance, was a
Y&R hunk before becoming
Magnum, P.I. There are a lot of current stars right now on hit shows who were daytime characters just a few years ago. After the jump, we count down the top ten primetime stars who started in soaps.
Continue reading TV Squad Ten: Primetime stars who started in soaps
Posted Jan 3rd 2009 11:03AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: OpEd, Daytime, Breaking Bad, Reality-Free
stills219-2.jpg)
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times ... and a lot of it happened right on our TV screens. As we look forward to 2009, here's one more glimpse back at what was good and what was really NOT in the year gone by.
Overall, it seems like the Writer's Strike really hurt the business. Shows that might have survived, didn't. New shows have been stuck in development longer than usual. But despite all that, there were moments that were thrilling, shows that are terrific ... and those that weren't.
Continue reading Best and Worst of 2008: Allison's list
Posted Oct 1st 2008 8:41AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: OpEd, Ratings, Reality-Free
Did you see
Mad Men recently? As part of Harry's creating a TV division at the Sterling Cooper ad agency, he was made responsible for screening scripts of TV fare so that the content pleased/satisfied/supported the advertisers' desires. Interestingly, it was Joan -- the office manager/head secretary -- who was given the scripts to read and her main focus of
As the World Turns.
She became completely engrossed in the 1962 Oakdale story in which a character came to from a coma with a new personality. Her enthusiasm for the soap story convinced the advertisers to back
As the World Turns rather than
Love of Life, another CBS soap at the time.
Mad Men was historically accurate about
As the World Turns. It was the top-rated soap opera for 20 years -- 1958-1978 -- and in 1962 (the year in which
Mad Men is currently set),
ATWT had increased its share from 47.7 to 53.7 in just a year. It was the soap on the rise and over half all TVs on in daytime were watching this CBS soap.
Continue reading TV Squad Soap Report: SOAPnet's boom and a Mad Men memory
Next Page >
The TV Squad Podcast: Linda Purl talks about The Office, we talk spoilers, and more
Ask TV Squad: Ghost Whisperer and more!
The TV Squad Podcast: Bill Scheft of The Late Show, Cake Boss, Mad Men and more
