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.
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.)
Let's get the bad out of the way right at the top: no clips or retrospective?
It would have been nice to have a montage of past Guiding Light characters. After all, the show has been on TV since 1952, so why not take a little trip down video memory lane? It was fun to see all of the openings they've used over the decades at the start of the show (in reverse order), but it would have been good to see something at the end of the show to bookend it instead of a "The End" and then a commercial and the Tele-Next logo. Seemed kinda odd.
However, that didn't ruin the episode itself, which turned out to be everything that GL fans could have wanted and more.
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.
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.
Guiding Light ends this Friday. I'll have a full review up after the episode airs, but I thought this would be a good time to show not how it ends but how each episode began. Here are some of the many opening credits that the show has had over the past six decades.
The show started on TV in 1952 (from radio). Here's the 1953 opening:
A couple of weeks ago at the Daytime Emmy Awards, there was a special tribute to Guiding Light, ending its 72 year run (on radio starting in 1937, TV since 1952) next Friday. Due to time, the network couldn't show the entire tribute video from the ceremony. Here it is.
I think there's too much emphasis on recent characters, but that's just an old fogey talking I guess, and there are some great classic scenes too (for a fan, this video could be an hour long and we wouldn't complain). I love that they included Charita Bauer and Chris Bernau, the original (and best) Alan Spaulding.
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.
A lot of Guiding Light fans are entranced by Otalia. That's not a butter substitute, it's the "Brangelina-ish" name that fans have given to Olivia and Natalia, the lesbian couple played by Crystal Chappell and Jessica Leccia. Fans won't be able to see that couple anymore, since Guiding Light will air its last episode ever on September 18. But the actresses have decided to keep the storyline alive on the web.
Imagine if, at the end of the 10-year run of Friends, Rachel ended up marrying Paul Rudd's character.
Doesn't make much sense, does it? But that's pretty much what's happening these days on Guiding Light, as it heads toward its last episode ever next month. The long romance of Reva Shayne and Josh Lewis - something that has been simmering off and on for over 25 years - has pretty much been over for a while.
But I thought that, since the show was ending, they'd start wrapping up classic storylines and actually get Reva and Josh together forever, to please fans of the show. It doesn't look like that's going to happen.
In fact, the opposite seems to be in the minds of the writers.
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!
I've been a strong believer in bringing game shows back to daytime television. If soap operas continue to die, I certainly want to see game shows in there instead of another daytime talk show about nuns who cheat on their transvestite cousins.
When it was announced that Guiding Light wouldn't be coming back, it was rumored that game shows might be taking its place on the CBS lineup. Now it looks like that's true.
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.
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.
They were going on the various rides, eating giant chicken legs, squirting each other with big water guns, and shooting colored balls at each other, all the while holding hands and getting all kissy (I swear there was even a scene of them getting their pictures taken in one of those photo booths).
What is this big promotion that the show and CBS is doing for Universal Studios?
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. 
It's a tough day for Daytime Emmy-winning divas. It's the 
Let's get the bad out of the way right at the top: no clips or retrospective?
When 
History was made at the 
A lot of Guiding Light fans are entranced by Otalia. That's not a butter substitute, it's the "Brangelina-ish" name that fans have given to Olivia and Natalia, the lesbian couple played by Crystal Chappell and Jessica Leccia. Fans won't be able to see that couple anymore, since 
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. 
I've been a strong believer in bringing game shows back to daytime television. If soap operas continue to die, I certainly want to see game shows in there instead of another daytime talk show about nuns who cheat on their transvestite cousins. 
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