The Light goes out

Posted Thursday, April 2, 2009, at 12:55 AM

The Guinness Book of World Records has it cited as the longest running television drama. It began as a 15-minute serial on NBC Radio on Jan. 25, 1937 and debuted on CBS TV in 1952. Depicted are the fictional town of Springfield and the Spaulding, Lewis and Cooper families.

"Guiding Light" was recently cut by CBS, with the final episode to air Sept. 18. The Associated Press reported, "Guiding Light had the lowest ratings of the eight daytime dramas on the air."

In addition to the tough competition of soaps such as "Young and the Restless," daytime dramas have been in a slow decline in popularity since their primary audience -- women -- has gone back to work.

Since I am among women who work a full-time job, I catch episodes of my favorite soap, "Young and the Restless," by recording them on the DVR. It gives me the freedom to watch them at my leisure.

"Young and the Restless" has been the number one daytime drama for more than 20 years. When the show premiered in 1973, it revolutionized the daytime drama.

Y&R revolves around the lives and loves of a wide variety of characters mingled through the generations, dominated by the Newman, Abbott, Chancellor, Baldwin and Winters families.

But pulling the plug on "Guiding Light's" 72-year run leaves CBS and ABC with three soap operas and NBC with one.

The fate of "Guiding Light" does not surprise me. I am not a loyal viewer, but noticed the quality had gone down.

AP stated, "Faced with extinction a year ago, (the show) significantly revamped its operations. It ditched its fixed three-camera set in favor of portable cameras. The move saved money and provided the show with a look of reality shows younger viewers are accustomed to."

Count me out. And it didn't work for CBS either.

Apparently Proctor & Gamble Productions hasn't given up hope. It says there are no plans to ditch the storyline, but will explore various other ways to keep it going.

It seems "Guiding Light" has been dealt the same destiny as good shows such as "Dallas," "Falcon Crest," "Dynasty" and "Knots Landing."

So, we say goodbye to "Guiding Light" and good luck to its cast and crew, who found they were out of a job Wednesday.

It's as the English Proverb goes, "All good things must come to an end."

Comments
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Soap Operas are a wasted of good TV time and people's time during the day. They are as worthless as another cheezy talk show like Jerry Springer. I remember a time when game shows dominated the daytime tv lineup.

-- Posted by purple_heat on Thu, Apr 2, 2009, at 3:45 PM

Soaps gives women an escape from the the real world even if it is only for an hour. 1 hour of a fantasy filled with a man who would do anything for you and love you no matter what and shower you with kisses from head to toe and tells you how much you mean to him looking you straight in eye.

No, it is not a waste of t.v., it is a marriage saver.

-- Posted by mad-mom on Fri, Apr 3, 2009, at 6:45 AM

If a marriage has to be dependent on a daytime soap opera, what does that really say about the marriage?

-- Posted by purple_heat on Fri, Apr 3, 2009, at 8:29 PM

Maybe for some women, the reality of their life is a little more difficult than yours. To some poeple it is a waste of time, they don't get the "soap bug". For others, not only is it an escape from reality, but it's also a chance to bond with someone. Take my mother and I for instance. My mother and I usually never see eye to eye about anything. But when she quit work for a while, I would come home to a tv that had guiding light on it and my mother watching intently. I grew up to watching that and because of a little soap opera we finally had something we both liked. I think that GL gave me and my mother a chance to stop the bickering and just relax together. Now, we (including my dad) watch Young and the Restless while we eat dinner. We all have busy schedules, but YandR gives us a time to be together for once and all agree on something to watch.

So all in all, I believe soap operas are a good thing. They help bored housewives, tired workers, and even families to fall into something more hectic and more dramatic than their day-to-day boring lives. So they aren't just used to escape from reality, but for some people to bond.

-- Posted by lolsp on Tue, Apr 21, 2009, at 4:32 PM

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Shannen Hayes

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Shannen Hayes is the newest addition to the Banner Graphic staff. She joined us on Oct. 13, 2008.

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