July 6, 2009
People have been discussing, wondering and predicting how GUIDING LIGHT should end on CBS. While I'm still quite optimistic that GL will live on in some form past September 18, here are my thoughts. These plotlines are all my personal hopes or wishes, and cover a large number of the characters (including a few of my longtime favorites). I'm not mentioning Jeffrey, as his future's up in the air, and I'm leaving the Jeva story a little open.

HOW I'D LIKE TO SEE THE LIGHT GO OUT

Reva finds a novel Coop was writing about his town, which he jokingly called "Springfield: The Musical," and combines the book with her occasionally shown musical talents to create a major song-and-dance stage show about the town's history. I would like to see every GL actor who can, or desires to, sing to perform a full song, and blow off the residents' and viewers' socks. Kim Zimmer, Ron Raines, Robert Newman, Mandy Bruno, Paul Anthony Stewart (Reva, Alan, Josh, Marina, Danny)…everyone. The country-singing Billy/Ray/Cyrus group is surprisingly good, as is the beat-boxing Blake Lewis, now Josh's wife.

Several couples — from Bill and Lizzie to Christina and Remy — supply the beautiful (and often funny) dance performances, headed up by Olivia (who said she can tango, and is a revelation) and Natalia. The show proves to be a wild success and becomes a national tour, starring Reva and many Springfielders, starting in New Jersey and called "Lighting Up America...Always." Josh, who still loves Reva, is along for the ride...

Harley returns...on a motorbike. She is once again portrayed by Beth Ehlers, who will be busy (see below). When Cassie returns, Harley forgives her for her tryst with Cyrus, and both women's now-grown kids, including Jude and RJ, form a band for the tour. Harley and Cassie share laughs with their old friend Blake as they both give the new Ms. Lewis romantic pointers on Josh, who rolls his eyes...then shifts them to Reva.

Doris approves the first Springfield pride parade, and Olivia and Natalia sit in the lead car, which two young guys from Oakdale drive. When Turbo, a brand-new Springfield resident whose mom lives in town, blasts into the celebration in a red Ferrari, the women wonder why he only stares at the guys. Dinah lightly flirts with him anyway, to Shayne's chagrin.

Eleni returns to and remarries a joyous Frank. I'd like my favorite (not the "real" one, but the best one, in my opinion) Alan-Michael, Rick Hearst, to return, and reveal that he has reunited with Lucy (they had divorced, but still cared for each other). The couple makes the surprise announcement that they just had two daughters, and they're naming them Charita and Beverlee. The unique names just came to them. They hired the former Spaulding maid, wild Ginger (Allison Janney), as their lovable nanny. Ginger suddenly falls for Hawk...and Buzz, who's still Lillian's guy.

Johnny and Roxie return; she has dealt with her psychological problems, thanks to psychiatrist Sonni, who also visits the town and gives everyone a chance to talk about their lives and loves in private, flashback-filled therapy sessions. Bridget Reardon returns to shake up Springfield (her son Peter, a grown man by now, is traveling the world). On her first evening in town, Bridget creates another blackout with her hair dryer, MP3 player and cell phone charger. In a dark playground, she meets the secretly visiting Jonathan, who has lit a small fire so that little Sarah can see. It's kismet — Jonathan and Bridget immediately fall in love, and Tammy's ghost appears to tell Jonathan, "You can love her with the lights on…and off." Her ghost joins a smiling Coop's spirit, hand in hand. Then Dylan suddenly shows up, and Jonathan introduces Bridget to his brother. Uh-oh — she already knows Dylan well…

And I'd like this to be the last moment: Holly and Fletcher Reade return to The Springfield Journal, and their child (Meg, now a teen), Holly's daughter Blake (who created SpringfieldBurns.com), and Vanessa, Dinah and Ashlee (and everyone else from WSPR) restart the Journal as a multifaceted Webzine called SpringfieldRemembers.com. The last few minutes feature every Springfield resident standing in a large room at WSPR, beaming with pride and looking at a computer screen with photos and YouTube-like "flashbacks" (that appear on our full TV screen). The camera pans to a large headline that reads, "Springfield Enters the Future." Then the screen turns black-and-white, and we realize it's all on a B&W TV watched by a seated, shadowy figure. The figure is revealed to be former head writer Irna Phillips (played again by Ehlers), who stands up, smiles and walks away, as a nearby radio announcer softly intones into his microphone, "There is a destiny that makes us brothers...."

I'd like to close this blog post with words from a Weekly reader.

Marc,

Your June 9th blog was so timely and very, very well-done. I am a GUIDING LIGHT fan from when I was a little girl (I'm 47 now). The show is really humming along right now and has kept me constantly entertained. I read the synopses of all the shows, even though I only watch GL and AS THE WORLD TURNS. There are no longer that many constants in our American way of life. GL and soap operas in general have been that constant. Soap operas cut along generational lines. I can remember my late grandmother hexing Roger Thorpe and calling my mother when she got home from work to tell her what he had been up to. Even my ex-husband (who was subjected to my taping of shows) remembers Josh and Reva, and I named my son after one of my favorite actors, Jordan Clarke (Billy). He wouldn't let me use Clarke for the middle name, though. My son is 15 and knows this. I have told him, "Your namesake has won an Emmy, as well." My daughter, who is a new mother herself, remembers how much she loved Harley when she was a little girl, and always wanted to see what she was up to. She tried watching Beth Ehlers on ALL MY CHILDREN (as Taylor), but it wasn't the same as watching her as Harley. I have such fond memories of the storylines and the characters of GL.

I do not have cable, but would subscribe if GL went to cable. My children are praying that it does.

Just my two cents, and thank you again for the wonderful blog that you posted. It did my heart good to read it. Keep up the good work.

Sincerely,

Sharon Schiller Fusco

June 19, 2009
How did you find out about GUIDING LIGHT ending? A friend informed me, "It's over." I knew right away what that person meant, and was saddened, to say the least.

But people should stop saying it's over. The soap is still airing, and inarguably better than it has been in several years. As Victoria Platt (ex-Vicky) told me at June 6's Brooklyn softball game (and this was quite fitting because baseball player Yogi Berra once said it), "It ain't over till it's over."

There are many, many actors who starred on GL and are now all around daytime. I'm not even going to try to list them all here, but Laura Wright is a standout. From 1997 to 2005, she rocked as Cassie (yes, a former stripper with a heart of gold, who was revealed to be Reva's sister) and has been phenomenal...phe-nom-en-al as GENERAL HOSPITAL's Carly, giving her worlds of depth, sensitivity and moxie. Yes, I watch GH, too, and will continue to watch it. I'll probably get back into DAYS OF OUR LIVES, which will feature Crystal Chappell (Olivia) as Carly (hey, look, another Carly). As for how I feel about Chappell, who has always been gracious to me at GL events, leaving the show...I'm thrilled! Not only will she go "home" (where she portrayed the character from 1990 to 1993), but many followers of the wonderfully moving Olivia/Natalia love story will probably watch DAYS after GL wraps up its CBS era. In fact, I wager that any hour now, some GL fans are already trying the NBC soap.

To quote OPRAH designer Nate Berkus' boyfriend Fernando Bengoechea before he perished in 2004's Asian tsunami, "It's not over." (For another moving love story, look into that one.) Because there are assuredly many more smiles and surprises in store for LIGHT-lovers, it is not over.

So how did you find out the LIGHT is going out on CBS? Please e-mail me at GLeditor@soapoperaweekly.com or just post a comment here.

But first, be sure to hug or call your dad if you can, as Father's Day is this Sunday. Have a happy one.

June 9, 2009
If you ask a car full of Manhattan subway commuters what's on their minds, it's probably keeping their hands clean and headphones on, and reaching their destination on time. Few if any of the hundred or so people standing, sitting and shoving in the car would be concerned about the state of daytime television or that GUIDING LIGHT's ride on CBS is ending in September. But there are millions of people who do care, and one of the few positive sides of the current situation is that many — including new viewers — are talking and e-mailing about GL. Because of this, any hour now, someone somewhere is clicking on the LIGHT for the first time, so here are a few (just a few) things the show has been doing right, which should help make sure those newbies keep watching.

Realistic relationships. It was amazing that Dinah showed Shayne little Henry's DNA test results very soon after receiving them, eschewing the standard two months of lies. Their beautiful connection has largely been about truth, and helping each other face the consequences of being honest, as she publicly revealed her part in Lizzie's kidnapping and he told Marina that he's Henry's dad. They are far from just talk, and still smoldered after his confession to his ex, when he told Dinah in a parking lot, "I want you loud. I want you crazy. And I want you right now." The Olivia/Natalia relationship is wonderfully realistic, in large part because it's been taking its time. This is how people fall in love...gradually, warmly, and while sharing a couch and (as they did on June 9) a kitchen, not a heated-up bed. You knew Remy and Christina would go from WWI ("wed while intoxicated") to real love, but again, GL took months to make us believe in them instead of taking any predictable shortcuts. And if you haven't "gotten" Bizzie yet, it's definitely time to try GL's most entertaining couple as Bill and Lizzie's wedding approaches. Yes, Daniel Cosgrove and Marcy Rylan's talent and chemistry are enchanting, but it's the steps the scribes have painstakingly taken to give them depth, humor (loads of it) and passion that make the characters so fun to watch. To wax hyperbolic as Bill might, their Universal trip warmed my heart like the Florida sun.

Fun families. Phillip's Spaulding family works wildly well together, and fairly new cast member Zack Conroy (James) remarkably looks and sounds like his TV dad, Grant Aleksander (Phillip). I noticed this when Phillip recently caught a dressed-up James before his "date" with a potential financial scheme victim and Daisy. This summer, we're getting Ed (Peter Simon) back, along with Michelle and Danny (Nancy St. Alban and Paul Anthony Stewart), so the beloved Bauers should get some well-deserved spotlight time. The Lewises offer a hearty combo of resilience, familial devotion and laughs (we do need more Josh/Billy scenes, though). The Coopers made it through the heartbreaking tragedy of Coop's death (plus Frank's memorable non-wedding to Natalia, which featured Doris' hilarious stall tactics) and persevered; I'm glad Marina took over Company, which has heavy history. On that note...

Use of history. Every single GL episode features at least one scene, a line or a story that celebrates (or pokes fun at) Springfield's enormous past. Having started watching it in 1980, I officially became hooked on the soap during the Four Musketeers' original 1983 prom, so I found this year's Phillip/Beth/Rick/Mindy reunion to be heavenly. More than 25 years after their surprise New York kiss, I still want Rick and Mindy to restart their romance.

Use of New Jersey. "Whaa-aat? GL has used Jersey well?" That question would likely be asked by viewers who only watched the first few weeks of the Peapack era (which launched in February 2008), along with non-viewers who have only heard that the show's look changed and maybe people who simply don't have a New Jersey state of mind. It honestly took me months to get used to the revamped show, having expected from the promos that it would have a daytime DAWSON'S CREEK/O.C. feel (which I thought would've worked well). It didn't exactly take that path, but it found an even better one, and I felt like I was watching a real town when Shayne made his own state of mind clear to Dinah by parking his car on train tracks, in a brilliant scene. The fact that she didn't jump out of the car as the train approached proved her trust, and interest, in him, while it clarified his need for an adrenaline rush. It was all displayed in an "on location" way that many soaps might not find cost-effective. Remy's friends and family recently celebrating his rejoining the police force outside, then watching Mallet help a handcuffed Reva exit a car was another well-produced, realistic moment.

You cannot possibly please all the people all the time, but from what I've read in Weekly's Public Opinion section and heard from fans in person (and via e-mail; I'm at GLeditor@soapoperaweekly.com), GL is on the right track as far as many of its longtime, loyal viewers are concerned, and because there are still at least a few months left in the soap's journey, this is the perfect time for new "passengers" to climb aboard.

May 26, 2009
As a loyal, 29-year GUIDING LIGHT viewer and Soap Opera Weekly's point person for the show, I have quite a bit to say about it. Practically everyone is blogging these days (Would Rain Man blog? He'd love it!), so here I go. You can expect me to voice my thoughts on my favorite soap (GL, natch) and many other daytime and prime-time offerings.

I'm amazed at how people are rallying around GL, and while many are simply stating it should be saved, many others are noting how wonderful the show is now. Whether they're thrilled about Otalia's burgeoning romance or asking for Shayne to take back his son Henry, they agree with me that it's an amazing, highly entertaining era for GL.

Speaking of rallying, it was definitely on the early side, but I was glad to be part of the pleasant, memorable Save the Light rally in Manhattan on the morning of May 22. Outside CBS' EARLY SHOW studios, approximately 30 easygoing people gathered to tell New Yorkers (and anyone viewing the morning show who happened to see the participants' signs, which did show up during the broadcast) that GL should stick around in some form past its final CBS airdate, Sept. 18.

Fans met each other and discussed the show, including their wanting soap enthusiasts to know that GL has vastly improved since its production moved to Peapack, N.J., and not to judge the soap by February 2008's shaky-camera days. While one devout GL fan met a ONE LIFE TO LIVE viewer who just wanted to support soaps in general, other viewers learned from each other (One asked, "Blake is Roger Thorpe's daughter?"). As people in our efficiently barricaded section wondered which musician was visiting THE EARLY SHOW (it happened to be Kanye West), a larger question loomed: how to boost GL's Nielsen ratings, and make the show look more viable to other prospective networks.

Organizer Karen Oswald noted, "People are taking pictures of themselves and sending them to our Web site (savethelightrally.com). [The rallies don't] just have to be today, because we have a little time." She will gladly give assistance and advice to viewers interested in launching their own local events; just drop her a line at Karen@savethelightrally.com. Oswald suggested, "Even if you're having a barbecue, [with] friends over for a good time, Save the Light: That's your theme."

I'll turn over the rest of my initial post to a trio of devoted GL fans. Karen Hawkins, who has been watching the show for 37 years and drove eight hours from Virginia Beach, Va., recalled that her late grandmother, Lillie, routinely sat down her in front of the TV and watched GL with her. "Phillip and Beth [in New York City] probably got me hooked, and it [became] a part of me," Hawkins stated, adding the sentiment many attendees shared that morning: "This isn't [just] a show; it's family. This is the last living thing that I still share with [my grandmother]," whom she would call during school lunches for updates. A friend she had hooked on GL through the Olivia/Natalia story called her last month with the cancellation news, which many LIGHT-lovers agree arrived at an ironic time, as Hawkins notes: "GUIDING LIGHT is probably, writing-wise, at the best it's been in years. Nothing seems rushed, and everything seems authentic and real." The gradual, realistic building of Olivia and Natalia's relationship, which has focussed on the love between the two women without a need for regular kisses and "typical" love scenes, won over several attendees.

Margie LaSala, who had left Albany with Rhonda Carmen and Miriam Helfer at 2 a.m. and driven down to Manhattan, raved, "It's even got the best name in the world: GUIDING LIGHT. What more do you want?" LaSala noted that she has been watching the 72-year-old soap since its 15 minutes/black-and-white TV era (which lasted from 1952 to 1967, when it was first broadcast in color).

I also met H.B. Boyd — proud holder of the "You do not let a TV classic die!" sign, which was classic itself — whose late grandmother, Lucille, used to watch GL with him. Boyd said, "She raised me, [and that] was always what we watched. I can't imagine TV without it." He added, "We already went through the ANOTHER WORLD debacle; we can't do that again."

Hopefully, just like this rally brought encouragement to its participants and people across the nation who have learned about it, we'll receive another round of encouraging news about GL. Who knows? It could happen...any hour now.