I was on the CBS website trying to open a video of today's episode of The Bold and the Beautiful. I clicked and was taken to some sort of CBS news page. There, smack dab in the middle of the page was the As the World Turns logo and the headline: "As The World Turns to Broadcast Its Final Episode." CBS has decided not to renew ATWT for the 2010-2011 season.
Guiding Light's cancellation made headlines because it was the longest running broadcast show in television (+ radio) history. ATWT was not on the air as long, but for some reason today's announcement makes me more upset than GL's cancellation. As I wrote previously, GL died for me a long time ago. I still had some hope for ATWT. It hasn't completely gone off the rails, although it has been pretty bad at times. ATWT was at one time quintessential soap opera: families, friends, love, and drama. Both GL and ATWT had great stories when Douglas Marland was head writer for them (at different times).
My favorite storylines on ATWT were the Doug Cummings stalker/murder mystery and Lily and Holden's star-crossed romance.
A side note: Helen Wagner (Nancy Hughes) was the first person to speak on the first episode of ATWT and has played the same character on the same television show for almost 54 years--a record.
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Thursday, November 26, 2009
This and That
Hi All:
Just a few tidbits as an excuse for a post. I'm finding it hard to maintain this blog for a few reasons--time being only one of them. Another reason for not writing is that I can't bring myself to write about the major story of this year, the cancellation of Guiding Light. I remember watching GL with my grandmother in the late 1970s and continuing to watch long after she passed away. Can't lie though: I hated the show it had become long before the new production model. There wasn't really a last straw moment, but I found that the show was no longer interesting, especially as the Bauers disappeared and gangsters were featured as viable love interests.
There are several great posts about the demise of GL at the blog A Thousand Other Worlds, with this one coming closest to how I feel. I remember hearing about the possibility that GL would be canceled way back in the 1990s and thinking, "What? No way!" The talk died down for a time, so I pretty much forgot about it until more rumors surfaced in the last couple of years that both As the World Turns and GL were likely to be canceled whenever the contracts with CBS ended. While I am still stunned about the cancellation, GL died for me a long, long time before September 18, 2009.
Martha Byrne (formerly Lily on ATWT) is one of the main movers behind the new internet soap Gotham the Series. The first episode debuted November 23rd. So far, so good. I can't find it now of course, but I vaguely remember that Martha said on Facebook that new episodes would be posted every other Monday, which means that the next episode should be available on December 7th. Lisa Brown is the director, and the series' stars include Martha, Michael Park, Anne Sayre, and Maeve Kinkead.
Soap Opera Digest reports in its December 8th issue that General Hospital's cast and crew have been asked not to seek autographs from or pictures with movie star James Franco, who is currently playing a new mysterious character on the show. I don't know if the edict is from the actor himself or some well-meaning but misguided person at GH. Either way, it shows disrespect for the cast and crew.
I've been taking lunch at 1:00 p.m. or later most days and sometimes catching parts of The Bold and the Beautiful. Although I've followed B&B in the magazines, I've never really been a fan of the show. From what little I've seen of the show lately, it appears that a potentially good story could be brewing with newlyweds Katie and Bill, Katie's sister Brooke, and perpetually unlucky in love Steffy.
Seems that Bill and Steffy shared a kiss or two (or more?) not long before his wedding to Katie. Brooke found out. Bill tried to brush off the meaning of the kiss. Brooke is not satisfied with his responses and continues to grill Bill. (Sorry, couldn't resist.) Sure, Brooke is the last person on the show who has any right to take the moral high ground, but there are the bones of a good story here: devoted sister struggles with whether she should keep mum or tell what she knows. Bill and Steffy could be headed for a forbidden romance, which could be good with a slow build. And Katie, who doesn't deserve it, is probably headed for heartbreak. If the story is allowed to build, with credible reasons given for Bill straying and Brooke keeping mum, and a real, heartstoppingly good romance for Steffy and Bill, I'm all for it.
Soap Blog Spotlight: Serial Drama by Mallory Harlen and Becca Thomas, who also write the "My Take" and "My Take Too" columns in Soap Opera Digest.
Just a few tidbits as an excuse for a post. I'm finding it hard to maintain this blog for a few reasons--time being only one of them. Another reason for not writing is that I can't bring myself to write about the major story of this year, the cancellation of Guiding Light. I remember watching GL with my grandmother in the late 1970s and continuing to watch long after she passed away. Can't lie though: I hated the show it had become long before the new production model. There wasn't really a last straw moment, but I found that the show was no longer interesting, especially as the Bauers disappeared and gangsters were featured as viable love interests.
There are several great posts about the demise of GL at the blog A Thousand Other Worlds, with this one coming closest to how I feel. I remember hearing about the possibility that GL would be canceled way back in the 1990s and thinking, "What? No way!" The talk died down for a time, so I pretty much forgot about it until more rumors surfaced in the last couple of years that both As the World Turns and GL were likely to be canceled whenever the contracts with CBS ended. While I am still stunned about the cancellation, GL died for me a long, long time before September 18, 2009.
Martha Byrne (formerly Lily on ATWT) is one of the main movers behind the new internet soap Gotham the Series. The first episode debuted November 23rd. So far, so good. I can't find it now of course, but I vaguely remember that Martha said on Facebook that new episodes would be posted every other Monday, which means that the next episode should be available on December 7th. Lisa Brown is the director, and the series' stars include Martha, Michael Park, Anne Sayre, and Maeve Kinkead.
Soap Opera Digest reports in its December 8th issue that General Hospital's cast and crew have been asked not to seek autographs from or pictures with movie star James Franco, who is currently playing a new mysterious character on the show. I don't know if the edict is from the actor himself or some well-meaning but misguided person at GH. Either way, it shows disrespect for the cast and crew.
I've been taking lunch at 1:00 p.m. or later most days and sometimes catching parts of The Bold and the Beautiful. Although I've followed B&B in the magazines, I've never really been a fan of the show. From what little I've seen of the show lately, it appears that a potentially good story could be brewing with newlyweds Katie and Bill, Katie's sister Brooke, and perpetually unlucky in love Steffy.
Seems that Bill and Steffy shared a kiss or two (or more?) not long before his wedding to Katie. Brooke found out. Bill tried to brush off the meaning of the kiss. Brooke is not satisfied with his responses and continues to grill Bill. (Sorry, couldn't resist.) Sure, Brooke is the last person on the show who has any right to take the moral high ground, but there are the bones of a good story here: devoted sister struggles with whether she should keep mum or tell what she knows. Bill and Steffy could be headed for a forbidden romance, which could be good with a slow build. And Katie, who doesn't deserve it, is probably headed for heartbreak. If the story is allowed to build, with credible reasons given for Bill straying and Brooke keeping mum, and a real, heartstoppingly good romance for Steffy and Bill, I'm all for it.
Soap Blog Spotlight: Serial Drama by Mallory Harlen and Becca Thomas, who also write the "My Take" and "My Take Too" columns in Soap Opera Digest.
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Guiding Light Canceled!
I was working on another story to jumpstart this blog, but no story is bigger than this one. No story will be bigger than this in 2009, I can pretty much guarantee that. After 72 years, Guiding Light, formerly The Guiding Light, will stop airing on CBS as of Sept. 18, 2009. Announcing the cancellation of the world's longest running broadcast show on April Fools' Day lent a touch of the surreal to it.
According to a story on Soap Central, Procter & Gamble is looking into internet and/or cable options to keep the show alive. It is a shame that CBS wasn't willing or able to let the show reach its 75th anniversary as a broadcast series.
I can't say that I was loyal to Guiding Light to the bitter end. After having followed the show for years, I gave up on it years ago, around the time that the Santos family and their mob antics took over the show. I catch a few minutes of it here and there if I have a day off work, or an unusually late lunch break, but I don't consider GL to be must-see TV anymore. The obvious implication is this: if Guiding Light, a show with a rich, literally storied, history, can be canceled, no soap is safe. The other shows hoverning near the bottom of the ratings have to be in danger, also. How long will they be able to hang on?
I loved GL back in the day, however. I raced home from school to watch Eve, Ross, Amanda, Ben, Alan, Nola, Kelly, Morgan, Rita, Roger, Holly, the Bauers, et al. Later, I loved Eleni, Frank, Alan-Michael, Harley, Phillip, Rick, Beth, Mindy. GL is not the show it once was, but I never quite believed the long-standing rumors of its cancellation. No, no, they couldn't cancel Guiding Light. Another World, Sunset Beach, Passions, okay. Well, it was not okay to cancel AW, but it was at least somewhat understandable. But GL, by virtue of its longevity seemed to be protected. Sure, CBS would blow smoke, but they would never actually go through with it. At least, that is what I'd always thought. Silly me. Thanks for the memories, Guiding Light.
I've found a petition to keep the show on the air. There are probably others. I will try to update in the next few days.
According to a story on Soap Central, Procter & Gamble is looking into internet and/or cable options to keep the show alive. It is a shame that CBS wasn't willing or able to let the show reach its 75th anniversary as a broadcast series.
I can't say that I was loyal to Guiding Light to the bitter end. After having followed the show for years, I gave up on it years ago, around the time that the Santos family and their mob antics took over the show. I catch a few minutes of it here and there if I have a day off work, or an unusually late lunch break, but I don't consider GL to be must-see TV anymore. The obvious implication is this: if Guiding Light, a show with a rich, literally storied, history, can be canceled, no soap is safe. The other shows hoverning near the bottom of the ratings have to be in danger, also. How long will they be able to hang on?
I loved GL back in the day, however. I raced home from school to watch Eve, Ross, Amanda, Ben, Alan, Nola, Kelly, Morgan, Rita, Roger, Holly, the Bauers, et al. Later, I loved Eleni, Frank, Alan-Michael, Harley, Phillip, Rick, Beth, Mindy. GL is not the show it once was, but I never quite believed the long-standing rumors of its cancellation. No, no, they couldn't cancel Guiding Light. Another World, Sunset Beach, Passions, okay. Well, it was not okay to cancel AW, but it was at least somewhat understandable. But GL, by virtue of its longevity seemed to be protected. Sure, CBS would blow smoke, but they would never actually go through with it. At least, that is what I'd always thought. Silly me. Thanks for the memories, Guiding Light.
I've found a petition to keep the show on the air. There are probably others. I will try to update in the next few days.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
