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.