DC #387: Guiding Light Is Canceled

J.B.!! good to hear you on the podcast! ;p
(So very sad your 1st time was under such crappy circumstances).

---------------
I will miss you GL... I hope you can find a new home.

It is very upseting killing off soaps like that the past few years.They are complaining about younger people not watching them.Well maybe if they wrote better storylines and spent some time promoting these shows it could make a difference!The same writers jumping from soap to soap all these years what can you expect?The only soap worth watching right now is the young and the restless!MAB is doing a marvelous job and I can't wait to watch the next ep!
Isn't that what is all about?To make viwers addicted to the shows?Well if you give the same thing over and over and over again(aka BB)what do you expect?Wake up people this genre has a huge fan base who just got tired of seeing their favourite characters being mistreated for at least one decade!
If BB expands to 1 hour maybe we can see serious sl's for Leslie Kay and the other actors that just fill the room when Ron moss and Hunter Tylo are "acting".Rick and Steffy the new Brooke and Ridge?Pewk!
Or maybe bring more characters,old characters to the show!Oedipus was a very nice greek tragedy but how many times can you serve that plate?Apparently when it comes to Bradley Bell for at least 16 years!
Get serious people and respect the job that you do!It's not the viwers it's not the actors,it's the WRITERS!

Just listened to the podcast and we need to get rid of Jill Farren Phelps.I remember when she was at oltl she was the one who got rid of robin strasser.Im still holding out hope cbs expand b&b to an hour.Thinking of ways to improve current soaps amc should try to lure winsor washam back

luke soapnet is reporting that atwts did indeed get a 1 year renewal

So what's next? Meet the Press?

Irma Philips would take this in stride. She would evaluate the situation and figure out what was best. Internet might be an option she would look at, but I don't think so. It's not streamlined enough to line up advertisers. Networks and cable have Nielsen to line up advertisers. She probably would not see any value in moving the show to cable as it is either, because like high speed internet, not enough people have it and never will. I think her only move would be to shorten the show to cut cost and maybe then make the move to cable if a network wouldn't pick it up. Speaking of cutting cost, she would of let the show be cancelled before sacrificing story. That's why people watch and she would see no need to continue without story. She might of done the production move, if it meant keeping the show on for a long time. Leaving the show looking like it is and dropping the ball on story and it going away would be a failure to Irma. It would of been embarrassing.

I've wondered why more people didn't filter down from primetime and movies to soaps. It's like soaps are a faternity you only get in by pleaging yourself to it. Maybe others can tell me differently. I can only think of Hogan Shaffer when I think of someone that did movies and then did soaps.

And I think there is something fundamentally wrong with network executives. Why did they quit the primetime way with daytime? Back in the day, if a soap didn't cut it, another one took its place. I suppose the primetime way isn't the primetime way anymore either. CBS should be called the Walmart network, instead of the Tiffany network (or maybe the Cosco network).

And I think ensamble casts would be best. Writing for just one character seems to be wrong on so many levels. The most important of which it shows laziness by the writers, which people get bored with. yeah, this creates superstars and that creates a situation where you have to pay them or they won't stay and they might not even stay, because movies pay more and you have to bring them back if they are avalible, because then they are so intricle. The laziness thing seems more conterproductive to me though, because a superstar might bring ratings and more money can pay them (though the ratings might not go up enough).

Good podcast. I guess not watching GL much in the past two years makes it going not that big of a deal to me. Dare I say no St. Rapist is a good thing?

ALso, I know it's conspiracy, but I heard no mention of ATWT being a package deal with GL by P&G, which is rumor. The conspiracy is I think ATWT won't be around either after Sept. 18, because making it a package deal means CBS can turn them both down and that's what P&G ultimately wants. Maybe they can be both cut to a half an hour of something and that's what this is all about.

there is such deep truth here.

& so many lessons to be learned.

gush900 , did you hear the story Robin Strasser told on Jill Farren Phelps on her hotline this past week?

when JFP fired Strasser, she gave her that DORIAN portrait that used to hang over the staircase & sneered, "*I'LL* never need this again!!!"

SHAME!!!!

I do hope that the CBS line up suffers, more than likely it will not but I hope it does. I have lost a show that was most important to me, it is not so much cancellation, but the way they did it that I hope CBS fails.

In the same sense I am bumbed I will not be watching Y&R but I just can not support Barbra Bloom and watching Y&R is supporting Bloom and CBS.

The over 2 million viewers that are losing our Show does not matter to Bloom and CBS so I have no need to care for her line up and her shows.

I am sure Y&R will go on, but I will not.

Thank you DC for doing this podcast, it has been great listening to you guys over the past year, I am sad that is coming to a conclusion for me, and wish you all the best.

Great to hear J Bernard.

Fantastic podcast Luke, Mike, Mel, Jamey and JBJ.

You guys did a great job in articulating what so many of us who are fans of this genre are feeling right now. This is a sad time and I hope it is a wake up call to all shows that are lacking in quality right now(GH, AMC, ATWT, B&B).

I agree with what you said about people boycotting CBS. It is their right to do so but Y&R is a quality show that is doing things right and is fighting with everything they have to keep this genre viable and relevant and doesn't deserve to be punished.

And Jamey - that little tidbit you had at the end about soap themes... that just made me smile. I'm with you - I love them. And the 90s GL theme, Hold on to Love is my absolute favorite of all time. And the Harley/Beth Ehlers dancing - still remember it like it was yesterday. I guess when you see these things at 7 years old it sticks with you for life

Thank you, DC, for doing this podcast. Like many of you stated, I remember vivid memories of the show as a child. Both my grandparents watched it and ATWT and passed that viewing on to my mother, and she passed it on to my sister and I. I can't remember much about ATWT, but I can vividly remember sporadic scenes of Roger and Holly, Ed and Rita, Mike Bauer vs. Alan Spaulding, etc. I remember *exactly* where I was on April 1, 1980 (my grandparent's house) when Roger Thorpe fell to his "death". I remember the heartbreaking years between 1983 and 1985 when the Bauer family was unfortunately decimated by writeoffs, recasts, and deaths. I remember with joy Nola Reardon and her wacky fantasies, the Four Musketeers, the Lewis and Shaynes overpopulating Springfield, the wonderful return of Roger and Holly, Reva's "death" in 1990, Josh Lewis getting the start of a second "wind" with his character when he was paired with Harley (unfortunately, he left the show), and Alexandra Spaulding - period...

...and then they killed Maureen Bauer. Like the rest of you, I don't think GL ever really recovered from that. Ed and Mo were set up perfectly as the "stable" and central couple of GL, finally establishing a suitable replacement for Charita Bauer. I continued to watch, but I finally tuned out when the time travelling storyline started (sorry folks, "Dark Shadows" did it much better over 30 years ago...). I came back this past January, when reading on the internet that the writing really *was* going to get better with Grant returning. That was no joke. As Jamey said on the podcast, the show started to feel like a *good* soap again. Unfortunately - too little, too late.

Thankfully, I have youtube as well as some of the old classic radio and tv episodes to view and remember this show for the greatness it had.

I sincerely hope P & G finds another outlet for the show, but I'm not holding my breath.

Thank you to everyone at DC for caring about this show and the industry in general.

I agree with Jamey regarding whether GL becomes a webseries. The majority of the actors would leave and rightfully so.

"Preach IT, Jamey". Jamey went all "CHURCH" on this podcast, in regards to ATWT.

Really goodpodcast. You guys hit all the key points.

It was great to hear you J. Benard. You're very knowledgeable and I hope we get to hear from you all soon.

I am going to hold out some hope. PSNS got picked up (and I loved that show), so GL will probably get a pick up too.....hopefully.

CBS TAKING CALLS AT 2PM ABOUT GL PLEASE CALL AND MENTION THE BOY-COTT OF CBS AND IT'S ADVERTISERS
1
212
975
4321
LET THEM KNOW HOW DISGUSTED YOU ARE WITH HOW THEY TREATED GL ACTORS WITH THIS CANCELLATION...MENTION BARBARA BLOOMS NAME AND TELL THEM TO TURN THE LIGHT BACK ON OR YOU WILL VOTE WITH YOUR REMOTE AS UJAMEY WOULD SAY.

This is a message I'm passing on from Tracey. She was contacted by Alan Lorcher who is the publicist for P&G. He wants to thank all of the fans for their support.

Here's some information :

CALL THE SHOW AND REGISTER YOUR SUPPORT!
1
866
695
1859
Listen to the menu options!
I have been told that PGP wants to hear from us in support of their exploring options.

P&G - Scroll down and add your comment to Share Your Thoughts. Remember to be postive and constructive. We want P&G to find a new home for GL.

Great podcast. I didn't watch GL

I agree with Luke's rant at the end about ATWT but how can we go about getting TPTB to wake up and fix this show?? There was much attention brought to ATWT for the Noah/Luke kissing ban... how can we get a similar campaign going about TPTB killing the show and viewers wanting a change??

.
Thanks Mike for including the junior Vortex of suck in the podcast. Heaven knows I've railed about them sucking on many boards.

Great Podcast guys!

And it was nice to get a voice to the wonderful words you say J.B.

I listened to the podcast twice today while at work. You all did a great job. I really do hope that the industry takes notice. You all made a great point that we want to see VETS and not newbies. Being 25 years old I don't want to see teenagers. I want to see the characters I grew up watching. I truly feel like that's why Y&R has so much success. They have showed loyalty to their VETS and continue to show them. ATWT used to pay more attention to the VETS but I don't really know what's going on there now. It's okay to show newbies and nobody is saying don't but be smart about it. Do multigenerational storylines. I.E. Katherine getting help from Amber, Daniel, Kevin, and Jana. That's what we want to see.

J Benard it was good to hear your input. Melodie I feel your pain. My grandmother and mother are huge CBS Daytime fans and they are shocked that CBS is cancelling GL.

Good show guys. I'm still so upset about all of this. I'm so depressed, I've actually lost interest in watching any soaps.

On a positive note: It was nice to hear you J Bernard

Luke at the end: "This pissy me off"!!!!!!!

ITA about Soapnet.

I don't see its purpose. I can't believe that they turned down a new project including their ABC soap stars while I'm watching all these old programs. Including endless reruns of 'Soapography' and "one day with" I like these shows but they haven't had any new eppys in 'years'

I thought this was going to be an innovative 'cutting edge' soap opera cable channel.

Its basically a dud and its not culturally diverse enough for me. I can't understand why 'Manhattonites' couldn't have been tried out...I was hoping for little 13 week miniseries (tela-novelas) on our favorite characters eg little stories within a story a little more on soapnet. ITA cross promoting web projects is/has been part of this new wave ...

I enjoyed this very informative podcast and very sad to hear the end of a 72 yr show. I bailed during the Josh/Reva/Cassie deal but came back so they wouldn't cut the axe...

Listening to the podcast right now. I so agree about young viewers being interested in the older characters. I'm in that younger demographic (I''ll be 21 in May). Luke and Noah are my favorite characters, but I don't care about Parker and Liberty. I loved seeing Kim in the Damian/Nuke story these past weeks. Don Hastings (Bob) and Billy Magnussen (Casey) have great grandfather/grandson chemistry. I love seeing them together the other day. I understand why some of these characters are not going to be the center of the story anymore, but that doesn't mean they can't be part of other stories. Where is Lucinda in this Damian story? Thanks God I saw a spoiler about her telling Damian to back off.

One of the Nuke fans who is a new viewer of ATWT volunteered at the GLAAD Awards and talked to ATWT publicist Lisa Lugassy. She was actually surprised that other then Nuke he liked the veterans but not Parker and Liberty.

I am listening now (I am behind on my podcast listening -.-) but I have to say ITA with Jamey about ending the show instead of turning it into crap and then killing it, I LOVE Passions, I love that i got one last year to spend with my 'friends' in harmoney, but it was a PAINFUL year, it was like nails on a chalkboard for a year, and kept getting worse.

I do think that as long as the show is on the air it can get better, GL Has already shown that, but i dont know if i could watch a 'last year' of passions writing but on GL, i would go crazy.

Anyways going to finish listening lol.

I watched since was kid but honest i stopped lately because it is so boring anymore and a few times i thought i was going to get whiplash from the fast move of the camera i wish it was like it used to be like when i think her name was Nola (not sure if i spelled it right )but the show used to be soooo much better than it has been lately they should keep the show but fix it get rid of a few ,I love Reva i did loose count how many times she has died and come back but that is part of her charm .if they could bring the old GL back i would watch everyday !!! but if they keep it like it is now just go ahead and take them off ...sorry to be so harsh but i speak the truth just like others i hate to see the old girl (GL) put into the nursing home but either give her some new life or it is time to be gone ..