The final part of a highly personal, non-objective series highlighting various aspects of the last episodes of Guiding Light, which which ended its 72 year run on September 18th.

What was it that got me first?

Was it the opening flurry of Guiding Light's logos throughout it's 72 year history or was it the show's last "Only Love" opening featuring the most of the current cast as it had never done before? Whatever it was that first triggered a torrent of emotions that ran through me, this is what happened on Guiding Light today:

In the wake of Alan Spaulding's death, Fletcher whisked Alexandra away to see the world. Doris pulled strings and got Ashlee into a writer's program at Berkeley; Daisy and Ashley went to California together for school, while James stayed behind and bonded with his father. Mindy informed Billy that she was moving back to Springfield. Remy and a newly pregnant Christina got married in the quickest wedding in soap opera history. Olivia & Natalia settled on a name for the baby — Francesca, named after Frank. Maureen played matchmaker for Matt and one of her pretty school teachers. After weeks of online dating, Frank & Blake finally hooked up for their date, with seemingly all of Springfield stalking him. Beth gave Phillip, who once had great dreams of being a writer, a journal in which to put his every thought.

Finally, there was everything involving Josh (Robert Newman) & Reva (Kim Zimmer).

It wasn't what happened "today" that was most important; it was what happened "one year later" in Springfield that truly mattered. As I sit a home, with the television now turned off and with more than a few tears in my cynical eyes, I cannot help but be amazed that I bore witness to what I believe was one of the greatest series finales of an American institution as has been produced during the long — and now endangered — life of a uniquely American genre. READ MORE

In Part II of We Love Soaps' Damon Jacobs' interview with Louise Sorel, the veteran actress reflects on the controversial storyline she refused to play on Santa Barbara, which had her character Augusta slated to fall for her sister Julia's (Nancy Lee Grahn) rapist Dash (Timothy Gibbs).

We Love Soaps: My understanding was that your reason for leaving Santa Barbara the last time had to do with a story line twist for Augusta where she would get involved with a certain character
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In Part I of his lunchtime chat with the legendary Louise Sorel (soon-to-be returning to soaps as DAYS' Vivian), We Love Soaps' interviewer extraordinaire Damon Jacobs gets the grande dame to open up about how she landed the part that made her a daytime superstar— Santa Barbara's Augusta Lockridge. Sorel also shares what it was like to work with the late Dame Judith Anderson who originated the role of Augusta's meddling mother-in-law Minx, and shares which General Hospital diva almost ended up playing the iconic role of Augusta.

 We Love Soaps: How did Santa Barbara come about for you?

Louise Sorel: Actually that came about because another actress was going to do it, who was on a show called General Hospital, Jane Elliot. I didn't know she was going to do it. I think I had read for the Dobsons, then they went away or something and months went by. Then I think Jane was going to do it, and then opted out. I can't remember why. Actually she was very sweet. I had only read once and then they called and said, 'Would you do it?' And I said, 'Sure!' I had never done a soap. I had never seen a soap. And everybody said, 'You don't want to do a soap. You just don't want to do that. It's not what you do.' And I said, 'Well, gee, it's continuous work. We have Dame Judith Anderson and Nick Coster. How bad can it be?' And the role was terrific so we made a deal. Jane and I spoke and she said, 'You should get such and such' because she was going to do the show and she was very sweet about it.

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In Part I of his interview with Patrick Mulcahey for the 25th anniversary of daytime's greatest soap opera Santa Barbara, TV Guide Canada's Nelson Branco finds out which SB storyline the talented scribe,who currently pens scripts for The Bold and the Beautiful, loved most.

TVG: What was your favourite storyline on Santa Barbara?

PM: Eden and Cruz’s first romance when Eden believed it was she who had pulled the plug on her father’s life support — but it was actually Gina! And Eden marrying Kirk, the preppy villain, because he pretended he knew her “secret.” Marcy and A Martinez [Cruz] always knocked our socks off. The first leg of their romance was very magical, even though they stayed together for most of the show’s run. Eden and Cruz’s epic romance was the best thing about the show. Oh, and Carrington Garland as Kelly was fun to write for as well.

Santa Barbara fans you are in for an anniversary treat! Well, it's more like an appetizer (Pigeon perhaps?). We Love Soaps' Damon Jacobs recently had lunch with the fabu Louise Sorel, and has sneak peek on WLS's latest podcast. Check it out here!

La Grande Dame Louise Sorel is on Buzz Worthy Radio as we type! Check it out!

For all you younger Days of Our Lives fans—and Luke—who first came to know and love Louise Sorel as Vivian Alamain, here a few clips from her breakout daytime role as snooty, California socialite Augusta Wainright Lockridge on Santa Barbara opposite Another World veteran Nicolas Coster (in the first clip above), who played her husband Lionel on SB. Lionel and Augusta were reportedly based on series creators Bridget and Jerome Dobson. Augusta was the older sister of fiercely feminist attorney Julia Wainright, played by a pre-Alexis Davis Nancy Lee Grahn (seen in the final clip below in her first episode on the soap). God I can't wait 'till September when both my Wainright's will be back on my screen!

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I am not worthy. I must abdicate my throne as the biggest Santa Barbara fan in soapyverse, because I planned all day yesterday to blog about the 25th anniversary of the best daytime soap opera ever, but with all the time I spend chronicling the behind-the-scenes shenanigans of the current soaps on the air, I didn't get to do it before the clock struck midnight! So without further ado, happy happy birthday Santa Barbara! July 30, 1984 was the day daytime smartened up and got funny. God bless you Bridget and Jerome Dobson! READ MORE

My BSS (Best Soap Star) Eden Riegel needs your help. On June 8, Eden will deliver her acceptance speech for winning the People's Voice Webby Award for her breakout turn in Imaginary Bitches. The catch is, Eden is only allowed five words to say thank you. Sheesh, is Dick Clark producing this thing or what? Anyhoo, the ever-gracious starlet is giving the fans who helped make IB such a smash success the opportunity to write her speech. Go here to submit your ideas, then later in the week IB's ravenous fans—you know, the ones who helped Chuck Pratt beat Bob Guza in the ratings— will vote to pick the top 3-5 entries. Hmm, I wonder if Catherine or Heather will run up on stage and accept the Webby before Eden can get there like Bridget Dobson did to Jill Farren Phelps at the 1998 Daytime Emmys? A curse on you New World Television. My Santa Barbara might still be on if you hadn't booted the Dobsons in favor of that Soap Opera Slayer!

The change in me is you now,
The change in me is you, some how READ MORE

Even if you do not follow literature, you are no doubt aware that the title of this post is a phrase associated with the worst kind of lazy, pedestrian, obvious writing imaginable. "It was a dark and stormy night..." is, to put it bluntly, synonymous with the word "bad."

Bad in and of itself isn't always a bad thing, as there are varying degrees of badness from which to choose. For example, there are things that are "so bad they are good," like The Pussycat Dolls and RuPaul's Drag Race. There are other things that are really bad, like white people dancing to "Push It" and Julie Chen hosting Big Brother. Then you have things that are so atrocious, inspiring more WTF moments than a Samantha Harris post-performance interview on Dancing with the Stars that you question your sanity for sitting through it without clubbing a baby seal.

By "you" I mean "me," and it might not take too much of a stretch of the imagination to guess how I felt about Friday's abominable, lobotomized episode of All My Children that climaxed with the shooting of "a legendary character." READ MORE