The Guiding Light

I love Guiding Light. In fact last Friday, our CBS affiliate in New York interrupted for "breaking news" within minutes of the show's finale. It's bad enough on a Friday a few minutes before the credits ran. I have watched Guiding Light for 14 years now and I am hooked. This year, CBS will decide it's fate. With only 2 million Nielson viewers, the show could be canceled and replaced with useless television talk shows which are cheaper to make. If Guiding Light and As The World Turns are canceled, daytime television would be in enormous trouble. I remember a time when New York City was the capital of the soaps but now only 4 soaps remain. I was furious with Mayor Giuliani for not preventing the cancellation of Another World in 1999. He did nothing but yet his wife appeared on the show and others as well. If Guiding Light gets canceled, Irna Phillips and Charita Bauer would be turning over in their graves over the loss. I hope CBS makes the right decision! I hope you watch the show for its continuous excellence in acting, writing, and directing. This show deserves to be recognized as a part of American history. Believe me, the Roger and Holly relationship far outweighed any couple on daytime or prime-time television. I love Doug Hutchison's portrayal of the mysterious Sebastian Hulce. I love my veteran performers like Marj Dusay, Ron Raines, Jerry ver Dorn, Maureen Garrett, Beth Ehlers, Frank Dicopoulos. Believe me, there is nothing on prime-time or in the cinema that is like Guiding Light! If you can watch Desperate Housewives, give daytime a try. You just might like it.

For as bad as the show was at the end, the Guiding Light was a wonderful show for many MANY years with a beautifully rich history. There has never been, nor will there ever be, a character like Reva Shayne Lewis. The Reva Shayne-Josh Lewis love story fueled some of the best moments in daytime time history. Despite the "melodrama" soaps have often been guilty of, the Guiding Light did a wonderful job reflecting the realities (both positive and negative) of every day life as well. Who could forget Beth, Lillian, and Bradley - Bradley's abuse of Beth? Phillip's parentage? The Spaulding sibling rivalry that poisoned generations? The acting talent was wonderful. The writing and directing staff needed to be canceled, not the show. The show should still be on the air.

I first got hooked on this show when I was in high school and I still keep up with it. Unfortunately, it is becoming so repetitive that it is getting boring. Of course, the one person that will keep me coming back to it is Kim Zimmer and her wonderful portrayal of Reva. Reva Shayne probably is the strongest female character on soaps next to Susan Lucci's portrayal of Erica Kane. However, the main beef I have against it is that it now the show is beginning to lose touch with reality and everything has to revolve around some mystery that involves every major family in town. I hope one day that this show will regain its focus and that it will get back to being the great show that it was.

I have watched Guiding Light for 45 years. My mother started watching when it first started. The story lines have been great. Between Reva and Joshua's ups and downs. I hope they find their way back to each other. It would be great if you could bring back Danny and Michelle. Michelle is a great asset to the show. Also, Ed Bauer added a great touch to the show. Jonathan and Tammy belong to each other. I was glad you finally put them together. Sandy needs to move on. As far as Alan Michael coming back, I find it very strange that he is making moves on Marina, when he was married to her mother years ago. Not a good move. Please writers, keep the show going. I don't want another talk show in the on daytime TV.

I haven't seen every soap, but from what I have seen, this one can claim the best acting talent around. It's too bad Cynthia Watros (Annie) and Wendy Moniz (Dinah) had to go, They're both gifted actresses. Grant Aleksander (Philip) probably can claim best actor presently. Fortunately, the great cast makes up for some of the plot lines, e.g. Michael the angel, the bizarre cloning of Reva, and now Hart is in this metaphorical fight for life. It'll take a week to decide his fate. Pity the punching bag.