Why is CBS Cancelling 'Guiding Light'?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the cancellation of CBS' 'Guiding Light,' a long-running soap opera, and the broader implications for the soap opera genre in the context of changing television viewership. Participants reflect on personal memories associated with the show and propose humorous ideas about merging various soap operas.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested
  • Meta-discussion

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants express nostalgia for 'Guiding Light' and discuss its historical significance, noting its long run since 1937.
  • Several participants humorously suggest merging various soap operas into a single show, with playful titles reflecting multiple series.
  • One participant shares a personal story about watching 'Guiding Light' with their grandmother, highlighting the emotional connections viewers have with soap operas.
  • Another participant mentions disappointment over unresolved storylines in other soap operas, indicating a shared sentiment about narrative closure.
  • Some participants reminisce about the sensory experiences associated with watching soaps, such as the smell of ironing while viewing episodes.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

There is no consensus on the future of soap operas or the idea of merging them, as participants express a mix of nostalgia, humor, and personal anecdotes without settling on a definitive viewpoint.

Contextual Notes

The discussion reflects a blend of personal memories and humorous suggestions, with no technical or formal analysis of the television industry or soap opera dynamics provided.

Ivan Seeking
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CBS' 'Guiding Light' to end in September

The soap, which began life in 1937 on radio, has fallen victim to a dwindling audience and racier shows.
By Meg James
April 2, 2009

CBS is turning off its "Guiding Light." After nearly three-quarters of a century on TV and radio, the serial drama about the intertwining lives of fictional families from different classes in the bucolic but placeless town of Springfield, will end its run in September. It is the latest example of the fragmentation of television...
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-et-guiding-light2-2009apr02,0,9413.story

Some of my earliest memories are of hearing the theme songs from soap operas playing on TVs up and down the street, every weekday afternoon.

For our soap fans having a darker nature, I noticed that the Chiller Channel ran a Dark Shadows marathon the other day.
 
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They should just merge all of them together.

As the Guiding Light Turns All My Children into the Young and the Restless and end up at General Hospital with One Life to Live.
 
OAQfirst said:
They should just merge all of them together.

As the Guiding Light Turns All My Children into the Young and the Restless and end up at General Hospital with One Life to Live.
:-p
 
OAQfirst said:
They should just merge all of them together.

As the Guiding Light Turns All My Children into the Young and the Restless and end up at General Hospital with One Life to Live.

They can't. Then they would be too big to fail.
 
:smile:

Sure they can. If there are any problems, all they'd need is a bailout from Paramount, Warner Bros, etc. Though I'm sure there would be fallout when their programs and directors discovered that some of their writers would be loaned out to the soaps...
 
OAQfirst said:
Sure they can. If there are any problems, all they'd need is a bailout from Paramount, Warner Bros, etc. Though I'm sure there would be fallout when their programs and directors discovered that some of their writers would be loaned out to the soaps...

If you think the government reaped the whirlwind over AIG bonuses, wait until they start mucking around in the entertainment industry contracts and their bonuses. LA might implode.
 
:biggrin: :smile:

I almost think I would like to see that!

Maybe.
 
OAQfirst said:
They should just merge all of them together.

As the Guiding Light Turns All My Children into the Young and the Restless and end up at General Hospital with One Life to Live.
As the world turns.
 
Ahem. It was a merger. :cool:
 
  • #10
OAQfirst said:
They should just merge all of them together.

As the World Turns through the Days of Our Lives, the Guiding Light leads All My Children into the Dark Shadows of the Young and the Restless with One Life to Live at General Hospital.
 
  • #11
Ivan Seeking said:
As the World Turns through the Days of Our Lives, the Guiding Light leads All My Children into the Dark Shadows of the Young and the Restless with One Life to Live at General Hospital.
Ahah. I like yours better! :approve:
 
  • #12
It amazes me that Guiding Light lasted this long. I used to watch it and General Hospital with my grandmother when I got home from school...not because I liked soaps (I thought they were terribly boring), but because she was glued to it and nothing else happened until it was over and she didn't make us do homework until her soaps were done. For perspective, she started watching it when it first came on TV after my uncle (her son) was killed in the Korean War in 1951 (the soap started about a year later) when she would sit around the house not knowing what to do with herself and her grief. The soap opera outlived her.

As for when I stopped watching soap operas, the last I remember of them was watching General Hospital with my grandmother when Luke and Laura were the hot couple. Well, unless you count ER...but that was a nighttime soap, not a daytime one (I really didn't catch much of the last couple seasons, but did watch last night's series finale :cry:).

Oh, and I've still never gotten over my extreme disappointment when they brought back Dark Shadows for a season in prime time and ended with a cliff-hanger only to cut the series before the next season, never to resolve the cliff-hanger. :mad:
 
  • #13
Moonbear said:
Oh, and I've still never gotten over my extreme disappointment when they brought back Dark Shadows for a season in prime time and ended with a cliff-hanger only to cut the series before the next season, never to resolve the cliff-hanger. :mad:


Mrs. White did it in the Library with the Rope.

That Mrs. White always was kinky.
 
  • #14
Even the mention of Guiding Light brings back the smells of hot irons, starch and semi damp clothes. My Mom use to set up her ironing in the family room, so she could work and watch her soaps.
 
  • #15
hypatia said:
Even the mention of Guiding Light brings back the smells of hot irons, starch and semi damp clothes. My Mom use to set up her ironing in the family room, so she could work and watch her soaps.

Same here! My mother wasn't a huge soap fan, but she did watch them for a few years, and my only memory of this includes her at the ironing board.

There is nothing like the smell of steam from a hot iron. :approve:

Tsu was a Days of Our Lives fan for thirty years. When we first got married she was recording the shows religiously and continued to do so for a number of years. Unfortunately, since we lived in a small apartment for a time, I have seen more Days of Our Lives than I care to mention... course she would say the same about Dr. Who. :biggrin:
 
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