GL: Tribute in TV Guide

[dragonflies]

In the Newest issue. Has a great picture of the whole cast, and has things like "Through the years"

Give me some time to post the article

[MichaelGL]

Thanks Zendall Fan!

[dragonflies]

***There are spoilers in this(didn't realize it til I was typing it up), read at your own risk

LIGHT'S OUT!

How do you wrap up 72 years of entertainment history? You can't, certainly not in any fully satisfying way. But still, you try. And in the process, you cherish every moment, break into sudden hugfests, giggle madly for no reason at all and, of course, cry buckets. That range of emotions--and more--is playing out on the set of CBS' Guiding Light, where the cast has gathered at a serene lakeside country club in Sparta, New Jersey, for a double wedding that will air just before the show ends on September 18.

No hot young bods at the altar here. This is strictly an AARP affair and a warm, wonderful payoff for GL's many longtime fans: Salt of the Earth Billy(Jordan Clarke) will remarry his patient ex-wife Vanessa(Maeve Kinkead) and, in an impromptu decision, they'll be joined by adorable curmudgeon Buzz(Justin Deas) and his ladylove, the sweet, sage nurse Lillian(Tina Sloan). The two veteran actresses are thrilled to end their long runs as blushing brides(Kinkead joined GL in 1980; Sloane in 1983), yet they're also in deep melancholy.

"This is all so weird and sad," says Kinkead, as a prop person hands her a bouquet. "But I guess the good part about cancellation is that things get to stay this way--Billy and Vanessa will live on together forever." Fighting back tears, Sloan says, "I'm so grateful for the years we've had and how we've reflected society right to the very end. We have Ponzi schemes on our show! We have lesbians! It's like we're burying a dear, close friend. This show is a big part of American Culture."

And how. Created by Irna Phillips, the legendary mother of soap opera, GL hit radio as a religious-themed serial in 1937, when FDR was in the White House and the world had yet to know the horrors of Hitler and the atom bomb. It moved to TV in 1952 and is now--some 15,700 episodes later--the longest running drama series in record books.

"This show has such a long, rich history that all we can hope to achieve in these final days is a sense of resolution rather than conclusion," says exec producer Ellen Wheeler. Before the Light goes out for good, romantic duos are reuniting(yes, even the Lesbians!), family feuds and scandals are set aside, the dying survive, and the "dead" return. Many former audience favorites are coming back to Springfield for a final visit before GL-the victim of low ratings-is replaced by new, cost-effective version of Let's Make a Deal.

That's a sore subject with Frank Dicopoulos(Frank), GL's longest-running contract player and the cast cheerleader. "How could CBS not renew us?" Dicopoulos asks, his voice tightening with anger. "I don't think any game show can replace our show in the hearts of the people. The idea nauseats me. Why does it always have to be about the bottom line?"

Kim Zimmer, who hit GL like lightening in 1983 as the hot-to-trot Reva Shayne, fluctuates between nervous laughter and crabbiness. The four-time Emmy winner has made no secret of her dislike for the raw "you are there" production style Wheeler instituted last year-outdoor locations, no rehearsal, fast-and-loose camera work-that was intended to save money and make GL relevant but, drove many viewers away. "I'm just glad I was around for the show's heyday," Zimmer says. "People got caught up in the stories because they were pretend. There are no more of those 'Calgon take me away' moments. Now it's all so real, it's depressing as hell."

Most other cast members applaud Wheeler's efforts to save the show. "In a world where everything's upside down, and you don't know what to rely on, millions still count on their soaps," says Michael O'Leary(Rick), who also joined GL in 1983. "We did the best we could to stay on the air for them. But let's look on the bright side: It's been 72 years! We've been around so long it's like we're in a marriage with the fans. We're in their DNA and they're in ours. What nighttime show can say that?"

****************************************************

THROUGH THE YEARS

The '30's and '40's

Cue the organ music: "The Guiding Light--about the private lives of God-fearing parishoners--makes its radio debut in 1937.

The '50's and '60's

GL jumps to TV and gets daringly topical: In 1962, Bert(Charita Bauer) developed uterine cancer but was saved by an early pap smear.

The '70's

Being bad was never so good: The late, great Michael Zaslow is a sick, sardonic wonder as Roger Thorpe. America goes nuts. Luke who?

The '80's Not in Kansas anymore: GL ht its creative and ratings peak with the dazzling movie fantasies of the devious, lovelorn Nola Reardon(Lisa Brown).

The '90's

Reva has come back from the dead, time-traveled and turned Amish, but that wasn't her greatest claim to fame. In 1998, she was cloned!

The '00's

It's no joke: GL gets a pink slip on April Fool's Day, 2009, just as "Otalia"--the show's lesbian love duo--becomes and international sensation.

[Y&RWorldTurner]

Thanks for posting, Zendall Fan!

Blech, I hate that they decided to focus on the crap of the late 90's and on Reva for this portion.

[brimike]

No kidding. What a travesty. One of the greatest periods in soap writing history, and it was completely ignored. Thanks, Logan.

[DRW50]

I'm so glad Maeve seemed so happy about Billy and Vanessa being together forever. They were one of the couples who got me hooked on GL and I'm so glad they will be happy ever after.

[Gray Bunny]

How sad... some soap "historians" in the future (hell, already now!) will pin-point the clone story as the beginning of the end to GL.

Just wish some folks wouldn't blame it on Kim Zimmer. She didn't write the damn story, after all. Bad story or good story, a storyline that allows an actor to really sink their teeth into some meaty material is going to be enjoyable for *them*; that doesn't mean we should "blame" them for enjoying getting to do the work.

[DRW50]

I think Maureen Bauer's death will always be seen as the beginning of the end. The clone story really wasn't that bad. It should have been much worse. I also thought Kim Zimmer was very good in the role.

[dragonflies]

Wasn't the clone storyline written by Brown & Esensten?

If so, it explains why it was so bad LOL

[Dan]

Yup. It was Esensten and Brown.

Honestly Carl, I disagree that Maureen's death was the beginning of the end. It was a beautifully written story about love, loss, and guilt that featured brilliant acting and directing. Sure on a longterm level, the fact that they couldn't or didn't find another character to fill that role was a problem, but I truly hate to think of how my beloved Maureen would have fared against succeeding regimes. Probably the same as a Kim Hughes, faded quietly into the background, only serving to provide sporadic advice, or murdered with a doughnut in some serial killer mystery like Alice.

[MichaelGL]

I think signs of the end came perhaps in 94 or later under McTavish.

The clone story, I just don't know how to exactly judge such a story. It was out there for GL, yes, but I dont think you can deny the fact that it was filled with emotion, from Josh losing Reva to the death of the clone.

[Mitch]

Yea, but even Rauchie said it was out of place for GL.

I think the beginning of the end wasn't really "just," the death of Maureen, it was, as a poster said, that they couldn't/wouldn't find a replacement for her..( I never understood why they didnt bring in Aunt Meta about six months "before," Maureen's death so there could be a "cushion," for the viewers...though at the time, JFP said that the problem wasn't that they killed Maureen the problem was that they made viewers care "too much," about Maureen (uh, okay Jilly.) Also, at the time it wasnt just Mo's death, it was JFP's desire to recreate the show and start to center it around Buzz and the Coopers (I have no idea why that family has such big fans in TPTB while the audience has stayed lukewarm to them.) After Curlee left we were treated to constant scenes of hot Jenna and cute Nadine pineing over that little troll and his constant "will I leave town or not." and Jenna working over a cauldron with some goofy face cream or something.

Love Billy and Van getting married, hate that it has to involve that little troll Buzz in the proceedings.

[DRW50]

I see what you mean, but the other female characters in her story at that time, like Lillian and Vanessa, stayed relatively intact, and remained a presence, even if they were not big powerhouses.

It was the show killing her and then shoving all these recasts (most of them bad recasts) and new characters and tired stories on the canvas that really turned me off. They not only killed Maureen but they did not let viewers adjust, instead it was change and more change.