GL now joins some illustrious company in the cancelled soap thread.

Let's share memories and ask questions here.

I suppose while I am at here’s the background info I have for My Guiding Light:

 

Quote

When Gail Kobe took over as Guiding Light's executive producer in March of 1983, she quickly instituted a more sweeping overhaul that included new cue music by Elliot Lawrence Productions and a new theme song.

The new theme, "My Guiding Light" by Rob Mounsey, was originally done in a full-orchestral Eb major arrangement. This new theme debuted on August 22, 1983, after a run of only about 400 episodes for the Urbont theme!

While the basic look of the opening montage and closing end credit visuals remained the same, there were changes such as slower transitions from one clip to another in the opening cast montage and a thinner form of Helvetica type for the end credits.

From the fall of 1985 to the October 1986, a synthesized C Major arrangement of "My Guiding Light" was used over the opening, and different arrangements of the theme were used over an end credit "beauty shot." (The end credit beauty shot lasted until the spring of 1986, when Joseph Willmore took over as executive producer.)

In October 1986, a high tech dance arrangement of "My Guiding Light" debuted over a new opening visual, which had the by-then familiar cast montage and the title of the show, in the same lettering design as that introduced in 1981/82, now set in a clear transparent glasslike sculpture against a blue sky background. The dance arrangement of "My Guiding Light" lasted until the summer of 1989, when it was replaced by a musical setting similar to 1985/86.

From October 1986 to the summer of 1989, the end credits were set against a white background, but they were now in black and gold Korinna semibold lettering. Then the format changed to gold and white Korinna semibold letters against the same blue-sky background as the main logo.

“My Guiding Light"
(a.k.a. "The Guiding Light Theme") 
Composer: Rob Mounsey (ASCAP) 
Publisher: Fountain Square Music (ASCAP)
c/o Signature Sound Inc. 
West 23rd Street, Suite 902
New York, NY 10010 
Copyright Date: 1985, based on published sheet music. 
Dates of Usage: August 22, 1983 (episode #9224) to December 28, 1990 (episode #11,067). 
Published Sheet Music: 
Recordings: 

LP: "Your Favorite Soap Opera Themes" 
MMR Productions. MMRP-2200 (1986) 

CD: "Themes of Our Lives"
Hollywood TV Pops
Intersound PCD-510 (1990)
Re-released in 1991 on CD as "Hits of the Soaps" on First Choice FC-4522 

 

 

8 minutes ago, Soapsuds said:

This opening with a new theme was left out. This was one of my personal favorites. It only last over a year though.

 

My favorite opening was the 1983-1985 followed by the 1975-1981 leaves opening and 3rd the 1990 opening I posted.

Yes! This is the one I was talking about.

5 minutes ago, SFK said:

Yes! This is the one I was talking about.

Even the closing was more visually appealing than the cheap white rip off of Y&R.

 

@soapfan770 Thank you for the info!

11 minutes ago, SFK said:

@soapfan770 Thank you for the info!

You’re quite welcome! It’s actually some old stuff I saved like 17 years ago from a WOST discussion topic I wish I knew who to give the proper credit too. 
 

I dug up a real version of the 1989-90 closing lol. The recreation itself wasn’t bad until I heard the narrator.

 

It is unfortunate none of the themes and openings of the 00’s never came close to either. The 2002 opening looked great but I thought the music while decent was pretty generic. The 2003 open was a dingy cheap debacle. The 2005 open was adequate but nothing memorable. The less said about OLCSTW the better, while the absolute worst IMO was the 70th Anniversary open.

I enjoyed the arrangements this Italian fan did of the various theme songs - particularly the 'Ritournelle' one. 😛

 

37 minutes ago, soapfan770 said:

I dug up a real version of the 1989-90 closing lol. The recreation itself wasn’t bad until I heard the narrator.

Right! 😆 I sort of jumped in my seat when I heard that.

I have fond memories of WoST where I was SoapFoxKirby. Christmas morning was always such a treat with the videos posted under the tree. Good times.

@BetterForgottenThat’s very nice, clearly a labor of love.

What was the cheap opening where it was a string of screen shots?

15 hours ago, TVFAN1144 said:

What was the cheap opening where it was a string of screen shots?

I think you're talking about "True Light," which ran during the John Conboy/Ellen Weston era.  As I said at the time, the whole thing reminded me of some cheap talk show.

 

That opening is so beneath John Conboy. The theme sounds like a '90s local morning show and there's nothing innovative about the Knots-like scroll. HOTL at least had the cool beacon concept.

10 minutes ago, SFK said:

That opening is so beneath John Conboy. The theme sounds like a '90s local morning show and there's nothing innovative about the Knots-like scroll.

Agree.  By the time MADD hired JC to run GL, he was just out-of-touch in general.

That was the "Jenny Jones" of soap opera openings.

Lol!

I wonder how much they had to pay Joan Collins for her “5 minute stint”

2 minutes ago, TVFAN1144 said:

I wonder how much they had to pay Joan Collins for her “5 minute stint”

A charitable contribution by Dame Collins?