Guiding Light Renewed Despite Defections, Fan Complaints Posted Wednesday, May 07, 2008 11:49:46 AM by Elizabeth Albanese and Dan J Kroll
Television's longest-running entertainment program will live to celebrate its 72nd anniversary. CBS announced recently that it had picked up Guiding Light despite its sagging ratings. The show debuted a new production model earlier this year and last month earned a chance at winning back-to-back Outstanding Drama Series trophies at the Daytime Emmys.
The ever-evolving, but still ratings-troubled, Guiding Light has been officially renewed for another year. The longest-running scripted program in entertainment history is now safe from cancellation - at least through the end of 2009. That will take the CBS soap into its 72nd year.
Beset by the defections of tentpole cast members -- most recently Ricky Paull Goldin (ex-Gus Aituro) and Tom Pelphrey (Jonathan Randall) -- and dogged by persistent rumors of more fleeing cast members to come, GL is also being bogged down by its recent move to a more "modern" format.
As reported by soapcentral.com in January, Guiding Light devised plans that it hoped would revolutionize the production of daytime soaps. Handheld cameras and newly created four-walled sets have given the show an edgy, lively look and feel, but many fans have issues with the fledgling format. Some have complained about "extreme" close-ups and others have grumbled that wobbly camera shots make the show difficult to watch. Still others feel that the new sets look cheap.
Better days are promised, though, insists Barbara Bloom, Senior Vice President of CBS Daytime.
"I agree that some of the camera work is shaky and frenetic and some of the close-ups are too tight - and that maybe we've broken rules that didn't need to be broken - but this is a work in progress," she explains. "We're just a few weeks into this new production model. I think everybody who's complaining needs to lighten up."
Both CBS and Guiding Light's production company, Procter & Gamble Productions, have indicated that they are committed to the sister soaps GL and As The World Turns. In receiving that commitment, both shows underwent massive overhauls designed to update their images and trim costs. New advertising has been courted, resulting in innovative ads within the shows for products like Cheerios. Product placement is nothing new; characters eating a bowl of name-brand breakfast cereal were a staple of old school, 1950s-style soaps. In today's sophisticated advertising market, however, these placements need to be done in ways that mention soap plots and characters in more ironic and fresher ways.
Despite the problems of low ratings, an uncertain future, and the re-formatting of the production, Guiding Light retains a devoted fan base. The show earned 14 Daytime Emmy nominations last month, including a nomination for Outstanding Drama Series, an award the show took home last year.
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I say END the horrible camera work and go back to the way the show used to be shot. I very rarely watch GL - when I do it is for Crystal Chappell, the best actress on the show - so when I tuned in the other day I actually had to turn it b/c of the horrible camera work.
~Morgan
FYC Oscars 09 - The Visitor: Lead Actor (Richard Jenkins), Supporting Actor (Haaz Sleiman), Supporting Actress (Hiam Abbass) and Original Screenplay (Tom McCarthy) - Then She Found Me: Lead Actress (Helen Hunt)
Daytime Emmy Congrats Writing Team OLTL! Directing Team OLTL! Kristoff St John! Boo to every other single winner.
Posts: 2321 | Location: Arkansas State Univ Department of Theatre most of the time. | Registered: December 31, 2004
I'm a little peeved by the way Barbara Bloom dismisses the naysayers with her "lighten up" remark.
Perhaps if GL just told better storylines then it wouldn't be necessary to nauseate the show's remaining viewers with hand held cameras. Nor would it be necessary to utilize 20 minutes of music and montages as opposed to 20 minutes of thrilling drama.
GIVE MERYL #3!!!!
Posts: 3493 | Location: Atlanta, GA | Registered: December 15, 2002
Soap fans would watch a compelling soap where the action took place in a parking lot. The shows need to focus on the writing. If the writing is there, you don't need to mess with all these other tricks. AMC and GL didn't ratchet up the quality of the writing to match the change in visual style so you have bad writing and annoying camerawork so who wants to watch that nonsense?
Bloom's "lighten up" remark is indeed irksome. Hasn't anyone ever told this woman that the customer (which, in this case, is the viewer) is always right? Unfortunately, the only way that they can return to the old format is if the tightwads at P&G decide to pump more money into the show. How likely is that?
^^^The customer is NOT always right lol. Sorry I work in retail and more times than not, they aren't and it ****es me off, but I let them know lol. But in this case you're right. I just said on another board that it may be time to let Guiding Light finally conclude its remarkable run.
Its not just the camera work its the lighting too. The Hills on MTV has better camera-work, lighting, and all around sets and I guess the actors seem to agree because they are fleeing at a rapid pace.
I think what GL needs now is some technical touch ups (most are much better right now) and a new Head Writer. I really believe in Ellen Wheeler as an EP. Kreizman wrote an astonishing show for 2 years, a good show for 2 years and now an average show. He does need to go.
I don't think the actors are "fleeing". That's ridiculous. Goldin and Ehlers were written into a corner. Their exits (hers is still up in the air) are quite unfortunate. Zimmer, Chappell, Tognoni, Newman, Raines, Deas, Cosgrove, Rylan, Chamberlin...all still there.
With the money from Goldin and possibly Ehlers, bring back GRANT ALEKSANDER!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hey, if Wheeler and company don't take notice from Ehler's one month sabbatical I don't know they ever will. I am hoping, praying, this is the wake-up call she needs to fire Kreizman. Ehlers has stated she loves GL, the "old" GL, when it was blazing hot and character driven. I agree with VincentG, if she leaves, please please bring back the incomparable Grant Aleksander. I say with VincentG's and mine's knowledge of the show let us be co-headwriters!
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Originally posted by VincentG: With the money from Goldin and possibly Ehlers, bring back GRANT ALEKSANDER!!!!!!!!!!!!
I believe they've asked him many times to come back and have written story in anticipation of his return - the kidnapping of Gus and Alan was rewritten with Beth as the culprit when GA wouldn't return. He hasn't yet. I doubt he ever will. If GL ever has a Phillip again, it probably won't be GA.
The show is just really bad now. The camera work still looks very student film-ish, the sets are dreary and claustrophobic and no one has figured out how to light them correctly yet. And, with the new production model we'll never have another scene set at night, nor will any of the characters ever be shown outside of the Springfield city limits again. I don't think GL can even afford extras anymore - there was no one at Zach's baseball game yesterday except for Frank and Blake. And to get some quiet time to read the script, Reva goes to Company in the middle of the day. I guess they don't have customers or serve food anymore?
I could probably overlook all of those limitations if the writing was good and the stories made sense. It's not and they don't. I blame Wheeler for that more that Kreizman. He wrote some really compelling stuff when he first took over as headwriter - the Gus/Harley non-wedding comes to mind. But now it's obvious that Wheeler's micromanaging this show and, except for budgetary issues, she doesn't appear to have anyone at P&G or CBS reining her in. Kreizman has to write what she tells him to write. Wheeler's twisted vision of GL is not something I can watch much longer.
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I'll be another who says the "lighten up" comment is dismissive and arrogant. No, the customer isn't always right, but in this case the customer is right and deserves to be heard and respected. Daytime, over the last five years especially, has shown a severe disrespect for soap audiences, catering instead to demographics and focus groups, and alienating the longtime viewers soaps need to survive into the next generation.
The new production so far isn't working. Apart from the weird angles, ridiculous closeups, and garish lighting, the show feels decidedly less intimate that it did with the old sets and stages. A big part of that problem is the writing, but something about the look is also dreary and detached.
"A movie is not good because it arrives at conclusions you share, or bad because it does not. A movie is not about what it is about. It is about how it is about it: about the way it considers its subject matter, and about how its real subject may be quite different from the one it seems to provide." - Roger Ebert, from the introduction to "Awake in the Dark" (2006)
Posts: 5855 | Location: New York City | Registered: March 26, 2005
I agree with 742's assessment of the comment. These people are arrogant enough to believe that the viewers are sheep who will follow the show no matter how awful it is. Have they not looked at the ratings?
Am I the only one who doesn't care that Beth Ehlers and Ricky Paull Goldin are gone? I'd rather have Grant Aleksander, Paul Anthony Stewart, and Michelle St. Alban back. If they came back, I'd even put up with the S H I T T Y camerawork.
Originally posted by Crystal: I agree with 742's assessment of the comment. These people are arrogant enough to believe that the viewers are sheep who will follow the show no matter how awful it is. Have they not looked at the ratings?
Am I the only one who doesn't care that Beth Ehlers and Ricky Paull Goldin are gone? I'd rather have Grant Aleksander, Paul Anthony Stewart, and Michelle St. Alban back. If they came back, I'd even put up with the S H I T T Y camerawork.
I agree with Crystal. I only liked Goldin with Ehlers. Without her, I was indifferent towards him. As for Ehlers (and I ADORE her), she has been front and center for 11 years and the past year or so she has been in a hot but unatural story. Distance makes the heart grow fonder. I salivate at the thought of Aleksander, Stewart, St.Alban or others returning. A new Alan-Michael? Get Tom Pelphrey back!
GL can be saved, but it's doing everything wrong. It needs romances that make sense, and it needs to ditch the characters who are useless--Ava and Cyrus come to mind. If Ehlers is indeed gone, use that money to bring back someone important. Stop isolating characters. If they have to meet in an alley, do it. We're not going to care if it's compelling. I just don't see this happening with Wheeler and Kreizman at the helm. They are doing to GL what Charlotte Savidtz did to AW.
Say what you want about Zimmer, but Elhers is the heart of Guiding Light and has been for a long time. Mark my words, her departure will be as apocalyptic as Marcy Walker's was from Santa Barbara.
GIVE MERYL #3!!!!
Posts: 3493 | Location: Atlanta, GA | Registered: December 15, 2002
Originally posted by Grace17fan: Say what you want about Zimmer, but Elhers is the heart of Guiding Light and has been for a long time. Mark my words, her departure will be as apocalyptic as Marcy Walker's was from Santa Barbara.
Since GL is gasping for air with Ehlers, I don't think it makes any difference at this point. Are people going to stop watching because the show's a mess or Harley is no longer part of a supercouple. Her character has been destroyed. The Harley I see when I occasionally watch the show is not the Harley I used to know. Stewart's dismissal was more of a death blow in my book.
Originally posted by Grace17fan: Say what you want about Zimmer, but Elhers is the heart of Guiding Light and has been for a long time. Mark my words, her departure will be as apocalyptic as Marcy Walker's was from Santa Barbara.
I would disagree with this. I love Ehlers, but Harley's not such a tent pole character that the show will collapse without her. I mean, look how much GL has collapsed even with Harley on the frontburner.
Some people said the same thing about Tom Pelphrey leaving the show, and, frankly, I haven't missed him.
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"A movie is not good because it arrives at conclusions you share, or bad because it does not. A movie is not about what it is about. It is about how it is about it: about the way it considers its subject matter, and about how its real subject may be quite different from the one it seems to provide." - Roger Ebert, from the introduction to "Awake in the Dark" (2006)
Posts: 5855 | Location: New York City | Registered: March 26, 2005
Ehlers has driven tons of story but the past year of it has not been great. We will miss Ehlers (if she ends up going) but not the way she is being written.
GL will not collapse with the departure of anyone other than Kim Zimmer and even then, GL has not lasted 71 years (at least 72 years) because one single character could make or break the show. GL is bigger than the sum of its parts.
