Farewell to Guiding Light
After 72 years on the air, the Guiding Light has been extinguished. The soap opera began on the radio, and moved to television when that medium became mainstream. It was the first soap opera to have a cloning storyline, and I believe the first soap to have a superhero. I began watching in high school, channel-flipping between that show and its rivals - General Hospital and Santa Barbara - at 3:00 every weekday.
Everyone got a happy ending, and much of what I wanted to see happened. Olivia and Natalia, who made history by being the first gay soap couple with actual chemistry, ended up together. Lizzie got her daughter back. Ashley's (and Daisy's) happy ending was going off to Berkeley. And while Josh and Reva did reunite, the show was very respectful of Reva and Jeffrey fans, keeping us in suspense about Reva's choice until the very end of the last episode.
Ironically, this last year showcased the best of Guiding Light. Over the past two decades, I had walked away from the program on more than one occasion because of the sexism and sheer illogical storylines. But in the year of its cancellation, Guiding Light finally found its stride. The outdoor settings added greatly to the verisimilitude of the program, making me believe that these were people living in a town called Springfield. Women were allowed to be strong and independent. And while I never liked Reva, I was blown away by Kim Zimmer's performance of Reva at Jeffrey's memorial service. Kim Zimmer is an amazing actress who deserves the Emmys she's won. Reva was annoying because of the storylines she was in, not because of any lack of talent on Zimmer's part.
Of course, without India, the reunion of the four musketeers fell flat. But maybe that's just me. ;-) *Shout out to Andrea Clark.*
I've seen a number of soap operas end - Edge of Night, Santa Barbara, Another World. But there is something especially tragic in the demise of the oldest program on the air. Thank you to all of the writers, actors, directors, set designers, producers and camera people who told the story of Springfield for the last seven decades.
Everyone got a happy ending, and much of what I wanted to see happened. Olivia and Natalia, who made history by being the first gay soap couple with actual chemistry, ended up together. Lizzie got her daughter back. Ashley's (and Daisy's) happy ending was going off to Berkeley. And while Josh and Reva did reunite, the show was very respectful of Reva and Jeffrey fans, keeping us in suspense about Reva's choice until the very end of the last episode.
Ironically, this last year showcased the best of Guiding Light. Over the past two decades, I had walked away from the program on more than one occasion because of the sexism and sheer illogical storylines. But in the year of its cancellation, Guiding Light finally found its stride. The outdoor settings added greatly to the verisimilitude of the program, making me believe that these were people living in a town called Springfield. Women were allowed to be strong and independent. And while I never liked Reva, I was blown away by Kim Zimmer's performance of Reva at Jeffrey's memorial service. Kim Zimmer is an amazing actress who deserves the Emmys she's won. Reva was annoying because of the storylines she was in, not because of any lack of talent on Zimmer's part.
Of course, without India, the reunion of the four musketeers fell flat. But maybe that's just me. ;-) *Shout out to Andrea Clark.*
I've seen a number of soap operas end - Edge of Night, Santa Barbara, Another World. But there is something especially tragic in the demise of the oldest program on the air. Thank you to all of the writers, actors, directors, set designers, producers and camera people who told the story of Springfield for the last seven decades.