Here's a round-up of reaction to the news of GUIDING LIGHT's cancellation by CBS earlier today.
Jill Farren Phelps (GENERAL HOSPITAL): "GUIDING LIGHT has a very special place in my heart. I began my career in daytime there as a production assistant and later returned as executive producer. It was a privilege — both times — to be a part of such a fabulous group of people who did such outstanding work. Some of the most talented actors, writers and directors have walked through the doors of GUIDING LIGHT. The industry will mourn the loss of this beloved show, but it leaves a rich legacy for all of us in daytime to treasure. I wish all my dear friends a gentle landing."
Sara Bibel (Fancast): The week began with the further collapse of the automobile industry. Now another American institution is dead. No other show has gone from radio to television to the internet, from fifteen minute black and white episodes to handheld digicams. The show transcended eras and trends. It was never the cool soap. It was the soap you watched with your family, arguing about what Reva was wearing and whether Roger Thorpe was worthy of sympathy.
Michael Fairman (On Air On Soaps): This is such a horrible shame as the show had improved dramatically within the past several months, with improvement in their production module, the return of Grant Aleksander, the riveting death of Coop Bradshaw. and the wonderful moving Otalia storyline which has captured the hearts of mainstream america and the LGBT community as well. Today is a tremendous loss for all of our colleagues in New York, friends, actors, and behind-the-scenes personel who worked tirelessly to reinvent the show and get it on solid ground.
Ed Martin (JackMyers.com): With all due respect to the fine folks at Nielsen, daytime audience measurement is, at its very best, irrefutably flawed. The very idea that viewership for soap operas would decline in direct proportion to the ever-expanding increase in viewing options is utter bullshit.
Lynn Leahey (Soap Opera Digest): "For many of us, it was the first show we ever watched. Unlike prime-time shows that came and went, it was a constant in people's lives. "It really is heartbreaking to see something like this go away."
Marlena De Lacroix (MarlenaDeLacroix.com): Losing GL would not only be the loss of a media institution, it would be the loss of a piece of America that belongs to all of us. The way its very human drama has reflected life in America all these decades, it is us.
Robert Reid ("Robert Reid Live"): Losing GUIDING LIGHT is like losing one of our proud grandparents in our family, but this time it is our daytime family. I really have a special place in my heart for this show, and suddenly knowing that September 18th is when CBS decides to air its last episode, makes us the fans want to show our support by rallying together like a family, and get this thing on some other platform.
Lynn Liccardo (Red Room): It's particularly sad, never mind ironic, that CBS picked this moment to cancel GL; after foundering for so long, Grant Aleksander's return and the buzz around Otalia have breathed new life into GL.
Patrick Erwin (A Thousand Other Worlds): I don’t know what to say. My reaction has vacillated between tears, sadness and rage.
DAYTIME SOAP OPERAS
