Guiding Light's Beacon to Shine No More

The longest running daytime soap, Guiding Light, is turning their light off come this fall. The news came ironically on April Fools Day. To the faithful viewers and cast members it was no joke. Guiding Light is the longest running soap opera in having been around for 72 years. It first aired on the radio in 1937 and became televised in 1952.

I can remember as a little girl, my mother, and my Grandmother watching Guiding Light. I have memories of rushing home after school to watch the show that I previously recorded that day on my VCR. For several years now there have been rumors of the impending cancellation of Guiding Light. Of course it was only believed to be just that, rumors. Not this time. The rumors have proven to be fact. The lights are permanently being turned off at the longest running soap.

The cancellation of this show just shows us the possible demise of all the other soap operas that we have come to know and love. Guiding Light made history and will go down in the record books as the longest running soap opera. I am glad I got in on some of that history.

Some of the actors of the show have recently spoken up about the the shows cancellation. Kim Zimmer, who plays Reva, stated on the Soapcentral website, "It's difficult to express how one feels at a time like this". I can only imagine. Kim Zimmer started on Guiding Light back in 1983. She is one of the longest running actresses on the show. There was about 5 years that she was not on Guiding Light, but for the majority of her acting career she has been "Reva". I cannot imagine how it must feel to know you will never be going back. At least when you get you fired or laid off or moved to recurrent status on a soap the option is always open for you to return. When a show gets canceled there is no option to return.

What does the cancellation of Guiding Light mean for your favorite soap? I think it means that they are all made more aware. Aware that it could also happen to them. Hopefully it won't, but I am sure they are now thinking that it could, and that they are no exception to the rule. If it can happen to the longest running soap then it can happen to any soap.

Of course just because Guiding Light is going off the air doesn't mean you may not ever see it again. As with other soaps (think SoapNet) it may come back around as reruns.

Sources:http://www.wikipedia.com

http://www.soapcentral.com