06 June 2008

Guiding Light Home

I have written before about my all-time favorite show and guilty pleasure, Guiding Light. In fact, I am actually paid to write a weekly recap for a website. As I have said before, I started watching because of my Mom and sisters at about the age of six. The reason I am bringing this up is because of the feeling of home I get when I watch this show.

During the last few years of my mom's life, she and I would get together at her house to watch it while Peter napped. Sometimes my sister, Margaret, would stop by for lunch and watch with us. It was just a cozy feeling to sit there and get pulled in to what was happening in Springfield, USA.

Lately, though, I am becoming increasingly concerned about the fate of this show. GL has been around for 72 years! It was the first soap opera and moved from radio to TV in the 50's. It is the longest running show in the history of TV. Recently, it was renewed until 2009. The reason for my concern is that the show is struggling under budget cuts and an executive producer and head writing team that,quite frankly, are not that good. GL received it's lowest rating ever last week, and right now, has the lowest ratings of any soap. To make matters worse, by the end of the month, the show will have lost two huge actors to another soap.

Some of you may say, "So what? It is just a show." To me, it is more than a show. When I watch the replay online every evening, I am reminded of my mom, and of home. It is like a connection to what I had when she was alive.

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