Guiding Light was canceled today.
This may not sound like a big deal initially, but Guiding Light is the longest-running American soap opera. It's been going since 1937. Yes, Guiding Light is older than commercial television in the United States.
It began as a radio program in 1937 and transferred to television in 1952 and has been going until today. The 72-year-old show is no more as of today.
The show seems important and interesting, just because it's something that three generations of family (who love fictional dysfunctional families) grew up on.
And, according to The Los Angeles Times, Guiding Light is responsible for providing career starts to stars like Angela Basett, James Earl Jones, Kevin Bacon, Allison Janey, Jimmy Smits, Brittany Snow, Christopher Walken, Calista Flockhart, Hayden Pantettiere, Peter Gallagher, Mira Sorvino and Taye Diggs.
Seriously though, 72 goddamn years of an overlapping story that began in 1937. Also, As The World Turns is the second longest-running soap opera, which started in 1952, and General Hospital started in 1963, making it third.
I was always annoyed whenever my friends' mothers would watch soap operas. We would get home from school and we couldn't watch cartoons or sports because the television was being used. And no matter how many times I tried to ruin the ending, it would still surprise me. Now, I feel guilty for always hating soap operas when I was younger. I still think they're silly, but they brought happiness and conversations. It seems that soap operas might be on the decline, so I'm wrecked with guilt. Maybe I'll go through this again in two decades with reality shows.
I do wonder from time to time what kind of person I would've turned out to be if I was raised on soap operas, always watching sex, murder, betrayal, death, lust, love, rape, blackmail and such. Eh. Probably something like this.
[Photo Credit] - The picture is from the television premiere episode.
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