soap opera
October 26, 2009
- Recently, We Love Soaps, began posting "Soap Opera TV ratings" for twenty-five shows. Since there are but seven remaining daytime soaps on the air, it occurred to me that it might be time, albeit a little late in the game, to discuss exactly what the term "soap opera" means, and to whom. With the exception of Peyton Place and Our Private World, and, of course, Dallas, the ...
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October 12, 2009
- Last August, blogger Sara Bibel noted that "buried within the addictive train wreck" of reaction (here and here), to the firing of Soap Opera Weekly editor, Carolyn Hinsey, was "some serious commentary about soap opera journalism." This past August, it was fan reaction to an interview with head of ABC Daytime, Brian Frons, posted on The Wall Street Journal website that ...
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September 21, 2009
- Lights up. NEWBIE and OLDTIMER are discussing the final days of Guiding Light.NEWBIEOkay. First question: who was that guy with the hat who came to see Alex?OLDTIMERThat was Fletcher Reade. He used to be married to Holly.NEWBIEHolly? The same Holly who went off with Dr. Ed?OLDTIMERYes, they -- NEWBIEAnd where did that come from? I had no idea they even knew each other. They barely said ...
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September 18, 2009
- plently of carping to come, but first, a big thank you. with all the press releases about returning actors, not to mention the spoilers and tweeting from the set as gl wrapped up its final weeks, i didn't think it would be possible for viewers to be surprised. but, surprise, surprise, we were. not just by josh and reva, but by mindy and rick's wedding as well.so thanks to everyone associated with ...
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September 13, 2009
- With Guiding Light's final episode looming at the end of this week, CBS News finally stepped up to the plate with extended stories on both "CBS Sunday Morning" and "60 Minutes." Even taking into account the formidable challenges posed by trying to do justice to GL's seventy-two year history in ten and fifteen-minute segments respectively, it was a mixed bag. While the ...
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September 8, 2009
- and for the most part, good riddance. Here in Boston it rained - a lot. I came back from my all-too-short vacation with a cold. Watching Guiding Light piss away most of the summer was no fun - I mean Holly returns, yet she and Ed barely say hello. What was the point of that? Now that the writers seemed to have finally flipped the storytelling switch and reverted to the emotional depth they had ...
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August 25, 2009
- Viewers of Guiding Light first saw Grant Aleksander when, in 1982, he took over the role of Phillip Spaulding. Aleksander's Phillip was a spoiled, bratty 17-year-old, freshly kicked out of prep school, and ready for adventure - and trouble. Enter Freddie "Rick" Bauer, Melinda "Mindy" Lewis and Beth Raines— and Guiding Light's legendary Four Musketeers was complete.The Four ...
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August 6, 2009
- When Maeve Kinkead joined the Guiding Light cast in 1980, her character, Vanessa Chamberlain, was an over-indulged, wealthy daddy's girl. Over time, Vanessa has become Springfield's dignified voice of reason; a savvy business woman who never compromises her ethics, a loving mother who puts her children first. Genteel. Composed. Graceful. Strong. These are the words that come to mind when I think ...
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August 4, 2009
- The past few weeks I've been having hard time writing. With Guiding Light's end looming large, there's a long term project I've been struggling to get my arms around. Then there's the oppressive heat that finally arrived after weeks of relentless rain. And now that Nina Tassler's (CBS President of Entertainment) comments to the Television Critics Association meeting have begun the official ...
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July 28, 2009
- It's taken me a while to get to this, but a while back, Red Room member, Lana Nieves, challenged the conventional wisdom that the 1993 death of Maureen Bauer was the beginning of the end for Guiding Light. It was a great piece, and Lana made a lot of good points, but...To quote Lana, "I respectfully disagree." I actually agree with a lot of what Lana had to say, particularly her ...
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