Steineded How sad is this?

JinRoz For all the hype it got I was expecting a lot more!

Portia Hilton Blistering performances.

Tobias Burrows It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

mark.waltz How do you sum up 70 years of a soap opera? Why, start at the beginning of course, and in the case of the oldest of all daytime soaps (which began on radio), the theme was spirituality which may have decreased as time marched on, but there was always a subtle reminder of that light, whether it be through the fact that basically normal people could get through whatever struggle life challenged them with simply through their own inner strengths. Radio episodes and early kinescopes of the first decade of the show still exist, showing the development of the Bauer family (introduced late in the radio run a few years before it went onto T.V.) which established them as the core family. Even as their story lines decreased as other families joined the canvas (most notably the wealthy Spauldings and Lewises), they still remained the backbone of the original theme with some of the younger members of the family being important during the show's last decade.I started watching in the early 1980's, switching channels from "General Hospital" during commercials to see if Jane Elliott (Carrie, "GH's" Tracy) was on, her split personality storyline extremely well acted and mesmerizing. When Beverlee McKinsey came on as Alexandra Spaulding in 1984 (at the same time I couldn't really bear "GH" all that much anymore), I became a full time viewer, and that year had one of my all time favorite camp story lines, the Barbados location shoot that featured the wonderful Carrie Nye as the sinister Susan Piper. Even in her second role as Caroline Caruthers, Nye made a bad storyline tolerable, even using the same gun she had used 20 years before as Susan.During this time, of course, "GL" gradually became the Reva Shayne show, with Kim Zimmer on the front burner and on daily for years. Her supposed demise in 1990 allowed other actors to get some airtime, but that dwindled once she returned in 1995. Certainly, Zimmer is a great actress, and it was the producer's decision to showcase her, but other actors seemed to slide off the back-burner thanks to the dominating story lines Reva was given. But when these characters did get time in the spotlight, they shined, particularly Tina Sloan's kind but troubled nurse Lillian Raines, Peter Simon's melancholy Ed Bauer, and Ellen Parker's naive Maureen Reardon Bauer, culminating in a tear-jerking conclusion when Maureen was killed off after discovering Lillian and Ed's affair. The re-cast of Alexandra Spaulding with the magnetic Marj Dusay started off hopeful, but she was majorly wasted after the casting of Ron Raines as the third Alan Spaulding wrapped up the story of his attempts to take over Spaulding Enterprises. Fortunately, she would return on several occasions and was present for the final episode.Being taped in New York meant that "Guiding Light" had access to some of the theater's best talent, and such distinguished actors as William Roerick, Maeve Kinkhead, Larry Gates and Chris Bernau (the original Alan) were cast. Sometimes story lines were wrapped up neatly, but like real life, the ramifications of those plot lines lead to new stories. This was very evident with the character of Roger Thorpe (Emmy Winner Michael Zaslow) whose actions affected practically every major family on the show. His "demise" in 1980 remains one of the show's highlights, and his return from the dead in 1989 opened up a whole new can of worms.Forced by changing trends to keep with the times, "Guiding Light" became somewhat predictable in the late 1980's with the emphasis on youth. Early 1980's teen stories were planned out realistically with outstanding young actors cast as such characters as Tim Werner (Kevin Bacon, no less!), Morgan Richards, and later on, Philip Spaulding, Beth Raines, Rick Bauer and Mindy Lewis. While not all the young actors were blonde, bland and bad, it seemed for a while that the show had taken on an L.A. look. But "GL" had some pride in its past, continuously bringing back fan favorites from the past (Nola, Claire, Barbara, Josh, Billy, Holly, etc.) and for the most part providing memorable send-offs for actors on the show who had passed away. One poor exception was the death of Bert Bauer in 1986 who didn't manage to get an on-screen funeral with visits of family members and friends. Original cast member Charita Bauer deserved much better. But the deaths of the actors playing Henry and H.B. in real life were written in for their characters, and they made up for what the Bauer matriarch had not gotten. "GL" ended its 50+ T.V. run by bringing back many old favorites from the past for a send-off to the longest running program in broadcast history.

leanevoiles I am inquiring about that reporter that was on November 17. She was beautiful and a great actor I would love to see her on my TV screen again!!! I have also seen a few movies she was in such as Equinox Knocks in 1999 as Lynette Larson a boyfriend taker of her arch rival. Witch craft and high school drama what more would a movie need. Also in a higher scale of movie Amber played the uncredited roll as Joe Newton's Date in the 1998 The Newton Boys movie that is now on IMDb with 5.6/10 stars. Farmers turned to bank robbers wow what a movie!!I would love to see Amber Voiles in more of your show!! Please everyone that sees this comment please look her up!! Amber Voiles

Catherine_Grace_Zeh Ah, yes. I can remember when I was in high school. The first thing I would do my junior and senior year when I got home was turn on the TV and watch this classic soap opera. From that moment on, I was hooked on it. In addition, I also enjoyed the days when Signy Coleman (Annie Dutton) was on the show. Ever since Saundra Santiago (Carmen Santos) left the show in 2002, I haven't been watching it as much. If you ask me, she was absolutely diabolical. You'd have to have seen the show between 1999 and 2002 if you want to know why. However, this is still a good soap opera. In conclusion, I highly recommend this classic soap opera to all you die-hard CBS fans.

tpcktt For nearly 7 decades, THE GUIDING LIGHT has become one of most beloved daytime dramas. GL has the distinction of being the longest running entertainment program in American broadcast history. Created by Irna Phillips, GL originally told the story of Reverend Ruthledge and his flock of parishioners when it began on radio on January 25, 1937. In 1948, the focus of the show shifted to the Bauers, a German-American family. On June 30, 1952, GL was the first radio soap to successfully switch to television (from 1952 to 1956, GL ran on both radio and TV). The Bauer clan was led by Frederick Bauer (played by Theo Goetz from 1948 until his passing in 1973). Frederick Bauer was affectionately known to those who knew him as Papa Bauer. He had three children: Trudy (briefly played in 1952 by Helen Wagner, who eventually went on play matriarch Nancy Hughes on another Irna Phillips creation called AS THE WORLD TURNS in 1956), Meta (played by longest by Ellen Demming: 1953-1975), whom many of early story lines revolved around, and son Bill (who later became an alcoholic) and his family. Bill's family included wife Bertha, also known as Bert, who would become one of the most beloved matriarchs in daytime television (she was played by Charita Bauer from 1950 until her death in February, 1985) and their two sons Michael and Edward. In the 1960s and 1970s, Michael and Edward became the focus of the show with their various professional and personal problems, including Ed's alcoholism. Beginning in the late 1970s, other families became part of the show's fabric (the Marlers, Spauldings, Coopers, Lewises, Chamberlains, Norrises, Reardons and Thorpes). Like many soaps, GL has had some memorable characters. One of which was Roger Thorpe, the most infamous villain in soap history (played to perfection by the late, great Micheal Zaslow on-and-off from 1971 to 1997). During the years 1995-2004, the show lost its focus. Those years were filled by incompetent producers and writers who created some of the worst story lines in the show's history. Some of these clunkers included the cloning of Reva, the Santos family, the San Cristobal story (the only good thing about that one is the emergence of Our Prince of Darkness---Edmund Winslow), and the Mary Anne Carruthers mystery. In early 2004, GL seems to be getting back on track with competent producers and writers at the helm, who have created story lines that make good use of the show's long history (the only down side is that Grant Aleksander, who played Philip Spaulding since 1982 was sacrificed).