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Inside Guiding Light's Extreme Makeover
Guiding Light by Robert Milazzo/PGP/CBS
Get ready for TV's newest reality show: 55-year-old Guiding Light! Starting Feb. 29, the CBS-Procter & Gamble program will abandon the timeworn way of making soaps for a radical, überauthentic approach that has much of the show shot on location in quaint little Peapack, New Jersey. The production is using the town's streets, homes, parks and businesses, as well as its outskirts. Case in point: The first episode with the new look finds heiress Lizzie Spaulding (the increasingly terrific Marcy Rylan) being dumped in the middle of the woods by her ex-lover Jonathan (Tom Pelphrey). She'll be rescued — soaked and frozen — by her current flame, Bill (Daniel Cosgrove).
GL's soundstage in Manhattan also got an overhaul. Gone are the three-walled sets soaps have used since the 1950s. Now each interior locale has four walls and a ceiling, requiring that all scenes be shot by a fleet-footed crew with minicams.
"We're bringing the viewers right into the experience in a very intimate way," says GL exec producer Ellen Wheeler. Credit the shake-up to a two-year research project P&G is conducting with the GL fans. "Our audience has been very clear with us," Wheeler says. "They don't like the nonreality of soaps — the fake grass, the fact that people in Springfield never seem to go to work or actually do their jobs or take care of their children. They want the stories and characters they love but with the same sense of reality they get from Grey's Anatomy and other nighttime shows."
Wheeler insists CBS wants low-rated GL to remain on the air. "This is not a desperate survival move," she says. "This is a creative, financially efficient way to move soap operas into the future. GL has always led the way." — Michael Logan
For much more on Guiding Light, visit GuidingLight.net.
Update: GL's Robert Bogue, John Driscoll, Nicole Forrester and Gina Tognoni will ring the opening bell of the New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday, Feb. 27, at 9:30 am/ET, to celebrate the launch of the show's new production model. A live webcast of the ringing will be available that morning at this link.
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Feb 25, 2008 2:39 PM
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I don't watch Guiding Light but I'd love to see the ABC soaps do the same thing.
The daily British soap, Hollyoaks, has done this for years and it makes an amazing difference in the show.
Good luck to CBS with this one.
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Feb 25, 2008 4:45 PM
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Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't the old abc soap The City do the same kind of thing? As for the 2 year research on "fans been really clear on what they want".... it's those d@mn focus groups again!!
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Feb 25, 2008 7:17 PM
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If amateurish, poorly edited, shaky camera work that looks like raw footage with ridiculously frenetic zoom cuts will "move soap operas into the future" as Ms Wheeler states, producers might as well as stock up on nails for the coffins of their respective soaps if they follow suit.
GL was a class act. Now it looks like a student project on youtube with rundown location sets, lousy audio, and some dizzy cameraperson who discovered the quick-zoom feature. SAD.
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Feb 25, 2008 8:43 PM
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I don't know about anyone else, but I *hate* this new production look!!
It's very distracting, I find myself staring at the lines in Harley's face or the bags under Jeffrey's eyes instead of what they're saying. The shakiness of the handheld cameras makes me dizzy, and the whole thing just looks CHEAP - like everyone's running around with video cams - the color is off and the picture looks grainy.
I know money's tight at all the soaps, but the fact that they can't afford cameras or sets that blend into the background so that the writers, actors and viewers can focus on the story and dialogue just makes GL/P&G look desperate. I hope they realize their mistake and go back to the way it was.
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Feb 26, 2008 6:14 AM
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The new look is very nice. But what about the writing?....The writing!!
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Feb 26, 2008 8:15 AM
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Maybe they should spend more time looking at what the fans want when it comes to writing and storylines! I can put up with everyone living in the Beacon if the writing makes sense and the stories draw me in.
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Feb 26, 2008 9:05 AM
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I am loving Marcy Rylan's "Lizzie" as well. She is becoming increasingly awesome as her tenure continues.
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Feb 26, 2008 10:02 AM
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This is a great idea... but the quality of the cameras, lighting, the color levels, and sound levels are way off. Viewers aren't dumb, they will take notice. I can't see a new viewer being drawn into what looks like a community college film student's video project. It looks like something from Public Access.
I don't know what the cost difference is, but whatever cameras they use for shows like The Hills would be worth the upgrade. Perhaps they take more production time, I don't know but am curious about it. That slick, seductive look is part of the reason those semi-reality shows took off. If GL had that they'd be a step above everyone else.
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Feb 26, 2008 10:14 AM
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Willing to give it a chance....but no amount of nifty camera work will make up for the crap writing and the loss of great actors from this show.
The creative team needs to be overhauled, and GL needs someone who knows its history and doesn't ignore it.
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Feb 26, 2008 10:29 AM
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I am ABSOLUTELY THRILLED that GL is doing this: I lived in England for many years and the soaps there do this, it is so much more engaging, and much more intimate. Eastenders takes place out on the streets and in the public square and Neighbours and Coronation Street (as old as ATWT) have started doing it, too! Short of moving the soaps to the dinner hour -which they do in Britain- this is the best thing the American soaps could do to save their shrinking audience. Cheers!!
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Feb 26, 2008 10:41 AM
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Although I am tempted to jump on my usual soapbox about how "the fans" can always find a dark cloud within any silver lining, I'd rather go on record as saying I am very excited by this new audacious move by P&G, CBS and Wheeler.
While The City tried something similar many years as was pointed out, their experiment was not anywhere nearly as far reaching as GL's current move. And while GL is getting a lot if flack already for what some are calling "amateurish" production values, I'd like to point out that the most recent on-air location footage isn't the complete makeover for the show and the whole process will take some time to iron out.
(Personally, I think Wheeler should take a page out of All My Children's production playbook. AMC recently switched to high definition cameras and looks stunning.)
Now, Soap Box Time: I wish a lot of "fans" would shut the hell up with the incessant and constant bashing of shows they proclaim to love. We all KNOW that no matter what the production values are that the success or failure of GL and all other soaps comes down to the writing and the stories. We all KNOW that there are a lot of issues with the medium and the genre.
And we all KNOW -- according to so many 'fans" -- that every story line on every soap prior to circa 1990 was perfect, there were never any casting mistakes, every single character that crossed our screens was a golden creation, every couple was a super couple, every line of dialogue was an interpretation of Shakespeare via Tennessee Williams, and "the powers that be" not only got what "the fans" wanted every single time, but catered to "the fans" every wish and whim no matter how contradictory among various fan factions those wishes might have been. We get it. We've heard the bitching and moaning a billion times (a day, it seems). The soap past was flawless and glorious. And every single actor, writer and executive today who toils in the genre to bring you your stories is, in the current parlance, "an idiot." So say you all.
I know there are problems -- lots of them -- with daytime (and I have my own list of issues with GL), but can we -- as "the fans" actually give something a chance (like we used to do historically) before condemning anything and everything altogether, often befroe we've even seen it? I think Guiding Light (cast, crew, execs) is to be commended for doing something as bold as the new production scheme.
Yes, it's going to cause a lot of pain for long time viewers who are still stuck in the past (yes, I said it), but no more so than the crews members who lost their jobs due to cost cutting. Yes, this new look is going to be jarring for us, but no more so than for the actors and actresses who have had to take pay cuts, many of whom have had to go on recurring and almost all of whom on GL still are braving freezing temperatures (and soon the heat) on a near daily basis for your entertainment. And yes, they are going to get lots of things wrong with the show and the stories and that really won't change for GL or any other show. One can have faith, as I do, that eventually (and hopefully) the good will outweigh the bad and that GL will stick around for many years to come leaner, meaner and stronger. Or...
If you don't like it, you can always tune out. Bitching and moaning every single day (as some message board posters do) and then watching the show every single day just doesn't seem to be a productive or even sane use of one's time. Just watch something else or even do something else. That way, if GL gets canceled you will have done your part to make it happen so there will be nothing to complain about anymore.
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Feb 26, 2008 10:48 AM
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As a long time Guiding Light fan, I am excited about the new look of the soap. There was a certain lack of reality on those three wall sets, but the Bauer kitchen was one of my favorite locations for many years. If these changes will help keep the show on the air for another 50 years, than I am in favor of the changes. When someone compares the new Guiding Light to the old ABC soap The City, it is not a bad thing. The City had a very hip interesting new look (at the time), but suffered from a timeslot opposite The Young and the Restless. The City had additional difficulties when it attempted to capture a more prime time look with wide angles that are not as intimate as most daytime soap operas. There are some scenes when Guiding Light does look a little like a youtube video, but that is what is hip and stylish right now. Guiding Light is attempting to create a more reality based look that will attract a wider audience.
Unfortunately with this new HDTV (high definition television), age lines on the face, or bags under the eyes are much more noticeable and unavoidable. Beth Ehlers is no longer 21; we know that because Harley burst on to the scene 20 years ago as a pregnant high school student. Next year HDTV will become the norm and human imperfections will become the reality...not everyone in the real world has perfect teeth and perfect skin, and hopefully the new look of Guiding Light will be driven more by reality than unrealistic and unobtainable perfection.
In the end soaps have been about storylines, writing, and acting. When the storylines are too outrageous or boring, the writing is lackluster, unoriginal, or uncharacteristic (of the character), and the acting is lacking authenticity...traditionally daytime viewers seem to like follow actors and actresses that have passion and draw. Smart writing keeps a character interesting, and good stories keep me on the edge of my seat.
Guiding Light is about family, and at times over the last 20 years the program did not always focus on the family. The Coopers have replaced the Bauers as the grounded core family (if you can call them grounded). It is very true that many times the storylines ignore family, parental, and job responsibilities for the characters. There are recent times when I wonder what Harley’s children must be thinking, where they are living, and who is feeding them breakfast or tucking them in at night. There seem to be many MIA children of lead characters on this soap. Some of the best storylines on soaps include the children -- not the kidnapping of every child in town storyline from a few years ago, but the realistic integration of children into a storyline. How many Springfield children are currently lost at boarding school? Doesn’t Beth have at least one other son? Guiding Light needs to get back to the reality of the family. The new look will be great, but does not solve certain storyline issues.
Hopefully the new look of Guiding Light will bring new storylines that attract new viewers.
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Feb 26, 2008 11:04 AM
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Acoustic, just a quick note: I don't THINK GL is shot with Hi-Def cameras in HD although they might be. If they are shooting with Hi-Def cams, what we've seen recently might not reflect what GL will look like when the format switch is complete.
AMC just switched to hi-def after the last couple of years shooting on regular videotape that was processed to look like film.
Great post about GL (and The City), by the way.
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Feb 26, 2008 11:21 AM
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I've been saying Days needs to do this for the longest time. I can't even remember the last time anyone on there actually went outside. They used to have at least a couple outdoor sets (and back in the 80s they went on location all the time!) but now it's all indoor and looks so fake.
As I read some of the comments, it would seem that, with these changes, the camera work, the angles and cuts, have changed as well?
I would say not to confuse the camera work and setting; just because they're using different camera equipment for the new setting doesn't mean they're doing the jerky movements as a result. If they're doing those kinds of "amateur looking" cuts, I'd say that's really stupid. They don't need to do that, other shows, like Scrubs or any other single camera show, doesn't have cuts or camera movements like that; which means it's a conscious decision to move the camera like that and it's just unnecessary.
They've been doing that on Days from time to time, in the last few months; trying to do something new and it just looks stupid.
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Feb 26, 2008 11:23 AM
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