The producers of Guiding Light have signed a licensing deal with Limerick band Vesta Varro.
The band was hand-picked by a Guiding Light producer, who heard one of its songs on American radio and offered the band a contract with the show. The band's songs have been featured in 17 episodes already.
According to The New York Daily News, viewers aren't satisfied with the new look and feel of Guiding Light:
A number of readers seem to agree with the complaint of angry viewers that the new style of Guiding Light isn't working.
The 71-year-old soap gave itself a major face-lift last month, with hand-held cameras, extreme closeups of the performers and a generally less "canned" look.
The producers say they're happy and that it gives the show a fresher, more contemporary look. Reader Carolyn Brown, among others, begs to differ.
"Producer Janet Morrison says viewer response has been generally great. I am sorry to say that this is a blatant lie," wrote Brown. "All of the Web sites that I have seen constantly give bad reviews. I would say that about 90% of the feedback is negative. Longtime viewers such as myself demand that 'Guiding Light' go back to the original format. We cannot watch the show as it is."
Read other fans' opinions now.
It's shaping up to be an exciting week of episodes of Guiding Light. Here's a look:
Without giving too much away, here's a look at upcoming Guiding Light episodes...
Here are a few Guiding Light spoilers, for those that just cannot wait for future episodes...
Things are looking a little shaky these days at Guiding Light, history's longest-running soap opera. The New York Daily News has a look at the show's recent changes...
The producers don't think that's a bad thing, either. A little shakiness, courtesy of hand-held digital cameras, is just one part of a major makeover they hope is transforming the look and style of the 71-year-old show from staid and traditional to fresh, contemporary and provocative.
" 'Guiding Light' has always been at the forefront of technology," says producer Janet Morrison. "It's just a way it continuously becomes a better version of itself.
"We've gone from three-wall sets to four walls and a ceiling. Now when the characters drive a car, it's a real car, not a car sitting there with fake trees..."
Read the full article now.
Remember: Guiding Light will be preempted Thursday, March 20, and Friday, March 21, due to CBS Sports coverage of the NCAA Basketball Tournament. Here's what you can expect the rest of the week...
Michael O'Leary recently spoke with CBS.com about his character, Dr. Rick Bauer, on Guiding Light. Here are excerpts from the chat:
CBS.com: What has Rick been up to lately on Guiding Light?
Michael O'Leary: I think Rick is going to the dark side a little. To summarize where he's at, I think if you look at the fact that his father is gone, his sister is gone, his best friend is in an insane asylum somewhere, Mindy is gone, he's been kicked out of his house, he has a heart condition and now he's in danger of losing his high school sweetheart and his baby.
So I think this is turning him into, as Beth would say, Alanesqe behavior. I think he's at the point where being a nice guy is not getting him anywhere so he's ready to take some prisoners.
CBS.com: Will Rick go to the dark side?
Michael O'Leary: Yes he's there. I think he's going a little crazy. I don't know about the fans, but after twenty-five years of playing this nice guy I'm glad to be playing Rick with a little bit of an edge. And it's fun to threaten people. Alan has me in jail so Rick is very erratic. Let's not forget the Bauers have substance abuse problems. I don't think the bottle is far behind.
What should happen if Rick doesnt get the baby and Beth? I'd like to see Rick go in a spiral and have either Frank or Phillip get him out of the gutter.
Read the full interview now.
Curious about what's taking place this week on Guiding Light? Check out a few spoilers below:
Ellen Wheeler, Executive Producer of Guiding Light, recently spoke with CBS.com about the much-hyped changes that show has undergone:
CBS.com: How did you come up with the idea to take Guiding Light in this direction?
Ellen Wheeler: We've been looking for a while, trying to find what our audience wanted. And, Procter and Gamble Productions did a really good research project on talking to soap opera fans asking them what they love and what they want to see differently. Soap opera fans are so intelligent. They are also very vocal and willing to share with us all the things they love and the things they don't love.
I was lucky because they loved all the things that I loved. They love the fact that we tell serial stories that go on from one day to the next, and they love the characters and their relationships and the history of these stories and they love how the stories interconnect.
They didn't love that because we were limited to a budget sometimes things didn't make sense. You didn't see people go to work or in their house, it took place in the hospital or the restaurant because those were the sets that were up this week. The other day I shot Cassie filling up her car with gasoline. We've never shot someone filling up their car with gas.
Sam: Lucky, it's called cleavage, and it's the best weapon we've got.