One of the hardest tasks in all of television must be bringing a daytime drama to a close. In other realms of entertainment, plays and musicals can be resurrected through countless revivals. Primetime TV shows can come and go, yet have the potential to be re-imagined or rebooted for the small or big screen. The biggest box office disasters can live on via countless direct-to-DVD sequels. Radio hosts and their dubiously talented sidekicks can be fired for the most hateful commentary, yet live on with the same formats other stations to be spiteful for another day.
With the exception of Dark Shadows, once a soap opera is canceled it is gone forever. During my time I've watched some of my favorites disappear: The City, Port Charles, Generations, Texas, and — in my opinion — two of the genre's titans, Santa Barbara and The Edge of Night. Many of you are still missing your own beloved shows over the last three decades as well. Fans of Capitol, Love of Life, Sunset Beach, Passions, Search for Tomorrow, and the still mourned Another World among others express their loss as if there yet remains a certain kind of grief that has not yet abated after all these years. Soon we will lose another giant among soaps: in less than ten short weeks, Guiding Light will shine for the last time on CBS. READ MORE