The Guiding Light (TGL) (known since 1975 as Guiding Light) was a long-running American television soap opera.
Show development
During the 1970s, the head writer for Guiding Light stabilized, with two main storylines from January 1, 1970, to December 31, 1979. Robert Soderberg and Edith Sommer wrote the first half of the decade until the spring of 1973. Then James Gentile, Robert Cenedella, and James Lipton continued in the same direction until near the end of October 1975.
Under Soderberg and Sommer's leadership, several memorable storylines concluded, including the gaslighting of Dr. Sara McIntyre by her first husband, Lee Gantry, and his housekeeper Miss Mildred Foss. The killing of Stanley Norris was also set up, and the mystery lasted for several months until the last-minute confession by another woman, who died in court. The characters of Katherine "Kit" Vestid and Charlotte Waring Bauer became one of the most interesting pairs of villainesses. In contrast, the character of Roger Thorpe was introduced and became one of the most major and remembered characters in daytime TV, played by Michael Zaslow.
Throughout the 1970s, Roger Thorpe became more of a villain but a complicated, multi-faceted one. His on-and-off again romance with Holly Norris Bauer Thorpe, Stanley Norris' daughter, created by Soderberg and Sommer, became one of the most popular and riveting romances on television.
Longtime cast member Theo Goetz, who played Papa Bauer on The Guiding Light, passed away on December 29, 1972 at the age of 78. Soderberg and Somer wrote a tribute episode that aired on February 27, 1973, after Papa Bauer's death was incorporated into the show. The episode featured a memorial service where Dr. Ed Bauer gave a memorable eulogy and Mike Bauer sang one of Papa's favorite songs.
Under Soderberg and Sommer, the romantic triangle between the Bauer sons, Mike and Ed, and Leslie Jackson Bauer Norris heated up, with Bert finding out about the romance during Leslie's trial for supposedly murdering Stanley Norris. This storyline was criticized by Charita Bauer, who played Bert, for not focusing on the show's main theme of family support.
In 1975, Procter & Gamble hired head writers Bridget and Jerome Dobson due to pressure from newer, more youth-oriented serials. The Dobsons took over from Gentile, Cenedella and Lipton, and focused on core characters, giving Bert her first real storyline in years when her husband Bill returned from the dead. They also created two families that remained prominent in storylines until the show's end in September 2009, the Spauldings and the Marlers. The Dobsons introduced characters like Ross Marler in March 1979 and Alan Spaulding in November 1977, who remained part of the show's canvas until its end, albeit with two major recasts. Under The Dobsons, the longest-running recurring character, Cedars Hospital's OB-GYN Dr. Margaret Sedwick, first appeared in September 1979, helping many women through pregnancies and miscarriages over the years and playing a significant role in Lillian Raines' breast cancer diagnosis and recovery. Dr. Sedwick last appeared a few months before the show ended in 2009.
The Dobsons are credited with presenting the first-ever marital rape storyline on daytime television when Roger Thorpe raped his wife Holly Norris Bauer Thorpe in the March 5, 1979 episode of Guiding Light. This storyline was controversial and thought-provoking, leading to a major trial where attorney Ross Marler defended Roger, followed by Holly shooting him three times in the chest in June 1979. Roger was declared dead and Holly spent six months in prison for his murder until his body was exhumed, proving it wasn't his. The rape scene was considered one of the most realistic-looking in daytime history, in contrast to a previous rape scene involving Roger and Rita Stapleton that was criticized for romanticizing violence.
The Dobsons received criticism for killing off Leslie Jackson Bauer Norris Bauer in June 1976, a move that many considered the beginning of the end for the show. Similarly, the decision to bring back Bill Bauer from the "dead" in the fall of 1977 was met with backlash from long-time viewers who remembered his supposed death in 1969. Although the character made brief appearances in the storyline, he was ultimately killed off in August 1983.
In early 1974, the show's theme and background music was changed from acoustic organ-based to orchestra-based. The opening and closing themes, "La Lumière," were re-scored in an orchestral version by composer Charles Paul and the billboards and titles were also updated.