A Shining "Light" Dims
Helloooo everybody!
Well, it's been kind of a slow week. Nothing much has happened since last Sunday, except the time going by a little bit too fast. No thing's happening at school, although I'm getting a little better at the new Algebra (a little, that is). If this trend keeps up, then I should be getting "The Beatles Rock Band" this coming Christmas, no sweat. And no thing's happening in the personal lives of me and my family and friends. I mean, the coin jar in our kitchen is still empty, as is my piggy bank ( I hope my relatives and friends like home made gifts for Christmas this year), and I'm sure that many of you can say the same.
OK, since there really is nothing to talk about this week, I feel we should shed some, um, light, if you will, on one thing that did happen this past week. This past Friday, a big part of television (and, as a matter of fact, radio) history came to an abrupt end. I'm sure many of you who are avid soap opera fans already know that the flagship daytime serial "The Guiding Light" the longest running serial in all of television, literally was turned off. For good. Debuting on CBS Radio in 1937, during the hight of the first Great Depression, and switching to CBS Television 15 years later in 1952, it was finally canceled by that network this past April Fools Day (I'm sure the cast and crew of that show didn't find that at all funny, and neither did the fans) because of dwindling ratings. From what I've heard, the producers added some new stuff to the series that it really didn't need, like new camera techniques and set designs, instead of focusing on what was really important, the story line. Like the greatest scribes always said, "Good writing makes for good series," and, from what I've also heard, the writing quality really had gone down over the past couple of years, just as these new teqniques started being put into play. So, if you asked me, it was the lack of good writers that finally put "The Guiding Light" out.
Another thing we should touch base on is one more reason "The Guiding Light" had to go. The thing that put "The Guiding Light", and every other daytime serial currently on TV today in jeopardy, is the sharp decline of the American middle class, which began, oddly enough, around the time "The Guiding Light" started switching to the course that eventually led to its demise. You see, it was middle class housewives who were once soap operas biggest and most devoted viewers, but as the middle class standard of living started to erode, and these housewives started entering the classrooms and the boardrooms, well, there started going the biggest audience soap opera ever had. It's now primarily high school and college age students (who record soaps on their VCRs and DVRs) and retired people who watch soaps. So, this is yet another example of how the decline of the American middle class is hurting all facets of American life. How sad that is. I hope the American middle class can be saved before it's too late.
Well, that's it for this week. Until next time, be well, and stay well!
Sincerely,
Marley Sue
Well, it's been kind of a slow week. Nothing much has happened since last Sunday, except the time going by a little bit too fast. No thing's happening at school, although I'm getting a little better at the new Algebra (a little, that is). If this trend keeps up, then I should be getting "The Beatles Rock Band" this coming Christmas, no sweat. And no thing's happening in the personal lives of me and my family and friends. I mean, the coin jar in our kitchen is still empty, as is my piggy bank ( I hope my relatives and friends like home made gifts for Christmas this year), and I'm sure that many of you can say the same.
OK, since there really is nothing to talk about this week, I feel we should shed some, um, light, if you will, on one thing that did happen this past week. This past Friday, a big part of television (and, as a matter of fact, radio) history came to an abrupt end. I'm sure many of you who are avid soap opera fans already know that the flagship daytime serial "The Guiding Light" the longest running serial in all of television, literally was turned off. For good. Debuting on CBS Radio in 1937, during the hight of the first Great Depression, and switching to CBS Television 15 years later in 1952, it was finally canceled by that network this past April Fools Day (I'm sure the cast and crew of that show didn't find that at all funny, and neither did the fans) because of dwindling ratings. From what I've heard, the producers added some new stuff to the series that it really didn't need, like new camera techniques and set designs, instead of focusing on what was really important, the story line. Like the greatest scribes always said, "Good writing makes for good series," and, from what I've also heard, the writing quality really had gone down over the past couple of years, just as these new teqniques started being put into play. So, if you asked me, it was the lack of good writers that finally put "The Guiding Light" out.
Another thing we should touch base on is one more reason "The Guiding Light" had to go. The thing that put "The Guiding Light", and every other daytime serial currently on TV today in jeopardy, is the sharp decline of the American middle class, which began, oddly enough, around the time "The Guiding Light" started switching to the course that eventually led to its demise. You see, it was middle class housewives who were once soap operas biggest and most devoted viewers, but as the middle class standard of living started to erode, and these housewives started entering the classrooms and the boardrooms, well, there started going the biggest audience soap opera ever had. It's now primarily high school and college age students (who record soaps on their VCRs and DVRs) and retired people who watch soaps. So, this is yet another example of how the decline of the American middle class is hurting all facets of American life. How sad that is. I hope the American middle class can be saved before it's too late.
Well, that's it for this week. Until next time, be well, and stay well!
Sincerely,
Marley Sue
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