History Series / GuidingLight

* PublicDomainSoundtrack: Alan-Michael and Lucy consummate their relationship to the ''Adagio sostenuto'' portion of Sergei Rachmaninoff's ''Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor, Op. 18''. Less cultured viewers might think they're making love to an instrumental version of Eric Carmen's "All By Myself", not knowing that the song is based on the classical piece.

The single most important thing about ''Guiding Light'' is this: it may be the longest recorded continuous narrative ''in the entire history of mankind''. If you wanted to experience the entire show from beginning to end, and you could do so on a 24-hours-a-day schedule with no breaks, you would need around ''eighteen months'' to get through it all. With all that said, you may be curious as to what the show is about. Recapping that is not going to be an easy task, but damned if we won't try.

Inspired by creator Irna Phillips' nights listening to a radio preacher, ''The Guiding Light'' began as a character study of Chicago-based Reverend John Ruthledge and his {{foil}}, the pessimistic Ellis Smith. Succeeding preachers, all with the Ruthledge name, have carried on the work of their progenitor. The 1950s (and the transition to television) saw the families move to the Los Angeles area, where the focus shifted to the Bauers, a clan of German immigrants who believed staunchly in the American dream. Filling in for cranky Ellis Smith is Bertha "Bert" Miller, a materialistic harridan who opposes the Bauers' work ethic at every turn. The Bauer family would eventually become the tentpoles of the series from here on out.

Like most soap operas during that period, the storylines got [[DenserAndWackier a bit more tangled and outrageous]], though nothing anywhere near the realm of ''[[Series/DaysOfOurLives Days of Our Lives]]''[='=] cloak-and-dagger intrigue. About the craziest thing to happen on ''Guiding Light'' was a multiple-personality diagnosis. The last years of the show's life were rocky, despite an extensive retool and modernization of the Springfield sets. Four of the veteran players, including the oldest living Bauer (Dr. Ed Bauer), were retconned into accessories to a murder that happened [[CerebusRetcon way back into the 1970]]s, when they were still straight-laced young men. The new millennium was now upon us, along with rapes, mobsters, psychics, and ghosts galore. Despite fan outcry and the outright revolt of one actor, the show eventually did come back to earth, if just so it could tidy everything up with a bow for the Grand Finale.

* SoapOperaOrganScore: The TropeMaker. Other radio plays and silent films had used Wurlitzer-type organs before, but ''The Guiding Light'' established them as a hallmark of soap operas specifically. In this show the organ music was originally diegetic, meant to be the music played in Reverend Ruthledge's church.

* PutOnABus: Rita Stapleton.

* SoapOperaOrganScore: The TropeCodifier. Other radio plays and silent films had used Wurlitzer-type organs before, but ''The Guiding Light'' established them as a hallmark of soap operas specifically. In this show the organ music was originally diegetic, meant to be the music played in Reverend Ruthledge's church.

-->'''Reva''': Come on Joshua! Isn't this fun! You look at me like I'm naked all the time. ''(crying)'' Like I don't have a heart, or a brain. All you're dirty mind sees is my body! ''(sobbing then dropping her negligee)'' Well here it is Joshua. Take a look, you take a good, long, look!

%* PutOnABus: Rita Stapleton.

The single most important thing about ''Guiding Light'' is that it may be the longest recorded continuous narrative ''in the entire history of mankind''. If you wanted to experience the entire show from beginning to end, and you could do so on a 24-hours-a-day schedule with no breaks, you would need around ''eighteen months'' to get through it all. With all that said, you may be curious as to what the show is about. Recapping that is not going to be an easy task, but damned if we won't try.

The 1960s brought forth a couple of minority actors (including a pre-fame Creator/BillyDeeWilliams) and a host of contemporary issues. Without any fanfare, the show returned to the midwest, with "Los Angeles" retconned into "Springfield, U.S.A" -- your standard, all-purpose midwest locale (which should be familiar to anyone who has watched American soaps). Nothing so earth-shattering occurred over the course of the 1970s, apart from the show's patriarch, Bill Bauer, being ''very'' [[DeaderThanDead thoroughly killed off]] and then mysteriously resurrected. The 1980s were...more tumultuous (complete with a disco intro sequence -- [[TwoDecadesBehind in 1981]]): The aging Bauer clan and the working-class Reardons took a backseat to a younger, hornier cast, though they would make a comeback in the 1990s.

The 1960s brought forth a couple of minority actors (including a pre-fame Creator/BillyDeeWilliams) and a host of contemporary issues. Without any fanfare, the show returned to the midwest, with "Los Angeles" retconned into "Springfield, U.S.A" -- your standard, all-purpose midwest locale (which should be familiar to anyone who has watched American soaps). Nothing so earth-shattering occurred over the course of the 1970s, apart from the show's patriarch, Bill Bauer, being ''very'' [[DeaderThanDead thoroughly killed off]] and then mysteriously resurrected. The 1980s were...more tumultuous (complete with a disco intro sequence -- in 1981): The aging Bauer clan and the working-class Reardons took a backseat to a younger, hornier cast, though they would make a comeback in the 1990s.

Like most soap operas during that period, the storylines got [[KudzuPlot a bit more tangled and outrageous]], though nothing anywhere near the realm of ''[[Series/DaysOfOurLives Days of Our Lives]]''[='=] cloak-and-dagger intrigue. About the craziest thing to happen on ''Guiding Light'' was a multiple-personality diagnosis. The last years of the show's life were rocky, despite an extensive retool and modernization of the Springfield sets. Four of the veteran players, including the oldest living Bauer (Dr. Ed Bauer), were retconned into accessories to a murder that happened [[CerebusRetcon way back into the 1970]]s, when they were still straight-laced young men. The new millennium was now upon us, along with rapes, mobsters, psychics, and ghosts galore. Despite fan outcry and the outright revolt of one actor, the show eventually did come back to earth, if just so it could tidy everything up with a bow for the Grand Finale.

%%* PutOnABus: Rita Stapleton.

* ShoutOut: After Brent faked his death to escape prosecution for raping Lucy, he returned to town disguised as a woman named [[Film/{{Psycho}} Marion Crane]]. Furthermore, as the story progressed, he was frequently haunted by the voice of his abusive mother, and by the time it ended, the alternate female personality had completely taken over.

* DateRape: Brent does this to Lucy.

* HookerWithAHeartOfGold: Selena Davis

* BettyAndVeronica: Some examples include Josh as the Archie, with Reva and Annie, and later Olivia filling the roles of Betty and Veronica.

* ChronicVillainy: Reva had her moments.
* ChuckCunninghamSyndrome: Claire Ramsey, Vicky Spaulding are both examples.

* GoodGirlGoneBad: Annie went from MarySue to {{Yandere}} in her desperate attempts to hang on to Josh, then seek revenge on him and Reva.

* LongRunner: Nearly '''Seventy-three''' years! As we keep mentioning, it's the ''longest running narrative in human history''.
* LoveDodecahedron

* MayDecemberRomance: Alan and Hope, HB and Reva, Roger and Dinah, Ross and Blake, Matt and Vanessa.
* PutOnABus: Rita Stapleton.

* SeriesContinuityError: Inevitable. The series ran for four full ''human generations'' of writers; no one man could ever keep decades of ''literally'' ceaseless continuity straight (the show existed before ''archiving'' was easy) and there were mistakes at times.
** A glaring example had four male characters discussing something horrible they'd done 25 years prior. Problem is, one of the men wasn't even in the cast 25 years prior, and viewers who'd been watching the show back then immediately said that no such horrible incident had occurred at that time.

* SoapOpera: To this day, the copyrights and trademarks to the show's characters are ''still'' owned by Proctor & Gamble
* SoapOperaDisease

* SoundToScreenAdaptation

* ToiletSeatDivorce: Many have taken place in Springfield, but Josh and Reva are notable for doing this ''a lot''.

* WickedCultured: Roger Thorpe.

* ShoutOut: After Brent faked his death to escape prosecution for raping Lucy, he returned to town disguised as a woman named [[Film/{{Psycho}} Marion Crane]]. Furthermore, as the story progressed, he was frequently haunted by the voice of his abusive mother.

* ArtifactTitle: The title referred to a lamp in the preacher's study. Over time, that plot point was dropped, but the title remained.
** The title was later retooled to reference the town's lighthouse, which was also featured as part of the CreditsMontage for many years and became a plot point in a number of episodes.

Like most soap operas during that period, the storylines got [[KudzuPlot a bit more tangled and outrageous]], though nothing anywhere near the realm of ''[[Series/DaysOfOurLives Days of Our Lives]]''[='=] cloak-and-dagger intrigue -- at least not yet. (About the craziest thing to happen on ''Guiding Light'' was a multiple-personality diagnosis.) The last years of the show's life were rocky, despite an extensive retool and modernization of the Springfield sets. Four of the veteran players, including the oldest living Bauer (Dr. Ed Bauer), were retconned into accessories to a murder that happened [[CerebusRetcon way back into the 1970]]s, when they were still straight-laced young men. The new millennium was now upon us, along with rapes, mobsters, psychics, and ghosts galore. Despite fan outcry and the outright revolt of one actor, the show eventually did come back to earth, if just so it could tidy everything up with a bow for the Grand Finale.

Inspired by creator Irna Phillips' nights listening to a radio preacher, ''The Guiding Light'' began as a character study of Chicago-based Reverend John Ruthledge and his {{foil}}, the pessimistic Ellis Smith. Succeeding preachers, all with the Ruthledge name, have carried on the work of their progenitor. The 1950s (and the transition to television) saw the families move to the Los Angeles area, where the focus shifted to the Bauers (no relation to [[Series/TwentyFour Jack]]), a clan of German immigrants who believed staunchly in the American dream. Filling in for cranky Ellis Smith is Bertha "Bert" Miller, a materialistic harridan who opposes the Bauers' work ethic at every turn. The Bauer family would eventually become the tentpoles of the series from here on out.

* ChronicVillainy: Reva had her moments.

* DateRape: Brent spikes Lucy's drink and rapes her.

* BecomingTheMask: In the early 90s Blake began to seduce Ross to get revenge against her mother. However she found herself falling in love and eventually they wed.

* MayDecemberRomance: Alan and Hope, HB and Reva, Roger and Dinah, Ross and Blake, Matt and Vanessa

* GoodGirlGoneBad: Annie went from MarySue to {{Yandere}} in her desperate attempts to hang

* TheBabyTrap: Desperate to hang onto husband Josh, Annie slashed her diaphragm, only for it to backfired on her--Josh had told her he wanted to wait to have kids and her deception was the last straw. She miscarried and framed his ex Reva for manslaughter by making it look like she'd pushed her down the stairs.

** Cass Winthrop from Guiding Light made a few appearances.

The 1960s brought forth a couple of minority actors (including a pre-fame Billy Dee Williams) and a host of contemporary issues. Without any fanfare, the show returned to the midwest, with "Los Angeles" retconned into "Springfield, U.S.A" -- your standard, all-purpose midwest locale (which should be familiar to anyone who has watched American soaps). Nothing so earth-shattering occurred over the course of the 1970s, apart from the show's patriarch, Bill Bauer, being ''very'' [[DeaderThanDead thoroughly killed off]] and then mysteriously resurrected. The 1980s were...more tumultuous (complete with a disco intro sequence -- in 1981): The aging Bauer clan and the working-class Reardons took a backseat to a younger, hornier cast, though they would make a comeback in the 1990s.