WCAX.COM Local Vermont News, Weather and Sports-'Guiding Light' Goes Dark

'Guiding Light' Goes Dark

Burlington, Vermont - September 18, 2009

Jackie Blanchard has made it a point to be home most every afternoon at 3 o'clock for as long as she can remember, glued to WCAX and to the intrigue of Guiding Light. She chuckles, "You're able to play detective -- see if you can figure out the storyline before it happens!"

But Friday was the last day of the long-running soap opera. CBS yanked it due to low ratings. After watching for more than 50 years, and listening to the drama on the radio before that, Blanchard was eager to see all the loose ends tied up.

Who would get married? Who would return? Would Blanchard's fictional friends from the town of Springfield find peace after all their breakups, murders, brainwashings, and cases of human cloning? "You're looking at their problems and you forget your own. It's very interesting that way!" Blanchard says.

The end of Guiding Light also leaves actress Beth Chamberlin looking for work. She grew up in the Northeast Kingdom, in Danville, and has performed on the soap off-and-on for 20 years. Chamberlin now plans to make workout DVDs, possibly develop a reality TV show, and audition for other roles.

She tells WCAX News, "The other thing that's never completely off the table is thinking about possibly moving back to Vermont. My husband is not from Vermont but he loves it, and I love it and miss it. And now that I have a four-year-old son, I think about the wonderful childhood I had and I want him to have the same."

Chamberlin says it's hard to believe the show is really over. Jackie Blanchard feels the same way. Asked if she will miss the show, Blanchard sighs, "Definitely. Definitely!"

CBS will replace Guiding Light with a new version of the old game show Let's Make a Deal. That won't start until October, so in the meantime, you'll get reruns of The Price is Right.

Click here for a link to Beth Chamberlin's official website. You can also follow her on Twitter.

Jack Thurston - WCAX News