It's been a little over a year since Guiding Light bolted from the confines of a New York studio to create a reality based production, a sort of cinema-verite style that brought to life a real New Jersey town to "play" Springfield. The results have been middling at best, but recently GL has lurched forward in a positive way and that can all be explained in two words/one name -- Grant Aleksander. The actor is back as Phillip Spaulding, one of the most important characters in the history of the show.

The last year of GL hasn't only been about the new production. Coinciding with all that physical change which has set more and more scenes outdoors and in "wild" set, the cast has been undergoing massive change. Top line veterans Ricky Paull Goldin, Nicole Forester and Beth Ehlers have all departed, and recently John Driscoll was tragically killed off.

However, while those losses have been hard to accept, the return of Phillip, in the person of the best-known actor to have ever played the role, has been a boon.

For starters, Phillip is connected to just about every other character currently on the canvas. He has history -- good and bad -- with the Coopers, Olivia, Alan and Lizzie, Reva and Josh, and especially, Rick and Beth. That opens up a world of conflict and stories. Unlike bringing in someone new with no connections, Phillip can fall right back into the canvas. That has already manifested itself with the resurrection of two great characters who've been underused on the show, Alexandra and Buzz.

As Buzz, actor Justin Deas -- a six-time Daytime Emmy winner (once for As the World Turns, two for Santa Barbara, three for GL) -- has been wasted the past few years, pouring coffee and flipping Buzz burgers. With the death of Coop, Deas' has something to do and it all revolves around Phillip and getting revenge on Alan.

Marj Dusay's first scenes with Grant Aleksander, when Alex went to see Phillip in prison, crackled with authenticity. Aleksander is the catalyst for all this renewed excitement and the main reason I'm watching GL every day again. Aleksander plays Phillip with an understated understanding that this is a guy who's been to hell and back and knows which side on which to stay.

Upcoming we can expect the reuniting of the four musketeers -- Rick, Beth, Mindy and Phillip -- which is bound to be a treat for long-time fans of the GL.

Other soap scoops:

All My Children: It looks like Ryan is turning to the dark side now that Greenlee's gone and he's blaming Zach for the accident. By the way, Greenlee's motorcycle crash was one of the all-time worst soap effect scenes. Fakey and over the top.

As the World Turn: Smartest casting move in years was Jon Lindstrom as Craig Montgomery. He's been as positive a jolt to ATWT as Aleksander to GL. On the flip side, why are Luke and Noah -- the first openly gay men in love on the soaps -- being turned into The Hardy Boys?

The Bold & the Beautiful: The shows seems to be stuck in the same groove with Ridge and Brooke fighting about Steffy and Rick for weeks now. Please, change the tune; try something new. Maybe Ridge needs to have a nervous breakdown.

Days of Our Lives: The supercouples are dropping like flies, but at least Sami is back in the swing of things. It would be nice to see the story focus on her and EJ and Stefano, something strong with roots. Nobody cares about Melanie.

General Hospital: Hallelujah! Sonny and Jason are a team again, but what's going to happen when Sonny finally learns the truth about Claudia's connection to Michael's condition -- and will it be Kate who spills the beans?

One Life to Live: There will be blood, and not just the deaths we've seen already. There's something evil afoot in Llanview. There's also a terrific new villainess on the scene, Gigi's sister, Stacy.

The Young & the Restless: Why does Cane want to fight Chloe for custody of a baby that's not his? Has the Kay/Marge abduction ended yet? Maybe killing Brad wasn't such a good idea after all.