It's with a big sigh of relief that I report that Michael Logan at TV Guide has confirmed that CBS has booked Guiding Light for one more year. That'll make it 72 years of continuous broadcasting -- radio and television. No program can match Guiding Light's longevity, and I would hate to see CBS cancel a show with this kind of legacy.

That said, Guiding Light needs to have a better year going forth than they've had looking back. In fact, since tying with The Young and the Restless last June as Outstanding Daytime Drama at the Emmys, the show has been going through major transitions. The new style of filming, shooting on locations in a New Jersey town that's being used as the fictional Springfield, began on February 29, and it hasn't been welcomed by the critics or viewers.

On February 29, 2008, a new era began for Guiding Light. Daytime television's longest running serial drama -- 71 years old this year -- burst out of the confines of a New York studio to begin shooting on location and on the fly in makeshift, portable sets and real places. The idea on paper was not only exciting, it seemed revolutionary. If they succeeded, Guiding Light could truly be a "guiding light" to the rest of the soap industry.

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