In the first International Fan Spotlight segment, I spoke with AS THE WORLD TURNS fan Mark Knoop who lives in the Netherlands. This time, I talked with Marco Corsi, a longtime GUIDING LIGHT in Italy. The show is known as SENTIERI there.Can you tell me a little about your background and how you became a fan of GUIDING LIGHT?
I graduated from Università di Pavia in Italy and before I settled down. I was an exchange student at Miami University (Ohio) I worked and lived in England for short time, and in Florence. Now I live near Milano, in the financial department of a major Italian bank. I used to watch CAPITOL, and miss it so much. Paula Denning from CAPITOL, along with along with India Von Halkein on GUIDING LIGHT, are my all-time favorite characters on daytime ever. I tried to watch THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL, but it never did it for me).
How long have you been watching?
The Mrs. Piper storyline just glued me, and the arrival of India in the pouring rain. I've always been into soaps both daytime and nightime.
Is the show popular in Italy?
GUIDING LIGHT was popular in the 80s and 90s. There is a rock hard fan base. I experienced it when a bunch of us got together at Milan airport to greet Kim Zimmer and Robert Newman a few years ago. Amazing! GUIDING LIGHT is not treated well by Rete4, the network that broadcasts it. Can you believe they show from 10 to 20 minutes per day? And that means that Italian episode 100 may begin with last five minutes of American GL 10000 and the first 10 minutes of American GL 10001. I hope you get my point.
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Is the show running current episodes or is it behind? And do you watch current episodes through the internet and know what is going on now?
When the show was regularly broadcasted we were about one year behind. Now, about three years. The show airs Monday through Friday at 4 pm. Until a few years ago I had friends tape the show in the United States and send it to me. Now I download it or watch it on Youtube. I kind of stopped watching last February as I wasn't involved anymore, where was the story? What happened to the dialogue? Gone were the days when I couldn't wait to watch the next day's show.
Do you follow the show through the American soap press?
I've been a Soap Opera Digest subsciber for the past 15 years. Unfortunately, I just had to cancel. My Digest kept "getting lost" in the mail.
Have you met any of the cast from the show? And have any of the cast been to Italy?
YES!!!! I've visited the set a few times. In 1996 I just waited outside the studio and begged the actors to let me in! They did. The same in 1999 and 2001. In 2005 I was lucky to meet the italian guy (Sante Cossentino) who the works pro bono as publicist for SENTIERI. Sante works as publicist for quite a few italian actors. With him I was given the "proper" tour. We went to dinner with Kim Zimmer, Ricky Paull Goldin, producer Maria Macina and Marj Dusay.
Does Guiding Light receive any media coverage there?
From time to time GUIDING LIGHT actors would come to Italy. Kim Zimmer and Robert Newman have had some coverage in the press. Beth Ehlers was the last to come over here. She was vacationing and did some press too.
If you are a fan of a U.S. soap in a different country and want to speak about the show and its following there, send me an email at [email protected].
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