Millee Taggart took over as the writer, and her tenure received critical acclaim for breaking away from the organized crime and royalty themes that had dominated Guiding Light in recent years.
Conboy's first move was to demote several veteran performers, including Maureen Garrett, Beth Chamberlin and Elizabeth Keifer, to recurring status.
But the show's ratings continued to stagnate and in early 2005, it was revealed that Procter & Gamble had ordered Guiding Light to take a large budget cut.
As a result of being dropped to recurring, Jerry verDorn, the longest running actor and character (Ross Marler) on the show, quit and joined ABC's One Life to Live.
The first episode aired on January 25 and the second appeared on February 14, depicting the actors' trip to Biloxi, Mississippi to aid in rebuilding three homes damaged by Hurricane Katrina.
[1] On an August 29, 2008 episode of Guiding Light, actors Adam West and Burt Ward (two Batman castmates) made their special guest appearances.
A large segment of the show revolved around San Cristobel, Richard and Reva discovering they have a son named Johnathan who had been hidden away to protect him from evil Edmund.
Democratic elections held a few weeks later to decide San Cristobel's political fate are halted in a coup by Edmund, who has himself crowned prince and ruler.
This time the people vote to have the monarchy restored under Alonzo, who quickly divorces and exiles his scheming wife Camille Baptiste (who would later perish in a car accident in Europe) and allows Richard and Cassie to keep their adopted son Will.
The second plot line focuses on the Santoses and the Mob, specifically Michelle Bauer's mobster husband Danny Santos, his sister Pilar, and cousin Tony, and his sociopathic mother, Carmen.