Franko

Miss Ellie's fallible side should have been explored more. On the other hand, the fact that she and Jock never quite reconciled their failings as parents made for some really good drama. The J.R./Miss Ellie scene is a classic, but I also love Jock's reaction at the end of his encounter.

Good point about preemptions and out of pattern timeslots. I stand by my call that CAP is an obvious weak link circa '85-'86, but it does seem like the affiliates played a pretty big role for the shows at the bottom of the heap.

My big takeaway from these recent posts is that a rising tide doesn't lift all ships. CAP really isn't doing as well as you'd expect between ATWT and GL. DOOL's success isn't doing much for SFT, AW or SB. It's like people who watched AMC, OLTL or GH didn't bother to tune in for RH or LOV.

When I was a little boy, I thought Lynn Herring was the prettiest woman in the world. I still think she's attractive. Anna gets a good scene the week later, when she finds Victor's body (well, technically, Robin and her friend did) and Robert begrudgingly lets her make sure he's really dead. It's too late to benefit Duke ... as the scene cuts to Ian Buchanan at a safe house, in turmoil for leaving Anna and Robin.

Yup, you're right (and Google News Archive Search confirmed it) -- the episode aired Thursday, Sept. 4, 1986. My mistake. I was so certain when I heard the voiceover promo. The "It Will Excite You" promo also places the action in the fall -- new graphics and a logical reason for Mac and Rachel to be at odds. They would be/were dealing with the fallout of Mitch's return and Matthew knowing who his dad is.

The voiceover during SFT's credits places that episode as airing on Thursday, May 1, 1986.

Followed, of course, by the patented Edith "Ha!" and mini-spit. She *did* put the kibosh on Ed Grimley, Jr.'s audition as Bela.

Thirty years ago yesterday, Victor Jerome bit the dust.

Woof! And here we go! Bye-bye, EON. I was right, RH was near-instantly hobbled by the switch. SFT seems to have gotten a little bit of a boost. I wonder if it was people who tried Loving and weren't hooked or early tune-ins to DOOL. And over on CBS, Capitol is in the rear, but holding its own pretty well against AW.

One of the things I've always been amused by is just how many hoppers there are. I was here when this thread launched and I sure didn't know we'd be up to 100+ pages. Just beyond Pine Valley, Genoa City, etc., apparently lies Soaplandia. Can't wait to see more!

Ah, thank you for clearing that up. For whatever reason, I was getting the impression these snapshots were meant to show the monthly average.

I'm thinking it would be the entry for Sept. 1984, which I believe corresponds with April 1984. Notice that GL is in second place for the month and within distance of GH.

So, if the January 1985 entry corresponds to (approximately) August 1984, that means that from March 1985 onward, we'll be able to track October 1984 and the effects of the Ryan's Hope/Loving rotation. Look at Y&R pulling ahead there. Related to Victor & Nikki's wedding, I'm guessing. A harbinger of things to come.

In hindsight, it seems like a mistake to burn through a TV-movie's worth of storylines. That could have carried the show for a good couple of months. Also, Roger comes across as a total horndog, reuniting with Ann and then ending up with Merrill in less than two hours.

I'm gonna rule out Marcy just because it was the shortest run. Justin and Marj's performances seem to have had a lot of detractors over the years. I've got nothing against her personally, but let's go with Marj just because she was so, so miscast.

I always like to think early Carla and Sadie are the missing link in this pattern.

EON beginning to circle the drain. Losing more and more affiliates couldn't have helped. Also, seeing the healthy distance between RH and LOV's ratings makes me understand why the former's fans have been so ticked about the upcoming timeslot switch for 35+ years.

@beebs said it best. I'd also like to point out that an unsolicited bibliography? Really?

I'm gonna take a shot in the dark and guess GH's higher numbers were related to Genie's temporary return.

Yeah, I'm not exactly sure how they would have gotten around that problem. Alas, we ended up with TPTB being perfectly okay with presenting a 1 +1 = 3 situation (not literally, of course) and oddly enough, everyone going with it. ETA: I'm now cracking myself up picturing a really convoluted, Heaven Can Wait on crack situation where bad Luke, then good Luke, die. Good Luke's spirit ends up in the body of a third man (also named Luke). He looks different from TG to everyone minus the audience. TG, meanwhile, has to spend the next 30+ years never appearing in a scene with a mirror or reflective surface. Okay, enough of that silliness ...

Okay, I'm going to throw out an idea: Should GH have killed off Luke in spring-summer 1980 and had Laura fall for and commit heroic acts with his good twin and/or lookalike? On the one hand, it's not the most original idea*, but it would work later on** and I can't think of an easier way to do right by Gloria, Pat, Genie and Tony and the fanbase. Obviously we can't turn back time, but something to think about. *OLTL did it in reverse with Marco posing as Mario around this time. **A few years later, the real Sky and Raven on EON. A decade after that, Kevin arriving after Ryan on GH. Being a '90s kid, I knew the beat before the song. I still sometimes sing to myself, "Biggie Biggie Biggie, can't you see ..."

You're welcome, @Khan. I really liked the bond between Laura and Joanne, and how it was affecting Laura and Claudia.

A few months after the rape, Luke did something really disgusting. As Laura and Scotty were dancing at the disco, he changed the music playing to "Rise."

It all just sounds so rich and juicy! The kind of material an audience and a creative team can really dig into. Also, I'm loving that tidbit about Kitty's singing voice. How easily the pleasant can segue into the complex and tumultuous.

Ah, my apologies. I was hoping you'd be able to shine some light on all of this.