GLATWT88

Speaking of soaps in time of crisis, does anyone know if the 9/11 preemptions had any significant impact on the ratings and decline in viewership.

I was looking at the ratings and I know that many attribute the OJ trial playing a significant role in the erosion of soap ratings which is true to an extent. I noticed that from 1990 to 1994 YR saw year to year gains in viewership as well as other soaps showing that their numbers can grow even significantly from previous seasons. Now, what I'm curious about is what happened in the 2000/2001 season as this was before 9/11 as the season usually starts in September, that caused soaps to take such a rating hit. Even though ratings were eroding slowly after the OJ trial. It seems like as soon as 2000 came in the numbers just dropped. YR lost a whole point in households. I'm not sure if the numbers are completely accurate as they're from Wiki, but was there something major that would have caused this rapid decline?  

It's interesting that there was a significant surge in ratings at the beginning of the pandemic, but it quickly fizzled out. I wonder if it had to do with the constant preemptions or those who tuned in not finding their soap very interesting and tuning back out.

I'm also beginning to wonder how this lapse in new episodes for YR and BB will impact their ratings when they return and whether there are any strategies to promote them or make the audience aware of their return. I mean if they can broadcast TPIR on primetime...why can't they air an episode or two of the soaps especially in late summer where there aren't many new shows on. I mean YR pulling in 4 million is actually better than some of the primetime shows these days or pretty damn close. 

55 minutes ago, Errol said:

The data on this page reflects the performance of “Days of our Lives” during the 2019-2020 television season among delayed viewers (Live+7). For Live+SD numbers, please re-visit any one of our weekly ratings reports.

 

READ: Days of our Lives Live+7 Ratings (2019-2020)

They had a nice jump those two weeks at the height of this pandemic lockdown, but it's gradually dropping down to pre-lockdown averages. I know that last three weeks don't include the L+7 yet but the live numbers for those three weeks have dropped continually. 

51 minutes ago, Darn said:

 

Knowing Frank and how he runs GH they will likely want to rush out a subpar product just to have new episodes.

 

I wonder if Y&R or B&B will use this opportunity to do a soft reset, reassess their canvas and get rid of dead weight, start new stories or even offer something as simple as a time jump so viewers can more readily jump into the action. Or will they continue with all of the current incredibly boring stories they're telling?

 

I mean, this is unprecedented, the people running daytime have been on a bullet train for decades with no chance to sit back and reflect, this could be that chance. But will they do something about it or continue floundering?

Good point. I assumed YR and BB would continue with the current storylines, but the current situation does open up the opportunity to do something like a time jump as you mentioned. I really only got into watching some weeks ago after taking a break from soaps for some time, but I will say I didn't see anything on YR or BB that was all that exciting. Then again, soaps require an investment and I don't really care for many of the characters currently in the forefront of BB and tbh I had no idea what was going on over at YR to actually realize if I cared or not. 

I think you might be right about GH trying to start right back up and rush something out instead of having a lapse in its run. I don't know how their repeats are performing on Fridays, but I'm calling them repeats and not classics because from what I've read they've only gone as far back as 2017/18 with their Friday episodes. Honestly, I'm not sure how they're promoting these episodes over at ABC because if they're calling them classics that a stretch. 

Right now, we know that YR and BB are airing repeats. 

From what I last read on here, GH will probably run out of episodes sometime in June. 

DAYS has episodes until October. 

If production resumes in late May, what is the likelihood that GH will not have a lapse in their run? I'm not sure what the turnaround is for filming and finishing an episode of a soap. 

DAYS considering that things are beginning to ease, I'm assuming won't have to worry about having to fill a gap. If anything this will be a benefit to DAYS as I am unsure why a daytime soap would want to film so far in advance considering it makes it challenging to make changes based on public reaction to storylines. 

9 minutes ago, will81 said:

Does no one else remember Dennis Haysbert as the Senator who becomes President on 24??????

 

What is all this Allstate business, haha

 

ETA: I have seen the Allstate commercials, just to be clear. I just figured he had a much more prominent role in 24

You may be right. I noticed he had a prettt sizable list of credits and I know I have seen him elsewhere before, but I never watched 24 or much of anything on FOX so wasn't really aware he was on that show. 

3 hours ago, Antoyne said:

Wait the Allstate guy was on Y&R?!

Literally what I texted my friend as I watched that episode. I ended up looking him up and saw on his Wikipedia page that he was on Y&R for 8 episodes.

3 hours ago, Faulkner said:

I agree. (Throw True Blood in there.) I feel like the center of gravity of the country has moved South, with so many northern transplants going to Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia, etc. Plus so many black folks who’d settled in the north for generations returned to their family homes down South. (My family left Missouri for Mississippi in the ‘90s after 40 years.) Like with so many cultural trends, it’s just a shame that soaps didn’t stay viable long enough to capture that.

I have several friends who have all moved down South within the last decade for varying reasons. I think the South has such a unique identity from the other regions of the US, yet it hasn't been fully explored on TV. The cultural identity itself, and the everyday dynamics of race, religion and gender in the South.

I just remembered "The Haves and the Have Nots" is also based in the South if I remember correctly. I've only watched a few episodes, but I found the premise an interesting one that could work well on a soap. Race and class disparity between two families whose worlds traverse because one woman is a maid for the other. The haves hiding a multitude of scandals and secrets behind their pristine facade.

Many primetime soaps/dramas in the past decade or so are set in the South like Nashville, Greenleaf, Hart of Dixie, One Tree Hill, Jane the Virgin (Miami, which doesn't really fall in the same category). 

A daytime soap based in the South would definitely be an interesting premise. I feel if soaps had continued to be developed into the 2000s we may have had a Southern based soap.

1 hour ago, Soapsuds said:

1981 and 1996 are still missing.

1 hour ago, YRBB said:

 

 

 

Finally!

 

But I don't see 1981 or 1996

They just added '81.

11 minutes ago, Soapsuds said:

Kay's intervention pt 1 was the highest of the week followed by Kay vs Marge. Reruns of YR and still GH nor Days can overtake it.

So much for those that thought fans would flock to GH or DAYS once the CBS soaps started airing repeats. 

Looks like the age of the repeat didn't have much effect on the ratings. The 1990s episode performed well in comparison to the other episodes. Would be interesting to see how this weeks' episodes perform considering they chose much older episodes than last week. 

I'm curious as to why BB only has figures for two days.

16 minutes ago, OzFrog said:

 

There is a 1987 episode up on Youtube where Casey tells Nikki that her cancer had gone into remission, and Nikki races out to the ranch to tell Victor the good news - only to spot him from a distance with Ashley, who’s making peace with Victor regarding the abortion and her reasoning behind it.

 

From that point forward, she decided to keep the truth from Victor so that she can hang on to him a bit longer. I believe Jack also had some influence in this.

Thanks, I'll search for the episode and will definitely watch later. This makes me wish they would dedicate each week to a storyline - showing major episodes and filling in the gaps with those intro videos from the cast. I know this probably wouldn't work and cause disagreement among fans as to what should air. Also, I think CBS and their soaps are playing it safe by not airing too many older episodes consecutively thinking it may drive some viewers away. 

6 minutes ago, Vee said:

Apologies for commenting on 1993 late:

Rowell and Kristoff are luminous. It's always amazing how much more authentic they (especially Dru) were allowed to be onscreen vs. most latter-day (or past) characters of color, who are often written to be safely bland by half-interested predominantly white writers. And this was the Tiffany soap for CBS. Incidentally I always found Kristoff hot as hell. Certain folk online used to clown him way too much, including on this site.

Even John Abbott is not buying poor Jack's delusions about Nikki and Victor, lol.

What exactly was said about Kristoff? Were they downplaying his sex appeal or was there something else going on? I definitely saw his appeal in that 1993 episode, but I do remember him from when I watched YR in the early/mid 2000s and I guess him coming across as stuffy may have taken away that appeal he had when his character was younger.

9 minutes ago, YRBB said:

Nikki's dream is such a wonderful example of the psychological Y&R writing. Her dreaming of Ashley looking barely a step above a prostitute is very telling. So much info given on Nikki and her relationships to Victor/Ashley in a "silly" dream. Sigh.

 

 

As Victor and Nikki's marriage disintegrated, Nikki found out she was dying. Victor was devastated and resolved to be there for Nikki. When Nikki found out it was a mistake or s/ing, she omitted telling him she wasn't dying to keep him around. This seems to be a dream of Nikki's where an adoring Victor grieves her death/shuns a whore-y Ashley and then wants to be with her even after she's alright. (Of course, he didn't).

Wow, thanks for all those details. I was definitely entertained by the whole scene but I wasn't completely sure why it was happening or what was going on, but that makes a lot of sense. 

6 minutes ago, Vee said:

I'm finally searching for the classics. Couldn't find any up on CBS.com so I'm trying the All Access app - I only see three, one from '84 (4/13), one from '90 (4/10) and one from '91 (4/17). Any suggestions are appreciated.

I have CBS All Access subscription through Amazon Prime, but I can't access the standalone app I have to go through Amazon Prime. I was curious if maybe Amazon wasn't updating the content, but it looks like we have the same exact content available. Although, I believe that 1990 episode you have listed is actually from 93. 

What was with Nikki's dream? Did the dream have any connection to past storylines or was she just dreaming that she was laying dead in a coffin... 

3 minutes ago, Faulkner said:

Governor Murphy! F***!

 

Loved Nikki sitting up in that coffin and smirking as Victor rejected Ashley. 

I feel your pain! They really need provide an alternative, because these interruptions are going to continue. I wish they would air the episodes on their subchannel, but I don't think Start TV is directly owned by CBS like Localish is by ABC - therefore, they probably can't interrupt regular programming on the subchannel like ABC does on Localish here when GH is preempted for press conferences. I wish they'd at least post the episodes on All Access. 

1 minute ago, Neil Johnson said:

 

Who cares if he's making money?  He works hard putting the reunions together, and he does a great job.  At least we don't have to pay to watch them.  

Right. He's bringing us content that we otherwise wouldn't get, because these daytime talk shows sure as hell aren't hosting reunions for cancelled soaps. If he profits off of it, good for him. 

Great classic episodes of YR and BB. They're one off episodes, but I'm instantly intrigued to know what's happening. Sucks that my local affiliate continues to pre-empt everyday for press conferences - although BB is least effected.

Can anyone quickly explain how Taylor got stuck in Morocco?

Oh and who was the cute guy (already forgot his name). It was something unusual and Ridge told him to take the guests back to their room (or something like that) because he had some surprise for Brooke. I think he was cute  he really wasn't on much and the shots were quick. 

On 4/15/2020 at 10:22 PM, Faulkner said:

Seeing a lot of buzz not just on Ozark, but his role as Joseph L. Mankiewicz in David Fincher’s Mank opposite Gary Oldman is getting him some major notice.

 

Interview on Ozark:

 

Interview on working with Fincher and the notorious number of takes he demands of his actors:

 

 

Might be an unpopular opinion, but I thought his acting was weak and amateurish on GL and never understood all the hype. I didn't watch much of his later years on GL as I wasn't tuning in as much and just realized now that he also had a role on ATWT. 08/09 weren't much of soap watching years for me...aside from the finale of GL. 

I haven't watched Ozark, but I'm always happy when soap actors get to continue on in other roles. 

2 hours ago, VanessaReardon said:

I met Ehlers in person back in her early days of soap stardom. She was nice. But then something happened with her ego when she got Emmy nominations and never won. 
Her comments about a War Veteran who acted opposite her on AMC turned me off to her for good. Until she apologizes for those comments, I’m glad that I make more than her.

What did she say exactly? 

I about hollered when I read the pick for Dumbest Character. I wasn't expecting that...lol.

Would anyone suggest watching GL in 1997? I noticed a lot of episodes are up on YT...wouldn't mind binging a few if it's worth it.

14 hours ago, John said:

GH had episodes thru May 22nd before inserting  flashbacks  into episodes. By doing this, they are basically cutting each episode into 2 maybe sometimes 3 and rumor is new episodes could air thru June 2020

 That's unfortunate 

DAYS it's time to air some classic episodes and go on time out and think about your actions. You can come back when you're ready to have a serious conversation about the state of your writing.

I actually found an article online a few days ago and I wish I had saved it, but it mentioned how returning soaps to 30 minutes might be the future of soaps. I believe it was written in the late 2000s and it was obviously wishful thinking as we know that networks actually preferred canceling soaps altogether rather than reducing their runtime. It mentioned that GL and OLTL might be the first soaps to experiment with the time reduction as they were the lowest rated. 

I always hoped networks would have reduced GL and ATWT as well as AMC and OLTL into 30 minute shows and package them as an hour block to affiliates. It would ultimately give affiliates an hour back in programming while still maintaining the shows on air where fans were used to tuning in to watch. Shifting OLTL and AMC online was a nice thought but it changed the entire dynamic of how people ordinarily consume their soaps...it wasn't like they were experimenting with new soaps. They were taking already established soaps and changing the familiarity as far as consumption for the audience.