JoeCool

Yes the Emily Ann saga was awful!!! Turned off the audience.

You can see Agnes Nixon's reset and cleaning up of AMC in the late spring/early summer 1991 is taking effect and the ratings are improving drastically.

The Ceara and Jeremy storyline was horrible...the actors had no chemistry and the incest storyline was forced and not really necessary for the character or the show. GF's performances were ok to erratic. I just think it turned the audience off. Erica and Charlie were laughable as I said. The story was awful and it was a terrible distraction even for Erica. Very bad stories pushed AMC down and Agnes Nixon saw this and reset and cleaned it up because after Labor Day AMC was Number 2.

Oh yes AMC to Number 7. Agnes Nixon did a reset that summer of 1991. The audience disliked Erica and Charlie storyline immensely. The Ceara abuse storyline was not well thought out. Brooke was out of control. AMC was awful trust me. I stopped watching and went back after Labor Day and it was much better. Honestly, the Erica and Charlie thing was laughable and viewers left.

All My Children begins to move into Number 2 now and GH begins its descent to Number 3. OLTL contiunes to drop. SUmmer 1991 will show ATWT getting stronger as well as DAYS...AMC will flounder and hit Number 7 but by August AMC is back to Number 3 and then starting in September begins to solidify Number 2. GH will drop in the fall of 1991. AMC did another "reset" in the summer of 1991. Agnes Nixon made quick changes in the storylines and adjusted plots and it all became together in the fall of 1991. OLTL will drop as well. Restless very strong.

I do not think you will lose your DVR. Everything should be integrated so hopefully it will work out.

Hulu will merge with Disney +. Everything will be integrated with Disney +. ESPN app will stay separate. ESPN will eventually go all streaming and will not be available on cable at all. Disney will make much money that way and then people who dont want ESPN will no longer get it and have to pay for ESPN channels they don't want.

Here is the money for Hulu: https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/reliance-nears-deal-buy-disneys-india-business-bloomberg-news-2023-10-23/ Disney has the money for Hulu. Don't think ABC stations are in play or ABC overall. The ESPN gambling venture will make a lot of profits for Disney.

Agnes Nixon definitely did a reset in 1989/90. Peter Bergman left for Restless. Debbi Morgan was not happy that Angie and Cliff did not continue and said in an interview she was treated like a second class citizen at AMC because of her color which was untrue and those comments upset Agnes Nixon and prompted a public reply and rebuke from Agnes. Debbi Morgan was shown the door shortly thereafter. Agnes did a purge of the rest. Agnes did that when she took over AW in the 60s. Most of these AMC characters were on the periphery by this time and it was easier for Agnes to create new characters and enhance major storylines. Essentially, Agnes Nixon did what Bill Bell did for Restless when he shifted from the Brooks family to the Newmans and Abbots in the early 80s.

Clarence Thomas confirmed to Supreme Court on 10/15/91 could be related to that.

Andrea Evans quit in January 1990...she last appeared because of the taping schedule in February/March 1990.

I am sorry I did not want to start a debate. I agree with what you said about Monty's effects in the soap world. Monty's movies of the week were average/mediocre at best and she used those in GH to a success sometimes. Monty changed the soap world. Some good things. Some bad things. Overall for me not good. GH is the 80s became rather formulaic and stale and that is why it slipped and Restless overtook it. Gloria Monty was a good director but overrated as compared to other soap directors and producers and especially overrated against Bill Bell, Agnes Nixon, Douglas Marland, and KatherineFalken Smith. When Monty returned to GH in the 1990s when it was slipping and ABC sought her help, the same tactics she used with success in the 1980s did not work and she was fired. Monty failed to evolve and adapt and did fully see why strong characters and stories always win.

McTavish was awful in the 1990s and Pratt was terrible. Both were horrible at AMC. I agree about James Reilly In the 1990s the soaps were competing not just with each but cable TV. Monty did make writers and producers think more about the plot and action/adventure stories and that manifested in many soaps but true storytelling is an artform and Bill Bell as HW for 25 years understood what a great soap needs and what it takes to sustain quality. Monty did not understand those concepts that people like Bill Bell, Douglas Marland, Pat Falken Smith, Agnes Nixon understood and mastered. GH was overrated in the 80s and all the Aztec stories and the gangster stories and adventure stories seemed like bad movies of the week that would never make it in network primetime in the 80s.

I agree but Gloria's changes did not sustain GH or surpass the expertise of Bill Bell. Bill Bell was the master at storytelling and Restless was always character driven in the 1980s and not have much in action/adventure sequences. Restless had strong stories and strong characters and did not need exotic locales and remotes. AMC also remained character driven in the 80s yes there were some adventure stories but they really were tame as compared to GH. Monty's changes were strong enough to save GH from cancellation then to Number 1 but not enough to sustain it. Strong characters and strong stories always trump. I always thought that GH was overrated in the 80s as compared to AMC, Restless and ATWT.

@Khan All of what you said is true. However having a weak lead-in did not help AMC compete against Restless. Remember CBS moved up Restless in February 1981 to give Restless a chance to beat AMC. Restless destroyed RH which weakened AMC. Eventually Restless gained an edge over AMC and in 1986 overtook AMC. The point I did not make failed to make previously is if AMC went head to head with Restless it would have been a whole different ratings ballgame. Restless would have been number 1 eventually but I don’t think AMC would have weakened in the period between 85 to 87 if it had the chance too be in the 1230 slot. And yes Loving did not help AMC. Restless destroyed Loving more than it did RH. AMC never had a strong lead in. Also Bill Bell insisted BB has Restless has its lead in. I wonder why?! Why not ATWT or GL? I do not think BB would have such success not being after Restless. Why not have BB start at 1230 and move Restless to 1 and have BB compete against Loving. BB was an average show until about 1990. Yes Bell was HW for its first 7 years or so but the show did not hit its creative strides until 3 years in. Timeslot placement is important. I do not think BB would have fared as well against GH and SB either.

ABC wanted RH to go from 12PM ET to 1PM ET and have a block of 4 one hour shows then Edge. Labine and Mayer refused to do it in the late 70s/early 80s. Eventually ABC bought RH from Labine and Mayer and then when ABC made some changes in production and behind the scenes, Labine and Mayer wanted to but it back from ABC but that ship sailed. ABC gave RH more than enough time. RH should have been canceled after it could not compete at all against Restless and destroyed any lead-in for AMC. Having RH there so long weakened AMC because it allowed Restless to gain more and more.

@Khan Ryan's Hope already had the best slot when it premiered in 1975 at 1PM ET. AMC was moved to 12:30PM and lost ground in the ratings. The 1PM slot had no network soap competition. Agnes Nixon was furious with ABC at the time. In 1977, AMC moved back to 1PM and then went to an hour in April 1977. RH moved to 12:30PM. Loving really deserved the 1:30PM slot. Also, ABC wanted to expand RH to an hour but Labine and Mayer refused to do it, then ABC bought it from them. @kalbir@Khan Loving was doomed even before it aired. ABC already had 5 soaps and RH and Edge were not doing well. Loving needed the 1:30PM slot and RH and Edge needed to go.

@kalbir Thanks for the correction..dates were mixed up. I corrected it.

@kalbir@Khan ABC approached Agnes Nixon, the creator of All My Children and One Life to Live, to create a new soap opera for the ABC afternoon lineup in the early 1980s. ABC wanted a 30-minute program to be added to the lineup. Agnes just finally left her AMC head writing duties in the early 1980s and Agnes approached soap great Douglas Marland to co-create the new ABC drama. Agnes wanted the show to be focused on young love and contemporary social issues. The tentpole family, the wealthy Alden family would be the new drama's prominent family with the blue-collar Donovan family and the backdrop of the small city, Cornith, PA with its promenient University would provide an array of socioeconomic characters in contemporary stories. Loving's Bible indeed filled with young love and the trials and tribulations of the Alden family. The show was initially titled Love Without End. ABC also wanted the show to have stories focused on action and adventure which was not Nixon's and Marland's niche. Loving premiered on June 26, 1983 as a two-hour movie premiere that featured much of the original cast and acclaimed film actors Lloyd Bridges and Geraldine Page. What doomed Loving from the start was ABC and its interference. Agnes Nixon wanted Loving placed at 1:30PM, sandwiched between All My Children at 12:30PM and One Life to Live at 2PM. AMC would move from 1PM to 12:30PM and compete directly with CBS' Young and the Restless. Y&R and All My Children were head-to-head at 1 pm ET from February 4, 1980 to June 5, 1981. CBS moved Y&R to 12:30 pm ET on June 8, 1981, so Y&R was now head-to-head w/ Ryan's Hope and the first half of All My Children. Agnes wanted a block of her shows in the afternoon and thought Loving would strongly benefit from AMC's strong lead-in. Douglas Marland concurred with Agnes' analysis of Loving's placement. On Monday, June 27, 1983, ABC placed Loving at 11:30AM ET against the strong second half of the hit game show The Price is Right where Loving garnered low ratings. Agnes Nixon was horrified about ABC’s early morning placement. On October 8, 1984, ABC moved Loving to 12:30PM ET against the Young and the Restless. Nixon stated in interviews and in private that this move was doomed from the start. Nixon again implored ABC to move AMC to 12:30PM ET and place Loving at 1:30PM. Restless destroyed Loving in the ratings. Loving was cancelled in 1995 and ended on Friday, November 10, 1995. Loving was plagued with a revolving door of writers and producers. Marland and Nixon exited Loving in 1985 and Nixon would return several times to try to save the show. When Nixon returned to AMC in the late 1980s and stayed for several years at AMC, ABC employed its own executives in the early 1990s to write, produce and guide the show -- which proved to be a disaster. Nixon returned in 1993 and stayed until 1995 - the show improved but the damage was done. ABC's failure to follow Nixon's sound advice about Loving's time slot placement is what caused Loving to fail before it even aired and ABC's own disastrous interference in the early 1990s in guiding and running the show further weakened Loving. Loving should be remembered for its strong storylines featuring major social issues such as incest, alcoholism and post-traumatic stress syndrome of Vietnam veterans and its strong cast. Loving 's strong acting cast included Celeste Holm, Wesley Addy, Nada Rowland, Lisa Peluso, Noelle Beck, Lisa Walters, Lauren Marie Taylor, Laura Wright, Bernard Barrow, John Gabriel, Nancy Addison, Ilene Kristen, Thom Christopher, Perry Stephens, Christine Tudor, Roger Howarth, Augusta Dabney, Catherine Hickland, Matthew Cowles, Pamela Blair, Patricia Barry, Luke Perry, James Kieberd, Susan Keith, Anthony Herrera, Ameila Heinle, Patricia Kalember, Genie Francis and Bryan Cranston.

Oh yes, SOD was on point with its analysis of OLTL in 1989. 1990 is not good for OLTL as it slips down to Number 5, Number 6, Number 7 and even Number 8 during some weeks. Andrea Evans' departure caused a nose dive for OLTL. I loved watching Tina...Andrea Evans was awesome..RIP. Overall, the writing went down for OLTL in the early 1990s.

GH and OLTL starting to slip. AMC holding steady and in the Number 3 slot. AW in the 3-4 range..ouch! Also, Days slipping below 5! That HW at Days is awful!

Yes and I will note All My Children was selected as the best show of 1989. Agnes Nixon returned to AMC as HW in the fall of 1989 and the ratings went up and stabilized. AMC getting back into the top 3 fairly often in 1989 and will cement that position in 1990.

August 1989 was the time All My Children and One Life to Live began to fight for the Number 3 spot. OLTL will start slipping in the ratings and drop. All My Children will firm up the Number 3 slot. GH will also begin to drop and keep Number 2. GH's ratings will slip further in 1990 and AMC will overtake GH for Number 2 in 1990 while OLTL will drop out of the top 5 during 1990 and never again strongly compete in the ratings.

Agreed. Restless had great stories. I think Restless would have got to number 1 even if AMC was moved to 12:30PM ET. I think the competition would have been fiercer and the battle between Restless and AMC would have been strong. Bill Bell was a legend and so talented. No show could beat his writing.

Exactly. I agree. ABC was not willing to make the schedule change and lost the daytime ratings crown to CBS. EDGE at 4PM ET was already low on clearance levels. RH and Loving battled clearance issues.