kalbir

Thanks @JoeCool. From the annual ratings, One Life to Live starts dropping in 1989/90.

Colleen Zenk and J. Eddie Peck are 5 years apart in age. No way is she playing his mother.

@Soapsuds As the World Turns should gain ground in May and June since One Life to Live appears to be tanking. There was a week in summer 1990 where As the World Turns was 2nd and some weeks that summer they were 3rd.

Second half of 1987 was a mess across the board because of Iran-Contra and Nielsen people meters.

Y&R April 1990 George Rawlins murder and Katherine/Marge storylines were coming to an end. One Life to Live is tanking. Was Andrea Evans departure in April 1990? Days got a boost this week. Was this the week that Peter Reckell and Kristian Alfonso returned? B&B this week Caroline learns of her illness.

We saw this episode during the classics, Victor reunites with Victoria and Nicholas then reveals he's alive to Jack.

2024 Premieres Dramas Tracker - Series premiere Sunday February 11, 10 pm. May be delayed due to Super Bowl. Will be rebroadcast Thursday February 15, 10 pm. NCIS - Season 21 premiere Monday February 12, 9 pm. NCIS: Hawaii - Season 3 premiere Monday February 12, 10 pm. FBI - Season 6 premiere Tuesday February 13, 8 pm. FBI: International - Season 3 premiere Tuesday February 13, 9 pm. FBI: Most Wanted - Season 5 premiere Tuesday February 13, 10 pm. So Help Me Todd - Season 2 premiere Thursday February 15, 9 pm. S.W.A.T. - Season 7 premiere Friday February 16, 8 pm. Fire Country - Season 2 premiere Friday February 16, 9 pm. Blue Bloods - Season 14 premiere Friday February 16, 10 pm. The Equalizer - Season 4 premiere Sunday February 18, 8 pm. CSI: Vegas - Season 3 premiere Sunday February 18, 10 pm. Elsbeth - Series premiere Thursday February 29, 10 pm. Comedies The Neighborhood - Season 6 premiere Monday February 12, 8 pm. Bob Hearts Abishola - Season 5 premiere Monday February 12, 8:30 pm. Young Sheldon - Season 7 premiere Thursday February 15, 8 pm. Ghosts - Season 3 premiere Thursday February 15, 8:30 pm.

In a YT video I linked to earlier in this thread of classic film influences on the primetime soaps, one of the influences for Falcon Crest was Wall Street for Gregory Harrison storyline in the final season. I think she was a mashup of the Daryl Hannah character from Wall Street and The Sound of Music Baroness Elsa Schraeder.

I think you're right. It disappoints me that Robert Calhoun era GL was so low-rated. I don't believe that the tail end of supercouple Days was a better show than Robert Calhoun era GL. SOD named Andy alcoholism best storyline and Bob/Kim/Susan best triangle in the Best of 1990 issue. The write-ups are here.

Guiding Light this week Roger and Alexandra marriage. Y&R this week Jack and Nikki marriage. B&B this week Brooke learns she is pregnant.

Despite the comeback in the second half of the season, Dynasty still fell out of the Top 10, going from 7th in 1985/86 to 24th in 1986/87. Considering that Dynasty was #1 just two seasons earlier, that was a massive decline.

When watching an Aaron Spelling show, whether its Dynasty or 90210 or Melrose, you have to watch with the mindset that its a product of its time and you're not going to get high emotional stakes character driven storytelling.

Y&R March 1, 1990 we saw during the classics. Katherine and Marge meet. B&B this week Teri Ann Linn departure. I think 1990 we'll see an increase in B&B clearance.

I suspect there will be a drop w/ Andrea Evans departure.

Looking back on the 1980s as an adult, I think it was the 1986 trifecta of the AIDS crisis, Space Shuttle Challenger, and Chernobyl that made everyone stop and think "s--- just got real". Then the 1989 trifecta of Reagan leaving office, Tiananmen Square, and fall of the Berlin Wall made us all realize the world was on the verge of change. Primetime shifted w/ the changing times in the 1980s but daytime remained escapist until the tail end of the decade.

The middle school/high school demographic that Passions was made for were the elementary schoolers that were too young for Reilly's Days.

B&B this week Colleen Dion debut and January 19, 1990 Ridge and Caroline wedding.

Oh OK, so that explains the action/adventure elements. Brad in a cage was sort of a redo of Michael Scott in the dungeon. Bradley Bell dusted off his father's work on B&B w/ James in the dungeon.

Y&R's action/adventure storylines during the H. Wesley Kenney years (1982-1986). The police corruption/mob angles were tame in comparison to General Hospital and Days in that same era but action/adventure never really suited Y&R. I've often thought that adding action/adventure to Y&R was a CBS mandate to compete w/ General Hospital and Days.

1973-1975 Bill Bell was writing both Y&R and Days. Bill Bell wrote both Y&R and B&B from 1987-1993.

Correction: 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.

Bill Bell himself said that CBS first approached him in 1977 for a second show but for whatever reason he wasn't ready for a second show then. If Bill Bell had a second show ready in 1977, then I think GL doesn't expand to 1 hour that year. IMO CBS wanted a second Bill Bell show to replace Search for Tomorrow in 1982 but Y&R was still a mess during the first half of that year so Bill Bell had to fix Y&R before he could even think about a second show.

With the 1980s ratings now fully posted, lets see how each network stacked up. CBS was shaken at the beginning of the 1980s with the huge rise of ABC, thus the rearrangements of the schedule and changes to the shows themselves, but ends the decade with Y&R killing it, B&B showing growth, As the World Turns performing strongly, and Guiding Light middle of the pack. Prior to its expansion to 1 hour, Y&R was a Top 3 show but the expansion derailed all its momentum and Y&R doesn't fully recover until the second half of 1982. Y&R would become CBS's highest rated show by 1983 and #1 overall by 1989. As the World Turns remained middle of the pack until it started showing growth in Fall 1986 thanks to Douglas Marland writing. Guiding Light was able to hold its own in the early 1980s against General Hospital and was CBS's highest rated show but with Douglas Marland departure, Gail Kobe/Pamela Long chasing all the 1980s trends, and the writer turnover during the first half of Joe Willmore run, the ratings dropped and Guiding Light ends the 1980s as CBS's lowest rated show. Search for Tomorrow was middle of the pack but P&G was not happy with the time change and CBS had enough of P&G complaining so Search for Tomorrow CBS run came to an end. Capitol was a placeholder/time filler until Bill Bell had another show ready. ABC started the 1980s with its big three General Hospital, All My Children, One Life to Live killing it and ends the decade with its big three still performing strongly but not as dominant as it was in the beginning of the decade. ABC's weakness was its shows outside the big three. Ryan's Hope was effectively over in 1983 when Y&R blew up, The Edge of Night suffered from lack of clearances, and Loving only made it on the air because of Agnes Nixon clout with ABC. NBC started the 1980s at the bottom and ended the decade at the bottom. The only bright spots were supercouple Days but even that collapsed by the end of the decade, and Santa Barbara Emmy/SOD awards run at the end of the decade but that didn't translate into ratings. Another World never recovered from its late 1970s ratings drop.

Y&R December 22, 1989 was rebroadcast in 2008 to give background on Katherine/Marge. This episode had a scene where Marge was watching television and you could hear the B&B theme song. I guess Bill Bell forgot when he began the crossovers that Y&R/B&B were in separate universes. As the World Turns December 22, 1989 was rebroadcast as a holiday classic in the early 2000s I think. This week in real life US troops invade Panama and communism is coming to an end in Romania. Y&R December 29, 1989 was rebroadcast in 1999. Scott and Lauren wedding. B&B December 28, 1989 Ridge proposes to Caroline. The 1980s are now over. What a ride it's been. Thank you so much @JAS0N47 for your hard work in bringing this part of daytime history to us. You should be knighted 🤗

Location shooting/far-off remotes I'd say were a side effect of action/adventure and supercouples.