kalbir

Mid-1990s Nikki was in her snooty lady of the manor phase and she needed to be knocked down a peg or two. Victor reminded her of her past by telling her she was considered a gold digger once. Nikki was introduced as a troublemaking promiscuous girl, became the OG ho turned housewife, then snooty lady of the manor. Now she's a messy matriarch/grande dame.

100% this. Storyline shows promise, execution is bungled. Wash, rinse, repeat.

We saw December 23, 1988 on Christmas Day 1998. Recaps that cover the week Y&R #1 streak started https://www.tumblr.com/classicsodyr/172412148099/the-young-the-restless-soap-opera-digest?source=share https://www.tumblr.com/classicsodyr/172589178590/the-young-the-restless-soap-opera-digest?source=share

Days.

1987 what a mess with pre-emptions and Nielsen people meters. 1988 might be a mess too with the Writer's Strike. As we all know, 1988 Y&R ties General Hospital for #1. Also in 1988, Live with Regis and Kathie Lee goes national in September, so watch the clearances of the bottom tier soaps.

Drake got his 13th #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. Among solo artists, he has moved past Madonna and is now tied with Michael Jackson. The next solo artist in line for him to tie with is Rihanna (14). Among all artists, Drake is the 5th artist to reach 13 #1s on the Billboard Hot 100, joining The Beatles (20), Mariah Carey (19), Rihanna (14), Michael Jackson (13).

@Vee Love your recaps. The final 10 episodes of 1984/85 season were the peak of Knots Landing to me. Laura/Ruth rivalry was everything. I lived for the scenes where Laura called out Ruth and put her on blast. I think Ava Gardner appeared in the right amount of episodes. Ruth's story arc felt complete to me. Ava Gardner arc on Knots Landing was quite the contrast to Lana Turner arc on Falcon Crest. Ava was by all accounts well-liked by Knots Landing cast whereas Lana was allegedly throwing diva demands during her Falcon Crest arc. Remember too that Ava admitted that she took the part on Knots Landing for money so she was really in no position to throw diva demands. William Devane mentions Ava Gardner in this interview: https://www.avclub.com/william-devane-on-the-grinder-24-alfred-hitchcock-an-1798285513

@Soapsuds That As the World Turns episode you described was an early 2000s holiday classic. Y&R, ABC big three, Days are jockeying for position in the top 5. Supercouple Days successfully transitioned from the Bo/Hope years to the Steve/Kayla years. Marland As the World Turns was doing well and regularily finishing in the top 5 but I wonder if the time slot change, pre-emptions, and Nielsen people meters derailed their momentum. Guiding Light appears to have gained lost ground with Pamela Long back as HW. Santa Barbara has been finishing ahead of Another World recently but I don't think that will last. From the annual ratings Santa Barbara never finished ahead of Another World.

So far fall 1987 has lots of movement in the top half. Pre-emptions and Nielsen people meters making a mess of things. I was expecting to see pre-emptions on October 19, 1987 for coverage of the stock market crash.

One year of Oprah plus debut of Geraldo and among the lowest tier soaps, Santa Barbara clearance now 99% (up from 97% at Oprah 6 month mark), Loving clearance now 89% (down from 91% at Oprah 6 month mark), and Ryan's Hope clearance still 81%. We saw Y&R September 18, 1987 during the classics. Nikki's coffin dream. Pre-emptions are still messing things up. During the fall we'll see the impact of Nielsen people meters.

I got the impression MZ daughter wanted to call some people out and put them on blast but she held herself back. I think I know the names she wanted to name: Les Moonves, Mary Alice Dwyer-Dobbin, Paul Rauch.

SOD recaps of these two weeks for Days and Y&R. Classic DAYS Soap Opera Digest Synopses - DAYS OF OUR LIVES Soap Opera Digest Synopsis... (tumblr.com) Classic DAYS Soap Opera Digest Synopses - DAYS OF OUR LIVES Soap Opera Digest Synopsis... (tumblr.com) https://www.tumblr.com/classicsodyr/170798172802/the-young-the-restless-soap-opera-digest?source=share https://www.tumblr.com/classicsodyr/170907236253/the-young-the-restless-soap-opera-digest?source=share

I think summer 1987 was Anne Heche (RIP) debut. Maybe that's why SoapNet started with those episodes.

Iran-Contra hearings really messed up summer 1987. Y&R got 8 non-consecutive weeks at #1. GL July 1987 Pamela Long returned as head writer and she couldn't get there fast enough. Joe Willmore/Pamela Long era lasts until June 1989.

Y&R summer 1987 #1 streak ends at 5 weeks. Things should stabilize in August. September one year of Oprah, debut of Geraldo, and Nielsen people meters.

1988 Y&R ties General Hospital for #1 and 1989 Y&R finally beats General Hospital for #1. Y&R becoming #1 was a combination of owning their time slot, having strong lead ins, and holding on to their audience during the Writer's Strike.

June 23-27, 1997.

Y&R June 25, 1987 Jess Walton takes over as Jill. The first of Y&R's big three late 1980s recasts. So far summer 1987 Y&R #1 three consecutive weeks. Also Y&R summer 1987 Phillip III gets drunk and becomes involved with Nina who is in pursuit of him, resulting in Nina becoming pregnant with Chance. Another main storyline Traci off to Stanford and Brad becomes involved with Lauren. More Iran Contra pre-emptions are coming up and that's going to impact the ratings.

Y&R Nikki learns her illness is in remission, but upon seeing Victor and Ashley together at the ranch, Nikki decides to keep the truth about her condition hidden from Victor. Lily's parentage reveal episode was one of the early 2000s holiday classics. GL shows a drop in the annual ratings until 1991/92. It's disappointing to me that GL ratings dropped during the Robert Calhoun years. Remember too that B&B did not have full clearance in its early years, plus it's head-to-head w/ second half of supercouple Days and second half of All My Children. I would think As the World Turns would have improved by not being head-to-head w/ second half of supercouple Days and second half of All My Children. Perhaps being fully head-to-head w/ One Life to Live was giving it tougher competition. I remember reading that somewhere many years ago, that Bill Bell allegedly demanded CBS give B&B the Y&R lead out otherwise he'd take both shows to another network. Same stunt that Mark Goodson allegedly pulled off a year earlier w/ The Price is Right and Card Sharks.

The big departure week on Days as per earlier post in this thread. Deidre Hall, Peter Reckell, Kristian Alfonso all moved on to primetime. There was a drop in the next week ratings. Lets see how long its takes for the second part of supercouple Days (Steve/Kayla years) to take off.

Mamie is the reason the Winters family exists on the show in the first place. She is needed as that family's rightful matriarch.

Looking at GL ratings, Pamela Long cannot return fast enough. GL was in a really bad way ratings-wise from 1986 until the end of the decade yet its amazing that it didn't enter cancel territory in that time. I personally liked the Robert Calhoun era but the ratings didn't reflect the improvement in the show.

Remember CBS had given up 4 pm ET in September 1986 so the only way CBS could've kept Capitol and premiered B&B is by ending $25,000 Pyramid. CBS would not drop Card Sharks a little over a year into its run or move it away from being the lead in to The Price is Right and risk incurring the wrath of Mark Goodson (it was alleged that Mark Goodson demanded CBS give Card Sharks the lead in to The Price is Right in January 1986 or he would take both shows to another network). A hypothetical CBS schedule March 1987 could have been 10 am Capitol 10:30 am Card Sharks 11 am The Price is Right Noon Local programming 12:30 pm Y&R 1:30 pm B&B 2 pm As the World Turns 3 pm Guiding Light Who knows how long Capitol would have lasted in an early morning slot because clearances would still be an issue. I think you meant to put series premiere for B&B and new time for As the World Turns. That 3rd-6th tier is showing lots of movement w/ supercouple Days, All My Children, One Life to Live, As the World Turns. B&B is in pretty much the same place where Capitol ended.

B&B was head-to-head w/ second half of supercouple Days and second half of All My Children, plus it did not have full clearance, so there's some struggling in the early years. From the annual ratings, B&B first moves past Days in 1990, then Days overtakes B&B in 1996, then B&B moves past Days in 1999. B&B would move past All My Children in 1996.

Capitol was a placeholder/time filler until Bill Bell had a second show ready. CBS even gave B&B the lead out from Y&R, that's how much faith they had in Bill Bell. Remember too that Y&R was on its way to toppling General Hospital for #1.