August 28 - September 1, 2006

[SteveFrame]

I agree with you so much. The quality has hurt the ratings big time, and it is something that has hit every show. Even last year Y&R's quality was down due to Jack Scott.

I think another thing and I briefly touched on it in another post somewhere but I think soaps have lost their credibility too. It used to be that soaps were looked down upon by some, but they always had storylines that got attention because they taught something or were socially relevant like Monica's breast cancer storyline (GH), Cindy's AIDS story (AMC), Stone's death (GH), the AIDS ball (ATWT), etc.

But soaps have just become known now for the sci-fi stuff like Marlena's possession on Days, walking fetus stories like Chelsea on Days and Josh on AMC, constant returns from the dead like Stefano on Days and James Stenbeck on ATWT, or the fact that no one ever dies on a soap at all.

Not only have they lost their quality but they have lost all their credibility, and now more than ever they are looked upon as "fluff" or empty viewing. And more and more it seems many times that esp. with the parade of hunks that so many of them have they are shooting for a teen or younger market who are more fickle in their viewing, and what I mean by that they jump from one show to another more often. And we see how that works as it worked for ABC for quite some time because they were able to do these stunt stories and pull in these viewers, but then they didn't offer anything to keep them watching anymore. Days did that with the SSK story - they would tune in for the deaths and then the ratings would go back down. Long term quality storytelling is just gone, and along with the quality has been the credibility too.

Both have led to the erosion.

[David V]

Even the times when Y&R isn't as good as it was/should be, it's still far better than most of what's out there and that alone is frightening- also reflected in the fact that its stranglehold on #1 spot has remained strong even with falling numbers.

Well Y&R does deal with things far more realistically, and two of the more harrowing deaths I've seen on the show- that of Cassie last year and Keesha a decade ago- also enabled the show to touch on important social topics.

How many truly soap couples have been created in the new millennium? How many outstanding performers today are likely to follow in the footsteps of such guns as Anne Heche, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Cynthia Watros, Tammy Blanchard, Amber Tamblyn, Erin Torpey and Jennifer Finnigan? (those are 7 standouts amongst others). Not many I'm afraid

[RogerNewcomb]

Not many people in charges of soaps these days actually get it. ATWT just finished a slasher story that seemed to help ratings a tiny bit, but is there another story being paced to become the next big thing? No. The show will probably go into a lull until November sweeps. Why can't the writers tell a variety of stories in the beginning, middle and end phases. So many seem to go in circles and fans have little incentive to watch every single day.

With many more options of course the audience will erode a bit, but I also truly believe the decline in quality has made even the most loyal soap fans consider giving up their shows.

There are also more serialized dramas and comedies in prime time so people get their "soap" fix everywhere with much higher quality. A well-drawn, INTELLIGENT daytime soap would still draw ratings.

[David V]

I enjoy watching re-runs of Law & Order: SVU more than any daytime soap these days...

[bellcurve]

Even La Flannery can't save this mess right now. I've switched over to FASHION HOUSE. I'm hoping DAYS can continue their steady gain and steal some of B&B's viewers. That is the only thing that will wake up Bill Jr. and Lee.

Something has GOT to change over there.

[jpoliver78]

This is off-topic, but the United States could become the first nation were the telenovela formula has failed. MyNetworkTV debuted two 13-week (65 episodes) telenovelas this past week, "Desire" and "Fashion House", and audiences general ignored them.

According to Nielsen Media Research figures, both series averaged around a 1.3 for their first episodes on Tuesday (9.5) and had dropped to around a 1.1 by Thursday (9.7). Hardly numbers to brag about. Since both serials feature recurring storylines, the ratings should only drop as viewers feel no incentive to tune in since they won't be up-to-date on what's happening (even with weekend "recap" episodes).

[David V]

Hear, hear.

I think the least Brad Bell should do is to step aside from HW duties and bring on a decent writer who knows how to write real stories instead of the mess we have right now. Stop bringing people back from the dead, and stop bringing in characters who you can't/won't write stories for...

[Sylph]

But the problem is that Bell's own the show, and they're not likely to fire Bradley. It won't happen soon, I suppose. But, I'm sooo hoping it will. So, I think CBS's involvmenet with this is minimal. And they're not likely to cancel GL and give Bradley a show on his own. But that just seem such a perfect thought.

[David V]

And the other problem: recycling the same old failed writers and producers among the soaps.

The question is: is Brad Bell really a capable writer who has become too lazy or lost the plot? Or is he just a hack despite his genes?

We might ask somewhat similar questions of James E. Reilly and Megan McTavish. Both enjoyed considerable success in their first stints at Days and AMC respectively, with high ratings and all. But Reilly's second stint in Days was clearly a failure, and McTavish's second and third stints for AMC have proven disastrous. Did those two just get lucky first time round? Or did McTavish simply have the fortune of having a stronger EP in FMB during her first stint (as well as inheriting a show already doing well)?

Similarly I can't understand how JFP ended up producing for OLTL and GH after the damage she did to AW and GL, or how Higley got the OLTL HW job after plunging Days to the depths (though Langan had done much of the damage anyway...)

[RalphOrtiz]

I watched the debut episodes of both 'Desire' and 'Fashion House', and they were nothing to write home about. The writing and acting were amateurish - I know, both standard staples of a telenovela, but with all of the hype that these shows received, I expected more. Also, both of these shows are on what was the UPN network, which generated similar ratings for most of their shows. The telenovela formula doesn't have to fail in this country. What MyNetworkTV needs is a breakout show to put it on the map, and unfortunately, what they've given us so far isn't going to do it.

[SteveFrame]

I'll throw this out there as another contributing factor to declining ratings - we as the fans know too much. All the spoilers have cut down on the dramatic effect of stories. Many times the end of the story or the result of the story is known before it happens.

Also telling who is going to be featured and who is going to be on next week or whatever indicates to viewers whether their favorites will be featured or not. Esp. these coming up on the next show features that air after or during the show hurts way too much. I know several times lately ATWT has given away key points in their coming up segments. The dramatic effect was greatly hurt.

I know that the few times I try to go spoiler free the show is much more enjoyable. But even when I try to avoid spoilers on the Internet, the promos on SoapNet and the networks give much more away than they ever did before.

I think the fans have gone way overboard with how much we feel we need to know. And all these sites that have set themselves completely up to get the best spoilers and to send them out there have hurt the shows way too much.

It used to be that fans didn't know anything at all, and we tuned in everyday to see what was going to happen. Even at times when the writing wasn't as good as other times, we still wanted to see what was going to happen. We were drawn in by the mystery of it. We had the element of the unknown, and we didn't know who was going to be on that day, and if our favorite was on we were pleasantly surprised. And we sure didn't know that our favorite was being fired.

I can remember when Another World fired Michael M. Ryan as John Randolph - we had no idea at all. He had been on the show for so long. And when he went into that fire, you just knew he was going to come back out. But no he didn't. Boy you talking about shock. All that would have been ruined, and the build-up from one day to the next would have been destroyed if we had known that he was leaving the show.

I would love for those days back.

[alwaysAMC]

I 100% agree with this, and have thought this for a LONG time. We now as viewers get to choose whether to watch or not bc we already know what we'll see, and if we'll even care to see it.

I remember the days before the internet and before all the TV promos - and you were always on the edge of your seat, waiting in anticipation. You were always surprised to no longer see a character on your screen - weren't sure if they were really going to die or survive....

Maybe technology is killing soap operas?

[PJA]

I too think that spoilers are the main problem. Of course there are other factors. I am spoiler free for right now and am enjoying both of the shows (Y&R and ATWT) that I watch.

[pamela1965]

all ABC soaps suck GH pissed on and trash rexis jasam and l&l so they could do jiz it is sicking to me how they are trashing luke and laura son lucky to pimp and prop a [!@#$%^&*] hitman DIE GH DIE

[cal3]

I disagree that it's the spoilers that are the problem. We've always had spoilers as far back as Malone I you could call ABC and pay for them. Maybe Frons is missing out on a revenue making ploy. The problem with the ABC stuff is that it is all stuff that confirms the worst rather than exciting you. Did any of us truly want to see Kelly screw Duke in the rectory? John dies? Unfortunately he lives. Then there is Todd dies along with the fake exit interview. Maybe if they took a risk and killed Todd or John so that they had some credibility then people might tune in?

The problem that you cannot get away from is the stories are bad and they continue to extinguish any degree of hope that they might otherwise offer.

Also with Hackley's blatent foreshadowing on OLTL the spoilers aren't even spoilers.