Honestly, as superficial as this sounds, it's the poor sets that bug me the most about GL. There are so few sets used and they're so small and so DARK! My GOSH this show is always so DARK! The ever-changing sets (the glowing green hospital, the new Towers, Gus/Harley's disappearing kitchen) and the fact that 90% of Springfield lives in a hotel room stifles my imagination that they could be real people living in a big thriving town. I seriously get that feeling of claustrophobia when I see that hotel room used repeatedly in the same episode by so many characters. And that awful Main Street is so tacky and also gives me claustrophobia because multiple conversations can happen simultaneously on the set but we are supposed to believe that the characters don't intermingle and see one another. Plus, they use the set for so many different purposes! Car crashes, shoot outs, funerals, political podiums, Christmas tree lot, outdoor wedding dress store, etc. etc. etc.

The whole situation just takes away that escapism feeling that Springfield could be a real place. Obviously, I know it's not real, but you know what I mean? It's one step above using theater curtains as a backdrop, which they might have to do if their ratings were to ever fall lower.

So I could live with some unimportant characters like Ava, Jeffrey, or Remy if they would at least be surrounded in better, more realistic, brighter, bigger, and more variety of spaces.

Be that as it may, I wouldn't label GL as CBS's step-child, but rather 'The Little Engine That Could' because it's still chuggin' and their ratings are relatively stable, even though the budget situation has been terrible for the past 3 years.

P.S. To the original poster... Guiding Light has not gotten endless Emmy love! 2006 was a great year for GL at the Emmys, but before that, their last winner was Jordi Vilasuso in 2003! Before that, it was Crystal Chappel in 2002. And before that, Cynthia Watros in 1998!!

Wonderfully stated, and I cannot agree more!

ANDREA

Oh, but you best believe if GL were cancelled for ATWT, that ATWT would become one unrecongizable clusterf~ck.

Do you HONESTLY think ATWT, with the ratings it has right now, won't suffer from ratings loss(no doubt a timeslot change) and a budget cut when CBS rolls out the new soap? You're sadly mistaken.

Psh. Not if they get stuck in GL's old timeslot.

ATWT has had solid weeks..It even hit 3.5 million viewers this year..The ratings could easily go up..The cast is still Huge and with GL gone, all the focus would go to WT if the ratings are better than what they are now

ATWT has had solid weeks..It even hit 3.5 million viewers this year..The ratings could easily go up..The cast is still Huge and with GL gone, all the focus would go to WT if the ratings are better than what they are now

With all due respect, I still think you are missing my point.

If GL were replaced with a new soap, the new soap will have ATWT's timeslot. ATWT will occupy the deathslot that is GL, where it will air at 9AM in some parts of the country. The ratings will drop. When the ratings drop, the show will suffer a massive budget cut. Period.

There's no way CBS will favor warhorse ATWT over a fresh, new soap opera.

Why cancel GL when they can get new, GOOD writers? That soap is a classic. Its the only soap on CBS that I give a rat's ass about.

P.S. If we start cancelling soaps, let's cancel Days, ATWT, GH, AMC, etc. Then there will be no soaps left.

Why create new ones? Cancelling a long term soap just to create a new one isn't going to sit well with alot of people. I mean look how much resentment there still is over AW being cancelled and Passions coming along.

Fix the ones you already have. They're worth it

Why create new ones? Cancelling a long term soap just to create a new one isn't going to sit well with alot of people. I mean look how much resentment there still is over AW being cancelled and Passions coming along.

Fix the ones you already have. They're worth it

I think the main difference between resentment over AW and PASSIONS is that PASSIONS was a soap that was on NBC for over 8 years and hardly did anything spectacular or revolutionary. Hardly told compelling stories or did anything emotionally relevant to its audience.

I doubt the same reaction would be there if AW were cancelled with a Bell or a Labine soap.

Please. A new soap would not stand a [!@#$%^&*] chance.

GL may be on life support but it at least has a long standing on CBS on its side. The reason a new soap will not work is because daytime departments at the American networks have no interest in changing their way of working or producing daytime drama. They have no ability anymore to create or sustain a core canvas, multi-generational stories, etc. They are only focused on emulating MTV's faux-reality shows - which have always, always sucked. Daytime today doesn't know how to revitalize itself or do anything new, or really create. They just tread water and bullshit. Trying to make a new soap in this environment with their mindset and resources would be like trying to grow crops at Chernobyl.

That was an awesome post. And I totally agree.

People here are assuming that a new soap will be revolutionary and compelling. CBS continues to keep uncreative hacks employed. I highly doubt that a new soap will be any better than the 9 that are currently on air.

ATWT has had solid weeks..It even hit 3.5 million viewers this year..The ratings could easily go up..The cast is still Huge and with GL gone, all the focus would go to WT if the ratings are better than what they are now

That's also assuming that all the GL fans who've lost their show will turn to ATWT...but as long as ATWT continues its sh-tty writing, that's highly unlikely. Also, you've ignored the fact that GL has the ability to gain higher than normal numbers. It managed to reach a 2.5 a few times earlier this year. So the argument you've used for ATWT about how its ratings can easily go up can also be said about GL.

Why cancel GL when they can get new, GOOD writers? That soap is a classic. Its the only soap on CBS that I give a rat's ass about.

EXACTLY my point. The show's history and characters don't deserve the boot just because their writers are crap. Destroying a longstanding soap with a rich history due to its incompetant regime is like splitting up a country because their central government consist of heartless jerks. They did it with the Soviet Union and look where they are now: in shambles.

What I don't think people are understanding is that CBS has ALREADY cancelled GL and has ALREADY replaced it with a new show. Call me a stuck-in-the-past candleholder, but this is NOT GL. It just isn't. It may have the same name and may have some familiar soap faces, but it isn't GL, not by a longshot. Beyond the fact that Wheeler and Kreizman like to whore out GL's history when it suits them (like the return of the Edwin Markum quote in the opening), there is no connection between the past show and the current one. I have accepted that and have cut my ties to the show beyond some occasionable SON bitching when I'm bored (like right now, for instance). I find the show's writing to be juvenile and pedantic with all the complexity of Blue's Clues. I would actually cancel it BECAUSE of sentimental reasons.

But in the end, that is just my opinion.

To my chagrin, the gamble appears to be paying off. The fact is that GL's ratings are remarkably consistent. They have been hovering around the same area for years now while the other shows have varied wildly in their ratings. That means that GL is pulling a consistent profit, despite the fact that the show airs in different timeslots all across the nation. Because of the low production costs, CBS/PGP get a greater share of the profits. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised to learn that GL makes more money than ATWT, which has a much higher budget.

In the end, GL is making more money than an unestablished show ever would. It is still pulling a tidy profit and is still a viable way of reaching that beloved female 18-49 demo. To cancel it would be ludicrous on CBS' part.

That was an awesome post. And I totally agree.

People here are assuming that a new soap will be revolutionary and compelling. CBS continues to keep uncreative hacks employed. I highly doubt that a new soap will be any better than the 9 that are currently on air.

That's also assuming that all the GL fans who've lost their show will turn to ATWT...but as long as ATWT continues its sh-tty writing, that's highly unlikely. Also, you've ignored the fact that GL has the ability to gain higher than normal numbers. It managed to reach a 2.5 a few times earlier this year. So the argument you've used for ATWT about how its ratings can easily go up can also be said about GL.

EXACTLY my point. The show's history and characters don't deserve the boot just because their writers are crap. Destroying a longstanding soap with a rich history due to its incompetant regime is like splitting up a country because their central government consist of heartless jerks. They did it with the Soviet Union and look where they are now: in shambles.

GL hasnt had a 2.5 in years and I think its core audience is a 2.2..On the other hand, ATWT is capable of getting a 3.0. It even hit a 3.0 one day in march..

The real test will come this fall with the new TPIR host. Let's face it, that game show drives CBS daytime. If it takes a huge drop, then all of CBS daytime will suffer... It may make all this moot. GL has been steady in the rating and that's a plus. I don't think this is an ATWT/GL battle. An alternative, CBS could force Bell to expand B&B to an hour. GL as a 30-minute show could work.

let's talk numbers.

considering that GL has less budget than ATWT, it is in different timeslots across the country, endured cancelation rumors a couple of years ago,it's not being shown in a few markets and that ATWT does not carry along the YR and B&B audience being an eternal sloppy lead-in (audience drops more than 30%)...with all that in mind (ATWT budget, fixed time slot,no market problems)...GL is doing much better than ATWT .

---source: Soapoperanetwork.com

April 23-27, 2007

Women 18-34 Rating

1. GH 1.4/9 (+.1/same)

2. Y&R 1.3/9 (+.2/-.3)

3. DAYS 1.2/8 (+.1/-.6)

3. OLTL 1.2/8 (+.1/-.1)

5. PSNS 1.1/7 (+.1/-.3)

5. AMC 1.1/7 (+.1/-.3)

7. B&B 0.8/5 (+.1/-.3)

7. GL 0.8/5 (+.1/-.1)

9. ATWT 0.7/4 (+.1/-.3)

Women 18-49 Viewers

1. Y&R 1,282,000 (+46,000/-95,000)

2. GH 1,225,000 (+105,000/-66,000)

3. OLTL 1,055,000 (+67,000/-103,000)

4. AMC 1,007,000 (+62,000/-209,000)

5. B&B 891,000 (+26,000/-109,000)

6. DAYS 880,000 (+90,000/-275,000)

7. GL 795,000 (+93,000/+15,000)

8. ATWT 770,000 (+6,000/-79,000)

9. PSNS 666,000 (+82,000/-176,000)

Girls 12-17 Viewers

1. GH 68,000 (+24,000/+16,000)

2. Y&R 67,000 (+22,000/+50,000)

3. OLTL 48,000 (+22,000/+9,000)

4. PSNS 40,000 (+9,000/-1,000)

5. GL 32,000 (+10,000/+24,000)

6. AMC 29,000 (+11,000/-21,000)

7. ATWT 24,000 (-4,000/+13,000)

8. DAYS 19,000 (-12,000/-13,000)

9. B&B 16,000 (-6,000/+2,000)

Total Viewers

1. Y&R 5,498,000 (+35,000/+253,000)

2. B&B 3,878,000 (+18,000/-214,000)

3. GH 3,604,000 (+335,000/+228,000)

4. OLTL 3,281,000 (+258,000/+80,000)

5. AMC 3,213,000 (+95,000/-234,000)

6. ATWT 3,044,000 (+34,000/-409,000)

7. GL 2,817,000 (+191,000/-91,000)

8. DAYS 2,629,000 (+187,000/-429,000)

9. PSNS 1,686,000 (+84,000/-180,000)

AVG. 2007 LOSS OR GAIN IN COMPARISON TO PREVIOUS YEAR [Last 8 Wk. Included Only]

avg. Less

1. DAYS is averaging 508,000 LESS viewers a week.

2. PSNS is averaging 295,000 LESS viewers a week

3. B&B is averaging 275,000 LESS viewers a week

4. ATWT is averaging 237,000 LESS viewers a week.

5. AMC is averaging 208,000 LESS viewers a week.

6. GL is averaging 148,000 LESS viewers a week

7. OLTL is averaging 132,000 LESS viewers a week

8. GH is averaging 49,000 LESS viewers a week

avg. More

1. Y&R is averaging 28,000 MORE viewers a week.

--end of source

GL is doing better. Considering that GL has a solid base of viewers (no sharp decline like ATWT, no surprises, stability(9 letters that time-slot buyers love) , it is the most nominated and acclaimed soap this year at the emmy awards and is costing P&G much less to produce, if we are talking about a show being cancelled then ATWT is way much closer to cancelation than GL.

sadly, ATWT is slowly on the same path as Days of our Lives: Expensive to make and in an audience quicksand. At the CBS daytime lineup, ATWT is the weakest link.

Edited May 12, 200718 yr by mamasita

GL hasnt had a 2.5 in years and I think its core audience is a 2.2..On the other hand, ATWT is capable of getting a 3.0. It even hit a 3.0 one day in march..

Note that I'm referring to dailies, not the weekly averages. I clearly remember GL getting a 2.5 sometime last year around the time everyone found out Reva had cancer. Also...

Ratings for the week January 29 - February 2, 2007

GL

Monday: 2.2/2,982,000

Tuesday: 2.2/2,877,000

Wednesday: 2.4/3,245,000

Thursday: 2.6/3,396,000

Friday: 2.2/2,966,000

Ratings for the week February 5-9, 2007

Monday: 2.4/3,035,000

Tuesday: 2.5/3,240,000

Wednesday: 2.3/3,018,000

Thursday: 2.1/2,818,000

Friday: 2.4/3,054,000

Ratings for the week February 12-16, 2007

Monday: 2.1/2,731,000

Tuesday: 2.6/3,286,000

Wednesday: 2.5/3,286,000

Thursday: 2.3/2,903,000

Friday: 2.3/2,891,000

--- source (Soap Opera Network)

So GL has hit a 2.5 as recent as this year and what's even more amazing is that it had a 2.6 AND a 2.5 in the span of a week in February. When you consider all the things going against the show, that's pretty unbelievable.

mamasita, that was an interesting post. Many people take ratings at face value and only consider one aspect of the statistics..even worse, place a show in its own isolated bubble. You cannot truly say that a show is in trouble and worth scrapping if you don't consider how other similar shows within the genre are doing. The same can be said about soaps. You can't say at the soap ratings in general and say that they are completely doomed without considering how the other television genres are doing as well.

I don't get why GL is being singled out, when Days' ratings are suffering, and GL is doing much better than Days has in a long time.

Cancel GL? Might as well cancel Days then as well. Heck let's just cancel all the soaps, replace them with new ones, so they all can bomb, and the soap industry as we know it will be dead

CBS should cancel GL and pickup Days and comp retool the show.

Why? That's totally crazy. Why would any network cancel one soap that's low rated, for another that's even lower rated? That's just BAD business sense. Plus what they'd even have to shell out to Sony to even air the show, I doubt they'd even bother.

Edited May 13, 200718 yr by AMC Zendall Fan

Note that I'm referring to dailies, not the weekly averages. I clearly remember GL getting a 2.5 sometime last year around the time everyone found out Reva had cancer. Also...

Ratings for the week January 29 - February 2, 2007

GL

Monday: 2.2/2,982,000

Tuesday: 2.2/2,877,000

Wednesday: 2.4/3,245,000

Thursday: 2.6/3,396,000

Friday: 2.2/2,966,000

Ratings for the week February 5-9, 2007

Monday: 2.4/3,035,000

Tuesday: 2.5/3,240,000

Wednesday: 2.3/3,018,000

Thursday: 2.1/2,818,000

Friday: 2.4/3,054,000

Ratings for the week February 12-16, 2007

Monday: 2.1/2,731,000

Tuesday: 2.6/3,286,000

Wednesday: 2.5/3,286,000

Thursday: 2.3/2,903,000

Friday: 2.3/2,891,000

--- source (Soap Opera Network)

So GL has hit a 2.5 as recent as this year and what's even more amazing is that it had a 2.6 AND a 2.5 in the span of a week in February. When you consider all the things going against the show, that's pretty unbelievable.

mamasita, that was an interesting post. Many people take ratings at face value and only consider one aspect of the statistics..even worse, place a show in its own isolated bubble. You cannot truly say that a show is in trouble and worth scrapping if you don't consider how other similar shows within the genre are doing. The same can be said about soaps. You can't say at the soap ratings in general and say that they are completely doomed without considering how the other television genres are doing as well.

All Im saying its been a while since GL hit a 3.0 and maybe if the HH and TV go up,.more money would come in and we can get fan favs back..I dont watch CBS shows but I do agree, if ATWT keeps falling..Its gonna be in the same place as GL