August 6-10, 2007

[Rocket Man]

Perhaps Carrie & Austin, Eric Brady, Jack & Jennifer shall return? I was a huge fan of them in the late 80s and early 90s but DAYS ruined it when they recasted both roles in the mid-90s. Bad move on DAYS part because they lost me as a viewer right then and there; however, even though DAYS brought them back I didn't return because James Reilly was the headwriter and I knew better not to bother.

No offense, Patch & Kayla are the 80s supercouple which many viewers have already left decades ago along with Anna, Tony, Andre, etc, etc. It's nice to see DAYS going back to its roots but is it too late since viewers have left back in the early 90s? Then headwriter James Reilly brought in the newer viewers that loved all the crazy, possessed, wacky storylines and now since the normalcy is back in DAYS they left.

[knowjack]

Too bad ATWT and AMC didn't go up. The Nuke and the Crash storylines are probably the most 'buzzed about' on daytime right now. Unfortunately, the rest of ATWT is pretty much unwatchable. As for AMC, they DO need to get the heck out of the hospital. Most of the cast has been doing great work in that storyline, but that's pretty much all that's going on right now. Annie is at least getting interesting, but I'm worried about these new HWs bringing in a ton of new characters with no Pine Valley ties instead of bringing back characters the viewers care about.

[DAYSjunkie1987]

Thanks for correcting me, Jumping Jack.

[RogerNewcomb]

ATWT was pre-empted in Houston today along with GL and B&B. No idea how they do in that huge market, but could impact next week's ratings.

[Soapsuds]

Why was it preempted? Because of the storm? I am in Texas and the show wasnt preempted here.

[Rocket Man]

You can catch the episodes except for B&B on CBS.com which they show same-day shows after 6pm EST. I'm sure it will impact it some how, perhaps it will bring tomorrow's rating higher with everyone catching up.

[RogerNewcomb]

I'm in NYC so I saw the show, but since Houston is a huge market, could impact the ratings. We usually pick apart the dailies so this may be why one or all of those three shows take a dip on Thursday. And no clue if the overnight airing, probably not watched by many, is counted in the ratings.

[MichaelGL]

Well I'm happy DAYS rose a bit. It still holds my interest more than any other soap right now. Surprisngly PSSNs does also. Glad to see they rose a little too.

Seeing GL rise to a 1.9 doesn't faze me at all, seeing it back to 2.0 would be better, a sad goal I know.

Damn Y&R did not fall!

[Reddi]

IA. There is no one, and more importantly, no GROUP left I want to see on AMC. I don't see any hope for that show until Frons goes and a new mindset takes over at the network.

Y/R might havea lot of folks on the boards complaining... but I think they do one thing right (or close to right). They proceed with their stories despite board complaints, viewing the long term. Most viewers don't post on boards, and those that do tend to post negative- so the boards are not good indicators (alone) of the fans reactions. I enjoy Y/R very much despite a few flaws (that seem easily fixable... at least to me.. but I'm not writing months in advance and trying to write a show that airs five days a week). Y/R does what so many other soaps do not do- they use their whole cast, and rotate leads more than many other soaps. There might always be something to complain about, but the complaints are different (because viewers tastes are different), and there is always something for someone to like due to varied stories and cast use. They've also greatly improved in their one weak point: humor. And they do not apparently cater to fanbases...which is good, because no one fanbase is a majority. I get the feeling ABC soaps (esp AMC) try to find a SUPERCOUPLE to save the show (forcing this unsuccessfully) instead of using a varied cast and varied stories.

I really see no hope for AMC anymore. They don't have the ensemble they once did, and that is one major thing that made it work.

[dragonflies]

I'm really not surprised AMC dropped, too much too fast, it's overkill. Too much angst heaped and heaped on. Viewers are already sick of it, and most just want Greenlee GONE and shoving her and Ava(who most also seem to want GONE)down viewer's throats isn't doing the show any favors.

Plus they have the characters basically saying and doing the same things over and over, there's not been much movement.

Damn ATWT ouch

[Southofnowhere]

I hardlt watch AMC anymore but's it's easy to see how much weaker the acting is. I keep thinking back to the super and i mean super work everyone did in the babyswitch story. The scene where kendall told Bink Miranda was dead still gives me chills. Where has that kind of acting gone? Before the super acting made up for the stupid writing. How we have a a little better writing and way weaker acting.

[MichaelGL]

You know what's wrong w/AMC from my perspective?

I want to see new people. Okay, not new characters or even new faces, but some different characters get some stories. I would watch any storyline involving Tad over Kendall. Hell I would do the same with Amanda. I've seen so much of Zendall, Greenlee, Ryan, and Annie it's sickening (in the small amount of time I do devote to AMC, which isn't much). Having some big event happen to them and also involving some of the cast isn't going to help. I think it's one of the reasons that got me to watch when McTavish first joined. Okay bad comparison, but it's true.

[Reddi]

^ Yes, AMC needs to rotate their leads- and they've needed to do that for awhile! We have had the same stories with the same leads- but again, I think that's an ABC thing. They pick the people they want for LEADS and STARS, when the show's strength was always in the ensemble. Even though Erica was probably the one long time "star" of AMC, it never was all the Erica show (even though she usually had a lead story- she wasn't the ONLY one).

AMC also drops the ball on who COULD be a strong character. Amanda had great potential, but it was never developed. She had show history, and we were teased with a story where Brooke was taking Amanda under her wing... and it never went anywhere. The character of Di was a newbie, but she had ties through Dixie, and one of the most interesting backstories and intros of a newbie in ages. But once they were finished with "di as dixie" they just made her another interchangeable blonde. Zach was a strong character when used in a mix, but he can't be the ONLY romantic lead (and Ryan just doesn't work as a major romantic lead- he's great supporting, but has been a dud as lead and yet they force it and force it- maybe if leads were rotated it would work).

Most of all, they don't have the groupings that once worked. You need the families. You need a variety of ages and relationships and some characters who don't work well alone do work well in a group, as sort of an 'accent' character. But there is none of that anymore. Since 05 the show has just degenerated bit by bit (with a few good moments mixed in, such as Janet's return the first time). Now there is nothing left and the 'raw materials' to build a strong soap are no longer there.

[SpiritualJunkie]

I'm surprised ATWT is still steady after all the buzz with Luke & Noah. Just tells us that Luke & Noah alone can't save the show. Nor can the simple idea of a gay story. They should actually make people care.

I'm really hoping GL can go back to 2.0 or higher once DAM and Daniel Cosgrove come back.

[nell17]

About All My Children: The dip in the ratings reflect the lack of balance on the writing. I still think transition between writing teams is a big part of it. This "Crash" story is depressing and it's hard to watch when your #1 couple keeps being beat down. Greenlee is still too heavily of a focus in this storyline. We've seen her hurt Kendall time after time. It was so over the top so quickly that people hate her. I know I do. I'm sure some of the audience turned their TVs off and never looked back for that reason alone. Hopefully the audience will come back in September?

If they had balanced this story with a "real" second story featuring the other strong actors on campus, (DC,MEK,BE,SP) it would have certainly helped the ratings. Instead we got JY,LR,AT,SS... Our vets were backburnered.

AMC is clearly rebuilding everywhere, writing, and especially with the cast. Every time a character/actor left,(JB,CmC,VI,JuBr,TI,TL,KG,CF) there were no immediate replacements for them. OLTL pretty much still has their core cast and their vets. AMC clearly does not. It's better to introduce newbies slowly, but unfortunately they can't afford to wait which means another ratings dip. To use a sports analogy, this team is relying on 33% veteran cast, 33% writing, and 33% new talent. That's a gamble is ever I saw one. It should be 45%-45%-10% which it what other ABC soaps seem to be doing.

Look at GH as a direct comparison. They have, since last November, introduced 8 or 9 new characters but have only lost 1 or 2 vets. Plus, they seem to have no problem recasting a core character (Laura Wright/Carly) no matter how popular the actress. Big difference between AMC. I think McT should have been ousted long ago. I feel she knew she was leaving ahead of time and wrote crap that did the most damage and would be hard to repair as a FU to everyone, fans especially. If she had left in Feb 06, AMC would certainly have been in better shape. The show will probrably need a good 6-7 months to rebuild so by Feb 08 sweeps, we will see.