February 4-8, 2008

[shawn Perez]

well to be honest. I'm not saying GH is not having problems. most soaps that have low ratings are down. it doesn't mean the show is a lesser quality. if that were true. Y&R would be at the bottom of the list for most boring soap EVER. not to mention since DOOL is below GH in ratings. what does that say for the show? it must be a mess right? but when you compare DOOL to GH. even on DOOL's best day. there's still no comparison. GH out ranks DOOL in so many aspects..for Example.

GH has better dialogue. better balance. exciting S/L's. lots of Action. romance isn't so bad. even if your not a fan of Liason. atleast GH keeps couples together longterm. DOOL is a none believer in keeping couples together..everytime you think a couple is gonna be together. the writers rip them apart again.."belle/philip/shawn ring any bells? plus i like GH because the romance is sexy NOT cheesy/sappy.

the women are strong. and badass. not criers or whiners. GH has some really cool montage music whenever a shootout breaks out. or just for an ordinary day when couples are going through angst in there relationships. the montages are classic and makes for a awesome soap. most of the time the music is on when characters are having fun and meaningful conversations. also the Acting is some of the best i ever seen. but that's just my opinion.

i watched DOOL for 16 years. until i recently gave it up because the idiot that is known as Ken Corday put that hack writer Dena Hackley in charge. and the way every writer from now and in the past only focused on sci-fi/supernatural garbage that i despise..just like the writers are always repeating the same old S/L's with the stefano/brady feud. how many times have we seen this S/L play out? we all know stefano isn't gonna die. the old goat wakes up from the dead 10000th+ times. i can understand if DOOL made the S/L's exciting just alittle bit to keep viewers interested. but they don't. no action. no suspense. nothing. it's makes the show overall "dull. boring. and predictable" those three words are the worst combination a soap could have. it's a ticking time bomb waiting to be destroyed. or cancelled.

[MichaelGL]

Aside from the fact that the entire posted ROCKED, I find myself agreeing so much with this. If there is anything the rest of the soaps should do, they should be taking notes off of OLTL, and how they incorporate it's new cast of characters with the old, familair cast of characters.

DH and Malones tenures had the star power, but much of the time (especially under Higley), the writing simply wasn't there. Under Higley, the show was more plot, and less about character and substance. Fortunately today, RC has given the show much substance, intellegence, and a thumbs up to the script writers also. Higley had some of the worst script writers in history of the show.

[CassilineKnight]

I have to say after reading most of this thread that I completely agree with you.

Whats truly funny to me is how 1 week Days fans will crying "OMG its Days is gonna be cancelled" and complaining about certain hw's, characters, or couples when the ratings are down in the dumps and then the VERY NEXT week when the show receives a little bump in the ratings those same people are cheering, "Days is awesome! It will go on and on".

I give the show about a year or so before it follows Passions. Days was great in its heyday and yeah every now and again I find some interesting reasons to watch (Sami & EJ or The Dimieras vs The Bradys) but after that what else is there to watch?

General Hospital on the other hand rocks my socks off daily and the ratings for the show are excellent in my opinion. Ratings as a whole go thru cycles. GH may be down from the last week but does it consistently stay down there like Days, AMC, OLTL, or GL (lol its funny how people continue to bash GH's ratings when GL is barely alive).

[Phoenix11]

Put GL in ALL the major markets and I bet it'd give GH a run for its money.

[Vee]

I don't think GL would do well. It's gutted its cast and families, along with its sets and budget. It has very good dialogue people but the stories are mostly astonishingly bad. I tried to watch for several months but Harley/Cyrus and other things became unbearable, not to mention the return of the enormous crutch/airhog that Tom Pelphrey has become to them. If it doesn't have something to do with Jonathan, Jonathan's memory, Tammy's memory, or Josh and Cassie, they're not interested anymore. I think if a larger audience tried to come back, they'd just find something they couldn't really recognize.

[Matt P.]

I thought that Natalia & Gus's wedding disaster was actually nice to watch. Along with Jonathan's second return. It's such a shame, it's like GL is trying, but the ratings will never go past a 2.1

[DaytimeFan]

Both DAYS and GH have substantial problems. In my view they are actually VERY similar shows. They both seem to try and one up each other. They grab cast members from each show, focus on events over character. There are a lot of factors that make GH and DAYS shows that share problems.

I watched both shows for longer than I care to admit and when I watched them regularly I loved them. However, DAYS started its steady decline, for me, after Eileen Davidson and Louise Sorel left. The show just wasn't the same. Ken Corday's creative spasms didn't help matters. GH changed after that son of a bitch Brian Frons came in and changed the mandate to reflect the 'trained' demographic. Sorry Brian but I didn't accept your 'training' and I left as a regular viewer years ago. Then, after Jackie Zeman was taken off contract I stopped watching permanently. That was a matter of principle.

In each case both shows are, essentially, doomed. DAYS will likely be the first to go because of the corporate climate at NBC but mark my words GH, as well as the rest of ABC Daytime, won't be far behind. GH has lost a tremendous amount of total viewers (over a million compared to last year) and these are viewers who won't be coming back. None of the viewers who leave come back really. A point will come where the viewers, demographics and budgets won't sync up and GH will be history. It's sad.

And yes the Bell soaps aren't for everyone. A lot of people hate them...but a lot of people love them. I valued the consistency the Bell soaps offered. And since that hack bitch LML has been fired I can only hope that this consistency will have a resurgence.

Viewers don't stick with something they don't like, it's common sense. Obviously DAYS and GH are not pleasing a large number of viewers as the ratings dwindle lower and lower.

[shawn Perez]

i Agree daytimefan. as a watcher of both GH for 18 years. and DOOL for 16th. all we can do is enjoy the show well it last. i mean look at GL? the show is hitting a 1.9 in ratings. and they haven't declined in years. that should give some us hope that even if the ABC soaps hit rock bottom. there's always a chance that it wont go below that of GL. then of course we'll have to worry if that happens.

even if i pray it doesn't. but like passions for example. i can't believe the show stayed on for so long with an average of 1.6 in ratings. 10 years it took NBC to realize the soap isn't gaining any new viewers. what does that mean for soaps in general? that even if your low on ratings. whoever is in charge of NBC/CBS/ABC will give soaps a chance to raise ratings. now i don't know who runs NBC. or who has the authority to cancel DOOL. but if they do. personally i think it's a slap in the face to the people that watch that soap since the very beginning. i mean they gave passions 10 years to gain viewers. and they automatically wanna get rid of DOOL on NBC?

a soap that has more viewers then passions could ever have. and although i got my issues with DOOL. for the simple fact of ken cordays stupidicy. but to just cut the soap off like that? that person in charge of NBC needs to be fired. yeah sure DOOL IMO needs to go down in ratings so there can be changes. mainly ken corday has to be removed. but not to the intent of getting cancelled in the end. but there is one thing i disagree with. you commented that you stopped watching GH when jackie zeman was taken off contrack?

that's understandable. i know we have our favorites. but IMO GH is bigger then just one character. that's why soaps are suppose to be an assembled cast. like sonny/jason are my favs. and their characters were to die yesterday i wouldn't care. because i watch the show for the overall shear enjoyment. not for one or two characters.

[JackPeyton]

I have always thought GH/Days are so much alike, but everrone always disagreed with me.

ITA with everything you said.

[shawn Perez]

there are simarliirts with both shows. GH has plot points. DOOL has plot points. that's where it ends IMO. the character personalitys are way differen't. GH focuses on chicks that have badass attitudes that know how to use guns. DOOL focuses on chicks scared of guns. GH does sexy romances. DOOL comes off as looking cheesy/sappy. GH has mob shootouts and Action that looks realistic. where as DOOL hardly has any.

[JackPeyton]

i was talking more overview.

both focus on plot and shock over char devolpment.

both rely on stunt casting in stealing stars and bringing back old faves, and ruining them all around.

both have so-so production but seem to think they have amazing production.

both suffer from horrid HW's. (days just changes there all the time, gh keeps there one)

both have a bigger force than the show thats brining it down (ken & brian)

[shawn Perez]

i Agree with 1. you lost me with 2/3/4/5. you can't ruin what you created. if your specifically talking about Guza. he's been head writer since 96. he made these old favs what they are today.

well i can only speak for GH. it does have an amazing production. GH wouldn't be able to do the things they do if they didn't. DOOL fails in that department. the budget is what's making everything fall to pieces. the firings of belle/shawn. just to name a few. i can't post spoilers.

as for the writers. current GH HW garin wolf is getting overwhelm support from fans that that love his writing. the ratings don't show it. but you can go check out the other Boards and ask for yourself is he doing a great job. that's more then i could say for dena higley. it seems like everyone hates her.

i can tell you right now. Ken destroyed NBC. he's the main problem that got passions to have such a low rating since the first day it aired on NBC. it's what got it cancelled. he brought supernatural S/L's to daytime soaps. like DOOL on some occasions. the S/L's lean more to the supernatural side. instead of reality. and Brian still has 3 soaps intacted. however i do believe he did destroy AMC to the point of no return. OLTL made some improvements with RC writing the show. the show is boring overall. but still the writing is pretty decent. GH is Brian's baby out of All the ABC soaps. i doubt he would intentionally wanna destroy it. if you mean destroy as in killing characters off? simple. characters come & go. it's part of life. and soap business. contract expires. they choose to do work somewhere else. you can't force the Actress/Actor to stay on forever. it's why soaps have no choice but to recast. but if your talking about rating wise? ATWT/GL have low ratings. does that mean "Josh Griffith" executive producer is destroying CBS soaps? like i stated before. ratings don't prove quality. GH can hit 6.000.000 viewers next Friday. and there still will be the same negativity towards ABC/Brian Frons.

[JackPeyton]

Guza did not create GH. he has not made it great. he has made it what it is today, and what it is today isnt what it was. he didnt make me fall in lvoe with it. he didnt create awsome moments like tony listing to bj's heart in maxie, robin 7 stones romance, clink/boom or anything else.

GH does NOT have an amazing production. they have a better one than days yes, but what i met was that both seem to think they have a better production than what they actually have. Gh has puleld off a few stunts - like the train crash. but also failed at more like B&W ball graphics and the port charles hotel fire. and days didnt fire belle/shawn for money.

dena has a history that comes with that hate. its FAr to early to tell about her current stint. as for GW, the show has been much better under him - however is he staying as GH's HW? is guza out? nope.

wow. blaming ken Corday for the downfall of NBC daytime is bit too much, IMHO. ruining days? yes. but it has nothing to do with scifi. it has to do with horrid choices, wasting money, and random ideas he inforces that dont work and never following through on anything.

OLTL is good - at the moment. AMC is horrid, and GH is at an all time low. Soapnet is a mess and night Shift was horrid. yes i think its safe to say that Brian is toxic and needs to go.

[shawn Perez]

i didn't say Guza created GH. he did however draw in new viewers that popped on the channel one day and thought? wow this is different then your ordinary soap. and they kepted tuned in. i see allot of new viewers nowadays talking about GH and the characters. he did make GH somewhat great IMO. the sonny/stone aids S/L in 90's was at it's best. the characters from the past is what made them popular today. all thanks to guza. and whoever was writing with him in those years.

GH pulled off successful stunts over the years. like the MC hostage for one won an award for best S/L of 2007. that should tell you something right there. but the point is. atleast GH does sweeps to bring in viewers. where as other soaps don't want to. or can't. yes i do think GH has an amazing production. i mean seriously how else does GH pull off regular day action scenes like it's another day in the park?

i'm gonna have to comment and say that garin wolf was already on the writing staff working with Guza since 97. people arn't noticing a change. because there wasn't really any change. i think people want to believe there is change in spite of guza himself. i knew all along that GH has awesome writing. keep in mind that garin will in fact stay on GH. he went fi-core status. so every S/L from the past,. he was part of. only difference is. Guza was HW. and garin was co.writer.

i Agree about AMC. i can't even bother to look at it without changing the channel. OLTL is boring. it's not my style of writing.. I'm not really a fan of cheesy/sappy romances on soaps. so OLTL is not for me. GH will always entertain me no matter what. i enjoy the characters the casting brings to the canvas. even if it's just one character i hate on the show. the show in itself is entertaining. but since I'm a guy. i guess it makes sense for me to like GH.

[Vee]

I'm a guy, I like action movies and I [!@#$%^&*] hate GH.

GH is the product of too many frustrated men who can't write for cable or film like they want to, so they try to turn a soap opera into the movie or mob show they want to make. A soap opera is not supposed to be about that, or about a bunch of men fighting mob wars, or about women treated like second class citizens or blow up dolls.

I watched it for years and I can't stand it anymore. Every time they try another "badass montage" it's as tired as it was five or ten years ago. They're just repeating themselves and jerking off to their own failed hopes and dreams.

Oh, and by the way, Guza did not write the AIDS storyline with Stone. He was not working on the show back then.