^It had to be really close...the ratings started to slip in 1996 if I'm not mistaken...and I know for sure 97-98 was a bad time in AMC history anyway...

94-96 was AMC gold. The show was simply amazing. The Kendall stuff and then the return of Skye with Kinder had me hooked

^^The Kinder vs. Erica/Skye/Janet thing had me hooked too - one of my favorite storylines ever. But I think that was the last good storyline - then we got the horrible Mateo/Raquel/Max, Kit/Jack, Hawkins, etc stuff in 97-98 when AMC went to the shitter...thanks to McT's horrible 2nd stint. That was the beginning of the ratings slump IMO.

^^The Kinder vs. Erica/Skye/Janet thing had me hooked too - one of my favorite storylines ever. But I think that was the last good storyline - then we got the horrible Mateo/Raquel/Max, Kit/Jack, Hawkins, etc stuff in 97-98 when AMC went to the shitter...thanks to McT's horrible 2nd stint. That was the beginning of the ratings slump IMO.

AMC lost is hold on the #2 spot, a hold they had since like 1992, in 1995 following OJ and of course DAYS possessed storyline. AMC by the end of 1996 I think was in 4th, sometimes 5th spot.... and then of course Megan McTavish's return in late 1997 kind of sealed AMC's fate of remaining in the 5-7th range until ironically she returned in 2003 LOL.

I have continued to watch because it's the story I was raised on, but I think Kendall & Erica drama leading up to Mona's death and then the 25th anniversary episodes was the last time I was literally mad when I'd missed a day. I'm not trying to take anything from Alicia Minshew, but Kendall fans who only know her as Kendall really missed out on some must see TV when SMG's Kendall was pulling all sorts of crazy shite to exact her revenge on Erica. Gahd, it was so good! If someone could only bottle that magic, and it's not like soaps are incapable of writing such good stuff anymore! I feel the same way about OLTL, when I'd miss a day of the Viki/Dorian/David/Todd/Tina/Victor secret room storyline I'd be SO PISSED, I really felt like I'd missed out! I haven't been such an enthusiastic soap watcher since.

The white linen opening was... lovely. I think I appreciated the idea more than the execution. How do you go from something as innovative as scrapbook pictures being sorted through to boring screen caps and sleepy muzak? When they jazzed it up and got the pictures animated, that was better, but still no '90-'95. The what I call "Sierra" opening was such a welcome addition, but again, you can't beat floating pictures and the revised theme was a little synth/new agey. It did have subtle thumping opening notes, but they never layered them over the last few seconds of the teaser.

I don't want to hijack this thread and make it about openings, but I still like the one that Felicia Minei Behr introduced at the 20 year mark with the photos and the album, the one that followed the original opening . And how could you not love the theme music, the way it built tension in the first act and then led into the opening. That's a great way to create drama. They need to get back to doing that.

Nothing will ever beat the 90-95 opening, and Jonathan's right, the way they'd start the thumping "uh oh" music the last few seconds of the teaserwas awesome, very missed.

The music playing during the teaser was AWESOME - my favorite thing ever - made things so much more dramatic.

I agree with all of the above. That was the best part for me -- of course, I was in 5th grade when that opening debuted. I was in love with all things music and television and I had NEVER seen that synergy before. As a matter of fact, that's what kept me into the show. I started watching in December of 1989 after we moved into our new house and then a few weeks later, they debuted the new 90-95 opening. Little things like wondering which scene was going to get the music and how long would they hold the tags before fading into the opening sequence. It was so soapy and dramatic!

The white linen opening was... lovely. I think I appreciated the idea more than the execution. How do you go from something as innovative as scrapbook pictures being sorted through to boring screen caps and sleepy muzak? When they jazzed it up and got the pictures animated, that was better, but still no '90-'95. The what I call "Sierra" opening was such a welcome addition, but again, you can't beat floating pictures and the revised theme was a little synth/new agey. It did have subtle thumping opening notes, but they never layered them over the last few seconds of the teaser.

They attempted to do it a couple times, if I recall, around 2004 or so. When ABC soaps went back to having cold opens before the title sequence and GH incorporated a lead-in to the theme music, AMC tried to do it again, but it didn't work. I totally agree that they should go back to that.

Don't get me wrong, the David Benoit music is a gorgeous piece of music. But that's just it -- it was a gorgeous piece of music, it wasn't a theme.

And about the synth/new agey... I agree. That's the first thing I thought of when it returned. I prefer the live instruments of the 1990 version.

Okay... I think it's safe to say this thread has been significantly hijacked. It's my fault. Sorry! LOL!

LOL, see that's what I'm talkin bout, the days when the freaking OPENING CREDITS were an event! I loved how abruptly the music would start. And do you remember how long they would sometimes play the "uh oh" lead-in music? Sometimes for quite a few bars, they'd even fade to black for a second or two, hold it, then fade in on the framed pic of Joe and Ruth (and Joey). I'm glad that I have at least one ep on tape from this time period, the lead in has Maria at the fertility doctor demanding to know why she can't get pregnant.

I'll add that in the old version of Faces of the Heart, GH used to do that cool heartbeat "doont-doont/doont-doont/doodie-doont-doont" suspense music leading into the theme, and sometimes it would go on for forever before the opening started!

Don't get me wrong, the David Benoit music is a gorgeous piece of music. But that's just it -- it was a gorgeous piece of music, it wasn't a theme.

IMO, the Benoit theme was more old school AMC than the 90-95 theme was. I don't know...the violins, the piano, and even with the visuals, all of the elegant black-and-white images (champagne! roses! lockets! pearls!)...all of that just symbolizes that old school Phoebe Wallingford "Daughters of Fine Lineage" style of opulence. The 90-95 theme was more down-to-earth, and that one worked too, especially for that era of the show, but idk that Benoit theme still screams vintage to me for some reason.

It may also help that that was the theme they were using when I started watching lol

Don't forget the wild horses running through the fields... That, still, doesn't make sense to me. The only place that had stables was Wildwind... and even that stable had no horses.

Don't forget the wild horses running through the fields... That, still, doesn't make sense to me. The only place that had stables was Wildwind... and even that stable had no horses.

Haha, yes it did! Don't you remember those crazy horse noises anytime someone was in the stables (Gillian, Ryan, Maria, Edmund, Dimitri, etc)? And then there was Bianca's riding accident when she got thrown off.

I actually enjoyed the white theme. It totally had a Wildwind/outdoor theme for me, which to me, 1995-2000 was the Wildwind era on AMC. It totally made sense - the horses, the flowers, the leaves, the vase...totally an outdoor/Wildwind theme.

I see I'm in the minority on this though...haha, so I won't try to convince you

Edited February 3, 200916 yr by alwaysAMC

You mean those horse noises where it sounded as if someone was beating those horses with a 2X4? I mean, they were LOUD as HELL!

You mean those horse noises where it sounded as if someone was beating those horses with a 2X4? I mean, they were LOUD as HELL!

Exactly! Which is why I was surprised you said they didn't have horses. Those bitches were loud as hell!

Exactly! Which is why I was surprised you said they didn't have horses. Those bitches were loud as hell!

But did you ever notice the stalls never had any horses in them? Hay, saddles and riding crops galore -- but never a single horse. I mean, I understand that for production purposes they were big, smelly and uncomfortable to have around on a relatively small Manhattan soundstage... but still. When they show parking lots and parking garages, there's at least ONE lonely car. So, I was always like, where the hell are these horses that are making all of this noise?

Don't forget the wild horses running through the fields... That, still, doesn't make sense to me. The only place that had stables was Wildwind... and even that stable had no horses.

LOL! Okay, I give you that. The horses were as random as......random horses in an opening sequence.

And I don't see how AMC couldn't work with horses at least a couple of times. ATWT had cows in the Snyder farm once...whew, I can only imagine how flipped up that was.