April 13-17, 2009

[marceline]

LOL! Don't blame me, blame Tina Fey. It's from last night's 30 Rock.

[Lskreet]

HH

1. Y&R 3.8 (+.1)

2. B&B 2.6 (+.2)

3. DOOL 2.1 (+.1)

4. AMC 2.0 (+.1)

4. GH 2.0 (+.1)

6. ATWT 1.9 (+.1)

6. OLTL 1.9 (+.1)

8. GL 1.6 (same)

[rangethatrover]

Snore.

I am figuring OLTL will never hit a 2.0 again.

At least it wasn't a 1.7 or another 1.8.

[Rakesh]

Thanks Lskreet! Looks like Otalia can't save GL.

[brimike]

Always nice to see so many pluses. The numbers aren't great, but hey - you take what you can get in this climate.

[MarkH]

Amen!

[miss wolf]

Otalia can't save GL. Phillip can't save it. Reva and her rapist husband can't save it. And not a move to another network either. Nothing can't save GL. It is sad but the show is over. TPTB have made too many mistakes. Too many viewers have been burned and never coming back.

[Rakesh]

New writers can...

[baller]

yup, pretty much sums it up.

[miss wolf]

Don't think so. It's too late. Too many characters have been destroyed. And to be honest my problem is indeed with the writing but also the production model...I HATE IT!!!

[MarkH]

I agree with your conclusion ("Nothing can save GL"), but not your premises. GL, under more solid creative hands, could MAXIMALLY be at the level Y&R is today in ratings. Y&R defines, I believe, more or less the maximum possible viewership any soap could hope to expect in the era of shrinking stay-at-home mom populations, more fractured viewing habits, etc.

What does that mean? Well, with NO CREATIVE MISSTEPS, maybe GL would have been cancelled in 2016 instead of 2009. But do those 7 years make a huge difference? The genre itself is in sunset, and no creative forces could have stopped that. Did GL die a FEW years earlier than it theoretically could have? Sure.

Remember, looking at the primetime ratings trajectories, there is nothing special about what happened to GL. It is industry wide--all broadcast shows will go this way...it is inevitable.

Nope. See above

[Rocket Man]

ALRIGHT ENOUGH!!! Let's wait for the breakdown numbers and at least GL didn't go down in the ratings. Despite of GL's time slot is far more mediocre than many other soaps so it is going to be harder to raise the rating points unlike Y&R or GH can in their "plum" time slots. GL doesn't have a strong lead-in nor "lunch-hour" time for people to tune in.

There are many of us that still tune in and enjoy the show, so you don't need to bash it when millions of us GL fans are still fighting to keep our show going. Perhaps y'all need to focus your energy on your show because their future isn't quite rosy either.

[Rakesh]

I strongly disagree. It's never too late. Ellen's earthquake cameras has come a long way and I've seen so much improvement with it. My problem is with the sets and outdoor scenes - They are just HIDEOUS! But after seeing Bill and Lizzie in FL today, you can clearly see how nice those scenes looked with the production model. So for me, it's about writing, sets and outdoor scenes. I have no problem with the acting on this show because they all can act except for maybe 3 of the kids.

[Sylph]

Wait.

Haven't we said that if something's not good and you keep watching it, you do more damage than good? You are thus legitimising a horrible (writing/producing) regime?

In that light: should one be: A) neutral; negative (I want them to get the ratings they deserve); C) positive (Nice to see so many pluses)?

[DaysFanatic777]

What has happened to GL is sad, inevitable, and really shouldn't have happened. As a former huge fan of this show (89-97), I hate this. When it was good, it was so very good.

That being said, everything in this destroyed industry seems to be bucking common sense trends we use to follow. In better days, the return of Phillip Spaulding would have atleast got GL off the bottom for a couple of weeks. Also, the demolition of the Days cast would have by now sent the show free falling. Old rules don't apply. I've watched GL lately. It's not at it's best, but it's far better IMO than GH right now. That does not matter.

That being said, keep the fight up. There is nothing wrong with fighting to keep your show alive. We viewers have invested a lifetime of watching into these shows, and the fight to keep them on feels so much more personal and real in this genre.

Will it work? Probably not. In six years we will probably have less than four shows on. Now that the oldest is going, the cancellations will come with more speed. All of us will one day have to fight if we want to see our shows continue, and all of us will face an uphill battle.