Jump to content

May 4-8, 2009


Toups

Recommended Posts

  • Members

I concur with Steve Frame, these ratings are not good. Forget the overall ratings, the demos are trending downwards. ATWT is done. No way it gets another renewal. GH continues to be in serious trouble. It cannot make an increases in its 18-49 woman demo has declined substantially from last year. If GH cannot bounce back, it is done in a couple of years if that much. Y&R is barely treading water in its 18-49 women demo. And this is May sweeps. I want to blame kids out from college and families going on vacation, but I'm stretching. This is not good.

MarkH, I think B&B will be fine since its 18-49 women demo is more or less constant.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 60
  • Created
  • Last Reply
  • Members

Y&R, AMC and Days are the only soaps up from last year. Good for them, but not for the rest of daytime.

Get it together ABC, CBS and NBC!!! There are still many stories to be told on every soap. I still believe the genre can thrive. It just needs a renaissance with fresh talented writer's who are willing to give it there all and tell stories that matter, stories that affect the every day viewer.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

I can't see the current Y&R material bringing ratings up. Many current stories are very dark and a bit aimless and full of characters who are difficult to sympathize with. I think they'll hold steady, which is great because many other shows aren't holding steady.

No matter how much lower GH gets in the ratings, it will probably still be renewed before AMC or OLTL. OLTL is probably in the best financial shape of any ABC soap, and is not any worse in the ratings than AMC or GH, but if Frons had to cancel a show, I think he'd go with OLTL first.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

I don't think ABC renews them. I think as long as they make them money, they keep them going. I could be wrong, however. I always wonder how that worked since ABC owns them and we've never heard of any "contract negations." Like I wonder if there is an evaluation period when the execs above Frons say: "Okay as long as AMC, GH and OLTL preform in this manner and bring in x amount of revenue we won't open up discussion on their life expectancies again for x amount of years."

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

I have always thought that GH would be the last ABC soap. I am not so sure any more. I think that if nothing happens to turn things around that the posters who have been saying that all the ABC shows will go at once will be right. According reports, GH is the most expensive to produce so I do not see a business model that allows Frons to keep it on the air if the demos do not stop sliding downwards.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Yesterday's latest Geary interview confirmed that this show is in a land-lock of sympatico actors (MB, SB, TG) and their like-minded headwriter. These four, more or less, have been given the keys. They seem to think they are providing perfection....something edgy and ugly...not a "soap", but a realistic depiction of "soldiers"--warts and all. And they seem to think that is what the audience wants.

Moreover, I think there was a time when the freshness of each of these characters WAS part of their appeal.

Like all cancers, though, the problem is metastasis. Had they been unusual voices on a rich and diverse canvas...fine. Had they been buttressed by traditional soap characters and stories (Laura grounded Luke with that romance...she was a pretty typical soap heroine, and that made him palatable; Sonny was buoyed by his chemistry with Brenda; Jason Morgan was initially intriguing because it was a legitimately fascinating look at reinvention after traumatic brain injury), I don't think they'd create the backlash that they have. But they were allowed to overwhelm and consume the show, bringing to the current point.

The other thing, of course, is that the ratings held. GH was the strongest of the ABC soaps, had the biggest overall and demo ratings, and it also had the most "storied" history (in terms of that early-80s ratings miracle, popular love, and even awards).

Now, it all falls away. The tumor (Sonny-Jason-Luke) may have invaded too much of the flesh, leaving not enough foundation for others to enjoy. And so we see even the most resolute and loyal viewers falling away.

I turn it on many evenings, but I don't stick with it. I genuinely like a lot of the performances, but I get ZERO feeling or emotion out of the show. Moreover (much like Lost), I increasingly feel it is no point investing in any characters, because they might be dropped in an instant. (Bye,

!)

The flip side of "love in wartime" is, sadly, "battle fatigue". And that is what we're seeing now, I fear.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

MarkH, Guza and Phelps are writing more family/relationship drama and moving away from the mob. Unfortunately, the show still lacks balance and has a stale predictable feeling. If the family/relationship drama does not bring the ratings, I expect the mob will be back full force and if that does not work, it is over for GH because there will be nowhere left to go. I wish I could have a conversation with Brian Frons. I would try to persuade him to hire a co-headwriter/consultant. I always mention Sri Rao, but maybe someone like Kay Alden will do just as well. GH needs new blood with fresh eyes and before it is too late.

I do not believe that content or quality = ratings, but the precipitous declines of Y&R and GH have made me re-consider somewhat. Women in the prized 18-49 demo have tuned out in droves. Maybe they have other things to do, but maybe soaps' lack of quality is playing a role in driving them away. It is a mystery.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

I did notice that "more family" stuff on GH. I'm definitely colored by TG's recent despicable comments (and that is not a word I use often). Sri Rao's NS2 was sublime (IMO), but for whatever reason, it didn't bring in the numbers. Judging by Ms. Alden's work on B&B, I am less optimistic she might be able to remake GH...but what the heck. TG would hate her, though, if she humanized Luke again.

Why do you say "precipitous declines" for Y&R? That WAS true in Spring 2008. But actually, after Josh Griffith left, MAB's Y&R has actually been GAINING (slowly and steadily).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Y&R's ratings did drop under the scabs and MAB initially. I don't think I am making this up. I do wonder about the causes when the most popular soaps experience those sudden declines. When I look at Y&R 18-49 women demo, I see a lot of fluctuation. We'll see how it goes by November sweeps.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

I have tried to not get caught up in all the "hate" for Geary over at that thread.

I will just say here that it is hard for us to know what it is like working back stage at these soaps. And it has to be hard when you have played someone for so long that you feel like you know them inside and out and some writer or producer suddenly want to change them. I can't remember now which actor it was I was talking too once but he said that a writer wanted to change his character and he tried to do it but it was suddenly like someone took his briefs away and made him start wearing boxers. It just didn't feel right and didn't fit.

Geary is one of those actors that so many people hate that no matter what he says it is going to be made fun of no matter what. Same with Kim Zimmer and a few others.

Geary falls in that line with the likes of George Reinholt and Eric Braedan and Drake Hogestyn who have tried to fight for the integrity of their characters against a writer or producer that the "fans" love and adore. Sadly the actor comes out the loser in the end.

The sad thing is that if history teaches us anything, the stuff that Reinholt fought with Lemay over were things that eventually lead to Another World's demise as he ripped out the foundation of Another World by destroying it's core.

Honestly I wish more of the actors would speak up and try to fight things. If they did or had maybe some of the things that have happened to the shows wouldn't have happened.

Because one of the biggest problems with most of the shows in the last few years is they have gotten so far away from what they are supposed to be.

Look at Days and Y&R for the biggest examples. Sheffer and Latham turned those shows into shows that were nothing like the shows that fans were used to. Fans bolted.

As I have said before Sheffer/Scott turned Days into a technically beautiful show but it just was not Days - at least the Days that most modern fans know. And yet Hogestyn was the only one to speak out and say anything. And look what happened to him - fans tore him a new one, ripped him to shreads, and stomped all over him.

I have no doubt in my mind if Sheffer had stayed with Days there would be more than one show leaving the air this year - both Days and GL would have been cancelled. But thanks to Tomlin and Higley Days now has a chance of staying around not just another year but even longer because even more than Y&R it is the success story of 2009. Who would have ever dreamed that DAys would have a chance of knocking GH out of the #3 spot for this season. I sure as hell didn't.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

My issue with Geary is that the Luke that he is playing now never existed until Guza arrived and got a free hand. Luke never cheated on Laura or resented his children. We never saw that on the screen so what is Geary talking about? Guza is allowing him to change Luke and he is happy about it which is the reverse of what the actor you mentioned experienced. I do note hate Geary, but his determination to re-create Luke with Guza gets on my damn nerves.

You are a Days and ATWT fan. What if Stephen Nichols was still on the show as Patch and Katyla was gone and day after day, you were constantly being told that Kayla held back Patch from his wonderful life, he resented having a child with her, he cheated on her constantly, he was disappointed in Stephanie, and he found a substitute child? I cannot believe that this would not rub you the wrong way. This is what is happening on GH. This is where a lot of the outrage is coming from.

No soap is ever doing the right thing when it spits in the face of its history and this is exactly what GH is doing with Geary's blessing.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

I am a GH fan too. I watched LUke and Laura from the beginning. I can remember when Luke tried to change and tried to be upright citizen running for and getting mayor. I remember how he complained that wasn't him. I remember him chunking it all and taking off with Laura. He didn't want to be that type person even back then. He wanted to be off and running.

As far as the cheating, Laura is the first one who had the history changed when it was revealed she had slept with Cassadine when she was being held and gave birth to Nikolas.

So this is not the first time that great love of Luke and Laura has been betrayed.

Hell from day one the love of Luke and Laura has been written and rewritten. First it was rape and for almost a month Francis played it as a rape victim and then it wasn't rape it was seduction. And even Genie Francis stated in the press that she felt it negated her whole performances when they rewrote it. Then years later they reversed it again and it was rape again.

I mean come on it is not like the whole love story is not full of rewrites.

and as far as Patch & Kayla go. I would have bought a whole lot more that Patch & Kayla moved on in all those years a whole lot more than the crap they tried to make us buy that their love was so strong that neither one of them ever looked at anyone else. Gag me with a pitch fork.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.



  • Recent Posts

    • I disagree; if this were Chris Clenshaw, then I would be worried. But it's a new producer coming in to clearly create the canvas they want to create, and I'm okay with that. Re-introducing characters to shake things up and possibly take some other ones out of the canvas. It'll be interesting to see the finished product.
    • I am ready for our first full week in what feels like a while! They worked Sweeps month!
    • Beyond the Gates: A The Bold and the Beautiful: F Coronation Street: B Days of Our Lives: B- EastEnders: A+ Emmerdale: A- Hollyoaks: B+ General Hospital: C Neighbours: C+ The Young and the Restless: F For me, Beyond the Gates, EastEnders, and Emmerdale led the pack during Sweeps month, with Coronation Street and Days of Our Lives following. General Hospital and Neighbours sit in the middle with what I'd call a "take it or leave it" kind of Sweeps month, and the Bell soaps bombed (per usual).
    • Actors doing this is pretty common. I used to work for a company that produced a very successful sitcom back in the 70s. Actors who were guest stars on the show would ask to be provided tapes of their episodes. I assume they do it for a variety of reasons, i.e. to create a reel of their best work. I know of some soap actors who have uploaded saved work to YT. One is Ariana Muenker, who played Christine Valere on GL. She was uploading scenes from her many soap roles a few months back. Unfortunately, it looks like either she or YT took the channel down. Sharon Gabet and Mark Arnold help the EON YT channel by providing saved episodes. Along with EON eps, Arnold shared a guest stint he did on GL. Those episodes are really interesting because they involve the introduction of Nola's character, which was tied to the Roger storyline. When he came back after faking his death, he hid out at the boarding house. Nola being a snoop figured out something was fishy with him. She ended up helping the police. Very worth seeking out. I don't think anyone else has those episodes.  Makes you wonder if there's more out there than we know of because actors don't want to be bothered to run a YT channel. Can't blame them because it's a lot of trouble, but if only... I agree. While Lucci definitely used her fame from the show to build her brand and get work outside of AMC, Erica was always part of an ensemble. Yeah, she got a couple of whacky stories (like the "unabortion") but she never took over to the detriment of other actors and stories.
    • It must have been sometime in the early 80's. VI said he first heard about Marj Dusay's talent from CH. Hickland worked with her on Capitol.
    • Not having watched AMC was one of the reasons I hesitated to make the comparison, tbf. It's odd--I feel like I could argue Cassie, Olivia, Harley and Dinah suffocated the show along with Reva the last five years.
    • Laurie and Lance accompany Leslie to her Denver concert and she relies me on Lance for support.Unbeknownst to Leslie, Brad has had the operator make a special connection to the concert hall so he can hear her concert. The Maestro, realizing Leslie’s emotional torment over her failing marriage, tries to persuade her to tell Brad about the baby, and when she refuses, he writes a letter to Brad betraying Leslie’s confidence. After another fight with her mother about how learning about her parentage has upset her life, Laurie confides to Leslie that she feels cut off, outside. Stuart overhears this conversation, and Leslie has to tell him the whole story. She tries to explain fairly how Jennifer had left Stuart and actually only spent one night with Bruce, and faced the truth about Laurie only when she was forced to. Stuart is livid over this |betrayal and wants to confront his wife ‘now, but her doctor calls. Her one-year mastectomy checkup was fine, but he’s discovered irregularities in her cardiogram and doesn’t want her under any stress until further tests can be made. Stuart assures Leslie he won’t tell her mother he knows about Laurie until he can do it calmly, and doesn’t tell his daughter about the cardiogram.  When Chris continues to receive obscene calls, Snapper goes straight to the Beckers’. Ron insists he was home with Nancy, and she corroborates this. When she steps between an advancing Snapper and her husband, screaming, “We don’t have a telephone. He couldn't have called Chris,” Snapper finally has to believe her, and he leaves. But moments later Karen tells Nancy that Daddy went out while Mommy was in the shower. Ron insists it was just a few moments, for cigarettes. Nancy lets it pass, but the next morning finds a whole carton of cigarettes in a drawer  and asks why he went out. Ron coldly tells her she’d  better pull herself together, she’s letting this thing with Chris make her a little insane. Nancy ponders telling Chris but decides that all Chris would do is  badmouth Ron again, and she and Karen have no one but Ron and can’t leave him. When a telephone-installation man arrives with their new phone, Nancy asks him not to put it in. But Ron arrives and orders the installation made, telling Nancy she’s trying to run his life, as his mother did. When Nancy tries to call Chris, Ron frighteningly tells Nancy he’s done  everything they said he did, but it’s all her fault, as she never gave him what he needed. When he informs her he’s taking Karen away from her before she can ruin her, Nancy collapses in a catatonic state. Ron then calmly calls the hospital and requests help for his wife, “Fran Jackson,” who has had a breakdown.  Laurie, seeing the extent to which Vanessa will go to keep Lance to herself, warns Lance that his mother’s possessive feelings are unhealthy. Lance suggests Vanessa will consider Leslie a threat also when he learns that Les and Brad are divorcing and things will get easier. As soon as the hospital attendants leave with Nancy, Ron dials Legal Aid and has Karen tell Chris she’s all alone. Stopping only to leave a message for Snapper about where she’s going, Chris rushes to the Beckers’ apartment, only to realize that Ron’s tricked her. Ron sends Karen out of the room and, after expressing his hatred for all women, tells Chris he’s going to prove to her he’s a man. But Karen wanders back in as he has Chris pinned to the wall, and Ron’s mind snaps when he realizes his daughter has seen his perverted side. After smashing the wall mirror, he runs out, and Greg, terrified at learning where Chris is, arrives to find her comforting Karen. Chris takes Karen home, and after several days of fruitless searching for Nancy, she applies for temporary guardianship of Karen. Peggy and Jack set a New Years Eve wedding date, but Stuart is terribly upset to realize how irrational and incomplete Peggy’s plans are. When she suddenly makes all pertinent decisions in the space of a half-hour, Stuart tells Jack this doesn’t indicate certainty, but rather proves his point—she’s just trying to convince herself that the rape didn’t affect hers and it did. A chance remark by Stuart shocks Laurie into realizing he knows she’s not his natural daughter. When she hysterically screams out her alienation and her innate feeling that she was always 'different' he assures her with tears in his eyes that since they really love each other sincerely, it makes no difference; she’ll always be his daughter. Stuart explains that Jen still doesn’t know he has learned the truth, and he would like it to continue that way. In helping Brad pay his bills, Laurie finds Maestro Fausch’s letter and tells Brad that Leslie is pregnant. Ironically, to get to him with this news, she had to get |away from Leslie, and used a meeting with Lance as an excuse. When ‘Lance arrives soon after, he’s angry that Laurie lied, and she later has to explain that she has been helping Brad. Understanding her motives, — Lance agrees that she should continue to press him to |reconcile with Leslie. Brad, however, still won’t reconsider—in fact, the news makes him even more resolute. But Vanessa has had Laurie followed, and hits Leslie with a double blow. She gives her the report saying this proves her sister is involved with her husband, and then assures Leslie that Lance loves her, — not Laurie. Badly confused and hurt, Leslie lashes out by kissing Lance while he sits with her at the piano. Leslie then waits at the apartment for Laurie, and when she arrives, she bitterly accuses her of having an affair with Brad. Laurie angrily assures Leslie she  was with Brad with Lance’s full knowledge and that Leslie’s anger means she still loves Brad. She then explains to Leslie that Brad left her because he’s blind. In shock, Leslie rushes home to confront Brad, furiously berating him for treating her like a child who cannot decide for herself. But Brad, even with Leslie now aware of the situation, refuses to reconcile with her. When Leslie tells Laurie how unreasonable Brad has been, Laurie suggests that Leslie stop seeing everything from her own angle only. 
    • In regards to the Reva vs Erica discussions... I think there was one main difference between the two characters.... Erica never took over/ate up airtime on All My Children.  While she was a larger than life character, she never took over the show and there were times she was even supporting and not the lead.... while Reva basically suffocated Guiding Light in the later years with her presence.
    • That was such a missed opportunity, especially with May sweeps.  And, it would’ve been a much better story for Naomi/Jacob than whatever’s going on with June 
    • https://www.hulu.com/hub/tv/collections/9979 Amazed! But loving it. What this shows is GH Hulu out of top 15, GH is #2 & this was Saturday. Are we happy campers? Yes, at least for the moment, you bet we are.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy