All: Changing The Focus Of The Show

[Y&RWorldTurner]

Mark, most people are talking GH, not GL.

[MarkH]

Yup, but I was finishing up from something upthread.

GH is the same deal. Actually, GH is the most interesting show in some ways, because since the early 90s it seems to be the "canary in the coal mine". If you compare GH (blue line) to the average ratings of soaps (green line--current survivors on the air at the time), they are pretty much neck-in-neck for GH's entire run since the early 90s.

[Leia]

There is nothing like statistical data to draw a clear picture. Thanks for this.

[MarkH]

Oh, others are giving me the business for my "pie charts". But I'm glad you don't mind my obsession . (Smiley--another thing I get the business for--but it is sincere).

[Ann_SS]

Marlena may be onto something there. We should consider that more women may have entered the work and more younger women were attending college in the mid-90s. Monty's attempt to revamp GH failed miserably in her second stint so even she could not keep up with changing social conditions.

GH under the Labines was as close to Marland's ATWT as any show had ever come. It was GH's second golden era, IMO. The strong friendships like Kevin and Mac, Felicia and Lucy, and Luke and Lucy anchored the show. I loved how everyone was connected to each other's lives. Sigmund, Foster, and Annabelle brought many warmhearted and funny moments. Monica's cancer story gave us, Emily who was a wonderful addition. I loved every second of Lucky and Emily's adventures. Lois was a breath of fresh air to helped shake up the Qs, but was also Sonny's good friend. The younger set comprised of AJ, Jason, Keesha, and Brenda rallied around Robin and Stone who already had the support and love of Kevin, Alan, Sonny, Luke, Laura, Lucy, Felicia and Mac so when Robin tested positive and Stone died, it was devastating for everyone in the cast. GH will never recapture those days.

[Mary Beth]

Great. Now I'm depressed all over again.

I don't know about Monty-trained GH fans leaving in the Labine era. I watched during both times. I enjoyed the Monty-era stuff but I was also younger then and fickle. I also easily surfed away from GH to GL or Days or ATWT during that time if GH. By the time Labine came around I was out of college and appreciated GH having more depth. It was the only soap I stuck with once I was in the work world and watching multiple soaps became too time consuming.

Thank you for the charts, MarkH.

[MichaelGL]

Good point Carl. I'm surprised that you included Marland in there too as one of the HW's during the decline. I think we also have to look at the genre itself during the times of these declines not just the material that was airing. Your explaination for the decline in the 60s in understandable. But I wonder, could one say that the glory days of GH, in the early 80s also contributed to the decline under Marland? I know one can't pin point one exact reason, but do you think that could be a factor too?

[DRW50]

If not for the improvements the Dobsons and Marland made to the show, there's a good chance GL may have gone the way of SFT -- canned by CBS in the early 80s because they felt the show was, in the words of Schmering, "a dinosaur." Considering how huge the ABC soaps were in the late 70s and the early 80s, I think GL's decline at that time has to be seen in a very different context than in other eras.

[MichaelGL]

Interesting. Thanks again Carl for all your hard work and the insight.

[MarkH]

That's fair. If GH moved the average up (or higher than it would have been), GL would look lower for that reason alone.

I don't really thing GH siphoned viewers away from other soaps, do you? I think it was more about creating a new audience.

[DRW50]

I do think it took away some viewers, because both CBS and NBC lost heavy amounts of viewers at this time. I think ABC soaps, GH, but to a lesser degree AMC and OLTL as well, were seen as more of the way of the future, and some people lost interest in the more traditional favorites.

[CSF]

The OJ Simpson trial was often to blame for the decline in the mid-90s. Many state that due to so much preemption, viewers just tuned out, but I don't know how much of that I believe. Though, it's still a contributing factor.

[JackPeyton]

it is why my grandma quit.

[CSF]

So that could be the contributing factor as to what drove away many longtime fans.

[MarkH]

The data really doesn't bear that out. OJ did not affect decline trends...not in any meaningful away.

The sole exception may be Y&R, which seemed to be holding on (stable ratings) in the early/mid 80s...and then plummeted with a slope equal-to or greater-than the other soaps.