June 8-12, 2009

[DRW50]

I thought Maggie was the best part of the triangle, and added great dimension to Nick's exit (he was her grandson and she was there for him as he completely disintegrated). I hope even when more new characters fill the show, or they bring a few vets back, they'll still keep using her, because she's the tentpole character soaps don't have now. They were one of the first things eliminated when soaps tried to become modern, because someone thought, "All they do is sit around and drink coffee." Just imagine where soaps would be today if not for characters like Papa Bauer on GL. There's this idea that if you aren't a big leading player, then you're meaningless. DAYS, for now at least, seems to have remembered this isn't true.

I felt like the show never fully explored making Sami and Marlena closer, that was all sort of tacked on when Sami became the constantly weeping heroine during Hogan's run. I think she should have been there for Grace's funeral but I don't think Sami needs the character that much.

[JackPeyton]

ITA! Maggie really seems to be the last of the town go to person. I hope they do keep up using her, and i think bringing on on her grandson nathan is a great way to do it. My wish is for Sarah Horton to return and get tangled up with EJ.

and yes, sami and marlena were never eally close. and then when hogan decided sami should be the heroine suddenly it was like sami and marlena never had an issue and they had this long great loving relationship when nothing could be further from the truth. i agree she doesnt need her, its just odd for her not to be there tho. but really, looking back, caroline has always been there for sami.

[SteveFrame]

As I have said in the past, I think Corday had to finally once again get someone he could trust. Days has been good under Corday in the past. Look at how many years the show prospered with him at the head.

Then all of a sudden it seemed as if he was having or choosing to interfere.

With Edward Scott I especially understood his need to interfere. Scott was thrust on him and it seemed evident that he was there to try and takeover Days. And I honestly don't feel he trusted Hogan either.

And remember that Higley complained all the time about being interfered with when Scott was there. And the writing seemed so uneven. It doesn't feel that way anymore. And we don't hear the complaints either.

Finally things backstage at Days seem to have settled down and the product onscreen gets better.

Now all the backstage upheaval seems to be at Y&R. At least that is where all the juicy backstage stories have been about this year.

[Ann_SS]

My prediction was right. ABC had a small rebound this week. It won't last. Y&R and B&B, wow! I have stopped watching Y&R out of frustration but doubt that quality is mainly responsible its downward trend. With the exception of Days, all the soaps are in trouble. They are leaking viewers. Keep in mind that this could be a summer lull due to families going away on vacation. The ratings could rebound in the fall and winter.

[DRW50]

JackPeyton, I would like to see Sarah, i don't think I ever remember her.

SteveFrame, it's interesting that Hogan was so quickly hired at Y&R after he did make such significant changes, not for the better, at DAYS. And now Y&R's style and tone have also undergone sever changes. I know he isn't responsible for most of the backstage problems at his shows but I never understand why these soaps keep hiring someone who usually leaves his soaps much worse for wear. Is the hype worth it?

I agree with you and MarkH about B&B. I remember that interview where Bradley Bell tried to pass the buck on ratings losses by saying other things should be measured. Whether that's true or not, I think he was showing how uninterested he is in the show he's creating and in how viewers respond. B&B is a show which should have transitioned to a new phase 10 years ago, 5 years ago. They didn't succeed in their efforts, so they've stuck with tired retreads ever since, and viewers have had enough.

[Ann_SS]

I don't think that Hogan left ATWT in worse shape than he found it. He was able to turn things for awhile, but when they got bad again, I don't think the ratings were substantially lower than when he arrived. My memory is fuzzy, but I recall ATWT got up to 3.2 under Hogan and then drifted back down to 2.8 or 2.9 by the time he left. Goutman and JP were able to hold them at that level for about a year or two and then they started to drop again.

[JackPeyton]

Ratings wise he didnt, but creativly that show was busted when he left. Mostl due to him. granted, it only got worse.

He did the most damage to Days, and im sure he is not the only one to be held accoutable. But still. That was the worst point of the show ever.

I am sure he has a big hand in the pot of whats wrong at Y&R too.

[Rakesh]

Even though I'm not watching DOOL, I'm so rooting for them to kick B&B's ass. It is very unfortunate that Brad Bell won't step down as the HW and let them write the show. When is this man going to learn that he's a terrible writer? As for Dena Higley, I like her, so good for her show.

GL/ATWT/P&G/CBS - It is beyond unfortunate that no one is doing anything to save ATWT. Are they living on Mars? Hello, GL was just axed a few months ago! Wiki says Jean Passante is a Cancer. If that is true, what an embarrassment! No hacks shall rep me. lol

I can go on and on about how much GL deserves these terrible numbers but I won't. It's not worth it. I just hope that the hooligans BTS at GL never, ever find work again. They can go live on Welfare for all I care.

[Ann_SS]

Y&R has loss all its gains and more. What happened there? More people are watching the show online?

I always wonder where these 100,000+ viewers go and then come back from when there are these weekly fluctuations.

[LoyaltoAMC]

Totally agree about Days. I'm really enjoying the show. It's just pure unpretentious soapy fun. The budget cuts have actually helped the show, because they've made for a tighter canvass. It's a very tightly run ship, and that really comes through. Y&R is falling apart. It's just all plot, plot, plot. In watching yesterday's scenes between Jill, Kay and Nina, I couldn't help but think something is missing. Here are three legacy characters with tons and tons of history between them, but none of that was being telegraphed in their scenes. The only thing that came through was plot, which goes against the show's grain. Of course it doesn't help that Jeanne Cooper seems off her mark these days, almost as if she's phoning it in. The Adam gaslighting thing is absurb, Sharon/Nick/Jack/Sharon is the same old, same old, and that art theft storyline is unwatchable. Was it MAB who decried the horrid Brad/George Nazi storyline? If so, given what's she's been spewing out lately, she has no right to criticize anything. The ABC shows are so sad. I still find AMC mostly unwatchable. Like Y&R, it's all plot, plot, plot, but without the production values and actors to make it watchable. I don't think ATWT and GL are as bad as people are saying. I just think their bad ratings are mostly the result of the whole CBS lineup tanking.

[Ann_SS]

I find ATWT and GL unwatchable, but you may have a point about the CBS line up tanking. I wonder what the TPIR's ratings are this week. It may be that we are witnessing a domino effect starting with the TPIR. Fewer people watching TPIR means fewer televisions are on by the time Y&R comes on. Fewer viewers combined with viewers on summer vacations means lower ratings for Y&R. B&B, ATWT and GL (when aired at 3:00 p.m.) due to their poor quality are keeping fewer and fewer viewers.

You are right, but MAB, Hamner and Rauch all are helping stir that pot.

[SteveFrame]

Well I try to never be one that leaves shows based on writers and things like that. I usually always try to remain faithful to a show esp. shows I have watched a long time.

I quit watching Days once before when the youth craze hit. It was due then to the big youth craze just did nothing for me.

The only other time I quit due to writing was when McTavish did so much damage to AMC.

Other times I just stick in there and complain and go forth.

What I find funny is that all 3 of the other times I have quit watching shows is when Hogan Sheffer has been involved. When he first came to ATWT, I jumped on the Hogan bandwagon and I loved it. Then slowly I saw the damage that man did to the show. Much of what is wrong with ATWT goes all the way back to the damage he did to the show. All of the problems today stem from him and his protege Jean Passanante. I quit watching while he was there, came back when he left, and have not watched but parts of about 7 episodes in over a year.

And then when he came to Days I was so mad when I found out. I tried to give him a chance, but he ruined DAys for me. And I quit again, but this time unlike when I quit before Hogan took the love I had for Days away. And even though now I am watching again, I just don't have the attachment I always had. Something that for so many years was must see for me, just no longer is.

And now I find myself in the same boat with Y&R. I have watched Y&R since day 1. I stuck with it through the transition from Brooks to Abbott, through the awful tenure of Jack Smith and then Latham, and I had such high hopes for Y&R until recently. And now I am disgusted with the show. There are so many things I don't like but the chief being the Phillip thing. And sorry but that is a sore issue for me. I am glad that some of you can be happy about it. It's not the rewrite of a certain part of the story that I have a problem with but it is seeing where the story is going. It is the biggest issue for me but there are so many others. The other big thing being that I don't see a whole lot of character stuff with MAB anymore. It all seems to be one plot point to the next. Sure she has restored a few things, but lately I just don't see the greatness that I saw a few months ago. I don't know how much of this has to do with Hogan or even if any has to do with it.

But again for a third time I find myself giving up a show I love and once again he is there.

[Ann_SS]

I stopped watching Y&R because it is a hot mess. I don't blame Hogan because I stuck with him throughout his ATWT years. Not even my love for Chloe can get me to watch Y&R any more. I'm done. Right now Days is the only soap I watch straight through. I ff through GH and catch bits of OLTL and AMC on SoapNet.

[alwaysAMC]

Wow - I just can't believe how low ATWT has gotten --- and how high and/or steady DAYS has been. Very interesting.

[Fevuh]

CBS is going to continue to tank - I have primarily always been an ATWT and GL fan, but once GL is gone, I'm not investing any more of my time in any of their shows. I think CBS is going to be mighty surprised at how quickly viewers tune out. The package they once had has begun to be dismantled, and I don't think they know what they're in for.

It's pretty sad that when GH and DAYS hit about 2 and a half million or a little more viewers - it counts as a 'good' week. LOL.