July 13-17, 2009

[Gumdrop]

I really think there is just too much Victor on Y&R again. We need a little less of him.

[Y&RWorldTurner]

It doesn't help that Y&R's balance has been horrible. Not just in terms of character and actor use, but the tone of the entire show is this dark hallow sh!t that's totally unwatchable. Not to mention, I think many are getting sick of the cartoon characters Adam and Mary Jane have turned into. Storyline are also rushed, and it doesn't give anyone time to care or get invested. I don't think I need to mention the mess this Phillip III story/retcon turned into. Y&R is a blazing hot mess at the moment, it needs change.

[RalphOrtiz]

ATWT was actually pretty good last week - but that doesn't mean that its ratings will have gone up for the same week. Predictably, the ratings were actually down from the previous week.

As with all soaps, it needs to be consistently 'better' each week if it's going to see a ratings increase.

[Rakesh]

A 3.4? Congrats Hacks!

I'm shocked DOOL is at a 1.8. Is it that bad? WTF Tomlin?!

[KSlater]

Thanks, Toups, as always, for the numbers.

Not a good picture for soap operas. Y&R's numbers are disturbing. I don't watch the show, but it isn't surprising -- I've been following the posts about the show on this site and others and they've been overwhelmingly been getting more negative.

Days, it is the same story. The numbers are not a surprise to me, unfortunately.

[brimike]

Looking at these ratings - nothing is show-specific. This is how soaps are going to be for the next couple years. Toups will write "New Low" every week until they get canceled. Shakespeare could be writing, and the audience is gone. See: The Peyton Axiom.

Story doesn't matter at this point. It's all going to go in a few years. We can bitch about it and complain about it, or we can find something to enjoy, or we can just stop watching. Because those are our options. Hope is not an option at this point. Welcome to the reality.

Drinks are on me. :-)

[typoprone]

Totally deserved. I'm surprised the numbers aren't worse. I'm sure they'll get worse, though. Y&R will hit 3.0 by summer's end, methinks.

[DRW50]

Just a bad week for soaps all around, aside from AMC and GH, which, as I suspected, sort of, couldn't get any lower.

Y&R seems to be actively trying to drive viewers away, with some of the unfinished/half-finished stories they keep pushing out now. There's no real soap opera element to any of the show now.

[KSlater]

You're right. But also the quality is not good. I recently stopped watching Days, actually right after a big storyline concluded. The yo-yo nature of the show's quality, in my personal opinion, far outweighs any loyalty that I have to show. I just don't care anymore. There's nothing new, exciting or fresh, just retreads of old stories with new faces. I say to myself, "I've seen this before. I can predict what is going to happen. Why should I watch?" The sad part is that I feel no guilt in leaving the show.

[DRW50]

If any of the current soap writers were close to a Shakespeare level, I would agree, but as it is, there isn't much reason for people to tune into soaps, besides blind loyalty. I can only judge by the output of most of daytime now, and that output is one which does not warrant good ratings.

[JimTolkien]

And because I can't cough up a single DECENT thing to say about Y&R at the moment to even vent in the PotPourri thread without getting myself a warning ..I am glad the ratings speak for themselves. Ironic the date of the last LOW!!

[rhinohide]

That's interesting Toups because Days still gained 273,000 viewers vs. same period last year although they lost from week to week. I still say the week to week isn't all that important. But you'd think somebody at GH would notice that they've misplace over 1/2 million viewers since last year. Just saying.

I checked these numbers you posted for the 1999-2000 season.

With help from: http://en.wikipedia....p_opera_ratings

1999-2000 Season

1. The Young And The Restless 6.8

2. The Bold And The Beautiful 5.1

3. Days Of Our Lives 4.2

4. General Hospital 4.0

5. All My Children 3.9

6. As The World Turns 3.8

7. One Life To Live 3.7

8. Guiding Light 3.6

9. Port Charles 2.4

10. Sunset Beach 2.3

11. Passions 2.2

Wish we had the number of actual viewers and the share numbers to go with these for comparison (not complaining Toups).

[rhinohide]

I think you're partially correct Brimike, and it's clear the producers and writers at ABC soaps (I can't speak for CBS soaps at all) agree with you wholeheartedly, because it seems to me they're not even trying to tell good stories. It seems they've given up and they're just riding this wave as far as it takes them to cancellation. It doesn't have to be this way, but they've made this a self fulfilling prophecy. I think a lot of this is fallout from the writer's strike. My understanding is that the shows never staffed the writing back to pre-strike levels, and I think it shows. Everything is very mechanical, and I'm guessing that's because the writers are stretched pretty thin. The topline story concepts aren't all that bad (or different) than they've been in days gone by, but the execution (and the dialogue specifically in OLTL's case) the continuity, the balance, the basic story development is just very weak IMHO. Someone once told me you can take soap fans anywhere as long as you bring them along (or something to that effect). I feel like they just throw stuff at us.

[Ann_SS]

I agree with Brimike. It is over for the soaps. Nothing can save them now. The audience has gone. There are only a few straggles left. I think that the soaps are bad. I stopped watching Y&R and Days weeks ago. I watch GH once in a blue moon. I can't even bring myself to care enough to post on the threads any more.

I am surprised about Y&R's ratings. It will continue to go down from here with the occasional weekly bump up. None of these soaps are able to any rebounds.

[rhinohide]

Again. I don't disagree. It is over. But I will continue to insist that it's evident that the producers and writers have come to that conclusion and they're producing shows accordingly. It's like follow the dots, or painting by numbers.