Those very same people were leading the show last year and it was a ratings success.

The show just went into a lull. The ratings for all soaps are bad. Even GH's recent surge has been nothing to write home about, hardly like the Days surge we saw last year.

I think less people are watching TV or not watching live or right away, plain and simple. The primetime mumbers have only recently began to rebound for many shows but that is because of season finales. I'm not excusing what is onscreen but I think the soaps would be down, especially Days, even if they were delivering on all cylinders. This time of year through August is usually when things go bad for soaps overall, especially if you have a soap like Days that skews younger.

It was a success because we were all expecting a handsome payoff to the baby-switch story, IMO. After it ended, there was nothing else to draw any daily interest. So in the long-term, I don't believe these people can carry the show. If the writers expect them to carry it, they need to write more entertaining, engaging stories instead of boring us to tears. Otherwise, I would much rather be bored to tears with characters I care more about.

Those very same people were leading the show last year and it was a ratings success.

The show just went into a lull. The ratings for all soaps are bad. Even GH's recent surge has been nothing to write home about, hardly like the Days surge we saw last year.

I think less people are watching TV or not watching live or right away, plain and simple. The primetime mumbers have only recently began to rebound for many shows but that is because of season finales. I'm not excusing what is onscreen but I think the soaps would be down, especially Days, even if they were delivering on all cylinders. This time of year through August is usually when things go bad for soaps overall, especially if you have a soap like Days that skews younger.

GH isn't surging though. It's stepping up in the ratings bit by bit, and it's the only show that's doing better this year than last year. From a strictly numbers POV, GH is the only truly improving show. As a fan I can tell you it's pretty darn good.

A rather cynical take. What happened to the concept of writing good storylines year round regardless of seasonal viewership trends?

LOL!

Days is in trouble. It has been in freefall since mid-February while other shows are improving so I don’t believe it can be excused as part of an overall fall in soaps, changes in viewing habits or even the time of year since Days continues to show major losses in annual numbers. I think there is a lot wrong with Days but nearly all of those faults existed when the ratings were still good. The only thing that has really changed with the Days formula since mid-Feb. is that the lead story became EJ & Sami. The ratings fell the last time Days tried that route too so I’m not surprised at all. Days deserves their falling ratings. Like others, I expect a temporary surge in ratings with the Alice tribute scenes but I doubt the increase will last long.

On the other end of the spectrum, Way to go GH!!

Days sucks. Last year the show had an interesting story. This year the show has no stories. That's pretty much it, unless someone knows of massive affiliate disruptions that sent NBC to channel 532 on digital only cable packages.

If people are seriously expecting Days or any soap to see any substantial uptick in the ratings from now-August, then they are just setting themselves up for disappointment. The audience just isn't there consistently and won't be until the Fall. That is why Days laid it all on the line during the September-February period. They knew that is when the audience is most accessible. More people just watch TV, especially live and same day, in the fall and winter. It's hard to get them in spring and summer when you have DVR's and other things now.

By the way, is there any way to get a hold of the DVR ratings for soaps, Toups? I would really like to see how many viewers the soaps get that don't watch live+same day.

A rather cynical take. What happened to the concept of writing good storylines year round regardless of seasonal viewership trends?

I'm sorry but you're not being realistic. There's a reason primetime shows go hiatus during the summer, it's because the audience gets smaller. Vacations, longer daylight hours, etc... these are just facts that the entertainment industry has to deal with. Mark Twain could be writing the show and it wouldn't change the fact that Person X is outside barbecuing.

Anyone else notice that when DAYS is doing great, Whitesell/Tomlin get the bulk of the credit, but when DAYS is nosediving, Higley gets the bulk of the blame. For all I know, that's as it should be, but I wonder what that does to their behind-the-scenes working relationship, if there's in-fighting going on....

Tomlin runs the show. He is the one who brought in Whitesell. Higley has the most minor part of all ever since Tomlin came on board. Sink or sail, it's all on Tomlin. I put all of the blame on Tomlin but I'm sure he is looking around for someone to scapegoat and it will likely be Higley. It would explain the recent interview that came out of the blue of Higley trying to sell the idea that she actually gets to write the show.

I'm sorry but you're not being realistic. There's a reason primetime shows go hiatus during the summer, it's because the audience gets smaller. Vacations, longer daylight hours, etc... these are just facts that the entertainment industry has to deal with. Mark Twain could be writing the show and it wouldn't change the fact that Person X is outside barbecuing.

No one is disputing the seasonal drop-off in viewers. My point is that it's a piss-poor excuse for the Days writers to tank the show with shitty writing. In my 40 years of watching soaps, I've seen plenty of excellent storylines play out in the summer. If today's crop of writers had a shred of pride, they would at least make an effort.

Of course, it's unfair to lump them all together. While the Days writers hibernate over the summer months, I expect their counterparts at GH will at least stay awake and produce something semi-watchable.

Lets go Guiding Light! Lets GO!!!!! You can do it!

Oh wait. I'm stuck in a time warp set back when GL was tied at #3 with AMC back in 1992.

It is sad about DAYS, because there is still so much potential with the show, but it's not being realized. The characters they have in place are good, and the stories COULD be good, but the true problem is that it is so boring! It's not offensive garbage like in 2005, but it is just blah. They need to ramp up these stories and do it quickly. I also think the casting of the teen scene has been real a mess for the show. Mia could have been a new Sami, Will could have been the new Austin, a huge rivalry could have been built between Mia and Sami. Sami HAS to get back to the character she once was; the focus on Daniel, Chloe, and Melanie needs to end as well.

It is sad about DAYS, because there is still so much potential with the show, but it's not being realized. The characters they have in place are good, and the stories COULD be good, but the true problem is that it is so boring! It's not offensive garbage like in 2005, but it is just blah. They need to ramp up these stories and do it quickly. I also think the casting of the teen scene has been real a mess for the show. Mia could have been a new Sami, Will could have been the new Austin, a huge rivalry could have been built between Mia and Sami. Sami HAS to get back to the character she once was; the focus on Daniel, Chloe, and Melanie needs to end as well.

Agreed in all counts. The characters needed are all there for the most part, but the stories are just so uneventful; the stakes aren't really high, or they're up against ho-hum characters who should be supporting instead of lead (Arianna could be framed? Okay, so...). The teen scene is a huge wash but could be salvaged with better casting and bring in the children of existing characters or former characters (Abby Devereaux? Andrew Donovan? The possibilities are endless...)

Putting Carly in with Chloe/Daniel was an epic fail because now it makes all 3 characters boring. Daniel/Chloe are just blah. Melanie as the new Sami Brady or Marlena Evans (i.e. the center of the show) is not going to work.

Like I said, the characters needed are there for the most part. They're just putting emphasis on the wrong ones. And the stories have no high stakes. It's just blah...

I'm going to try to put the ratings up by 3-4PM EST. Unless Scotty has already gotten to it, in that case it should be up sooner. Toups sent them out to us last night but time constraints.

I am shocked that Days has collapsed so quickly. Mere months ago, it seemed it could do no wrong with this board and was floating high in the ratings. If the characters are fine, I would urge those who watch the show to stick with it. Character integrity is much more important than plot to the long-term watchability and health of a soap in my opinion.

Edited May 21, 201015 yr by jfung79

Glad to see OLTL and GH up but the constant focus on Michael has caused me not to watch the whole week except today to see Brook Lynns return. Guess I'll get back into it. Also the Michael rumor going around scared me away too. Also the first day for the OLTL musical only a 1.7? Thats not good.