October 4-8, 2010

[Sylph]

This is such a... no comments statement – I have no words, really...

[TeamEric]

Actually OLTL's ratings been on a rollercoaster ride all summer. Posting six digit increases one week then losing most of them the following week.

Just look at July's wild swings:

5. OLTL 2,463,000 (+276,000/+13,000)

7. OLTL 2,264,000 (-199,000/-183,000)

5. OLTL 2,450,000 (+186,000/-110,000)

6. OLTL 2,331,000 (-119,000/-243,000)

For September OLTL had some substantial swings too before winding up slightly 39,000 viewers up.

[marceline]

Don't be a buzzkill. OLTL got a bump. Just let them enjoy it. When you're starving, a single saltine tastes like a champagne brunch.

I know, right? Especially when every other show on this board gets nothing but unconditional glowing support. Poor OLTL, when will this terrible injustice cease? WHEN, LORD, WHEN?!!

[MontyB]

Nevermind

[MontyB]

Beware OLTL_Fan, you'll be branded a Fanboy/Girl for some weird reason because you happen to like "that" show.

[Llantano Incorporated]

Ahh. I kind of agree about the -particularly- intense hatred for OLTL here. But most of the shows suck, and the criticism is pretty even across the board I guess.

But man the show is bad in so many ways, but I am finally finding it watchable again in a few others.

Kim Zimmer is actually a pretty decent success so far in my opinion and I am excited for November.

(But this Elijah garbage has gone too far and makes plot over-driven Y&R look like Y&R circa 1986!)

My biggest gripe with OLTL is not the Ford brothers (I actually like them), its the hollowness and shallowness of the show. The show has no heart.

I am always happy when OLTL does well in the ratings, I don't care how bad it is.

Despite all of its flaws and the IMMENSE cheese factor and cringeworthy moments, B&B has me loving it right now. Yesterday's episode was particularly well done in terms of the juxtaposition (sp? I am too lazy right now) of the flashbacks and the present day of Stephanie on the streets.

[Carolyn1980]

I enjoy the "war" between the OLTL and AMC fans. It's the best soap out there right now.

I have no horse in the race anymore. Both shows were "my" shows growing up. First AMC, starting in 1981, during the summer and on days off from school. Then, OLTL starting in 1983. AMC was my favorite from 1981-1985...and then the Tina/Viki/Mitch saga in 1985 made OLTL my favorite. (At this point, I had started recording both shows, so I was able to watch them everyday). By 1988, the wheels had fallen off OLTL, and the ludicrous plots made me turn the show off, but AMC kept me entertained. In early 1992, I tuned back in to OLTL to see Megan die, and was riveted by the reinvention of the show by Linda Gottlieb, along with Michael Malone and Josh Griffith. When AMC went over the cliff with the ridiculous Natalie-in-the-well story in 1992, I left that show for good. (AMC gained many new fans with that plot, but lost many long-timers, who knew it went against the show's pedigree). I stuck with OLTL through 1996, but turned it off when Leah Laiman showed up, and then tuned in again from 1999-2004, when I finally tuned out. I think Gary Tomlin's tenure was OLTL's last really watchable era (I personally loved the Jessica-switched plot twist, having seen Allison Perkins in her first go-round back in 1986...it was completely believable in the show's history, until Malone-sans-Gottlieb showed up again and sent it in ludicrous directions). Since then, thanks to Brian Frons, all the ABC soaps have been running on fumes.

Let's face it...no other soaps are really in direct competition with each other anymore. NBC will cancel DAYS when it thinks it isn't worth renewing anymore, regardless of the ratings of the other soaps. CBS will cancel B&B first, and then Y&R for the same reason. ABC will surely cancel GH last. But AMC and OLTL? They're in DIRECT competition for survival. It's a showdown at this point. ONE will be canceled first...and one will survive at least a year longer, maybe more.

Objectively speaking, I don't know how anyone can look at the ratings trends for the last year (among the only demo that matters, women 18-49) and not see that AMC will be sh*t-canned first. There's no way around it.

[MontyB]

It is funny. I get kick out of those who complain about the "fight" but yet always seem to get those quips in.

I totally agree, but who really knows what going on in the heads of those at ABC Daytime.That "brand" talk is nonsense IMO, but again, who knows? I say enjoy your favorite shows as long as they are on.

[Llantano Incorporated]

[marceline]

Please show me where the "hatred" of OLTL is "particularly intense" here. (Obviously I hate OLTL just like you hate AMC. We're both upfront about that.) The "hatred" I see isn't for the OLTL but for a viewpoint that sees everything through a lens of OLTL fanmania. How many times has the ratings thread turned into the "OLTL isn't being canceled, bitches!/AMC sucks" thread? Agnes Nixon posts clips on her website and someone bitches that there's not enough OLTL. Another poster does a well-thought out breakdown about AMC's budget issues and in flies the OLTL Defense Squad to make sure we all know that Daytime Confidential is on OLTL's side. And for crap's sake, how many times do we have to hear that "OLTL is the red-headed stepchild" of ABC? I don't see GH or AMC fans feeling like OLTL has to drop for the other shows to succeed but *some* OLTL fans crave the failure of the other two.

Considering the circumstances, I'm astounded by the lack of hatred.

[Llantano Incorporated]

Marceline, all valid points. I have nothing to say really.

[Kimmiemae]

You may want to add "some" to that OLTL fans comment. This OLTL fan don't crave for any show to fail. I love OLTL and Days, and they are the only 2 shows I care passionately about.

I stay out of the fans wars because "I" think it's silly.

[marceline]

So true. I stand corrected.

[Toups]

Great week for OLTL. Bad week for DAYS (last in viewers and HH).

[Bella20]

Exactly. My comment wasn't to idly put OLTL down, but the fact is that for the most part it is in a tie for last place, and it has been in that position for years. Its numbers have been statistically the same as AMC, ATWT, GH, GL, and Days for a long time.