Jump to content

November 15-19, 2010


Toups

Recommended Posts

  • Replies 69
  • Created
  • Last Reply
  • Members

I don't think GH was ever actually at the bottom at time time, just in the lowest rankings.

I guess ABC can't be too unhappy with GH since they highlighted GH's ratings in the press release, and not OLTL or AMC.

I do think there might be a difference between Budig and Marcil. In some ways I have felt like AMC is Frons' baby - it is the one that he moved to the West Coast to keep on the air, it is the one that he made the most blatant changes to himself when he took over instead of just hiring former headwriters to return (as he did with Malone/Griffith at OLTL and Guza at GH). He also gave Budig's then-husband a job. Most recently, he welcomed her back to AMC when she returned after leaving in early 2009 -- there were no roadblocks thrown her way as there were for Eden Reigel. While a lot of this may not have been down to him, I think some of it must have been. I think he just loves Greenlee and Greenlee/Ryan no matter what. Vanessa Marcil, I think her return may have been more about assuming she would increase ratings than about Frons loving her.

I don't even know what you could do to fix GH at this point. I know it won't be fixed, and will just continue to slide down, as all the soaps are, but I think it just needs to be burned down, creatively, and completely rebuilt. If ABC really cared, it would be.

Of course the response is, "OLTL and AMC aren't any better." Even if they aren't, GH was supposed to be ABC's crown jewel, so seeing the show piss away so many opportunities is sad.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Frons or his wife, who pushes for couples she likes etc.? Frons then being just a puppet in her able hands.

GH does not need to be burnt, it's like a stained, muddy glass: you just need a lot of window cleaning fluid and a magical cloth to clean off the dirt.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

I have mixed feelings about the ratings this week. On the one hand, I'm thrilled to see GH hit last place and AMC still not making a dent in the demos with all the Rylee pimping, on the other, I hate to think AMC has hit the point where it can't rise again, but then again considering that David's return from the dead was centered around Rylee, I'm kind of glad it didn't draw in viewers in droves.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

I don't think it's quite the same. I think he really has let Guza have his own creative vision, and I think that initially he may have let Malone have his vision. AMC from the start of Frons' tenure was very very different. Remember the whole nonsense with Fusion starting, and their silly fantasy sequences?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Umm... I don't get it. If I do it and pay someone to do the exact same thing is the same. Or minimally different.

I mean, I agree with you and remember fusion, I just think if he's already doing it, it's better to do it himself than make someone do it for him.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

I agree with everything you said. But OLTL BARELY beat AMC and GH, the differences in the ratings are so -small- between all 3 ABC shows. GH always bounces back. AMC showed some life, I am curious if it can get some momentum in the 18-49. OLTL has been incredibly good lately, I don't remember the last time I enjoyed it this much.. OLTL would probably need a solid 1.1 or 1.2 in the 18-49 to be completely safe.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

I am not sure I'd agree with happy. I think it's more about saving face at this point since Vanessa's return has been such a disappointment. I don't think they want people to think they are concerned because really aside from The View and Y&R, no one at CBS, NBC , or ABC really have a whole lot to brag about in terms of ratings. I'd even venture to say Y&R's numbers are not that great. Relative to all the other shows, I guess they are still doing fine but I think we all know these press releases are more for bragging rights and placement relative to another show really doesn't matter.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.



  • Recent Posts

    • The preaching seems to end before the Barnes settle in late December, 1981. The stuff that felt overly religious (the Davidsons believing a miracle will save Lori rather than a surgeon, Jeff's miraculous recovery from a beam of light) was quickly nixed because it wasn't working. The closest thing that you get to that under the Barnes is when Dennis Fraser, the drunk driver who killed Nora and Scott, turns his life over to god. The born-again redemptions out of nowhere seem to stop fairly early into the Barnes' run. I do think Miriam's transformation was much more delicately done with her turning on her bestie Nancy because Nancy was seducing Charles, Miriam's wealthy father, so Miriam offers to testify for the Davidsons in the trial against Nancy over possession of Nora's house. In turn, Nancy repays the favor by pumping an emotionally distraught Miriam with barbituates while Miriam carries on her affair with low level thug turned political aide Norm Elliott. Miriam is used by everyone into her life and finally lands herself in the hospital becasue she has become so addicted to the pills. At the hospital, it is the friendship and kindness of the Davidsons that brings Miriam to a more peaceful place. The Davidsons ability to forgive is both appealing and, at times, dramatically limiting. In this case, the Davidsons lead Miriam to her new Mama, Ione Redlon. Now, under Vinley, Miriam is determined to reconnect with her son, Frederick, and her ex-husband, Paul.   My bigger issue with the Barnes' writing is that they write the storylines with twist endings that sorta come out of nowhere. I know the resolution to the Kate Carrouthers mystery sorta plays out like that so I am curious to see how I feel about that.  The biggest change throughout the writing teams has been the view of morality. Winsor had many characters who could be viewed purely through the lens of black and white, but others explored the shades of gray (often younger people). The brief head writerless period was much better at embracing an action doesn't make a person and there characters were much more gray or at least evil at a more local level (Nancy, in this period, only flirts with her brother-in-law where as later she is actively providing pills to Miriam to keep her addicted and away from her own father). The Barnes, for the most part, seem to embrace this level of political corruption that seems to permeate throughout the show making it clear that power (as well as money) is the root of evil. Even criminal Vince Cardello is presented as less evil than Charles Carpenter, though Carpenter's murder of a resident of his complex was rewritten to relieve Carpenter of any responsibility in the matter. Vinley's work seems more into exploring the why or delving deeper in general. Babs Farley, the hooker who is looking to reclaim her life, is such an intriguing character. She is given such meaningful monologues regretting her decisions and desperately trying to keep away from the hands of her former pimp, Ron Washington, who hasn't appeared yet. Monk and Fernandez seem to be wrongly accused of Lori's attack and there seems to be hints of racism that the show is looking to address. Marianne confronts Gil about his feelings towards God in relation to their mother's death years earlier.  There does seem to be a layer of misogyny to Vinley's work, but it's early so I'll be curious to see how this plays out. There are a lot of attacks on women (Lori is nearly raped, Babs was beaten, Nancy is on the verge of being blackmailed for sex by Tab, and the Russ / Marianne / Gil scenario has hints of toxic masculinity. It's very early so it'll be neat to see if that is maintained.  Jerry TImm lasts about a year I think (March, 1982 - March, 1983). One of the episodes on TouTube has a comment suggesting that Timm was fired by CBN because he had done something in his past that came to light. It didn't seem to be clear what that was.  I like what I've seen of Timm as Gil. He has such a presence that it covers up some of his weaker acting choices. It's unfortunate that he didn't get to play as much of the Gil - Stacey - Amber triangle as his replacement does.  
    • I believe it was Mark Arnold's family that taped all the shows. It was the same with Ariane Muneker - her mother bought a video recording machine in the 1970s, at a time when that type of technology was really expensive John Wesley Shipp's parents also taped all his shows, and has a complete library of every single episode of every soap JWS has appeared on. Same for Cynthia Watros. When the Soap Actors parents pass away, and there are all these VHS tapes in dozens of boxes, it is shame to waste all that. 
    • Personally, I felt that the deletion of the original music from the girls' slumber party episode, and the axing of REM's Losing My Religion from the ep featuring Brenda and Dylan breaking up, were the most painful. The changes really damaged those episodes. I dropped the DVDs after season two, but I've been told by other viewers who kept going that tunes from all the seasons continued being replaced, and the situation only got worse as the DVD releases progressed. Yes, penny-pinching from those in charge was the principle issue, but I wonder how much better the DVDs would have sold if such poor choices had not been made in the name of cost cutting. On the other hand, when Time-Life put out the Vietnam-war era classic China Beach, they dug deep into their pockets and ended up clearing the rights to a whopping 268 (!!!) of the original tracks. This represented 96% of the total. TPTB said that when they were not given permission to use a few of the remaining pieces, they substituted different singers' versions of the exact same songs, in order to preserve the show's integrity as much as possible. The CB set was expensive as heck, to be sure, but to me it was worth it.
    • Oh I knew it was common (I did not realize Muenker's channel was gone - I'm glad I saved all those videos). I just didn't realize it was the case with the rape episode.  I never really felt like she dominated the show in her second stint either, although I can see where she probably did. I can feel it more in some of her first run, because the show was much different before she came in and suddenly a woman we'd seen for a year was [!@#$%^&*] and marrying an entire family.  In that sense Reva is more like Babe than Erica Kane. One of the more infamous AMC lines was, "Babe is love." You just know HB would have said that line about Reva at some point.
    • I disagree; if this were Chris Clenshaw, then I would be worried. But it's a new producer coming in to clearly create the canvas they want to create, and I'm okay with that. Re-introducing characters to shake things up and possibly take some other ones out of the canvas. It'll be interesting to see the finished product.
    • I am ready for our first full week in what feels like a while! They worked Sweeps month!
    • Beyond the Gates: A The Bold and the Beautiful: F Coronation Street: B Days of Our Lives: B- EastEnders: A+ Emmerdale: A- Hollyoaks: B+ General Hospital: C Neighbours: C+ The Young and the Restless: F For me, Beyond the Gates, EastEnders, and Emmerdale led the pack during Sweeps month, with Coronation Street and Days of Our Lives following. General Hospital and Neighbours sit in the middle with what I'd call a "take it or leave it" kind of Sweeps month, and the Bell soaps bombed (per usual).
    • Actors doing this is pretty common. I used to work for a company that produced a very successful sitcom back in the 70s. Actors who were guest stars on the show would ask to be provided tapes of their episodes. I assume they do it for a variety of reasons, i.e. to create a reel of their best work. I know of some soap actors who have uploaded saved work to YT. One is Ariana Muenker, who played Christine Valere on GL. She was uploading scenes from her many soap roles a few months back. Unfortunately, it looks like either she or YT took the channel down. Sharon Gabet and Mark Arnold help the EON YT channel by providing saved episodes. Along with EON eps, Arnold shared a guest stint he did on GL. Those episodes are really interesting because they involve the introduction of Nola's character, which was tied to the Roger storyline. When he came back after faking his death, he hid out at the boarding house. Nola being a snoop figured out something was fishy with him. She ended up helping the police. Very worth seeking out. I don't think anyone else has those episodes.  Makes you wonder if there's more out there than we know of because actors don't want to be bothered to run a YT channel. Can't blame them because it's a lot of trouble, but if only... I agree. While Lucci definitely used her fame from the show to build her brand and get work outside of AMC, Erica was always part of an ensemble. Yeah, she got a couple of whacky stories (like the "unabortion") but she never took over to the detriment of other actors and stories.
    • It must have been sometime in the early 80's. VI said he first heard about Marj Dusay's talent from CH. Hickland worked with her on Capitol.
    • Not having watched AMC was one of the reasons I hesitated to make the comparison, tbf. It's odd--I feel like I could argue Cassie, Olivia, Harley and Dinah suffocated the show along with Reva the last five years.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy