February 28 - March 4, 2011

[MontyB]

I've been watching since 1973 and as far as I can remember they've had one. Wanda's has to be at least 35 or so.

[DRW50]

Most of the soaps have had diners. Many have had beauty parlors that are somewhat campy.

I think that soaps have become so generic in recent years that is why you are seeing similarities.

[Toups]

Sometimes they do code pre-emptions as specials, sometimes they don't. Like for instance, last year, NBC didn't count an episode of DAYS because of the Time Square bomb scare. And that wasn't even nationally pre-empted - it just didn't air in NYC.

[skiman12082004]

Seeing the latest ratings breaks my heart. I am loving AMC and they hit a record low. I must be a jinx or something. I am just going to enjoy them and to hell with the ratings. I can't stop what is going to happen to any of the shows so I am just going to do my best to cherish them while I still have them.

[Soapsuds]

At this point I don't care what happnes to Y&R. If it were to be canceled I wouldnt bat an eyelash. The soap has been pure [!@#$%^&*] for a long time.

[Kylie]

I think AMC might be influx. Because people seem to be watching more...but it's not reflecting...yet anyway. We'll see what the next few weeks do. But I agree, I'm going to watch and enjoy as long as we've got it.

[Angela]

Thanks for the information Toups.

[marceline]

Even if more people are watching that won't matter as the weather gets warmer. Besides if the decision is supposed to be made in the first quarter of the year, then its already been made.

I've already said my goodbyes in most ways but I just need to see Baby Hubbard be born and hopefully Angie get her sight back. After that they can flip the switch.

[Kylie]

^We don't even know there's a decision coming. LOL

[Bella1974]

Y&R had the same tone and style of storytelling for decades. It was a slow moving soap, that relied on character development, and storylines that were a little deeper than most soaps. The storylines were character driven, and dealt with more psychological aspects. They didn't have dopplegangers, or mustache twirling vilians, and they didn't rely on stunt casting. All of that changed after William Bell died. All of the soaps are hurting, because they just don't have a brand. Each soap, with the possible exception of OLTL, used to have it's own tone, some soaps focused on the super natural, others families. Some where light while others were dark and more psychological. This running theme is what kept people tuning decade after decade, they knew what to expect from a show. Y&R has been on top for so long, because it was the only soap that never changed. The characters were consistent, and how the stories were told was consistent. Not everybody liked Bell's style of storytelling, but the people who watched the show did. Now, Y&R is just all over the place just like every other soap.

I don't want anyone to think that I'm putting down OLTL, but what I meant by OLTL not having a clearly defined tone is that that's a soap that never seemed to know what it wanted to be. OLTL has always jumped back and forth between being a serious relationship driven soap, and one that's almost a satire.

[marceline]

I don't like to give DC any credit but look at those numbers. Now add in the changes to daytime in general with Oprah and Regis leaving and I think it's safe to say there's a decision coming. If its not a cancellation then hopefully it's a change in management.

[Kylie]

What credit is there to give DC? That article said itself it didn't even know what if any effect all this would have on the soaps. We're the ones who said it does, and that it means cancellation.

[marceline]

Okay fine. Nothing's going to happen. I'm going to go watch Guiding Light now.

[Kylie]

LOL! I never said that. I was merely pointing out that DC didn't say it either.

[Soapsuds]