I didn't mean the decline started in 2003 - I meant that was the last time GH had a sustained and strong jump in the ratings. That seems impossible now but it's not like 2003 was a lifetime away. Yet the soaps have been destroyed creatively in that timeframe, and viewers probably know it.

I guess for me, if it was just about nothing lasting forever and women working, the soaps would have died 20 or 30 years ago. I think there was something unique about soaps that drew people in, like college students, even as other more traditional viewers may have moved on. Soaps were able to adapt. All they know how to do now is regress, because they are run by incompetents who can justify their poor decisions by blaming the public.

But I realize I am one of the few who feels this way.

I don't want to blame fans but maybe showrunners also have let a lot of the online fan noise impact what they do. We all know how much online posters have agendas and many continue to threaten if my fave actress or this actor is horrid or don't break up my fave couple or else mentality that I think in some ways have hurt soaps too. Back years ago the showrunners ignored the complaints from fans and did what they knew was right. TOday it seems at times they let the noise drive the shows and decisions in a way versus just riding the wave and IMO that has hurt the shows as much. I think a lot of the view of soap watchers comes from what these people see online which is the farthest from the truth

Edited May 13, 201114 yr by JaneAusten

You may be right - I do think that's true in some cases, moreso shows like Y&R or sometimes DAYS than the ABC soaps. I think at GH and AMC they always did what they wanted and if fans didn't go along, too bad. That's not necessarily wrong, but when what they wanted tended to be heinous (Rylee, endless Jason deification at the expense of everything else on the canvas), they should have checked themselves.

You may be right - I do think that's true in some cases, moreso shows like Y&R or sometimes DAYS than the ABC soaps. I think at GH and AMC they always did what they wanted and if fans didn't go along, too bad. That's not necessarily wrong, but when what they wanted tended to be heinous (Rylee, endless Jason deification at the expense of everything else on the canvas), they should have checked themselves.

See I am not sure I agree with this. I cant speak for AMC anymore. I haven't watched AMC for years but back when I was still somewhat invested in GH to me the show seemed very static. They don't break up couples, they pander to onliners who screamed to have Becky Herbst back, they attempt to do a triangle with Sonny, Brenda , and Dante without really doing one so as not to anger Sonny and Brenda fans too much and the story was a dud, they won't break up Patrick and Robin for fear of anger, they put Jason and Sam one of the dullest couples ever on the show back together why? Not that Jason and Liz were interesting. The only thing they haven;t responded to has been less mob but the mob was a mandate from Disney as a way to streamline yet differntiate GH enough into the ABCD lineup.So I think they do cater to online screamers and thats hurt the show and prevented them from actually shaking up the canvas a bit. At the end of the day all its done is kept some fanbases on line happy and locked the show into repetitiveness and continued decreases in ratings.

Edited May 14, 201114 yr by JaneAusten

Supposedly putting Jason/Sam back together was about Frons. I think the most vocal fanbase was Jason/Liz, and they rarely interact.

I think keeping Robin/Patrick together is mostly down to not really caring about them. Brenda/Dante/SOnny is one of those stories that may have been impacted by bad fan reaction but mostly seemed down to someone realizing how incredibly stupid it was and how little chemistry VMG and DZ had and how it basically made Dante look like a huge a$$hole.

I think if they were interested in fan reaction they would have done another Sonny/Brenda/Jax triangle.

That's true about keeping Rebecca Herbst around, but generally I feel like GH pretends to listen to fans more than they actually do. For instance, Guza's hilarious claim that he was rebuilding the Quartermaine family - with short term Skye who barely interacted with the family, Brook Lyn who turned into a whore and ignored her family, and Maya, who was second fiddle to a 16 year old until the actress wisely found work elsewhere.

It's always tough for me to figure out how much ABC pandered to fans and how much they condescended to their idea of fans, ending up with stuff like Dixie's death, but bringing her back as a ghost 15 times.

Edited May 14, 201114 yr by CarlD2