Cancellation Most Devastating to Genre: GL, ATWT, AMC, or OLTL?

[Juliajms]

I wish I could be this optimistic. I don't think they are planning on having one lone soap at all. Not for long.

[~bl~]

Were the last numbers from December 28, 1991 to January 1, 1992? For most of the 90s IIRC holiday weeks caused bumps in the ratings for many of the shows. It wouldn't be outside the norm to see a show go up a half a point or more due to people being home.

My numbers come from the Soap Opera Encyclopedia Waggert edition from the 90s.

The average ratings for tv season fall 91- spring 92 were

1. Y&R - 8.2

2. AMC - 6.8

3. GH - 5.8

4. ATWT - 5.7

5. GL - 5.6

6. B&B - 5.5

7. OLTL - 5.4

8. Days - 5.4

9. AW - 4.1

10. SB - 3.1

11. Loving-2.8

The average ratings for tv season fall 92 - spring 93 were

1. Y&R - 8.4

2. AMC - 7.3

3. B&B - 5.9

4. GH - 5.8

5. ATWT - 5.7

6. OLTL - 5.5

7. GL - 5.4

8. Days - 4.9

9. AW - 3.2

10. Loving-2.8

[quartermainefan]

Hmm, I think GL and ATWT were the saddest because they were the oldest and it signaled the end of P&G in the soap business. Someone said the newer soaps being canceled were not as bad, but they were. It's the new soaps that become the old soaps, and with the departure of shows like Sunset Beach, PC, and Passions, it meant the end of the line and there would be no new soaps coming.

[Soapsuds]

To me those 3 soaps were out of the box. They werent appealing to the audience. I never took Passions and Sunset Beach seriously. Both soaps were a joke IMO. For them to be called soaps was an insult to the genre.

[quartermainefan]

I think that is a little narrow way of defining soaps. What is the most famous and enduring soap of all? Dark Shadows I would say, and coming soon to a theater near you starring Johnny Depp. And if you can't wait you can watch every episode on Netflix as well as the 1991 remake. I never saw Sunset Beach, but Passions and PC went for a niche nobody was filling. I guess the audience wasn't interested, but then again they weren't interested in Ryan's Hope and Another World either.

[edgeofnik]

ATWT was by far most devastating because it's fortunes were, unfortunately, tied to GL's demise. That was a raw deal. Yes, the demo wasn't great, but it's not like it's lead-in (B& was a demo grabber. ATWT was iconic in that it basically remained true to its storytelling - family based stories. Yes, there were plenty of missteps, but it certainly didn't deserve to get the axe just 2.5 months after GL left the air and then have 9 months left. I wish they would have waited a bit longer. What was remarkable was that the ratings didn't fall off the cliff after the announcement - they were pretty steady.

I have to agree that the loss of AMC also stunned me - only because it was a "modern" name brand as a result of Lucci. (Even though, those of us who follow the ratings and actual storylines knew it was a train wreck. Somehow, I thought it would be saved and paired with GH.) The cutting of two at a time on both networks was just sad and not justified.

It seems like the handwriting is on the wall for DAYS. The sudden slashing of multiple players in a week. I get the sense that the condensed show will be used to wrap things up in the next season - ending fall 2012. (I hope not.) At the very least, I wish they would have considered trying most of these shows as 30 minutes to see what would happen. Oh, well, it's too late now.

[juniorz1]

IMO, they cancelled AW first because of its timeslot. Not only was it on a creative upswing, but the ratings were already inching up also, which is why it was such a SHOCK that they cancelled it instead of SUN.

They wanted Passions to benefit from having the direct DAYS lead-in, plain & simple. In many markets, SUN was receiving the Santa Barbara treatment- 9AM, 11AM, and 2AM timeslots.

[IcyOne]

The most devastating was the cancellation of OLTL, because it didn't need to happen at that moment. It's cancellation came while the show teeter tottered from being on somewhat of an upswing to at the very least was treading decently. Truth be told, it could have went another season without losing the network much (if any) money. Honestly, I think OLTL was a casualty of ABC needing to get rid of 'a' soap. AMC was on a more blatant downward spiral, and it made sense to cancel it....but I get the feeling that the brass thought it wouldn't be "right" to cancel AMC and leave OLTL on the air, and also didn't want to have to deal with rabid AMC supporters calling shenanigans over it...so away OLTL went too to save face. That they gave OLTL four extra months seems like their way of subtly acknowledging all of this.

[saynotoursoap]

In my opinion, we are straying from the topic, which is not about popularity, audience acceptance, or surprise. Of the four soaps listed in the original topic, GL had the most devastating effect as it was indeed a domino effect. Removing GL caused ATWT to fall to last place, and with each subsequent soap removed, another has to assume the last place position. It does not matter whether GL was on the brink of cancelation for years or whether or not it was expected. It does not matter if ATWT had two years of dismal ratings or ten. GL's removal clearly made another soap the loser.

This is the difference between contemporary soaps and the soaps of my generation. Back in the 60's and 70's, and even into the 80's, soaps were tiered in their ratings. There was a well rating group which averaged 8 and 9 ratings, mid range soaps with 6 and 7s, and low rating soaps with 5s down to 1s or 2s. The loss of a low rated soap did not have an effect on the mid and high ratings soaps, because they were always several ratings points away. Now we have one soap -Y&R- with survivable ratings, a full rating point and more higher than the #2 soap, and then everything after that is fairly within a tenth of rating point from one another -or several soaps tying with the same low rating. You really cannot say that a soap with a 1.6 performs vastly more poorly than one with a 1.7. If the 1.6 goes, the 1.7 soap is not far behind. When GL was cancelled, I knew that ATWT would go within a year. I am truly surprised that anyone was naive enough to not understand the effect one had upon the other or that anyone is still in denial about it.

However, in truth, the genre itself has been in a decline for the last 10-15 years. In my opinion the problem really is not the cancellation of GL or AW or ATWT. The true devastation of daytime drama is far deeper.

Also, I disagree with edgeofnik and junior about the serials each mentioned; however, I will not argue those points which are not related to the original topic.

[R Sinclair]

Sigh.

[Eric83]

I more or less agree with this, and OLTL is only getting four extra months because The Revolution wasn't ready yet.

[NYC123]

I believe AMC/OLTL were the most devastating to the genre. I say this because both AMC and OLTL have been the powerhouse of ABC Daytime (as well as GH). During the 80's, 90's and early 2000's, ABC still were generating decent ratings enough to put them in the top 5.

AMC/OLTL has dealt with many issues and storyline, that IMO any other soap would be to scared to. I believe both AMC/OLTL could have been saved, if Brian Frons actually gave a damn about the soaps. Like Lucci said, when Brian Fron's was given the job as president, he was given a healthy lineup (Besides Port Charles). AMC/OLTL/GH were all good until 2006. He kept Megan at AMC, kept Dena at OLTL and Guza at GH.

Like I said the most devastating HAS to be both AMC/OLTL.

[shadow]

I would def say AW, imo it had a domino effect and it signaled the end was near being that AW veteran war hiorse soap. After that I nknew it was a matter of time before ATWT and GL would be cancelled. I do not think OLTL or AMC being cancelled was all that devastating to the dying genre, posters here were predicitng one of them would be cancelled a month before the announcement based off of dismail ratings. The devasting part is them being cancelled together.

BTW Caiptol was also cancelled and it was at the bottom of the ratings either.

[Vizion]

Guiding Light...it started a domino effect. It may have been on its last legs but GL's demise led to ATWT's demise and so on.

[edgeofnight]

I'll answer this question two ways...Most devastating for the genre and most devastating for me, personally. Both answers: ATWT.

'ATWT' was the iconic show that saw so many firsts in daytime history, I can not begin to count. 'ATWT' gave us the first 'super-couple' -- Penny and Jeff and also gave us the first 'super b*tch' -- Lisa. It was one of the last two daytime shows to go from live to tape, and, of course,it was the show that Walter Cronkite cut into to announce the Kennedy assassination. It's demise, last year, barely created a whimper in the mainstream media, to my surprise. I could go on and on about ATWT...how it was #1 ratings for 20 years (approximately 1958-78)...the superb cast, the movie 'super stars' that once called ATWT home.

On a personal level...what can you say when you were born only three weeks after the CBS premieres of ATWT and Edge of Night? These shows were, and, continue, to be a part of my life. I am, particularly blessed, because, I have as one of my dearest friends, an actress who was on ATWT during its hey day, the lovely and exquisite Dagne Crane, who played Sandy, the second Mrs. Bob Hughes. I never tire of hearing what it was like to put on a half hour of drama LIVE...five days a week, 52 weeks a year.