Seasonal...

2000-2001: 3.377.....3.4 (-.5)

2001-2002: 3.261.....3.3 (-.1)

2002-2003: 3.025.....3.0 (-.3)

McTavish Years

2003-2004: 2.936.....2.9 (-.1) = 3.686

2004-2005: 2.837.....2.8 (-.1) = 3.526 (-160,000)

2005-2006: 2.622.....2.6 (-.2) = 3.230 (-296,000)

2006-2007: 2.410.....2.4 (-.2) = 3.059 (-171,000) Interim writers and B&E deserve most of the -.2 as McTavish had the numbers back up to 2.6-2.7, 2.8 for months with the serial killer story

B&E

2007-2008: 2.020.....2.0 (-.4) = 2.571 (-488,000)

Pratt

2008-2009: 1.928.....1.9 (-.1) = 2.540 (-031,000)

2009-2010............................ = 2.564 (+24,000)

Seasonal...

2000-2001: 3.377.....3.4 (-.5)

2001-2002: 3.261.....3.3 (-.1)

2002-2003: 3.025.....3.0 (-.3)

McTavish Years

2003-2004: 2.936.....2.9 (-.1) = 3.686

2004-2005: 2.837.....2.8 (-.1) = 3.526 (-160,000)

2005-2006: 2.622.....2.6 (-.2) = 3.230 (-296,000)

2006-2007: 2.410.....2.4 (-.2) = 3.059 (-171,000) Interim writers and B&E deserve most of the -.2 as McTavish had the numbers back up to 2.6-2.7 for months with the serial killer story

B&E

2007-2008: 2.020.....2.0 (-.4) = 2.571 (-488,000)

Pratt

2008-2009: 1.928.....1.9 (-.1) = 2.540 (-031,000)

2009-2010............................ = 2.564 (+24,000)

I guess the yearly average wasn't all that significant, but looking at it next to the erosion in the years leading up to it, any increase was positive. That's all I was saying. It by no means makes him "super-awesome", but it shows there was at least some "interest" in what he was doing (initially) Post Christmas 09 it slowly, then quite rapidly all went to hell.

He definitely slowed down the erosion, as did McTavish from the writers before her. Good ratings doesn't always equate the best quality. And on the flip, good writing doesn't always equate the best ratings.

B&E's 500,000 viewers loss in one season is astonishing, that's on 52-week season average - it's not just picking a week here and there.

B&E's 500,000 viewers loss in one season is astonishing, that's on 52-week season average - it's not just picking a week here and there.

I know, I'd be interested to see the year-to-year losses/gains for all other soaps from that same year... be interesting to see if it was daytime wide, or limited to AMC.

I wish I had the energy to do that. Maybe somebody else does. Just from vague memory of the up & down slides going on at that time, I don't believe it was genre wide. B&E's go as head-writers was tedious and dark. I preferred Pratt to them because at least he'd move his destrictive shock and awe along rapidly.

McTavish was passable through mid-2005. But the babyswitch beginning in mid-2004 was a big flashing neon sign of the beginning of the end of her non-destructive period despite the awesome ratings.

McTavish like James Reilly on DAYS knew how to build for rating gains to stay for a while. They'd build to 3 weeks of stunts. It would aise the ratings high enough to keep viewers on board for maybe 3 extra months pass the stunts.

[i am that Ratings Whore]I'm going through McTavish's biggest week to week gains right now which happen to be the biggest week to week gains of the last decade for All My Children...[/i am that Ratings Whore]

Something with Cambias Murder!

1/26/04.....*5.....3.2.....10...*5) 2.0/11.....3,925,000 (+441,000)

Kendall Shoots an Obnoxious Ryan, or so we think! (Murder Game)

9/6/04.........3.....3.1.....11.....4) 2.1/13.....3) 3,879,000 (+356,000)

Bianca Gets Miranda Back!

12/27/04.....3.....3.5.....10...*1) 2.5/13.....3) 4,523,000 (+521,000/+536,000)

Something with Babyswitch!

2/7/05.......*3.....3.2.....10...*1) 2.3/14.....3) 3,958,000 (+317,000/+398,000)

Something with Babyswitch!

2/21/05.......4.....3.2.....10...*1) 2.4/14.....4) 4,041,000 (+316,000/+219,000)

Jack & Erica Get Married!

5/23/05.....*4.....2.9.....10.....4) 2.1/13.....4) 3,738,000 (+403,000/+038,000)

Drunk JR Accidentally Crushes Kendall while aiming for Babe!

5/8/06.........4.....2.8.....10.....3) 2.0/13.....3) 3,591,000 (+332,000/+102,000)

The only good thing of this was that it gave us Natalie, who I love.

Natalia. Not Natalie. Please. It makes a difference.

Edited August 11, 201114 yr by marceline

Yeah I always thought McTavish was the queen of sweeps. More then not her sweeps stories always hit.

Dixie alive, Dixie dead, Janet's return, Ball explosion, the Baby switch, JR almost killing a Kane woman, Ryan jumping off a cliff, etc. She was a genius with those IMO.

Natalia. Not Natalie. Please. It makes a difference.

LMAO. My bad

Yeah I always thought McTavish was the queen of sweeps. More then not her sweeps stories always hit.

Dixie alive, Dixie dead, Janet's return, Ball explosion, the Baby switch, JR almost killing a Kane woman, Ryan jumping off a cliff, etc. She was a genius with those IMO.

That was AWFUL! It gave us coma Kendall yapping about for a month. IA with the rest though

Edited August 11, 201114 yr by Cheap21

Well even if I hated some of the storylines there was still a need to tune in to find out what happened. Megan always had something going on during sweeps to get viewers to tune in and it all worked organically more or less and flowed in and out of the current stories. Satin Slayer not included.

Satin Slayer helped me to finally drop AMC that year. I missed Dixie's death stuff. I cant remember when I started watching again but it was sometime in early 2007

I still maintain the first 3-5 months with this guy at the helm was the most entertaining this show had been in years. He had balls in his writing, and at that point things badly needed shaking up. I agree it got ridiculous with the whole Josh/heart thing, Stuart's death, Adam/Annie, but he did one thing all of his other cohorts in the head writing dept. since 2005 could not do, and that is increase ratings. Whether you agree with his storylines or not, the ratings increases that came under him probably bought this show some time.

He entertained for sure. I think the main reason the ratings rose initially is because the network did some heavy promotion of that tornado. I believe ABC even bought ad time on a few cable networks.

Selfishly, I got some good David/Erica out of him. Including the second best post baby swap scenes.

Frankly, I think Charles Pratt, Jr. was just as destructive as MMT, B&E, Dave & Donna, and probably every other HW who wasn't named "Wisner Washam" or even "Lorraine Broderick".

And of course, "Agnes Nixon." ;-)

Edited August 11, 201114 yr by Khan

Frankly, I think Charles Pratt, Jr. was just as destructive as MMT, B&E, Dave & Donna, and probably every other HW who wasn't named "Wisner Washam" or even "Lorraine Broderick".

I have to agree. I dont see how he can possibly be singled out as the worse. He seemed on par with most of the other writers from the last decade. They all had their ups and downs

Even Agnes Nixon apparently really liked Pratt's early material. Frons said in an interview in the fall of '08 that Agnes had called his office and left a message saying "Thank God for Chuck Pratt".