"Love in the Afternoon" was ABC Daytime's best promo of all-time. Nothing compares.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EyFectYuP2g

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A7Qbu91qR94

How long was this Ariel around?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vP9pUcaQLpI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bP2OQ12NVNE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ebBY3OSGlI

what a horrible commercial. "Celebrate the holiday with everyone depressed"

Well that might explain the ratings at the time...

I guess the Luke/Laura part isn't too sad.

Well that might explain the ratings at the time...

I guess the Luke/Laura part isn't too sad.

Even they are depressing there. This is typical Labine-esque depressing crap under some misguided notion that depressing and unhappy is more realistic and adult than happy or funny. Fill the scenes with melodramatic speeches of misery and just sit back and wait for everyone to tell you how it is great writing.

GH promo about 49 minutes in

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9QfLGyXFMI

Another ad about 50 minutes in.

what a horrible commercial. "Celebrate the holiday with everyone depressed"

Well that might explain the ratings at the time...

Hmmm...

Jan 2-6, 1995

HH

1. Y&R 8.2/26

2. AMC 6.6/20

3. GH 6.3/20

http://boards.soapop.../28874-january/

That was the week or so after that promo would have aired. I'm sure GH would kill for those ratings now (or even those rankings, even with only 4 soaps on the air - there were 10 at the time).

Even they are depressing there. This is typical Labine-esque depressing crap under some misguided notion that depressing and unhappy is more realistic and adult than happy or funny. Fill the scenes with melodramatic speeches of misery and just sit back and wait for everyone to tell you how it is great writing.

I think what was Labine-esque was people finding happiness and fun, which there was, amidst the depressing aspects of life that are indeed all too realistic - in a hospital, no less. This era of the show is a cherished part of my youth, and I still love it.

Edited January 18, 201213 yr by DeliaIrisFan

That was the week or so after that promo would have aired. I'm sure GH would kill for those ratings now (or even those rankings, even with only 4 soaps on the air - there were 10 at the time).

I'm sure they would kill for them, but I believe they dropped by almost a million viewers in late 1994.

I'm sure they would kill for them, but I believe they dropped by almost a million viewers in late 1994.

The end of 1995, and so did every other soap - this was during the OJ Simpson trial - except, for whatever reason, James Reilly's DOOL. GH's ratings held steady in the high 5s and low 6s - and remained in the top 3, quite often beating AMC for # 2 - for almost two years. Even after the ratings dropped when the OJ trial started, GH remained up there in ranking until Labine's last 6 months or so, when she reportedly extended her contract to finish the AIDS story that ABC had been stalling on. A writer in her 60s(?) who was admittedly burnt out after writing an hour-long show for two years (and for the first time in her career) staying on to finish one story which was admittedly emotionally difficult to watch was not an ideal creative situation, to be sure, and there were missteps. Add to that the fact that Disney bought ABC in that time period and who knows what kind of newfound meddling she started dealing with. But I still liked much of the show at that time and, considering what came after Labine left, I am very glad we got to see her bring that important story to its conclusion.

Oh, I'm not disagreeing - I think she was at her best on GH and RH and she left a real legacy. I'm just saying that I do think those who feel ratings fell due to depressing material may have a point. I wasn't watching at the time so I can't really say for sure. I just remember reading SOD at that time (around the time I first started) and they mentioned ratings falling by almost an entire point in late 1994, even though this was during the Puerto Rican remote which seemed to be well received by fans.