Before, when Tomlin was still there, DAYS production vaules were AWFUL. When they switched to HD the show looked even worse because then you could really see how fake everything was. Now with Maxam/Meng in charge the production vaules have improved thanks to Maxam who reminds me of Ed Scott. But because the budget is so low the production vaules are still bad compared to the other soaps.

Sindacco, thanks for shedding some light on my comment. I honestly had no idea DOOL once had even worse production values than it does now.

I'm subscribed to a YouTube channel that's put up a good chunk of stories from that year. It was definitely interesting, with Alex's arrival, the Dreaming Death story, LuJack/Beth/Mindy/Rick/Phillip. It was really good stuff, though I find myself wishing the Lewises would either piss off back to the south or tone down the volume from a 10 to a 6, but that's neither here nor there. You can tell it was a show in good shape at that time, and having a group of young characters viewers actually cared about definitely helped, especially over the summer.

As for DAYS' production values, I honestly need to turn my computer screen back slightly so that it looks darker than it actually is supposed to when I'm watching. When I do that, it looks 9000x better. A question: are DAYS' producers specifically avoiding using close-ups due to HD or something? Cos it's really jumping out at me how little I get out of any particular scene on that show when the actors' expressions are being presented to me as at best of secondary importance, at worst a complete afterthought.

Thanks for the insignt into that GL year. It's too bad that the show crashed shortly after. Back then, a good story did matter and viewers were willing to network hop. Now, a doomed show is just doomed. I actually expected Y&R to go up with the death of AMC but no such luck. The Lewises sucked much like the Snyder clan on ATWT.

DOOL has always had the WORST production values in Soapland. Every set is trapped in the 80s. I was recently watching old 2007 episodes of ATWT and realized that the show had the best production values out of any soap before the budget cuts. The new sets and lighting looked great, and I will give Goutman credit for making WORLD look amazing. (Watching those shows actually made me hate Goutman a little less). The quality rivaled Y&R which has always gotten so much praise. I have to wonder why PGP let him spend the money knowing full well that they wanted out of the business?

Sure, AMC wasn't as bad a lead-in as The Chew but my point stands, AMC was hitting new all time lows in viewers and demos at the same time OLTL managed to SOAR to 3 year high. A hot show CAN overcome poor lead-ins, it's happened all the time. GH's Brenda 2002 returns soared their ratings despite OLTL's hitting new lows that fall. Conversely, GH was hitting new all time lows this summer despite OLTL providing a much improved lead-in.

You can only blame the lead-in so far. One must take a closer look at the trend lines. OLTL had sunk to 2.4 and 2.5 in dailies already in September. The show was on a DOWNWARD trend. The Chew just helped speed up an inevitable fall. No soap over the last decade had maintained its gains for very long periods. The ratings always fall BACK for one reason or another.

GH has been hitting new lows for months and had crashed to the basement several times.

While 200,000+ loss is huge, Y&R and B&B have experienced those wild swings this summer, too, and they don't have The Chew to overcome.

So here's a question for you all, what will you say if this week or next, OLTL manages to gain back some viewers despite the Chew's poor lead-in?

Lead in doesn't always matter. ATWT followed Y&R in some markets but still hit lows of 1.8 HH. B&B and Y&R rise and fall at different times. The only time a lead in matters is when you are talking millions of viewers but not a few % points, and this is the case with the CHEW.

Also, with unemployment at probably closer to 20%, food shows are doomed to fail. Many daytime viewers are out of work and can't afford new or expensive products.

OLTL is majorly boring. I'm all for humor & satire, but the show comes across more as a bad parody. It also doesn't help that there are some truly atrocious actors on that show.

OLTL is majorly boring. I'm all for humor & satire, but the show comes across more as a bad parody. It also doesn't help that there are some truly atrocious actors on that show.

Once the Irene mess started to come on I tuned out. Have not watched OLTL in 6 weeks and I don't miss it

OLTL is majorly boring. I'm all for humor & satire, but the show comes across more as a bad parody. It also doesn't help that there are some truly atrocious actors on that show.

I like the satire element. It's like RC saying 'romance/sentimentality are dead, we have no budget, the genre is over and we are the anti-soap'. I, too, am sometimes bored by OLTL but overall don't consider it a bad show.

DOOL has always had the WORST production values in Soapland. Every set is trapped in the 80s. I was recently watching old 2007 episodes of ATWT and realized that the show had the best production values out of any soap before the budget cuts. The new sets and lighting looked great, and I will give Goutman credit for making WORLD look amazing. (Watching those shows actually made me hate Goutman a little less). The quality rivaled Y&R which has always gotten so much praise. I have to wonder why PGP let him spend the money knowing full well that they wanted out of the business?

IMO, ATWT looked AWFUL. The lighting made everybody and everything look pastel. It looked like a makeup commercial or something. It was totally unnatural-looking, and every bit as bad as Days' piss-yellow lighting before Ed Scott. The sets weren't bad, though...

IMO, ATWT looked AWFUL. The lighting made everybody and everything look pastel. It looked like a makeup commercial or something. It was totally unnatural-looking, and every bit as bad as Days' piss-yellow lighting before Ed Scott. The sets weren't bad, though...

I'm talking about the pre-2008 cuts and the new production model. In the 2007 episodes I was watching, the make up, lighting and sets look every bit as good as Y&R. Goutman always made a point lighting up the windows, too. I especially liked the quality of the original Lakeview set--rich, lush wood with old school touches.

I agree everyone looked like hell after the budget cuts. It was all close up shots to avoid showing sets.

I was recently watching old 2007 episodes of ATWT and realized that the show had the best production values out of any soap before the budget cuts. The new sets and lighting looked great, and I will give Goutman credit for making WORLD look amazing. (Watching those shows actually made me hate Goutman a little less). The quality rivaled Y&R which has always gotten so much praise. I have to wonder why PGP let him spend the money knowing full well that they wanted out of the business?

No American soap can ever claim to rival Y&R's production values. Y&R, which is a shite show now, is still the best looking show in daytime and always has been. You could have given any soap an extra $10 million a year and they still wouldn't have looked as good as Y&R, the original production model was golden and they wisely stuck with it, more or less, from day one. It's the only show that comes even close to the standards set by the UK soaps which are in a whole other league.

I like the satire element. It's like RC saying 'romance/sentimentality are dead, we have no budget, the genre is over and we are the anti-soap'. I, too, am sometimes bored by OLTL but overall don't consider it a bad show.

I think RC's idea of satire is more like HA HA FUNNY ME LAUGH NOW.

Here is why THe Chew makes no sense again. Granted I guess comparing syndication to a network show is not really comparable but just look at the highest rated shows in syndication. I guess Judge Judy, Dr. Oz, Dr. Phil, and Regis and Kelly are the only shows that air exclusively in daytime. BUt those CBS comedies are monsters and Law and Order still rocks in syndication no matter how dreadful the ratings on NBC are for SVU these days. I still wonder why ABC. NBC CBS doesn't try airing repeats of their primetime shows during the day. They used to do that long long ago.

http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2011/10/19/syndicated-tv-ratings-wheel-of-fortune-on-top-dr-oz-top-talk-show/107885/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Tvbythenumbers+%28TVbytheNumbers%29