The better question would be "what happened on Monday/Tuesday/Thursday that was so uninspiring to tune in Friday"?

Fridays tend to be the lowest day - especially for Y&R. Mondays are always significantly higher for Y&R. It's more of viewer watching patterns than "what's happening." The most notable exception was Oct. 18, which I assume was the day of Delia's accident. A better measure is to track weeks and compare those to year-over-year. In this case Y&R has been trending higher over 2012 for several weeks. B&B has been on a huge upswing week-in-week out for almost 2 years. GH for the several months. That's how you can tell that the audiences are returning (or picking up new viewers).

I wish I could get into B&B. I've tried tuning in a couple of times but it just doesn't work for me.

I'm a longtime viewer and no longer watching regularly as it does not interest me anymore as it did...

BUT the show has managed to revamp itself and bring on younger characters that click with a much better demographic (ad money-wise) like European shows do all the time. So I applaud Brad Bell and folks for achieving this in a shrinking network TV environment.

I think with B&B, they just have excellent casting and the diversity is definitely bringing in viewers IMO. The younger actors are not all perfect, but are good and have enough charisma to make it work, like a typical Bell actor should. You don't become Katherine Kelly Lang overnight, that takes time. Between the new black characters, the strong younger set, Heather Tom and Don Diamont as much-needed strong new leads and a strong supporting cast (Donna, Pam, Eric) I'd say you have a pretty good (and well utilized) cast.

I'm a longtime viewer and no longer watching regularly as it does not interest me anymore as it did...

BUT the show has managed to revamp itself and bring on younger characters that click with a much better demographic (ad money-wise) like European shows do all the time. So I applaud Brad Bell and folks for achieving this in a shrinking network TV environment.

I was a long time viewer, too, but I no longer watch, either. The last time I watched consistently was the Carbo story, and Amber was Rick's ghost designer. But, the show has revamped itself into something that I no longer connect to. It's steeped in so much history, but it never uses it in the right way, characters are not developed in the right way, and the focus isn't on the right families or dynamics. But, it clearly has clicked with a large group of people, and has made a success out of it. I'm just sad I can no longer enjoy the show.

I think with B&B, they just have excellent casting and the diversity is definitely bringing in viewers IMO. The younger actors are not all perfect, but are good and have enough charisma to make it work, like a typical Bell actor should. You don't become Katherine Kelly Lang overnight, that takes time. Between the new black characters, the strong younger set, Heather Tom and Don Diamont as much-needed strong new leads and a strong supporting cast (Donna, Pam, Eric) I'd say you have a pretty good (and well utilized) cast.

But a decent cast does not make for a decent show, IMO. I also think it's awesome that they finally have a few black characters on the front burner (and really they should have had more diversity a long time ago), but, from what I've seen of Carter and Maya, I think they are terrible. On the flip side, I love Dayzee, but she never gets used at all; I even warmed to Marcus (after years of disliking him), and I see he's been dumped to recurring.

This whole Steffy, Meffy, Liam triangle was killing the show for a stable year and a half. Then Brooke had sex with her sister's husband, got pregnant and the show felt like home again. Now It's time for Brooke to have an accident with young Spencer male.

But a decent cast does not make for a decent show, IMO. I also think it's awesome that they finally have a few black characters on the front burner (and really they should have had more diversity a long time ago), but, from what I've seen of Carter and Maya, I think they are terrible. On the flip side, I love Dayzee, but she never gets used at all; I even warmed to Marcus (after years of disliking him), and I see he's been dumped to recurring.

I'm with you, Ben! Caroline's personality upgrade is enjoyable to watch, but imagine her against someone like a young Dru Barber Winters! She'd be invisible. Of course this young woman is going to shine against a talking hairball and the idiot brick to whom she's betrothed! Maya and Carter are epic fails, and since Victoria Rowell and Shemar Moore left Daytime, black characters have been like watching paint dry, which is intentional, of course! Nothing but a game of bait and switch across the board!

Dayzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzee is NOT the answer! She skews very old, and the actress does nothing to help! I've seen nice vids of her and Thomas, but outside of that, she just won't do!

Then YR has someone who looks like Redaric Williams, and he's shackled to a forgettable pairing - who's his love interest, BTW? I have never seen her before. I'm willing to bet they have been thru nothing to be together, and her true soul mate, an edgy bad boy who happens to be white, is just around the corner. He and Sean Blakemore should have picked up where Shemar left off!

I think B&B is really good right now

I love Maya and I love Carter and Dayzee as well. I definitely think Dayzee is wasted. She should be tested with Liam IMO.

I'm glad for B&B's strong numbers! What a great trend to see for soaps in 2013! Honestly, I think B&B still feels a little lost post-Stephanie and post-Ronn Moss, but it still entertains and it has the potential to build on it's existing characters.

Yeah, I kinda don't get the success story. But I celebrate it. They're not offending me with any of their stories, it's just a lot of fluff.