Ratings from the 80's

[AbcNbc247]

Days is firmly in Bo and Hope territory at this point. Glad to see the effect that it's having on the ratings. 

[kalbir]

@AbcNbc247 Fans of supercouple era Days that I know split that era into the Bo/Hope years (1983-1987) and the Steve/Kayla years (1987-1990). We know Steve/Kayla 1988 wedding got Days to #1 over Y&R. It will be interesting to see where Bo/Hope 1985 wedding ranks.

When it comes to 1980s soap couples based on ratings impact and soap press coverage, I'd say the top five in date order were Luke/Laura, Victor/Nikki, Bo/Hope, Cruz/Eden, Steve/Kayla.

Edited August 25, 2023 by kalbir

[AbcNbc247]

I'm waiting to see Bo and Hope's too 

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Was there any other big things happening on the other soaps that week? 

[kalbir]

Bo/Hope wedding was week of May 20-24, 1985. I'm sure there were other big events that week but I haven't found any recaps.

[AbcNbc247]

Yeah.

I checked the Another World Home Page and that also was the week that Perry died and when Liberace guest starred. 

[GLATWT88]

Wow, a 7.3 for Days the week of September 5-9 tying it with GL and ATWT. What a turnaround Days is having.

[Contessa Donatella]

I'll never forget that pitch fork death. Ugh. Hurt to watch that. And, Liberace & Felicia was HUGE. 

[beebs]

So, for the 1982-83 season including summer, we've got (vs. previous season):

1. GH	9.8	(-0.8)
2. AMC	9.2	(-0.1)
3. Y&R	8.2	(+0.8)
4. OLTL	8.0	(-0.8)
5. ATWT	7.5	(+0.4)
6. GL	7.4	(-0.2)
7. CAP	5.9	(+0.5)
7. DAYS	5.9	(+0.2)
9. RH	5.3	(-1.4)
10. AW	5.1	(+0.6)
11. LOV	3.8
12. EON	3.7	(-1.0)
13. SFT	2.9	(-0.1)
14. TX	2.7	(-0.5)
15. DOC	1.6	(-1.2)

 

RH clearly the biggest crash that year. Something about Labine/Mayer's return was not connecting with the audience, combined with Y&R's return to form really hurting them. I'm not entirely surprised ABC was willing to push it out the way in favour of Loving at this point. Nice to see AW making such strides, moreso than even DAYS!

[GLATWT88]

Seems like AW was benefiting from a stronger lead in from DAYS as well as OLTL softening on ABC and Capitol performing lower than SFT did in the timeslot. 

[Sean]

It's been interesting seeing how dramatic the fall in ratings was for Ryan's Hope—I expected it to be a little more gradual. The show was performing at roughly the same level as Guiding Light and As the World Turns as late as July 1982 (it came in at #5 the week of 6/28-7/2). Then it fell to the bottom of the middle of the pack in the fall (during the brief "Kirkland's Hope" period), and now it's been consistently #9 or #10 for most of 1983.

1983 was really a hallmark year for the show—Labine and Mayer refocused it in a tremendous way, cutting a lot of fat and rebuilding the core. The Charlotte Greer mystery that ran from April through August was the kind of well-plotted story that wasn't always present even in the show's 70s heyday. The Jack/Leigh and Siobhan/Bill romances were compelling. It's a shame that it seems to have had virtually no impact on the show's performance.

I'm curious to see how the show fares under Pat Falken Smith. There's a SOD article from mid-1984 in which the writer credits a rise in the ratings to her writing, and I wonder whether that will indeed be the case and whether it was sustained for any period of time (of course, any increase was negated by the time slot change in October 1984). Her first 4-6 months as headwriter largely continue stories started by Labine and Mayer, including the initial introduction of Jill's half-sister Maggie and the Bill/Siobhan/Joe/Jacqueline quadrangle—the show doesn't completely shift gears until February/March 1984.

 

A timeline in the BTS changes for anyone that's interested:

• February 1982: Paul Avila Mayer is fired, leaving Claire Labine as sole headwriter.
• September 1982: Claire Labine is fired, and Mary Ryan Munisteri's material begins airing.
• February 1983: Claire Labine and Paul Avila Mayer are reinstated as headwriters. Much of the newer cast (from the "Kirkland's Hope" era) is fired, along with Kelli Maroney. Roscoe Born leaves the following month.
• October 1983: Labine and Mayer are fired again and replaced with Pat Falken Smith. A smaller wave of exits ensues, impacting longer-term actors Ilene Kristen, Karen Morris-Gowdy, and Louise Shaffer.

[Contessa Donatella]

Correct me if I'm wrong but wasn't this one of the two times when PFS was only HW of a specific show (GL & RH) for one 13 week work cycle? My information was that this was an example of a HW & a show just not being a good fit. What they wanted her to write she said was impossible. What she wanted to write they did not want. 

[robbwolff]

Nope. She was head writer for at least a year. And her stint at GL didn’t even last 13 weeks.

[Paul Raven]

Shane and Kimberley were in the mix also so it will be interesting to see the numbers for their 87 wedding.

[Contessa Donatella]

Okay, thanks! I knew there had been a situation where the show & PFS did not gel. It was just GL, got it. 

[Sean]

Pat Falken Smith was headwriter of Ryan's Hope from October 1983 through February 1985, at which point ABC moved her back to General Hospital.