February 20-24, 2006

[KBT]

The DVR sample is so small it wouldnt matter if 100% of those houses watched soaps, thats how dumb the current Neilson system is, so I disagree with you on the handwriting is on the wall.

[All My Shadows]

The way I see it, ABC is too dependent on the sweeps months. And this is not the AMC fan in me speaking, but GH is definitely the biggest offender of this. GH has sweeps-like events in every month, it seems. I remember there was a Good Friday massacre last year on a children's playground. Pathetic.

All of the soaps need to get back to basics. GH needs to be about this hospital and the people who work there and the people that they associate with. Yesterday's episode was amazing...except for the crap with Lorenzo and that creepy Manny Ruiz dude. They absolutely did not fit in at all with the rest of the episode.

AMC, I think, is focusing on what it needs to focus on, but the storylines that work from that focus need to be fixed. Family, love, humor, relevance. Those are the four most important things about AMC and they always have been. The family's there, the love's there, the humor's somewhat there, but we need storylines that will make the audience think. It would be amazing if someone within the show could come up with a storyline that would feature all four of those themes. That's AMC.

DAYS...well I do agree that sometimes people bash DAYS just for the fun of it, and it's done too much, but it's not as if DAYS doesn't deserve some of its bashing. Come on. This is a soap that started out being about families in a rural town. Now it's full of supernatura and science fiction and extreme camp. Those things are great in small doses, but even though the island stuff from 2004 was thrilling and exciting, I highly doubt that the Cordays foresaw that for the show's future when they created it in 1965. It's definitely gotten better since then, but it still has a ways to go. But then again, all of the soaps have a ways to go.

[R!ck]

This "add money" you keep talking about is already bought well before sweeps start. The add rate is based on the soaps demos to start with. DAYS is the #1 soap in 18-34 and the #2 for the season in 18-49 so their money is already made long before Feb Sweeps. They could get a 2.3 for sweeps and still have made their money from advertisers and sponsers. And so what is DAYS is back at a 2.6 in HH thet don't mean squat. As long as DAYS retains their great demos in 18-49 and 18-34 they will continue to make good money and be the #1 soap for add revenues.

Actually, there has been no supernatural since Marlena was possesed and no Sci-Fi since Cassie and Rex landed in a spaceship. For the past few years DAYS has been about "families in a rural town"

[KBT]

Well said Rick!

[SteveFrame]

Yes there has been no supernatural at all in town for several years now. The Rex and Cassie thing was a little over 2 years ago I think. And the Island story and Salem Slasher stories are in the same vein as AMC's Janet story is right now that all the AMC fans seem to be happy with.

Not picking on AMC but even it is dealing with science fiction right now with the Erica-Josh story by having a transported fetus before it was scientifically possible.

People hear the word Days and jump to many false conclusions about it. It is more geared toward family than any show on the air right now. It has 2 core families and features prominantly the original family that the show focused on. Only two other shows can boast that, the Martins are an afterthougt at AMC, so are the Hughes at ATWT, the Brooks and Fosters are gone at Y&R, the Bauers are jsut about gone at GL, the Hardy's are gone at GH. Only the Lords on OLTL, the Hortons on Days, and the Forresters on B&B are still around and still featured prominantly. The rest have desintigrated their core families or keep them around in portions.

Days gets criticized for its campiness, while other shows have just as much camp. Two examples are Janet who gets very campy at times on AMC and Margaret who could be way over the top on OLTL, but these stories esp. the Janet one as I mentioned above are highly praised by fans.

All the shows on right now have problems, and none are better than the other. It's all in the way people look at them, and some people can easily overlook something on their own show and criticize the same thing on another.

[R!ck]

great post Steve ICAM

Like you said, B&B and DAYS are the only two soaps a fan from 20 years ago can still turn on and see veterans (Marlena, John, Bo Hope etc) & (Stephanie, Brooke, Ridge etc) still featured in front burner storylines.

[All My Shadows]

Yeah, it's great that DAYS still has a large number of Hortons around, but, IMO, the show is definitely more about the Bradys than the Hortons.

And I hate it when people say that AMC doesn't have any of its original core families left. In the beginning, Mona and Erica, while they were only supporting characters in the very beginning, rose to become a core family in their own right. Most of the show is focused on Erica and her daughter, much like throughout the 70s, much of the show was focused on Mona and her daughter. The Martins are definitely in need of the spotlight as well, but (and I know I'm going to regret even bringing this up but oh well here goes...) as McT has stated in an interview, Joe will factor in a lot with the whole Josh storyline, as well as Tad. Jamie is involved in the whole Amanda/Janet thing and Tad's going to definitely be involved heavily with Dixie. And then of course, Dixie is an honorary Martin after being with Tad so long, and Brooke has never really severed her ties to Tad or Joe (bad example, I know).

But yeah, AMC could definitely take in more blood Martins. Ruth on contract, and returns of Tara and Jeff would definitely fix that problem, I think.

Absolutely not true. ATWT features Holden, Lily, Barbara and Hal about three times a week, and all four were on the show 20 years ago. When it comes to veteran characters...well then ATWT has the whole spectrum of soaps beat on that one.

[Ryan]

ATWT uses their veterans well, but it's never a great balance. Lily, Holden, Barbara and Hal are great, but there are other veterans on the show who rarely get used.

As far as sweeps goes, ABC needs to stop being so dependant on sweeps and tell it's writers to learn how to write good, compelling, character-driven storylines all year. It dumbfounds me that these idiots writing the shows are still able to keep their jobs. Look at GH's ratings.....From a high to a low.

[SteveFrame]

The point of my post was not that other shows do not have long term vets, but that the focus family of the shows have stayed the same. The Forresters at B&B, the Hortons at Days, and the Lords at OLTL.

Both OLTL and Days have branched out to other prominant families but kept them tied to the core family. You mentioned the Brady's. The Brady's taht are featured are all tied to Hortons. Bo married to Hope (a Horton), Sammi involved with Lucas ( a Horton), Frankie involved with Jennifer (a Horton). The Hortons are still a big part of all the big stories.

OLTL married the Buchanans into the Lord family and cemented them that way.

Erica and her daugthers are a complete shift from the original focus of AMC. AN never intended for her to be the whole show. She started out the show as the story of the Tylers (who are pretty much gone) and the Martins (who are second fiddle). Erica was featured in some stories but not until the latter part of the 90's did AMC become the Erica show. The 70's were not all about Erica and her mother. She ws featured in some good stories, but the main focus of the show was on Tara and Phil, Nick/Anne/Paul, Ruth was one of the stars early on all the way up until 78, and tehn of course the Phoebe/Charles/Mona triangle was a long time feature. Erica really came into her own around 1978 and then the early 80's when she became the top star, but still the others were featured prominantly. So even though MMT is trying to make a tie back to the Martins with this, it is a little too late at this point, as this is clearly another Erica story.

And as I have stated in other posts she has made it clear that she has no real love for the Martin family as she badly handled the Sam story. She could have written a very good family story there, but totally blew it. I feel it is because none of her faves were involved in the story.

[Ryan]

She had the potential to make it a great story. I mean, I would have loved to see Sam interact with his biological parents Bobbie and Kelsey. MMT...shame.

[RogerNewcomb]

I totally agree. All the soaps have great moments, but when is the last time one of the shows was AMAZING for six straight months or more. You have to be more consistent to build a loyal audience.

[Ryan]

Wanna know a great soap writer? ^^^^^ There's one

[Skin]

I actually think AMC has great family ties and storys that utilize family. The Martins and The Kanes who were on from the start are still there. Tad, Jaime and Josh are all feaured monthly who are all apart of the Martin family and Joe is going to be on heavily with this Josh story.

The Kanes are also utilized as well. Kendell basically rules the show and prior to that Bianca and Erica were also heavily utilized and had tons of airtime.

As far as twenty year history goes we can also add in the Chandlers who have also become a family staple over the years Adam and JR are featured and if we go by marriage and include families that way the Montgomery's and Carey/Haywards are also apart of family history since they are attached to vetern characters by marriage or by some form of extention of characters who have been on the show for years.

Yes i think GH has lost it's touch in families. OLTL only has the Lords and i guess by extention the Cramers since Dorian was once married to Victor.

[Skin]

I disagree.

I don't see Erica killing off half the cast of AMC and then all of the sudden they end up in some island that is called Yellav Enip. Even i am a Days fan and i admit that storyline was horriable. Janet's current storyline is no where near as bad as the salem stalker one. That whole Island thing ruined the entire story and it was just horriable. Probably one of the worst storylines i've seen from Days.

Yes Janet is used purely for camp. However there is also a reason she is there. She is tied to Amanda and she is insane and an overprotective mother. She isn't just all the sudden killing everyone. Her decent is more subtle then that and the story is done with emotion, humor and it goes with the current storylines.

I loved Margret she was great. One of the better parts of OLTL. There is a certaint way to do camp with it not being so camp. I just think the Salem stalker storyline and the Lois storyline isn't the way to do it.

[Adam]

AMC has had an amazing sweeps month.... but the bad part about that is it pretty much solidifies McT's future... for now anyway.... lets see how many of these viewers stay through to May... but it was a great month though overall. Aside from Jonboy/Lily I am enjoying the show more than I have since the babyswitch.