Best US Soap Scenes

[BetterForgotten]

I mean, if the Girls 12-17 demo mattered to networks and advertisers, Passions would still be on the air as well. It was always dominant in that demo. 

 

The week before it's last week on the air, GL was last in all demos and in total viewers and HH's.

 

1. Y&R 4,998,000 (+198,000/-97,000)

2. B&B 3,230,000 (-30,000/-281,000)

3. GH 2,787,000 (+330,000/-150,000)

4. DAYS 2,720,000 (+8,000/+115,000)

5. OLTL 2,479,000 (+173,000/-76,000)

6. AMC 2,461,000 (+181,000/-4,000)

7. ATWT 2,348,000 (-50,000/-131,000)

8. GL 2,090,000 (-8,000/+66,000)

 

 

HH

1. Y&R 3.6/13 (+.1/-.1)

2. B&B 2.4/8 (same/-.2)

3. GH 2.1/7 (+.2/-.2)

4. DAYS 2.0/7 (same/same)

5. AMC 1.9/6 (+.2/same)

5. OLTL 1.9/6 (+.2/-.1)

7. ATWT 1.8/6 (same/-.1)

8. GL 1.5/5 (-.1/same)

 

 

Women 18-49 Viewers

1. Y&R 1,123,000 (+134,000/-91,000)

2. GH 931,000 (+96,000/-98,000)

3. DAYS 769,000 (-3,000/-17,000)

4. OLTL 748,000 (+72,000/-110,000)

5. B&B 699,000 (+68,000/-89,000)

6. AMC 657,000 (+140,000/-109,000)

7. ATWT 556,000 (+79,000/-42,000)

8. GL 485,000 (+76,000/-33,000)

 

 

Women 18-49 Rating

1. Y&R 1.7/11 (+.2/-.1)

2. GH 1.4/9 (+.1/-.2)

3. DAYS 1.2/8 (same/same)

4. B&B 1.1/7 (+.1/-.1)

4. OLTL 1.1/7 (+.1/-.2)

6. AMC 1.0/7 (+.1/-.2)

7. ATWT 0.8/5 (+.1/-.1)

8. GL 0.7/5 (+.1/-.1)

 

 

Girls 12-17 Viewers

1. GH 52,000 (+7,000/+41,000)

2. OLTL 32,000 (-1,000/+15,000)

3. DAYS 19,000 (same/-12,000)

4. B&B 17,000 (-5,000/-7,000)

5. Y&R 13,000 (-19,000/-10,000)

6. AMC 11,000 (-4,000/-5,000)

7. ATWT 5,000 (-22,000/-17,000)

8. GL 3,000 (-28,000/-10,000)

 

 

Women 18-34 Rating

1. Y&R 1.2/11 (+.2/same)

2. GH 1.0/9 (+.2/-.1)

3. DAYS 0.9/8 (same/same)

3. OLTL 0.9/7 (+.1/same)

5. AMC 0.8/7 (same/same)

5. B&B 0.8/7 (+.1/+.1)

7. ATWT 0.6/5 (same/+.1)

8. GL 0.5/5 (+.1/+.2)

 

 

Men 18+ Viewers

1. Y&R 1,198,000 (+100,000/-89,000)

2. B&B 654,000 (-48,000/-161,000)

3. DAYS 559,000 (+24,000/-9,000)

4. GH 502,000 (+75,000/-46,000)

5. AMC 478,000 (+31,000/-20,000)

6. OLTL 422,000 (+17,000/-87,000)

7. ATWT 416,000 (-74,000/-92,000)

8. GL 399,000 (-56,000/-47,000)

Edited June 19, 2019 by BetterForgotten

[All My Shadows]

I remember watching that GL scene when it originally aired and I was glued to the TV. Tom Pelphrey annoyed the hell out of me then and now, and we all know Zim can cut the fck up unnecessarily, but given both their reputations, I think they managed to keep it cute and do a good job with it.

More than anything, I appreciate the fact that they didn't chop it up into 30-second drive-by scenes or layer overdramatic music over it. As a standalone scene, I'd call it good soap.

[MichaelGL]

Wheeler took a buzzsaw to GL yes, but before everything went to hell, she did create some nice buzz surrounding the show and it also seemed like the actors were trying a lot more under her than her predecessor.  It's a shame she squandered that. 

[Fevuh]

Even then, they still had competing or better demos than shows do today.  And Y&R, GH, DAYS, and B&B aren't airing at 9 or 10 AM in major TV markets and aren't even not aired in certain cities.  California in particular dropped Guiding Light in the 90's.   Put them there, drop cities, and air them at 9 and 10 AM and and see what happens.  But you win.  Good for you.  But you did pick the next to the last week.  I could post their last week and make the conversation different.  I could also post the ratings the weeks before and around when they were cancelled.  

 

And I'll also remind people about Hurricane Katrina.  If you looked at viewership by geographic area - New Orleans was a stronghold for GL and World Turns.  When Katrina hit, people didn't return.  Many families left New Orleans and didn't come back and months without power or Television.  And Neilsen dropped them for awhile from the top 20 TV markets.  Pittsburgh - another stronghold for Guiding Light moved the show to 10 AM, and these two markets amounted to nearly 1 million viewers lost.  I happen to know this.  

Edited June 19, 2019 by Fevuh

[BetterForgotten]

Whatever the nuances were, it doesn't matter to the networks/advertisers. GL was dead last in total viewers/households and it wasn't bringing in enough advertising revenue for CBS to justify paying a licensing fee to P&G. GL was also near the bottom of the ratings for a good 20 years (with fluctuations here and there) before CBS ultimately pulled the plug - you could make the argument CBS was very lenient by keeping it on as long as it did. I miss the P&G soaps as well, but I'm not going to pretend I don't understand why CBS walked away from them from a business standpoint. 

 

Soaps are terrible today, but are we going to pretend GL would be even better or higher rated if it was on the air today? Anyway, we shouldn't hijack this thread. 

[Darn]

Comparatively any soap clip from 2004 is going to be better than what we have today. I'm pretty sure I hated most of One Life to Live in 2004 and I'd take that over any of the bullshit on air now.

[All My Shadows]

As an AMC and ATWT die-hard, the best thing that could possibly happen to the Final Four is cancellation. You don't want to see the casts and crews lose their jobs, but from a fan/viewer standpoint, you can only "hope it gets better" for so long. They won't get better, quality or ratings-wise.

[Vee]

A lot of GH in 2003-2004 looks like Merchant-Ivory compared to GH 2019. And believe me, that was one rough year.

[ReddFoxx]

This one I was watching today and it really drew me in. I don't think I've seen a talk show portrayed on a soap opera before.

 

 

[Franko]

Hopefully a non-dubbed or better translated upload will come soon, but for now, here's another depiction of a talk show. Eden Capwell reading General Clinic for filth.

 

[Planet Soap]

 

Part of me is sad that GL along with the other departed shows are gone now, but on the other hand, somewhere in the mid 2000s the powers at be forgot how to make soaps good. If all the recently canceled shows remained on the air they'd probably be in the current crap quality state as the final four shows we have now. 

 

I'd love to have OLTL, GL, ATWT, and AMC back but only with decent quality production/writing. 

Edited June 22, 2019 by ironlion

[DramatistDreamer]

On ATWT, Kim Hughes had a talk show but it resembled something more akin to a daytime version of Larry King or Tom Snyder's talk show, i.e. without a studio audience.

[cassadine1991]

I think Mal Young would've done well for ATWT and GL

[BetterForgotten]

Based on what?

[Khan]

 

Bite.  Your.  Tongue.