Soap Opera Digest Best & Worst of 1997

[Gray Bunny]

I still have this in my 1997 collection

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I was happy that GL and DAYS tied for Best Show because those 2 were always *my* shows, more than any others. They were definitely banner years for both, but I would actually say GL was stronger overall. DAYS had some great payoffs years in the making (John/Marlena/Kristen, Carrie/Austin/Sami/Lucas), but towards the end of the year, with Reilly purposely sabotaging the show as he left (so the critics remarked), it fizzled (think: Recast-Jenn/Double-Recast-Jack/Peter/Trent on the run, Viv/Jonesy, Josh Taylor's Roman "dying" with John/Kristen/Hope/Stefano in the jungle, Susan's antics getting goofier, Billie forced into becoming a heroine addict while being strapped to a bed, etc.). In fact, by the end of '97, DAYS finally dipped below being No. 2 in the ratings, even falling below both B&B and GH at one point. (They held the No. 2 spot consistently since February of 1996 - Thank you Aremid storyline!) 

 

With GL being in the lower half of the ratings pool from '94 onward (with a few exceptions in '97, '98, and 2003), I liked how they celebrated their small successes. They wanna tout being labeled "Best Show" by TV Guide and Soap Opera Digest? Go for it! 

 

It was the clone storyline, and having only two strong storylines featured is what killed GL's momentum in '98. For the first half of the year, it was Clone Story and Beth/Phillip/Harley, and then Clone Story and Ross/Blake/Ben. A totally imbalanced show. 

 

Edited May 1, 2020 by Gray Bunny

[Franko]

It was her third miscarriage in 10 years. She previously lost Jake and Scotty's babies in 1987 and 1991 before successfully delivering Serena in 1993.

[soapfan770]

 

It's interesting for all the doom and gloom at the time that GL's cancellation was imminent if GL got below a 4.0 and was going be replaced by a full hour of  B&B the show actually was doing quite well in the ratings for 1997-98 there as they mainly stayed roughly in the middle of the pack there at about #5-#6 out of 11 soaps on the air at the time. It was  great period, brought down by the imbalanced elements and stories you mentioned as well, plus GL became open season for ratings grabs from the clone to Lizzie the killer to lab explosions to the Nursery Rhyme Stalker. 

 

 

 

LOL I remember Christine doing that! I had wondered if the Keith Dennison would have lasted a lot longer with a much, much stronger actor as Tricia and Megan sustained moderate success. I also wonder if Bell felt any pressure from CBS during this era as this was at a time when CBS was #3 and desperate to make it look like they weren't dinosaurs at the time. 

[Soaplovers]

Tricia and Megan Dennison had no direction till Kay Alden took over..wisely keeping the father as recurring.

 

Abby shooting her attacker in the court room was a surprise..and did have a slight ratings bump as well.

[MichaelGL]

Was Bradley Bell the sole head writer at this time at B&B?  People often say that the mid 90s was good period for B&B, comes as a shock that Y&R had simultaneously dipped in quality at this time. 

 

Hmm what about Ryan falling for a 18 year old?

[kalbir]

Bradley Bell took over B&B sometime in 1993 I think.

 

I don't think Tricia was 18. I'm pretty sure the character was introduced as a college student close to graduation, so maybe 21 or 22.

[YRfan23]

There’s a 1997 episode online and I think Tricia says she’s 22, and on her last year of college.

[Mitch]

The show had come off a really bad time (about to get worse) and they were reveling in it!  God I hate RR's wimpy ass Alan, who he lasted that long!

 

[Dr Neil Curtis]

They were thinking of recasting Iris again?

[DRW50]

 

Michael Logan (I think...not sure) asked about recasting her, given that older characters were leaving, and her ties to Carl and Rachel and how this would help given them story, etc. Malone said they weren't bringing back older characters.

[Winchester91]

I don't know why OLTL was considered "great" in '97, considering the Labine writing regime took a wrecking ball to any sort of intrigue or energy from the Gottlieb era. It was endless Patrick/Marty and later Tea and her doomed romance with Todd. Say what you want about JFP, but she had the thankless task of injecting excitement, rivalries, and drama (Georgie's Death, the Bo/Nora/Lindsey triangle) back into the show after the dullness of this era.

[Faulkner]

Didn’t we have a year of Passanante before the Labines took over? I feel like Michael Malone’s era had petered out significantly toward the end of his run. He was responsible for the “Brown Penny” stupidity.

[DRW50]

 

I think it was Passanante/Sloane/Laiman. I remember Marlena de la Croix in particular blasting the whole thing as generic supercouple-era soap that was not worth the time. 

[BetterForgotten]

It was snoozeville, and then Labine wasn't any better. Probably why ABC let JFP do whatever the hell she wanted by the time she got her hands on it. 

[Faulkner]

Ah yes. Leah Laiman. Now that’s an “Oh dear” in and of itself.