Ratings From the 90's

[kalbir]

Y&R March 1993 big events: Nikki's fall down the ranch stairs that leads to the premature birth and later death of her and Jack's son. Neil and Dru get married. Jill learns she is pregnant. 

We saw Neil and Dru wedding reception and honeymoon during the classics.

March 26, 1993 was Y&R 20th anniversary.

March 6, 1993 Douglas Marland passes away.

B&B March 1993 big event: Lauren and Sheila face off in Los Angeles.

Edited February 15, 2024 by kalbir

[Soapsuds]

Are you referring to this that originally came from SOW?

 

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Edited February 13, 2024 by Soapsuds

[Khan]

I never thought I'd say this, but when you think about it - I mean, the number of years that ATWT was #1, or how DAYS climbed to the top after being thisclose to cancellation early on, or how Y&R climbed up the ratings charts after a somewhat rocky start, then faltered when it expanded to an hour, then came back stronger than ever and knocked GH off its' perch as the most-watched soap in the country; or how B&B eventually became the second-most watched soap w/ a large international following - you could argue that Bill Bell was the most successful writer ever to work in this genre.

[Gray Bunny]

... and a lot of the soaps began their upswing at this time, only to get the blow of a certain white Ford Bronco chase in June of '94... 

[Khan]

I truly think no one in the industry was prepared for how the nation would respond to the O.J. trial.

[BetterForgotten]

Yes, I guess this is roughly when that story ran, but nice to see it wasn’t myth and it really did payoff with viewers. 

[YRfan23]

Also the week of March 15-17, 93, the Michael/Cricket, hole in the wall climax.

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[BetterForgotten]

To me it shows that the basic soap opera format Irna created will always prevail - old-fashioned or not. Despite being lauded for its “innovations” Bell’s Y&R, at its core, was still a very traditional soap with much more in common with say Irna’s ATWT than the “contemporary” soaps and style that emerged with it in the 70’s. 

The “innovations” from people like Monty and Reilly may have brought people in, but it was ultimately a short-term fluke that went out of style after the monumental highs that were experienced. 

The above-mentioned storyline with Victor that garnered these ratings was similar to one Irna first told on her radio soap "The Road of Life.” On that radio soap, Dr. Jim Brent was on his way to John Hopkins, suffered amnesia, arrived on a farm with a widow and her crippled sister-in-law, and fell for the widow. Bell, of course, also told a variation of this story with Mickey on DAYS. 

Edited February 14, 2024 by BetterForgotten

[Paul Raven]

And that story could be told today.

[JAS0N47]

FROM THE VAULT: WEEKLY DAYTIME NIELSEN RATINGS: WEEKS OF 3/29/93-4/2/93 & 4/5/93-4/9/93:

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FROM THE VAULT: WEEKLY DAYTIME NIELSEN RATINGS: WEEKS OF 4/12/93-4/16/93 & 4/19/93-4/23/93:

Edited March 25, 2024 by JAS0N47

[Khan]

ATWT really took a tumble, didn't it?  I wonder if the Carolyn Crawford murder mystery had anything at all to do with that.  That might have been the one time when Douglas Marland missed the mark.

Edited February 15, 2024 by Khan

[kalbir]

This was around the time Douglas Marland passed away, but how long was his material on the air? I would guess until sometime in 1994 before OJ.

[Soapsuds]

The Carolyn Crawford murder mystery ended in November 1992 and ranked #3 for the week when the killer was revealed. 

[Soapsuds]

Douglas passed on March 6th of 1993. He was credited until the end of March. By April, Richard Backus was listed as HW. Douglas left a years worth of Bible. It detailed what would happen. The remaining writers wrote the scripts and breakdowns without Marland guidance. 

The show at the time featured Martha return as Lily. Holden searching for Lily in Malta. Damian arrived in Oakdale looking for his wife, Lily. Royce and Emily as a couple. They even had a beautiful remote at that time in Italy. Royce and Neal keeping the secret that they were Lucinda brother and sister. Neal murder by Royce. Lucinda finding out about her siblings. 

Linc being recast and then killed off that started another murder mystery. Andy and Courtney being married. 

It culminated at the end of the year with Connor arrested for Linc murder.

The show floundered most of the year in the ratings with increases during Neal and Linc murder and Royce trial for killing Neal. The ratings finally recovered at the end of the year with Connor arrest. 

The show started falling apart story wise and in the ratings in April of 1994 when Marland bible ran out. The show truly never recovered after it.

Edited February 15, 2024 by Soapsuds

[Khan]

Thanks, @Soapsuds, for the correction.  For some reason, I remembered it happening later than it did, lol.

It's really a shame that Douglas Marland wasn't alive to see the Neal Alcott storyline through to the end.  If he had, I think it would've been a dynamite storyline, complete with star power in the form of Mary Kay Adams as Neal, Terry Lester as Royce and Richard Bekins as (IIRC) Neal's ex-husband, Michael.

Edited February 15, 2024 by Khan