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, 20241 yr by kalbir

13 hours ago, BetterForgotten said:

We’ll see when the rest of the 1993 and 1994 ratings are posted if this is a myth or not - but it’s been said Victor’s presumed death/Kansas storyline gave Y&R some of the highest soap ratings in the 90’s. Specifically the week Victor “returned from the dead” and was back in Genoa City.

 

Are you referring to this that originally came from SOW?

 

Edited February 13, 20241 yr by Soapsuds

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.

On 2/10/2024 at 1:19 PM, kalbir said:

1993 was a pivotal year w/ big events whose impact is still felt today.

Santa Barbara ends.

Guiding Light kills off Maureen Bauer.

Douglas Marland passes away.

Reilly's Days takes off.

Luke/Laura return to General Hospital.

Bill Bell passes the reigns at B&B to Bradley.

... 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... 

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

53 minutes ago, Soapsuds said:

Are you referring to this that originally came from SOW?

 

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. 

4 hours ago, kalbir said:

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.

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

4 hours ago, Khan said:

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.

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, 20241 yr by BetterForgotten

16 minutes ago, BetterForgotten said:

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” 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. 

And that story could be told today.

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

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

Edited March 25, 20241 yr by JAS0N47

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, 20241 yr by Khan

14 hours ago, Khan said:

ATWT really took a tumble

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.

14 hours ago, Khan said:

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

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

1 hour ago, kalbir said:

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.

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, 20241 yr by Soapsuds

8 hours ago, Soapsuds said:

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

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, 20241 yr by Khan