March 27-31, 2006

[DaysnPassionsFan]

I don't know about DAYS, but Passions' ratings are well deserved.

[King]

ITA. I'm glad PSNS hit a new low...again. Or tied it. Or whatever. I want changes.

[PhoenixRising05]

Thanks Steve. I can understand people not agreeing but to just declare my views and posts meaningless was uncalled for. I know Days isn't perfect but right now the good outweighs the bad and the inconsistentcy in the bashing of it is what has unnnerved me.

I agree KR and DaysPassionsFan-Passions needs alot of help. I still think JER has all his focus in Days because during most of 2004 and half of 2005 Passions was traditional soap and very good when Days was doing all the "woo woo" stories and very bad. Now its like they shows switched places sometime around September and Days has been excellent and Passions bad ever since. I think JER needs a co-head writer at one show or someone who can monitor one show while he is working on the other. There is always the option of writing for only one show but he would never quit writing Passions and Days is so good right now I don't want him gone at the moment. Something needs to be done though because even stories that have potential are turning into meaningless drivel on Passions. The "Theresa Crane" story could be so much better but its turned into yet another "Theresa stalking Ethan and Gwen" plot. She should be going after her kid and getting revenge. Lindsey Hartley is too good for that. I do like how Fancy and Theresa are becoming friends but other then that it all sucks The Shuis story sucks and the only stories garnering any interest is the Fancy/Noah/Maya and Fox/Kay/Miguel stories. Changes need to be made and even, Julian, Paloma, and Tabitha among others need stories now. Vendetta has been alright but I am hoping it kicks into gear once they get to Italy and fulfill all the promises of secrets being revealed during this story. If Vendetta flops, I think Passions will be on its deathbed and I hate to say that about any soap. I don't Passions gone but NBC put alot into this story and if there isn't a result it won't be good for Passions.

[dimples]

Wow, those Days ratings make me kind of sad. I'm not here to bash anybody but the fact that the last time I saw its ratings drop so low and so quickly was when Hackley was writing has me kind of concerned. Hope Reilly can do something to up the ante a bit. Days can't afford to slip far behind, especially after it's been doing so well at getting closer to being back in the 3s.

As for PSNS, no comment. Seriously.

[cal3]

Does anyone recall if OL has hit 2.2 in the daily ratings in the past. I know that they've hit 2.3 on several occassions but I was thinking 2.2 was a new low.

[AbFabGL4ever7]

GO GL! I'm just hoping that michelle patrick and stephen demorst joining GL rumor turns out to be true. DK is working my last nerve as head writer. That press release that was posted on GLbuzz news and rumors is a fake, but I think if it were to happen the shift in head writers would happen after the emmys.

[SpiritualJunkie]

I liked DK just fine until last week. Sometimes the writing is good...sometimes it's crap. I don't know what is up with GL right now but I hope they start refocusing soon.

[Angela]

cal, 2.2 is a new low for OL.

[shipperx]

I tend to find the whole "Oh fans complain all the time" argument to be rather specious. It seems to take as its premise all or nothing. "Oh, if a couples were happy it would be BORING." Or, "oh, you just want all the characters to have happy endings all the time" That's supposing that there's no dramatic ground in between the extremes of all angst and alll sushine and puppies. There is ground between those extremes, and that ground is where well written drama treads.

If the argument is that if there's "all" happiness that it's predictable and boring, the truth is the converse is also true. If it's always breaking up couples, that's every bit as predictable. If the outcome is foregone, it's foregone be it negative or positive. The fact is a protracted pattern that is easily discernable is PREDICTABLE, be it a protractive pattern of constantly keeping ALL couples in misery or a protracted pattern of keeping ALL couples protected. It doesn't matter if it's all sushine or all rain. The problem comes with the "ALL"

If ALL couples are broken up. If ALL couples are basically trapped in similar stories. The "all" sticking in there shows that there's a lack of variety on screen. The "all" shows the lack of balance on screen. And it shows poor pacing. There shouldn't be an "ALL." There should be a few or some. But when something becomes UBIQUITOUS, it's too darn much.

Hence if ALL fanbases are in an uproar, it's indicative that SOMETHING is wrong. It shows something is out of balance.

It does no one, and most certainly no show, network, or producers any good to BLAME THE FANS. Fans are an audience. Fans aren't supposed to be loyal to a show. That's not what fans are there for. Fans are not required to like something or even to watch something because someone puts something on screen. They are also not required to shut up about it if they don't like it. That's placing the wrong emphasis on the wrong entity. WRITING a soap is a job. PRODUCING a soap is a job. Acting on a soap is a job. Jobs carry with them responsibilities and expectations. That's because it's a JOB. Watching a soap? Not a job. The fans sit themselves down in front of a tv set with the expectation of being entertained. NOTHING is required of them. They gain and lose nothing from it because it's not a job and carries no obligations with it.

Soaps are a business. Their business is to attract viewers to a network for the network to sell advertising. The revenue from the advertisers pays both the Network and the show. It is in the network's and the show's job description to ATTRACT an audience. Attract being the operative word. That means putting out something that attracts (not repells) the audinece. The audience can be attracted or repelled in any way that it likes because, again, the audience has NO OBLIGATIONS to either show or network.

So if fans complain, they have no reason they SHOULDN'T complain. If the ratings are bad -- that's the networks and the show's problem, not the audience's. It is in the shows and the network's interest to entertain the fans, because that's what their business is all about.

The audience need only be entertained, and if they aren't, they can complain all they want. And they can tune out all they want, and it's not "ungrateful" fans. The fans have no obligations in any way toward the show. It's entirely the OTHER way around.

Simple fact of the matter is, if the show wants to survive they need to figure out how to entertain fans such that they either maintain or grow their audience. If they are alienating their audience, the ratings go down. The show is dying a slow death. It's not a debate about shoulds and shouldn't. It's analyzing what IS happening.

If someone is entertained by the show. Great. Awesome. If more people are repelled than attracted, the person whose problem that is is the SHOW. And if they show wants to be a viable entity they need to pay attention to those numbers because if they cannot keep the audience happy enough to watch or entertained enough to tune in than the people whose JOB it is to keep the audience happy and to tune in are going to (deservedly) lose said job.

The problem lies in assuming that the audience is required to have any loyalty to the show. They aren't. That's not the way the entertainment industry works.

And while it's not a shows job to pander to each and every member of the audience (who could) when you are alienating substantial portions of the audience, then something is going very wrong if you are in the entertainment INDUSTRY. If you just want to do whatever you want with a story regardless of its marketability, I suggest writing fanfic because in that arena there's no need that the product be marketable. If it's a professional project, however, marketability is an issue. And if a show cannot entertain enough people to not lose audience, then tough. Time to regroup and rethink because alienating the audience that you need to survive? That's just dumb.

As far as soaps go, I can only give subjective commentary on those that I watch (or at least keep tabs on). And, my subjective reaction to both Days and AMC is that BOTH of their sucky ratings are well deserved. They were earned by repetitive, slow, BORING storylines that are going nowhere anyone wants very fast.

I certainly watch one heck of a lot less than I used to because I find both shows to be repetitive to the point of mindnumbing.

[R!ck]

Oh Well, Even if DAYS had a HORRIBLE week and everyone is so unhappy with it, It's still sitting pretty and doing better than GH/ATWT/OLTL/AMC/PSNS vs the same week last year. Days is up in 18-49 Viewers, Total Viewers, 18-49 Rating, and 12-17 Teens, and they are only down 0.1 in 18-34, and 9,000 viewers in Men 18+

So then you watch out of loyalty, rather than entertainment? Why would you watch something that's not entertaining to you, or do you watch in hopes something will change?

[cal3]

Thank you.

[CCCapwell]

how's this for a change: cancel it! lol

sorry i couldn't help myself.

although there is some truth in my desire. "Passions" is presently getting "Sunset Beach" ratings. (1.2 was SUBEs lowest-ever) so PSSNS is coming close to that. Yeah, yeah I know the actual rating point has changed since 1999, but its in the same general area: LOW! Seven years ago, James Reilly launched a unique daytime soap opera. "Passions" was NBC's most successful new soap since "Santa Barbara" this is an accomplishment to be proud of. Although 7 years later, with record low ratings, and it appears no hope for growth... cancelation should be an option.

Before you start to crucify me (a little Holy Week humor) just listen to my reason. "Passions" was created to be different. Its initial ratings success was based on what made it stand apart, although even at its height of success it still wasn't getting great ratings, and I believe the execs wanted more, hence the transition to be more traditional, resulting in loss of viewers who were dissastisfied with the show for straying from its original concept. Its quirky aspects was what got the ratings it once had obtained but it also limited its success since just not enough people wanted to watch. Will a return to its roots obtain higher ratings? or have the audience in general soured on a sci-fi soap? Was "Passions" just a nice thrill ride and people got tired of it? I don't know. What we do know is: extremly low ratings.

I think its safe to say whats on "Passions" now isn't working. Either a MAJOR shake-up needs to occur or its cancelation AND a new soap to replace it. Give another soap a chance. Canceling PSSNS and not replacing with a soap is foolish, although I really don't believe NBC will stick with ratings like this for the long-term.

[R!ck]

Passions ratings aren't as bad as they look. Y&R was averaging a 6.4/22 in March of 2000, GL was sitting pretty with a 3.5/12 and GH was at a solid 4.3/15. And of course, PSNS was the lowest rated soap with a 1.8/5. Notice the 5 share? PSNS scored a 1.4/5 this week and it still has that 5% share. And like you said the ratings points have changed. So Passions has retained all, if not more of an audience

In the 18-49 demos for that same week Passions had a 0.9/6 and this week they got a 1.2/8 which is up a considerable amount.

PSNS is still the #2 soap for the season in 18-24, 18-34, Teens, and is #7 in 18-49. So their not doing that bad.

I know the show is not flawless. It moves at a snails pace and Ulrich, Hyde, Ross, and Masters need to be on the front burner pronto, but they have started the umbrella story Vendetta and it's very reminiscent of early Passions. I haven't been this excited about the show, since the Prom boat disaster.

[CCCapwell]

but a share is the percentage of HH watching t.v. at that time period, if the total # of HH watching t.v. in PSSNS timeslot in 2000 has changed in 2006, 5% isn't the same, without knowing what the hard # was in 2000 and 2006 its not possible to determine audience size.

its been reported NBC Daytime is in trouble having to make good with advertisers due to its soap low ratings, something that wasn't happening in 2000.