I would agree with most, except, I would name Days as the worst. While it has one good storyline, the show overall, is incredibly week. Y&R has not yet got moving again at full speed but they have made huge changes behind the scenes to address its weaknesses. The stories are slow at this point but at least the nightmare does appear to be over. The changes at Days have done nothing to improve the overall show.

Completely agree about Y&R. I had watched the show since the 70’s, but started to not enjoy it as much when it became clear that Adam would never pay for his crimes and they killed Colleen so that idiot Victor could live, and finally stopped altogether with the Sharon/Victor fiasco. I only read the recaps now and am about to quit on that also, they have just destroyed that show. I followed Eileen Davidson over to Days and love it, so at least I still have a soap to follow, but I miss the old Y&R.

SOAP OPERA DIGEST IS RIGHT ABOUT THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS IT IS THE MOST DISAPPOINTED SHOW OF 2012 BECAUSE THEY HAVE PHYLLIS HUSBAND MESS WITH PHYLLIS LITTLE SISTER WHO IS FAMILY I AM NOT INTEREST IN WATCHING THAT IT IS NASTY THEY DON’T HAVE CHEMISTRY AT ALL.

I think Y&R should get Most Improved Show! I really don’t think it was the most disappointing show before, either.

I have not read the issue, but sadly, I agree with their choice of Y&R as disappointing show. IT seems everyone but Maria Bell was on the same page about this once stellar drama. She was the most in denial about how bad it gotten. Never was it more evident than when she took to Facebook after her firing to defend her poor choices.

As far as the new regime goes, six weeks into their run, I’m 50/50 with them. I think the acting is much better with JFP there. Actors formerly sleep walking through their scenes have come alive again. Show looks more polished at least visually. I’m not a fan of how she has all but abandoned the old Y&R music and replaced it with what sounds like low end production music that adds little if nothing to scenes. I feel a little like I’m watching LML’s Y&R all over again…at least from a producing standpoint. Also I really wish the show would go back to the style of directing we saw in last Friday’s 2002 encore episode. I miss the tighter shots on the actors faces Y&R was know for. Everything is so wide. No intimacy what-so-ever. Even the best prime-time dramas still get the camera in tight on the actors faces. The constant wide shots make the soap viewing experience feel less intimate. Also please put the furniture back the way it was in Katherine’s house!! There was a scene yesterday with Jill, Chole and Lauren that merely highlighted the flaws in this layout. You could only see the back of Lauren’s head and her profile while she sat on the sofa with Chloe. What advantage is there in only seeing the back of your actors heads when they speak? It was poorly done and not an on par with a show that has been decorated with as many directing Emmy’s as Y&R has.

From a writing stand-point I do like the Phyllis storyline. I think having everyone turn on her, especially Nick, is compelling drama. The romance between Nick and Avery has also been pleasant to watch and made this former pointless character interesting. Avery in the kitchen is more interesting than Avery in the courtroom. Maybe I’m just tired of court related stories on this show as we over-dosed on them during the MAB years. The early indications that Kevin could be returning to his older self is also exciting. Greg Rikkart’s character had become so bland I could barely muster the interest to watch him on screen anymore. Unhinged Kevin is way more interesting that well to do Kevin. Let’s not forget this guy lit himself on fire to avoid going to jail. A do-gooder he is not. What I’m not digging is the speed at which some of these tales are being told. I think its such a mistake for soaps, who are on 5 days a week, 52 weeks a year, to speed through stories the way prime-time does. Soaps have to produce 15 times the amount of material than their counterparts. I wish they would take their time to develop the characters and situations more realistically. Jack’s addition storyline is a good example of that. He’s become a pill addict almost over-night and peaked the curiosity and concern of too many people to quickly. I always feel like the network heads who force this fast pace model on their writers and show runners is like a person losing at a poker table who no longer is making the most sensible choices. GIve the audience credit that we still want to see a story unfold. Hit those emotional beats that are so crucial as part of the bigger picture. Streamline stories so that they intersect each other instead of standing in their own isolated vortex. It was especially a problem during the Maria years where most stories didn’t spawn off other compelling ones. I fear the new regime structures things similarly, as we have already seen, with that plot driven Victoria kidnapping mess. A story that came out of nowhere and felt like something Maria herself conjured up. Same for the cyber-stalking story. None of the players involved (Fen, Summer, Jamie) are developed enough as characters that they should be driving story. The former 2 grew up overnight and the latter just started on the show. All three have little connection to the audience because they have never been developed. It’s “C” characters driving story. How is that supposed to get ratings up? The Sharon story is also somewhat disappointing. Sharon Case’s character was picked away at slowly over the years to the shell she is today. I wish the show would have taken us on a more intimate journey as Sharon found herself. Instead the writers blew their wad too quickly by having her burn the ranch down and discover over a few sessions that she’s bi-polar. What’s missing in this necessary rebuild of the once dynamic Sharon is her journey! The discovery of who she was and what she became. People go to therapy for years to reverse behavior but Sharon figured it all out in just a months time. Again how is that supposed to compel viewers to watch and care? An astute viewer recently pointed out that JFP and JG’s Y&R is like MAB’s Y&R on steroids. Not a good review this early on. I’m still hoping for the best but early indications have started to squander my hopes for better change.

AMC will always be my favorite but glad to see ABC soaps are the best.You’d think ABC would get the hint and Neilsen.

I am looking for opinions on the Steve Harvey Show.. I watched it last wk. when GH wasn’t on which was Thurs & Fri.(Thanksgiving). I watched it all of 10 mins. and I had enough . I found the topics to be silly Etc….. I like him on Family Fued Game Show…Not crazy about his talk show….I will pass on this one….. And loving GH more & more!!!!! Tomas isn’t Tomas but Alkazar….Hope Blair doesn’t marry him.. Blair ,Skye,& Todd got at Tea’s house in the nick of time to tell Blair the truth about him….

And DG do you have any comment of your own – or can you only comment on others?

I could never understand Y&R’s popularity. I have tried on several occasions in the past 25 years to watch this show and it bores me silly no matter who is at the helm. Peter Bergman bored me on AMC and he annoyed me the few times I watched him on Y&R.
Being a fan of both GH & DAYS since the late 70’s and early 80’s – GH right now, is by far the best show in Daytime (not like there are many to choose from, but if I had to pick!) If they get rid of Kate/Connie, Christina, Britt and Sabrina then it will be damn near perfect!

We all are soap fans not enemies here.We all have our picks.What is everyone’s problem..The ratings change all the time.I may only watch GH but hope all of them succeed.Lot to many already for cheap talk and cooking shows.My favorite is still AMC but I am baking the genre no matter what network its on.Everyone plese just back soaps and no replacement shows.Another one goes more will follow.

I agree. But to be fair and honest, GH had no competition. B and B told one story all year until Stephanies death took prominence. Young and the Restless was a complete mess until the new regime took over. And DAYS seemed to forget how to tell stories. After a very disappointing start, Cartini has made GH must see tv again. It kind of reminds me of the final months of AMC when so many dead characters were brought back. Im not complaining. Fans will accept any outrageous stories that undo the destructive rampage that Phelps and Guza inflicted on the show for the past decade. It just goes to show that soaps have not created enough characters that the audience cares about since the 80‘s and 90‘s, and they have to bring them back. GH currently has an embarrassment of riches in the veteran department, and the audience responds to characters they know and love. Its a shame so many soaps had to die to make the powers that be decided to give the audience what they want!

I can’t say OLTL was the great good bye because it should have stayed.