I don't buy the idea that they are on so the show can seem 'hip or admired'.  Do you really think if they were a couple nobody liked they'd still be on, despite their 'cache' of being gay?   ATWT wants ratings.  This is a business and they're on because the show knows they are one of the show's most popular couples.  That, above all, is why they are on.  But, Luke and Noah are not the show's saviors.   Oddly enough their fans are probably still watching.  ATWT has problems that go FAR beyond this couple and what is or isn't going on with them.  Folks really need to look at the bigger picture of the entire show and not just the narrow view of whether the guys are kissing or not (though as we all know they are now), which really is not going to have viewers stampeding to their telelvision sets.  I don't think any story you tell with them (even if they started to have sex in every one of their scenes -- though that's actually not a story -- LOL!), despite the couple's appeal and popularity, is enough to pull ATWT back into the top three.  The show needs to look at all it's stories and plots, not just one.  At least the guys are getting a new plot arc.... the rest of the characters are stuck in the same old crappy ones.  Fortunately, the show cared enough about the couple to get them out of the bad story they were in.

I liked almost everything that I saw with the exception of anything related to Luke and/or Noah. There were many moments that showed the the show remembered that it had a history to mine from, that we like to see relationships develop with really easy touches, that romance is at the epicenter of the gender as are stories involving veterans. Also people laughed. A miracle. Even annoying Liberty and Juicy Janet did not make me want to puke, although the latter HAS to go, but how cool was it to see Jack dancing up a storm and smiling as his portray er is so not like Jack. Even Campy Sofie worked for me although I can only enjoy her if she's gone like yesterday. My prediction of her humping Cole for one reason concerns me as the previews make it look like the show might be going back to squeezing as many scenes to keep things "moving" when they should be doing the opposite.

I agree with you that Nuke is not the show's savior in any respect, and that the problems run deep across the board as one decent week does not make a show. I do think that here was a moment that ratings reflected that many more eye balls were on them and in my mind, they lost any heat that could have been generated on screen. I do differ from you in that I think that "Nuke" is still on not because of their popularity, as one would think that your rational statement about unpopular pairs/characters getting the boot would be no-brainers as it's all about the money. But Sofie's unrivaled tenure shows otherwise unless they correlate a possible low salary offsetting everyone hating a character. Cleo? Do you think that she was on to to her popularity or possibly a combo. to keep Jennifer Landon entertained with a "twin" and Goutman's single-minded belief that he knows better than the audience what the audience wants.

What about all the money wasted on bringing Cady/Scott Bryce to set up a power foursome that infuriated all and lasted so long. And let's not get into the once popular Gwen/Will as not even their likability could keep those who liked them from wanting to choke them. I know that I am commingling writing and characters, so back to characters Bonnie? Any fans out there? Dallas? My feeling is that Noah at the very least would be gone if he were not a gay character, but the backlash would sink the creators desire to prove that they care about diversity. When I see the Hubbards on AMC (I do have to say that I don't watch that show), there is at least one seemigly diverse thing going which is smart when it comes to the bottom line as many minorities watch in higher proportions than their white counterparts.

My feeling is that ATWT won't commit to accepting that they should stick to their fundamentals, which is an unhip character-driven show focused on families, several real couples, cheesy humor, and hope that enough "kids" who like the format join in. I think that too many of the shows tried to hip up the joint to compete with video games, the Internet, Jerry Springer, and self-contained shows. My thinking has always been that you can change with time but to try and mimic elements that are not organic to the genre looks so fake and the "kids" will keep their distance as they hop in and out of the picture based on how it speaks to them.

At this stage, I am not even sure what I'd be able to suggest how the show could improve its rating in the near term as what I saw this week is almost enough to keep me satisfied. I would say say on track and see if enough ex fans come back and I'd caution the writers and producers not to jump into sexist battles mode when the sh*t hits the fan with their Carly/ Holden pairing, that they write stories to make their characters laugh and talk to lead to silly kisses that may serve as the entree for more. With regard to Nuke, since we're stuck with them, it at least suggest that Noah have a 3 day meltdown and that the kids enjoy their summer at the Snyder farm with lots and lots of swimming, young love talk, and present them to us as a couple in the making. I'd rather see Noah out of the picture, but I can't see that happening unless he becomes more robotic and a Reg becomes a Gwen-like unexpected breakout character. I don't see that as a possibility as this regime did not get that a character like Matt could have been their next Gwen.

But the only thing that I know for sure is that no matter how good the show gets (assuming that it does), there has to be a huge amount of patience as it took a lot of abuse to get many fans to stop watching for good. ABC seems to be pulling out all stops to regain their demographic dominance by going back to basics and poaching talent from CBS, but their disappointed fans have shown some signs of life not I don't think that they trust show runners and managed to break their addiction/investment in their "stories" From what I've read OLTL should be regaining it's audience in the millions as they are pulling out their big guns by bringing back several of the show's most popular characters. But this week's ratings show that it's not happening. I would imagine that those who finally left when say Martha Byrne left would be hard to come back even if they brought her back as like the work force of yesteryear viewers are learning that there is very little value to long-term loyalty even in daytime.

Guillermo's Media Guillotine: Entertainment, journalism, politics, and popular culture. It's not all gay, but it does reflect my sensibilities. 

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