It was a cruel, cruel summer for the soaps with almost none posting viewer gains over last year, and some declining sharply. If this week's ratings are any indication of how the fall is going to go, watch out.

 1. Young & The Restless        4.3   16   CBS    -8
 2. The Bold & The Beautiful    3.4   12   CBS     -
 3. General Hospital            3.3   11   CBS    -8
 4. As the World Turns          3.1   11   CBS     3
 5. All My Children             2.9   10   ABC    -9
    One Life To Live            2.9   10   ABC    -3
 7. Days of Our Lives           2.8   10   NBC   -12
 8. Guilding Light              2.7    9   CBS     8
 9. Passions                    2.0    7   NBC    -4
10. Port Charles                1.6    6   ABC     -

Well, the good news is that the heavy bleeding is over.  But the bad news is that, while two soaps are even from last season, only two are up. "Days" has stopped the hemmoraging that it suffered all summer long, mostly because ratings were falling at this point last season. On the flip side, "Passions" is finally standing on its own. It won this week in women 18-24 and women 12-17, and tied for first among women 18-34, the huge demos in this genre.