KMan101

Before I delve into my reply, I want to say thank you for the compliment!! I never know how I come across sometimes, LOL, so it's nice to hear. I have such a passion for daytime drama and it's stunning how wrong they get it so often. And I enjoy your posts as well. I love posting here because we're all so passionate. Even when some of us disagree we always end up finding common ground, LOL. I love our little community here Agreed so much on "daytime dramas are indeed dying from self inflicted wounds" SO SO SO SO TRUE. They only have themselves to blame, really. They spend a lot of time being annoyed by us who demand better instead of actually giving us better ... Thanks for your mom's reaction to the Brady invasion. It seems no one ever wants to be critical of that era but soaps have been suffering the same problems for a very very very long time ... I think it was just a different time so more fans just accepted it and enjoyed it (it irks me to see the death of Don and Marlena as a couple, but I always felt Don was too controlling, personally; and couples during the 80s eras were kept apart by really really really stupid things and misunderstandings, things Reilly just only doubled down on in the early 90s ...)

I didn't see a ton of it but I didn't enjoy Nina/Ryan/Victoria either. I remember liking Ryan but that story was painful. It's one of the first I remember when I started watching (as a younger person most soaps didn't get my attention until 1997/1998) and I think it was the tail end. I remember feeling like they deliberately made Nina clingy and like she was using her kid to hold onto Ryan. But I still loved Tricia Cast I'm so annoyed Nina is nowhere to be found now. At least that hack MAB brought her back :/

Yeah, I love Anderson but the show really veered off track as everyone got all hot and bothered by the super couples and adventures. Not saying the show wasn't good but it became a different show before Reilly did his own damage later on (to be fair, I see a lot of silly stupid stuff we'd all rip to shreds now, and the show still had some flaws I see still today ...) But back then, there was a budget, and folks seemed to genuinely care more about putting out good quality stuff, even when it was a bit cringey and dumb. Personally I found Calliope and Eugene to be absolutely exhausting and tiresome characters most of the time. I wonder how fans really felt as all these new people just randomly started showing up and dominating airtime. I know it was a different time, writers developed characters better, the show just looked better, actors were invested, etc. but a lot of the same complaints we often have today I could see folks having then ... but it seems folks want to look at things through nostalgia and rose colored glasses. But I'd take any of it over today's crap. And to be fair, it still had heart, a sense of community, stories while dumb still had beginnings, middles and ends and lead into other stories, they still tried to bring back certain characters other regimes have long given up on. I can see why fans ate it up, but again, I see a lot of flaws ... lol They had the best opportunity in 2010 to resurrect the Hortons as a true core family and they failed. They trotted them out for Alice and promptly forgot about all of them. It's weird how Ron seemed to want to write for Lucas and Bryan Dattilo initially but then it suddenly stopped, Lucas was MIA for a lot of Will's return and then randomly paired back with Chloe before being written out. So strange. Another Horton was out the door ... It's also so sad that vital characters like Carrie, Philip, Shawn and Belle are all off canvas, to name just a few. They do give Sarah, IMO, plenty of time with Maggie (but it felt bizarre to see her just sitting there grimacing as Victor was rude as hell to Sarah for no reason but because he's a grumpy ass old man, you'd never know they were mother and daughter half the time ... and Sarah's Will's family too but you'd never know it when they're interacting during Will's 6 episode brain tumor story), but really with no one else. The lack of episode guarantees probably plays into this. You can't have Sarah and Jen or Sarah and Hope interacting because you need to use Kristian's appearances for her own story and in Ciara's story ... so other things lack. People don't seem to agree when I say it but Episode Guarantees are really hurting this show. This may sound simplistic but I'm just no longer drawn into soaps like I am when I watch anything from the past. There's very little depth anymore. Not that soaps weren't always a bit hollow at times, but I really feel they're so hollow now. I watch out of loyalty. Nothing I see really ever truly drags me in anymore. It's really sad. I can pick just about any episode, even a bad one, from the past and be instantly drawn in and interested.

lol I know, I've been doing that lately posting comments in threads and then realizing it was better suited for another thread ... oh well! lol And very much agreed.

I never made that connection, but that's interesting ...

Exactly. I'd love to commend LML for making Nikki a driven character and a strong female wanting to be in politics, but that was NOT Nikki. Jill ... sure I guess I could have bought it somewhat. She had no idea who Nikki was. MTS seemed to enjoy some of it on-screen though, IMHO but I do remember her speaking out about it and basically it wasn't who Nikki was, and she's right. But this was a time period I was starting to tune in less for ...

Ok. To be fair most of the current criticism seems to be intense focus on one character eating the show so I guess he's nowhere near JFP level of damage ... but I can't comment much and probably shouldn't have since I'm not really watching ... lol

They missed out on years of Victor and Casey clashing over Nikki, IMHO ... Probably one of the reasons they did away with Casey so she couldn't be the voice of reason for Nikki where Victor is concerned LOL (heck I'd even buy the explanation of the lack of mentions of Casey to they stopped speaking to each other ... but I think that shipped has sailed ...) YES! Good way to put it. Kay did feel like an enabler to Nikki and her toxic relationship with Victor. Kay always had a blind eye to Victor (Kay wasn't originally a saint ... so maybe she had no room to judge ... LOL)

To be fair, I think even when the shows are already in terrible condition (but a lot of that could just be viewer preference ...) it sounds like he hammers it home even more and does even more damage. I haven't watched the UK soaps in a long while (and my viewing is often sporadic and I haven't seen enough of Corrie and EastEnders or Emmerdale's glory days, so I can't comment on quality) but I try to keep up with the gossip and read the threads in here whenever anyone decides to post in them. It does sound like he's a very damaging producer. But like the US soaps, the UK soaps just seem to keep recycling the same few, and many of them left when their shows were terrible under them, yet they get hired elsewhere ... that's never made sense to me.

Agreed. Or even in 1997 when the show (GL) was in slightly better shape (not by much but by 1998 the show really went to hell and pretty much never recovered) ... Shows have missed so many opportunities .... And Neil's death should have resulted in correcting the wrongs in Hilary and Dru's deaths. But nope. They'll all probably be relegated to Wednesday's again. Yet Cane soldiers on somehow ... while Hilary is in the ground. Something is just so wrong with that. And with Nate on, you don't even BOTHER to try and include Olivia? Ever? Just "we tried but she couldn't"? Any viewer after 2008 probably hasn't a clue who Olivia is. I couldn't believe (but I could I guess) some "fans" on Twitter not seeing a need or wanting Dru back even if they acknowledged "the show did her (Rowell) dirty". They see no point (but thankfully most others do) even when I point out her SON is there (Devon), her nephew (Nate), her grandchildren (Mattie and Charlie) ... so what if three of them don't even know her? You know what you do then? You bring back Olivia too! It's not that hard but they don't care. To some fans without Neil and Christel's Lily they don't care. I say bring Christel on to play Dru's return and then just recast down the road if Christel has moved on. Imagine the grief of Dru coming back only to discover her beloved Neil is gone. It WRITES ITSELF! lol Let's continue to blacklist Victoria Rowell (and trot her out to say goodbye to Kristoff, which was a nice gesture but it's starting to ring hollow, but at least she was allowed to pay her respects to him on-screen) but hey bring back Greg Rikaart, Melissa Claire Egan, recast Adam ... sigh. And fans just eat all of this up. I couldn't believe how excited many of them were for Rikaart and Egan's return. Mind-boggling. While I never expected anything to truly happen on the Rowell front with Steve Kent still at Sony, I mean it's so blatant why she's being kept from the show, yet no one is truly calling them on it. And when Rowell does, it's like crickets chirp. I don't get it. Sorry for the Y&R rant ... wrong thread for it, lol but I got carried away. Back to DAYS ....

lol at the last part. But all very true! I guess it's better than just ending up as a doctor any dayplayer could fill ...

Yeah, he seemed to have no idea what to do with her. I also think Kay ultimately filled the Casey void in Nikki's life by being her talk-to. So Casey was basically rendered "useless" because Nikki had a talk to and Casey wasn't part of a popular coupling. I never understood finding a character pointless because they don't work in certain pairings ... characters can and should be able to exist without being tied to a couple. But I get why soaps cling to couples. (It's more prevelant on DAYS where I feel sometimes characters get lost in the coupling)

It would have been Sarah, Jeremy, Mike, Melissa (Marie Wilson was cast in 2014 and instead of Summer could have been an attempt at recasting Melissa, or Sarah Brown!) and Marie (she should have been brought back on recurring when Nick was introduced in 2006, around when Frances was very much declining, and Marie could have transitioned into a supporting role, and later could have given advice to Eric when he became a priest ... I also would have paired Marie and Victor instead of Maggie and Victor ... random, I know, but I think about this weird things). But at they've added Sarah (really not sure why so many Hortons are "forgotten" about) Instead of Dr. Rex Brady it should have been Dr. Jeremy Horton (but I get why they sometimes make the decisions they do) and Dr. Stephanie Johnson. I would have paired Mike with Adrienne way back in 1987 and put Justin with Melissa (and then would have paired Justin and Adrienne leaving Mike and Melissa heartbroken and solo, lol). But I guess Justin and Adrienne just took off somehow so ... I also never quite understood Judi taking on Adrienne after having played a similar tortured heroine in Beth ... Mike and Robin were popular but never in the way of the other supercouples. I wish Mike had been given more a chance. I didn't care much for Mike and Carrie, either. I think the flying bed turned me off completely (but I enjoyed the set up, and crazy Ali) And then instead of Aiden, I would have brought back Mike and put him with Kayla in Steve's absence (or instead of Lucas and Adrienne, Mike and Adrienne ...). Of course in my world with a budget and someone who cares about the history of the show, Reckell wouldn't have been basically driven off the show and Bo would still be around too ... but then again, maybe he'd still "retire" (I get him wanting to spend time with his family after so many years working and working and working). But so many went running before and during Tomsell's last run (Renee Jones, Peter Reckell, Matt Ashford, Alison Sweeney and James Scott, to name just a few who either left on their own or were let go). We should have had a Mike recast in 2008/2009 instead of Dr. Daniel Jonas. Mike, like Daniel, could have been paired with Kate, Chloe, Nicole ... they still could have also made MelaME his daughter with Carly (as much as Melanie annoyed me she would have been truly tied to the Hortons, you'd think they would have thought of that since they were so damned determined to tie her to the canvas; only for Daniel to be offed like he was nothing and Melanie is gone and almost never mentioned, thank God) Random thought but they could have made Brody Hutzler a recast Scott Banning. Of course they couldn't have paired him with either Jen or Hope but still ... And it's also bugged me how David Banning was basically forgotten about in the mid 80s after Gregg Marx left and then they never bothered again. That's a long time to leave a character so vital off the canvas. And then they killed him for no reason instead of recasting and milking the Valerie/Eli drama. Such a waste. (The actor who played Vargas in 2013, whom fans took to, could have been Scott too, just as an example). Instead of TEK, Rhasaan Orange could have been a recast Jonah (they gave Lexie the same affair story just with Tek instead of Jonah), and the timing would have fit with Lexie having given birth to Theo, Abe blind ... I know new characters are important, not everyone can be related, but so many times over the years they've cast actors I think could have been better tied to the canvas ...

Frances was always so active and vital. How many strokes and ailments did she have towards the end? Alice was so actively involved and it was so sad to see it decreased to basically hanging off of Maggie and later either in bed or in the chair. But Frances worked up until she couldn't. I just loved her Losing her and Alice was such a massive loss to the show. It has never felt the same, honestly. And I think they should have used Alice's memorial in 2010 to make the rest of the Horton's "relevant" again, but they all only returned for that and were shoved off again. Marie should be vital and active. Bill and Laura. Mickey could have been better recast, IMHO (but that ship sailed, of course, since he's dead too). Mike (instead we spent almost a decade on Maggie's egg-baby) ... Jeremy ... Melissa ... at least they finally brought on Sarah. I like Linsey but I always had my heart set on a redhead for Sarah LOL (and Sarah should be about 10 years older). They wrote Nick into a corner and killed him. They had no interest in Nathan (who should have been Jeremy, but I liked them introducing a son for Melissa "the forgotten" cousin as we spent years on Hope and Jennifer ... most viewers probably have no clue Hope and Melissa were best friends) At least they recognize Julie and Doug should be filling the matriarch and patriarch (as much as Jarlena stans want to insist Jarlena are the current Tom and Alice; I like Jarlena but I massively disagree on this, they're not at that point yet). I still think they can better use Julie and SSH is more than able to work. So is Bill, but he's also what, over 90? I understand not using Doug as much. But neither appeared in April ... I also want to whine that they could take time to write for other characters. Adrienne and Justin only appeared twice (I'm not their biggest fan, but I like each actor and I think both characters can fill roles on the canvas) and they filled a role in their episodes. I liked Adrienne's use with Jennifer and the Jack/Eve wedding, but then why not give them a followup episode where they discuss this? The lack of investment in a lot of characters, not just them (and I get it, they're recurring and you have to pay them to use them ... so why not a limited contract??) is sad. To note, I was reading some recaps recently and when The Dragon story started (a lot of these stories are honestly dumb, but the rest of the show and actors make up for it) they killed off Russian Sonia, who was living with Don, but from what I saw, they never bothered to show Don after. They were getting close, she's killed and then nothing? Did I miss that? The shows had their flaws even then.

Exactly, I've done my research too. Lots of new fans just watch for certain hot actors or couples and couldn't care less about the rest of the show. It's sad.

Yes it was. It's sad they don't care to even have her visit. But I guess if Leslie Brooks can pop in anyone can ... I've always liked Roberta Leighton and Casey was interesting; a good contrast, if you will, to Nikki. I feel like they just had Kay fill that talk-to void for Nikki, that's now un-filled.

If you were a somewhat newer viewer, you'd have no clue Nikki had an older sister ...

Diane and John's deaths were massive mistakes. Cassie basically exists in Cassiah so it's less of a blow, but that one too. I'm glad they sort of "made up for it" by bringing Grimes back who easily settled right back in. I know Sussman and Alden wanted to undo John's death but it was a little too late I guess. At least Dina is there (well ....) and Aunt Jack is filling the void a bit. I'd have loved to see an adult Kyle with Diane, especially now with Mealor in the role. I think it adds layers to Kyle with his mom dead, but I'd rather Diane be alive. It was just such an ugly last run for Diane

I admit this side of the family confuses me as well

I always felt EastEnders wrote terribly for their gays. HollyOaks has so many various ones they trip over each other. I always feel what seems like resentment in EastEnder's writing, no matter who the head scribe is. But EE as a whole is often dark and miserable, I can never watch for very long stretches.

He wasn't likely going to be apart of it anyway, at least initially. I imagine she joined because they'll probably pay tribute to him (just an assumption) I still don't really see the point of this "revival" with them playing heightened versions of themselves. We'll see. At least it could be nice to see the cast together (minus Luke, of course, but he wasn't going to be apart of it anyway)

This show is a disaster

This is real and not a delayed April Fools joke? I'm not sure what I even think about this, to be honest. First instinct is to say: no thank you. And I don't want a parody, which is all the actors would likely do. But who knows? Of course I'll watch. But this wasn't at all needed or necessary.

Yeah, they seem to have lost interest in it, lol

It's pretty damning on them, personally, that they won't release it to be able to go somewhere else (of course it can go to broadcast and cable). I've had a bad taste for Netflix for a while now, personally. They still have some great content, but ehhh ... lol I don't see them buckling but they should. CBSAA *really* wanted it and it would have been a really good get for them. I can't see it on primetime broadcast. I wish I could. I'd be beyond thrilled. (I guess I only can't because it's not the norm at all for streaming to move to broadcast, it's usually broadcast/cable moving to streaming, so this would likely be a first, no?) I think Netflix has discovered half hour multi-cam sitcoms aren't being binged enough for them, they have a certain formula that works for them. I have no doubt the viewership is there. And I have no doubts they can afford the show ... It does give them a bad look (Netflix was "everyone's savior!!!!!") But they probably hope it blows over as everyone gushes over their latest big name project.