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j swift

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Posts posted by j swift

  1. 15 hours ago, AbcNbc247 said:

    Shut up, Roman.

     It was such a weird arc for the story.  Sami, Roman, and Kate each voice their opposition to Sloan, now that she's pregnant, and it's too late, then suddenly Kate recalls that she encouraged Sloan and Eric to date, and so it is resolved.  

    There are so many holes in the Sloan DNA doctoring plot: (a) the original report is still on the computer network, (b) the nurse would recognize that Sloan asked for the report, and (c) the doctor is going to review the results at their next visit. But, once again, my biggest gripe is Nicole's convenient oblivion.   Sloan suddenly appears with the results, and Nicole just accepts her story as if she hasn't been suspicious of Sloan's behavior for the past three months.  I also find it odd that less than a year ago, Nicole encouraged Jada to have an abortion because her relationship with Eric was new, but she has noted none of the same concerns about Sloan, and nobody seems to recall Jada's abortion.  

    I guess I am fine with absurd plot holes, but I expect the characters that we've known for more than twenty years to respond in ways that are consistent with their nature.

  2. I call BS on this story.  I highly doubt that Jennifer Aniston either watched DAYS, or cares about the method in which they'll kill off a character regardless of who played him, or that she's sensitive due to her phobias.

    https://nypost.com/2023/07/31/jennifer-aniston-allegedly-upset-with-days-of-our-lives/

    A grieving Jennifer Aniston reportedly isn’t dealing well with news that her recently deceased dad, longtime soap opera actor John Aniston, is about to be written off “Days of Our Lives” in a rather dramatic fashion.

    According to the Daily Mail, the character’s absence will finally be explained by killing him off in a plane crash. A source revealed that the aerophobic Aniston, 54, was disappointed by the decision.

    John Aniston starred in the soap opera “Days of Our Lives” as Victor Kiriakis from 1985 until his death last November at the age of 89.

    “Jennifer hates to fly so this has rubbed her the wrong way but what can she do? They have to explain Victor’s death on the show,” the source said.

  3. 13 minutes ago, 1974mdp said:

    Did we ever find out what the hell the red swam was about? I remember all the Corys just looking at it all the time and talking about what it could mean.

    The Red Swan held a secret compartment with a codicil to Mac's will stating that he fathered Paulina, thus giving her inheritance rights.  Ken was working with Paulina to get the statue in order to prove her claim, once Rachel found out that this is why Ken began their romance, she kicked him to the curb.

  4. 1 hour ago, Neil Johnson said:

     Was "white-slavery" still the common term in 1979?

    It is a completely antiquated term, and thankfully no longer would be used.

    However, three years later in 1982 Days of Our Lives used the same term for the introduction of Roman's long-lost wife Anna

    image.png

     

  5. 6 minutes ago, AbcNbc247 said:

    Most of their episodes are live. 

    I still assume that they tape the interview at the time of production and then release it live.  But, we may be able to validate the date of the interview with this episode because we know from Instagram posts from last week that Peter Porte has dyed his hair shocking blonde, so we'll see how he appears in this interview. 

    362057119_321376736909160_5680387035189311348_n.jpg

  6. I wonder if the Dishin' podcast is even produced recently, or if the interviews are taped 6–8 months ago at the time of production?  It would make sense if it was taped in advance because (a) it might be difficult to get actors who've been taken off contract since taping, (b) it avoids spoilers, and (c) the information is fresh in the actor's minds.

    But, I agree that the plot convenient obliviousness of both Gwen and EJ is annoying because it is inconsistent with their characters.  Both Gwen and EJ are usually smart, perceptive, and often think the worst of people, so to have the wool so easily pulled over their eyes by the most contrived lies makes them both seem suddenly foolish.

  7. Agreed that the timeline of Dylan Patten's arrest and probation fits the blind item

    https://www.soapoperanetwork.com/2013/06/former-days-star-sentenced-to-three-years-probation

    Assuming the story is true, none of my questions really matter, but the way it was written was deliberately obtuse, especially because of the use of the term "casting couch" as both a noun and an adjective.  And because it is written with none of the sensitivity that we use in post Times-Up culture

    For example, the whole paragraph about the "biggest casting couch person on the set" who is friends with an A-lister who likes drugs really confused me because are we meant to think that being a big casting couch person refers to one who demands sexual favors, or one who provides sexual favors.

    The actor who "refused all casting couch advances" and was fired, "but later went on to win an Emmy", seems as if it would be simple to infer given the awards - Dylan Patton was nominated for best younger actor in 2010, then between 2011-2015 Chandler Massey won 3xs, Freddy Smith won in 2015, and James Lastovic was nominated in 2017.  True O'Brien won the younger actress Emmy in 2016.  But, even that is confusing because they reference both men and women as victims of the casting couch, which leads me to think they were saying it is systemic, because they mention "producers and writers", rather than attributed to a single terrible person.

  8. 1 hour ago, JAS0N47 said:

    Forgive my ignorance, but what is an ANOVA table??

    You are far from ignorant for asking a question - it stands for ANalysis Of VAriance.

    The problem with published ratings is that they only report the average.  But, if you measure an effect, you need to prove the change over time exceeds chance.  For example, if during the course of a month the weekly ratings for Guiding Light go and up and down by 300 viewers each week, then any change week to week within 300 is just chance, because that is what we expect.  However, an ANOVA table calculates how much change would need to be observed to go beyond chance. 

    Just like if you flip a coin twice and get tails once, that can be explained by the fact the there is a 50/50 chance of getting tails, but how many times do you have to observe getting tails in a row, before you could determine that there was something tricky about the coin.  Or, a child's height naturally grows over time, but how much height would they need to grow before you would fear that they'll be a giant.  As an analogy, the rating only report the height, they don't report the chance that the difference in height this week was expected because all children grow a few millimeters each week. 

    Nielson doesn't publish the variance for the public, so you would need to calculate it yourself, because they are in the business of selling that data to the networks and ad agencies, and if they published it every week for free, nobody would pay for their ratings reports.

    In this case, the change in audience numbers between June and July did not exceed the expected week-to-week change to the degree that we could determine that DAYS's New Orleans remote had an actual positive effect on the viewership.  Because they gained as many viewers as one would expect by chance.

  9. The month before the Olympics DAYS had a 7.2

    image.png

    And the week of the Olympics it had 7.4

    image.png

    Another World had a 5.4 in June

    image.png

    and a 5.8 during the Olympics

    image.png

    If we consider the variance, these gains don't exceed chance, so it looks like counter programming didn't help.

    ABC soaps benefitted from the Olympics

    image.png

    image.png

    And average 1.3 change in ratings slightly exceed chance, indicating a significant gain

    CBS remained stable, with no changes that exceeded chance, even though it lost more viewers than NBC or ABC.  CBS's numbers vary the most from week to week in the 1984 data listed here, so the change is expected.

    image.pngimage.png

    image.png

    image.png

    It was fun to break out the old ANOVA tables to figure out the stats, thanks @JAS0N47 @watson71 @kalbir & @AbcNbc247 for the additional information.

    So, if we could travel back to 1984, our advice to NBC would be to follow whatever CBS did during the Olympics. Don't spend the money on the remotes, because they won't have a significant effect (and SOD reported that the rain in New York messed up the production schedule for AW) and, hold Santa Barbara's premiere (and their very expensive floors) until the fall.  Hindsight is 20/20.

    image.png

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  10. Days Of Our Lives’ Pauses Production Amid Controversy Over Albert Alarr Investigation

    A rep for Peacock confirmed to Deadline that production on the long-running daytime drama has been suspended beginning Monday, July 30. For the moment, it’s for one week, I hear.

    https://deadline.com/2023/07/days-of-our-lives-production-shutdown-controversy-albert-alarr-investigation-1235450738/

     

  11. 2 hours ago, carolineg said:

    I guess we have to see how the Sloan stuff plays out on Monday because it seemed massively stupid to me too

    At the risk of contradicting myself on the realism issue, can we discuss the prop used for Nicole's test results?

    First, I don't know of any medical system who wouldn't want to bill for another visit in order to review the results.  There's not a test that I've taken in the past decade that didn't require a meaningless follow-up appointment to tell me that my cholesterol is high, and I need to eat fewer eggs.

    Second, maybe they'd print out the result rather than emailing them.  But, I don't think they'd be in an envelope like that. 

    Third, due to a number of variables, must results don't include a specific narrative, so Sloan would have to know a lot about DNA in order to deduce that EJ was not a match. 

    Although, this is the same hospital that Marlena showed Kayla her co-worker Nurse Whitley's psychiatric case notes without consent.  I'm certain there's more people here who've had amniocentesis than a double wedding, so feel free to respond if you are a content expert.

     

  12. I have a question, but I don't know the dates.

    Did any soap benefit from the Olympics disruptions in 1984 or 1988?  And did any of those gains last?

    I ask because I know Santa Barbara on NBC premiered poorly against the Olympics on ABC in 1984.  But, I was wondering if fans used the opportunity to sample other soaps to a degree that there was actually an uptick in ratings?  I think the dates don't align, but I was pondering if Steve & Kayla's wedding, or other big soap events, were successfully used as counter programming?

  13. 16 minutes ago, AbcNbc247 said:

    I didn’t even know that double weddings were a thing until Passions 😂😂

    The etiquette of a double wedding seems difficult to maneuver.  Do you have double maids-of-honor?  Do the guests need to send two gifts?  It seems especially awkward to share such an intimate moment while your Mom's also in a bridal gown.

    Personally, I would turn down the invitation to a double wedding because much like the one on Passions, the ceremony would take forever to complete (and someone might crash their car into the event).

    Finally, I agree that if you're looking for realism, or erudite dialogue, DAYS may not be for you.  From Micky's amnesia on a farm to Marlena's twin taking over her identity, DAYS never tried to be a realistic soap.  It is a silly diversion made better because we can discuss it as a community.

  14. 14 minutes ago, carolineg said:

    I liked both the wedding dress.  Jada's dress was fabulous though.

    It goes without saying that they are all beautiful women, but I am biased against brides wearing their hair down under a veil, I think it looks messy.  It also seemed like Kristen and Jada were dressed for an evening wedding, but Gabi wasn't.  And I guess nobody upholds the tradition of not wearing white when it is your third or fourth wedding.

    On the subject of double weddings, the only reference that I have is that I grew up in a temple where due to the number of kids getting Bat Mitvah-ed we all had to share the date.  Given that I don't like a lot of attention in large crowds, I appreciated it, even if I can't recall the girl's name that I shared the day with, even if you offered me half of Dimitri's inheritance. 

  15. This maybe an unpopular observation, but it is troubling to me to see social media accounts react to this story from an egocentric point of view.

    E.G. - "I'm not going to watch this show!", "I'm going to sign a petition!", "I want the actors to address my concerns!", "Why won't the production listen to my outrage!"

    It just makes me think, "this isn't about you" and "it didn't happen to you."  I understand that it triggers people in similar circumstances in their workplace.  But, I believe fans should try to be self-aware enough to be sympathetic without being performative for the purpose of engagement.

    To me, it is disgraceful to the people who were actually harmed to try and make this situation about one's self.  It is not the ethical duty of the audience to boycott the production, because that will also hurt the creatives.  It is not the burden of those who were harmed to make public statements in order to mollify the viewers.  And, nobody outside the executives is personally responsible to make sure that justice prevails.  In fact, in my experience, we live in an unjust universe where everyone is not always punished for their behavior, and that is a reality that we cannot change.

    This is an awful story that happened to people who we like and admire, but some fans on social media need some distance, in order to find a more respectful response.

  16. Putting aside that this is another double wedding, in a living room, and only the immediate family are invited (except Johnny), with dresses from the corner store, I like this group of characters enough to enjoy the episode.  I also always enjoy the soap fantasy that not only does Jada have a fabulous dress on hand to wear to a wedding at a moment's notice, but that she can pull herself together in her tiny room, after sex, and still look stunning.  Just like every guy in Salem who owns a tux, regardless of their income status.

    To be fair, Johnny messed up a wedding at the mansion last year, and I don't know that he's ever shared a memorable scene with Stefan, so maybe they didn't want to take any chances.  Salem is sort of like The Sims, they can't have too many NPCs on one lot (iykyk).

    The only egregious error for me was the dream fake-out.  To put Eric yelling at Sloan in the promo, and then have it revealed as a dream, is so annoying.  Meanwhile, her plan felt misguided because wouldn't Nicole immediately suspect Sloan stole the DNA results when she was told that someone else at the hospital had already picked them up?  Characters on DAYS become conveniently oblivious whenever the plot requires it.

    And, on second thought, double weddings have been a tradition in Salem, including Maggie & Micky with Melissa & Pete, because I am feeling generous, I will even forgive that today. 

     

  17. 48 minutes ago, janea4old said:

    Variety and The Hollywood Reporter and a whole bunch of others are all part of Penske Media Corp. 

    Yes, they are, (as is Rolling Stone, Billboard, WWD, SHE Media, & Deadline), and their bias is quite clear.

    Variety's homepage today does not have any news about the strikes and The Hollywood Reporter's strike page only contains stories about how the heat is affecting the strikers, the studio's loss of money due to the strike, and projects being cancelled.

     

  18. I was listening to two actors on a podcast discuss how the trades like Variety and The Hollywood Reporter are siding with AMPAS because their ad revenues are dependent on the studios.  It really made think twice when I read headlines like this one.

    image.png

    Because they are crafting a narrative that creatives are willfully withholding their talent, in order to shift public support against the actors and writers.  To me this is a perfect example, because the strike has nothing to do with a comedy festival, but pairing the two ideas reinforces the narrative.  They want Joe Six-pack to focus on the idea that the strike robs him of the opportunity to have fun, rather than informing him of how issues in this strike will set a precedent for how many type of labor that will deal with AI.  Prior examples included the list of things that actors can't do during the strike, which has been widely shared on social media but includes many factual errors, like that actors can't podcast or sing.

  19. 2 hours ago, carolineg said:

    I am wondering if we are watching a full day for people in certain stories (Abe, Li) and that same day over again for other (EJ/Nicole/Eric).  What I am trying to say is Monday's show on Days is Monday, but Tuesday's show is meanwhile elsewhere in Salem's full day on Monday.

    I think that's an excellent theory.  Everybody knows that people in Salem have a fondness for repeating themselves, so it makes sense that we are seeing the same hour replay over several days.

    I'm starting to think we're actually seeing EJ's twin, CJ, because I don't recall him being so amusing.  The whole Lamaze/Little League teasing of Eric was fun, and I enjoy a bit of banter rather than having grown men rage at each other all the time.  Having seen the actor in web interviews, it seems like the writers are finally adjusting the character to play on his charismatic strengths.

    Eric is my current favorite guy in Salem.  His relationship with Brady and Sloan are highlights for me.  The only saving grace of Brady waiving a gun in front of his daughter, was the scene when he had to explain it to Eric.  Eric wasn't judgmental, but he also didn't support Brady's impulsive behavior. To paraphrase En Vogue & Salt N' Pepa, what a mighty mighty good man, and I can see why everyone wants to have his baby.

    My only note for EJ's character is that I wish the writers would clarify his stakes in wanting to be a father as much as Eric.  EJ seems motivated by wanting to keep Nicole. But, why not emphasize the idea that EJ missed out on so much of Johnny's upbringing (due to being dead for a while) that he really wants to go to Little League and school meetings?

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