DaysFanatic777

48 minutes ago, Faulkner said:

I love how masks change a person’s voice and physique. Ain’t that something?

I loathe mask storylines with an infinite passion, primarily because of what you just stated.  This is Days. They went the JER route decades ago, and needless to say it can be cartoonish. 

But this is the second time ReRon has put Kristen in a d#mn mask. Seriously. He's ran out of things to copy from shows he once wrote for, so he's resorted to copying his lame a#s material from Days. 

46 minutes ago, Antoyne said:

You’re f.ucking kidding me? So she’s raping Rex and cheating on Brady all in one. 

Yep. You got it. This one's going to be like watching a trash can catch fire. 

So, I get to be the one to reveal Ron's asinine, tired, and repugnant plot to all of y'all. Sigh. Don't shoot the messenger. This is in the latest SOD that's slowly rolling out. In other words; this is accurate. Here goes..read below

Yeah, ReRon is lazy, incompetent,  and I wish he'd stop writing completely. He could always just relax in The Hamptons.

I've been wanting to post here again for a good while, but per usual I forgot my password. I frustrate myself at times. Obviously I couldn't post here until I suddenly remembered it. It's nice to be back.

On to Days, and the continuing saga of how ReRon will self sabotage the show just as it's finally watchable. 

I'll save that ridiculous, stupid, repulsive and tired plot for the spoilers page. Still, Christ on a cracker that man is the hack of all hacks.

I LOVE JACKEE HARRY! She lights up every scene she's in. Boy, did Days get lucky.

I'm enjoying the "Who Killed Charlie?" Storyline, solely because of the dysfunctional family interactions. Sami brings much needed tension and conflict to the canvas, especially with her onscreen family. 

I wish Rafe would die. Xander has no balls. This Kristen/Susan story is going places. Places nobody asked for and not a soul wanted. 

I'm halfway enjoying the show again after loathing it for months. Knowing what I know, in about 3 weeks it's likely going to be painful to to even read recaps. 

Well, Ron will do Ron. 

35 minutes ago, BetterForgotten said:

I think even towards the last year or two of Marland's stint, things were slowly deteriorating. It just got expedited when he left us as no one knew how to tell a damn coherent story. A series of really unusual blunders were made by people who didn't understand the show. All of the P&G soaps were experiencing a rough patch during this time, and hiring people like MADD to oversee them didn't end up being the most intelligent decision. 

 

I think Ed Trach's retirement at P&G marked an end of an era for those soaps - they just weren't managed effectively after he left. Granted, I do think he favored ATWT/GL over AW, but that may have been because P&G had a stronger relationship with CBS than NBC. 

EVERYTHING you just said.  I mean all of it.  

It seems like a lot of the greats had a hard time taking someone under their wings, and that left us with the mess we have been viewing for about three decades now.  Sheri Anderson was schooled the right way, but I start drawing blanks after that.  

3 hours ago, DramatistDreamer said:

From what I read Terry Lester (Royce Keller) was a friend of Doug Marland and after Marland died, things went awry.  I guess somehow Lester didn't fit into the newly evolving show structure without Marland.

 

AW had offers to keep it going but P&G didn't want to sell or make any type of agreement that would save the show.  Looking back, it's obvious they gradually aimed to divest themselves completely of their entertainment properties and they didn't want to turn over their properties to any other entity.  ATWT also had an offer from CBS to save it and P&G refused.

 

P&G gave a limited amount of time to the SoapClassics people to convert some classic episodes from their titles to digital (like, what eight weeks or so, if that?) before they snatched it back.  Not even a year.  Not even a season.  A big part of the problem of what happened to these soaps rests with P&G and the dysfunctional ways in which they operate.

Suddenly, it all makes perfect sense.  

The way Packer and Backus wrote Lester out was abrupt and ridiculous.  However, as usual Lester's performance saved the day.  Once he was done, they were done....to be honest. 

On 9/13/2015 at 4:21 PM, NothinButAttitude said:

 

I think that is what hurt soaps in the 90s forward. Everyone seemed to forget soap brands. Certain soaps, preferably the ABC soaps and DAYS, could tell over the top stories. It was in their wheel house. I feel like P&G hurt itself by trying to do the same. P&G soaps were always the most grounded soaps and focused more on real issues. 

 

While Another World was on it's way down, I still feel that she could've turned the show around. Another World just needed a few tweaks and it would've been fine and could've lasted a lot longer than it did. 

 

Plus, I blame her for putting Goutman and Wheeler in EP positions, which would cause detriment to ATWT & GL.

+ 1,000,000

ALL OF THIS!!

The wheels came off this INCREDIBLE drama when Marland died, and they never were placed back on.  I know many didn't like the Royce Keller story, but I loved it.  That was the last story I enjoyed on this show.  Yes, it is post Marland,  but it still felt like an ATWT story.  

Past that the show lost it's character chasing stunts.  It was a sad sight to behold, because this was a jewel of a show.  

I loved Days, and accepted the camp because it was a standard feature of that show by this time.  ATWT had maintained it's integrity (Well, besides the head shrinking) and had remained a show devoted to character dissection.  I loved it for that reason.  Watching it wander so far from that path was an excruciating experience. 

On 5/6/2019 at 9:43 AM, KMan101 said:

 

 to all of this!

 

I'm in Florida so not a huge leap from 'Bama  Glad to hear it about Huntsville! I've personally never desired to visit Alabama for a number of reasons, but I feel like I've always heard good things about Huntsville.

 

I have a lot to say on the matter of folks who seem so bothered by who is doing who in their own private bedroom ... but I'm in a pretty good mood today so I'll sip my coffee and check back in a little later  

I am happier today, and sober (gasp).  

Dude, there are good people everywhere....and bad people everywhere....

You just have to search for decent people, and any place can become livable. 

I lived In Lakeland, FL for 2 years.  It was a fun place to live....right between Pleasure Island and Ybor City.  I was 20.....,.You get the picture. 

22 minutes ago, KMan101 said:

 

LOL we would!

Bro, I am already wasted!  Comon' if you are close enough! 

I live in the Rocket City (Huntsville, Alabama)....A bastion of reason in the cotton states.  

I'll admit it, this is a great place to live!!!  I have resided in 14 states, from California to Virginia.  Huntsville is an incredible place to live, shockingly.  I thought I would hate it here.  

No one that actually lives here is from this area, Praise the name of Jesus!  

3 minutes ago, Khan said:

 

Good for you!!  

 

I wish I could say my sexuality is genetic as well.  AFAIK, however, no one else in my family (on either side) is gay.

Man, it doesn't matter.  You do what you do, and let the haters hate.

It's sad that we have to recognize the fact that people want to enforce their views into a private bedroom in 2019.  They need therapy, and some effective shock treatment.  

Why should anyone care about something so private?  

I Know Why!!!  I grew up in it!!!

Fanatical religion is a way to control things they do not understand, and they are afraid. 

That's their problem, I'll f#ck who I want to f#ck. 

1 minute ago, Khan said:

Wow, I'm so sorry for you, DaysFanatic and Amy, and the traumas you've had to face.  God bless you both for surviving and feeling strong enough to share such personal, painful memories with us.  #hugs

Dude, it made me stronger.  I'm fine now.

The funny thing is, when I told my parents I was bisexual, they blamed it on that.  That had NOTHING to do with it.  My great-grandfather left his wife for a man.  It's genetic. 

When it comes to my "loving" parents, they spent most of their careers ignoring my pain to get ahead.  

Religion isn't the killer, man.  It's greed. 

Now I am married to a woman and in an open relationship....she is a lot like me.  

It's not conventional, but I give no f#cks about what anyone may think.  

1 minute ago, amybrickwallace said:

 

Thank you so much for the kind words. I always enjoy your posts as well. 

 

I just would rather that soaps would not do rape stories at all. It just rings of exploitation at worst and a lazy way of writing a plot at best. They don't deal with the long-term ramifications (with a couple of exceptions - SB's Eden and GH's Liz come to mind) and it's a real insult to people who endure it in real life. It's just something I really feel strongly about.

You are the best!!

I'm going tell my truth,  because I have worked past the shame....

My father was an evangelical minister, and his best friend and associate pastor molested and raped me for two years (from the time I was 8,  till around the time I turned 11).  Even when I came clean when I was 15, my family only cared about keeping the money flowing, so my parents never sought retribution.  They had a "Suck it up" attitude, and that really hurt.  I have had to live with it.  

So, I agree with you.  These stories resonate with me, so I don't want a piss poor rendition of a real personal tragedy thrown in my face.  I'm alright now.  It caused me to reject religion and move in a better direction, so it may have saved me from a different sort of pain.  However, I don't want a soap to water down a very real experience and tell me they are doing a service.  It's insulting. 

6 hours ago, KMan101 said:

 

His dialogue was AWFUL AWFUL AWFUL. Characters come off SO dumb. Just really stupid. How actors got through that with a straight face ... lol.

 

I do agree on your take on him and you're right, I can also find something good, usually, in any writer. For example I adored Mal dumping Kevin and Chelsea from Y&R yet I think he's trash ... lol. I find it kind of fun to dissect, I guess :/

 

1994 was a good year. He had it in him to plot well ... and yep he knew the value of having A/B/C/D stories. There was *always* something going on or happening, even if you hated it you were probably entertained on some level. 

 

John and Austin were dumb as stumps during his run. Dim bulb model Austin was nothing like crying, sensitive boxer Austin. John, a smart man, was sooooooooooo dumb. And I hated how Reilly did Victor, "Tony" and Jack dirty in the writing (Jack's initial return under Valley wasn't too bad but it didn't last long ...). 

 

But I do agree he was ultimately damaging to the genre and we never recovered from it.

 

I usually agree with you so no surprise I agree with you here again, lol. I was a kid too at the time of Reilly and I was pretty pulled in. Re-watching as an adult I see the awful dialogue, etc. lol. The day to day stuff was often tedious but I'll be damned if he didn't compell me to watch. But as a whole I can see why he's seen as so damaging to the genre. But it's sad because he kind of had it in him (he also benefited I believe from working with well known and better scribes who also knew how to plot a story and how to structure a soap opera). 

 

Again, all well said. Looking back at the posession, a lot of it was dark, gothic and sort of enthralling. I can get how audiences were pulled in (and also turned off) but then you have the demon mask thing and morphing into a panther .... lol

 

I think it would generate a lot of buzz. I have no doubts Ron has thought of it. He loves referring to the possession. Other writers never acknowledged it (and I can understand why). I kinda like how DAYS is able to poke fun at itself a bit when referring to their history. 

Kman, I want to invite you over to my place for a beer, dude.  We'd have a blast. 

5 hours ago, amybrickwallace said:

 

I can't say it any better than you just did.

Amy, I have admired your posts for a decade, so that compliment is truly an honor.  

11 minutes ago, Vee said:

I was riveted to DAYS as a kid in the early-mid '90s - Bo and Billie, Gina/Hope, Marlena possessed, all that. The style and atmosphere was thick and brilliant. But the dialogue was so silly. To me it was always a bit of a goof. When I wanted a smart show I watched OLTL, GH and AMC. But in its 90s resurgence DAYS was undoubtedly bigger than life.

The reason Reilly casts such a massive shadow over DAYS is because he was able to make it such an event. He had certain skills and scope that are undeniable. But I found his day to day writing unwatchable later on, as I grew, and especially when he came back. I think he did at least as much damage to the genre as the ways he bolstered it. And I think his deeply bizarre views on sex, sexuality and men and women were antiquated, disturbed and repugnant.

 

That said, if it was me today? Yeah, I'd have someone get possessed again. Albeit I'd do it differently.

I think my issues with him stem from my dedication to Days and my love for what the show represented before he arrived.  He was entertaining, and I felt his first couple of years are an example in rich and decadent soap opera.  

I loved the Procter and Gamble soaps.  I was glued to ATWT and GL growing up.  Of course, I had periods of time I'd get into GH, OLTL, and Loving.  I don't know why, but AMC never caught my eye.  That said, Days was always my main squeeze.  

Would I do the possession again now.....I actually think the show needs to go there before it's cancelled.  Don't get me wrong, i blame that story for more than I can or will elaborate.  The show could have easily been the heartfelt drama it once was, but the second Marlena morphed into a panther there was no going back.  The show i knew and loved died in that moment, and it became something very different.  That said, bringing back the devil at this point could only help this show.  I am certain Ron has thought about it, and it's entirely possible he may do it if he has time.  I cannot imagine how terrible it's going to look on this budget, but this show could use the buzz it would generate.  Like it or not, it's kind of what Days is known for.  

1 minute ago, KMan101 said:

I think what's sad with Reilly is, like Ron Carlivati, I thought Reilly could craft a soap story with beginnings, middles and ends, but then somewhere it all went to hell and I don't quite get what happened. I'm not saying it was perfect but his 1999-2002 Passions is very different (even with Hell in a Closet!) than what followed. DAYS from 1993-1995 was very different than 1996/1997+ and especially his disastrous backpeddling 2003-2006 stint (where Lucas and Sami regressed into splitting up Carrie and Austin again, Billie's swamp baby was suddenly alive, half the town is murdered yet not really, but they drag it out for a year with Melaswen, a castle, etc. Lawd .... not to mention Sami as a man (sort of clever I suppose), Iraq ... lawd again).

 

I feel more disappointed than angry, honestly. But there's no question he was ... damaging  lol 

I can find good things to say about any writer.  I stand by how I feel about him, but I agree with you completely.  He also had a knack for developing new characters, weaving various characters in different orbits into various stories, and the man understood there had to be an A, B, C, and D story on the canvas at all times.  When the payoff arrived, and the A  story ended, he always had the B story ramping up.  O yeah, and his payoffs were magnificent.  Sure, it take 3-5 years to get a payoff, but somehow he always made even more fun than we imagined. 

At the same time, his dialogue was like something a crackhead would write on a used paper bag.  His stunts always delivered ratings, so rival soaps started copying him and it brought the whole genre down to his level.  He made the leading male heroes on his shows so f#cking stupid you'd swear they must have suffered some sort of head trauma, we just didn't see it.  

I remember during the big payoff with the secret room debacle, they had Stefano wondering around the mansion in plain sight wearing a mustache, and no one recognized him.  I mean, he literally only had on a mustache and a butler's outfit, but none of those fools was the wiser.  Idiotic things like that soon started spilling into other soaps all over daytime, and now here we are.  Soaps were never respected, but by the time he finished working his magic non watchers were rolling their eyes and making fun of us. 

Yes, he had good qualities.  I thought Days was absolutely brilliant in 1994.  He made that year one of my favorites in the show's very long history.  It's always complicated when you start dissecting various head writers, cause like Vee said earlier, you are going to find good and bad. 

However, out of all the hacks the genre has been cursed with since "Guiding Light" was sent over radio waves in 1937, I stand by my belief that he's is the Ultimate king over all the hacks. 

Just now, KMan101 said:

 

Yeah, those were the two I was referring to but I've never seen them for myself, personally. I think those were the only two, the rest all feel like shock value.

 

Days seemed to love raping their leading ladies and it was really all about plot and not at all how it affected said character. I mean, I know Maggie was raped by Ian the hospital rapist, and she had a gun for a while but it all just seemed like a plot device to keep her and Mickey apart a little longer. 

 

I also thought it was damaging when you had Don forcing himself on Marlena and then not too long after, Kellam was raping her. 

If I were to make a list entitled "Soaps The Abused Rape And Treated Like A Trope", Days would be second from the top.  I thought the show probably crafted the best fallout when Jennifer was raped by Lawrence Alamain.  They were able to tie in Jack's past assault on Kayla, and deal with some unresolved issues.  That didn't make it any less of a plot device.  The show needed another year of the buzz Jack and Jennifer were delivering, so marrying them and sending to the back burner wasn't going to happen at that point.  So, they once again returned a an all too familiar subject and used the rape card.  I am shaking my head as a type this.  It's all too much.

So what would be number one?  Passions of course!  IF you can call that bullshit a soap opera.  James E Reilly really lost his damn mind when he was "writing" for that show.  When I think about the amount of sexual victimization he penned, it sends waves of nausea pulsating through my body.  

I'll tell you plainly, I despise what that man did to daytime, god rest his soul.  He didn't just put the final nail in the coffin for soaps....

No, Reilly built the damn coffin, threw the genre inside, nailed the f#cking thing shut, and shoveled dirt on it was it sunk into the ground.  He is the worst thing to ever happen to daytime television.  

Sorry Toups. 

4 hours ago, DramatistDreamer said:

Is anyone surprised by this?  Or the lack of backlash?  Trump basically commits acts with impunity the way most people breathe. And the lying and rapaciousness that goes on in his cabinet and inner circle is breathtaking.

 

Can there be just one day when we don't find out something disgusting or appalling occurred thanks to the hysterics of that fool in the White House?  It's head spinning when you look at the rate that frightening bombshells drop when it comes to this administration.  

I am the father three little girls, and my entire world revolves around them.  When I think about the repugnant mess we are in politically in this nation, and think about the future I want for them, my heart literally starts to race.  The horrific damage this malignant a##hole and his deranged followers have inflicted will not be neatly fixed when we get a real President in office.  It is going to take decades to repair the mess, and my children will be dealing with the fallout when they reach adulthood, I'm afraid.  It's not fair to them, but it seems unavoidable. 

9 minutes ago, Vee said:

I was one of Ron's very first boosters at OLTL. He took over the show and made it the best it had been in over a decade. Back in his first year or two I would tell anyone who would listen. He did great work there (and even some at GH, where he and Frank saved the show in 2012 IMO, and it was far from perfect even then). He also did terrible work, and I allegedly got on his shít list for being very vocal elsewhere re: the Todd/Marty rapemance, though we have never interacted personally to my knowledge.

 

Most people working in this genre - or anywhere in the world, in life - are more than one extreme, they're a lot of things, especially when ground down by time or budget or constraints. They're human beings and nuanced, not monsters. It is a thankless job. I try to factor all that in. And I know Ron didn't get to do everything he wanted at OLTL or GH or even DAYS. But I also know a lot of his biggest mistakes are all him, and I think he got very arrogant and lazy some years ago.

You've got to give the devil his due.  Ron did in fact save GH, and he has found a way to give Days four extra years (I'm telling you, it will be gone more than likely after this next chance for renewal).  That means two daytime dramas are still airing because Ron Carlivati found a way to reinvigorate the shows.  That's no small feat in 2019. 

Save the rapemance, I thought his first year to year and a half at Days was enjoyable.  Has it been plagues by tropes, ridiculous camp, enormous plot holes, and poorly developed characters?  Of course, but it is "Days of Our Lives" and no one expects this show to be an in depth character study.  There was a time when it was a sophisticated drama that was driven by interwoven relationships and social issues.  Sadly that show died with disco, and this is what we are left with.  I think Ron is a decent choice for the show at this point.

I'm just seriously dreading where we are headed from here.  Once he reaches this point in his tenure on any given show, things really go to hell in a hand basket.  Since the new year arrived, this show has fallen apart faster than a gazelle popping Adderall, and it's going to continue to spiral.

I had always hoped Sheri Anderson would be brought back to see this show off the air, but now that's highly unlikely.  Ron will be there when this show makes it's final bow, and I'd bet my entire savings account that it will be a f#cking dumpster fire of enormous proportions when the sand finally runs out of the hourglass. 

1 minute ago, Faulkner said:

Plus, working in a genre that has zero respect and didn’t even really have it when it was at its creative peak. You do really have to love it, it seems. Just a thankless job really, even when it was more lucrative, and burnout can happen so fast. Really makes you appreciate the dedication and seemingly endless creativity of the greats, who still had their share of rough patches and blunders.

You know, I personally idolize Douglas Marland and William Bell.  Harding Lemay is why up there on my list as well, as is Agnes Nixon.  Then you have the incredible Pat Falken-Smith, the one writer I felt could and would do a outstanding job on any soap opera.  She could work the canvas like an artist whether she was making Port Charles sizzle, or turning up the drama in Salem.  That's a rarity.

However, every single one of those greats also gave us some WTF moments.  No one can be perfect turning out scripts for 260 episodes of television per year.  That is an unbelievable challenge.  

I think Daytime Dramas have died a slow death because the writers we have had available this millennium didn't grasp what the greats had in common;  they adapted flawlessly to the changing times.  They weren't afraid to transform a drama as cultural norms and trends shifted.  The stories currently being told on the remaining four could easily be told in 1992, and that is a massive issue that sadly is past the point of addressing.  

2 minutes ago, Vee said:

Ron really loves the genre, and sometimes his skills for structuring a plot or laying it out across a canvas or timing a big reveal can still be seen in the bones of something. But he seems to have internalized the way he and Frank Valentini did things over at OLTL and GH to cut costs, where they would island characters and rotate them way too mechanically. There's a healthy amount of rotating storylines and then there's not seeing a key plotline for 1-3 weeks, while a ton of stuff happens offscreen. The latter is his habit in recent years. That's not even getting into how bad his OTT excesses have gotten, and his shrugging off murder, rape, etc. He has talent, but it's so buried for me these days beneath the camp, the cutting corners and the casual disregard for stuff that can really assassinate characters. You can always tell when the bus is coming for someone with him, or when he thinks the comedy or shock value of something will be worth the cost to a character he thinks can 'handle it'. I just don't trust him anymore and I haven't for years.

+1.  This should be framed. 

I remember when he took over at OLTL, and the fact is he did turn that show around.  For a while, it was the most entertaining drama in daytime, and I remember praising him  to the high heavens.  In fact, a lot of posters on here did that as well. I did lurk a lot here back in the day.

He has bad habits and he's unoriginal. When he first takes the helm at a show, he does pull from history and starts strong right out of gate.  Then he loses his edge, and the show will become a boring mess until her thinks of some over the top stunt to pull it back out again.  That cycle seems to continue until he is fired.  

I wouldn't want to be a soap writer because fans are so passionate and insane.  You couple that with the work load and network higher ups, and you have the worst writing gig in the entertainment industry.  I try to keep that in mind before I criticize a head writer too much, but lately Days has become so incredibly terrible that it's impossible to stop myself.  

3 minutes ago, KMan101 said:

 

I agree. 

 

I mean, Hogan Sheffer also played male rape for laughs on ATWT.

 

It's repulsive and offensive. It's not kinky or hot or sexy. I wonder what place Ron gets in where he thinks a rapemance is sexy. Is that his fantasy? I mean ... I don't get it.

 

I've never really liked soaps using rape, because it was often never about the actual victim and what they go through, it was always just a plot device for shock value, or punishing a character. It's often always rubbed me the wrong way. I think probably only one or two soaps really played it the way they should have.

I thought ATWT did a fantastic job with Margo's rape back in the day, and Santa Barbara did a wonderful job with Eden's attack.  Past that I have no other examples in mind to pull from.  

I have never liked how Days would use rape to create angst for their super couples.  They turned a horrific crime committed against a human being into a plot device.  It wasn't riveting...it was sadistic.  

2 minutes ago, KMan101 said:

 

 

PREACH!

 

You are not wrong at all. Nothing to add (yet; I'm still working on my coffee ), your post perfectly summarizes him for me. 

Drink a cup for me.  Coffee is one of may favorite beverages (I think it's quite obvious what my number one choice would be )

Thank you so much for saying that, and you know great minds think alike.  

I have my own survivor's story, so when I see sexual assault being constantly presented as some cute and kinky plot device, it makes me both sick and furious.  He's done it with every single show he's written, which actually makes me question his mental state.  I don't think it gets more offensive than that shitty and repulsive story he did on OLTL.  

9 hours ago, KMan101 said:

 

She's been off on-screen for a while, I see it too. She's very much checked out. I often feel like she plays Hope "lost" (since losing Bo) but of course it doesn't get written that way but that's how I'm choosing to look at it, lol. I think she probably enjoys working with Galen but she HAS to know this pairing has really sunk her and Hope is such a shell of who she used to be. But I guess loss can do that, except they don't play it out on-screen so either Kristian is making a choice or she's just truly checked out. She's so full of life off-screen ... 

 

LOL that dog wedding! Calliope and Eugene were SO bizarre. I like them at times but then I cringe all at the same time. Lawd. And absolutely it started going downhill before he arrived.

 

And LOL at the list of Ron's tropes and it's order. But it's 100% accurate now that you listed it out. Sooooo true. I always thought he could fit DAYS and when he honors history in a good way, it works. He has it in him somewhere (I think a stronger co-hw would go a looong way) but he resorts to tropes or he starts writing petty garbage because he's checked out. I often wonder if writers pitch better stuff but then resort to more outlandish [!@#$%^&*] in order to get it approved ...

 

And yep, we're at the mask phase  Just wait folks ... Oddly though it works better on DAYS than on GH ... LOL, but it's still so ridiculous. But JER would be proud. (And I'm willing to buy it in this case, oddly enough ...)

 

He tried the rapemance with "Gabby" and Stefan and it fell entirely flat so he lost interest and next thing you know Mansi is back to wrap it up (I wasn't her biggest fan but a part of me thinks, and it's just an assumption, that Miller bolted because she saw the writing on the wall with the rapemance with Stefan, but I'm probably wrong, LOL) and Chabby are shipped off (their exit was nice though ... I do think Ron has it in him ... but man he's beyond frustrating ... I'm not saying he's great but I've always thought he had it in him somewhere ... I know ... wishful thinking ... his runs on OLTL and GH all sort of repeated stuff ... and he loves his villain of the month ...)

I think Kristian actually enjoyed Cosgrove the most out of all her onscreen partners.  I've heard that through a fairly reliable source.  I think Haiden could have worked, but once they slept together they lost steam. 

Yeah, I do see some redeemable qualities in Ron. I like how he rotates the cast and brings back fan favorites.  I enjoy his obsession with history when he channels it the right way.  At Days, his brand of camp has moments when it resonates with the show.  So before I go any further, I want to simply state that I don't see him as a total failure.

But the man is destructive and he gets extremely lazy with a quickness.  One example to me is how he wrote Leo.  He relied on every horrible stereotype imaginable and it was past the point of simply being offensive.  I can't believe he had him stripping down in front of men, while proceeding to sexually assault half the male cast.  It was an embarrassment to even sit through an episode.  The man also seems to love plot driven stories seemingly tailored to decimate vital characters, rendering them unlikable.  The way he trolls people on Twitter is appalling, and once he stops giving a damn he targets fan bases with his writing.  It's a shitshow. 

You can always tell when the man runs out of steam and checks out.  The second he brought back Diana Collville (One of my fave heroines back in the day) and turned her into Cruella DeVille, I knew the man was asleep at the wheel.

He needs to turn off his "Knots Landing" reruns, and start attempting to put some sort of coherent thoughts into his stories before this dumpster fire gets out of control.  Where we are headed if this continues may make Dena Higley look like Jane Austen.  I kid you not.  I am afraid of how low it sinks from here.

Remember with the next one, I am from the south.  In addition, it's Bradley Cooper for Christ's sake.

And finally....My father was a full time minister.  This really is my theme song....

Christ on a cracker......where do I start.

I Know.....Chris Goutman.  That's where I start.  He was a malignant tumor that finished off one of the best and most intricate dramas to ever grace the television screen.  If he had simply been worthless, it wouldn't have been so horrid to endure.  The man proudly decimated daytime's crown jewel. 

Then you have Frank Valentini, a man so shockingly clueless his theme song should be "If I Only Had A Brain."  I wish I could have been the least bit shocked when he had Colonel Sanders arrive in Port Charles with his secret recipe.  Sadly, it was just another day in his toxic tenure.  That man should have been fired when they mercifully let go of Carlivati.  

Finally, you have Gary Tomlin.  He's had some success, and all of it by accident.  Days was hardly sleek when he took the helm, but it didn't look like high school play thrown together by some village idiot.  The way production values fell apart was staggering to behold, and it never recovered at all.  Say it was the budget cut....but no matter the budget the lighting didn't have to make the show look vagina pink. 

3 minutes ago, Khan said:

 

When *I* think of the '80's, I think of those prisms that Stefano needed to heal his brain tumor, lol.

 

Again, though, I ate up that [!@#$%^&*], because (thanks largely to EP Al Rabin) DAYS remained a thrilling, romantic show.  It certainly had more passion than GH, which seemed to be all about the action-adventure stuff, but not much heart.

Gawd I loved the Prisms.  I'll gladly admit it.  I have no shame. 

I'm not trying to say Days was bad in the 80's.  It wasn't.  It had some moments when it was flat insulting to one's intelligence, but it was still a compelling and multifaceted drama.  Yes you had the action and adventure stuff,  but they also still managed to tell stories revolving around contemporary social issues in a thought provoking yet respectful way.  

Everything that came after this era truly was a joke.  It wan't a few moments of ridiculous plot points; it was just an endless stream of idiocy. ;