I do think Dan and Heather were treated as a package. The timing is all too close. From HBS's report on both Dan and Heather on Sunday it is clear that any decision regarding Heather was made prior to the end of work on Friday and DG by his FCP's statement was told Wed night. I don't believe they should have been tied together in a package but I do see this as the response to the mess they made with the Duke story and a general inability to decide what to do with Kelly and Kevin.

The show is a disaster at this point. They have no direction in regards to the Buchanan/Lord family. In fact with the complete absence of any true family bonding shown, who knows if the family even exists at this point. They tried to fix the Jess mess with the DID story and arguably only created a larger disaster. They broke Kevin and Kelly up in the baby story only to give them the most half hearted reunion ever written only to break them up again. Part of the problem seems to be zero direction in the thirty something group. If they insist that Evangaline is late 20's then that leaves Kelly as the only female character in her 30's yet they then consistently play her off between Duke and Hugh in their early 20's and Kevin in his 30s. Of course that only points out the glaring problems with the young group that seems to float from 14/15 year old Starr to 16-2? Adrianna to 25 year old Jess and Nat with Marcie presumably their age and the 26 year old threesome of Hugh, Nash and Rex (never mind that Rex is younger than Nat). There is little in the way of community or story or family unless it involves the plot point de jour or the pimp moment of the day.

Dan's fan club manager relayed that information from Dan himself. It is confirmed. I don't understand why you say you hate the writers and what the show is now but keep defending this.

Because Higley is a hack. Hogan is not. Higley has never won an Emmy. Hogan has won multiple. Higley has caused OLTL's rating to drop and cause many fans to be fed up with the show. Higley = Hack.

And Vee, it does no good to argue with people who think they know everything, especially when what has been proven as "fact" is out there, yet they continue to believe what they want.

I do think Dan and Heather were treated as a package. The timing is all too close. From HBS's report on both Dan and Heather on Sunday it is clear that any decision regarding Heather was made prior to the end of work on Friday and DG by his FCP's statement was told Wed night.

I'm not going to say much about Heather's situation except that it happened on thursday morning. I had heard about Dan wednesday night and was curious about Heather. I can't answer any other questions and I'm glad that she's not staying.

I'm just angry at how they treated Heather and Dan. Both are amazing actors and together they had something very rare on this show. It was squandered and thrown away rather than promoted and nurtured.

Even though I'm extremely disappointed with Ashford's firing, there are other opportunities out there for him. And there's no guarantee that he won't return to DAYS, but right now, he doesn't fit in with Hogan's visision of the show. The same with Christie, Austin and Billy.

It was Corday's decision to cut Matt, not Hogan's. Matt all but confirmed this in his recent SOD interview.

From all I've heard, Jack/Matt was very much in Hogan's vision for the show and he had several stories penned for him. Corday on the other hand, felt that "the audience" needed a "happy ending". I also agree he sees Matt & Missy as a package deal.

It was Corday's decision to cut Matt, not Hogan's. Matt all but confirmed this in his recent SOD interview.

From all I've heard, Jack/Matt was very much in Hogan's vision for the show and he had several stories penned for him. Corday on the other hand, felt that "the audience" needed a "happy ending". I also agree he sees Matt & Missy as a package deal.

I totally agree. It's Corday who sees couples as package deals instead of individual characters. This is why DAYS needs to get away from the supercouple only formula.

There was no reason to dump Kevin because Kelly left. Now ther eis reason to want a happy ending for Jack and Jennifer. had they not done this, they would have had to kill the Jennifer character.

Kelly could have disappeared until a recast was hired. There was no reason to dump both characters, or even one character. Had this been the only lousy thing OLTL has done, it would not have drawn this stink. It's not. In the last three to four years, this show has turned to [!@#$%^&*].

The Holdens, the Gannons, the Rappaports have been screwed. Now the Buchanans and Cramers are getting busted. What do we get in return? Well I don't know because I don't recognize the show.

The bottom line, DOOL is an enjoyable show right now, a very enjoyable show. OLTL stinks and it gets worse every day. All ABC soaps have turne dinto one stunt after the next. There are no stories, there is no consistencies.

Yeah, I wish Billy Warlock and Matt Ashford were staying. I Wish they would recast Jenn. But it's not nearly as bad as the cumulative impact of years of [!@#$%^&*] at OlTL. At least DOOL is a good soap right now. OLTL isn't and it is only getting worse.

ONE LIFE should reverse the screwed up firing of Dan Gauthier(Kevin) and should re-cast Kelly, I think Christie Clark (soon to be ex-Carrie, DAYS) would make a good Kelly.

ONE LIFE really needs to fire Dean Hackley, Frank Valentini and casting director Julie Madison, who showed on I WANNA BE A SOAPSTAR what a lousy casting director she is. I'd also write out Nash, Claudia, Spencer, Vincent, Ted and reduce the airtime of John McBain, give big stories to Kevin, Viki, Clint, Dorian, Roxy, Nora, Bo and bring back Rachel, Cassie, Addie, Tina & Joey.

DAYS, IMHO, is making a mistake axing Matt Ashford(Jack) and Billy Warlock(Frankie). I think Frankie would've been a great love interest for Billie or they could've brought back Melissa Anderson. Also DAYS should've re-cast Jennifer. I love Melissa Reeves, but IMHO Jennifer is not un-recastable. A good actress such as Sandra Ferguson (ex-Amanda, AW, ex-Felicia, GH) or Kristina Wagner (ex-Felica, GH) or Noelle Beck (ex-Trisha, LOVING) would've made a great re-cast.

ONE LIFE should reverse the screwed up firing of Dan Gauthier(Kevin) and should re-cast Kelly, I think Christie Clark (soon to be ex-Carrie, DAYS) would make a good Kelly.

ONE LIFE really needs to fire Dean Hackley, Frank Valentini and casting director Julie Madison, who showed on I WANNA BE A SOAPSTAR what a lousy casting director she is. I'd also write out Nash, Claudia, Spencer, Vincent, Ted and reduce the airtime of John McBain, give big stories to Kevin, Viki, Clint, Dorian, Roxy, Nora, Bo and bring back Rachel, Cassie, Addie, Tina & Joey.

I love [sarcasm dripping] the newest excuse for getting rid of Kevin and Kelly per the mags -- that there is no money to pay them and they have no story. I suspect we can all come up with the cuts needed to solve the budget issues and if they can't come up with story for Kevin and Kelly out of Spencer's assault, Duke's death and the extend family then the writers and producers are sorry excuses for such. Bottom line is that is is absurd.

OLTL can't admit the real reasons to the magazines or to themselves.

First, the bottom line is that they see Easton as the OLTL meal ticket. (HUGE PROBLEM with OLTL) ME may have had other reasons to walk, but who among any of us would walk away from a huge paycheck at the end of the day? They made him an offer he wouldn't refuse -- but that meant other cuts.

I think they knew there was little chance of keeping HT, so they might have made her a token offer (as they did HBS last year) Without Kelly, Kevin is rather isolated on canvas. They saw this as the least painful place (whereas viewers might have voted Claudia, Vince, Layla off first). I don't think they expected DG's fan club president to take it to the internet/press.

Second, the rectory stepson sex was a mistake (but they'll never say it.) It damaged the character of Kelly to where even they have trouble painting her as the wronged one. It tried to damage Kevin (IMHO, it failed, where it made Kevin rather more sympathetic, having lost every son he's had now onscreen in a short three years.) It was just too gross, too contrived for the average palate. Contrary to Ms. Higley's belief, most people tune out the UNpalatable, especially after the initial shock is gone. Now, TPTB would prefer we just forget about Spenser's sterilization of Kevin (hard to due with TW's infamous tacky but funny line) and the Duke fiasco(hard to do when that drives Kevin/Kelly story now).

Notice they scapegoat the characters instead of firing the real people responsible -- the writer and producer with little sense of direction, taste, or limits.

Heather's comments in SID, at least the paraphased ones I saw, suggest the problem is even worse. She suggests that she didn't understand the direction they wanted to take the character post plot driven Duke sex. She's correct. First Duke was a plot point and a very bad mistake but likewise was the story leading up to it. We have the lead in with Kevin telling Kelly he'd rather not have children than to risk losing her and Kelly's insistance that she must have the surgery so she can have a child for 6 months only to lead into what? Kelly's now ok with no baby? That never sold and it particularly never sold with the pregnant pauses as Duke offers her a baby and she never rejects the concept or the warm fuzzy moments with Hugh and kids. The story was there for HT to play. HT is a superb actress who didn't need pimping and propping. Let her face head on her need and desire for a child and just how far it might take her. Granted doing Duke was the fatal mistake but they could have had her do Hugh or in the last second pull away from Duke leaving Kevin to find Kelly and Duke in a most compromising position only to discover she's pregnant leading Kevin to further believe she did Duke. No matter how it should have been played the problem is clearly with the writer and producer who don't comprehend the concept of good taste and when you push things too far. Nor do they comprehend talent.

It still doesn't justify why Kevin has to leave. Nor does it justify truly why Kelly has to leave. Let her play out the Scarlet Letter story and maybe she has hope. This is about complete absence of vision for the show and Frank's incompetence.

Notice they scapegoat the characters instead of firing the real people responsible -- the writer and producer with little sense of direction, taste, or limits.

I stand corrected. It IS NO sense of direction, taste or limits...but then, listening to their boss gives a good deal of insight...and reasons to watch NBC or CBS.

Heather has always been more on top of the character than the show. She and the fans knew Kelly was a crazy !@#$%^&*] in 2004, and she played her that way. Yet they kept trying to blame other people for what Kelly did. We didn't like it and we know now Heather didn't either. They squandered an amazing actress they will probably never get back. Y&R was stung by her switch and will probably stop at nothing to woo her back. They get what they want. The key is keeping Dan right now, though.

If the show had a major overhaul right now, the first thing a new showrunner should do is let Heather go right now if she asks to, have Kelly flee to find herself with or without the baby, reestablish Kevin, and then beg, borrow and steal to bring Heather back in six months to a year.

Heather has always been more on top of the character than the show. She and the fans knew Kelly was a crazy !@#$%^&*] in 2004, and she played her that way. Yet they kept trying to blame other people for what Kelly did. We didn't like it and we know now Heather didn't either. They squandered an amazing actress they will probably never get back. Y&R was stung by her switch and will probably stop at nothing to woo her back. They get what they want. The key is keeping Dan right now, though.

If the show had a major overhaul right now, the first thing a new showrunner should do is let Heather go right now if she asks to, have Kelly flee to find herself with or without the baby, reestablish Kevin, and then beg, borrow and steal to bring Heather back in six months to a year.

The above sounds good to me. I do agree with the statement that trying to blame everyone but Kelly for Kelly's choices is a problem. Kelly's dialogue today about having lost two children made me want to scream. Losing the baby you knowingly stole isn't losing a child. It is that type of thing that continues to undercut the character. Let her take responsibility for her actions and then the character has hope. I'd say Kelly exits sans baby. Leave the child with Kevin as a means of reestablishing Kevin and then have Kelly return in 6 months to fight to get her life back. Oh and never ever mention Duke as the father to that child again.