I wish Days could be like other shows who can break up couples and get away with it. I love new pairings. Some of Days' greatest supercouples came from breaking up former great couples like Roman and Marlena (we later got John and Marlena).

I'll risk the wrath of some and say I wish it would happen again. John and Marlena were and are a fabulous couple, but I'm finding I love John so much more in his scenes without her. His cop shop and caper scenes with Bo have been fabulous. I'd really love to see him unfettered romantically and see where it takes him. I just think it would be a lot of fun.

It'll never happen though.

And personally, I don't care for Steve and Kayla together, but see - we still get along Obviously though, I still think they need to be together and fight for each other.

DAYS is a couples show. They rely on their supercouples. That's what sets them apart from every other show. The reasons John/Marlena, Bo/Hope and Steve/Kayla are fan favourites is because they work when they're happy and they work when they're apart. That's what makes them supercouples. They don't need to be together physically, but IF they're written in character, they're always fighting for each other. John's always fought for Marlena, she's been the one ever since they met. Same for Marlena. They had pit stops where they were with other people, but they didn't let go of each other. We saw all those emotions grow harder and harder to deny and let go of, we got the reward at the end with a beautiful reunion and their supercouple status solidified. They went through the triangles, the antagonists and they proved that they can't be broken up.

DAYS actors have said it many times, DAYS has the most loyal viewers. It may not get the ratings Y&R gets, but their viewers are loyal and they're smart, and they do expect things. So IMO, it's time to give the viewers that. They're giving us John & Marlena as the smart, bantering, adventurous couple they were, are and should be. Bo and Hope are having a new child, and being flirtacious. Steve and Kayla are sort of fighting a second personality ("Nick") where Steve's lived a life as another person who didn't feel like he's been missing something or missed out (and obviously, they're on their way to a reconciliation, and getting Steve's memory back). There are actually days where the supercouples are on at the same time. It's been years since that last happened. When they were the focus instead of unimportant background characters.

I don't see "having to cater to fanbases" as a weakness or a bad thing. I'd kill to be in Hogan's place right now (I have a lot of ideas). Has three huge couples with their own complex history to take from and use to bring in both fans who've been around for 20 years and to bring in new ones.

Hogan has done wonders for......

- John

- Victor

- Billie

- Mimi (too little too late.)

- Shawn

I can't believe Celeste is covering for E.J. GRRRR. I must have missed that spoiler.

I don't think Mimi's changed any. Which makes sense because she's screwed up.

He's done wonders for John, Marlena, Belle, Victor.

And personally, I don't care for Steve and Kayla together, but see - we still get along Obviously though, I still think they need to be together and fight for each other.

Hee! I knew I'd be hearing from you on that one. And yep, we get along just fine . No one has to want the same people together I do, and vice versa.

I do think you make a good point about supercouples working apart as well as together. Some of my fondest memories of Steve and Kayla were those horribly angsty times when they were apart and longing for each other. (Steve dealing with Adrienne's rape and his father's death, Steve dumping Kayla so she would be with Jack, etc.). I think some people think fans rail against triangles only because something is breaking up their favorite couple. A few really intense fans, sure. But by and large people rail against them because most triangles are stale and boring, especially when they're tossed together as an obvious plot device with no proper buildup or motivation. Triangles work when there are huge stakes involved and it's not obvious from 100 yards away exactly who's going to end up with whom. That's why the whole Billie/Steve thing bugs me. It's just lazy writing. I'm a huge Jack and Jennifer fan and I found the Jack/Jennifer/Frankie triangle fascinating and gutwrenching. For about five minutes. I think the writers totally blew that one by not really exploiting the angst potential. All three of them should have been torn apart by situation they were in and they were just so damn nice about it that it bored me to tears. Half the time I felt like Jack and Frankie were in a Chip N' Dale cartoon.

Triangles to me are only triangles when there's actually love for the mid party with both men/women. Like Marlena with Roman and John. That's the only belivable triangle for J&M that I've seen. One truly have to differ between a love triangle and a triangle though.

Pest Spray, that is an awesome banner!!! I'm not really a J&M fan, but that is one of the nicest banners I've seen. They just look SO in love.

I think triangles get a lot of flack because, yes, as GBB said, they've been written so poorly lately; it's all plot driven with little emotional logic behind it. But that's been the case on Days for a while across the board, not just with triangles. I can't honestly say that the stories that the couples do get have been all that well written either. So in the absence of good stories all around, all people have to do is cheerlead their favorite couples (long standing ones have that much longer to pick up fans), and hence the dreaded interloper bashes occur.

It's not that the triangle is utterly useless; can you imagine Days without Bill/Mickey/Laura and all the Mike's paternity stuff that ensued? Not that I was around then but that triangle is like holy gospel in Days history to me. The bottom line is good writing needs emotional investment.

When a triangle is rushed and plot-driven it feels like the writer just wants to torture the couple's fans, they're not bringing forth any useful facets of the characters involved or any compelling emotions that would arise from the situation. It's transparent that it's just a yo-yo yank, so resentment occurs.

I couldn't disagree more about EJ's longevity on Days. I believe that James Scott will stay on Days as long as he wants to. Despite some constant yammering by a few fans about him/EJ, the character and the actor are very popular. I will add to that the words of the Head Writer that EJ is the new generation of DiMeras. He is passing the torch to EJ to add conflict and give the "good" people of Salem something to worry about and rally against. It is a fact that happy couples are boring, that is, if that's all that is presented. Angst, problems and turmoil are what makes the happy moments so special. EJ is providing plenty of all that.

I hope EJ stays on the canvas for a long time and shows up often on my screen.

I hope EJ stays on the canvas for a long time and shows up often on my screen.

Toss in "shirtless" and I'm right there with ya!

Toss in "shirtless" and I'm right there with ya!

Toss in daily TV-MA EJ love scenes and I am, too!

(Oh, hell, who am I kidding? You had me at shirtless...but this would be nice, too!)