1.) HS wasn't writing Shawn in character;

And that's a bad thing? JC's Shawn was probably the least likable character on the show. He was hypocritical, pompous, petulant, idiotic...basically a spoilt little brat. Personally, I don't see much of a difference with the new Shawn. The only difference is there is now a credible actor in the role.

2.) that he hadn't given J&M a REAL storyline as he promised but just a bunch of scenes thrown together or they've acted as props for other characters;

I think this may have something to do with Deidre's future on the show being in doubt up until 2 months ago. Hogan had to write Marlena back in but couldn't commit to a long-term storyline until the contract negotiations had been sorted out. I think their story will pick-up in the weeks to come. The recent material has still been a vast improvement on anything JER gave them during his 3 year tenure. Compared to the Alex North garbage, it's pure Shakespeare.

3.) that he was destroying Bo/Hope;

I do think Hogan's writing for Bo and Hope has been lacklustre. But they were trashed long before he started writing. At least they are making tentative steps towards a reunion...which is more than would have happened under JER.

4.) was giving too much airtime to Willow/should have never brought Willow on as a character;

6.) shouldn't have had Billie as the interloper in the Steve/Kayla relationship;

Points taken.

7.) thought that the setup for the Smoky Robinson scenes where Marlena jumped out of the plane was juvenile/amateurish;

I'm not sure the headwriter is the person who should take the blame for this.

8.) thought that the "Sleeping Beauty" scenes with Steve/Kayla were corny at best, hackneyed sappy drivel at worst

I don't think this criticism was coming from S&K fans. Many would acknowledge that their couple have always been a little on the cheesy/sentimental side. I don't think Steve kissing her back to life is any less sappy than, for example, Kayla getting her voice back while they were reciting their wedding vows.

What ademption says above is absolutely right on. There is however one saving grace for Hogan and that is he is at the beginning of his term instead of dragging his heels at the end of it. Most of us who are disappointed are still holding hope that the big umbrella story which is just beginning will be worth going through the wreching change in Shawn, the boring amnesiac Steve story (he is not boring), the whiny Kayla, and all that other mentioned above (except I like Willow). My purpose for adding my desenting remarks is just in case someone is keeping score. I'm looking for better things, while neither enjoying the status quo nor satisfied to keep this level. It's got to be more realistic than gimmicky, keep the character in character or show why the change in a believable manner, etc. I think most everyone knows how sick Jason Cook fans are of Brandon Beemer as Shawn and it's not the actor's fault, he is doing an excellent job imho, but for a die-hard Jason fan, he is not getting good reviews. So not only is there discouraging news around that could harm Days, but also some of the actors. Shawn is Bo and Hope's son. His place in Days is not expendable (in most views) so I hope Hogan has a rainbow at the end of this tempest for him and his fans.

PR, you cannot do that. The ratings for now reflect the show now, not whatever happens in the future. All of us who haven't been wearing rose colored glasses are saying what we see, not what we think will happen in the future. So, I think maybe you need to rethink what you wrote there.

I agree about the main couples, but Lucas and Sami are also important to the fan bases. They have been a favorite for many, many years and LUMI fans are ready for a payoff. It's still looking pretty messy for them now even though Hogan said he loves them and wants to make them a Mr/Mrs North dectective team. I'm still waiting for that.

Jean, I will not rethink what I wrote. It's the truth. Everyone is entitled to their opinion but I think many here at SON will agree that they are sick of the irrationality of some of these rabid fanbases and of all this Hogan bashing less then two months in to his term. Hogan's material can be judged at this point but some are already cendemning his tenure. Some would argue that Shawn's change in character is making him more interesting (I know many here including me like that). You can't go by Jason Cook fans because most of their opinion is based on the fact that he is no longer playing the role. You also have some pissed off because Shelle isn't together.

Your suggestion about Steve may be fine for you but the majority of Steve/Kayla fans would hate that as would most Days fans. You don't just dump a story. Many Steve/Kayla fans like the story for the prospect of them finding their way back to each other but hate Billie's role in it and Steve's feelings for her which goes back to the rabid fanbase point. Billie has not been the one pursuing it but Steve has and that is where all the madness is there. The fanbases don't care that Hogan is writing Steve as a character and not part of a couple. They just want to see Steve/Kayla find their way back to each other all over again minus a third party. Same goes for Shawn. It's called character-driven writing. Shawn is a different person now and, in many ways, is acting as reckless as his father back in the day. Steve was a different man for 15 or so years so to expect him to revert to form even with memories returning is dumb. Hogan is doing the right thing. Sure he was left with a mess but you can create a bigger mess if you ignore what happened beforehand and just wave a magic wand and give the fanbases what they want. That creates too many plot holes. Bo and Hope's problems can't just be slept under a rug. Shawn was acting like this several times in the past few years, especially when things went wrogn in his life sp how is the character making this complete 180 that some say? He may be a bit different but not much. The Steve/Kayla plot line just sat around for 4 months until things could calm down enough to pick it up. You don't waste a story like that and to just magically cure the amnesia would feel too rushed and would not be a benefit in the long run. You want the characters to grow and if a writer does not use what was done before him to springboard their own stuff then things will never get to a satisfactory point for the characters or the stories. You have to use show history whether it is good or bad and Hogan is doing that and using some of the mess JER left to further his stories along and get them going. There is no problem with that. In fact, it's the way to go.

Very little of what Hogan has done has been gimmicky. Maybe the Steve/Kayla kiss and Smokey Robinson stuff (and upcoming Clay appearance) was a bit but those were a treat for fans even if they were sappy. However, some of the fanbases didn't even like that even though Days showed they cared and gave some romance. You had some saying they were corny or not long enough. GMAB!!! Fickle fans once again. It comes down to this with these fanbases: First, they want their couples together and happy. Then, when they get that, you start seeing fan campaigns because they are bored or the couple isn't getting screentime so the show acts and provides conflict whether it be an affair or something that threatens the relationship. Finally, the cycle starts again as fans are pissed and wanting the happy coulple again. Which way is it? This is the issue Days has dealt with the las few years. Where do you go? I don't even think writing good, solid character driven drama will suffice anymore because it seems quality doesn't even matter as long as so and so is together or has a story or whatever. That is what is irritating. Some of these fanbases come off at times like they don't know what they and, yet, the show practically rests in their hands and therein lies the problem. They dictate the show way too much and that was proven in the past. Enough is enough. I am not looking at anything with rose colored glasses. This issue is killing Days right now and this impatiençe and irrationality by many over the net is actually appalling. That is why I stand by what I said, Jan. These very same fans will be championing Hogan the minute their beloved couples are together because only that matters to them. When and if the ratings rise, I will love seeing all of them eat crow after they jumped off the Hogan ship and called for his head, some only two week's into his tenure.

Daysforever is right about one thing. How this is still being discussed is beyond me

And that's a bad thing? JC's Shawn was probably the least likable character on the show. He was hypocritical, pompous, petulant, idiotic...basically a spoilt little brat. Personally, I don't see much of a difference with the new Shawn. The only difference is there is now a credible actor in the role.

I think this may have something to do with Deidre's future on the show being in doubt up until 2 months ago. Hogan had to write Marlena back in but couldn't commit to a long-term storyline until the contract negotiations had been sorted out. I think their story will pick-up in the weeks to come. The recent material has still been a vast improvement on anything JER gave them during his 3 year tenure. Compared to the Alex North garbage, it's pure Shakespeare.

I do think Hogan's writing for Bo and Hope has been lacklustre. But they were trashed long before he started writing. At least they are making tentative steps towards a reunion...which is more than would have happened under JER.

Points taken.

I'm not sure the headwriter is the person who should take the blame for this.

I don't think this criticism was coming from S&K fans. Many would acknowledge that their couple have always been a little on the cheesy/sentimental side. I don't think Steve kissing her back to life is any less sappy than, for example, Kayla getting her voice back while they were reciting their wedding vows.

You know I don't have a problem with Hogie's writing. I just summarized the complaints against HS so that people who think that the uproar is just about Renee Jones would know what the dissatisfaction with HS/Days is all about.

I've never cared for Shawn as a character to be quite honest, so if HS decided to change some parts of his character, I could care less. However, I don't think that HS has changed Shawn all that much. I go back to when Shawn pretended that he was Jan's baby and even had Jan live with his parents when she got kicked out of the house. He was lame-brain then and he's a lame-brain now. Or how about when he talked nasty to Belle, after he thought that she was responsible for killing Jan's unborn baby? I wouldn't know about Shawn's character after that, b/c quite frankly I fast forwarded all of his scenes until HS came into the picture. I think it's wrong to assume that Shawn would be this good character w/no flaws b/c he was raised by Bo/Hope. I see him as just acting out as part of his maturation process/trying to become his own individual. Although I don't care for Willow that much, I think I understand where HS is going with her role in the Shawn storyline so even she doesn't bother me that much.

I'm also fine with Marlena/John's airtime--at least they have airtime together or apart. If I wanted to be a trifling, whiny complainer like some people, I could complain about Lucas/Sami not having enough airtime this month. But at the end of the day, that would be ridiculous. I've been more than satisfied with Sheffer's writing for Lumi. Actually, if I were a J&M fan, which I'm not, I would think they would be happy with the material that they've gotten so far. But it's pretty clear to me that what I think is a good storyline and what they think is a good storyline are 2 divergent things. Can't say that I'm all surprised by our differences in opinion. I remember when JER first came back to do the serial killer storyline, most of these same complainers were SO excited about JER coming back b/c he wrote such great love story for J&M. They could have cared less about all of the veterans being killed off the show b/c at least their couple would have a good story under JER. Well, I took my sabbatical from Days and fast forward 2 years later, these same people who were SO enthusiastic about JER's return, were now dissing him etc. I do have to admit a slight bit of schadenfraude after seeing those posts. At least, something good IMHO resulted from JER's crappy storylines in his 2nd go around at Days: certain fans from a certain fanbase had to eat their words!! Anyways.....

I didn't watch too much of S/K when they originally appeared on the show, so I can't say one way or another whether HS is writing them out of character. I don't mind the Billie interference b/c I think it's part of the storyline for Steve's missing years.

The Bo/Hope fans have my empathy. They have so many obstacles to their relationship, but I'm willing to give HS a chance to develop the storyline a bit more before passing judgment on it.

I figure if people want to wallow in their misery b/c Sheri Anderson (or fill in the blank with favorite headwriter) no longer writes the BEST scenes ever for their favorite couple, then so be it. I enjoy Sheffer's writing and for the first time in a long time, I'm watching the WHOLE show and enjoying it for the most part. I couldn't say the same thing for JER, Langan, B&C, Higley or JER in his 2nd stint at Days.

The only thing I'm concerned about is that the ratings stay level or hopefully increase. I'm a worry wart so when I see the ratings go down week before last and then see all of this complaining on various message boards, my worries get elevated that Corday will either fire HS or NBC will cancel the show altogether rather than giving HS/Days a chance.

By starting a thread like this with a very incendiary title and obviously erroneous suppositions about HS as a habitual liar, I wanted to confront the issue head-on and get some of those detractors to start thinking through their criticisms of HS' lack of credibility. I know I took it to the extreme with the original post but I thought that taking an extremist pov would help to focus the detractors on differentiating b/w legitimate criticisms and this stupid stuff about HS lying to fans about future storylines....

I just think the last thing DAYS needs right now is negative buzz, especially when there really is not a great deal to complain about compared to everything we had to endure under Langan, Higley, and especially JER.

I agree about the main couples, but Lucas and Sami are also important to the fan bases. They have been a favorite for many, many years and LUMI fans are ready for a payoff. It's still looking pretty messy for them now even though Hogan said he loves them and wants to make them a Mr/Mrs North dectective team. I'm still waiting for that.

Well just because they have a fanbase, doesn't mean anything. Renee Jones was promised a story and she was canned. So better be prepared if BD is next to be cut, because it can happen. And I don't consider them in the same league as Bo and Hope, John and Marlena, Patch and Kayla.

Well just because they have a fanbase, doesn't mean anything. Renee Jones was promised a story and she was canned. So better be prepared if BD is next to be cut, because it can happen. And I don't consider them in the same league as Bo and Hope, John and Marlena, Patch and Kayla.

Renee Jones doesn't have a big fanbase. Her acting is generally thought of highly by DAYS fans but she has never been a fan favorite. LUMI have a huge fanbase that easily places them in the league of the 3 supercouples. SOD obviously think so because they gave them their entire front cover a few weeks ago.