Days: Another person is going to be fired..

[SteveFrame]

Drew my Mom was one of the working mothers who worked my whole life growing up. Even back in the 70's. I know that most Moms didn't. I was babysat by my grandmothers and they were the biggest influence on me to watch soaps. There are still many grandmothers out there that are at home. They are not watching because the soaps have nothing for them to watch. NBC should know how important this age group can be. They used to plan a whole night of programming around them in the late 80's and 90's that was #1 on Tuesday nights. It was Matlock, In The Heat of the Night and another show. That was about the time that NBC got on the big youth craze in primetime and daytime. They have suffered in many ways ever since. And what is sad that even though all these Mothers are working now, there are so many different ways they can still watch their soaps. But they aren't choosing to use them. Because the soaps aren't giving them anything they want to see. It's sad when a dog show in the same time slot as the soaps on NBC draws a higher rating than the soaps ever do. And I just use NBC since that is the network it happened on. Football or a parade I could understand but a dog show even beat them in the time slot.

Drew if you will look back I did not say that every story had to center around the vets. You balance them. And soaps can't plan their stories around whether a person is going to die or not. People die every day of all ages. Soaps have lost some very young performers too. I guess they had better not plan any story around any one because that person might die. There has to be a balance. And if they were smart they would realize this. You give all ages something to watch and they will tune in.

It wasn't just my cup of tea, it was not the cup of tea of a whole lot of people. And where are Days and Passions today because of that BIGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG mistake. Hurting that's where. And I say for both shows that was their biggest jump the shark moment and is the big reason they can't recover. They said FU to all the other viewers and said this is who we care about. Well many of those viewers are saying FU back.

[KLN]

You're right. Say someone's getting up there in age and might die 10 years from now... what would be the difference in erasing them from our screen 10 years early as a pre-emptive move rather than just letting us enjoy them 'til the end? The difference would be that in the latter, we'd still be losing them eventually -- we'd just get to enjoy them longer. Why send somebody to the backburner and put 'em in a grave when they're not even there yet?

Balance is definitely key. You can set up the next generation and make us care about the characters and still give us the vets we love. The vets are the one thing that bridge old viewers with younger viewers. The quicker they get rid of vets, the less chance there will be at the older viewers sticking around to get acquainted with the younger generation. If TBTB were smart, they'd just balance everything out. That way, everybody's happy. The actors, the viewers, the network. But then again, it seems to be only the younger generation that seems to count when it comes to demographics. You won't get the young generation to tune in without tuning in with their parents and grandparents first, though. So everybody's needed.

[Mason]

On a slightly OT note, why do I feel like I'm getting corrected just about every time I post something. It's getting kind of annoying...

[DrewH]

That tends to happen arond here HSAD.

Oh, I totally understand that people of any age can die. Nowhere did I say that the vets should not be featured. I did, however, say that story for older characters are limited. I'm sorry, but I don't want to see every older female character on a soap go through a breast cancer storyline. That's usually what happens though. The elderly are hard to write for on soaps in storylines for just them.

That is why the vets should establish the next generation. They are needed. I never said that. When I say pass the torch, I still want to see Victor. However, I don't want to see Victor interfering with Max and Mimi. I'd rather see Philip since he is closer to their age.

It also goes back to Stefano and Tony DiMera. Who wants to see these two old men causing hell for Sami, EJ, Belle, Shawn, Max, Mimi, etc.? I know I don't. Bringing on EJ allows for a new generation of havoc wreaking to begin.

I will say it again, VETS ARE NEEDED! I want to see Maggie, Victor and Caroline. I don't however want to see a Maggie/Victor/Caroline triangle that a lot of people mention, or anything like that. I'd rather see Maggie becoming the Horton matriarch and giving advice when it's needed, same with Caroline. I'd rather see Victor running Titan and being a businessman while preparing to pass over the company and fortune to Philip.

[JamesF]

I'm in agreement with Kenny and Steve. It's not as if any of the soaps of today went to air under the premise of being "youth soaps." They are purportedly about communities and families which feature all kinds of characters, both young and old.

Like ATWT or DOOL etc, Coronation Street has had characters age from being the teen scene/20somethings of the 1960s and 1970s and they have remained on the show in front burner storylines, balanced with younger newcomers (many of whom are their children). CS and other similar soaps are still the most popular shows on air in the UK, even with teenagers, so the "passing the torch" mentality doesn't wash to make a soap opera viable and interesting.

ETA

First off, I don't personally regard the likes of Maggie Horton or anyone under 65 for that matter to be elderly. Secondly, there's no reason for older characters not to have any kind of storyline that any other character could have. Older people do have sex lives (using the CS example, the 60+ character of Audrey is in an extra marital affair), they still own businesses and are involved in corporate espionage, they still have secret children and siblings... The only reason they might be hard to write for is if the show was only centred on the tiresome sexual exploits of pretty young people. Unfortunately, that is the case for a lot of shows these days because the nets are under the mistaken impression that teenagers want to watch it. The thing is they're actually out doing it and generally have the intelligence to watch something a little deeper.

[Ponz]

The fact that the NBC suits were "happy" with capturing a demo that acounts for about 2% of total soap viewership might explain why the network is in such dire straits at the moment. Pandering to a small minority while alienating your most loyal, long-term viewers is a recipe for disaster. The teen invasion in 99 cost the network MILLIONS of viewers...bringing in 50,000 short-term teen fans nowhere near compensates for that.

As Kenny said, it's most important to strike a balance. I don't expect the older vets to be given major, frontburner storylines. Those days have clearly passed. But that is no excuse for having them chewing scenery or appearing twice a month at family events. We're talking about former Emmy nominees/winners. The likes of Rogers, McCay, Hayes, Aniston and so forth are wonderful actors who's talent should be showcased. They should be given serious supporting roles. Having Julie as a mentor to Sami back in 04 was a great move, IMO. The writers should do more of that kind of thing.

Also, I don't think many would deny that the show needs a younger generation. The key is to weave them into the canvas in such a way that it does not seem like they are invading the show. TPTB fail to grasp the importance of limiting airtime. Rachel Melvin has great potential but her being in the top 5 in episodes is ridiculous and just creates resentment towards her character. Although they are older, the same applies to Beemer, Scott and whoever plays nu-Phillip. They may be the future of the show but they are still newbies and unfamiliar faces. Shoving them down viewers throats is not the right way to "pass the torch".

[billyjill]

I am so in agreement here. I am not saying that passing the torch is not a good idea; clearly one generation cannot carry the show forever as they'll one day be gone. But carrying the show is different than getting a storyline. And to say that older characters' storylines are limited just highlights a lack of creativity on part of the writers, in my view. Yes they're limited but not by as much as you'd be led to believe by looking at the small pool of general storyline types that have been on the show lately. That's just my opinion.

All of this however is under the shadow of an overly large cast. I think Days has been dealing with a mad dash for screentime for a while now, and if the cast was trimmed I think that would change the makeup of this conversation.

[ademption]

For the past couple of days, I've been thinking of ways that Hogie could write out characters for the actors that might be fired in the upcoming days. Here's some of my ideas in the event that the following are fired:

Caution: Stop reading if you haven't watched these movies and don't want to be spoiled: Million Dollar Baby, Imitation of Life, Psycho, Driving Miss Daisy

1) If it's Drake, I want John to die at the hands of Marlena. Think a redux of the Million Dollar Baby storyline where John adopts the Maggie/Hillary Swank role and Marlena the Frank/Paul Newman role. Can you imagine the drama from that story?

The Dimera Clan could severely maim John in one of their epic battles which ultimately paralyzes him--from the waist down. For a couple of weeks, we could see John trying to adjust to his new circumstances where he's dependent upon others, particularly Marlena. He may form gangrene and the medical staff has to cut off his legs. He hates seeing what his reduced physical capabilities does to Marlena and his family so he decides that he wants to die. At first, he tries to do it himself, but his attempts to kill himself are unsuccessful. So he then asks Marlena to kill him. He says that if she really loves him, then she would do as he asked b/c he just can't live this way. If he goes into a coma or becomes incapicated in some way, she has to promise him that she'll administer a drug or something that will kill him. Marlena refuses at first but eventually agrees after John pleads with her to kill him.

In the meanwhile, we have Sami coming to terms with her mixed feelings towards John. At first, she refuses to go to the hospital to go see him, despite family members encouraging her to do so. But then she has a Sarah Jane from Imitation of Life moment and finally goes to see him. The only problem is that he's in a coma and the people around her say that John's never going to come back from the coma. Sami then breaks down and starts crying (you know how she does) and saying that she never meant all those bad things she said about John. She keeps on saying "I didn't mean it. I didn't mean it." John wakes up from the coma and starts stroking Sami's hair and whispers "It's ok, Sami. I forgive you. I love you." Everyone on the medical fields says it's a miracle. Blah, blah, blah.

John is lucid for a couple of days and gets to talk to his family and gives his last words of advice to his children etc. We could see him have flashbacks of his life with various Salemites. Then the medical staff realizes that gangrene has formed in other parts of his body including his arms and they have to cut his other limbs off too and put him on a ventilator. Then Marlena has a flashback of the promise that she made to John. She has a monologue where she tells John that she can't let him go. She needs him too much (blah, blah, blah) but John pleads with his eyes and Marlena understands what John is trying to tell her. Marlena goes to the hospital chapel and begs God to forgive her for what she's about to do, but she says that she has to fulfill her last promise to John. Late at night, when visiting hours are over and the medical staff is making the rounds to other hospital rooms, Marlena slips in and administers the drug that ultimately kills John. Eventually, someone finds out that Marlena killed John and she loses her medical license. She goes on trial for 1st degree murder etc and the story could snowball from there.

Can you imagine the Emmy-worthy performance from Deirdre in those scenes?

2) If Lauren is the one that goes, I would like to see Lucas kill Kate. Lucas has always had that weird Norman Bates from Psycho thing going on when it comes to Kate (not as extreme but it's there). He's rarely made the choice of taking Sami's side over his mother's. So I think it would be apt if Kate threatened Sami's life in some way and Lucas in a split of a decision moment (similiar to Franco) killed Kate. Then Lumi would have to deal with the fallout from that.

Again, I think that Bryan D. would do an excellent job in those scenes....

3) Finally, if Frances were fired or just wanted to resign from the show, I would like to see Alice Horton start to have memory lapses and eventually be determined to have Alzheimer's. The Horton family would hire a caretaker to help the family care for Alice in her reduced capacity. B/c the show lacks diversity, the caretaker should either be African-American or Latino. In Alice's more lucid moments, she could be as feisty as the Miss Daisy character in Driving Miss Daisy.....

Again, I think Frances Reid could knock it out of the park in those scenes....

That's all I have so far, but I'll think about it some more for the rest of the characters....

[DrewH]

I've always felt Lucas and Kate's relationship was on the verge of weird. Everyone says that Austin is Kate's favorite. I don't think that's true. In reality, Kate may favor Austin in the sense that she feels she's lost his childhood time and wants to owe him that. That's why she treats him like she does.

However, I think Lucas is obviously Kate's favorite child. In a sick way, I think Kate is in love with Lucas. No woman is good enough for him. She doesn't want him to be with Sami. She knew that Nicole would never love Lucas and that's why she allowed her to marry him. Kate knows that Sami is the love of Lucas' life, so she feels threatened. I'd love for DAYS to acknowledge this.

Kate and Lucas are similar to Stephanie and Ridge.

[King]

I started a poll about this in the poll section.