From www.nbc.com:

Newcomer Frank Mentier has been cast as "Jed,” a hot transfer student at Salem U. Jed will first air on Thursday, February 22nd.

With Chelsea and Abby going to Salem U as well, I wonder if Jed is the rumored brother of Willow the show was hoping to bring on, and will Abby use him to make Max jealous. There were some rumors that Connor and Abby would hookup, and with Bonnie and Mimi leaving soon, will Jed replace Connor?

No one here has said they weren't satisfied with Hogan's writing. All we're talking about is the fact that we don't like his new characters and the way he writes the young characters (or some of us, anyway). It has nothing to do with the actually quality of the show overall right now.

Oh, okay...

Anyway, I hope Hogan continues to do his thing with the show, including the younger generation of characters. IMO, he's not doing anything wrong. Hopefully, as summer approaches, we will see a drastic change in Abby and Max, because those are the two characters that need it right now.

It's pretty understandable why Max and Abby were placed on the backburner in character development. Chelsea needed all of Hogan's attention. That character was ruined so badly under Reilly's pen. Hogan has done wonders and I have no doubt that once his attention returns to Max and Abby, I will say the same thing.

While I can see where you guys are coming from referring to the teens, I have to disagree. To me, Chelsea, Abby and Max have all been given character. They seem like real people now. Chelsea is now tolerable. Abby actually has something to do, although she's falling back into Chelsea's background a bit. Max, on the other hand, I will agree with you has gotten the wrost out of those three. I liked Max when he first came on. He had that bad boy edge to him. Now? Not so much.

As for bringing back the old characters, sure, lets bring back all of these high cost actors and make the show look like a cheaper version of GL. The show is doing just fine the way it is without Mascolo or Davidson. I won't even mention Sorel, because to me, Vivian is not need, nor will she ever be needed on this show again. That character's ship sailed years ago. But back to what I was saying; the writers are smart not instantly bringing back these big characters. Use what you have and for the most part, aside from the 3 new characters that were introduced since Hogan started, he's done just that. He writes for John, Marlena, Bo, Steve, Victor, Kate, Sami, Lucas, etc. And even when he's writing for these characters, people still b*tch.

No one can be satisfied it seems.

I agree with everything except I think ED is needed. The teens have character and personality now as opposed to before when they had very little to no development. Now they have layers and actually are relatable.

Oh, okay...

Don't roll your eyes at me.

I agree with everything except I think ED is needed. The teens have character and personality now as opposed to before when they had very little to no development. Now they have layers and actually are relatable.

Oh, I think that Davidson is needed as well. I want Kristen back. I would take her over Joseph anyday. Kristen has storyline potential because of EJ. Stefano would as well, but you can only go on being the most hated man in Salem for so long. As with Kristen, we have the possibility of Davidson returning as Susan, everyone finding out from Susan what she really did to Kristen, the journey to save Kristen from the sultan. And that's only if Hogan decides to pick up where SSM left off. He can have so much went on off-screen. Kristen could have very well escaped from the sultan and raised EJ on her own. The possibilities are endless.

Don't roll your eyes at me.

Please!

Please!

Am I missing something here?

Am I missing something here?

Continue on, Hogan...

Continue on, Hogan...

Don't patronize me either.

:lol:

Aha...ahah..hah...funny...

Lets get back on topic, shall we?

February 22 is so far away! I want to hear more about Jed right now!

That's right. Roll your eyes.

right out of your sockets.

Edited January 30, 200718 yr by HoganStaysAtDAYS1

That's right. Roll your eyes.

right out of your sockets.

Ouch!

And here I was hoping all that vomitting finally got to you...

I don't get why the new character issue is that big of a deal. We have had a total of 5 new characters brought on under Hogan. One of them, Nick, is a Horton and has already become popular. Benji and Connor are recurring with Connor probably hitting the road soon. Willow and Jed may or may not be here for the long haul. Willow is barely on now. 95% of Days is vets. People are not going to tune out of Days because of this. Nick is the only new character that is featured prominently. Days' big problem is lack of viewer trust. Once they slowly build that back (as they are now), the numbers will be better. Even so, the ratings system sucks anyway. I am also confident Days' run won't end in 2009, as are others.

I think some need to wait because there is alot jumping the gun going on. This is nothing like 1998-2001 when new characters were coming at you all the time. Days has been worse in regards to newcomers. This is nothing. Like I said, if it gets worse then what it is now and people like Willow, Jed, etc are around then I will jump on the bandwagon but it's way too soon to go nuts about this right now IMO.

I think part of the problem is all the bad news NBC has been spewing about soaps in general and DOOL in particular. I feel like the clock is ticking and if DOOL wants to change NBC's mind (doubtful) or get picked up by another network, they have to start nudging those ratings up and start generating some excitement among the fans. The return of ED would help with this, I believe, although I'll admit I'm prejudiced because Kristen is probably my all time favorite soap character. Willow is not bringing in fans--sorry to those of you who like her, but she really is hated by the majority of the viewers. The additon of her brother is not going to help ratings wise. Hopefully, Hogan has a great story in mind and his character will be accepted but like King said, he's not going to bring back lapsed viewers. And that's desperately needed right now. Keep familiar faces onscreen, increase the ratings, get some momentum going, and down the line when (hopefully) the future of DOOL is more secure, bring in some new faces. I just feel like the next few months are crucial to DOOL future and bringing in a new character related to a widely disliked character is not going to help.

Drew, do you think you can tone down the obnoxiousness? I know it's hard, but try. Thank you.