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?

Also, we aren't going to get any new viewers. That goes for any show. Soaps are dying. We need to get the people back who used to watch. Soaps have a horrible, horrible reputation, and no one wants to watch them.

I don´t think this is true. Soaps has had a horrible reputation for years. Yes, there is not a lot of people who is willing to admit they watch them, but they definitely do. Beside that, just look around on other MB how much fans already have Abby/Max, or now lately Chelsea. People in those threads are all new viewers. Yes, I quess in some way it reminds what Langan did, but the difference is Langan was incompetent. Now we have an Emmy winner who has a clear plans and intentions.

I don´t know, I just think it´s unrealistic to think J/M and B/H can still carry the show, or bring in some fans. Everybody knows I´m a huge fan of J/J but even I´m willing to admit that if I didn´t know their original story I would never cared about them during their second run. It was too much been there, done that. I mean, people are saying they started to watch the show when they were young because grown ups, not teenagers, but they tend to forget that grown ups, leading characters of the show, are now Shawn, Belle, Sami, Lucas EJ and Phillip.

As for these new characters, Nick is the only one with staying power (Willow did get better yesterday) and the ratings have not gone down at all since these new characters showed up.

Is there a need for you to keep repeating that statement. A new character is a new character. Period.

Soaps have been going after new/younger viewers for years, and what has it lead to? Ratings gutter!

Soaps have been going after new/younger viewers for years, and what has it lead to? Ratings gutter!

DAYS went after younger in the 80's with Bope/Payla/J&J with success. They did the same in the 90's with Sami/Carrie/Lucas/Austin. I wouldn't say Days is "going after new/younger" so much as introducing younger characters that could appeal to anyone. It's all in the writing.

Is there a need for you to keep repeating that statement. A new character is a new character. Period.

Yes because I am simply pointing out that people are blowing this out of proportion. We don't know how many of these new creations are going stay for the long haul. That is all I am saying.

Sorry, but I think you are wrong. Sheffer is doing the only thing which can to save the show. Tries to create a good show with a characters people can care about. I believe this whole idea that there are tons of old fans who would tune in if someone big from past returned is wrong. S/K are back and it didn´t have any major impact on ratings. We´ve had A/C and it didn´t have any impact on ratings. Those old fans are simply gone. Away. Jaded and lost forever. IF DAYS wants better ratings it will not get it by bringing any old characters back, even massive featuring of the golden four will not help them, because fans who still loves them already watch. The only way to rise ratings and save the show is to bring in new viewers. Give them their own B/H, their own J/M, their own supercouples and big romances they can watch from beginning, because admit it, nothing compares to thouse first two or three years of couple when they are coming together for the first time, and has their first kisses, first lovemaking, first everything. That´s the stuff which turns viewer into fan.

IMO, the future of the show is in the hands of Sami/Lucas, Shelle, Chelsea/Nick, Abby and Max and other characters in those generations, and of course Hogan´s because he has to give them stories wonderfull enough to rise interest.

I definitely disagree. I'm also not saying the show should bring back characters. It's storylines that make soaps watchable, any character can make a good storyline work. But focusing on the characters you mention will not help the show and I don't think their storylines are garnering any interest at all. The ratings have not bumped for weeks now and during those weeks Chelsea/Nick, Abby and Max have been front and center. Steve and Kayla's return did work for the show but again, there was no story for it.

Focusing on new characters is not going to help this show. It has been proven over and over again. Good storytelling will and viewers aren't going to invest in good storytelling with new characters. I know I won't.

Yes because I am simply pointing out that people are blowing this out of proportion. We don't know how many of these new creations are going stay for the long haul. That is all I am saying.

IA Phoenix, but what is the long haul?? The show is done in 2 YEARS as far as we know. Instead of all of this set up crap I wish the show would just tell its good stories and focus on the characters that have made this show it is in the place of soap history rather than trying to appeal to all the demos and set up for a next generation that simply will not exist.

The show has at least two years left. That is quite awhile. The vets are still frontburner but you also have to think abotu the development of young characters and couples because most of the vets have been through so much already and you don't want to get repetitive like JER did.

The ratings have been fine for two months. The show was between a 2.4-2.6 and now it's at a 2.7 for nearly a month. It's stabile and as long as the good writing continues Days will build viewer trust back and the numbers will get better. Slow and seady gains are much easier to maintain then large ones. Chelsea/Nick, Abby/Max, Shawn/Belle, and Sami/Lucas already have strong fanbases and many fans are already invested. If they didn't care, the ratings would be down. They aren't going up or down. This reminds me alot if the 80's when we saw the great supercouples we see today being developed and we watched their journeys together. That is what the majority of Days' fanbase loves and that will get them to tune in as they slowy hear how good the show is doing.

You can't just ignore the future. Corday will not just let the show go so it's safe to say Days may have more future beyond 2009. You have to build for the future because, really, the future is now. These characters need to drive story along with the vets now. They are ready. I mean you can only focus on Bo/Hope, Steve/Kayla, and John/Marlena so much. They are still front burner but so our the young characters. It's a mix. Hogan is doing it right. The future is being built and vets are still being focused on. I don't see how much better Days or Hogan could be handling everything right now.

Farah Fath has a HUGE fanbase and that did sh*t for her.

Yes because I am simply pointing out that people are blowing this out of proportion. We don't know how many of these new creations are going stay for the long haul. That is all I am saying.

lol I agree. But that's not really unusual.

I don't think for a second that Corday will do anything to save DAYS. Every on emakes the "it's business" excuse seem so plausible so there is no reason to think that Corday won't do the same when the time comes to put the show to rest. Corday has not really done anything good for this show except hiring Hogan Sheffer, who IMO, is not creating big waves either. The show still has inanenly crazy special effect endings which end up making the whole show seem like a joke. Seriously, they are laughable. No NORMAL person watches those endings and doesn't think to themselves, what a damn stupid show. That should have been fixed. Corday cares about business just like the rest of them, and that means waving good bye to the show in 09 because thats the way business goes.

If you think that Corday will just let his parents show die, then you must be a really jaded viewer.

Corday has made alot of mistakes but one of them is not making sure this show stays on the air. He has done whatever NBC asked to keep it on air after so many times where it nearly was canned. He may make bad decisions at times but he loves the show and his desire to keep it on the air as long as he can is the truth.

As for Hogan, I don't know what else you could want from him. Yes, Days could use a big event to spice things up but the show is on a creative high right now and it can't be action packed drama everyday. It is consistently producing quality and good storytelling daily. January has not been as great as December but every month can't be HUGE. You have to build stories and help the audience invest.

I agree about the SFX but they have been toned down alot and sometimes we do get fadeout endings for the high drama episodes. I don't think you should let it bring the whole show down for you though.

Maybe you are just looking for different things from Days. I hope you find what you are looking for. I never thought I would get the show I loved back and I have. I guess we just have different perceptions of what we want to see.

If you think that Corday will just let his parents show die, then you must be a really jaded viewer.

Corday has made alot of mistakes but one of them is not making sure this show stays on the air. He has done whatever NBC asked to keep it on air after so many times where it nearly was canned. He may make bad decisions at times but he loves the show and his desire to keep it on the air as long as he can is the truth.

As for Hogan, I don't know what else you could want from him. Yes, Days could use a big event to spice things up but the show is on a creative high right now and it can't be action packed drama everyday. It is consistently producing quality and good storytelling daily. January has not been as great as December but every month can't be HUGE. You have to build stories and help the audience invest.

I agree about the SFX but they have been toned down alot and sometimes we do get fadeout endings for the high drama episodes. I don't think you should let it bring the whole show down for you though.

Maybe you are just looking for different things from Days. I hope you find what you are looking for. I never thought I would get the show I loved back and I have. I guess we just have different perceptions of what we want to see.

I'm not a jaded viewer, but I KNOW better. Again, you have a lot of faith in him, but for what reason?? JER ruined this show for 3 years and Corday did NOTHING. It took him 3 years to sit down and tell JER he was writing crap. 3 YEARS. If you're going to try and save a show you love you would do it before the axes come flying down. Now that the news is out that DAYS is likely to be cancelled in 09 Corday can do all he want but like JoJo said, it's just a little too late. Instead of working to save his show on the network and give good soap, Corday is going to try and sell it to another network? Yeah, I guess he may love it that much, but not enough to save it when it needed to be saved the most... I won't be holding my breathe And I am enjoying DAYS a lot now, Hogan has brought in a lot of changes, for the most part I am still faithful and thoroughly enjoyed by DAYS, but when opportunities go by and such things start adding up and you realize maybe it's not worth investing in a show that is not going to give fans back what they want, especially one that is likely to go out without a bang in two years.

I'd be one of the last people to defend Corday right now, but what happened with JER the last time around wasn't entirely his fault. Corday never wanted him back; NBC FORCED Corday to re-hire JER as part of the DAYS renewal agreement. Corday's hands were tied. And if Corday had fired JER before his contract was up, NBC would have been furious at having to buy out the rest of JER's hefty contract. Now am I saying Corday is a perfect EP? Heeeellll no. But sometimes he gets too much flak.

Again. NBC is who pushed for JER to go back to Days. Corday wanted him out and, if the rumors are true, he got so fed up he finally lost it and fired JER and that was against the network. Corday only agreed to JER's return to save Days and keep it on the air. I think Corday wanted him out for awhile but, when he realized he couldn't have that, he tried to force JER to write stories that Corday thought were ok. The stories still were bad for the most part but they were the traditional stories Corday wanted.

Many fans feel that Hogan is giving them what they want. I see what you mean though. It is hard to trust Days and Corday but I trust Hogan and that is why I am quite confident right now. As for selling the show to another network, that is saving it my friend. I would be shopping for another home now since it is clear no matter how great Days gets NBC wants out. 2009 is a long ways way so you may still get the bang you want. If the bang you want is big returns and events, I'm not sure you are going to get all that. I think you will see returns here and there but I do think it will be tough based on the budget and the fact that some actors may not want to come to a show that has an uncertain future.

I know Corday will seek out all possible avenues like he has in the past. Days almost went to ABC before so who knows. Anyway, I don't think either of us are getting far with this so I will just end it by saying I see your point but I just have to disagree.