DAYS: New male character

[PhoenixRising05]

Great post. The next generation is the key. Bo/Hope, Marlena/John, and Steve/Kayla have been through so much. They can still be front burner but Days needs the up and comers now more then ever. You want the audience to go on a journey, like they did in the 80's and 90's when we saw these great couples come together. Now, you want to see the same with Abby/Max, Sami/Lucas, etc. Watching these couples bond and come together will draw fans in like it did in the 80's and 90's. Returns are great but they have done nothing lately for days. 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. I think many fans see that most of these new characters are not long haul characters and, the one that is, Nick, is one that has been accepted.

Th majority of recent fans know JKJ. He only left in 2002. It's not like he left in the early 90's so I can't count him as a new face. Fans have already took to BB as Shawn. Bottom line is great writing gets you ratings. Days is slowly inching up because of that. Slow inreases are easier to maintain. Also, another thought, if some of these new characters do stay, people may end up liking them in another year and all this is forgotten. People despised Nicole and look what happened. You never kno. But Jane is right. Hogan is handling all this the right way and the best way for the future. 2009 may or may not be the end for Days. No one knows for sure and to start acting now like it would be and not building the future and investing the audience in the future would not be a good idea. Besides, the next generation is played by great actors now and he majority of fans love them and are invested in them now.

[Jane1978]

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.

[DrewH]

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

[King]

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

[Andre]

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.

[PhoenixRising05]

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.

[Ridge]

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.

[Ridge]

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.

[PhoenixRising05]

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.

[DrewH]

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

[Cheyenne]

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

[Ridge]

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.

[PhoenixRising05]

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.

[Ridge]

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.

[Mason]

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.