DAYS: Looks like the soap might be in trouble.

[WTGH]

Dump Caroline, Shawn Sr., Roman.

2 of the big 6 should be sent on hiatus, probably Bo and Hope.

Lockharts are gone. Get rid of Willow and Max, who'll have nothing to do once Mimi is gone.

[DrewH]

Part of me wants to feel bad for Corday. Yes, he's done a lot of damage to the show by contributing to the crap that's been shown for years, but some of the times, he had no choice. Reilly's second era is a prime example. PSNS would be the only NBC soap on the air right now if Corday did not allow Reilly to return in 2003. NBC forced that upon him. There was nothing he could do. Finally, he had the courage to tell the network that they were wrong in 2006 and proposed the idea to bring on Hogan Sheffer. Luckily, for the show it's working, but NBC doesn't care much anymore. They want out of the soap business. Corday's best bet is to start pitching the show to new networks (CBS!).

And who's to say who is not popular with fans? Just because the most outcrying fans (Internet fans) are heard on a daily basis, they're not the majority of DAYS fans. There is still a huge group out there that doesn't come onto the boards. How do we know who they're favorites are. Cutting cast members because they are not fan favorites is no way to run a business.

[MikeGoldy]

If anything, DAYS has spent too much time on the veteran characters, and too much time bringing back people from the past. They should have been creating new characters; you can only rely on the same characters for so long. Did DAYS really have to bring back Billy Warlock, Christie Clark, Austin Peck, Stephen Nichols, and Mary Beth Evans? I loved Steve and Kayla back in the day; but they can never be what they were 16 years ago. The show seems unable to create new stars; although people were upset when Bill, Laura, Doug, and Julie were written off years ago, the show moved on and thrived. Because new characters like Bo, Hope, Steve, and Kayla were on. That has to happen again. If the show is to survive, it's not going to be because of Drake and Deidre, or Stephen and Mary Beth. New characters have to be created, and new fans have to come. It's really that simple. And I hate to be cruel, but other than their niche fans, I don't these "supercouples," of the past do anything for the show. Every story has been told for Marlena and John as a couple, and it's not fun watching them in their romantic scenes, acting as if they are 20 years old. I agree with another poster; kill John off, and send Drake away. You will save money right there.

[DrewH]

Get rid of Max? He'll have nothing to do once Mimi is gone? Where have you been? Fans have wanted Abby and Max together since Darin Brooks came onto the show in summer 05. Max has a valuable future ahead of himself. Plus, Hogan likes the character and sees potential.

[billyjill]

Getting rid of some dead weight will help but we'd still see more of Lumi, Shelle, etc before we'd see J/M and Bope. If the whole point of so many youngsters and secondaries is to have someone affordable to put onscreen, getting rid of them won't suddenly jump J/M and Bope to the top of the affordability list.

I have no freaking idea what the show can do, because if the characters that bring in the ratings are the ones that cost the most to put on air, they're either going to have to gamble that they'll bring enough ratings to keep the show going or they might as well fold it in. These heavies have to be paid sooner or later and they're only delaying the inevitable.

There are some characters I'd get rid of in any case. Roman, for one, there's nothing he brings to the show that another character couldn't do. I love Abe, but I could see him dropped to recurring, brought on whenever an authoritarian type is needed. I personally don't get much out of Shawn Sr and Caroline these days and I'd much rather see the elder Hortons anyway. I'm so far from caring about Max and Willow. Again I don't think we'd be seeing tons of J/M and Bope by cutting them, but I guess it would be a sign of the show trying to balance its budget.

[DrewH]

You will probably get a lot crap for making that statement, but I agree. DAYS needs to start establishing new and likeable characters. Yes, keep the stars that have been with the show for 20+ years, but you cannot just let them be the ones leading the show. Then, you have nothing once they're gone. You have a bunch of supporting characters that no one really likes.

[WTGH]

[Ridge]

I pretty much feel the same way Kenny, I agree with what you said in all of your posts.

Pathetic. And it all seems like an excuse anyways. Maybe Corday wants to end the show with a lot of cash in his pocket or whatever. And now I do strongly think that the "BIG" departure that was announced in November but never followed upon (the one that everyone said was an "icon") was probably Drake.

[MikeGoldy]

And where we are right now, is what we will be left with; A bunch of supporting characters that no one really likes! Looking back since 2002, when has any new character been created, that was given enough story, to become a leading character? The first one is James Scott's EJ, and look how popular he has become!? I would love to see Bo, Hope, Marlena, John, Steve, and Kayla on the backburner for six months, focus on EJ-Sami-Lucas, Shawn-Belle-Philip, Max-Abby, and and introduce Jeremy Horton as a sexy leading man, pairing him with a girl from the wrong side of the tracks; then along with those characters, feature Doug and Julie, Maggie, Abe, and Celeste. I believe the ratings wouldn't change at all, and if anything, move up. and it would give other characters a chance to make an impact and become popular. I'm getting more and more worked up as I type this lol, but I am so sick of people talking about "the big six," and how important they are. I just don't think they are anymore, as if it were true, we wouldn't be in the situation we are in now. And this comes from a life long Bo and Hope fan!

[Q Steph]

A soap within a soap. Maybe Corday should abdicate some owenership.

[Ridge]

And its all BS about creating new characters and letting the show survive with new characters and setting up a new generation. Yes shows have to do that but not by just shoving the ones you have in the back and letting the new ones take over. It DID NOT work in 1999 and IT WON'T WORK now. DAYS TRIED this already. Many soaps have tried this already. IT HAS NOT WORKED FOR A SOAP. Balance is key. This is THE FORMULA that has worked for Soaps FOR YEARS, shows have not lasted this long with simply throwing out the old and bringing in the new. It won't work. It's even worst when you're removing characters that have WORKED for a show. Bope, Jarlena, Steve and Kayla, Jack and Jennifer, Shelle (to a lesser extent), Lumi all work for this show. You remove them from the equation at any point, COMPLETELY, and you have a formula that will not work. This show is being driven into the ground, this is the WAY to do it.

[Q Steph]

Probably.

They can file some form of breach of contract. Days is just like nay other show on the network. A lawyer can finesse a way to terminate any agreement with NBC.

[KLN]

Meanwhile, Georgia Lass is the name of the lead character from one of my favorite TV shows of all time, "Dead Like Me!"

[Queen_Nubia]

They need to kill off Shawn Sr., and have Roman take a job with the ISA. Bo or John could fill the paternal role for Sami.

[billyjill]

The fact that Days shoved the teen scene down our throats back in '99 has made Days viewers REALLY unfriendly to youngsters now. The show is reaping what it sowed. It's unfortunate because I think the younger set now is much better and more promising than that one and could do well if not for the resentment that was built.

I agree that if the show puts all its eggs in the big 6 basket, it dooms itself down the road. However yanking them off is not the way to go either. Extreme solutions generally cause more problems than they solve, IMO.

What we need is torch passing. These older generations do have stories to tell, and what their fans really want is restitution for the damage done under JER and Langan and Co. A lot of the supercouple fans are fans of really emotional character-driven storytelling and I think what people want is a storyline to redefine their characters, whom they feel have been disfigured and disrespected, and re-establish the unique points in their relationships. They do not have to be backburnered in order for the younger generation to have their emergence.

At the same time, anyone thinking that the show will do better without a younger generation is, again, dooming it to a limited appeal.

The wrench in all this is the 2009 supposed end date looming in front of us. If it really is the end, then a future generation is not really going to pay much dividends. I for one do hope Days continues on somehow so I'm still in favor of a balance where the youngsters are present too (and also I think this show does best as a multi-generational show, it's a show about family and that has always reached across generations). But some people may feel that if the show is going out, that it'd be better to just reward the loyal fans.

I think it's overly simplistic to choose one side or the other. You need the vets, they are the ones people care about. It's to the show's discredit that few characters have been created memorable enough to carry on the Days tradition from the last 15 years. But that's the way it is, and getting rid of beloved favorites is just going to result in exchanging old viewers for new viewers, no net gain. If we need more viewers (aka, a net gain) this doesn't seem to be helpful. At the same time, it's just bad business to not plan for the future, and these vets of ours were once "the future" so it's just hypocritical to bring down the youngsters also. Paring needs to be done on all levels and all levels have to give a little in the name of balance.

I would advise Days to attend a girl scouts meeting, I remember our troop always sang that "Make new friends, but keep the old" song ... that's what they need to do. Choosing old fans over new or new fans over old isn't going to increase the ratings, they'll just stay the same that way and it'll just be a different bunch watching.