DAYS: Who had the biggest massacre? JER or Sheffer?

[RionPassions]

JER wrote out

Cassie

Rex

Tony

Nicole

Jan

Sheffer wrote out

Carrie

Austin

Frankie

Patrick

Bonnie

Mimi

Lexie

Tek

Stephanie

(I didn't count the Stalker victims because they were never really dead)

I think Sheffer's gotten rid of way more characters than JER ever did, especially core characters like Carrie and Austin. So I don't think it's far to say JER butchered the cast when clearly Sheffer's the one with the cleaver.

[PhoenixRising05]

It isn't fair to blame this on Hogan. Hogan isn't the one that killed the show's budget. JER and the other writer's did. They hacked up the show for years and the two writers who actually did a great job (C& got demoted. Plus, some characters needed to go. Days brought back too many characters under JER and there were new characters like Bonnie, Patrick, Jan, etc on top of it. The cast got bloated and, if JER lasted past last spring, I have no doubt we would've still seen the same exits because Days needed to make cuts per the new deal with NBC.

Circumstances were different. JER did not need to deal with this during his tenure so to it isn't fair in the least to put this on Hogan. JER is part of the reason Days was put in the situation it was.

[KLN]

Hogan wrote out unneeded characters, bad actors and dead weight. I bow to him, LoL.

[px780]

I agree that you can't really blame Sheffer. Budget concerns aside, the show could not support as many big couples as it had, and it could still, in my opinion, stand to lose a few more characters. I don't blame Reilly for bloated cast size, though. From my perspective it's a problem that developed due to over-reliance on a few key couples and the stupid decision to gut the middle set (Sami's age group) to make way for an aged Belle & co. back in the late 90s/early 00s.

The only thing I can think of to fault Sheffer for is writing out the Lockharts and virtually replacing them with Willow and Jed (so far). It might have been interesting to let Mimi be in that Willow role, considering the character had a long history. But I get why it's easier to dump a family and bring in replacements instead- you avoid the whole "so-and-so is getting ruined" argument. And I hate the Lockharts so it's not really something I can get angry about.

[DaysForever]

Sheffer had to write them out because of the budget. Hell, before he got there, some characters already left.

Just because you don't like him, don't go blaming him for all this.

[daysfan]

Some of them left, and the rest it was because of budget and Hogan didn't have plans for them at the time.

As for JER, he pretty much ran out of ideas for all of them, except mabye Nicole or Rex since Zuker and Winter quit but Nicole was put on the backburner as soon as Carrie came back into the mix.

I'm not sure JER even wanted Tony there in the first place, and he was quick to destroy him and make him leave.

I think the only reason Rex left was because of Winter's contract. I could see JER writing more for him and Mimi, but he left so he just paired Shimi up.

I am almost positivte JER had nothing in mind for Cassie. She was killed soon after he started writing, and once they were revealed to be alive they hinted at that she was working for Tony but she was still put on the backburner, through Melaswan and the Castle until they escaped. We didn't even to get a final goodbye scene for her.

Again, he just ran out of ideas for Jan IMO. I would have liked to see a redemption story for the character, or for her to not be such a cartoon one-note psycho, but JER has never really done something like that so I wasn't suprised. After Shawn broke up with her Lindell was soon put on recurring and we barely ever saw her until she was fired.

Sheffer did not run out of ideas for these people. He did it yes because of the budget and due to people who were cut/quit before he came on he could not have them in his plans.

[SteveFrame]

It's best most of the people left anyway. It is not Sheffer's fault that any of the characters left, but if most of them stayed I highly doubt Sheffer would have written for them anyway. And that is not necessarily a criticism of Hogan - just experience with him & experience that is now showing itself on Days.

[Ponz]

Totally different, Rion. HS was forced to axe these characters because of the budget situation and most were surplus to requirements. Reilly's firings were "creative" decisions and he targeted actors he had personal grudges against (Ashford, Aniston, Penghlis etc) regardless of their value to the show.

[darraholic]

I'm totally fine with the cuts during Hogan's stay minus Lexie.

[RionPassions]

I forgot to add Chloe and Brady to the JER list.

Well, you have to admit, if you were a fan of Chloe, Brandon, Craig, and Nancy, JER brought them all back and gave each of them a better goodbye than the ones Higley had written for them.

[Ponz]

Craig appeared in maybe 2 episodes under JER and wasn't even present at the Broe wedding reception. He and Nancy just vanished after the wedding. Brandon was basically Kate's prop to dangle in front of Sami. And I don't remember JER giving him any exit scene to speak of.

[DrewH]

You could add Mickey Horton to the JER list as well. John Clarke, although he says it was retirement, was probably sickened with the storyline he got and chose to leave the show. John Ingle took over the role, but even he had get sick of playing a watered, dumbed down Mickey and left for GH as soon as they gave him the opportunity.

Brandon was not given a goodbye scene. He just disappeared after Lucas found him and Sami in bed together. Like Ponz said, Nancy and Craig also disappeared after the wedding.

[RionPassions]

Still better than the Higley exits.

[DrewH]

How? They're pretty much the same thing. Craig didn't get an exit scene back in 2003 either. Nancy and Brandon got exit scenes, all be it they only lasted a scene or two. It happened. This time around, they got nothing.

[RionPassions]

JER's a better writer than Higley. He brought them back and gave them one last hurrah.