February 19-23, 2007

[Ridge]

Oh I am definitely tuning into B&B for Ashley's arrival. I'm excited to be starting a new soap!!

[Andre]

When it's good, I compliment Hogan. When it's bad, I say it's his fault. Makes sense to me.

[Ponz]

It's just the reality of the situation, Ryan. I've never been one to preach doom and gloom but these ratings are nothing short of disastrous. If it were just a case of overall households, I would not be that concerned. But the younger demos, the area that most attracts advertisers to the show, have been slipping badly. The show has lost the 18-34 demo 3 weeks in a row after having only lost that category 11 times during the last 10 years! It's not even in the top 5 in 18-49. And these numbers could not have come at a worse possible time. An executive looking at these numbers would be hard pressed to find any reason to keep funding the show.

May Sweeps is CRUNCH time. Good scenes and intelligent dialogue are simply not cutting it. Hogan needs to do something amazing. If the show still gets canned, so be it. But I would rather see it go out in a blaze of glory than continue to sleepwalk into cancellation.

[Jane1978]

Well, I believe what we are seeing is not a normal situation because all what is left are B stories. Intended to be B stories. Unfortunatelly, the main storyline which was supposed to drive sweeps was canceled, so that´s all we are getting right now. Abby/Max, Chelsea/Nick, even Sami/Lucas and EJ are great but exactly the stuff you fill the episode with between the exciting stuff, which is non existant. So what we are seeing now IMO is a reajusting to the new situation. It happened during worst possible time, yes, but I think it will slowly get better again.

Sheffer already proved he can write good stories. It´s really not his fault that NBC cut his legs off just as it started to get exciting.

[Ridge]

What rationale is there for that? Corday came out and said that what we are seeing is what we were meant to see. There was no explanation as to why storylines got shafted and he almost came out said that nothing was shifted that this is simply what was meant to be shown...

And in any case, like Ponz said, what DAYS is doing is not working on ANY level. DAYS is a demos soap and has been failing miserably, on some levels record-setting, and is featuring that age group a plenty. So where really is DAYS rationale for throwing out familiar faces and focusing on these relatively new ones/the same ones OVER and OVER and OVER again?!

How is DAYS going to sell itself to another network now? It comes down to the ratings, doesn't it? And if Corday was, as many said, trying to set the show's next generation up for its "future", if this is not working in the present, how will it work in the future?

[Jane1978]

I really don´t care what Corday says. Once time ago he said he loves J/J, year after he tried to fire MA. He also said TL is the man he wants to write for DAYS forever, and he fired him too. The proof is on the screen and coudn´t be more clearer.

I really don´t know what Corday is trying to do, I´m not him. Maybe he knows the show is over, he checked the sittuation and just tries to save some money for himself. Or he tries to make the show as cheap as possible so there is better chance someone picks it up. Or he is lying and NBC forced him to do some unprepared budget cuts, which meant he had to cut his best story in the middle.

All I´m saying is I believe the answer is number three. The show will get better in terms of storyline and excitment because Sheffer will reajust and those newbies and veterans played by newbies will stay on frontburner but this time with frontburner stories to support them. And J/M and B/H will might even get some limited storyline for sweeps, but that´s it. That´s the deal. People either accept it and the show will survive, or not, and it will die.

[Manny]

I would never wish for JER to return! Never ever! Nor would I wish for Hogan to leave. I know Hogan can write better. I don't know what happened, but I wouldn't blame this all on Hogan...

Not yet, that is..

Becuase Ken Corday is a known liar.. How many times has he said something in an interview and it turned out to be a lie? So why should I believe him when he says that HE didn't order Hogan to write off Bope, Jarlena and etc and write for younger crowd?

Someone said it here... everything was pretty much okay until like middle of January, when suddenly we lost Bope, we lost Jarlena, we lost Victor, Caroline etc and others that were up until then on our screens a lot!

And we got Shelle, Chick, Lumi and Steve & Kayla 24/7... But check this out: many of today's viewers don't really know Steve and Kayla... so they are basically new... Brandon Beemer is on the show for how long? Six months? Nick is on the show since november? EJ is supposed to be Elvis, born in 97/98 which is the most stupid SORAS case EVER... so every storyline is filled with practically new faces! New faces are okay.. I've NEVER been against them... but new faces CAN'T carry the show. New faces can only work if they are incorporated with OLD faces.

BUT, I wouldn't even mind this like some do, becuase I really do like Brandon Beemer, and I LOVE Nick and Steve and Kayla are okay.. So what's my problem, you ask? The stories are boring... and this is what I blame Hogan for... If Ken Corday did order him to kick out Bope, Jarlena and others... couldn't have Hogan at least come up with something more exciting for others than this? I was looking forward to Shelle on the island, but it turned out to be pretty boring... Lumi/EJ is pretty reperative... even the Steve/Kayla stuff is usually not dramatic enough for me... the only thing I do like is Chick romance, but that to me should be a side story...

So there you go... I know I probably said what many other people have said before me... but I tried to sum it all up here...

So to end this, I blame Ken Corday, I blame Hogan and his staff... I think they are equally to blame here..

[Soapsuds]

Hogan did that at ATWT. Why should you or any other soap viewer be surprised? His writing for vets was nonexistent.

Wow, you would rather have JER back? The 2.1 for Days looks real bad. Yes, all soaps went down but that stands out.

As for ATWT, their stinky numbers continue. Monday's show was good with Barbara and Margo confrontation. And Thursday was good too. But the rest of the week sucked. All the Brad mess is bad. The show is writing way too much for Gwen and Maddie. They should be writing more for the other characters.

And when did Paul have his stupid visions and that stupid dog escapay? Was it last week? Because it was horrible. Paul should be backburned.

It's time Jean Passsanante got axed as well. What is CBS waiting for?

[skiman12082004]

Days is not terrible! I think it's sh*tloads better than it was when JER was there. Just because ratings are down now Hogan is supposedly to blame. I think the writing is actually good, but the storylines are not sensationalistic or watercooler material. The foundation is still being laid and I really have no explanation for Bo, Hope, John and Marlena being put on the backburner. Ken Corday is definitely a huge exaggerator, but obviously more is going on behind the scenes than we know. NBC sucks and I blame this soley on them. Having said that, Hogan prove all the naysayers WRONG. Write the hell out of Days!

[electrorat]

I watch Days daily. It's actually a lot better written now than it was for the past 3 years. I was never a fan of Jarlena, so I don't miss their boredom. I'd like to see Bo & Hope interacting more with the younger ones, but I can live without them having their own storyline. Nick & Chelsea are great. Even Shelle have become entertaining since the arrival of Brandon in the role of Shawn, and JKJ's Philip works well with that horrid Willow. The biggest problem I see is EJ Wells. He's in pretty much every freakin' storyline now, and while I love a good villain, there's something called "too much of a good thing." He's a sadist, and his constant presence in so many storylines has caused more than one of my Days friends to stop watching. I've never been a fan of the DiMera's, so I'd be quite happy to see them just melt away, but if we must have one in Salem, I'd prefer a real one like Stefano or Tony. The oversorased ten year old is just too much.

[SteveFrame]

People are calling this a bad week, but this is more than a bad week. If it were just a bad week I would agree with the argument, but as many have pointed out this is 6 bad weeks. I didn't like Days but I got lured back in because of the quality and the excitement. But 6 weeks ago all of a sudden things changed. Each week Phoenix and others have been coming in here saying to the fans who are frustrated - give it time. I have faith the balance is going to return. Spoilers look better. Well nothing has happened. In fact to me the balance has gotten worse. February was a lot worse balance wise than January was.

And I don't blame Hogan alone. I blame him and Corday both. I blame Corday because is something was going on behind the screen he should have said so. Fans would understand better if he had said yes we are having to retool some things. Just be patient with us. But he didn't. He said this wasn't budget wise. And if Drake had asked for time off, he should have said that to alleve fans worries.

But he didn't. He did nothing or said nothing to alleve fans fears.

Hogan since he came here has been so outspoken about what he was going to do. Well none of it has come true but he hasn't had much to say either. Is Corday keeping him from it? If he is I am surprised. Hogan has never been the type to let anyone shut his mouth. And I know people get mad at me for saying it, but I could trust that this was not Hogan's fault as far as balance if he didn't do the same exact thing for 5 years at ATWT.

I do believe there are some problems going on behind the scenes that are attributing to part of it. But the current thing is not working. There needs to be some more retooling and someone needs to decide what is going to happen. Right now Marlena and John's absence is really present as the stories move into new levels. Marlena not being there this week for John's kidnapping was a big pitfall in the story.

I love Days and have watched every episode even the boring ones since the last of December until this week. I have not watched much at all this week or fastforwarded through a lot of the tapes I have done.

some of the spoilers do look good. I am hoping for better days ahead, but my biggest fear is if Days doesn't do something soon things are not going to be good at all.

As I ahve said about GL. It has faced cancellation rumors for years now, but the show just keeps going. It keeps trying. It is not going to go out limping - it is going out fighting. That is what I want Days to do. Take some chances and see what happens.

[Evan]

I'm not surprised B&B has lost the #2 spot: this has been coming for a while! The viewers don't want another incestuous relationship(Rick/Phoebe), Ridge/Brooke has lost the spark of previous years, Nick might have some chemistry with Taylor but he was far hotter with Brooke, characters like Bridget, Felicia and Clarke are sadly underused, and to add insult to injury, Brad Bell fires two of his best actors, William De Vry and Dax Griffin. Where is Ben Hogestyn?

I doubt very much Eileen Davidson's arrival will spark things up too much!

Bell needs to be kicked out on his behind, let's have a shakeup of writers, producers, SLs etc.

Y&R: I am loving the Kevin/Colleen/JT/Michael stuff this week.

DAYS: Sorry to say Sheffer is not doing much better than Reilly. A 2.1 on Wednesday is inexcusable. As Ponz says, unless May sweeps are a hit, DAYS is dead in the water permanently, and that'd be sad for many of us who grew up watching this soap when it was really good!

[kentville]

"B&B IS bad, despite good writers and a good cast. The headwriter is the worst in daytime, he is not creative and does the same stories over and over again. Everyone hated Ridge with Bridget so he did it twice, now he's doing it again with Phoebe and Rick. According to his interview at TVGUIDE.com, he couldn't care less what the fans think of it."

You've said it all, especially abut Bell not caring what the fans think. Way too much Taylor, Bridge is boring, Phoebe and Rick will always be considered related, no matter how many times they say they're not. Congratulations to GH, I hope BB continues to drop in the ratings until Bell wises up and realizes that he can't take his audience for granted.

[PhoenixRising05]

It's not making excuses. I recognize that the balance sucked. I made it known I don't mind it. I don't agree that the balance is why the ratings have plummeted. It contributed to it but there have been times where Days' balance sucked before and the ratings were fine. Not much happened in February and that is why the numbers were bad. The dailies for the shows where things actually happened in February were pretty good. Days just looks bad compared to all the other soaps during sweeps. As for Drake, why should he come forward? There is a reason it's called PERSONAL issues. Deidre went through a similar phase in late 2004-2005. She was backburnered but she was also going through a divorce, which was not known until later. Drake's privacy should be respected and I truly think that is why he is off. I also think all the cast members leaving has hurt Hogan. Alot of the exits were rushed with no buildup at all (like Mimi getting a one day sendoff). To me, the exits did not agree with Hogan's plans because the exits of the characters always feel tossed in among everything else. I wonder if alot of what is happening is imposed on Hogan and he shuts his mouth because he is getting paid well.

Having said all that, there is no excuse for the lack of Marlena. That is my biggest issue. She should've been in at least one episode this week. Even if Drake is off, at some point they have to use Marlena. Bo and Hope will be featured. that much is clear and they needed that break. Days just has to get going with J&M and then it will be fine, providing it kicks the story up.

I should also add that this has not been going on for 6 weeks, at least not as far as numbers go. Days had that little bump at the end of January and things spiraled since then. I don't put the blame so much on Hogan as I do Corday. For years, he has had this pattern of going light during sweeps and bringing it in the other months. That has to change. I don't care about sweeps but I realize they are important. Days does need to step up. That I won't argue with. I see everyone's point. However, I am enjoying the show and I know others that are as well so don't expect me to trash it left and right. I will defend it and point out things that bother me. I acknowledges that yesterday's episode was boring, the worst I have ever seen under Hogan. I am objective but I am also a very positive person that loves Days and tries to keep a patient attitude. They know they have to do well so it's my hope that we will see that effort reflected soon.

However, let's not only single out Days because this was a bad week for ALL soaps. They all went down and that isn't a good thing.

[Mason]

God, this is so damn depressing. I seriously have a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach right now.