ALL: I've given up DAYS, Need a new soap

[Mitchapalooza]

Its sad to see some of you dropping DAYS!

I guess you are just too used to Reilly/Langan-esque DAYS...which IS ok.

I for one have not enjoyed DAYS as much as I am now IN A LONG LONG time and find the show is at the top of it's game right now.

I will NEVER give up on DAYS *NO MATTER WHAT* they put on!

DAYS is part of my family!

Rick as for recommending another show, the only one I will recommend is any 4 of the CBS dramas. ABC Daytime = Poison!

[KMan101]

I'm not fond of any of the soaps at the moment. OLTL is improving. GL has gotten a lot better, but I'm not a fan of Daisy sucking up the airtime and the balance could still be better.

Y&R is a shell of it's former self. It's simply like any other soap now, which is sad.

DAYS, I'm agreeing with everyone. I, myself, love the show and am liking the character-driven storylines. And Rick, Hogan hasn't changed Victor, REILLY changed Victor and made him a boring pod. Hogan infused life into Victor, much like C&B did and returned him to his nasty roots. My only complaint with DAYS is the lack of balance and EJ being on CONSTANTLY. I love him but my god, I'm so tired of seeing him nearly every day. I think the stories, even though youth centric, are GOOD, but one or two stories can't drive a show. THAT'S my issue with it.

Passions is just Passions. I tuned in yesterday for the first time in a while and couldn't bear to watch. I LOVED this show from 1999-2001 (and on and off through 2004/2005) but it's awful. I do like bitchy Sheridan. McKenzie finally is showing signs of life again after acting like a pod for years.

ATWT is not bad. Balance could be better but I watched yesterday and was pleasantly surprised to see Lucinda and Susan. It needs help but it's still not as bad as other soaps. There's still too many characters just being wasted (Barbara is the main travesty ... she's being SO wasted).

OLTL is getting much better. I see better balance, or at least an attempt of. I REALLY enjoyed watching it last night on SoapNet. Some of it was cheesy but it was honestly a pleasant hour of television. Something has clearly changed behind the scenes (my bet is Kay Alden).

GH is meh. I'm not fond of a lot of it, but when it's good it is GOOD. It's just a very on and off show. I'm always tuning in and out. When the propping starts, I tune out.

B&B ... I haven't watched in a long time. I loved this show back in 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, but now I'm just not loving it. Actually, I have watched briefly every so often and the Rick/Phoebe hour is atrocious. I hate both of them and I used to like Rick.

I could on but damn ... that was a long post!

[KMan101]

Er ... half hour for B&B. LOL. I was on a rant, sorry!

[Bree]

Yeah. It's just not cutting it for me anymore. The show bores me. I'm glad the dialogue has gotten a lot better, and we're seeing potential for some good love stories, but you can't sustain interest by showing the same five or six characters everyday. It's a shame, since before 2006 ended DAYS was probably the best its ever been since Brash and Cwikly took over.

[KMan101]

I agree. November, December and some of Janauary were very good and very balanced.

[aMLCproduction]

Y&R something happens every day

[Ponz]

I don't want Hogan's days to be like Reilly/Langan-esque DAYS but nor I do want the opposite extreme. JER was all about using short-term term stunts and gimmicks to get artifical ratings spikes, making no plans for the future and alienating long-term viewers. The idea was to make the show as offensive and awful as possible so that people would tune in just to see how bad it was, the way motorists stop to look at a road accident. Hogan's DAYS is all about long-term plot development but takes no consideration of the short-term impact on viewership. It's no good telling viewers to be "patient". They aren't going to keep watching because of vague promises from Corday that things WILL improve when other soaps are showing compelling material NOW.

[PhoenixRising05]

That part is debatable because the only show even remotely compelling right now is GL. The rest are hit or miss or just plain blah. I otherwise agree and now is the time to step it up for Days. Even I am losing patience as yesterday bored me to tears. Two episodes in two weeks that bore me to tears never happens.

I do agree with Mitch though. I think many people are more used to Reilly and Langan type storytelling then they realize and I think that only piles on to the problems facing Days.

[billyjill]

I can't agree that preferring Langan and JER is what I want and why I'm dissatisfied with DAYS. Nobody hates Langan and JER more than I, believe you me. But the way I see it Hogan undeniably has his own set of problems. I don't think the show is actually character driven just by virtue of being slower. I think it just stops for a while and then when it does pick up the momentum is actually often plot-driven. We have gotten some insightful character moments in the slow times, yes, and those make up for the slowed pace by providing interesting reflections on our favorite Salemites, but often enough the slower times are just redundant rehashes. The thing about Sheffer's tenure that worries me the most is that I can't sense a long-term plan. There may be one, but unless you get a sniff of movement every week, it's hard to see anything definite shaping up. I can't get a hint about anything unless I look off the screen and read spoilers or speculations, meaning that nothing actually going on on the show itself is giving me any hints and building suspense and intrigue. I think that's a big no-no if the only way to drum up excitement for the show is to talk to the audience through the mags as versus the on-screen story.

Langan and Reilly made me HATE the show. Hogan does not, but under him the show bores me because the simple mechanics are done wrong (pacing, payoffs, etc -- not because the characters seen are inherently valueless, though balance is always helpful), and I get infuriated at TPTB for their decisions in light of the impending 2009 date.

I can understand why some are upset at reading about people's dissatisfaction. It is true that viewers are needed to keep the show afloat and it'll only make it worse on Days' future if viewers leave. But even if us online fans adhere to this logic, the many general offline viewers are still going to be tuning out, because they don't necessarily read all the behind the scenes info and industry buzz, all they care about is being entertained. So I would say to take these online complaints as explanations of the ratings, which are indeed dropping regardless of whether or not those of us online can make an argument for being loyal to the show.

For what it's worth, I am still sort of watching. I watched yesterday's, I am trying. But it's the show's job to entertain me, bottom line.

Anyway, hope the original poster can catch GH on a non-Sonny&Jason day, as it can be quite fun. I still watch Y&R but not on a daily basis.

[Gino24]

Days has drastically improved since last year, but I think the show currently has two main problems, which is the inconsistency in the characters' personalities and the repetitiveness of certain scenes (the stalling of storylines). For example, we keep seeing the same scenes with Lucas arguing with Kate, and then telling his mom that he no longer wants her in his life.

But I don't think the show is horrible or as bad as it was when Tom Langan was the head writer. Characters like Abe, Marlena, Craig + Nancy were made to look awful or relegated to secondary status in order to prop up his own creations: Brandon, Brady, and Chloe. He wrote John as a chauvinistic Neanderthal super soldier and Jack as bumbling buffoon.

Some cringe worthy moments/stories under Langan that I can remember include Virtual Eden, the teen invasion/Tropical Temptation storyline, and Philip seeking Chloe's forgiveness by singing "How Do I Live Without You" while playing the guitar.

[Ilovemydays]

News that NBC had canceled Passions and were most likely not picking up DAYS past 2009 threw me for a loop and I was tempted not to get invested in a show that might not be around much longer.

My hopes may be premature but the news that FOX maybe looking into creating a DAYTIME SOAP has me hoping that there will be a a spot in the lineup that might include DAYS!

http://www.soapoperanetwork.com/content/view/4724/116/

[Ridge]

OLTL is VERY compelling, their drama is consistent storylines have movement mixed with drama and the small twist seems big because the show makes the effort to make it that way.

[PhoenixRising05]

They are better Ridge. I will give them that but I wouldn't say compelling. I am watching again for the first time in years but it's not must-see. GL has been compelling and must see IMO. I see your point though. They are definitely moving in the right direction.

[Scotty]

OLTL is really beginning to pick up once again....and it's really starting to get good.

You should really consider picking it up.

[KMan101]

I agree. OLTL is really improving. A TON. I'm actually starting to look forward to watching it and doing my best to watch it on SoapNet.