If you're the BIGGEST MICHEAL FICKING EASTON FAN IN THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD you can check out OLTL.

Otherwise, fuddedaboutit

I always swore that I would never give the show up, no matter what, but over the last couple months, I have become detached from DAYS and don't care for ANY of the storylines. I watched during JER#1, SSM, Langan, C&B, Higley and JER#2 and have never been as bored with the show as I am right now. So after 11 years, I've decided to take an indefinite hiatus.

I currently watch PSNS daily and GL a couple times a week. Any suggestions on which soap to pick up?

I've also given up Days after 38 years, which I thought I would never do. Sheffer has been a disappointment and I have sat through everything Reilly wrote, and all the rest like you have.

I have considered tuning into GH at some point, but right now all soaps need a major overhaul, IMO.

Because sometimes, life happens. And you begin to prioritize and making time for a show that is like watching paint dry falls on the list of things to do. It has nothing to do with loyalty. It has to do with the show not delivering.

Exactly!

I'm sad that several people aren't enjoying Days at the moment. I'm liking it quite well. It's a much different version of the show than we've gotten over the last several years, but that's what I like about it... it's a refreshing change of pace. I think alot of people just aren't used to Days like this. I'm liking it though.

Still, I'd take 'boring' over 'bad acid trip' anyday.

I would suggest OLTL

Traditional, character driven storylines would be marvelous, if Hogan would get his priorities straight. Man needs to realize that DAYS is NOT Hannah Montana, The Hills, or some teen show on The N. We do not like our show to revolve around the youth, while the veterans get shafted. Why watch a show just because the writing is good? Characters are just as important and Jed, Abby, Max, Willow, Phillip, Shawn, Belle, Lucas & Kate are not entertaining me at all.

And I'm not the only person feeling this way. Everyone I talk to in real life has basically stopped watching. We were talking about soaps at work the other day and someone mentioned DAYS and almost all the ones who used to watch DAYS said they have basically stopped watching because it's so boring and the supercouples are no longer on.

Hogan Sheffer has broken 6 of the great Douglas Marlands soap rules.

3) Read the fan mail. The very characters that are not thrilling to you may be the audience's favorites. Broken - (John, Marlena, Bo, Hope, Maggie etc)

4) Be objective. When I came to ATWT, the first thing I said was, what is pleasing the audience? You have to put your own personal likes and dislikes aside and develop the characters that the audience wants to see. Broken - Has a hard on for everyone under 30

6) Don't change a core character. You can certainly give them edges they didn't have before, or give them a logical reason to change their behavior. But when the audience says, "He would never do that," then you have failed. Broken - See Philip & Victor

7) Build new characters slowly. Everyone knows that it takes six months to a year for an audience to care about a new character. Tie them in to existing characters. Don't shove them down the viewers' throats. Broken - (Willow, Jed, Nick)

9) Don't fire anyone for six months. I feel very deeply that you should look at the show's canvas before you do anything. Broken

10) Good soap opera is good storytelling. It's very simple. Broken, or else ratings would be better and fans wouldn't be tuning out in droves. DAYS has scored their lowest ratings in history (3 weeks running) in the all important demos (18-49, 18-34)

Some writers either get Days or they don't

JER#1 Got it

Langan - Didn't

C&B - Got it

Higley = Didn't

JER#2 - Got it (sometimes)

Hogan - Doesn't

DAYS is not a show in which you create your own palette by demolishing the cast, bringing on newbies, and pushing DAYS finest to the back burner. It just doesn't work and the sooner Hogan realizes this the better off DAYS will be.

Excellent post, Rick!

I didn't want to give up on Days either since it has always been a part of my life. But, I don't recognize this show anymore and the characters with the prime focus right now are like watching paint dry.

Ken Corday is going to have to step up and address what is going on. I didn't just tune out because NBC said it was going to cancel Days in '09. It was because Sheffer hasn't delivered as a four time Emmy winning writer.

Excellent post, Rick!

I didn't want to give up on Days either since it has always been a part of my life. But, I don't recognize this show anymore and the characters with the prime focus right now are like watching paint dry.

Ken Corday is going to have to step up and address what is going on. I didn't just tune out because NBC said it was going to cancel Days in '09. It was because Sheffer hasn't delivered as a four time Emmy winning writer.

I really do hope that we find out something SOON about this... someone HAS to say something about what's going on and if there will be any change... I mean, Corday said Bope will be back to the center of show in March... yes, it's only March 7th, but I don't care... I want Bope (and the other vets) back NOW!

I really wish people would stick with DAYS. I get that the pace is a tad sluggish right now, but creatively, the show is better than it's been in YEARS. I say just give it some more time, but that's JMO.

I think just the opposite, the show has LOST all creativity, IMO. And everything that should be "Exciting" just lacks a certain punch. And the show has had all the time in the world.

DAYS right now, IMO, is nothing more than a more glorified/better version of Langan in 1999. The younger actors are just better and there are just some more focus on Lumi and Steve and Kayla which makes the difference. Otherwise it's the same go around and same non-interesting stuff.

I also hate when people say fans aren't used to things like this. DAYS was ten times better when it was slow in the 80's and 90's. That's because slow didn't mean stalling storylines and repetitive dialogue. Every "in between" episode featured different sets of characters and character interaction that progressed storylines further. It didn't have to be big but it was there and there was balance. In the early 90's you didn't have a big thing happening every week or every two weeks but soaps were still very enjoyable! That is not there right now for DAYS. That aside from the fact that DAYS just threw out familiarity and started focusing heavily on this younger generation is BAD.

And also to those that say people are used to JER's gimmicks. That has nothing to do with it. JER sucked during his last tenure, even his giimmicks didn't work. All the other soaps KNOW when they have to step up their games. Storylines are meant for payoffs and big happenings, they are the things that fans of television thrive on. All the other soaps do it, OLTL has been doing it for years now, GH does it, GL does it, B&B does... it has NOTHING to do with JER, in fact for his last tenure none of the payoffs were even worth the watch. Fans that expect something to happen aren't expecting it because they are used to it, they are expecting it because it should be there.

I haven't given up completely but I will start watching B&B which will replace 1/2 hour of DAYS for me.

Edited March 7, 200718 yr by Ridge

Oh, I know that King. I understand people have busy lives. I do too. I just tape what I can and watch other soaps on Soapnet. I guess it depends on the person. It takes alot to make me give up and watch. The thing that bothers me is for years people wanted better for Days and wanted it to be classic soap. Now it has and people start jumping ship. It makes it weirder that people are quitting when the show isn't bad. It's slow but to quit watching completely just seems weird, especially if you are one that stuck with it through the horrible times. I do think it has to do with loyalty because fans aren't loyal as a whole anymore. I remember the days when fans stuck with shows no matter what but soaps weren't in such dire straits as they are now. Still, loyalty in today's world is rare. I also think many Days fans are confused as to what they want. They say they wanted traditional and a normal soap and now they want more action and aren't as big on character development and the little things. Some fans come off as actually wanting JER or some of Days other past poor writers to come back.

Everyone is different and everyone leads different lives. Sometimes priorities require people to think about what they are watching and, if a show is slower then others they watch, that show goes. For me, I would quit other shows because I am a die hard Days fan but that's me. I just hate seeing the same people praising a show two months ago jumping off the ship so fast when I know when the show gets good they will be praising it again. It makes those that stick with it through every episode feel uncomfortable. I also know that some had it out for Hogan since he came to Days (especially the fanbases who got upset two weeks in when the couples weren't together yet).

Sadly, I think many fans of Days are going to be rethinking watching the show. It just seems like the adjustment to character-driven, traditional drama has been jarring for many people. It sucks but I think Days is catering to a different audience now. Maybe I am wrong but we'll see. The show is delivering quality-wise and it's clear there are things happening behind the scenes (some budget related and, perhaps, some related to something else) because things got out of whack way too fast. Something is up but, like others have said, I will take somewhat boring, slow stories over what we were being given anyday.

I think that's all BS LOL.

Was DAYS "campy" in December when pretty much ALL fans were running crazy for it... NO... It has nothing to do with adjustment. DAYS has been non-campy since June when all the writing changes occured. And MANY fans like myself have been there before the camp. I enjoy DAYS for DAYS. Also you can't call this whole tarot card Steve hypnosis thing non-campy, it IS campy.

What people can't adjust to is:

1) The lack of familiarity, the complete shift in focus from characters, and the constant focus on a single group. The show has SOLELY revolved around

Nick, Chelsea, Phillip, Willow, Shawn, Belle, Max, Abby and Steve and Kayla for almost a month and a half now. Other characters came somewhat in between but THAT is the adjustment that people had to made, and honestly, you HAD to make it because they were the characters we were FORCED to watch.

2) The lack of delivering on storylines, coupled with repetitive dialogue and non-progression in storylines. Storyline angles were dropped, emotional scenes missing and many things just forgotten about. The list is long for this one, but Mimi and Bonnie's storyline is a good example considering at one point there was so much focus on it and then by February it was all dropped.

Edited March 7, 200718 yr by Ridge

Once again, I don't see myself as being disloyal to DAYS for tuning out. I'm just not a glutton for punishment. If the show is not good, I am not going to watch. It's reciprocal. If DAYS wants loyalty, they need to show some to me.

ICAM ... I've been loyal to DAYS through out all its crap. No point in being that way now, especially with the almost 99 percent chance that it won't be around much longer in 2 years.

As one of DAYS most loyal fans, I myself might take a break. There is simply no excitement, Kayla taking out John's kidney should have been VERY dramatic, filled with excitement, and to me the scenes fell flat(hello no Marlena scenes dealing with this fact) and thats just one example of many I have with the show right now. I thought December and half of January was excellent, but now I almost want Reilly back and I really mean that. I know Reilly lost his touch the last 2 years and I hate his triangle filled ways of writing, but I still looked forward to the show which is something I cant say about DAYS currently. I honestly miss about 5-10 shows a year and have never quit the show except for November 2001(the end of TL) and the summer where the Iraq crap haapened(about 2 weeks), other than that I have watched everything else. I am gonna stick with DAYS a little longer, but I want some excitement and Hogan has had plenty of time to relay that on screen and I don't want to hear any other excuses as to why Hogan hasn't delivered thus far. What most makes me dislike the show right now is the lack of airtime for a lot of the characters I enjoy, continuity issues or dropped storylines, no excitement, and barely any good drama. Its time for DAYS to pick it up damnit!

Rick it sucks that you feel this way, but I understand where you are coming from.

Great post, Ridge. I'm sad that people are no longer watching Days, but I completely understand. While there are some things that I'm really enjoying, overall the show sucks, IMO. It's not that things are so different under Hogan...it's exactly the opposite, actually. I've thought since Hogan took over as HW that he's JER with better dialogue. We have Sami once again keeping a huge secret from everyone while planning a wedding (gee, I wonder how that's gonna end ); we have the Dimeras once again responsible for every bad thing that happens in Salem, without any insight into their motivations or history; we have another brainwashed amnesiac who was used as a pawn; we still have Shelle. There hasn't been a single drastic change in the show since HS started. He's been great with dialogue and characterization, and he was wonderful with cast integration and character interaction in the fall but we're back to everyone being in their own bubble. I think Corday is responsible for the types of stories we're getting, but HS is doing a lousy job with the execution. He's giving us several scenes that when viewed in a vaccuum are fantastic, but when you think about the underlying storyline, the inconsistencies, the history...it's frustating.

To answer the original question, I started watching GH a few months ago and I'm really enjoying it. There are huge problems with the writing but overall it's a great show.

Oh, I know that King. I understand people have busy lives. I do too. I just tape what I can and watch other soaps on Soapnet. I guess it depends on the person. It takes alot to make me give up and watch. The thing that bothers me is for years people wanted better for Days and wanted it to be classic soap. Now it has and people start jumping ship. It makes it weirder that people are quitting when the show isn't bad. It's slow but to quit watching completely just seems weird, especially if you are one that stuck with it through the horrible times. I do think it has to do with loyalty because fans aren't loyal as a whole anymore. I remember the days when fans stuck with shows no matter what but soaps weren't in such dire straits as they are now. Still, loyalty in today's world is rare. I also think many Days fans are confused as to what they want. They say they wanted traditional and a normal soap and now they want more action and aren't as big on character development and the little things. Some fans come off as actually wanting JER or some of Days other past poor writers to come back.

Everyone is different and everyone leads different lives. Sometimes priorities require people to think about what they are watching and, if a show is slower then others they watch, that show goes. For me, I would quit other shows because I am a die hard Days fan but that's me. I just hate seeing the same people praising a show two months ago jumping off the ship so fast when I know when the show gets good they will be praising it again. It makes those that stick with it through every episode feel uncomfortable. I also know that some had it out for Hogan since he came to Days (especially the fanbases who got upset two weeks in when the couples weren't together yet).

Sadly, I think many fans of Days are going to be rethinking watching the show. It just seems like the adjustment to character-driven, traditional drama has been jarring for many people. It sucks but I think Days is catering to a different audience now. Maybe I am wrong but we'll see. The show is delivering quality-wise and it's clear there are things happening behind the scenes (some budget related and, perhaps, some related to something else) because things got out of whack way too fast. Something is up but, like others have said, I will take somewhat boring, slow stories over what we were being given anyday.

I so disagree with you on having to take boring, slow stories over what we got the last year or so. Its like clamoring for a turd instead of having a pile of turds IMO. I am probably not expressing my opinion all that well and I don't want to come off as mean but I think its time to take off the rose colored glasses for once and expect more from DAYS right now. Hogan was suppose to be this genuis of a HW, well right now he is failing big time! Its time for DAYS to pick it up and show some actual effort!

I'm still enjoying the show. There is some boring parts but I just can't give up on it. Hopefully, you return again someday.

Edited March 7, 200718 yr by darraholic

ICAM ... I've been loyal to DAYS through out all its crap. No point in being that way now, especially with the almost 99 percent chance that it won't be around much longer in 2 years.

Well, you're playing right into the execs at NBC's hands. That just exactly how they wanted fans to think when they "slipped" that DAYS probably wouldn't be renewed past 2009. They WANT it to fail so they can justify cancelling it. I guess the show isn't everyone's cup of tea right now, but I for one am going to enjoy it while I can.