DAYS: John in a coma through May?

[PhoenixRising05]

Yeah but that was a slow and steady balance decline. When the teens came on, we saw them interact with their parents and there stories more. It wasn't until mid-late 2000 that they started getting a ton of airtime and then 2001 is when things completely feel out of whack.

This balance change was sudden. Almost overnight. That is what makes very little sense. It's almost like Days was told to change focus or something. You just don't go from one extreme to another that quickly.

[Ridge]

Yeah, many people did not like November or December, that is what I call the beginning. 3 Months still classify the beginning right?

And regarding Sami... EJ has asked her to get an amnio, she said she will, end of story. To say that DAYS doesn't follow the timeline is stupid. I thought there was QUALITY back in the show? REALISM? Why throw realism in and out of the window if you are not going to stick with it??

Phillip was told by Willow that there is good reason to believe that Claire is still alive. The show MADE IT A POINT to show us this scene yet Phillip then disspeared and nothing was heard about it after that.

And regarding sweeps, you can say whatever you want about it. GH will be showing its advertisers its sweeps numbers and that is how they will get revenue. Not numbers from 2 weeks after or 2 weeks before. It is the sweeps numbers that get them revenue and it is the sweeps numbers that is going to cause DAYS to lose even more of theirs.

[JER Soaps Fan]

Yeah, but falling in line with my theory, didn't this drastic change in balance occur shortly after Reilly and Zucker opened their mouths about "Days" not continuing past 2009?

So that DOES fall in line with the theory that Corday is shopping the show around and/or knows that when he does, the budget will be significantly smaller, so he requested Hogan to write just for newbies/cheapies.

[JER Soaps Fan]

About that amnio...Sami acknowledged that it was dangerous to have it so early in the pregnancy.

EJ forced her hand, or thought he did, but "realistically," she's still not doing it. She's faking the results. The test was never done.

Realistic...

[Mason]

We all know Corday's not the brightest bulb, but I don't think even he would do something that stupid, regardless of the budget.

[JER Soaps Fan]

As Grand Vizier Jafar said in "Aladdin," Hogan, "Desperate times call for desperate measures." And as the sultan said, in a trance, "Desperate measures..."

I'm stickin' with my theory.

[DH23]

Bring back Beth Milstein!

[Ponz]

This is bad logic, JSF. The budget of a show isn't plucked out of thin air by network executives. It's directly dependent on the ratings and advertising revenue generated by that show. The better ratings DAYS gets between now and 2009, the more marketable it is to other networks and the more money Corday can make from licensing the show.

What is the advantage of cutting costs when you lose over 500,000 viewers in the process?

To quote Frons:

If this kind of decline continues for DAYS on NBC, it would be very hard for anyone to continue with that show in 2009. The erosion of the audience would be so great, it would be very difficult to rebuild it

[numberonedaysfan]

Something isnt right with the show but more importantly,ken corday needs to tell us the fans whats going on! Dont we deserve some kinda response?! Thats why i am mad as hell.I feel very disrespected! And where is the soap press in this?Only SOAP OPERA WEEKLY have mentioned the ratings freefall and even gave the show a MISS...Have they tried to find out from the show whats going on?

[JER Soaps Fan]

I don't think it's bad logic because I think this is just an EXPERIMENT, if I didn't mention that. They're seeing if it can be done. A "Days" without much use of vets. It's a risk. And remember: they'll get back to the vets sooner or later, certainly before 2009 rolls around. So it's probably a four- or five-month experiment. Something like that.

[Ponz]

But the experiment has clearly failed...spectacularly. And Hogan/Corday have had enough time to adjust their May Sweeps plans to reflect this. That's what makes this decision to keep John in a coma all the more baffling.

[Days4Life]

Sigh.

I can see everyone's points. And this is the problem...we don't know what the problem is. IMO, it's ridiculous to keep the vets out of stories for so long, and John's ongoing coma is very frustrating. I keep wanting to blame the budget because that--to me--would make the most sense. Except, because of contracts, the vets have to be paid anyway. So maybe this is all a big plan from TPTB to build up the younger generation and create their own fanbases so another network will be more interested in 2009. Only that plan's not working out so well, because a lot of viewers are leaving and no new viewers are coming along to replace them. Maybe the problem is Hogan, he only wants to write for certain characters. But that's not working out ratings wise, and he's losing faith with the viewers. Being a smart and talented man, I can't believe he wants to be called a liar and the man who killed DAYS so that doesn't seem to make sense either. The problem must be Corday, except that in the past he's always gone out of his way to appease the fans when the show is going in a direction that doesn't please them. Maybe it's NBC's fault, they are trying to kill DAYS off before 2009 even gets here. But NBC doesn't own DAYS so I don't think they have a lot of control over storylines and actors.

This is all very frustrating.

[Ridge]

That pretty much sums it all up!! . Especially the last line. It is all very frustrating. Do you give up on the show you love so much? Endure it in times when there are a lot of better things and shows to watch? What is the average viewer to do? LOL.

[DaysFanJean]

If they are doing the restructuring, believe me, it is NOT an experiment. It is the real deal and it will work. If it is a willy-nilly stab in the dark, then it can only count on luck, but business people in charge of mega-bucks do nothing willy-nilly.

[R!ck]

Same here, because DAYS is my fave soap ever.

Yep, Hogan happened. Not the budget (Because it CANNOT be changed midway through a contract)

Hogan started the big EJ umbrella story and the Shawn/Belle/Phillip fiasco and backburnered the vets. It's his MO and it always has been.

I watched his whole run on ATWT and he did the same thing there. He would write an umbrella story and use only half the cast for 3-5 months. Then once that was finished he would write for the other half of the cast and backburner the others. That's how Hogan Sheffer writes. He does not know the meaning of the word balance.

JER used the vets all the time last year and the budget is the same now as it was then.