I would love to believe that. But then I flashback to Salem High and Belle & Shawn's last island adventure (this one's much better, though), and it's like...yeah, Days is that stupid. They would do that, without being forced to, because they have. Only last time it worked better for them in the short-term, from a ratings perspective.

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.

Really? I distinctly remember you not giving the show any credit until December. You were one of the posters who kept saying the show was boring and rather uneventful in October and November.

As for other soaps not being in slumps, how many of those shows still have what they gained during sweeps? None. Yes, I know it adds revenue and all that junk but what good is it when you can only reach those levels during sweeps months? It's not going to help build audience if you go up one month and ar in decline for the next two. That isnt' helping a show's future at all. Sweeps are important but the goal is to build on sweeps gains, not completely lose them a mere two weeks after sweeps is over.

Oh, and Ridge, Sami didn't actually have an amnio and Days's timelines for things like that is never on par so that is a non-issue. I already said the shower was lame but it was nothing but a plot device. I accepted that beforehand and I was able to tolerate it even though I still was disappointed. As for Philip, he walked around like that because he lost hope and started to beleive they were dead. He was still having people search but there were no leads so he wasn't going to just wander all over. He was going to wait until his people came up with something.

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.

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.

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.

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...

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.

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.

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.

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.

Bring back Beth Milstein!

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.

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

Edited April 1, 200718 yr by Ponz

Jane and Jean, I agree with both of you.

There are some days when I wonder if Corday has already been in talks about a new home for Days and maybe they told him that there would need to be major cuts. Maybe the vets would have to be reduced to supporting or not there at all to make a move. No one really knows. As I said, they don't have to say anything. It's pretty obvious there are major issues and they are on the financial side. You can keep bringing out all the legalities or whatever but Corday is not this stupid. Everytime Days has had a fall like this he has made changes or said something. Something is up. Hogan's balance was never this bad at ATWT. Never. If anyone tells you that, that is their anti-Hogan bias showing. Yes, he had balance issues at times but never like this.

On another hand, I still think we will see improvements in the next few weeks and especially over May and the summer. I am confident in that. I am always optimistic but I know Corday will try to find a way to make the improvements needed even if he has to work around hirdles.

The simple fact is this...you don't go from having great balance for weeks to showing the same characters over and over for 3 months. No one is that stupid and no one would do that unless they were forced to. Days knows they have to have the big 4 around or at least involved. Something is keeping them from doing it. If people think they would willingly backburner those 4 for this long without good reason behind it, then this is a wasted argument. People say to think about this realistically so why don't we do that. Why would Corday backburner 4 of his biggest stars for 3 months when all he ever does is preach supercouples and rave about how research shows who the fans are interested in and yada yada? It makes no sense for him to all of a sudden ship the big 4 off to backburner land for this long without reason. Even if Hogan wanted to do it, Corday will eventually force him to work them in because I am sure he is getting overwhelming reactions to all this. He can ignore fans at first but, eventually, he always caves. Why do you think so much of Days gets re-written all the time. Corday always caves to fan demand eventually and the fact that he hasn't yet speaks volumes.

Just look at the way Days has handled issues with the show in the past and you will realize something isn't right here. This isn't your typical "Days has issues let's fix them ASAP" situation. Nothing has been done or said yet and that is what is troublesome because that says this is alot worse then anyone thought. That is my side to it and everyone can beleive what they will.

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?

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

when DAYS is worthy of the love I will be the first to give it, no matter WHO gets tired of reading it .

Same here, because DAYS is my fave soap ever.

Is everyone forgetting November and December when DAYS was vet heavy and we were getting great romantic stuff with John and Marlena and Steve and Kayla? Obviously, something happened, otherwise we would still be getting stuff like that now. It's not like Hogan doesn't want to write it.

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.