Days - Why is it doing so poorly in the ratings?

[Keith]

I have a few reasons. As others have said, the lack of intensity, momentum and follow through. That's one.

Another is the lack of balance.

And my final two reasons? Ken Corday.

[PhoenixRising05]

Which to me, and I do agree with you, boils down to a HW's lack of interest. It tells me that this was not Hogan's plan. Sorry but you don't just go downhill that fast beginning in one week in January after being fire for weeks. Hogan's reputation is on the line and there is no way he tells that many lies publicly. The guy has a huge ego and he is being made to look bad by Corday, who is known for his HW interference. This has nothing to do with what Hogan did on ATWT. Not even close. It's all on Corday. He threw Steve/Kayla and Hogan under the bus in that interview while also taking SOME of the responsibility when he should have took ALL of it. He forced Hogan to go along with his little experiment to push the next generation and Steve/Kayla and Sami/Lucas to the forefront. Now it failed and he is only taking some of the blame and making everyone but himself look worse. he did this and he probably did it so if the show moves to a new network or if it somehow stays on NBC and cuts need to be made, he can cuts the vets knowing he can get by. Only trouble is now he knows he can't get by and that he needs those vets. His little experiment failed now and he has to return to what worked. Hogan didn't want these stories and Corday probably dictated alot of what happened during these past few months. Isn't it funny how Hogan all of a sudden shutup after having countless interviews in the mags and so on? That just isn't no coincidence. The man was excited back in the Fall and it showed in his writing up until the end of January when it all fell apart. You want to know who is to blame...without a doubt look no further then Ken Corday. This isn't making excuses for Hogan. It's just the obvious reality of what happens at Days all the time. Corday backburners vets and then is forced to bring them back. Anyone saying this is a repeat of what Hogan did on ATWT needs to look up Corday and Days's track reocrd the past few years because stuff like this always happens and Corday always has to backtrack. It's just that the ratings never tanked this fast.

[psychofan]

-->

This is exactly what Hogan did at ATWT. Start really hot giving fans what they wanted, then once his spot was cemented he proceeded to bring on tons of newbies, teens and backburn all the major stars you never expected him to backburn. He's done the same exact thing to Bope/Jarlena that he did to Tom/Margo, Lisa, Lucinda, etc.

I highly doubt Corday is micro-managing a four time Emmy winner, this is obviously what Hogan does based on years and years of examples. And I can't see Corday, a life long DAYS collaborator, saying to backburn all the major characters and fill it with newbies. That doesn't make any sense.

Even if it were budget problems you could solve that by having different people on each day, less people per episode, etc. This is just Hogan repeating all of the mistakes he made at ATWT. He's arrogant and does what he wants.

If DAYS is going to be saved the fans need to keep demanding what they want and Corday needs to get Hogan in check.

ICAM!!! I honestly don't think that Corday is the problem here.

DAYS has lost me as a regular viewer (I no longer watch everyday) because it's just plain boring.

Steve/Kayla- Don't care about them at all.

Chelsea/Nick- They're okay in moderation...

Sami/Lucas/EJ/Celeste- It's good to see Celeste, and Sami is a great character and I love Lumi...but EJ just ruins this. I do NOT want him on my screen everyday.

Shelle- Boring, crappy story....it's ruined the character of Phillip and has let us in to introductions of even more awful characters-- Gabby and Duck.

[Cheyenne]

I actually enjoy the show right now!! I don't need to see the vets all the time as long as I know they'll be back after a while. The only story I'm annoyed with is the one with Steve and Kayla. I'm sure it will turn in a another direction soon, but as it is right now... meeh.

[Jane1978]

Well, I said at the beginning I´m fully behind Sheffer in his goal to pass the torch and to start create frontburner stories for new couples and characters. And I still believe it could work and even characters like Chelsea, Abby and of course Sami/Belle can be on frontburner, but only if they are supported by the storyline. Unfortunatelly, for some unknown reason all Sheffer´s current main stories are very week.

I would never expect 6 months after Reilly is gone we will be slowly approaching another Sami´s doomed wedding, and what is even worse, half a year before that we will be in a classic hold pattern, when nothing really happens, and all characters are just recapping the situation and preparing viewers for the big secret to finally come out.

Abby/Max, a potential great young romance was killed before even began because Sheffer got caught in the backscreen policy and just postponed it and postponed till Ashley decided to leave.

Chelsea/Nick started wonderfully and I´m still a huge supporter, but lately it seems Sheffer is more interested in this "she did it/she didn´t it" game, than in the romance itself. That´s wrong, because everything what happens on the show has to ultimately be about couples and how to develop them, and not vice versa.

Belle/Shawn, I don´t even understand what is the purpose of the island story anymore. It seems they´ve got stuck on the island and now nobody knows what to do with them and they will be waiting there till either somebody figures it out, or they will be eventually integrated in the big summer Dimera storyline.

And sadly, the same is true for Steve/Kayla. We´ve obviously lost huge portions of the story due the budget reasons and scrapping J/M and B/H parts, but this story is not strong enough to be featured on daily basis. I appreciate SN attempts to turn it into a big character based drama, but it´s not working, he is not Jack Nicolson and this is not Forman´s One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. To be fair, I really don´t understand why Sheffer even went there. He had so many options with Steve´s story and his missing years and memories, yet he decided to use the cheapest solution possible. Another brainwashing.

Anyway, I fully believe that a really good story can have nice ratings even if newer characters are on. Even bad story featuring favorites will not can the show. But boring stories featuring newbies is a distaster in the making. Unfortunatelly, that´s exactly what Sheffer did, for whatever reasons.

[KLN]

There's a big difference in gradually passing the torch and complete abandonment of familiarity, though.

[Gray Bunny]

I always here that "the day-to-day episodes are good" or "the writing for dialogue" is better. Well, they could be speaking as eloquently as a Shakespeare play, and I still wouldn't give a flying crap, because the storylines are still on autopilot with a bunch of supporting players and newbies standing in as starring roles.

I totally agree with how big events have become a non-issue. John's kidney was removed and Drake Hogestyn wasn't even featured in the episodes. We just saw Kayla worrying, Steve screaming, and EJ scheming. Marlena wasn't featured and didn't seem to care about what happened. It was brought up later as an afterthought.... Lexie is supposedly dead, according to Celeste's visions, but that doesn't affect Abe. How many episodes has James Reynolds appeared in for the past 3 months? I guess Tanya Boyd is cheaper to pay than Reynolds... EJ/Sami/Lucas is a replay day after day... Shawn/Belle is a replay. No one cares about some chickita helping them on the island... Jack came back and interacted with some blonde chick who was supposed to be Abby, and it served no purpose to any storyline...

Characters are in their own islanded worlds and don't ever cross paths or react to situations that other characters are going through. Sami welcomes Phillip into her bridal shower because he's Lucas's brother... but he's also the person responsible for making Belle (Sami's sister!) & Shawn go on the run with Baby Claire!

Bo & Hope move out of their house while it gets repaired... but we don't learn that from them. We overhear it in a conversation between EJ and Phillip.

EJ EJ EJ. The biggest overkill I have ever seen on DAYS. He can walk on water, control the weather, walk through firestorms... there is no stopping him! I don't care if James Scott is good looking. EJ is a slimy rapist and a one-note villain.

I can go on and on... but bottom line is, there's just no reason to tune in to see what's going to happen next... because nothing will happen. And anything that does happen will happen between C-list characters that I don't care about. So Willow loses her room at the shelter? Who cares? Steve is still behaving like a jackass in the asylum? YAWN!

And don't even come in with excuses that they're showing Bo or Marlena now. They are being treated as the supporting roles and could be replaced with anyone else as a sounding board. Replace Marlena with Caroline Brady and she could be helping out Kayla and it would be just the same.

I'm guessing DAYS' ratings won't improve until May when there's hope for changes to happen.

[KLN]

Forget Chloe Lane, did you? LoL

The teens are all on an island. A hurricane is blowing through. A rapist is on the island with them.

HOPE: "I pray that Shawn and Chloe are alright!"

Say whaaaaaaaa...?!

[Gray Bunny]

Ah yes, but it was HOPE worrying... not some newbie or C-lister like Max or Willow.

[ZaraB]

It isn't recognizable. I've watched on and off for a number of years. Now I don't because it changed times. When it was up against OLTL, I'd switch between ATWT, DOOL and OLTL.

Now, if I catch a glimpse, I don't recognise anything to pull me in. I have no idea who Willow is. The new Shawn might be doing well, but I keep wondering who he is. I didn't watch Patch and Kayla the first time, so their story isn't a big pull for me. I don't see Bo, Hope, John, Marlena. I know Jack and Jennifer are both gone. The few times I have switched it on, it's been all Belle and nu Shawn. EJ, Sami and Lucas might, but it's not what I have seen.

[KMan101]

I myself am just pretty bored.

Not that any of the stories playing out are BAD, they're okay, but they dominate, day in and day out and it's starting to get very repetitive. I'm just getting bored, honestly.