Hogan Sheffer report card

[ChiTownBoi03]

I somewhat agree. I think JER did dumb characters down with some of the things he wrote. He made even more mistakes his second run. But at the same time, I just couldn't wait to get home to see if they were get back together or if the secret would slip out. I even found the second run tolerable(a downgrade from the 1st, but...tolerable), yet more watchable for *me* than now. Although there were tons of triangles, there was something going on to make me want to see what would happen the next day. It wasn't this boring. The quality of the show I believe has definitely gotten better as far as characters and dialogue, but the stories are painfully boring and uninteresting...and it is now almost August. Yes, I wouldn't mind seeing JER and a character-driven co-writer. He probably would not go for that, but alas it is just a *thought*, if you will. If not, then I certainly would love B&C because I believe they had things happening almost everyday, yet the dialogue and scenes were as great as the events. I mean, I originally tuned into DAYS for the action, not for it to be the new Y&R. I even remember when my mom started watching with me(well over 40), I think when John was using those virtual reality goggles, got electrocuted, and these bolts of lightning lit his a** up! She was like "hmmm...that was different." Now, I just find it boring and inconsistent, so unlike DAYS. I am not sure if it is just the scriptwriters or simply Hogan, but I am holding out some hope for the guy as this vendetta story progresses. I try to remain positive, ya know, despite my misgivings. But yeah, at the moment Hogan's not on my favorite writer for DAYS list.

[psychofan]

That's exactly the way I've felt about JER....I don't care that he dumbed down characters, I still enjoyed it.

[Jane1978]

I don´t agree at all. Reilly´s stories were predictable from the beginning and there was no reason to tune in at all, because you could be sure nothing will be ever resolved atleast till sweeps. The whole show was like a neverending promo, with no substance at all, repeating again and again (and again) what people can look forward and promising how wonderfull it will be, but in reality usualy drag it so much that when it really happened nobody cared.

Sheffer has a major troubles with pacing, it seems he always gets exited with something and really doesn´t care if it destroy the plot or doesn´t make much sense, he just goes for it (the whole "I loved the 80´s Tony and I want him back now!" switch he just did), and the same like Reilly he has his favorites and no matter what, nobody seems to be able to force him to write for someone else (Reilly hated J/J, Sheffer seems to have a serious issues with J/M). Plus, I really don´t understand why he doesn´t try to make the show more romantic, because even boring scenes are suddenly interesting when there is some bond between viewers and couples.

But, and that´s a major but, his stories are fresh and inovative. I really don´t know what is going on with Jeremy and I want to know it. The whole vendeta thing is getting more and more complicated. And Phillip/Shawn/Belle saga is about to get an interesting twist, not only with Laurie and her child returning, but with Shawn doing troubles behind Philip´s back.

All those stories are promising and new and it´s much harder to write than Reilly´s usual "she´s about to get married, so I bring back her expartner from the dead again and give her an amnesia so she believes she is still in love with him and we can drag it for another two years" so many people seems to want back, just because he used the vets more.

[WTGH]

C+

The stories are good but the reveals fall flatter than pee on plate. Instead of being "OMFG! Get the hell outttttttttttttttt!" I'm "Mmmmk. Moving on."

IMO, he's made Lucas really annoying in order to prop EJ. (And I say this as a fan of neither).

I REALLY thought he'd work wonders for Kate and turn her into the baddest bitch this town has seen this millenium. No such thing...

I *do* like how he brought RuthlessVictor back a while ago. Too bad he's disappeared.

[Andre]

C. Very disappointing. Could be much better.

[Vee]

C. Partly because of outside forces.

Anyone who wants JER back has no understanding of how Days became a childish joke NBC wants cancelled in the first place, and is living in the hazy watercolor childhood memories of their YouTubed past. Yes, Warn me, it's fine.

[brimike]

Succinctly and eloquently put. I completely agree that any number/set of individual scenes pieced together without the endless tedium of WEEKS AND WEEKS of people talking to themselves, endless flashbacks and repeated exposition for the sake of exposition can make one long for the "good old days". But the good old days weren't always so good... and today/tomorrow (with apologies to B. Joel) aren't nearly as bad as it seems.

I agree with what someone said above - this is a fan base that will never be happy, because JER so divided the fan base with two very different kinds of soap fans, they'll never see eye to eye. Days was never Y&R in terms of character-driven story... but it certainly wasn't Passions either. I think what we're finding now is a team of writers (all of whom are experienced with many other shows, so it's not as if they're new at this) trying to find a happy medium. Sometimes they succeed, and sometimes they don't. But really ... isn't that the case across the board these days? It's certainly not a problem found only in Salem.

HS and KC have a team of writers from atwt, amc, oltl, sunset beach and port charles (i'm sure i'm forgetting some). I'd say that's a pretty large cross-section of daytime (and its sub-genres), and DOOL has always had a little bit of all of those shows at its core (when it's at its best). And while I certainly don't think the show is perfect now, by any means, it's not the trash heap being discussed here.

[ChangedBYSon]

Days was never Y&R in terms of character-driven story...

YES IT WAS!!!

In the 1960's and 1970's when Bill Bell was Head Writer, "DAYS" was a totally

different animal than it is now.

This is why I can't believe people are listing James Reilly as its BEST writer ever.

Most of the kids on this board have never seen "Days of Our Lives". They talk about the "golden era"

of the 1980's and the 1990's and I'm like.....WTF???

To me, no writer at "DAYS" has ever matched what Pat Faulken Smith wrote for the show in 1980-1981,

but that of course is when the show totally changed into an adventure soap. Faulken Smith delivered that

style of writing superbly, as she had just come from "General Hospital", but after she left "DAYS"---it went

totally into a "super couples" mish-mash and it's never recovered since.

I've watched "Days" all my life and 1980-1981 was the best DAYS has ever been that I saw it,

but there was a time when "DAYS" was regularly nominated for EMMYS and was far superior to

"Young and the Restless" in the 1970's, its actual HEYDEY when it hit #1 for a whole year (tied w/Another

World and As the World Turns, but still #1). I believe that was in 1971-1972. It was a top 5 show for

most of the 1970's and that was back when there were 16 to 19 soaps on the air, so making the top 5

was a major feat.

The major mistake at "DAYS" is that they haven't turned it back into a "soapy" soap opera.

You know--dramatic music, big cliffhangers, sweeping romance and surprises that stop the blood.

I LOVE Hogan's writing, but he's not very "soapy" and there's rarely a good cliffhanger or a real

shocking reveal or a totally hyperbolic dramatic acting scene. Soaps need to get back to being

soaps.

[sungrey]

The show that airs now is light years better than the one that aired from 2003-2006. Ya, they can warn me too, but I'll say the same thing. The Salem Stalker story in the long run was terribly executed and should never have been tried. The "Faux Jennifer" scene was the single worst piece of crap Days pulled on its viewers save for the inane and stupid Garden of Eden (yes, I know, NOT a JER creation).

Major damage was done to this show in the last three years and it's just starting to come out of its shell now. Anyone who wants to go back to the past? Naaa, I'll save my tongue.

[Vee]

The problem is you can put clips up here showing Steve and Kayla, Bo and Hope, Roman and Marlena, etc. in their heyday, and all the fans will say "oh, how cool, they're so great"...but I bet if you showed them that actual show they'd hate it. This is much closer to the Days pre-Reilly than anything since. But he fractured the show completely. It's one thing to go gothic and supernatural, I was raised on Dark Shadows for God's sake, but to make it a camp joke (which DS often was, but it had the liberty of not ever being truly a soap opera, whereas Days was for decades) , that's when it becomes unrecognizable. And Days did. So it's easy for fans who only knew that to say "oh how nice, the past" and then shun it when similar storytelling begins to become the norm again.

What we are getting now, while lightyears from perfect, is much more similar to a competent soap than anything Reilly put out. And he has always had contempt for his audience, contempt for writing intelligent adult characters, and that was fine when the viewers were kids, but come on. I've grown up, I want something intelligent. That's why I never took Days seriously in the 90s and stuck with serious shows on ABC, that's why he failed, that's why the show is a mess, and that's why it's taking so long to pull it out of the muck it's been in for years and years. But if people don't get behind it, then they're just going to get the same crap they've been watching since Reilly left in the first place, or if Reilly did come back again God forbid, it will continue to suck regardless, and people will keep wondering and postulating theories as to why it doesn't work, why it doesn't feel the same to them as it did when they were young, maybe they'll blame Corday, maybe they'll blame NBC or the budget, but the simple facts will be he is a terrible writer and you grew up.

[aMLCproduction]

Now I also agree with PR on this one. Days really doesn't have time for another transition period which scares the hell out of me. I didn't know there where rumors of some behind the scenes shake -ups. Can anyone shed light on that?

I really say Hogan needs some help creating better storylines. I do feel money has also influenced Hogan's storylines too. I blame Corday for all of this which is why he needs to leave or GET THE OUSTED Y&R TEAM TO DAYS ASAP!!!! I think that is the truly last hope for Days. So If B&C can't do it that Scott, Smith and company should, but at the same, there writing style and Days are not a match. So that could be a disaster too. Hell who knows? What can save Days?

Another problem I have with Hogan that it seems a lot happens off screen and the storylines jump all around. As i read these post I realized, that when I started watching was in 92 the start of Reilly I saw nothing but sensationalism on Days and have been accustomed to that and expect that from Days. And now that it's changed, I am having a hard time adjusting or I just don't know.So I guess at the End JER did ruin Days for good, but I was entertained. That's for sure. I almost forgot that Bell was at Days which makes my arguemnt even louder as why the ousted Y&R team should be at Days.

[Ponz]

I agree that DAYS' audience is polarised along 80's/90's lines. The trouble with Hogan is that his writing satisfies NEITHER group.

The 90's (from about 93 onward) is associated with high energy plots & big reveals/twists. As dumbed down and plot driven as the show became, Reilly did provide the sort of soapy drama that sections of the audience crave. IMO, his first tenure ultimately did more harm than good but there's no denying that it got alot of younger viewers hooked on the show. There is very little drama on Hogan's DAYS. His writing for individual scenes is solid but the plots are not compelling. The show is quite enjoyable but there's no sense of "Ooh, I wonder what happens next". It's all so "blah".

I also have to disagree with those who claim Hogan is "giving us the 80's". The fact that he's using the same characters (Bope, J&M, Tony/Anna) and making the odd superficial history mention doesn't mean he's emulating that era. If Sheri or Leah Laiman had pitched an idea like "Santeen", Al Rabin would have fired them on the spot. The 80's adventures were genuine ensembles with extensive focus on all of the couples and characters involved. The "fluff" plots were ultimately just a device to explore character and relationship dynamics. Hogan's summer story does none of that. The vets are simply props used to further a PLOT-driven story centred on two characters irrelevant to DAYS history. Bo and Hope suffered the death of a child just 18 months ago and yet the high point of their summer *story* has been a diaper bet . John & Marlena have more history with Stefano than anyone else (Roman excepted) but are nothing more than peripheral figures lucky.

One might argue that the supercouples are played out and its right for the focus to shift to the next generation. But to claim that Hogan is giving fans of the 80's what they want is true only on a very superficial level. Why would 80's fans be happy with their faves as window dressing? It takes more than a few flashbacks to restore a show to a period of greatness.

[daysfan]

It's as close as it can be IMO. Honestly, we won't get any closer, I'm not even sure if we would with Sheri Anderson.

I personally enjoyed JER's first run but in the end, it was the thing that tore Days apart. He took away it's identity completely, and turned it into a show of huge shockers and whacky plotlines. In the end yes, it did do more harm than good.

The sad thing is with HW's of today is that we can't get too close, if close at all, to the seventies, sixties, or even eighties of our shows. Some shows are horrible enough to be distant from the nineties.

The reason people are overjoyed at few flashbacks is because we've been putting up with HW's who barely ever mentioned history like this. Hogan needs to touch on much more history, but this much is enough to make an older Days fan jump with joy. Yes, it is sad, but it's all we've got.

[PhoenixRising05]

Exactly and what we are getting is similar to the 80's. We can never replicate that time or get it back but even the actors and actresses have said they are having a blast and it finally feels like the old days again. They know how that felt and know their characters and the history so them saying that and being happy means alot IMO. I also disagree that this story is using the vets to prop the next generation. I don't consider propping to be being involved in a story that one isn't necessarily the focal point of. Propping to me is what we got under JER when Bope used to sit on the beach and talk about Shelle's problems for episodes on end. That is propping. Sure, they talk about Santeen but that is relevant to the story. B&H also talk about their lives and flirt with each other and so on so they aren't just focused on the lives of others. It's also about them and they are being written more like they were in the 80's then they have been in years. They have been very active and doing more the sitting around. They had the adventure in Doug's Place, they went to Ireland to get Shawn Sr, and Bo has been actively involved in police stuff.

J&M have finally become involved, as well, as we saw last week with Tony and Anna. They both had a stake in finding Tony so it worked. I know on other boards people consider Marlena even having a scene with Sami "propping" but it's not. Hogan said he wanted to make her a mother again and now he has. She is finally being shown as a mother to Sami and that has made her active, especially in her daughter's medical issues. The only couple not active yet is Steve and Kayla, probably in large part to MBE being absent. Steve has been very active and more in character then he has been written since returning.

This is an unbrella story. We have Roman, Tony, Anna, Stefano, Andre, Sami, Lucas, EJ, Bo, Hope, Caroline, Shawn Sr, John, and Marlena all being actively used in this story. Even Nick has been involved a bit. We also have the "Touch the Sky" story being linked to it as a side story and Doug, Julie, Celeste, and Lexie have also played minimal roles. Lexie and Abe will likely play a bigger role upon Abe's return. JR said in SOD that the Carver's have a big couple of months coming.

I also disagree that Colleen and Santo are irrelevant to Days history. There was never no history there so it's not a re-write. No matter who wrote this they were going to spark the feud in a way in which fans would have to accept new history being added in to the mix. Hogan is giving the feud an epic feel and rightfully so. It has to be that way to account for the 20 or so years we have witnessed, which have felt like an epic battle between good and evil. He is thinking out of the box and doing something different. It's not a tired rehash of Marlena or Hope being kidnapped for the 1,000th time. I would like to know what else can be done to explain the feud without having someone get kidnapped, brainwashed, or whatever be cause no one wants to see a tired rehash, just ask JER. I'm not saying the story is perfect but tying this back to a tragic romance is inspired because of the emotions involved on both sides IMO. I'm not a EJami fan and I am not big on this stuff but I see what Hogan is going for and I do like the premise and look forward to the reveal.

I think the problem is the fanbases want nostalgia and a rehash of what has already been done before with the vets (which they would be complaining about if they got it), even if they won't admit it and the LUMI fans (and I am one, keep in mind) hate this story for obvious reasons so those are two groups right there that are already against this. Then you have the division JER helped create and the fans that grew up on him still want that show back and can't adjust to the grounded, 80's like show it has become so that adds further hindrances. The show has alot to deal with and there is no pleasing everyone. Hogan is clearly trying to appeal to classic Days of the 80's and trying to dip into that type of storytelling. It may not be the best way to go but it is for longtime fans like me and many others. The issue is young fans and the fans of the last 10-15 or so years that got hooked during that time are not going to be on board. Some may be but there will be some alienation and all this could end up hurting Days big time, if it isn't already.

[ChiTownBoi03]

I have to admit that I only started watching some 15 years ago, so I suppose I would be in that group that enjoyed only what I knew of the show at that point. Despite that, I am not against the show returning to what it was or what I hear it was. I can get ready for that! But, I just don't know if Hogan is doing it effectively. It's like one poster said, there is that lack of a feeling of I gotta watch to see what happens tomorrow. Heck, sometimes episodes previous don't even continue tomorrow. It's crazy because the day-to-day writing is good, but the storylines aren't. It's almost like theres these great, detailed outlines written on paper of what is to happen, but the blah execution doesn't do it justice. I don't know what it is. I believe good character-driven drama can be great, if there is actual *drama.* I mean, I did watch Y&R back in the Bill Bell days as a teen. I remember that being quite entertaining(sloooow...but...entertaining)...things were happening, the drama and urgency were present. Now all of the drama is offscreen or downplayed, seemingly. With that said, I agree with you that alienation of some fans could (or may have) hurt the show. The longtime fans of the old DAYS are very happy with the current transition. But, the other fans who expected some action have all probably tuned out(I haven't cuz...ya know...its my show ), which might be reflected in the ratings. If that is the case, tptb should probably try to integrate some action in with what they are doing to satisfy both sides. At the very least better, less *boring* and more consistent storylines to go with the good day-to-day writing.