DAYS: Thursday

[PhoenixRising05]

I couldn't agree more but I also agree with Days4Life.

That is the problem with Days. The majority of their fans have the mentality that they only watch for one couple or character. Plus, you have some who nitpick about scene length and so on. It's what is killing the show IMO. They stage boycotts and campaigns and, as a result, TPTB get afraid and backtrack on stories constantly and re-write things. That has happened so much on Days in the last decade that it's watered down the show. Plus, the fanbases think they can get away with it all the time. As a result, you end up with a show which the fanbases dictate and not the writers and producers and that is a problem.

I am not against breaking up any couples because I love the whole show. Yes, I have my faves but I can accept new pairings provided they aren't rushed or shoved down fans' throats. Now, you don't have to tear apart any couple to create story. That is just lazy writing and something only a hardcore JER lover would enjoy. Days' supercouples are way past triangles and quads. The only way to break them up is via a realistic obstacle. The only potential triangle I see is if Carly returned in a time where Bo and Hope had problems. That could work well IMO.

I am all for whatever creates the most compelling drama. That is what I hope Days begins to do. Hopefully, ES can bring that point home and work on that. Fans should be listened to but, if a HW feels a story is too good to pass up, sometimes you have to go with that and it will work out the best since it provides the most drama possible. Days is going to have to take risks and, if they lose some fans or a fanbase, so be it. Hopefully, fans that are looking for solid drama will find what is going on appealing and they will replace what you lose.

[DaysFanJean]

The best part of today's show for me was seeing baby Tyler Kiriakis. What a precious little boy. Now that little baby Claire is gone, this little boy is going to be so much fun to watch.

Lauren looked so much better today and also, her acting was better. I wouldn't mind seeing more of her.

Shawn is for the birds. Why is he still here? He belongs in sixth grade at the most. Ugh.

I do not like the severe turnaround of EJ. The reasons listed above are noted but for me, they just don't fit. It's contrived for the storyline. Sami is having these twins at the end of August or first of September so there is stuff to get out of the way first.

Second best was Sami with her dad. I love Roman (Josh Taylor) more every single time I see him.

Belle with her folks was good, too. I'm pretty sure that a gift of a home for their daughter and her family is not out of order for the Black's, but finally the writer's are letting this penny-pinching pair pay for her education.

[Pest Spray]

I DON'T NEED John and Marlena together. I NEED them in character. In character, they will always be fighting for, or their way back to each other. They don't cheat on each other, they don't choose anyone else above each other, so that needs to be kept in tact. But there could always be some other way to break them apart. Say, Stefano forces Marlena to leave John and be with him. They part, but a way to keep it in character is simple. John works to find out why she's with Stefano.

Which couple is that?

I only watch for J&M only because the rest of the show sucks. I'm not interested in the story they're partly involved in, because it's a bad story and they have no real part in it. John & Marlena don't have a story right now.

I disagree with that. Because again, Bo & Hope (like John & Marlena and Jack & Jennifer) are beyond triangles. The more interesting story to me, would be if Bo and Hope had major problems and took a break for that reason. It would be highly realistic and could keep them both in character.

[jadestar]

I'm so tired of reading about fanbase campaigns for not only couples on Days but other soaps as well. I don't care about couples on a soap but watch for the entire show so any couple is not beyond a triangle as far as I'm concerned. I do think Days has been hurt when fans of certain couples won't accept them with someone else. I just find couples that are together for long or married to be very boring on soaps and it wouldn't matter what kind of story was written for them as a couple.

[PhoenixRising05]

I agree with that but I want better for Marlena. I am sick of John and find myself liking her without him. Part of it is Drake and his comments to the press and part of it is I am just enjoying Marlena without him. She is being a mother and she has gotten back to being the strong woman she was.

As for Bo and Hope, I mentioned that pretty much all the couples are beyond triangles but I also think Carly could be a legitimate threat if Bo and Hope did break up and her and Bo were drawn together. Bo loved Carly very much and so much was left unfinished there so I could see that having potential. Otherwise, I don't want to see a triangle with anyone. Realistic conflict is the way to go overall though.

[koos]

I thought this episode was awful, on par with anything that happened during Reilly's second run. All the hallmarks were there: fantasies, repeated conversations, total cheesiness. Completely Z-grade campiness. Either Hogan Sheffer is a total hack moron, or it's actually Ken Corday who comes up with this crap (or Wyman?). It's almost unrecognizable from the show that was on last year, and interchangable with the one that was on a year before that.

[MikeGoldy]

So what you're saying is that John and Marlena don't have to be together, as long as it's spelled out to the audience that they love only each other, and only some over the top outside force could keep them apart? That's the same thing as wanting them as a "together forever," couple. Sorry, there is absolutely no drama in that, and boring to the majority of viewers who aren't invested in them. And to say that Marlena and John couldn't love anyone else now that they are together is ridiculous; Marlena was part of a "supercouple," with Don and Roman, and John had successful pairings with Diana, Isabella, and to a lesser extent Kristin and Kate. I feel bad for Drake and Deidre because they will most likely never get out of the boring stories they are in, as the writers feel forced to keep them together, because of reactions just like yours.

[Pest Spray]

From the lips of Drake Hogestyn himself, Isabella was not a successful pairing for John, he should know (and he's not shy about himself). Isabella tied with Whitney while fans were screaming for a Marlena return. Marlena had supercouple pairings with Don and Roman before John, and she loved them both, but differently. It was nothing like what she has with John, and I say that being a huge fan of Don & Marlena (who I just absolutely love), and Roman & Marlena when they were awesome. It's not the same as her love for John, but loving them of course, affected her. Every person in our life has affected us for some reason, good or bad. That's why the triangle in the 90s worked, because there was unfinished business. Marlena had lost Roman, not left him. Same for John. She loved Roman, and she was married to him, but by that time, she was as in love with John as John was with her. We watched them fight their feelings for each other and lose. And the only reason it didn't completely ruin the character of Marlena is because of how the history. But that won't work again because there is no one else to do that with. Fans don't accept randomly plot driven rewritten/made up history. Same for John. John's been in love, madly so, with the same woman for 21 years, you can't just change that one day and say it's not true and put him with someone else. They've tried before and it's failed every time. But there are ways of having a couple be apart without having them out of character. I can think of several scenarios.

DAYS is a supercouple show, there's just no way to get around it. Like it, hate it, wanna kill the people who are supercouple fans, that's just how it is. The audience keeps the show alive, and you have to write for the audience, not yourself.

John told Marlena in 2002 that they've both been with other people, but for him, it was always her. And as an audience, we knew that because we saw it happen through 1986 and the 90s. Even when they weren't a couple, we knew they loved each other.

It's the same as how there's no way to have Jack and Jennifer hook up with other people without it being out of character. Same with Bo and Hope. You can have them be apart, and seperated, even fighting like dogs, but those three supercouples have proven that their hearst belong to each other. Jack and Jennifer fans were pissed in 2006 because Jack and Jennifer weren't together, they were pissed because Jennifer was 100% out of character. There would be no doubt for Jennifer had she been in character. She would have told Frankie that she loved and cared for him, but her heart belongs to Jack.

It's not about needing them as a couple and being all lovey dovey. Is it nice, yes. Would it be nice if the writers could think of ways to write interesting married couples all around - of course. But it's about showing the characters for who they are and that can be done with the twosome apart.

It all comes back to the golden words of Douglas Marland.

[MikeGoldy]

I have to be honest, I disagree in total with how you see the show and how it should be written lol But, I will say this. Drake's opinion of the John and Isabella pairing shouldn't hold any water for any fan of John and Marlena as a couple, since he actively tried to create a new relationship with Lauren Koslow's Kate, and was sabatoging the J&M paring. And any story that tried to separate the "supercouples" tanked because the writing has been awful for years. Roman and Marlena were written as the super couple of supercouples, but the chemistry between Dee and Drake years ago made it possible to try something new. In 2007, if DAYS is a supercuple show, it might as well be cancelled right now. The ratings are awful, and if in the end, it's destined that J&M, Bo and Hope, Steve and Kayla, Jack and Jennifer, Sami and Lucas, you get the picture, are meant to be, what is even the point of watching!?

[maconrich]

Roman and Marlena were a super couple - but their chemisty wasn't as intense as that between John and Marlena. Days hasn't had a super couple since then. They've had the original ones (Bo/Hope etc) but all of the couples after John and Marlena have just been regular couples: some better than others but all mediocre.

Sami and Lucas aren't a super couple and if Days really thinks they have the magnetism that Bo/Hope, Steve/Kayla, John/Marlena etal had (and still have), they should watch videos of these couples and watch them even now: and then they need to watch Sami and Lucas. TPTB at Days might love them and they might have a vocal fanbase - but they're not magical and sparks sure don't fly when they're together. They're as interesting as watching the neighbors next door - and sorry but watching paint dry is more interesting than that!!

I might be in the minority, but I don't watch Days (or GH) to see average. I want to see excitement, drama, romance and fireworks!! Sheffer apparently needs a course in romance 101 because Days hasn't had any since Beth M was writing last summer. Sorry but slurpy kisses and rude sexual comments are not romance - not to me anyway!

Why do I continue to love EJ and Sami despite Days best efforts to destroy any potential relationship between them? Because they have that illusive magic and pure, raw chemistry!! They could be the super couple of the DECADE!! So yes, I WANT Sami with her rapist or whatever other bs people hold onto and spew out to discredit EJ and EJ/Sami fans!! I want the excitement, passion and REAL chemistry that James Scott and Ali Sweeney bring to the screen.

Sure Days needs to redeem EJ (or fill in the huge holes they left regarding almost everything he's supposed to have done), but somehow it seems Days would rather force couples that don't work - and put them on almost every day of the week instead of trying something new and something that could be explosive (in a positive way). Toss in characters that have very little history or purpose and put them in absurdly boring storylines; and give the vets a little airtime now and then... and Days thinks the ratings will improve??

I'm sorry, but having watched this show since abt 1970, it is at one of the lowest points of all time: yes it's better than it was a few months ago, but that isn't saying much. It would seem Days could only improve but for some reason it's sinking faster than Andre in quicksand.

[Days4Life]

ITA with your post. Just love it. Can I be your stalker?

[Pest Spray]

And that's fine, I completely respect that. As long as you respect my POV as well.

And the answer to that is simple, why not enjoy the ride until you get to the end? If it's a good written, in character, well acted and chemistry filled ride - why not enjoy it? Everytime I watch clips or DVDs from the early 90s, do I want John & Marlena together? Of course. But I still love the story, because it's in character and it's well written. There are outside conflicts, but the big conflicts and drama comes from within the characters. THAT is good writing.

DAYS needs Sheri Anderson. It's not because I'm a fan of hers even, but because she knows (and created some of) the characters on the canvas today. And she actually WANTS to do it.

[DaysForever]

I really hope Ed Scott hires Sheri.

I had no idea she WANTS to do it!

[MikeGoldy]

If it's a well written story and like you said, true to character, then I'm ok with whatever happens. And I agree about Sheri Anderson actually. DAYS truly needs a writer who WANTS to write it and understands and respects the history. When I read interviews with headwriters, I can always sense if they truly get the show, and if they even enjoy the show. I always have gotten that from Sheri, I got that from JER during the first run, not so much with the rest. Unfortunately, I don't think Hogan Sheffer gets romance, how to pace a story, or understands what DAYS is about. And I don't escuse him because of the supposed budget problems. Even though he said he couldn't use Dee, Drake, Peter, and Kristian, he could have written compelling story for who he had to write for.

[MikeGoldy]

Totally agree about EJ and Sami, and what they bring to the screen. Unofurtunately, Datillo just isn't a leading man, no matter how hard they force it. Lucas and Sami are so boring, and just over. And the EJ and Sami pairing works, because she is the one person who COULD forgive him for his sins, because of her past. I don't want them to change any of the things he did in the past; the eventual pairing of EJ and Sami would be that much more intense because of his past.