IMO, a "strong supercouple" implies strong individual characters. The 80's supercouples were successful because both halves of the pairing were developed. It's writers who don't want strong couples that reduce one half to a "prop".

Excellent point.

Such as Langan. Langan focused all his energy on making John and Hope the new thing, viewers despised the pairing, but he didn't let up until he was fired. At the same time, he reduced Marlena and Bo to mere props, doormats for mercenary!John and Gina!Hope to step on.

I used to watch DAYS consistently when it aired in the UK from 2000-2002, it started on Bo's wedding to Gina whilst Hope and Stefano were locked in a castle by Kurt, and it ended at the Coronation Massacre. It was SO much more interesting then than it is now. Sure, there may have been the debacle that was the Teen Scene, but there was still some great storylines and characters.

There wasnt SUCH a focus on supercouples then...Lucas was so much more interesting then, he was with Nicole, and he was scheming and conniving to get Sami put away for Franco's murder, there was the whole journey to Europe for Gina's funeral that led to the plane crash, again very interesting and used a lot of characters for one story...there was comedy, there was relationships and there was drama, all perfectly balanced. The show was a lot more balanced then.

Events like Jennifer's return whilst living in Ireland, and her and Jack finding their way back to each other were so interesting (although us UK viewers were yanked away from that story at the very beginning). There were interesting stories like the Abe/Brandon rivalry...Sami wasnt one half of a supercouple; we saw her with Austin, we saw her with Brandon...we saw Brandon and Angela...Kate/Nicholas/Victor, Craig and Nancy were interesting, Chloe was still a new character and she had a lot of potential, which was squandered when they put her in a boring triangle with Philip and Brady later on, which ultimately dulled down two very interesting characters; Brady and Chloe...Brady went from being an angst ridden, complex character to a boring one note half of a couple, whilst Chloe went from conflicted teen to bland beauty.

People may look back at those years with unfond memories, only choosing to remember the bad, but you have to admit, it sure beat the Reilly years.

At least back then there wasnt so much of an influence on supercouples...the Baby Switch storyline tested Bo and Hope, John and Marlena, Abe and Lexie, it was so much more interesting now where it's couples, not characters.

That time sucked because it nearly destroyed by ability to enjoy John & Marlena and Bo & Hope as four characters together, and as two couples together. Hope's treatment of Marlena was despicable, Hope became a bitch who blamed Marlena for every problem she had, and when she couldn't do that, she blamed Bo or Stefano. That's NOT Hope. And don't even get me started on Marlena even tolerating Brady's abuse for a second. I will go on for weeks.

This question assumes a false premise: that the show can survive with them or without them simply based on their mere appearance onscreen (writing quality, anyone?), and that this soap, alone, is the only one drowning. Only speaking of ways to ensure DAYS' survival is myopic, as soaps are interlinked on a larger scale, and their ratings have collectively been declining steadily for years. If "saving DAYS" only means increasing their dismal ratings in comparison to the slightly less dismal ratings of their ABC and CBS counterparts, then they're really starting from the ground up. Their once built-in audience has eroded away to practically nothing, so the slate is entirely wiped clean. The (questionably) creative minds should see this as a new beginning, and a chance---a last chance---to put together the innovative, smart, clever, entertaining show that they'll need to even be considered for renewal. (At the very least, they should be looking to go out with a bang, not a whimper!)

In order to do that, they have GOT to move in new directions; it's GOT to get out of the rut. They're competing with prime-time, with cable, and their stubborn, inexplicable need to stay in the past as if these other genres don't exist is their primary source of self-destruction. And the archaic concept of the larger-than-life "supercouple" in question in this thread is a huge part of the noxious heel-dragging. Everything and everyone is replaceable if what emerges in their wake is better, and if miracle-worker, Ed Scott, is going to defibrillate the entire show, he can start by ending the insipid writing that regularly insults the audience, and find new dramatic angles to pursue that will grip their attention. It's no more simple or difficult than that.

P.S. Paul Raven - There is no more apt a word for the "supercouples" of today than "liability."

Thank you! Perfectly stated.

That time sucked because it nearly destroyed by ability to enjoy John & Marlena and Bo & Hope as four characters together, and as two couples together. Hope's treatment of Marlena was despicable, Hope became a bitch who blamed Marlena for every problem she had, and when she couldn't do that, she blamed Bo or Stefano. That's NOT Hope. And don't even get me started on Marlena even tolerating Brady's abuse for a second. I will go on for weeks.

At least it was interesting, and provoked a reaction from viewers like yourself that wasnt "God, this is boring" or "So and so is on too much and so and so isnt on enough."

Even characters like Mickey and Maggie, Doug and Julie, were featured frequently, even if in a supporting capacity, they were still around. Maggie was Lucas' AA sponsor, Mickey was Nicole's lawyer.

I'm not saying it was perfect, but at least it was interesting and at least there was an attempt made at developing characters, for better or for worse.

I would rather DAYS took a risk, changed things up and failed, than remained stagnant and boring.

Edited August 14, 200718 yr by UKBoi

They all can go! All these pairings are boredom to me and many of actors are not impressive after so long on air.

At the end of day Days needs to start mixing it couples up a lot more.

At least it was interesting, and provoked a reaction from viewers like yourself that wasnt "God, this is boring" or "So and so is on too much and so and so isnt on enough."

Even characters like Mickey and Maggie, Doug and Julie, were featured frequently, even if in a supporting capacity, they were still around. Maggie was Lucas' AA sponsor, Mickey was Nicole's lawyer.

I'm not saying it was perfect, but at least it was interesting and at least there was an attempt made at developing characters, for better or for worse.

I would rather DAYS took a risk, changed things up and failed, than remained stagnant and boring.

ICAM!

Where the hell is Maggie btw? We haven't seen her since Willow died have we? That really sucks. And I hate that there is not one lawyer in Salem right now so you can't ever have any legal drama.

I don't know why it has always been Days' intention over the years to build strong supercouples, rather than strong characters as whole. This has really hurt them in the long run. It's almost impossible for the audience to think of Bo without Hope and Marlena without John. IMO, this is not the way it's supposed to be. These characters should've been better established ALONE, rather than in a couplings.

Even when the supercouple phenomena died in the late 80's/early 90's, Days continued to pursue supercoupling and adventure-type storytelling. Times were changing in the soap world, but Days refused to adjust to the times.

Look at GH, for example, that show arguably pioneered the supercpuple phenomena in the 80's, but by the 90's they tried to establish characters by themselves, rather than in couples. It worked out perfectly, because suddenly the audience could identify themselves with and love certain characters by themselves. GH also toned down the camp tremendously by the Riche/Labine era and it worked it extremely well, in the end. Days failed to do this, instead it amped up the camp value and went into a more preternatural direction, which should've never happened. GH, on the other hand, went in a more character-driven and socially relevant storytelling direction and the show remained consistent in terms of quality and ratings.

Then you have shows like Y&R and AMC, who did have popular couples, but they never let the coupling pairs outweigh the importance of the characters themselves. For most of the late 80's and well on into the 90's, these two shows were the #1 and #2 rated shows respectively. Bill Bell and Agnes Nixon never cared for the supercouple phenomena, instead they concentrated on making strong stand alone characters, not strong supercouples. Had Days done this or adjusted to the times like GH, it might not be in the situation it is in now.

Exactly!! It's a shame.

I also agree with Ponz too. Langan was very much against the supercouples. That much is clear. However, Days never did go through with breaking any couple up during that time. I have seen so many posts mention "the fans rebelled" or "there was fan backlash and it got changed" and that alone shows the problem Days has. They give in too much. There comes a time when a writer and producer have to ignore a fanbase and just do what they think it's best. Sometimes it will work and sometimes it won't but at least they would be trying. I am not saying they should ignore fans all the time but to keep giving in gives the fans far too much power and with so many fanbases already arguing for their couple or character to have more airtime it becomes a mess.

I am just so sick and tired of fanbases getting in the way of good story. The HW is so limited at Days. If things were the way they are now in the 80's and 90's, we may have never gotten J&M because Wayne's Roman was huge then or we would've never gotten J&J because Jack was a rapist early on and God knows it would've been like a Lumi/Ejami situation. Things were much more different then with fans then they are now. The patience was there and so was the ability to give new pairings and stories a chance before condemning them. Now, a story starts and right away the bashing begins or sometimes the bashing even begins with spoilers. The show has burned fans, obviously, but these fanbases have grown to be a major pain over the years and it may very well be the thing that ends up killing the show.

Days over the last 20 years has always had strong supercouples, but they've rotated them..When i started watching in 87, there was Steve & Kayla, Shane & Kim, and Jack & Jennifer....in the early 90's you had John & Isabella, with Marlena and Roman returning to the show...Also there was still Jack&Jennifer, Bo&Carly, and then Bo&Billie....Austin&Carrie starting building momentum, and Hope returned....The late 90s and early/mid 2000s we had Carrie&Austin, Bo&Hope, John&Marlena, Jack&Jennifer, and Lucas&Sami started to gain a following...and this past year we lost Jack&Jennifer, but gained Steve&Kayla..

So it seems like there has always been 3 big supercouples on the show during my entire run....I love these couples together, but i would rather them have exciting stories than languishing on the backburner..Right now i'm happy with bope investigating the dimeras, and Steve/Kayla with baby Pocket..But i think its ridiculous that John/Marlena haven't really had a storyline all year...

ICAM!

Where the hell is Maggie btw? We haven't seen her since Willow died have we? That really sucks. And I hate that there is not one lawyer in Salem right now so you can't ever have any legal drama.

We actually saw Maggie when Nick ran off to Las Vegas after the bomb. Her, Bo, and Hope were looking around for Nick at the beach.