DAYS: Frustrated by Hogan Sheffer

[PhoenixRising05]

I heard Corday wanted the teens and was forcing it on Lorraine. Lorraine disagreed but Corday wanted it anyway so he tried forcing her hand. She wouldn't budge so he considered pushing plans for it back. Langan wanted them too so he developed a plan to go ahead with it and even developed some other stories to be used and showed them to Corday. Corday loved them and got rid of Lorraine and went with Langan, which was supposed to be only temporary but ended up permanent. I think Corday only wanted Langan to establish the teens for the next writer, which is why they all came on in like a 6 month span, but he liked what he was doing so he kept him as HW.

[IMissAremid]

Actually, I wouldn't call the Tony/Andre switch seamless when they screwed up and had dialogue a week or two before the reveal happened where Roman insinuated EJ and Tony were related by blood and the show also never cleared up how exactly Tony and John Black were supposed to be brothers (or gave them a brotherly scene beyond their first meeting) when the DNA tests that showed John and Tony related actually took place during the time that Andre (who has no relation to Daphne) was impersonating Tony so they either had to be faked by Andre or Andre and John had to be related some other way.

I also wouldn't call Anna's return seamless. Was it welcome? Did I enjoy it as it was happening? Yes. But did it make a lick of sense at all? No. She comes back to Salem to drop off these letters she has held onto for 20 years yet once they are translated she doesn't get to sit down and read even one of them with the rest of her friends? WTF? And did they ever explain what the rationale was behind Anna's method of contacting Sami being her sneaking garbage in her apartment containing a ticking/exploding alarm clock with a computer disc inside it that played a voice-distorted message imploring her to pick up a package on the pier that Anna was going to drop off while cloaked in disguise? Did they ever explain why she was disguised but hasn't felt the need to disguise herself at any point since she was discovered? No. IMO that's not really seamless.

But for the record, I'm not telling you this (since I can't ). I am just stating my opinion for everyone else.

[billyjill]

Thanks PR. That isn't how I've heard it and I've heard rumors that often the producer under KC does a lot of the firing, but I'll keep that in mind.

Also the problem with the nods to history are that they're really just lip service, it's just like some of his ATWT staff Googled up Beth's Days Page and stuck a factoid in there. Granted, storylines can't and shouldn't always (or even most of the time) be about the past, but there are really some story ideas that need MORE than just a shallow treatment of the past, a perfect example being the feud.

Anybody can Google. It takes a writer who cares to know when to keep it light and when to really do research.

[PhoenixRising05]

The dialogue mistake is the SW's fault The John/Tony thing I agree with but, to me, it's almost like there is a J&M conspiracy where they refuse to mention any history they have with the Dimera's. There was hardly even a mention when J&M found Tony about John's relationship with Tony. It's weird and it goes back to Corday and money. He can't afford them so he figures not mentioning them will abide by the principle of "Out if sight, out of mind." Yes, he is stupid enough to think fans will forget them.

Ann's return was seamless for the most part. Word got back to her they were investigating Santo/Coleen. She mentioned Celeste called her and told her. It's reasonable to think she knew Celeste since Celeste was associated for years with the Dimera's and Anna was tangled up with them too so it's conceivable they met at some point and know each other well. The rest of that was Anna taking precautions. I assume the ticking clock was designed to get their attention and to also conceal the fact that she was trying to reach them just in case someone was watching. She was protecting herself. As for why she hasn't disguised herself since then, why should she? She has people to help and protect her. Roman, Bo, and John were there. Tony is there now.

Your right though. It's your opinion and I respect it. It's just sad that we have to deal with all these save Days threads again. It's like a yearly tradition.

[PhoenixRising05]

Right and that is one of his flaws. Hogan does the work to research history but doesn't apply it to stories and scenes properly. It often times appears like it's dropped in just to show off or something.

My point was I don't think he would just ignore J&M's history. It just seems like he and the writers aren't allowed to mention anything about their history with the Dimera's. It's really weird because you hear nothing about it and don't even hear about J&M much when they are offscreen. It's clearly looking like a phase-out process and that is more on Corday's head IMO then Hogan's.

[Y&RWorldTurner]

The situation Days is in is a collaborative effort, which means, Corday, Hogan, and whoever the hell else. Corday might be forcing Hogan to write certain storylines, but ultimately, it's Hogan's creative vision that comes out at the end. Hogan is the one who plots the stories, decides which characters get most utilized in those stories, and the overall purpose of those stories. Does Corday have significant influence? Yes! However, Hogan has his fair share of blame too. We can't deny the fact that for this entire year, Days has reached all new lows in the ratings and it was done under Hogan's tenure as HW, not JER, not Langan, not Higley, BUT HOGAN.

It was under Hogan that Days' core audience was alienated to the point where they rapidly turned out, no one else. How do we explain this? Yes, I know Corday, but if Corday has been interfering since day 1 on this show, why hasn't it effected ratings during the tenure of other HW's?

Hogan has 4 Emmy's, SO WHAT? I should also like to add that his writing staff at ATWT was much better organized than the staff he has on Days. However, just because you have success on one show, that doesn't mean you will on another.

In many ways, the damage has probably already been done. Days has lost almost 800,000 viewers from a year ago and there's no sign that any significant amount of them have returned or will ever return. It will be battling out with GL for the last place for the foreseeable future, and nothing will probably change that.

[IMissAremid]

I don't know. I kind of like the quarterly PlanToSaveDaysTM fuss. That's when I know the season's changing. LOL.

Excellent post! ICAM. I know when I criticize Hogan it's not because I absolve Corday of everything, because I don't. But I just have to look at what variable changed from this time last year on the show to now to cause 800,000 lost viewers. That variable is Hogan Sheffer as DOOL head writer.

[ChiTownBoi03]

Excellent post! Completely agree

[Khan]

>> and I invite anybody to add to what I have to say or dispute it.

Given the ratings, I doubt very few would dispute many of your grievances.

(OTOH...., lol.)

>> why would you bury a character like Roman Brady [...] and expect some huge ratings surge?

Because, Roman and Stefano have been mortal enemies for a very long time.

>> and then I would have had Adrienne DIE within two episodes so that Sami is not only buried alive, but buried with a dead body.

And what purpose would killing Adrienne off serve? Making enemies out of Steve and Stefano? Been there, done that, bought the Benjy-died-for-no-good-reason t-shirt.

>> We have no sweeping romance, no glamorous fashion scenes or Hope/Anna posturing in elegant gowns---you know---stuff that snags FEMALE viewers.

Who says that will capture the attention of female viewers? Practically every male character on PASSIONS paraded around undressed (supposedly to lure female viewers...and okay, gay men, too, lol), and yet, female viewers, by and large, stayed away from the show.

>> Why isn't the endlessly gifted Leann Hunley being used? The woman can be as glamorous as Erica Kane and she's as funny as Carole Lombard, yet she's being written NADA.

Two words: No. Contract.

>> I'd cut the budget by getting rid of Kate Roberts and writing Anna DiMera some really juicy story involving Marlena, Carrie and Sami.

You might have something there.

>> colored people

Excuse me!?

>> my fukkcking god!

Number one, you've misspelled "f**king"; and number two, God doesn't deserve that kind of modifier. NBC Daytime and Ken Corday are responsible for the mess that DAYS is in, not God.

[Khan]

Edited, because, there are better ways of handling the situation.

[stenbeck212]

Chris Goutman said he was "committed to the African-American storyline," as if they're supposed to get a separate one of their own. We see how well that turned out. I don't know how much blame lies with him or Sheffer there, but their team allowed solid characters like Jessica, Ben and John Dixon to simply disappear without a peep.

[Ryan]

"Make every effort to assign credit--or blame--to the right person. Soaps are a highly collaborative medium, so it's often difficult to pinpoint which individual is responsible for what you see on-screen."

Marlena De Lacroix, in "Critical of the Critic's Condition", Soap Opera Weekly, September 2, 1997).

As I said on the radio show last night and last week, I am following that statement from now on. There are many who have made concessions for Hogan Sheffer since DAYS has gone into a downward spiral. I made concessions when he didn't deliver in the beginning of the year (when many of us attributed that to budget issues...which we were later proven to be correct). However.......it's now time to assign the blame to the right person (and persons).

The one factor that has been a constant on DAYS for years has been Corday. And the one constant that is blamed for many of the things that have gone wrong with DAYS is Corday's need to be involved in the creative process and not allow his writers to do what they're paid to do....which is write.

While many problems this past year at DAYS can be attributed to Ken Corday & Steven Wyman, Hogan & Meg Kelly are NOT without blame. He is a man paid millions of dollars to write for a soap that has been a mainstay for decades. He's relatively "new" to the game (meaning he hasn't been whored around to the other soaps like most of the writers today) and has a fresh outlook on stories. He's won Emmy's (so what, so has Megan McTavish, that hack whore Lynn Marie Lathan and the hack bastard Dave Kriezman...among many others). Hogan had a lot of hype to live up to, and no one can say the man hasn't delivered on many things fans have wanted. The day to day dialog has improved, couples were reunited, people were happy....and then the show went to hell.

As a head writer, it is your job to come up with the long-term story, come up with the outlines and relay that to your team so they can (in theory) write your vision for the show. It's clear that there isn't a single-vision theory at DAYS (or many soaps for that matter), so of course that will be hard.

Sheffer and Kelly aren't producing the results that they should be. His supporters (and I am one of them) can try and deny the obvious, but it's only making things worse. Corday may interfere with the show a lot, but the writers need to write about that. There is no excuse for the lackluster stories going on right now. They have a POWERHOUSE cast at that damn studio and they're not being utilized. This god damned Brady vs. DiMera storyline was NOT well thought out. Who was the idiot who decided to base the entire feud off of some contrived "love" story designed to cater to a fanbase want a woman and her rapist together (and instead of the show saying hell no, we'll appease you by having their lookalike ancestors be in love)...? I'm sorry, that's not romance...it's sick. It's just as sick as the assbag who wanted to pair Todd & Marty together on OLTL (and it almost happened but didn't thanks to Susan & Roger).

There is no "romance" on the show. There's no emotional connection to these newer characters because quite frankly, we don't give a flyin monkey's ass about them. The people who should be carrying the show aren't because someone has it in their minds that the teens are the "future" (and I say that laughing out loud) of the show. Someone has it in their minds that viewers will care about this stupid drama the younger set is creating for themselves. I'm sorry, it doesn't work. If you want to make people care about the younger set, watch GH during the Stone/Robin storyline and the kind of socially relevant, emotional tale that was. I wouldn't give a flyin monkey's ass if all the younger set went clink boom on bus on Wednesday.

As I said before, DAYS has a POWERHOUSE cast that isn't being used. If they wanted this Brady/DiMera storyline to be as big as it is, I have no problem with that, but involve the people who ACTUALLY have a history and are invested in this feud. Why not have sub storylines as a part of the drama? Why not have a storyline between Tony/Anna/Roman/Kate. Maybe Anna is jealous of the attention Roman shows Kate. Anna may not want Roman, but she doesn't want anyone else to have him either. That creates tension between Anna & Tony, while opening the possibility of a Roman/Anna story, where you then have Tony & Kate feeling left out.

Why not address the things Stefano did to Roman & John, and explore that as a sub story. There is so much potential there that is NOT being utilized and it's sad. Acting talent like Suzanne Rogers, John Anniston, LeAnne Hunley, Renee Jones, Drake Hogestyn, Deidre Hall, Joe Mascalo (they are SO not using him the way he should) and others not doing a DAMN thing! Just languishing on the backburner, brought in to read some f***ing letters 2-3 times a month. What kind of bullshit is that?

There is no excuse for the overall suckiness of the show. Not one single person it to blame, rather a combination of everyone involved in the creative process of the show. I'm not gonna assign the blame all on Hogan (who does have a freakin co-head writer who gets no credit in the press, but damn sure should share some of the blame) or Corday (or Wyman). Daytime is a collaborative process, and it's obvious that everyone collaborating on DAYS needs to go back to the drawing board.

I pray Ed Scott has some effect on the show creatively (beyond just the physical changes on the show). I want him to bring in some of his writing people, as well as reach back into time to find some former DAYS writers who "got" the show and what it is supposed to be.

[PhoenixRising05]

I am not saying Hogan is blameless. He takes some of the blame. God knows the man isn't perfect. I am just saying Corday takes more of the blame.

Days started hitting lows under Langan and then under Higley and JER. Hogan has hit lows too but who put the numbers in that position...the people in front of him. Days's core audience has been bleeding out since Langan so so it can't be said that this began with Hogan. He contributed to it but he didn't start this trend. If someone is being forced to write things, how can their creative vision be presented onscreen? That makes no sense. How does one expect Hogan to write a complete and fulfilling story when he is being told who to use, who not to use. what he should be doing, etc? Again, it makes no sense and represents the problem Days has had since 1997. There are too many "fingers in the cookie jar" so to speak. Corday is the main issue but Langan was an interference too in the late 90's and Wyman took over that role too when he replaced Langan. Days has ratings have suffered so much due to Corday refusal to see problems before it's too late, his contant lying, and the fact that he can't seem to stay out of the writer's room. His influence has been affecting ratings for a decade.

I agree with what Ryan said in that there is so much potential not being utilized. Again, Hogan is not blameless but the man has had to deal with so many damn hindrances since his reign began that it's a shock he didn't quit right off the bat. Hogan has his flaws. He doesn't apply history well to stories. His pacing sucks a good part of the time. His story climaxes may not always be what they are cracked up to be. Just because I am trying to pit most of the blame on Corday and others does not mean I absolve Hogan. All I am saying is the show has been in a volatile position well before Hogan began and that other factors other then his writing has played a role in Days' troubles. Hogan takes some of the blame so it is a collaborative effort but Corday put Days in this hellish position and the only hope is that Ed Scott has as much power as we believe and hope he has because, otherwise, Corday's never going to keep his ass of the writing and production and this cycle will constantly repeat itself again and again until nothing is left.

[IMissAremid]

OK, ITA with your post up until you got into your diatribe over the "sickness" that is EJ and Sami... Sami is already married to a man who tried to kill her... where is the outrage over that? *sigh* just getting that out of the way.

But though I don't want this thread to turn into EJami/Lumi argument no. 38,279 since I am just as unhappy with the show as you are and agree with the rest of your post, I still have to ask if you really think EJ and Sami together are that sick why in the hell are you still calling yourself a Hogan supporter? Do you think Corday is making him write EJ and Sami together and that's not what he wants to do? I'm genuinely curious. Given Hogan's comments in SOD and the halfass way this story was told I certainly think that's a possibility, even though I know Toups has said Hogan does like EJ and Sami.

ICAM with all of this.

[Ponz]

Ryan, I think I love you.