Days versus OLTL: Interesting Perspective

[Dan]

Speaking as someone who also thoroughly enjoyed Hogan's tenure on DAYS, I completely agree. Let me start this off with this though: I am not a hard-core DAYS fan. Those same things you mentioned Ryan were the same things that kept me away, along with the ridiculous plot ideas, the shallow characterization, and the very laid-back direction when it came to acting. And they kept me away for YEARS.

I think the bitterness comes though on a greater level. For years, we have seen daytime dissolve into this rut. Those in charge and those at home it seems view these shows now as nothing more than, someone else said it best, "mindless entertainment." These shows were no longer a part of the family and, therefore no longer received the same respect and care. The quality faded, the actors kept phoning it in-- in daytime overall, not just DAYS. It was a bad time.

But then Sheffer went to DAYS. Hallelujah. I'm not going to say he was perfect. He was far from that. But his dialog was intelligent. His characterization was real. Characters finally came to life; we could finally identify with them again. That is the lifeblood for daytime and will be the ONLY thing that gets us out of the ratings dungeon. To steal an old Jean Rouverol quote, if the characters are not credible and consistent, then we might as well be watching shadow puppets on the wall.

But anyway, he came on and while the plots were not always good, there was a bit of complexity returned not simply to the show but to daytime as well. A little hope that MAYBE things will get better for this genre. God only knows that I've seen my favorite, GL, reduced to being a travelogue of Northern New Jersey. And then, in October, I saw John's death and funeral, which were the best soap episodes I have seen in YEARS, comparable to Nancy Curlee's GL. They were just THAT good. They reminded me what potential daytime had and why I fell in love with these shows. It was a magical moment.

Then, I see it come crashing down in January/February, I can't even remember when. But it hit home that we are on a self-defeating path. Any hope gets squashed by mindless corporate drones out to broaden daytime's bottom line without realizing what truly needs to occur to revitalize their product. ("Damn the man, save the empire" as Tom Casiello writes in his blog). And then many of the fans almost encourage this by not pushing for more. They have lowered their collective expectations so much that any improvement is met with disdain because it is simply not what they want to see anymore.

Sigh, it doesn't help that there is really no respite for fans that want intelligent, logical, character-driven and multi-generational drama. All of the other shows are stuck in the status quo and unable to get out of it. Although considering the press OLTL is getting, maybe I will check it out this summer. Hopefully, it fills my expectations because I can only watch the same classic GL episodes on Youtube so many times.

[Toups]

Dan, start watching on Monday if you haven't started already. There's a reason why the soap press and soap writers like Sara Bibel and Tom Casiello are praising the show.