Jump to content

DAYS: Dena Higley posted a new blog!


Recommended Posts

  • Members

Sorry for that unfortunate thread title. There wasn't enough room for "talentless hack."

Dena's Blog

"The freshmen fifteen"

December 2, 2008

Know what I've discovered? Sons who come home from college for the first time from a great distance get treated like movie stars. Sons who come home from college who have autism get treated like royalty.

I was throwing a birthday party for my youngest son, Helio, Friday night. He's so popular, the party place was bursting to the gills with both 7th grade girls and boys. I did my usual balancing act between trying to be a cool mom and a drill sergeant. But part of my mind wasn' t there at all. Connor was heading home that night from Florida. Would he find the right terminal at the giant Orlando Airport? Would he find the right gate? Would he even attempt to board the correct airline?

He's flown a lot with his family but kind of cruised through the whole airport thing and you have to TEACH Connor the vocabulary for everything. He won't pick it up by osmosis. So the language of air travel-- we just weren't sure he was fluent.

We'd tutored him, of course. We pointing things out the last couple of times we vacationed. But when I talked to him on the phone Thursday night, it seemed like all that preparation had gone somewhere in his brain that no one (including himself) could access.

So, after a very confusing and somewhat troubling phone conversation the night before, I just gave up and told him good luck and I would see him tomorrow night. (Maybe.)

Of course he did just fine. Proving once again he doesn't need me or his father to guide him through life EVERY step. There are still some things... but I have to become increasingly more picky about when I get in his soup and when I back off.

So he's home. And he is so happy. This is a guy who never really loved going to camp when he was little, or sleepovers . He liked family vacations but always breathed a sigh of relief when he came home. Home is safe for him. Home is comfort in a challenging and stressful world. He doesn't have to try so hard at home. He doesn't have to manage chaos at home. He quickly put his warm, comfy robe and slippers on and I fully expect he won't take them off until it's time for him to head back to college.

He's thin. Too thin. He says he doesn't like the cafeteria food at his college. He has a kitchen in his apartment and he knows how to cook a few things but he's certainly not getting three squares a day. As I recall, most first year kids put on weight. "The freshmen fifteen" we used to call it. Not Connor. He's not starving so I'm not going to freak out but maybe we'll learn to make a few more easy things in the kitchen before he heads back.

It's been a crazy fall with all the changes at work. As much Soap Opera on screen as off. Change is upon us. Nothing I can really do about it. So many new challenges in our business. There are meetings and memos and budgets and lists and numbers being crunched... and the leadership of the show is doing their best. No matter what you think of what's going on, you have to know that.

But the sands are still running through the hourglass. That's a very good thing. And my son is home. That is a very, very good thing.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 39
  • Created
  • Last Reply
  • Members

LOL! Her blogs are as boring as her stories.

I can't believe that NBC/Corday are paying this woman to write a blog for them about her personal life. Talk about horrible financial mismanagement.

If she wants to write a persona blog, that's her choice. However, stop targeting it to DAYS fans.

And I highly doubt anyone is forcing her to do this blog.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

*sigh*. I can't believe I'm about to post this. I don't like Dena. AT ALL. PERIOD. And I've never been a fan of her blogs. I don't even know why I'm writing this, why I already posted it someplace else, and why I'm copying it again here. Maybe it's just because I'm in a good mood tonight, I don't know. Because this woman stands for everything I'm against. Yet... I just have to say this...

However badly she's doing it, she's at least writing something she believes is an effort at reaching out to the fans in this time of insanity. YOU don't think it's worth anything, and *I* don't think it's worth anything. But man, she really believes that in some way, she's bridging the gap. It's not like she's writing this to piss anybody off. She really believes it's doing some kind of good, in some way, in some small section of the fandom.

Still not saying I like it, but I gotta at least point that out.

Now I need a shower. LOL!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

I need to take a cynicism pill.

(Full disclosure: I don't approach her with particular anger, because she didn't ruin my show. I'd likely feel differently if I watched OLTL or DOOL. I do watch Y&R, though, and I don't have that level of outrageous anger at LML either).

So, from my detached perspective, I find these blogs just humanize her. She's an ordinary person, with an extraordinary family.

What seems unfortunate to me is that some of the stuff she describes (adoption, living a full life with developmentally delayed children, balancing work and family, coping with office politics, etc.) all seem to me like they'd make GENUINELY interesting soap stories if written right. Far better than some of the outlandish stunts that make it to air.

It is a shame that she can't channel her life (and I'm not talking about the autism story as it is currently written!) and tell a story that really engages the viewer.

I'm sorry to keep going to Y&R...but this week they even made me care about NEWBIES by linking three characters (Ana, Tyra, Karen) to the show's ongoing "Foster Care" storyline. Suddenly, everyone in that story has a shared experience (being shuttled away without parents), and it was used as a bonding and a way of heightening the emotional stakes. That is what soap writing should be, IMO. (I realize that may not fit with DOOL's identity).

I wish she could plumb the depths of her life and use to "save Days". Hell, even the intrigue of having a group of corporate employees fired so you can take over...could make a good story.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

It's obvious how much her family means to her, but she's not the first woman to write meaningfully about the children she cares about.

I still cannot understand how this (at best) mid-level breakdown writer wheedled her way to becoming HW -- three times -- in the space of 10 years? Seriously, how did that happen? Higley has nothing to say in her soap writing. I'll give her props for giving Bree Williamson material on OLTL that changed my perception of her from bimbo hair model to actress. But that's about it.

And at the risk of being sued by the WGA or something, I still think she should have gone instead of Ed Scott. JMO, obviously.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.



  • Recent Posts

    • And he beat Shemar Moore for those two Emmys. I chalk up those wins to the voters not wanting Jonathan Jackson to have a five peat. These were the 1996 and 1997 Younger Actor races. 1996: Nathan Fillion, Jonathan Jackson, Kevin Mambo (winner), Shemar Moore, Joshua Morrow 1997: Steve Burton, Jonathan Jackson, Kevin Mambo (winner), Shemar Moore, Joshua Morrow
    • https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/legacyremembers/denise-alexander-obituary?pid=209074143
    • Today's episode was excellent. Clearly it was confrontation day and they didn't disappoint. I'm glad they didn't forget Mona in all of this and gave us an opportunity to see how she's dealing with this. A major highlight for me were the Kat and Martin scenes. Their chemistry is off the charts and I don't understand why we haven't gotten more of this. I love how they take turns calming each other down. They feel really well matched and believable as siblings. Speaking of siblings, they anvils were dropping strong that Kat and Eva are twins but I do wish someone would mention that they are essentially hood twins which might throw people off the scent.  I'm one of the people who enjoyed Joey and the gambling storyline so it was nice to see him again. It was nice to see different characters like Mona and Eva in that element instead of the usual players. When Doug arrived I don't know what hit me but I just see a funeral in his future. He seems so hopeless and has the worst luck. I just can't see him surviving the year at this rate.
    • In fiction there has become an expectation by some that every Black character should represent excellence and perfection. It's not like we are talking about a Tyler Perry show where none of the characters are happy and everyone hates each other with a passion.
    • And on rewatch, I could've done without the unsubtle praising Matt like he was the only one who ever accepted Van as she was...but TPTB and their agendas.  It was totally in character for Vanessa to shut down emotionally until she was alone. While she could be volatile, both she and Henry believed in keeping emotions private.  Thank God it's still Bryan Buffinton in the role for both Henry's and HB's funerals. It just wouldn't have been the same with Ryan Brown, who couldn't act his way out of a wet paper bag. Roll My Eyes.
    • I can probably believe the Spauldings reacting that way, as Alan barely cares about anyone but himself and maybe his family, while Amanda only had that one experience with the Coopers, but I see your point. I do think 1997 was a better year than the last 3-4 before it, for whatever that's worth. You are right about Marcus. Kevin Mambo winning two Emmies (the latter during periods where he had nothing to do) helped.
    • I think @Darn @Faulkner and others have a fair point re: it being an unfortunate look and coincidence. I can see their point about the two Black husbands in rapid succession, without much time in between. Frankly, based on the early casting notices I thought before the show's debut (and I still suspect) that Ted's crimes might be far worse than infidelity or a secret baby. That would've mixed it up more. It's a soap, people are going to cheat, but it might've given them more variety if Nicole was stepping out first. Still, I wouldn't trade the Leslie/Eva reveal material for anything right now. Still, Fanfic Account #3 is just looking for any weapon to attack the show for not accepting his unsolicited scripts. When it's not the husbands it's Martin, or Chelsea or Dani. He's seething it got renewed.
    • I'm pretty sure Lucy and Bridget never even have another scene together for the rest of the time they're both on the show. Bridget isn't even invited to the wedding! The lack of community feeling and continuity of non-romantic relationships during this period is very jarring. Characters suddenly only seem to interact with a handful of other characters, rather than characters across the canvas. I'm deep into 1997 in my watch right now and find that it's even stranger because the show goes back and forth between ignoring history in order to manufacture some kind of separation between characters (for example, at one point Amanda refers to the Coopers as a family that the Spauldings "barely know," despite her and Alan spending the better part of 1996 going to war with Buzz over 5th street, and Alan has absolutely no reaction when he finds out about something bad that's happened to Abby, which seems pretty out of character given how close they were in 95/96) and ignoring history in order to create a sense of community that doesn't quite fit (characters who couldn't stand Amanda are suddenly acting all buddy buddy with her). The wheels really feel like they're coming off in 1997 (although I know some would argue that the wheels started to come off years earlier). Watching the Marcus/Dahlia romance again from a 2025 perspective is so weird. Marcus is a full grown man who must be at least in his mid-20s and he's dating a teenager who is not only still in high school, but is still fully a year away from graduation, and no one says anything about how creepy that is. I feel like the buzz around Marcus gave the illusion that the show was more invested in him than it ever actually was. Even during his "big" story where he's arrested for Cutter's murder, he actually doesn't appear on screen very often. He's imprisoned, Griffin is brought on, other characters make a fuss about trying to get him out, but there's a long stretch of time where he doesn't appear at all. I've been keeping episode counts while I watch and between Cutter's death in mid-November of 1995 and the end of the year Marcus/Mambo only appears 7 times (and of that only twice in December).
    • The letter reading was very emotional, and Maeve really got to me too. I was a little worried because Vanessa doesn't give a speech at the funeral, which surprised me, but then we got the private letter reading and her true emotional reaction and I was satisfied there. The YouTube channel I watch these episodes on (if not on our Vault), also had upset commenters talk about how Nola's line about Henry not accepting her at first/seen as a gold-digger was totally untrue. It's sad the writers don't do their homework and give fans the respect (and the characters respect). And yep, Bill got up and spoke at the funeral too, which was nice.  I didn't even realize that was Sharon Leal until you said it!  I had to Google it. I loved Sharon Leal in Boston Public back in the day haha. LOL at your Reva/Josh ALWAYS commentary. What is RME though?
    • Leslie is an extreme liar and manipulator. I'm not sure what her point was in trying to convince Nicole she wasn't trying to hurt her. As much as Eva did help orchestrate the entire plot I feel like there was too much piling on. Eva never said she wanted to be a Dupree so Anita was extremely out of line for that comment.  
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy