Members JaneAusten Posted October 9, 2009 Members Share Posted October 9, 2009 Days is the only soap that had gained viewers and IMO improved from a year ago. Just months ago many were predicting the end of Days with the departure of Marlena, John, Patch, and Kayla and now it stands as the most improved soap on television. What is everyone's opinion on Days? What have they done to bring viewers back or to attract new viewers? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Ann_SS Posted October 9, 2009 Members Share Posted October 9, 2009 I have no idea. I do not think that Days is particularly superior in quality than last year. I wonder if the ratings' uptick is caused by regional lead ins that are very strong in some markets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JaneAusten Posted October 9, 2009 Author Members Share Posted October 9, 2009 Well I have to admit I am watching it some and I have to say it's not dark and depressing like Y&R and GH are. GH is always depressing but Y&R has become very dark and disappointing the past few months. The only really terrible story Days have is the Daniel and Chloe mess. Everything else, no not great, not great acting, but they seem to be using a lot of their vets in FB storylines along with some of the younger and newer cast members, and giving their vets prominent roles in those stories, not just window dressing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JackPeyton Posted October 9, 2009 Members Share Posted October 9, 2009 -The show finally freed itself from what was holding it back. yes i am talking Jarlena here. I loved them, i really did. But the fact was they as a couple has ran a course and there was nothing else to do. The show killed him and started to rebuild her but then gave in to the fanbase and brought him back. Once they cut them and other couples with vocal fanbases who will not allow the couples to evolve or break up and move on (Shelle, Payla, even J&J years earlier). -They then started to build an overall story with many little, side, and sub stories. The baby swap. This involved most of the canvas. Nicole, EJ, Sami, Mia, Brady, Stefano, Will, Chad, Maggie, Roman, Caroline, Rafe, Ari, etc... and they plotted it to perfection, so far, and its still playing out without dragging out due to all the sub stories in the overall story. -Romance! Days added a ton of romance. Sami/Rafe, Nicole/EJ, Kate/Daniel & Daniel/Chloe & Chloe/Lucas (like it or not), Bo & Hope had romance scenes, Philip & Stephanie, etc... -They weaved in new characters without forcing them. Mia was brought in for Nicole to get a baby and they wrote her out but then brought her back to town as Will retunred and they met. They brought on her baby daddy months after us hearing about him here and there. Rafe was only with Sami for months. Ari was brought in slowly. None of these people drove story, nothing revolved around them, for months after they came on. -use of vets. The show wasnt hit as hard by losing a slew of evts because days used the vets they had. Suddenly Caroline, Victor, Maggie, Stefano, Bo, Hope were all being used. Maggie Horton is a supporting playing in many storylines. Victor & Stefano are real characters again. Pretty much it became a classic cliche soap opera. Affairs, Secrets, Lies, Romance, Baby swaps, etc.. and it worked. Whatever it is at this point i dont think it can be denied they are doing something fans are liking. Its not a fluke, its not temp, its been going on since what Feb? Its only had minor drops and always recovers. i have alot more thoughts on this but am in the writing lab and should be studying for my exam Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JaneAusten Posted October 9, 2009 Author Members Share Posted October 9, 2009 I guess this sort of disproves the thought that decent soapy storytelling doesn't matter anymore. It seems to. It would be nice of some of the other shows could see what Days did and try to get back to the same type of focus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JackPeyton Posted October 9, 2009 Members Share Posted October 9, 2009 I tend to think the average soap fan wants well, soap. soaps took the soap out. soaps were not created to be perfect works of literature acted out by master thespians that some people on here and other boards expect. I have no issue with soaps that do that mind you, but if you cant master it dont try it. when i tune into a soap opera i want some affairs and secrets and scandals and love and romance and family and friendships and someone to root for. i wanna watch a story play out and see every beat of it. i was characters i love and new ones i will come to love. and Days is giving me that, and no other soap is. Y&R hbas become GH circa 2005 and thats worse than GH today. B&B is a utter joke. AMC is Melrose Place watered down and it isnt working. OLTL is just blahhh but then again i dont care about anyone on OLTL so thats my personal view point looking story wise it seems to be working and doing what im asking for. And ATWT is ehh, but it at least offers more soap. I hate it when people say that things are cliche on soaps. They are. and thats what i want. i like back from the dead and ex lovers showing up alive at weddings and baby swaps and what not. i just want it well done. all soaps have to do is evaluate the canvas. whats working, whats not, and make a plan. trim the fat. and go from there. but it seems soaps try to hard to reinvent the wheel. they have no focus. and this is the thing days has done the best. it has a focus. i also love how the main storyline for the past year is coming to a head as one they have been setting up for months (Steph/Phil/Mel/Nate) is coming to a head and a new one is starting (Carly). Its how soaps should be done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JaneAusten Posted October 9, 2009 Author Members Share Posted October 9, 2009 What a great post. And you are so right. I just wish more shows could get back to this and Days proves that it what viewers want. Not only are the ratings up but the demos, that younger viewer these shows insist don't want to watch what their moms and grandmas did, are up too. And wow I am thrilled Days snapped up CC and Carly is returning. I am expecting a great story coming up for all involved as a result. I can't wait. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members miajere Posted October 9, 2009 Members Share Posted October 9, 2009 DOOL is the only soap on where I can actually root for someone. No matter how much I like a character on Y&R, ATWT, or OLTL, I never feel they are deserving of their happiness. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JackPeyton Posted October 9, 2009 Members Share Posted October 9, 2009 I agree 100%. Even people i hate and wish death upon (nicole) i still feel for at times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JaneAusten Posted October 9, 2009 Author Members Share Posted October 9, 2009 Same here. And as I said before the only story I am not really enjoying is the Chloe and Daniel mess. To each his own. I just think Daniel has not been developed as anything other than a pervert and sleaze and the character had such potential. And I love Nicole. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JackPeyton Posted October 9, 2009 Members Share Posted October 9, 2009 lol, i like daniel but then again hes my ntype. hot, older, chill, a manwhore, kinda stupid even tho hes smart. lol. i love nicole, well i did, but sami brady is my girl. like i love her in a way that is not healthy to love a tv character, lol, so when you mess with her i hate you. and Nicole took her baby. therefor IMHO nicole must die. lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mitch Posted October 9, 2009 Members Share Posted October 9, 2009 After the massacre of GL, (which started four years ago) I swore I would never watch another soap. ATWT is the only other soap I watched and I just fear that the same numbnuts in charge will do what they did to GL, and I can't stand that again (plus, it is just boring.) But I was flipping through the channels came upon Days on Soapnet, and thought, "Oh,CC is on this show now." So I watched it just out of curiosity..(I am not one to follow actors but just wanted to see what was going on..) I have never really watched this show but I know the characters (Days was big in college.) and it has the soap set up I like and am familiar with(a small midwestern town where two interconnected families and their friends and enemies live) so it was easy to kind of get into it. And people are right, it has baby switches, and ridiculous lies that you know are going to be dragged out, and bad girls who really deep down have a heart and then, the final scene of the best actress to ever play a bitch goddess, CC in a overheated soap scene with her ending up stabbing her husband (on a yacht no less) and you know what...I wanted to know what happened next...THAT'S the secret...Agnes' old, "keep em waiting." What a relief it was from watching morose people wander around a deserted town doing nothing, saying nothing, while they sort laundry and look sweaty and fat and tired, hanging out in a 7-11, playing frisbee, no one has homes, or offices or does anything...Days hasnt hooked me and I will never be fan of any soap like I was for GL and ATWT..but it got me watching and that is what counts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Cat Posted October 9, 2009 Members Share Posted October 9, 2009 You guys have really delineated what it is about Days that got me back to watching. Usually when I get back into soaps, it's because I heard about some Cataclysmic Event ( © Guza) that is worth watching for a little while. With Days, there was no particular event or story. It was like a groundswell of word-of-mouth. Tomlin and Whitesall (and perhaps Higley, who knows) have done a thorough re-evaluation of what makes Days tick. Re-hiring stars from the 80s and throwing them at the screen has not worked, so they have decided to make do with a lighter canvas, work within budget cuts and use the majority of their contract cast over the course of a week within the same handful of sets and interiors. They know that the guys they have left can step up and shine. So, in order to keep viewers tuned in, TPTB have to return to the old soapy cliffhangers and couples and romance and suspense. And not try to copy Primetime. Days' fans love Days for being unapologetically Days, and not because it is a watered down version of Y&R or Sopranos or Grey's Anatomy or whatever. I know Higley has two decades working at Days under her belt, so her knowledge of the history and the feel of the characters must be invaluable. I'm wondering if Whitesall and Tomlin are fans of the show, because they certainly seem to know what they are working with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members soapfan770 Posted October 9, 2009 Members Share Posted October 9, 2009 It's amazing isn't it? Last year at this time with Higley as the new writer I figured this show was about to be canned and Y&R was going to be on the up and up. Especially after Hogestyn and Hall were let go I had wonder why it just wasn't cancelled instead. Yet what I believe has happened is that Days has managed to get rid of a lot of dead weight and with nothing left to lose went back to the basics working with the budget cuts. The show has successfully found a way to integrate newcomers with vets or familiar characters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jdawg1077 Posted October 9, 2009 Members Share Posted October 9, 2009 This post hits the nail squarely on the head, and answers the question perfectly. I feel the exact same way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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