DAYS: Discussion for the month of November

[dc11786]

If the last time someone tuned in was yesterday or ten years ago, soap scenes can be written in a way that anyone would understand what is going on between two long time characters like Bo and Hope. Soaps are known for their repetitive exposition. I think some writers incorporate this better than others. But, yes, I feel that it should be done to the extent that it may annoy, but not drive away, daily viewers. Maybe I'm asking for too much.

As an example, I use the recent Nicole/Sami friendship. People tuning in who hadn't tuned in for a while were completely caught off guard. Nicole is an insecure character. There was no reason Nicole couldn't have been constantly questioning Sami's kindness towards her, especially considering what has been done. Bo and Hope are at each others throats all the time. This arguments should get repetitive, to an extent, because it always comes down to the same thing.

But the whole world didn't know that child was either Mia and Melanie. To an extent, you are right. The beat was played because the audience is now aware that Mia or Melanie is the daughter, but the delivery outright sucked. It was a crucial moment that revealed a lot of information to the audience and delivering it admist normal conversation goes against normal conventions and robbed the audience of that fade to black moment where they are given critical new information which helps to shape the storyline.

I'm not asking that Bo act surprised the information, but I feel like it all should be written in a way that I'm left dying to hear more of the story. The way it was written, I was cheated of that opportunity.

I watched again. October 27th ends with Carly agreeing to tell Bo the entire story. October 28th begins with Carly telling Bo he knows everything. At that stage, I think it was well done, but that's only my opinion. I think it would go against normal conventions to reveal that much information early on, but I can understand your desire to see Bo handle the information. Right now, it appears the powers that be saw it more important that Bo know the information because a) Bo is a control freak and b ) Bo's knowledge of Carly's secret continues the rift between Bo and Hope.

At times, I think Patton's Will works as that sort of 'wise beyond his years'/'parent to his own parents' type of kid. The scene where Tad and Chad saw Lucas sloppily drunk on the Horton kitchen floor while Will looked on should have been a defining moment for this character, but Patton's Will often is too flat.

Most of us are simply complaining about the scene last week where we, the audience, learn Carly has a daughter and she is either Mia or Melanie. Usually, something of this magnitude would carry more weight. When Higley told this story on OLTL with Paige and Hugh, Paige had this huge monologue at church where she revealled that she did what she to protect her child. It was an important moment and it was played as an important moment. Later,when she revealled to Bo (or someone else) who her son was, we saw Nash, Rex, and Hugh, and the scene came to an end. The audience is use to learning the information at the end of a scene or the beginning of the scene. Burying it somewhere in the middle goes against all conventions and really doesn't give the audience enough time to register the information they've just learned.

I rewatched the scene. Sixteen seconds. Bo says "Let me get this straight you are moving into the same house as your daughter." That was it was it. That was the entire revelation scene. Sixteen seconds. Unfortunately, I was watching it on youtube, but wasn't it originalyl followed up by another scene? In such a small dose, I felt it could have been a grander moment, but we'll have to agree to disagree.

MLC, did you not get the Kool Aid I sent you? Just drink it. All will be well. Days is splendid and I'm always right. MLC, I took your remark with a sense of humor. I thought your major point was not to get too full of ourselves cause I admit I do at times. Or at least that's how I read it.

Joking aside, I was an English major in college so I will rip apart any text that I'm viewing or reading. If I offend in the process, or people feel like I'm stepping on their toes, that was not my intention.

Now, I guess I'll move on to beating another dead horse...

Hold up, wait a minute. Clarify. Are you saying Carly told Bo onscreen she had a daughter? Cause I went back and that certainly happened offscreen. All we saw was Carly telling Bo she would tell him the story on October 27th and Carly saying he knew everything on 28th. Or did you simply mean there was no prior information given ala Stefano learning about Sydney's paternity?

[PhoenixRising05]

The show did play up every beat. We had countless scenes of Bo and Carly dancing around the secret with Justin and Carly. We had Bo and Carly talking of her plans and what she really came there for and why she couldn't leave. It's not like the show went into fast forward. They've been playing this junk out for a month and a half.

I just don't understand how you play that scene of Carly telling Bo without giving away too much and killing the story. How is that scene supposed to go without her coming right out and telling Bo who the daughter is? The show wanted to keep viewers guessing as to what was going on with Lawrence and Carly and what her secret was so they chose to let Bo in on the secret and continue to slowly unravel the mystery. We got more info on Friday and I'm sure we will get more as we go. If you provided viewers with what we learned on Friday a month ago when Carly first told Bo the truth, then the story flounders around for all of sweeps. There would be nothing going on until the next beat, which would be the daughter's reveal.

It's all about the context of the story. Carly having a daughter is not meant to be a big moment. Who the daughter is and who her father is and what may happen to her is. If the "what is Carly's secret" part of this had dragged out for three months or so, then I would understand. It was evident none of this was meant to be earth-shattering.

[PhoenixRising05]

The one thing Days is doing now is they build their stories up for a long awhile like the old days but they don't bog things down. You never feel like things drag because you get great character interactions, good dialogue, and something happens everyday that moves story along even if it's not a big thing. Too much repetition and too much exposition will drive viewers away. You don't know how many people I know of online and off that find the episodes that focus on character and relationship development, characters interactions, exposition, etc boring. I've known people who quit watching a show because they felt like too much of that was going on. I find that horrible because that is what soaps are about. That is good writing is about. It's the days in between all the big moments, stunts, etc that make you care about the characters and make the payoffs and big moments worth it. So, I do agree with you and Toups and do see what your saying. I guess where I disagree is that I don't feel the scenes in question called for what you were asking for but agree to disagree, I suppose.

And, no, I did not mean Carly told Bo onscreen. I just meant that Bo knew prior to last week when we finally heard it mentioned Carly had a daughter. Toups seemed to think Bo did not know so I was just correcting that.

This is a great discussion though. Even if I disagree, it's nice to see so much Days talk on SON again.

[Toups]

Show Carly telling Bo that she has a daughter who's now living in Salem, and then we go into the backstory of how Lawrence took her away. Then during the last act of the episode, Bo asks Carly: "So, do you where she is? What's her name? Do I know her?" Carly replies, "Yes you do." (Of course before this, in earlier episodes, we show that Bo knows both Melanie and Mia. Maybe Bo mentions Melanie and Max are bro/sis and Nicole used Mia's baby....something like that....just show that Bo knows them both) Then in the next episode, and from now on, Bo never mentions Carly's daughter by name, we only hear him say, "Your daughter." Okay so that takes care of us seeing Carly tell Bo the secret.

Now we go onto who Carly's daughter is. For this scene, we could use something similar to the OLTL scene that dc11786. At the end of the episode, during a voice-over where Carly tells Bo she's going to be living in the house as her daughter, show Melanie/Mia together in the kitchen hugging (they are hugging because earlier in the episode, they are talking to each other. They can talk about what happened to Mia's baby). So there's your cliffhanger and it clues us in that one of these two girls is Carly's daughter.

And that's one of the big problems with this story. You have to play it up like it's big. I would never downplay a secret, never.

[PhoenixRising05]

Well, your not writing it now, are you? LOL. Seriously, fair enough, Toups. Still disagree LOL but kudos on what you came up with. That would've worked too but I kind of prefer the mystery of it. And, again, you failed to address my main point, which is that what your suggesting reveals too much too early. Carly's secret is what gave us all the stuff with her story for November. If they had the Bo/Carly scene play out as you suggested, there would be nothing to play for a long time because it's clear the show is timing things to happen at certain points, which is why they did what they did. Revealing she had a daughter that early would be too quick. They waited a month and the story is about to really get going so they provided more background to help buildup to the big explosion for this story that will really get it going.

No beats were missed so I don't think this is some big mistake on the show's part. They just took a different approach and I'm sure some like it and some hate it. It's a preference thing. Maybe it's because I just sit back and watch with no expectations that things like this don't bother me. Anyway, I think they just wanted to milk the mystery of it but I do remember you and others not being that into the show early on in the baby switch story and that all changed so who knows. In a month, you may be into this story and not even thinking about the early days of it.

[Toups]

What parts of the mystery did you prefer?

My big issue wasn't about the WHEN, it was about the HOW.

[JackPeyton]

There is such an obvious differance in opinion here between JER fans and non JER fans, its nice tho. I like difference of opinion.

I do like that set up toups.

But they are not downplaying the secret. The secret is not that Carly has a daughter... its who she is (and is that even really a secret)

[PhoenixRising05]

I like that they had her tell Bo off screen and that in the early Carly/Lawrence flashbacks we weren't given much to go on. I like how we slowly saw the gaps of the flashbacks filled and are slowly learning a little at a time about what happened with Carly and Lawrence. If they just had Carly reveal she had a daughter in those scenes the last week of October, there would've been nothing to play out during sweeps with the Carly story except Vivian returning. Besides, the show is clearly timing this story the way it is for a reason so to do what you suggested may upset their long-term plan. I'm more then willing to agree with you and dc if this story ends up flopping in the long-run but, right now, I just can't go nuts about this when we are in the early stages and because, like JP said, it's very clear the fact she has a daughter was never meant to be the big moment. The big moment is the who and the aftermath of that. If the show botches up the execution of who she is and the aftermath, then there is an issue. What they've done so far is hard to take issue with when all it is is setup for what is to come.

To be honest, I felt the same way you do, Toups, about the early days of the baby switch story. However, after a few months, it became clear to me why the show went about things the way it did and I have a feeling the same will happen here. or maybe it won't but I tend to think it will. It's very early in the story and the show clearly wants to set it up so that it really picks up during a time of year when the show usually does well drawing in viewers for the holidays. They want to hook viewers and time things out right and it's hard to argue with that strategy.