Tomlin and Corday made no bones about how getting rid of these two saved them from cancellation and from a financial disaster, and about how the show wasn't dependent on stars in order to survive. Whether anyone admits it or not, that's what basically happened.

IF DAYS focused on telling better stories again, they could just as easily rebound again.

I don't think those newbies are going anywhere anytime soon, especially with the budget DAYS operates on.

I'm not sure I 100% agree with the bolded line, especially with proven talents like Louise Sorel and Crystal Chappell ousted. They need to tell better stories about characters we care about. Unfortunately, that leaves Bo, Hope, Jennifer, and Maggie of the current cast, people that aren't really being written for and never have been ratings winners. The Safe reunion bump barely netted them a 1.9 so telling a great story about EJ, Sami, and Rafe ain't gonna cut it.

Now give me a story with John, Marlena, and Kristen- and you have something there. Throw in Bo, Hope, Stefano, and Kate and now you're cookin!

Because they never really had much of a proven impact on the ratings either way? DAYS proved with better storytelling, it could survive without them.

We still don't know how long they'll be back for or what their return story entails. I would be cautiously optimistic at this point, given how DAYS and other soaps have botched returns in the past decade.

I, for one, don't think these two have been gone long enough to make any type of substantial impact on the ratings or in the creative department of the show.

Again, not only do I disagree with the bolded part, but you're flat out wrong. How about 1993-1998 for starters? John & Marlena's love story encompassed that entire period and DAYS's ratings were through the roof, almost beating Y&R one week during the climax of The Posession, which centered on Marlena and John! Everybody's always giving all the credit to Reilly for raising the ratings and while I agree he deserves some of it, there's more than just his to go around. A big part of the reason for Reilly's success was that he used Hogestyn & Hall at the center of pretty much all of this major stories (save Buried Alive). The formula was great writing + John and Marlena= Great ratings! He raised the ratings again when he returned in 2003 and again, it was with a storyline that centered around Hall!

So yes, DAYS proved that it could survive without them but has yet to prove that it can thrive without them. And right now, what the show needs is to thrive.

I am cautiously optimistic, as the story has to actually be good for it to work properly, which is why short term is actually another smart move on the show's part. Trot them out, see if it works, and go from there. If the story is there, though, I bet ya it does! Hall & Hogestyn are only half of the formula- the story needs to be executed properly and be interesting for it to work properly. That lies in 2 writers who's work is pretty much a mystery to all of us. Sure, they were co-headwriters on PAS, but that doesn't mean much, since that show ALWAYS had Reilly guiding the ship. You can't really judge them on what were likely his ideas.

As a viewer, I can't help but be excited though. We don't have a proven hack, but instead, 2 enigmas at the helm- good or bad, I can't wait to see what they have to offer. It sounds like they're being set up for success character-wise so it's up to them to write good story. We shall see but it's an thrilling time to be a DAYS fan!

You're assuming Davidson wants to return. For whatever reason, she's loyal to the nutty Bell family, and they worked hard to keep her in their fold when Latham ousted her ass in 2006. I hate Y&R, but Davidson is a working actress, and she knows there's more stability for her there and Y&R will outlast DAYS in the long-run.

It doesn't matter if Y&R is on the air if the show decides to phase her out again. And even if they do outlast DAYS and it's a forgone conclusion, then it's likely they'd take her back in some capacity if she went over to DAYS and it went off the air.

She's also admitted that she was open to the idea of returning in 2006 but wasn't asked. They'd be asking her this time around.

My point was, in terms of contracts, the Bell Dramatic Serial Company and Corday Production, both which operate independently of Sony, handle many of those responsibilities - not that contracts could be transferred from show to show.

Gotcha. I inferred that you were interpreting as if I thought it were as simple as transferring her contract from one show to the other. I understand what you were trying to get across now that you've clarified.

Either way, as I said, it's a good time to be a DAYS fan- for the 1st time since Vivian's return, I'm excited and hopeful for the future!

Edited June 4, 201114 yr by juniorz1

You are completely ignoring the fact that they are on two different networks. NBC benefits by getting ED back, but CBS doesnt benefit anything. The production company cant just transfer stars like that across networks and I cant see CBS allowing it to go down like that

Frankly, I don't think CBS gives a hoot about Eileen Davidson, if you wanna know. It's not like she's gonna play Ashley on DAYS. If it were Braeden or maybe even Cooper, I could see CBS getting involved, but ED? I'm sure Les Moonves would be like "Who? Just get one of those actresses off one of those cancelled shows on ABC! They'll be so grateful for the job that they'll work for scale anyway......why are you bothering me with this? I got a network to run."

Edited June 4, 201114 yr by juniorz1

Either way, as I said, it's a good time to be a DAYS fan- for the 1st time since Vivian's return, I'm excited and hopeful for the future!

You'll have to speak for yourself. This is one DAYS fan who is thinking that once the show 'changes' it's all going to hell.

You'll have to speak for yourself. This is one DAYS fan who is thinking that once the show 'changes' it's all going to hell.

LOL, I was speaking for myself- obviously not everyone is going to be happy about MA and H&H returning. But it's not just the returns that have me excited- it's the new writers and the ideas I've read that they have for fall. We'll all just have to take a wait and see approach though.

They always say that stuff though. Days has more "new plans to save the show!" headlines than every other soap combined

Eileen's contract is coming up. She admitted on her facebook page that she's in discussions. Come on Corday! Bring Kristen Blake back to Salem!

I wish Davidson would leave Y&R as well (MTS and Jess Walton too), but I think she's just negotiating her contract with Y&R, which is up in August at this point. If Corday/Tomlion were smart, they'd make her an offer now to torpedo whatever efforts Sony is negotiating on Y&R's part.

Though, I am worried that if she ever came back to DAYS, the story would be so bad and she'd be blamed and fired for it, as Louise and Crystal are being by the management at the show right now.

I don't feel that Louise is being blamed. I think they let Crystal go and with Carly gone, they felt their #1 reason for bringing Louise and Vivian back in the 1st place is now gone too. They could have used her as an interloper for Magstor, but decided not to go in that direction.

Bottom line is they didn't have story planned for Vivian and they needed to free up money to bring on H&H, so she was a casualty. I don't feel what's happening here is the same as what Y&R is doing to Maura West.

Louise said in this interview that an actress at the show was told she was the reason for the ratings tanking. I'm guessing that person was Crystal, as she all but alluded to it on Twitter and was fired.

Blaming the ratings downfall on one actress seems a bit too much, as if the show is blaming the actress and not the crap writing,

Edited June 6, 201114 yr by Y&RWorldTurner

I am glad they are coming back. They are Days of our Lives come on now. I miss them. I just hope Drake has fixed his eyebrow arching thing.