I was wondering, does anyone have any info on like the press releases when JER joined Days the first time? Did Ken Corday release any statement? Was there an interview when he arrived? What was JER's mandate? Why did Ken Corday choose JER over Sherri Anderson?

Patiently awaiting Toups' response.

Toups or any one? I would love to know what was said and why the almighty Sherri Anderson was dumped in favor of JER? I think at the time JER didn't have that much soap experience esp. where head writing was concerned. Except I think GL where he had a whole team of HW's. I've been watching the Mardevil storyline on you tube of late and I am amazed Corday let JER take a huge risk like this.

Well he'd been at RH, GH and was co-HW at GL for awhile, so I think they saw him as a worthwhile talent with enough experience to do the job. But, judging by the ratings in 1992-93, the show was in major trouble. They'd sunk into the 4s in the ratings before JER took over so I definitely understand why Corday would've wanted to follow ABC's lead and find a relatively untested writer to guide the show back from the (relative) brink.

Also keep in mind how desperate everyone was in '95 to get their ratings up. The publicity DAYS got from this alone was enough to keep their ratings from dropping, and I think Corday had enough faith in JER's wild side after the ratings boost the show got from Carly Buried Alive that he was willing to try anything to keep the momentum going.

Edited July 11, 201114 yr by beebs

OK thanks beebs. I am still seeking articles and press releases from that time. I just find it surprising Corday would hire JER at the time.

Well he'd been at RH, GH and was co-HW at GL for awhile, so I think they saw him as a worthwhile talent with enough experience to do the job. But, judging by the ratings in 1992-93, the show was in major trouble. They'd sunk into the 4s in the ratings before JER took over so I definitely understand why Corday would've wanted to follow ABC's lead and find a relatively untested writer to guide the show back from the (relative) brink.

Also keep in mind how desperate everyone was in '95 to get their ratings up. The publicity DAYS got from this alone was enough to keep their ratings from dropping, and I think Corday had enough faith in JER's wild side after the ratings boost the show got from Carly Buried Alive that he was willing to try anything to keep the momentum going.

Agreed, to add to that he was also a consultant to Y&R in 1990.

OK thanks beebs. I am still seeking articles and press releases from that time. I just find it surprising Corday would hire JER at the time.

It seems strange he didn't go for someone with the bigger name, it's true. But I definitely think he was looking to the success Reilly had had writing with Nancy Curlee at GL at the time. The ratings GL was getting for awhile were astounding (considering how much they'd been struggling before), with GL nabbing the #3 spot for a few weeks, and of course all the acclaim the show was getting in the press (which culminated in GL's writing team nabbing the Emmy in 1993), kind of an impressive turnaround considering GL had been sitting pretty consistently in 7th for awhile at this point.

I also think this was another situation of Corday going into "save DAYS" mode and making huge changes behind the scenes all at once in a move of desperation more than anything. Tom Langan was hired to replace Al Rabin as Co-EP around this time, and Rabin had been with the show since before Ken was even really involved in the show, so it seems to me to have been a bit of a desperate bid to turn the sinking ship around, and it speaks to what we're seeing right now with all the personnel changeover recently.

Agreed, to add to that he was also a consultant to Y&R in 1990.

Absolutely. Which is also probably why Corday hired Tom Langan as well. Since Y&R was far and away #1 at this point, I could see Corday wanting even a tiny piece of what made Y&R so successful at this period.

In interviews promoting the novels, Sheri said that Days was struggling in the ratings so they asked her to come back to get the show in order and help transition JER into becoming sole HW.

Edited July 11, 201114 yr by Gino24

Oh ok thanks Gino. I had no idea about Al Rabi being replaced by Tom Lagan either. Thanks for the info

OK, I'll bite.

For as much bitching as I've done about JER on soap boards, his first go-round on Days was actually pretty good. Like Sheri said, they wanted someone familiar with the show to transition it and let someone else take over. He had a healthy respect for the Hortons and he loved family structure.

His big problem was the storylines after a while weren't what Days needed. The possession story, while decent on its own, really didn't belong on Days. Kristen was a good character, but when Eileen Davidson started playing 10,000 other roles I thought "get this crap off my screen"...

Austin/Carrie was a highlight. One of my favorite Days couples of all time and one of my favorite scenes when Carrie punched Sami.

I won't get into the second go-round. That may have done more damage to the show than Dena's poison pen did. (It's a tie, at least. lol)

I have all the SODs from that era (stacked out of order in boxes) so I will root around and see if I can find anything pertaining to Days and the changes.

This from Aug 3rd 1993

DAYS SHAKE-UP:WHO QUIT,WHO WAS FIRED?

DOOL's Crystal Chappell (Carly) and Michael Sabatino (Lawrence) have announced they're leaving the show this fall and Matthew Ashford (Jack) will exit Days in September as his contract has not been renewed.

"My contract is up September 26th",Ashford says. "I've enjoyed my time on DOOL and especially enjoyed developing the character of Jack. I'm looking forward to the future and working on new projects and new characters."

Chappell and Sabatino decided to pack it up and leave the show and pursue other projects. "Michael and Crystal have made a considerable contribution to Days during their tenure",says Co Exec Producer Tom Langan."They are both consummate performers and we wish them well."

A spokesperson for the real life lovebirds says,"Michael and Crystal would like to make it clear they were not unhappy with the show.There was simply no more storyline for them." Nonetheless,Days promises that the mysterious Dr Manning and shifty Mr Alamain won't simply fade away.'Their departure will provide viewers with a satisfactory conclusion to the Bo/Carly/Lawrence storyline,which is currently targeted to end in October',reveals a Days spokesperson.

Carly's exit paves the way for a Bo/Billie pairing- clearly an audience favorite. But what about Jack?

Ashord seems to be a victim of limited story possibilities.As Jack's wife Jennifer grew closer to Austin,the canvas was getting a little crowded. The show paired Jack up with Billie for a money caper story earlier in the year.But with Bo and Billie apparently headed towards togetherness, there was simply nowhere to go with the popular character,an insider explains. "Matthew has been with Days since October 87 and is the third actor to play Jack.Matt brought to the part his own inimitable style and gave the character a definite comedic touch",Langan says. "Unfortunately,with the direction that Days is taking right now,the storyline requires changes to be made and the character of Jack is part of that change."

This is from an article Secrets For Getting A soap Out Of A Slump Jan 17 1995

...Days has changed a lot since James E Reilly assumed the headwriting mantle in 1992. "I really love my product",praises Exec Producer Ken Corday,"but the bottom line is that I couldn't say that two and a half years ago.From the late 80's to 1992,it was as bleak as it could get around here.Thank goodness this fresh new wind blew into town.Once I heard what Jim wanted to do,I knew I'd start sleeping at night."

According to Corday, Days began to emerge from it's slump by weaving stories and characters together. "Jim can use people in other people's stories and still make them important. It's interesting to see how Jennifer fits into the Kristen story.When you see Austin,it doesn't automatically mean you're going to see Carrie." In fact,Austin has been woven into Sami' s story,he gave sister Billie away at her almost wedding to Bo and lifts weights with Jonah.but Corday stresses that the changes were subtle. "The characters were a little more defined. and I don't know when I watch the teaser what the whole show is going to be."

Thanks for typing that up Paul Raven.

And GOD, Corday ALWAYS gives a terrible interview. He's just awful at them.

Paul thank you so much for typing that up. Please share any other articles you may have. I really don't remember Jennifer and Austin getting close. But I do remember Jack and Billie and I really enjoyed that.

Rielly really was great the first round. He was a master story teller.

I don't want to turn this into a JER aprrecaitation thread there already is one, I am just seeking info and news on his transition into his new role as HW in 92

I am currently watching the Possession storyline on You tube. Truly a classic. Nice how JER wove so many stories and characters into that story. And using Marlena as his culprit. We all should have known it was Marlena in his SSk story before she was revealed.

I wonder what ABC, P&G, And the Bells were thinking at the time

I wonder what ABC, P&G, And the Bells were thinking at the time

Judging by the stories that came out of some of the other shows immediately afterwards: "Let's do THAT!!"