DAYS: January Discussion Thread

[DRW50]

The only interest I saw was when Will yelled at Sami, since so many people hate Sami.

[AllMyDaysatGH]

LOL bye Daniel! Wish it was a permanent move. Molly Burnett did such a great job.

Marlena: "You bought him a new car"

EJ: "Oh, yes, Well did you see the car he was driving around in? I mean, please. He represents me. He represents this campaign. I can't really have him driving around in Samantha's old bloody mini-van."

[quartermainefan]

There was an unexpected chem between Will and EJ, and I would love a twist where EJ figures out Will is gay and has sex with him to control him or just to be cruel. That said, I think what makes the Will story one worth watching is Will and the whole gay angle, not that EJ is blackmailing him. EJ just adds a little spice that saves it from being another preachy coming out story worth of a revival of the ABC Afterschool Special.

[JaneAusten]

I always hear how buzzy something is yet have rarely seen it translate to viewers. I actually loved Kish and thought they fit into OLTL well but it never translated to viewers nor did Franco or Claudia on GH or any of Y&R's casting stunts. I wasn't particularly interested in yet another ABC after school special like coming out story but this twist with EJ got me interested.Put aside that EJ is still all over canvas same as Sami, this angle is kind of dark and twisted and interesting. EJ is already seducing Will to an extent the sexual aspect could add another dynamic. Do I think DOOL will go there no.IA Corday like a lot of middle america sees sex and sexuality as too black and white.

[AbFabGL4ever7]

If he wants to keep his show on the air he will do whatever it takes to make the ratings go up and stay up. EJ and Will hooking up is the story DOOL needs to get everyone talking about it again. The setup is already there boiling over but it's up to the writers to go the distance and make it a reality.

[AbFabGL4ever7]

Yes this!!!! It could be the biggest coming out story in daytime ever.

[gtru1981]

The thing is, soaps are a sinking ship, like Desperate House Wifes, Glee, Greys, the CSI shows. You can have stunt casting and come up with a great story, but no one really cares. Those primetime shows i listed are sinking ships that people lost interest in and have moved on. Look what GH did, they brought back Brenda and cast James Franco in a role, but ratings never went up. You can put Brad Pitt on Days, and people still wouldnt watch. Once something sinks, you cant bring it back.

EJ and Will have something and maybe i am crazy, but i do see some sexual connection bewteen those two.

[Cheap21]

Wow, Madison wants Hope and her old ass as the face of Mad World? Really? Hope as an over the hill model is laughable. Please dont tell me thats the route they are going with her

[DRW50]

I don't know why James Franco being on GH was ever supposed to be a draw - he is not a star, he's never carried a major film, and he likely never will.

Brenda's return was a mess, boring, VMG has lost her spark.

If you write a good story then people may tune back in. DAYS got a big and slow building ratings increase because of the baby switch story in 2009. They haven't done anything of this kind since.

The problem with a lot of EJ stories is they get people talking, but this doesn't get someone to tune in. For instance, there was a lot of love for scenes where EJ beat someone with a belt. That's great. Do you know anyone who started watcing a show because a character was beaten with a belt? I guess at least Will being beaten with a belt would give him a reason to cry...

[JaneAusten]

I think there is a huge diff between internet buzz and ratings. No one buzzes about B&B yet their ratings have gone up and no one talks about them.Y&R and GH and their BUZZ WORTHY returns have done zip nor did Ejami by the way in all the years they were featured. It's possible EJ/Will would be yet another buzzy non ratings draw since the writing team really can't play drama well. Oh did I miss that buzz worthy belt beating? It must have been during the ejami era and I tuned out of most of that.

[Michael]

The belt-beating was in 2006, not long after EJ was revealed as a DiMera (I think -- it was possibly just before that). Patrick Lockhart screwed something up for EJ, and EJ lashed him with a belt. The "buzz" wasn't the kind of thing that anyone would plausibly expect to draw viewers to a show. It was something that people already watching the show talked about because: 1) people hated Patrick; 2) after years of cartoony, toothless villains, it actually seemed ruthless; 3) it was weirdly homoerotic. I don't think anyone would have said, "OMG everyone has to watch Days of Our Lives because of this!!!!!11"

What they need to do, as said above, is write a damn story with dramatic drive that promises and builds to a satisfying climax. I think what people are responding to with the EJ/Will situation is that it's a fresh-ish dynamic, it's giving Will (a promising next-generation character portrayed by an appealing actor) something to play, and yes, it's homoerotic. If they can filter that stuff into a compelling long-term story, awesome.

[gtru1981]

If he really cared about this show, he should take a long look at it. Characters like Daniel Rate and Melanie need to leave and find writers that can really write for the show and the characters. All the current storys minus Wills are boring and lame.

[DRW50]

It reminds me a lot of early EJ/Sami - EJ was supposed to be out Sami's dark side, the real Sami, this was supposed to be hot and fun. There won't be any rape here, I assume, but I imagine this story will end with Will weeping and yelling just like Sami did throughout 2007.

I don't think NBC would allow it even if Corday did care (which he probably doesn't).

Gays on daytime TV must be asexual and pathetic, or ciphers. And generally that's about where they are on most primetime TV, unless they're on a sitcom where they can be stupid for a laugh track.

[Michael]

^ I don't think that's true. Cam & Mitchell on Modern Family aren't "stupid for a laugh track." Neither is Max on Happy Endings. Callie and Arizona on Grey's -- dumb as that show has gotten -- are written exactly the same as the straight characters/relationships. Even a number of ABC Family shows have given fair and interesting treatment to gay, lesbian, and bisexual characters (Greek, Pretty Little Liars, Make It Or Break It).

Obviously the representation is still lacking, and there is a lot of hacky writing, but I don't think all gay and lesbian characters on television are a lost cause or should automatically be presumed to be offensive/useless.

[DRW50]

I've only seen Modern Family a few times but I think everyone on the show is goofy, as most sitcoms are. Happy Endings has a slew of "quirky" characters who choke out bad one-liners, so I can't tell most of them apart - I mostly remember Max being written as a juvenile egomaniac pig. I guess it depends on your view of the show.

I can't think of any network show which would be able to tell a story about Will the way that some viewers want EJ/Will to happen. Asexuality and tantrums seem more common, and I think that's about all Will offers at the moment.

I think most of this is about EJ. EJ always generates excitement and notice with characters (aside from Taylor). The problem is, IMO, it's never about the other character, and they are usually destroyed or twisted into a pretzel because the show has no idea how to write for EJ.

If EJ wasn't around and if Will didn't rage at Sami, I'm not sure if anyone would care about Will at all.