DAYS: Josh Griffith OUT! Quan Promoted to Co-HW with Higley!

[Soapsuds]

Has there been any mention of Will since his death? Yet they have a shrine for whats his face….just so insulting.

That one I could never understand considering how good Days was at that time.

[KMan101]

I personally believe that Will was murdered because Guy Wilson sucked. I just don't see anything that it had to do with his sexuality. And Christopher Sean was also on Hawaii Five-O so that could explain some of Paul's lack of use. But he will be used next week with John and this is Griffith/Milstein material ... yeah, better late than never but it's something.

 

Tomsell were hacks. They were sabotaging Wilson for whatever reason. Freddie Smith left for all I know and maybe it was just that simple. Why does everything have to be some major conspiracy? And, it of course could be an "eliminate the gays" but I think it was just a matter of several coincidences and us being sensitive about representation.

 

I mean, the show had Wilson front and center, making out, having sex, in the shower, getting married .... I just don't buy it. Maybe Corday has issues with the "gay thing" but he only checks in once in a while.

 

Raven, how on earth was Will's death and aftermath homophobic? Guy Wilson sucked. Will probably would have been murdered regardless of his sexuality. Stop making assumptions based on, IMO, nothing.

And let's not forget where Griffith is concerned, he clearly burns out easily. Wasn't that why he left Y&R?

[DynamiteKiddo]

Firing Brash & Cwikly was a mistake Corday never recovered from . . . they had their duds (the Gemini twins and I hated how they wrote B&H and blundering Rinna's Billie), but they fully understood how to connectively write a soap and I basically agreed with most of their interpretations of the characters.  The canvas was beautifully interwoven and momentum never stopped during their yearlong tenure.  At the time, Corday said they were released because they wrote too expensively--too many sets and episodes that required long hours.  This was totally true.  Tom Langan had the freedom of being EP and HW and Corday never checked him on the production budget . . . and when PB & PC took over, the limitless production values continued . . . we had millions of sets, including HUGE ones like the old hospital (complete with the cafeteria, roof, terrace, and many other areas), Salem Inn, Dot Com, etc.  (This was back when nearly every character had a complete home set.)  But all Corday & Wyman had to do was put a leash on the set count and make sure each episode was more cost effective.  Dena Higley's first stint was clearly produced way cheaper, PB & PC could've just been reigned in.  It was the last time, not counting the brief Baby Switch/Carly renaissance, "Days" was competing in the ratings.

[victoria foxton]

Maybe your right KMan101. Still the whole think was so badly executed. Will is hardly mentioned. Daniel is a different story. Daniel's shrine at Horton Square is still there 3 months after his death. I hope the rumors are true and Paul will finally get a story. Has Paul even shared a scene with his half sis Belle and niece Claire?

[KMan101]

And of course I could be wrong as well. And I don't know if this is a story for Paul so much as actually being used with his family like he should be.

 

The upcoming spoilers sound loads better than the last few months.

 

And I loved Brash and Cwickly. I was so pissed when we got Higley. I'm so sick of Higley. I hope Quan can have some actual influence.

[victoria foxton]

I also loved Brash and Cwickly run. Their run was the last time Days was constantly good. 

[Soapsuds]

If I remember correctly Brash wrote under Douglas Marland during his time on ATWT. So he would have gotten a lot of great ideas from him.

[Taoboi]

Not that I've seen...but if anyone sees it...LINK!!

[DRW50]

 

If they'd killed off more straight characters just because the recasts sucked, then I'd agree. Yet Belle, Roman, etc. are still around... (well they did kill off Roman once for a few months)

 

 

Given that the same happened at OLTL after they had gay men making out, front and center, nearly getting married, I'm not sure why it's so hard to believe.

 

Sorry - soapsuds, mixed up my headwriters

[KMan101]

I mean, where Will is concerned, it pisses me off they murdered him like that and tossed him out like nothing. It doesn't help that they should have aged Allie instead of Claire, Lucas is off-screen (and gee, him and Adrienne get a spoiler under Griffith and Milstein ... say what you will about the darkness but they actually use the canvas and mix people up into other storylines) Sami (thankfully) is off-screen, his husband left the show, I mean it's no excuse that others don't mention him and Kate tried to cry for a day and was too busy worrying about Basic Black ... and it's ridiculous Daniel has a shrine in HORTON (last I checked Will is one) Square and that people are mourning him three months later and Will isn't even mentioned. All of that continues to irritate me and reminds me why being a DAYS fan is incredibly frustrating.

 

I just don't think it was a "get the gays" but I can also see why some would think that. The answers probably more in the middle, but anyway ...

[Taoboi]

I'm pretty sure I was a regular viewer when B&C were there, but what were their storylines again?

 

I definitely think Paul is going to get some story besides helping John re: this past week's scene with new teen Henri.

 

I am loving Beth's stuff so far. Like was mentioned in the regular thread, day to day has gotten consistent and I love all the character talk...makes me think of old y&r.

[KMan101]

Can't wait until August when Higley's "no time for characters to talk about their feelings" reign number 6,000 starts.

 

I like how Griffith and Milstein use the canvas better and have characters out of their story bubbles.

 

I guess I missed the episode with Paul and Henri. I didn't watch one or two days this week.

[DRW50]

I do get what you mean, KMan. I guess if it were more common with unpopular recasts (I can't remember the last unpopular recast to be killed off - was it Mary Anderson? I'm sure there must have been someone in the interim...), it would have bugged me less. But I should put the blame on Corday and I should just move on, because I didn't even really care about Will. It's not worth me soapboxing about a near-dead soap when people have real struggles, so you have my apologies. 

[Vee]

IIRC, they only brought Malone back to OLTL in '03 because Josh Griffith - who they had hired first - insisted upon it due to their previous partnership. It wasn't about his being unable to hack it.

 

I think Griffith did some good work at DAYS and is overall too good for the show, but I also think he too often goes very, very dark very fast and doesn't know where to stop. I think the Ciara/Chase rape story was definitely worth firing him over, but I think Dena Higley is about a thousand times worse. I also don't think killing Will came from JG. I think that was a tone-deaf choice the show and possibly Sony made, and I think something that tone-deaf could only have originated with Ken Corday. That's the kind of rash reaction he always pulls any time he checks in and looks at the mailbag, and yes, I think it was at least partly based in appeasing the homophobic Bible Belt audience he has always banked on keeping around. DAYS moreso than any other soap.

[dannigold]

i posted most of the interview on the previous page, but here it is again

Ryan, you were just named co-headwriter.  Congratulations! How did you break into soaps?

I decided way back in junior High that I wanted to write for soaps.  So when I was in college, I interned at Sunset Beach, NBC Daytime and Passions, when it first started up.  I eventually got hired at Passion's as a writer's assistant, then went on to write webisodes and internet content(fun stuff like answering fan questions as Tabitha the witch) When Passions was cancelled, I moved over to Days as an assistant.  A couple of years later, i wrote a sample script and was hired as a script writer, and then later a breakkdown writer.  The entire time I kept my assistant position as a bit of a safety net.

When you first started, how did you get to know the characters? Were you a fan before you started on soaps?

I actually used to read soap digest religiously growing up - cover to cover.  So I knew the history of most chacters on most soaps.  I guess I was a bit of a soap nerd.  But having grown up watching days, I came in already knowing every character like they were old friends.

What are you most looking forward to about your new gig?

I'm looking forward to playing with thesse characters I've loved for years.  As a breakdown writer, you have some input as to how things play out in a particular show, but now I get to have greater control over the overall picture and story direction.

Who is your favorite character to write dialogue for? Most challenging to write dialogue for?

The characters who speak their minds are always fun - Victor, Kate, Nicole etc.  Right now maybe Theo is the biggest challenge because there is a great responsibility to portray autisim as honestly and accurately as possible.

Do you have a favorite episode or scene you've written? What episode are you most proud of from your time at Days?

My head writers over the years have given me plenty of great scenes and storylines to write.  I guess what most sticks out in my mind are Will's coming out scenes, anything Kristen, EJ's death and the tribute episode to Stefano.  Of course, much credit is due not only to the headwriters but also the dialogue writers, who really brought so much more to the shows that I had imagined.

Did you get to pitch story ideas in your othe position?

Depending on the head writer, you can definetly pitch story ideas and suggest things like well maybe you can add a twist here or instead of a stranger, why don't you use this character from the past.  As a breakdown writer i did get to suggest things like having Ciara talk about stealing a jacket around the 50th anniversary to sort of mirror Julie's shoplifting in the first episode.