DAYS: July 2021 Discussion Thread

[DynamiteKiddo]

Back in the day, I thought EJ/Nicole/Brady was a way more compelling triangle than EJ/Sami/Rafe, but I'm a big Bricole fan.  It was always crazy to me that they fired Lindsay Korman right as EJ & Ariana were heating up; they were WAY better than EJ & Taylor (but I wouldn't have fired Tamara Braun during the 2011 purge leading up to The Reboot).

The EJami thing is so curious . . . I've read on this board that Ali Sweeney & James Scott went to TPTB during early TomSell to advocate for EJami, because they were clearly going full steam ahead with a Safe reunion in 2012.  IMO, perhaps the best Safe scene ever was when Sami found out that not only was EJ, not Rafe, the father of Nicole's baby but that Carrie knew, too.  Sami was SO hurt that Rafe was in cahoots with Nicole and that he told Carrie . . . the line included something like, "the two women I hate most in the world."  I HATE EJami for all the reasons everyone's already detailed.

I like Ericole--GV and AZ have great chemistry, but like everyone's said, Ari has chemistry with almost everyone she's paired with (I remember Vargas and they were hot together before he was revealed to be a major dirtbag; can't remember the specifics).  But I feel like TPTB did such irreparable damage to Ericole in the name of St. Daniel Jonas that I never got totally invested in them again, esp. after Eric's initially great pairing with Jennifer when they were all intoxicated and destructive together.  But I will really miss GV, I've been such a fan since his Lucky days on GH.  I do like that they've left a return very open-ended and I was happy to hear that TPTB begged him to stay last year.

[MichaelGL]

A writing team where Lorraine Broderick, Richard Culliton, and Carolyn Culliton are elevated to the helm would be ideal for this show. 

It's funny how over at GH, I approve Dan O'Connor being the top scribe, but wished that he had stronger script and breakdown writers. It's the complete opposite at Days where I despise Ron Carlivati as HW, but his writing team contains some of the strongest currently employed in daytime.

[Cat]

Oh, the Cullitons have been doing this since the 80s, and in venerable, old-school soaps like AW, GL and ATWT, too. You can tell with the way they sketched out each characters motivations and history and teed up the reveal and the fallout. Very well done, and so was Nicole's confrontation of Eric about why she might cheat.

As @MichaelGL pointed out, Days' writing team has strength in depth. RC is a flawed HW but I imagine he does appreciate expertise, and he's kept a writing team around him that knows Days well. 

Also have to give kudos to production for two reasons:

1. Keeping Days a multigenerational soap opera. There is a fairly equitable mix of longtime stars and young 'uns and we see every age represented. This allows a scene like Monday to work because a scandal like that is going to rock an extended family.

2. Even with Covid and possible filming restrictions, production made it possible for most of the actors needed to be on-set together for this scene. Deidre Hall, Drake Hogestyn, Josh Taylor, Greg Vaughan, Ari Zucker, Ali Sweeney, etc. This might include Covid testing and extra preplanning, but they made it possible.

Edited July 21, 2021 by Cat

[Soapsuds]

If days were ever to change head writers and fire Ron I'd give Carolyn and Richard the job as co headwriters. 

I believe Lorraine was already HW before Ron. I could be wrong. Her writing gets very stale and boring rather quickly. I wasn't impressed with her stint on ATWT.

[carolineg]

I think it's okay when a couple like Eric/Nicole say it.  They have been in love for years and years even if they weren't together.  I think it's very true in a way that they loved one another deeply but can't be together at this point in there lives.

It's used a lot when one part of the couple leaves the show and doesn't die.  I think it's just an easy way to keep the door open.

I think it just depends on the couple.  If Jarlena or Steve/Kayla said it I would believe it obviously.  If Gabi/Jake say it probably not lol.   I think Nicole/Eric have enough mileage and years behind them to make it work.

[Faulkner]

I love seeing Ciara pop Claire. It’s pure sadism, I know.

[AbcNbc247]

She was head writer for like a month in 1999. Her and Tom Langan didn’t see eye to eye on a lot of stuff 

[carolineg]

I want to be team Ciara on this but she is so smug.  Ugh.   I seriously dislike all of them (Claire, Ben, Ciara).  Theo gets a pass because he doesn't have much of a POV. 

[Antoyne]

Today with all of the Ben worship was borderline unwatchable.

How many more excuses will they make for Hope being gone now that her is daughter is alive and well.

[Faulkner]

The perspective of a literal serial killer is valued on DAYS more than the black scion of two core families. Ain’t that something? Theo is always being subordinated to the hot white dude du jour—even when that dude literally shot and nearly killed him.

 

[Antoyne]

We literally watched him onscreen brutally murder these people. And medication somehow fixed him and all is forgiven. It’s absurd. 

And all this trying to compare Ben/Ciara to Bo/Hope and John/Marlena give me a break.

At this point just move Theo in with the DiMeras.

Edited July 21, 2021 by Antoyne

[prefab1]

I'm not at all invested in the question of whether Ciara marries nu-Theo (who seems to have left all his personality traits behind in Africa). But today's episode worked for me on the level of pure comedy. I genuinely find it very amusing that Ciara, who had been an obnoxious cheerleader for Ben for years, picking fights with people who didn't believe the serial killer had changed, is now equally obnoxious in her hatred for Ben and desire to marry Theo. I've got to give credit to Victoria Konefal for not being afraid to really lean into the least likeable aspects of her character. 

[carolineg]

VK certainly managed to do that lol.  

I am glad Ben let us know Allie was a good person.  I needed his verification.

Did anyone else find it adorable that Doug plays racquetball twice a week and is the best in his league?  I would rather watch those matches over this lol

[FrenchBug82]

I have been known to be infinitely more fond of characters that lean on the bitchy and I can tell I have never liked or at least more interested in Ciara as a character since she developed, well, a bitch backbone. It helps that it is directed at Ben but they had sanded off the Brady spunk she initially had and I am glad it is back, even in this form.

She even had chemistry with JA's Victor despite the fact that, well, that was an odd pairing, shall we say.
The only pairing that never worked in any way was the Lucas marriage - I say that as someone who is fond of BD but that chemistry was flat-lined. Which made sense based on the story but still.

[DynamiteKiddo]

I'm actually shocked that RC "allowed" Chad a pov on Ben last week.  (I know, I know.  It was ultimately done to drum up sympathy for Ben when Chad was gloating to him about Theo.  But that's not the effect it had on me.)  RC has obviously had a super hard time reconciling the Ben/Chabby problem, so he's very purposefully separated them (except when Chad let Ben escape last year and when Abby was drugged and CRAZY lol).  Maybe this works for some people . . . but all it does for me is illuminate how stupid a concept this Ben as a herovictim thing is.  You have all these people who love Abby and go on and on about her, but they're either down for Ben or they just IGNORE the elephant in the room (Ben at Jenn's house for Christmas last year was particularly rich).  Honestly, if the character was a black sheep or allowed to teeter on the edge, he might work in a dark, psycho, pariah way . . . but soaps always get this wrong with the leading man who's dark with criminal and/or psychotic tendencies.  And that's a fine role--that character CAN have pov, but it's always blundered.

Even though I hate Cin are obviously gonna get the Olympic cliffhanger, I can't say I'm not down for the theater of this wedding.  I still really wish Kyler Pettis was playing Theo!!!  And I hate that Theo always gets cast aside, too.

So true.  But they have such great comedic, sparring chemistry!  Lol.  But BD & AZ really excel at that kind of material.