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Best/Worst Production Value Periods on Soaps


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When did Chip Dox quit/retired/was fired as Production Designer?  Because, I think that's when DAYS' overall production aesthetic went into decline.

It's one thing not to have the cash for lush sets (or lighting or music or wardrobe) anymore, but Dox gave DAYS its' scenic designs a distinctive look that you didn't see copied on any other show.  Now, though, DAYS' sets are so generic and all-purpose, they could work just as well on B&B, GH or even Y&R.

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Oh, I loved LOVING! I remember picking up a Soap Opera Digest and was curious as to their low ratings. Actually, that was when I tried watching different soaps as my mom watched all the CBS soaps. I think she got pissed that I was watching different soaps too.

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So, instead of Y&R, B&B, and ATWT, I watched Loving, Days of Our Lives, and One Life to Live. I attempted to watch Ryan's Hope, but it was God awful. I'm sure it was good back in the day, but I wasn't attracted to it. There was a time I boycotted Guiding Light after the firing of Ellen Parker and watched General Hospital, but I felt like such a traitor for those two weeks, lol!  Guiding Light was my baby. But that was then. My dedication for Guiding Light slowly deteriorated after the firing of Grant Aleksander and their first major cutbacks. I was never interested in Reva's cancer, Reva and Jeffrey, Cassie and Josh, Josh being a pastor, Ava and Billy, or Daisy having conversations with others outside in a park in front of a port-o-potty.

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Granted, I haven't seen much of THE CITY, but what I have seen looks to me like how Joel Schumacher might produce a soap if he had the chance.

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I don't think I have watched THE CITY since it aired, but I always thought the sets looked modern and Sydney/Tracy had an awesome penthouse.  It felt cool and hip to me at the time..........but clearly that wasn't the overall consensus by viewers.

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Since 2015, the production value on Days of Our Lives has been that of $1. Camera and post-production quality has diminished to nothing. It is 2022, for something filming in high definition to look worse than it did in standard, is horrible. Especially when your web-exclusive content looks ten times better.

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Some editing I did, which only slightly improved things, but I don't get how a soap that went HD in 2010 and looked good up until January 2016 (admittedly a bit earlier than that) is now looking.... bad!

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