Days: February 2023 Discussion Thread

[AlexElizabeth]

Well hello everyone. I'm still watching daily and wow, the show is pure garbage right now. How is every storyline SO bad? I do like Nicole with both Eric and EJ, so I can enjoy that, but I just enjoy moments - it's not like the actual story is good. 

And now I won't even have Zach Tinker to lust over anymore. The show is getting harder and harder to watch, lol. 

[j swift]

The thing about Nicole and EJ is that they hardly reference their history.

Now, I know a show doesn't have time to rehash the past fifteen years.  But, at one time Nicole fought to be a part of Johnny's life, after she cared for him while he recovered from cancer.  She was also a vital part of Will's life because Lucas married her to get custody.  Of course, she's been a part of Chad's life because she adopted Sydney, his child with Mia and then switched her for Sami's baby. 

I know EJ and Nicole reconciled after the baby switch at least once.  And I guess if everyone has forgiven Anna, they can have some compassion for Nicole.  However, I get annoyed that they write Nicole as if she was Sloan's contemporary, rather than an experienced woman who has a significant history with most of the men in Salem.

Filed under it will never happen, how refreshing would it be for Nicole to remark on her age, and be concerned about how much longer she'll be able to rely on her sexual appeal to get out of sticky situations?  Rather than, continue to be written a vixen whose only assets are her body rather than her brains and experience.  I'd love for her to be more of mentor to Gabi, and advise her not to make the same errors she made at that stage in her life.

[px780]

This show is like Passions without the commitment to just being absurd, and without characters to root for. 

I think the flower saga is one of the worst they've produced. I get that it's mostly buying time until some people come back, but still. I'm genuinely concerned that if it has any viewers at all it'll be the death of all quality scripted shows, because why try if this still does the trick. Is it ai-generated, maybe? 

I'd really love a twist. Like Sarah, who declared at least one of them dead, is in on it. As it seems to be unfolding, I don't care which villain did it, I blame John, Marlena, and the rest of the older crew. Did they learn nothing from all the times something like this has happened? 

Speaking of age groups, I don't know why they bother having young characters if they're not really included in the shenanigans. Why not fake kill Allie, then send Johnny and Chanel to rescue her (and fight temptation while doing so)? Why just all the grandmas? We're never going to care about the younger crew if they don't eventually do stuff other than have feelings. 

I'm rooting for the show, since I'm decades into an investment, but this is not their finest moment. 

[Soapsuds]

Lord...this show is terrible.

Great to see you posting again. The show is a mess. I was only watching when Zach or Chandler was on. Now I have no reason to watch. I'm waiting on Andrew Donavan return in March. Hopefully Christopher Sean returns too.

[Soapsuds]

I mentioned earlier there is no one to root for in this show anymore. The characters that remain only a few are upstanding citizens. The rest have turned very dark. There is no gray area with them. Most all of Salem are evil unrootable characters. 

There's no reason to invest in the next generation when the writing for them is horrible or nonexsitent. Then they're let go once again and were left with unbearable characters.

This will never change until Ron Carlivati is let go as HW.

[carolineg]

The show is bad, but I don't think it's worse than it usually is lol.  It's just sort of the same.  Nothing really makes sense, sometimes there are good shows, and sometimes there are really bad ones.  The notdead flower saga isn't good, but there have been much crappier stories in the last few years.   The pacing bothers me more than the actual stories.  Idk, maybe I am just used to mediocrity, but I don't think the show is the worst it's ever been by any means.  The show is full of missed beats and offscreen happenings and it is weird (like @j swift mentioned) they don't talk about EJ/Nicole's long history or a lot of history in general. 

 

[Contessa Donatella]

I agree. The things that are bad were bad a year ago. The things that are new are good. And, yes, often things don't make sense. That's not new. Pacing & balance & use of personnel, bad, also not new. Sometime the show is chock full of history. Other history is ignored. I think that's true of every soap. Being selective about what history you use is really a choice that is valid. The thing that I think is new that's bad is that they completely ignored the family dynamic of grieving that was needed to make this psuedo-death work. These people are inter-related & they're being written like they barely know each other. Anna's visit to Roman was great & there should have been a lot of people visiting the three men. Instead they did cellphonegate. 

[Contessa Donatella]

I disagree in part. I think there are plenty of people to root for. I do not think the canvas is overrun with dark characters. I do not think most of Salem is evil.

I do think that it is time to get a different HW. 

And, frankly, I don't believe you've watched enough of the show to put forth all the opinions you have. And, I don't mean to be rude saying that. I just think it's observable fact. There's been a lot of excellent dialog even when there's a perhaps undesirable plot point going on. I think the writing for Eric & Brady & Gabi & EJ & Nicole is strong & within character. So, I don't think a whole generation is being short-changed. I do think they screwed up with Challie & Allie but they are writing amazing dramatic scenes with excellent dialog as they split them up. 

[j swift]

I don't 100% agree that DAYS is bad, as much as I would say that it is not for everyone.  Certainly, a fan of GH or Y&R would hate the over the top audacity of three middle aged women being held hostage in cryo-pods.  But, I still smile at the outrageous hits and misses of this show.

I hesitate to use the word camp, because I feel that should apply to an actual earnest drama.  DAYS seems to be striving for camp, which is usually best when determined by the audience, and not the deliberate goal of the production.  However, the shoddy sets, ageing ingenues, and commitment to male eye candy keeps me tuning in at least 2-3 times per week.  Maybe I have low standards, but I think its funny when they stand in front of the Salem Inn and it looks like the set of a high school drama production.

I also appreciate the new sexier tone of the show.  Many of the "younger" set seem to engage in guilt free sex, without everyone getting pregnant, or being shamed for having fun.  Acting and writing were never hallmarks of DAYS, but I also enjoy that characters are allowed to be a bit more complex than just good and evil.  Also, I have no allegiance to the show, it was always my second or third choice, so I am not as invested in the quality. 

Finally, regardless of the flaws, I admire the work of an out gay headwriter in the commercial network environment.  His limitations have been discussed ad nausium, and I wouldn't say that the show sets a good example of gay life.  But, I'm still the guy who tries to support every forum for gay representation because I feel it is the least that I can do politically (apologies for the overt virtue signaling).

Edited February 22, 2023 by j swift

[janea4old]

Quoting @j swift "Filed under it will never happen, how refreshing would it be for Nicole to remark on her age, and be concerned about how much longer she'll be able to rely on her sexual appeal to get out of sticky situations?  Rather than, continue to be written a vixen whose only assets are her body rather than her brains and experience.  I'd love for her to be more of mentor to Gabi, and advise her not to make the same errors she made at that stage in her life."

My reply: What?  It's been a long time since Nicole relied only on her sexual appeal to get out of sticky situations.  It's been many years since she's been written as a vixen whose only assets are her body rather than her brains and experience! 

Nicole is charming and attractive; but she's mostly written as having a big heart and being quite intelligent - with her main flaw being that she messes up sometimes due to being insecure.
And she had begun to overcome some of her insecurities and showed character growth a few years ago -- when she used her investigative reporter instincts to figure out some of the convoluted plot about baby Mackenzie.  There was something related to all of that which she told Eric about as soon as she learned it, instead of hiding it from him out of insecurity.  She periodically falls back into insecurity, but doesn't stay there long.

And in the past few weeks (offscreen of course) she has helped at DiMera meetings. (This is mentioned in conversation by other characters).  She saved the day with savvy negotiations when EJ was disoriented from being drugged.

I liked that Nicole was a mentor to Allie when young adult Allie first arrived on canvas.

Gabi seems to be written more as the vixen sometimes now, but not really.  I think she's just driven and motivated and ... impulsive! She would do whatever to get what she wants.
Back in 2014, Kate and Sami were written as Gabi's mentors, which wasn't helpful, LOL.

I don't know how a Nicole/Gabi dynamic would work, but it's an interesting idea.

[Soapsuds]

Gabi has become so unlikeable. She is evil nuts crazy. The Li/Gabi/Stefan story is just a waste of time because there is no rooting value for anyone involved. They are all despicable human beings.

Edited February 22, 2023 by Soapsuds

[j swift]

My thoughts were in response to watching Nicole at the Dimera mansion.  Now, I don't know why Nicole can't get her own place, except that there seems to be a housing crisis in Salem.  But, it seems like she used her physical charms to find a way out of Rafe's place and into the mansion.

I agree with most of your points about the character in terms of her business savvy and big heart.  I feel like her self-awareness of her insecurities wavers according to the different script writers.  But, I'd certainly like it better if she was the one figuring out that Stefan was drugging EJ, rather than leaving it up to lil' Johnny to solve, like in today's episode.

I know she's had a million jobs, but wasn't she in PR when she lived in LA?  It might also be fun to have her mentor Stephanie on how to write a press release in less than a day.  Overall I just long for some shuffling of interactions between characters, I'd love to see some new scene partners.

With regard to @Soapsuds response to Gabi, I disagree that she's totally one dimensional.   Kidnapping Stefan and having Rolf deprogram him was nutty.  But I thought the Valentine's episodes with Li explained the motivation behind her desperation.  However, I am questioning why Stefan has chosen to medicate EJ as form of mind control.  Although, I think it's amusing that his method keeps failing.  There's got to be a better way.  Maybe he should align with Gabi to collaborate on a plan?

Edited February 22, 2023 by j swift

[carolineg]

GH is probably my #1 show, or at least was, and I don't hate the cryo pod story.  It's not good, but Lulu and Stavros were held in cryo pods on GH so not much difference there lol.  There is obviously an overall tone difference but characters on GH have been in some very crazy situations as well.

[AbcNbc247]

I’m with @carolineg

I’m not liking this dead/not dead stuff, but I still think Sarah as Renee, Abigail’s murder and especially Craig/Leo were worse. 

GH is clearly winning Sweeps this month though 

That would make sense lol but for some reason, Ron’s more concerned with demonizing the younger generation than building them up 

That’s part of the problem too: it’s been a very mean spirited show in the past few years 

Then again, look who wrote that

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Edited February 22, 2023 by AbcNbc247

[Contessa Donatella]

Here, I agree 100%.