Days: May 2023 Discussion Thread

[Khan]

Unfortunately, the remaining shows are afraid of running off the few viewers they still have.  They didn't learn from Gloria Monty's example that sometimes you've gotta roll the dice.

[Vee]

It's a funny world we live in. I remember when Dena Higley's school shooter storyline on OLTL got scrapped in the late 2000s - Jonathan Groff pre-stardom was supposed to be the shooter at Starr Manning's school. Then the Virginia Tech massacre happened and they hastily reshot and rewrote it all overnight. At that time, pre-Sandy Hook, pre-everything else, that tragedy was still perceived as a horrifying freak occurrence. And here we are today. Mass shootings are a part of the fabric of American life.

Dena's only marketable skill outside DAYS, which got her the job at OLTL she should never have had, was reducing a pitch to a single sentence (and nothing else - she never wrote a bible, which drove Frank Valentini nuts). It's how she got the gig: "Jessica has DID." Most of her other pitches were often ripped from the headlines. On the face of it, her take on a storyline like the Jim McGreevey closeted gay government official scandal wasn't a bad concept. Neither was a school shooter storyline. But in both cases she was always ready to take the most exploitative, least nuanced or mature take on important material. She was in it for the shock value. One of her last storylines also seemed freakishly preposterous at the time: A white supremacist domestic terror cell, operating in a Western city using the Internet and mobilizing for open violence. Again, here we are today.

What's fucked up about Dena Higley is her stories were nihilistic cartoons and poorly done, but the seeds of the ideas are more frighteningly relevant all the time, if someone would approach them right.

[j swift]

Generally, the lack of discussion of COVID, the loss of one million Americans, the complete disruption of our lives, and how it has changed the workplace, is odd for me in all forms of media.  Compared to the war in Iraq or 9/11, it seems so shocking how few stories we see about COVID on tv and in film.  I think it is the most historic event of this century, but more time has been spent on the origin stories of superheros than COVID.

But, specifically for DAYS to have a black police officer never mention how she could choose to be involved in law enforcement after the death of George Floyd and the defund the police movement is astounding.  I would be fine if Jada defended her career to Talia, but for there to be no discussion at all is an egregious error. 

I guess the only progress we see in daytime is rather than scrapping stories because of the perception that dramatizing current events is exploitative, now we just ignore them.  Fear of a backlash has resulted in stories of viruses being solved by orchids and the only drugs in town are found in the local bakery.  

 

Edited May 24, 2023 by j swift

[Khan]

Now here's an idea for DAYS!  Julie gets together with several of the younger Salemites to open a dispensary in Horton Town Square!  They could call it "Alice's Edibles"!

[Noel]

I'd try them. As long as I wasn't being served edible granny panties. But yeah, have a good party, maybe a couple of Winnie the Pooh pacifiers (I have dibs on Tigger), drum-n-bass or progressive trance, bottled waters, blow pops and gummy worms, and Vick's Vapo Rub. Let's party. 

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  Hell yeah.

I'm being silly. No, I hope my last post wasn't taken out of context because Lord knows how people can misinterpret things when we discuss fiction. I do not endorse gun violence at all. It's just that this is all I see on DAYS. Guns this and guns that. Half the people who hold these guns just wanna flap their mouth and they don't do anything. And if a gun is shot, it's usually the same scene as Clyde/Chad, Steve/Stacey, or Eli/Mr. Mayo Lover where they both look at each other and the viewer is left wondering who got shot and it implodes because the actors are stuck in these small sets and no wiggle room to make it convincing.

Did I think Paulina was going to die? No. Kate? No. Steve? No. Chanel? No. Jada? No. 

So, enough of the guns already. That's all I'm sayin'. 

[AbcNbc247]

Still don’t see why Shane and the ISA can’t just make Megan, Dimitri and Kristen all have accidents or be suicided now that they’re out of prison  

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It was a good episode though, but things moved too fast for me again. If I wanted primetime pacing, I’d watch a primetime show. 

I love Paul and Andrew’s devotion to each other. And I’d love it if we actually saw them for more than an episode or two. I don’t see why they can’t them on contract. Colton clearly wants to be and the fans want it as well. 

And now that Megan’s in Salem, I just hope it’s all done well. And that she isn’t put anywhere near Dimera Enterprises.

I actually wouldn’t mind it all, if the stakes were a little higher.

Edited May 24, 2023 by AbcNbc247

[Noel]

And to each their own. You know what I'm sayin'? Within these past few weeks, Shawn shot his father (bad missed opportunity on a great potential storyline), Dimitri Von Leuschner and his gang all had guns, and then several days later, Colin has a gun. It's just so "been there and done that". Well, for me at least. 

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Well, they do drug up stuff. From biscuits to chocolate chip cookies. And they use booze as an excuse for a fictional character to sleep with another fictional character. 

I wish this show could be more inventive if that makes sense. Actually, they did do the virus thing, but everytime I looked at the orchid, it just looked like some home decor you'd find at Marshall's for like $7.98. 

Edited May 24, 2023 by Noel

[Khan]

"DiMera Enterprises" still sounds like the goofiest thing ever.  When did the DiMeras stop being supervillains and started being business people again?  Did Tony legitimize Stefano's empire while I was asleep?

I think I understand what you're saying, @Noel.  The stakes are just too low now, especially on a show where literally no one ever dies anymore, to take the gunplay even a little bit seriously.  Furthermore, when characters draw their guns as often as they do on shows, you, as a viewer, become...I don't know...numb to it somehow.  It's like, "Oh, so-and-so just pulled a gun on somebody?  Well, I guess it must be Tuesday!".

In a way, it reminds me of what Raymond Chandler allegedly once said: when you don't know where to go in your story, just have a man come in with a gun.

Meanwhile, the more I think about it, the more I think someone on DAYS should open a dispensary in town.  Heck, dispensaries should be present on all the shows today.  God knows I see enough of 'em where I live, lol.

Nah, that's too out of DAYS' price range.  Try Big Lots.

Edited May 24, 2023 by Khan

[darrell66]

Personally I don't think ABC or CBS would allow GH or the Bell soaps to do a gun violence storyline or a truly in-depth discussion about law enforcement in regard to race or the issue of abortion in our country today. The networks would see it as too controversial. DAYS however seeing that its on Peacock could tackle all those stories without fear. The only problem is I no faith in Ron Carlivati abilities as a writer. To write the type of gun violence or law enforcement or abortion storyline a writer and their team would need to do some seriously hard research in order to realistically show all different sides of the issue with respect and dramatic insight. The stories will need to be well paced in order for it to breathe intelligently. It has to be bold, strong and unapologetic in terms at examining issues and questions that doesn't have a simple or easy answer. What these stories need is a Agnes Nixon, Douglas Marland, Bill Bell, Claire Labine, the Dobsons or a Nancy Curlee. Hell I would even trust a Pamela Long or even Bob Guza at writing those types of stories before trusting Ron Carlivati who would write it with no research, with just one point if view, and focus totally on the gimmick and rush right through it with no real solution. In fact I don't trust any of the current headwriters on any of the soaps to write those types of hard-hitting stories. Sadly the days of social relevant storytelling on soaps operas is over.

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[AbcNbc247]

Yeah… today’s Soap writers don’t really have the sensitivity to pull off a storyline like that. Days is in the best position to do so, but we’re not gonna get something like that from Ron, as much as I wish we would though. If you ask me, when it comes to storylines like that, if they’re not gonna be done right, then they’re not worth doing at all.

That makes perfect sense.

I wish they would do more on Days, for every storyline. But it looks like we’re gonna be getting the same old stuff.

Edited May 24, 2023 by AbcNbc247

[j swift]

I appreciated the dynamic when Dimera and Kiriakis were competing businesses. 

The focus of both conglomerates was never clear.  I recall when Kiriakis was in the shipping industry, they owned Savanah Wilder's recording company and distributed drugs.  I guess Dimera holds Basic Black and focuses on beauty and fashion, (which seems like a bizarre fit for both the characters of EJ and Stefon).   But, I liked the brief time when they were in competition because at least it brought some conflict into the business storyline, and it created opportunities for Romeo & Juliet/rivalry-type plots. 

I'd also really like to revisit the idea of how Maggie is coping with the more nefarious sides of the Kirikas business now that she's in charge.  It could either go more Mafia Momma, or she could try to clean it up, with Alex and Xander working beside her like the angel and devil on her shoulder.

But, I guess that's just as likely as someone on the Dimera board objecting to either EJ, Stefon, or Megan being CEO given that they've each been recently presumed dead for long enough to not be aware of the latest trends.

[te.]

I'd like to believe that both DiMera and Kiriakis Enterprises are businesses, where people can do business thingz, like drinking coffee, black. Yell at an assistant - wait we don't have the budget for that. But they have meetings in a tiny board room and sit in the lone office at times. They also shuffle papers.

 

Yaaaay! Business thingz.

[Gray Bunny]

DAYS sucks at business storylines. Keep it vague and keep it lowkey in the backburner. To try otherwise is an automatic fail. I'd jump ship if I worked for DiMera, since the head of the company is constantly changing and their business origins are murky at best. 

[j swift]

I'd stay with DiMera over Kiriakis because I'd prefer to be transferred to the office in Rome rather than Athens in this economy.

[Khan]

I wish DAYS would pare down in scope and get back to basics.  No more outlandish plots or capers; the budget isn't coming back, and what was even slightly passable on the network now looks just plain stoopid on Peacock.  Just get back to simple, heartfelt, character-driven stories that people can relate to.

And, you know, I think there's a part of Ron Carlivati that would like to get back to that kind of storytelling, too, but Corday, NBC/Universal and/or Sony won't let this show move into the 2020's.

Edited May 24, 2023 by Khan