Just now, Franko said:

I've said it before: Days in the '80s and '90s was like an auto plant when it came to supercouples and would-be supercouples. That assembly line just kept on turning.

Like iPhones; a new one came out every year 😂

1 minute ago, j swift said:

I was thinking of dropped storylines from this time last year:

1. Johnny worrying about the "Dimera Curse" effecting his marriage

Another good idea to cause conflict for him and Chanel.

I know of no soap that generated as many supercouples in one decade as DAYS. GH came close but not that close.

Unfortunately the only DAYS couple I can think of in the last 20 years that came anywhere near that was E.J. and Sami, and that was built on him raping her at gunpoint in a midsize sedan on the side of the road.

Edited October 9Oct 9 by Vee

11 minutes ago, Vee said:

I know of no soap that generated as many supercouples in one decade as DAYS. GH came close but not that close.

Unfortunately the only DAYS couple I can think of in the last 20 years that came anywhere near that was E.J. and Sami, and that was built on him raping her at gunpoint in a midsize sedan on the side of the road.

Oh, boy.  I am going to argue Ben/Ciara.  That couple had a lot of buzz and I don't want to talk about it.

I do think EJ/Sami were very popular, but I think it was most fangirls lusting after James Scott.  I can't even hate that.   He is a very handsome guy lol.

2 minutes ago, carolineg said:

Oh, boy.  I am going to argue Ben/Ciara.  That couple had a lot of buzz and I don't want to talk about it.

But nobody seems to talk about them today. I just don't see any of them approaching '80s/'90s level.

Putting aside the more systemic issues like Corday, or never getting over the Jim Reilly era and not ever knowing how to leave it behind, I think DAYS' fundamental error in the romance department in the 21st century - and it's one they can't easily escape - has been either trying to either stay the supercouple machine in an era that really isn't suited for it, or trying to ignore it and just create a string of interchangeable couples. The first part was the issue in the past but I can't really tell which is the bigger problem today, in part because I watch infrequently outside of John's death. I suspect the latter.

Like, I would argue that something like Spencer and Trina on GH got more heat and attention in its moment in the sun than any young couple DAYS has had in years. Chad and Abby, Will and Sonny, even Lucas and Sami who I adored, none of them have compared. So when I hear about Johnny or Brady or Chanel or Gabi or J.J. or Chad or Stephanie or Belle or whoever swapping partners again my eyes kind of just glaze over and I lose interest. Like, none of these characters are iconic unto themselves like their predecessors in the '80s and '90s. A lot of them just don't have much meat on the bone as solo individuals. But maybe I'm totally wrong.

If not though, maybe that's why they're so devoted to hanging onto the senior supercouples in the way they have. They know the weight of characters like Marlena or Patch/Kayla, or J&J or Bo and Hope in their visits, backstops a lot of this stuff that just feels like white noise to me. I don't know what the solution is there. I don't think you should try to pretend it's the 80s and make every couple a supercouple, but I also don't think a lot of these musical beds are that thrilling.

Edited October 9Oct 9 by Vee

1 minute ago, Vee said:

But nobody seems to talk about them today. I just don't see any of them approaching '80s/'90s level.

Putting aside the more systemic issues like Corday, or never getting over the Jim Reilly era and not ever knowing how to leave it behind, I think DAYS' fundamental error in the romance department in the 21st century - and it's one they can't easily escape - has been either trying to either stay the supercouple machine in an era that really isn't suited for it, or trying to ignore it and just create a string of interchangeable couples. The first part was the issue in the past but I can't really tell which is the bigger problem today, in part because I watch infrequently outside of John's death. I suspect the latter.

Like, I would argue that something like Spencer and Trina on GH got more heat and attention in its moment in the sun than any young couple DAYS has had in years. Chad and Abby, Will and Sonny, even Lucas and Sami who I adored, none of them have compared. So when I hear about Johnny or Brady or Chanel or Gabi or J.J. or Chad or Stephanie or Belle or whoever swapping partners again my eyes kind of just glaze over and I lose interest. Like, none of these characters are iconic unto themselves like their predecessors in the '80s and '90s. A lot of them just don't have much meat on the bone as solo individuals. But maybe I'm totally wrong.

If not though, maybe that's why they're so devoted to hanging onto the senior supercouples in the way they have. They know the weight of characters like Marlena or Patch/Kayla, or J&J or Bo and Hope in their visits, backstops a lot of this stuff that just feels like white noise to me. I don't know what the solution is there.

I agree with you.  Days hangs on old supercouples for years and years without developing new ones.  As crass as this is to say, Marlena and John are done because Drake passed, Doug/Julie are done for the same reason. Bo/Hope are out there somewhere.  Jack/Jen make a few guest appearances, and Kayla and Steve are duller than dirt.  Belle and Brady were never developed in the way they should have been because their parents would carry the story weight.

But, God forbid, any of the three main ladies (Julie, Malena, Maggie) are ill or have to leave the show for whatever reasons, who leads?  Ari Zucker and Ali Sweeney are long gone.    Christie Clark left acting.  So who is the next person in line?  Belle has failed for years, so Stephanie?  Maybe Godfrey's Sarah? That's a bleak outlook.  

 

Hard disagree.

Salem is in a much better place than most with a younger crowd.

Chanel, Gabi, Stephanie, Jada, Ari, and Holly are all wonderful ingénues.  Find me another soap with a current young roster that deep?

And hope springs eternal for their partners.

8 minutes ago, carolineg said:

But, God forbid, any of the three main ladies (Julie, Malena, Maggie) are ill or have to leave the show for whatever reasons, who leads?  Ari Zucker and Ali Sweeney are long gone.    Christie Clark left acting.  So who is the next person in line?  Belle has failed for years, so Stephanie?  Maybe Godfrey's Sarah? That's a bleak outlook.  

Exactly. 

Unlike others, I don't think the Higley/Tomlin model after they dumped Dee and Drake - where they would push hard on these very mid couples like the many loves of Daniel Jonas, or Nathan Horton and Melanie or whoever (and again, I liked Molly Burnett lol) while cutting costs - was the answer. A lot of those people were interchangeable or just boring. And I see a lot of that with the young people today too. But I think there has to be a re-investment in building out the individual characters as more than just spare parts to be fitted together. John, Bo, etc. were iconic because of the synthesis of strong or charismatic actors with fleshed-out roles. Same with Carrie, Billie, Sami, etc. Then you can start to see what works again overall for the show. Right now it's just musical chairs and most of these characters fade out to me as indistinguishable from each other. There's no major personalities like we had in the '80s and '90s. How are Gabi and Ari that different from each other (putting aside the fact that it is insane that Will and Gabi now have a practically grown daughter, and I'm still not totally sure who Tate and Holly are, let alone Allie or... what is the name of Belle's kid)?

Edited October 9Oct 9 by Vee

3 minutes ago, Vee said:

Exactly. 

Unlike others, I don't think the Higley/Tomlin model after they dumped Dee and Drake - where they would push hard on these very mid couples like the many loves of Daniel Jonas, or Nathan Horton and Melanie or whoever (and again, I liked Molly Burnett lol) while cutting costs - was the answer. A lot of those people were interchangeable or just boring. And I see a lot of that with the young people today too. But I think there has to be a re-investment in building out the individual characters as more than just spare parts to be fitted together. John, Bo, etc. were iconic because of the synthesis of strong or charismatic actors with fleshed-out roles. Same with Carrie, Billie, Sami, etc. Then you can start to see what works again overall for the show. Right now it's just musical chairs and most of these characters fade out to me as indistinguishable from each other. There's no major personalities like we had in the '80s and '90s. How are Gabi and Ari that different from each other (putting aside the fact that it is insane that Will and Gabi now have a practically grown daughter, and I'm still not totally sure who Tate and Holly are, let alone Allie or... what is the name of Belle's kid)?

Molly Burnett was an untapped star.  They used her so poorly.  All the time, but not well lol.

Tate is Brady's son with Theresa (Jeannie) Donovan

Holly is Daniel's child with Nicole

Allie is Johnny's twin with Sami/Lucas (different dads, I know)

Belle's child is Claire, who was aged way too soon, with Shawn-D.

I think the show could do a lot more with Chanel.  RB is great and she's stuck in this mid pairing with Johnny.   She's sexually fluid so she could be paired with a lot of people, but she's stuck wanting to be a mommy.  

6 minutes ago, carolineg said:

Tate is Brady's son with Theresa (Jeannie) Donovan

Holly is Daniel's child with Nicole

Allie is Johnny's twin with Sami/Lucas (different dads, I know)

Belle's child is Claire, who was aged way too soon, with Shawn-D.

I think the show could do a lot more with Chanel.  RB is great and she's stuck in this mid pairing with Johnny.   She's sexually fluid so she could be paired with a lot of people, but she's stuck wanting to be a mommy.  

They have something of a GH problem in that there's too many kids and now they're all getting too old. To their credit they play them all much more than GH does theirs, but you can't play them all and I am never gonna care about some of these people lol.

My advice would simply be to pare the younger set down to core personalities who you can build into actual characters, as opposed to jigsaw pieces fitted together. Like, you don't necessarily need blonde Claire and blonde Allie on the show at the same time. I don't care about Daniel and Nicole's child or even Brady's lol. Maybe the Nickelodeon twunk playing Tate has improved a lot, maybe one of them is a great actor so maybe one of them can stay, I dunno! But I'd be pretty merciless about these people at this point. And this isn't just about the twentysomethings or teens - you have Stephanie, Belle, Shawn, Phillip, Chad, J.J., Gabi (who I've never cared about and has had nine lives as is), etc. to figure out as well. Johnny has a nice body but what does he actually offer? Can you reposition him or recast? Maybe Chanel's great, who knows. How many times can Brady and the latest Phillip recast argue with their senior relatives about the imaginary DAYS companies? Boy, I dunno.

Edited October 9Oct 9 by Vee

2 hours ago, Vee said:

They have something of a GH problem in that there's too many kids and now they're all getting too old. To their credit they play them all much more than GH does theirs, but you can't play them all and I am never gonna care about some of these people lol.

My advice would simply be to pare the younger set down to core personalities who you can build into actual characters, as opposed to jigsaw pieces fitted together. Like, you don't necessarily need blonde Claire and blonde Allie on the show at the same time. I don't care about Daniel and Nicole's child or even Brady's lol. Maybe the Nickelodeon twunk playing Tate has improved a lot, maybe one of them is a great actor so maybe one of them can stay, I dunno! But I'd be pretty merciless about these people at this point. And this isn't just about the twentysomethings or teens - you have Stephanie, Belle, Shawn, Phillip, Chad, J.J., Gabi (who I've never cared about and has had nine lives as is), etc. to figure out as well. Johnny has a nice body but what does he actually offer? Can you reposition him or recast? Maybe Chanel's great, who knows. How many times can Brady and the latest Phillip recast argue with their senior relatives about the imaginary DAYS companies? Boy, I dunno.

Completely understand wishing for more specificity in character, but the younger set are actually pretty solid for me, and like you mentioned, it's the mix/match older group that's more messy. Allie and Claire are moot points right now as they've both been rested for a couple years at this point. I can't tell you how happy I am that they surprisingly decided not to be recast happy with Allie, like they have with practically everybody else. Recasting Chad in particular seems especially egregious with how notable Billy Flynn has been as Chad. Even if Conner Floyd is digestible, it's only going to dilute Chad's importance in the grand scheme of things.

With the current younger set, other than the creature known as Rachel Boyd, all the characters are played by solid actors. Cutting Holly and Tate after solidly playing them for two years now, who are still as fruitful as when they began, would be a mistake. Plus, both characters are played regularly with their respective elder statesmen in Maggie and Marlena. Marissa Reyes as Arianna has been built up slowly, and has impressed. Now, she could do with more scenes with various family members, but to be fair, she's literally related to almost everyone. Plus, with her addition the younger set seems more complete and the friendships of Tate/Aaron and Holly/Arianna are believable. 

I think this latest story of Johnny finding out about his conception has been the making of the character. I literally never cared a lick about him before, but those wonderfully in depth scenes with Sami at EJ's hospital bedside after he was shot, plus the earlier scenes where he initially confronted EJ, eventually leading to the convoluted but highly watchable court drama of him on trial, made me care for him a great deal and Carson Boatman surprisingly delivered. The fact he was coming off that horrid Joy tale is astounding. Raven Bowens is another stand out when she gets the chance to be. But both lack friends and its embarrassing at this point. Chanel literally has no one to confide in except her mother. Johnny has no close pals either. And you can go down the line with most of the characters leading the show right now. It's insane. 

As for the business stories, I think this latest one with the forged letter has worked tremendously because it was all about family drama, with Titan merely being used as a tool. And the scenes last week where Maggie wrangled the Kiriakis boys (Philip, Xander, Alex, and Brady) together felt monumental in strengthening the future of the Kiriakis clan. You even had Philip genuinely apologize to Brady for past machinations and this is when JPL thrives. When he's being earnest and forthright and not a joke. Nearly all of Philip's scenes with Belle, where he's comfortable enough to lay himself bear have been marvelous. But JPL becomes too messy as we all know, and if I am being ruthless, Philip and Shawn would both be recast. Of course, in a perfect world Jason Cook would finally agree to return. I know he was far from being Douglass Watson or Michael Zaslow, but as that Hogestyn Zoom tribute showed, he just fits on this show like a glove.

Now Martha Madison's Belle has many detractors here and that's understandable, but this show has been steadfast in keeping her and has basically bullied me into accepting her. If this was still 2004 or various other times where Belle has come and gone, then I'd agree to a recast as well, but I think complaining about her looking too old has passed its caché now. I really dig the writing regarding her time as the former Daddy's little girl, who has completely messed up her life and has to start again, on her own, without the hero of all heroes helping pick her back up. Plus, Martha Madison always delivers in the dramatic moments and has strong familial chemistry with Deidre Hall and Eric Martsolf. And they've even played her well now and again with Johnny and Tate.

In regards to Gabi, the issue is Cherie Jimenez has no grit to her. I'd continue to play her with JJ and eventually pull that dangling Stefan strand, who'd only return temporarily to be an obstacle for her and JJ,  but I think I'm leaning to eventually killing her off. And my issues with Abigail Klein as Stephanie have been made abundantly clear. She is the white rice of actresses and a lot of the way she says things itches my vocal stim in the wrong way. Stephanie has only ever been interesting when she was a neurotic hot mess, so I'd lean into building up to that, which would eventually lead to her losing her marbles by digging much deeper into her neuroses and insecurities, resting her character in a mental asylum (not Bayview!) for a bit, before recasting with someone much more rewarding to watch.

Then lastly there is Sarah, whom is basically the main lead heroine on the show, if anyone can be chosen as such. Linsey Godfrey got on my nerves a lot early on in my return to watching, but this great Kiriakis feud story has been a revelation for her. She has been shoulding a lot of heavy lifting and has soared to heights I didn't think were obtainable. She's been absolutely brilliant. I do wish she'd be played with the Hortons more. She seems so disengaged with them. 

But I guess my rumblings can just be boiled down to my personal actor preferences and not necessarily in solving the systemic issue that is writing characters as clearer individuals. I think this team of writers have done well in expressing the inner goings on of characters, but it's more clearly defined differentiating traits that need to be more prominent as well.

Edited October 10Oct 10 by Bright Eyes

Hey, I'll never claim to be well-versed in the current youth set on this show. I just know when I try to keep track of them or what they do when I do watch a lot of it just blurs together in my mind. I do quite like Linsey Godfrey but I was under the impression at least half the audience hated her and Sarah at this point. I'm very skeptical of Carson Boatman's skills below the level of his pecs and nipples, but maybe he can surprise me.

I do think Jason Cook should be begged to return. The level-up was glaring when he did briefly right before or after Bo's "death" in the 2010s. And I think bringing back Jeremy (I haven't seen the actor) and Theo are a step in the right direction. Maybe Tate and Holly are great, who knows. I just think they have to make a lot of these young characters as individuals pop more beyond just musical partners. That would be a start. (And however good Ari is I still can't get over Will and Gabi now being positioned to be very young grandparents for this YA daughter - I mean, come on.)

Edited October 10Oct 10 by Vee

re supercouples

Roman and Marlena were the first but set apart as Marlena had a marital history and was an older established character. So some obstacles (the wife BFTD, the villianous enemy) but not all elements were in place. 

BO/Hope firmly established the template.

Heroine from a core family, initial clash with leading man, larger than life action/spy plot, female interloper, marriage to the wrong person,lavish wedding.

That was used successfully for Patch/Kayla and Shane /Kimberley. They also added a disability-blindness/deafness.

Marlena/John diverged from that because of circumstance.

Other couples like Pete/Melissa and Justin/Adrienne didn't follow the template and thus were not as iconic.

Jack/Jennifer were different because of Jack's past with Kayla-he was not the hero in the Bo/Shane/Patch mold.

That took care of the 80's. 

Days never used that template again so there were never supercouples of that stature in the years that followed.

The friendships were on full display today.

And with the way things were written, it was those friendships that allowed the story of Sophia and Tesoro to move forward a little. Maybe Sophia should have appeared in this episode as well, but at the same time, it didn't feel like that much of a necessity either 😂 

Once again, we got some really good scenes of Holly and Ari's friendship. Their friendship really is one of the best dynamics of the younger crowd, IMO. And I also liked seeing Aaron counseling Tate over everything that's been going on between him and Holly. He told Tate some hard truths that he really needed to hear. They work well together as best friends too. But I'm interested in seeing what's going to happen between the two of them in the future.

I also liked the way that Kayla/Sarah and Johnny/Chanel and Brady were on the outside of the action regarding Sophia and Tesoro, trying to figure out the truth about this whole messy situation. They've all seemed so much smarter lately lol and the way that so many characters are being weaved into this storyline could have so many effects on all of them once the truth comes out.

This all has me excited for next week. Good luck, Tate lol

Btw, Baby Tesoro is adorable 😂😂

Any reason Don Craig (Jed Allen) wasn’t mentioned by Dee? Come on! 😅

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/177nkzqVea/

1 hour ago, asafi said:

Any reason Don Craig (Jed Allen) wasn’t mentioned by Dee? Come on! 😅

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/177nkzqVea/

 

Deidre on working with Wayne and Drake "I've had two loves and I've lost them twice 💔#Jarlena #Days pic.twitter.com/QkzMHrxrEx

— Hall 💜 Monitor (@aoii92) October 9, 2025