Chelsea and Max are great. He sees in her his former wild self and wants to "save" her. He is her knight in shining armor. She knows she has hurt people near and dear to him and cannot commit with that guilt. This will be very interesting to see if he gets close enough she can tell him what she has done.

Abby and Max, no way. She is too young and totally not the type for him or he for her. She needs a "Jack" type man.

Ditto! I would love to see Ashley Benson play opposite a young "Jack", and in some weird way, Max and Chelsea work for me.

Ditto! I would love to see Ashley Benson play opposite a young "Jack", and in some weird way, Max and Chelsea work for me.

I love Abby and her boyfriend from the coffee shop.... He is a cute guy for her.

Trust me I really do see your point, but you have said many times you are mad what DAYS has done with John and Marlena. Isnt that being a couple fan as well? I may be way off and if I am just correct me.....

Kirk, I am mad about what the show did to John & Marlena but not mad enough to quit watching the show. J/M are not even my favorite couple on the show. They are just one of the couples I love. There is no couple that them leaving would make me mad enough to quit over. I am more upset just over the lousy treatment both actors got out of this. And having them off at this time was just wrong.

No one has ever been as big of a fan of Susan Seaforth Hayes as I am, and as big of a fan of Doug & Julie as me. I followed Susan over to Y&R when I had quit watching the show for years. But even when she was let go from Days and then backburnered I kept watching. Even when they had Doug & Julie divorce off screen and had her back in town as a power hungry woman, I kept watching.

I have no problem with having your favorite couples Kirk, but when the only reason you tune into the show is that couple then it hurts the show. And when you and those like you overwhelm the show with e-mail and letters stating your disgust over a certain couple's treatment or lack of airtime then it can end up hurting the show. I have no doubt in my mind that one of the reasons that JER's 2nd term has stunk so much is all the constant rewrites. And you could tell that much of what we saw on the screen was rushed and rewritten. Things just changed so many times too quickly or too unevenly for me not to know that.

I think the couple thing may be one of the things that helped lead to Matthew Ashford's firing this time. If I were Corday and knowing the backlash of the last few years over J/J fans, I would be scared to even try and keep them apart. It is so much easier to put them back together and give them a happy ending. It is the best way to appease most fans. They can go off happily together and if budgets get better then they can be brought back later.

I think the couple thing may be one of the things that helped lead to Matthew Ashford's firing this time. If I were Corday and knowing the backlash of the last few years over J/J fans, I would be scared to even try and keep them apart. It is so much easier to put them back together and give them a happy ending. It is the best way to appease most fans. They can go off happily together and if budgets get better then they can be brought back later.

Well hopefully someday they will be able to bring Jack back if this is the case...

Let things calm down; then bring him back to Salem. I hope! I love Jack....

I guess it would be hard to recast Jen. It's bad timing for this to be happening.

I still hope they change their minds and keep Jack.

Kirk, I am mad about what the show did to John & Marlena but not mad enough to quit watching the show. J/M are not even my favorite couple on the show. They are just one of the couples I love. There is no couple that them leaving would make me mad enough to quit over. I am more upset just over the lousy treatment both actors got out of this. And having them off at this time was just wrong.

No one has ever been as big of a fan of Susan Seaforth Hayes as I am, and as big of a fan of Doug & Julie as me. I followed Susan over to Y&R when I had quit watching the show for years. But even when she was let go from Days and then backburnered I kept watching. Even when they had Doug & Julie divorce off screen and had her back in town as a power hungry woman, I kept watching.

I have no problem with having your favorite couples Kirk, but when the only reason you tune into the show is that couple then it hurts the show. And when you and those like you overwhelm the show with e-mail and letters stating your disgust over a certain couple's treatment or lack of airtime then it can end up hurting the show. I have no doubt in my mind that one of the reasons that JER's 2nd term has stunk so much is all the constant rewrites. And you could tell that much of what we saw on the screen was rushed and rewritten. Things just changed so many times too quickly or too unevenly for me not to know that.

I think the couple thing may be one of the things that helped lead to Matthew Ashford's firing this time. If I were Corday and knowing the backlash of the last few years over J/J fans, I would be scared to even try and keep them apart. It is so much easier to put them back together and give them a happy ending. It is the best way to appease most fans. They can go off happily together and if budgets get better then they can be brought back later.

Gotcha!

As an admitted "couple-watcher" (and apparent post-whore) I'll try to tackle this one. I honestly believe that if the writing is strong and compelling, you will have Days watchers instead of couple watchers. When the writing is a awful as it is right now, you're pretty much left with the charisma of the actors to keep you tuning in. That's going to cause you to be over-invested in individual characters or couples because there's certainly nothing about their stories to keep you glued to the screen.

I started watching Days back in the late 70s or early 80s. My earliest memories of Days are Doug and Julie and Marie and Alex. I was a fairly regular watcher until the character of Patch started getting screentime. Because of him I started taping and refused to miss an episode. I was heavily, heavily invested in him and his story with Kayla. But I kept watching after he died. I tried to anyway. Over the next two or three years the writing just got worse and worse. I gave up. Every once in a blue moon I would tune back in to see what was happening and it was always so bad the stories just never pulled me back in. I think the last time I tried watching was when Marlena was possessed by Satan and it was honestly so ludicrous I laughed and turned the channel.

Honestly, nothing would have brought me back to the show except Steve and Kayla's return. I started watching the show in May again to get caught up, and if it weren't for my investment in the couple, the absolute dreck I was seeing on the screen would have had me changing the channel again. The writing is getting a little better but it's still nowhere near compelling enough to have me watching if it weren't for Steve and Kayla. Honestly, if I thought it were going to stay this bad, not even Steve and Kayla could keep me watching but for the moment, they're the only thing keeping me watching. (I love Jack but I wouldn't be watching just for him).

Let's take a best case scenario: Hogan Sheffer comes in and turns the show around. He and his staff start writing a compelling drama that deals intelligently with complex storylines and characters involved with each other in all kinds of ways - romantically, familially, professionally, etc. If he accomplishes that, I'll be watching for the show itself, not just Steve and Kayla. And if SN and/or MBE were to leave the show, I'd keep watching as long as the show was compelling.

Right now, I just don't think the writing is strong enough that you can ask viewers to be invested/loyal because of the show itself. Hopefully that will change.

I agree with some of your points and some I strongly disagree with. The couple thing has plagued Days long before JER's 2nd stint. It was one of the things that most likely made Higley's stint even worse. They worked during her stint to appease all the fan bases by having the couples together. And the stories with the couples together stunk - esp. J/J and the talk show and Bo & Hope as private detectives. Oh I hated those stories. Even during JER's first stint (great writing then) the fan bases were starting to dictate things. Don't get me wrong fan bases serve their purpose and are great for the show, but unfortunately with Days they have gotten out of hand. Every couple fan base wants their couple front and center, and they can't always be. Some one has to take their time on the backburner - and I don't mean off the screen completely but backburnered.

As the fan bases, have grown they have dictated changes to the show. And sometimes these changes hurt the continuity of the story as planned and they are obvious on the screen too. Some have said that JER intentionally wrote the couples all apart to hurt the show. It would fit in with the scenario I think too place. I think JER had big plans for the show with the SSK story. The writing was on fire. We were getting great performances. Ratings were getting better, and talk about the show was even higher than it is now. I am one who feel sure that things changed from what his original plans were. I think Corday paniced with the fan backlash, and ordered the story changed. I think it was only then the Island thing came into play. Up until then the story had mystery to it, and the writing and planning to the story seemed way too contrived at this point. I think as his plans were thwarted with everything he tried to do, I think he probably did get mad. And I think the rumor is true that he wrote things the way he did to get back at Corday and maybe even the fan bases. JER was such a better writer the first stint on Days, and he was looking good when he returned. But even though I enjoyed the last 6 months, I know that he could have done better. I think writing 2 shows was part of it, but once that wasn't all of it.

As I said and the debate will go on forever, but even though fan bases are a good thing, they will be what will either make or break Days. And how Hogie deals with them will be the determining factor. If Hogie fails, then I honestly think there is no hope for Days.

The Roman/Kate scenes worked today for me. The writing for them was much better than it ever was during the whole time Hackley had them together.

Abby and Max are it, I don't care what anyone else says. They could be a couple to root for. I can't root for a man and a niece by adoption to get together. This is why I also don't what Max and Stephanie together either. Just once DAYS, keep it out of the family.

Austin Peck was really good today. I don't know what it is, but he's given his character some more life since coming back. If the show could get him away from Sami...Kate said it best when she said how Austin always has to rescue her and their relationship was always like that.

Belle and Philip were tolerable, but Mimi, good god...I hate her, I hate her, I HATE her and want her to die!

It was nice seeing Maggie, Caroline, and Alice. Alice and that red ensemble---I think it's an omen of things to come.

After today's ep, I can totally buy a Hope/Patrick pairing.

I didn't realize Sofia Landon Grier was an actress.

There is no way to ignore that Patrick Lockhart belongs in prison for his past hitman stunt and he is still a member of the organization or he'd be whittled to bits like poor Alma. He'll get his just desserts before this is over if Hope doesn't become the mobs target to get him back in line.

I'm not hung up on characters with relatives beyond blood 2nd cousins. It's legal and if it's legal, go for it.

Steve and Kirk I agree 100%. The whole fanbase thing worries the hell out of me and I know it played a huge role in Matt Ashford being fired. Matt was so sure a few weeks ago he was staying and now it changes. Corday got afraid to do anything with Jack alone or with a Jen recast and let him go rather then risk more reaction from the J&J fanbase. Fanbases will either help or kill this show. I keep hearing if there was good writing people would not care but you know I still think people will only watch for one couple or actor. Days is the only one with fans like this. The other shows don't-people watch for the show not for certain people or couples. Plus, no show has to deal with the backlash Days does when a couple is broken up.

I hope Days just stays strong and when they break up couples they go all the way. The fanbases are important but when it gets to the point wheere the Corday and any writer Days has always has to cave in it gets sickening. Fans need to let Days control the stories. By all means let them know what you want but fanbases should never influence the writing on any show this much.

I think Days will be fine but I do think some people, no one on here but in general, need to be more accepting like they were in the 80's and 90's. I mean fanbases boycott and quit watching way too easily now which shows Days has a wide range of fans that only care for a couple or character and that should not be. I never knew Days had so many fans that are fans of certain characters before they are fans of the show. It worries me-alot.

They really, really, really need to pursue a Max/Abby romance. DAYS fans know what couples would be good, why are the writers so predictable?

Ugh! I disagree. Max should reform Chelsea. He's obviously in love with her. Now, if she DOESN'T catch a clue and stop this hard-to-get CRAP, then yeah, he might as well move on to Abby. I just cannot BELIEVE how badly my girl is treating her man! WHAT a !@#$%^&*]!!! Take it before you lose it, Chels! Damn, !@#$%^&*]!!

I liked a few things about today, namely Maggie. I really liked her scenes with Lucas and Carrie, and the telegram, as well. It was also nice seeing EJ, after his long absence.

Oooooh, myyyyy God. This was the first ep. I've seen in about a week so maybe I missed something before, but this, for me, was the FIRST time we saw the beginning of EJ turning evil. I LOVED IT!!! I so can't wait for him to rock Sami's world!!!!

Gawd, they SO do! Max and Abby would be all kinds of cute and hot.

Max and Chelsea, on the other hand...

Nympho Kayla is awesome!

Tell me about it! I was afraid they weren't going to go there and thought Kayla might be a prude even though this man, though he doesn't remember her, was her husband. But for weeks now, I've SCREAMED at my TV set, "SCREW him, SCREW him, SCREW him!!! That's the BEST way to get him to remember!!!" Thank God, Kayla finally got the hint!!

Ever since the past week or so, I haven't been able to stand Steve/Kayla, because it's so obvious that they're in rewrite rut from what was scrapped with Reilly's stuff, tweaked, still airing for the rest of the month. I thought the lead-in for their first kiss was lamer than a handful of earthworms. The passion's still there, but where's the tension, dude?

My issue with incest on any level on the show is it limits the future. The closer families get, the harder it is for any kind of real story to take place as the years go by. This is why the show is in a rut, majorly, outside of the actual writing.

I liked Austin today He was I daresay hilarious in his drunk pining for Carrie and it wasn't dead obvious either.

Tell me about it! I was afraid they weren't going to go there and thought Kayla might be a prude even though this man, though he doesn't remember her, was her husband.

Kayla a prude? Nah. She was always hot for Steve's body and never afraid to show it. *g*

Keith, I agree about the tension/lack of buildup but in this particular case I think it's deliberate. The scene in the office wasn't a natural extension of attraction. It was trying to force something that isn't quite there yet. The attraction's there but the emotion behind it isn't, at least not on his part. I think once we see Steve initiating some of the contact we'll be in a different situation altogether and you'll see the slow buildup of tension (they're amazing at that when it's what they're going for).

I also agree about being able to "feel" that they're working with rewrites here. I'll be glad when all the writing crap is settled and there's an actual plan in place.

I would rather have all this rewritten stuff then what we were getting with JER. You just know a 3rd party was involved somewhere. I actually heard rumors that Jack get involved with Kayla. I think that is why JER would have kept Matt-to make a Frankie/Jen/Jack/Kayla/Steve story which would be disgusting. I am glad whatever it was was scrapped. I didn't mind the buildup though-like GBB said it was about forcing something that Steve is clueless about. I found no problem with it.

Great show today..one thing i noticed was Kayla mentioning that when john and marlena get back that Steve should see Marlena for help getting his memory back..I think this is a great story idea..I'm literally salvating at the idea of steve and marlena scenes...

The Lumi and Carrie and Austin dances were great..I hate carcus, but their being married really complicates things..so i'm okay with that..Plus i have a feeling carrie might not be pregnant..

Ej and Kate--very interesting..really enjoying him..and the Kate and Roman scenes were good as well..

Shimi/Shelle---at least this story is moving somewhere..and quickly for that matter...

And andre add me as a fan who is loving Max, Chelsea, and Abby...they really have a great younger set...

Oh and the music with Kayla and Steve was just great, very old school..and a nice fade out..Well done!!