Days of Our Lives Watching Days of Our Lives

[tommie]

The scab writers' material just NOW started? Oh, I'd forgotten how far ahead they are.

Bill Hayes will apparently appear through June...

 

[Monzo]

I always imagined Salem as a nice little town, at least that's the impression you got when you saw the narrow bench in the small city park on which one or another character sat when they talked to themselves. But in the last few weeks there have been more outdoor aka computer shots and I realize how wrong I was. In Salem there is one high-rise building after another and the hospital is huge.

Where does the budget actually come from to suddenly hire actors who were previously seen in primetime? John Kapelos' Konstantin is no stranger on primetime. NuTate Leo Howard was on Legacies and primetime soap fans know AnnaLynne McCord anyway.

 

[Daniel Avery]

Soap producers have a bad habit of "expanding" their setting that way. Port Charles (the setting for General Hospital) had been this small town in western New York, but eventually became "the largest inland port in the US" and ELQ (the family company owned by the Quartermaines) "the largest privately-held corporation in the world". Genoa City (setting for The Young and the Restless) went from sleepy town in the midwest where Phillip Chancellor was considered the richest man in town only because he owned a factory that employed people in town. Over time, the off-screen factory became "Chancellor Enterprises" and Katherine (his widow) was always seen dripping in jewels and living large. Now Genoa City is depicted with multiple skyscrapers and the (unlikely) national hub for cosmetics companies. It seems to be the sort of "mission creep" all soaps fall into eventually. On the one hand, it gives writers the option to depict their locale as having a lot more going on offscreen that can be pulled from if needed....but it also loses that whole "small town" vibe where everyone knows everyone's business and are inter-linked. it's also a bit silly to think that a small town like Salem would be a magnet for international criminals, corporate raiders, and of course....Satan.

 

[CaptainKC]

That all started with 'Dynasty'. Every thing had to be big, big, big! Even 'Dallas' began dressing the women up in more lavish outfits -- whereas previously they women looked like they were on a ranch. It's kinda silly that all of these fictional cities are now supposedly grandiose - yet we only see the same people running into each other day after day. The small town settings made more sense in that regard.

 

[Monzo]

I think the temp writers continue to do a good job on Days, but making Abigail the subject again is a very bad idea. In July 2022, Abigail was killed and she is still an issue. Chad has been grieving for almost two years and everyone watching knows that Abigail will eventually turn up alive. Nevertheless, writers can't leave Abigail in peace and the rewrite of why she was murdered makes no sense at all, because if Jack knew that Abigail wanted to uncover a drug ring in Salem, he would have advised the police to investigate in that direction.

I always find scenes between Dan Feuerriegel and Jessica Serfaty amusing, because Dan Feuerriegel doesn't manage to hide how much he wants to "seduce" Jessica Serfaty, but she's certainly not stupid enough to cheat on her millionaire husband Leonardo (Maria) Del Vecchio with a daytime colleague.

 

[Monzo]

Ron C really has an ego that is rare. In the very first scene of the first episode since the writers strike, he makes it clear that the temp writers have done a bad job by Leo talking about the poor quality of the Spectator in the last few months. Next, a guy has to take his clothes off for a hot dream shower sex scene. And of course there is a bitch fight with a slap in the face.

Isn't this the third time on Days that a DID storyline has been told under Ron C's regime? Apparently he has a fondness for this topic.

Ron C's writing is both: stupid and cool. I wonder what a primetime soap would be like under his direction. The first season could be very good, but after that it would probably quickly become a mess.

 

[Monzo]

It's rare that an actor who dies unexpectedly actually has great final scenes on his show, but thankfully that was the case for Bill Hayes. When the episode started and Doug raved to Julie and Kayla about how great it is to stream Yellowstone on Peacock, I feared the worst for Doug's final episode, but his final scene with just Julie as they talked about their love and kissed at the end of the scene was very, very beautiful.

 

[Jason73]

It's rare that an actor who dies unexpectedly actually has great final scenes on his show, but thankfully that was the case for Bill Hayes. When the episode started and Doug raved to Julie and Kayla about how great it is to stream Yellowstone on Peacock, I feared the worst for Doug's final episode, but his final scene with just Julie as they talked about their love and kissed at the end of the scene was very, very beautiful.

I was shocked by how incredibly perfect it was. It couldn't have been a better final scene if they planned it. I even wondered if some of the scene/audio had been manufactured. Days hasn't made me cry in decades, but I'll admit I teared up at their final scenes.

 

[Daniel Avery]

As Kelly Bundy once said, "the mind wobbles..."
BREAKING NEWS: Ron Carlivati Exiting Days of Our Lives - Daytime Confidential

The article is the typical stuff we get when a Head Writer (or EP or anyone in high regard) leaves, but the final line is like the punchline to a joke:

Carlivati's episodes will air through April 2025.

 

[Jason73]

I'm happy and excited for the change but April 2025?? Their taping schedule is absolutely ridiculous.

 

[Monzo]

I think Ron C saved Days just like he saved General Hospital, but just like with GH, there comes a point where he doesn't develop as a head writer and just repeats himself. Days, with his past of bizarre plots, and Ron C actually fit together really well, but at some point his stories just felt like fan fiction (Satan, afterlife). Still, I wonder why he has to go now. A few weeks ago I read that 700,000 people stream Days on Peacock every day. Is that too few for a production like this?

Maybe Ron C left on his own and we'll see him on The Gates soon?!? Hopefully he won't return to GH. It would be interesting to see him as head writer for B&B, but Bradley Bell probably won't allow that.

 

[Jason73]

I am a little worried about the future of the gays on Days. Ron and writers in the writers room seemed committed to having gay characters on the canvas. I was hoping for a longer term return of Paul and especially Andrew in the near future. I'd also really like Grant Tinker's Sonny back on a regular basis. I wonder if the new (previous) head writers will want to continue with any of those characters.

All in all, if the new head writers return to a more traditional style of story telling and ease way back on all the camp, it will be a welcome change for me.

 

[Daniel Avery]

I've read a lot of "exit statements" from Head Writers over the years. Ron C's statement was one of a writer who did NOT want to leave but was trying to keep it classy. It seems as if every Writer's Strike features one "coup" involving a Head Writer who went on strike and ultimately returned---only to be replaced permanently by the scab(s) who ghost-wrote the show during the strike.

I enjoyed Ron's work on OLTL and GH, but his problem (IMO) is that he "overstays his welcome," or stays on even after he starts to fall into his "re-Ron" habit.

 

[Jason73]

I've read a lot of "exit statements" from Head Writers over the years. Ron C's statement was one of a writer who did NOT want to leave but was trying to keep it classy.

I had the same thought--he was just saying the vaguest, most polite, bare minimum platitudes to be professional. He's not happy.

only to be replaced permanently by the scab(s) who ghost-wrote the show during the strike.

Were his replacements writing during the strike? I didn't realize that. The strike storylines were not great.

I enjoyed Ron's work on OLTL and GH, but his problem (IMO) is that he "overstays his welcome," or stays on even after he starts to fall into his "re-Ron" habit.

I agree and I agree with @Monzo that Ron probably saved Days, but it was beyond time for him to go. The show as it currently stands, feels more like a spoof of a soap than an actual soap to me. Ron did a lot to honor Days' legacy and history, but I don't know that I needed more devil stuff and I can't forgive him for how he recast and ruined Diana Collville's character.

 

[Jason73]

Friday's episode was very enjoyable--so many legacy characters front and center--Andrew, Theresa, Sonny, Alex, Sarah, Brady plus Stephanie in the background. Of course it was a shame that Kim and Shane weren't there and also Sarah's father Neil, who didn't even get a mention as far as I noticed. Also a shame that Maggie, while officiating the wedding, mentioned Victor, but not the man who raised Sarah, Mickey.

I think Xander's mom, Fiona, is going to be a fun character.

I read somewhere, Twitter I think, that Susan Seaforth Hayes in on contract now for the first time in decades. I wonder if the writers are planning on giving her a storyline or just using her as a matriarch, like Maggie. I'd love it if both Maggie and Julie were given a storyline.

 

[Monzo]

The temp writers weren't bad when it came to real storylines, like Chanel's pregnancy with the concern that the child might be disabled while Chanel's co-worker has Down Syndrome. But when they had to come up with typical Days storylines (Paulina and the snowplow) it wasn't great, but was Ron C's afterlife any better? At least the tempt writers didn't drag out their bizarre storylines like Ron C likes to do.

As for gay characters, everyone is welcome except Leo. Days had developed gay characters that felt real, but Leo is cartoonish, but now he's supposed to be redeemed through therapy with Marlena and talking to himself in a cafe or the park, but that doesn't work for me and I hope the new writers let him go.

I hope the timing gets better under the new writers. Rafe was stabbed last Friday, then he was fighting for his life on air on Monday and Tuesday, and he hasn't been seen or mentioned since. Abigail's mystery is also a bit of a thing: It's been a month since AnnaLynne McCourt was seen for the first and only time, but not much has happened in the plot since then.

Julie can be shown more, for me she is the most interesting part of the Abigail story. I'm excited to see who comes to Doug's funeral (sometime in 2025 I assume), hopefully Hope retuns for a visit. As for Doug's farewell, I don't need a dramatic death or inheritance drama like with Victor, just a nice funeral.

 

[tommie]

I had the same thought--he was just saying the vaguest, most polite, bare minimum platitudes to be professional. He's not happy.

I honestly think they were basically just waiting to replace him until they couldn't get fined for doing so soon after the strikes ended. Apparently there's some sort of rule against it, so they basically waited out the time period or his contract. Considering the slightly passive-aggressive Body & Soul storyline, it makes me wonder if he knew this was coming.

But replacing a headwriter when a new producer takes over isn't out of the ordinary and quite honestly, it was needed. As others have said, he's gone on repeat so many times and overdone his own plot tropes with face masks etc. I remember liking Cwikly's (with co-headwriter Peter Brash) in the early 2000s before Dena Higley's three month disaster run, which ushered in JER 2.0. One of the reasons why Cwikly and Brash were made to step down was inability to keep within the budget, and those days it was essentially a multi-billion dollar movie budget compared to now... but maybe that's Ford's job to keep her in line? Or maybe Brash was the issue?

Either way, we should not need to wait until April 2025 to see this stuff.

 

[Jason73]

I've been reading that Alex and Theresa are out now and the actors are switching back to playing Ben and Gwen. The actor switching is annoying to me and I'd rather have Theresa than Gwen as Theresa is a Brady. If Ciara is returning with Ben, I guess that's ok as I can take or leave her, but at least we would be losing a Kiriakis but gaining a Brady/Horton.

Alex and Theresa leaving immediately following the double wedding illustrates what has been my biggest problem with Ron's plots--it's all just plot, plot, plot we little to no long term fallout or effects. I guess the fallout is Xander dealing with the revelations but I'm not sure why they couldn't keep Theresa around to deal with the repercussions.

I wonder if the new head writers will be as enamored with Robert Scott Wilson and Ron was?

 

[Monzo]

Robert Scott Wilson's acting at the wedding wasn't as bad as expected, but I actually didn't have particularly high expectations of him. I think a spoiled brat character like Alex suits him better than a serial killer like Ben. However, since Robert Scott Wilson was Ben first, I wasn't at all open to him as Alex, and I felt the same way about Gwen and Theresa. It's strange that those actors who didn't impress me before have to come back as other characters.

The soap within the soap story is something I'm not looking forward to at all. I'm also not interested in Connie's killer journey. I always skip her scenes with Li.

 

[rlr718]

New season 60 promo has been released. I just might dive back in.