Even though I haven't been posting in my blog, I still try to drop a couple comments on the Days Hulu page to get my voice out there. The thing is, I usually try to speak up whenever I want to let them know that I think they're doing something right...but not always. There's already so many negative comments out there that are probably already saying what I'm thinking. And I think it's important for the folks at Days to know what things ARE working, not just what isn't. Last night, however--I kind of snapped. The show has gotten SO AWFUL that I couldn't hold back my negativity anymore. So I left this comment:
If only I could use swear words.
I know it's presumptuous to assume the folks at Days even READ my comments, and I admittedly don't know how much of a factor social media feedback actually factors into their decision making, but I figure there's got to be SOMEONE over there who is paid to read viewer responses on Hulu and analyze their feedback. If there isn't--hire me already!
So as I stated in my Hulu comment, "there are simply TOO MANY PROBLEMS to address in one comment. I need to write an essay." Lucky for me--I have a blog! So here is my extended run down of the main areas (i.e. all of them) that need to be fixed at Days when these new changes kick in.
The Writing
First and foremost, the writing on this show is atrocious right now. It baffles me that these writers have been in the industry as long as they have when their output is as bad as it is. I'm thrilled to know that the current team of Christopher Whitesell and Gary Tomlin have been canned, however of all the people to bring back, they decided on Dena Higley...again. WHY? I suppose she has a better grasp on Days than the the previous two writing teams have, but lets not forget that the last time she was working for the show in 2011, they FIRED her ass and decided to hire former "Passions" writers to replace her. Brilliant move. But hey, Days was in need of a facelift and I was all for the change. It unfortunately never occurred to me that things could get worse.
Austin's here to tell you that "New Days are coming!"
The new writing team of Marlene Clark Poulter and Darrell Ray Thomas Jr was a total misfire and they were soon fired as well, however because of Days' accelerated filming schedule, it would take months before episodes by the new writers would air. Finally in August 2012, the changes kicked in and we got our current writers Whitesell and Tomlin. Again the change was welcome, but we ended up trading in crap for shit. Sure, the "Daysaster" was exciting:
Kiss your ass goodbye, Madeline.
Let's break down the current storylines, shall we?
Eve and JJ's Affair
Unrealistic Intuition is a problem that many characters on the show suffer from, not just Paige. If there's anything I can't stand, it's when writers allow characters to come to a conclusion without having them actually go through the necessary processes that are needed to realistically come to said conclusion. They have characters pull shit out of thin air, make them way more observant than any real person would be, and have them harp on things that no one would ever really harp on in reality. It's called LAZY writing and it is used in abundance on Days. An example:
Daniel's Jacket. They are really stretching it with this one. They've been building up this damn "smoking gun" jacket to be the evidence that will finally expose Eve and JJ's affair. I might not remember all the details because the situation is just so mind-numbingly stupid and unbelievable, but apparently JJ borrowed this jacket from Daniel on one of his nightly visits to Eve and Paige comes home to find the jacket hanging over a chair. She realizes her mom has a visitor, BURNS THE IMAGE OF THAT JACKET INTO HER BRAIN, later recognizes it as Daniel's and then assumes he must have been the visitor. Maggie then conveniently has a clothing drive for the church that she's suddenly so involved in and Daniel conveniently decides to give the coat away to charity. Somehow even Maggie knows that JJ loves this jacket (yet Paige has never seen him wear it once) and is concerned that Daniel should give the jacket to JJ instead of donating it to the church. I lost track of the saga of the traveling damn jacket at this point because it's all so stupid and contrived, but it's looking like the jacket will allow everyone to finally put the pieces of the puzzle together. Who would even notice the jacket? After all this time, who would even remember?
These sorts of unrealistic situations and deductions are so commonplace it would be laughable if it weren't so sad.
Another lazy tactic the current writers constantly throw out there are interruptions/obstacles/plot devices to move the story along that are in no way actually connected to the overall plot of the show. When a character needs to leave a scene, what happens? A cell phone rings. "Oh, that's the hospital--I have to take this. It's really important." Really? Then why aren't we following this storyline if its so damn important?
On a show like General Hospital, the cell phone interruption is also commonplace, however it is always used with purpose and connected to an existing character or situation. "Alexis, you need to get to the hospital immediately. Julian has been shot...again." Exit Alexis. "Anna? I need you to get over to the Quartermaine mansion right now to arrest a trespassing." Exit Anna. GH does a fantastic job of utilizing the shared universe that the characters exist in and it helps them establish a connectivity that enhances the illusion that their world is real and alive. Everything is connected. Days used to have this, but now consistenly fails to utilize it--because it takes work. The other day on Days there was a brownout at JJ's concert? Just a random damn brownout. Why couldn't it have been caused by an explosion that Stefano set off ? Or because Brady ran into a telephone pole after being drugged by Theresa's boyfriend? Or because Marlena got possessed by the devil again and was trying to seduce John by lowering the lights. Maybe Days writers are paid by the hour, so they can't take the time to work inter-connectivity into their scripts. But I doubt it.
Anyway! Getting back to the JJ/Eve/Paige triangle, another giant issue I have with this storyline is with Jennifer. Jenn is now aware that her son is boffing her old nemesis, so what does Jenn do with this information? Blackmails Eve into helping JJ and Paige get back together. Classic Jenn. No wait--that's not Jenn at all. Why in the world would Jennifer ever support her son lying to his girlfriend about something so huge and disgusting? It's absurd. Jenn should have just told her son to move the fuck on. There are other fish in the sea--ones that are not nearly as needy and annoying as Paige. What does JJ even see in this chick? As a viewer--I don't see it at all. Why are these two fighting to be a couple? What have they gone through together? If they put together a montage of all their greatest moments, what would it be? Them picking up trash on the street? JJ fucked up the relationship before the the fans ever had time to give two shits about it.
Here's what I actually want to happen: for JJ to choose Eve. I know most fans are disgusted by their relationship, but I think it's WAY more intriguing than JJ's relationship with Paige. Yes there's a huge age difference with Eve, but the idea of JJ falling in love with his ex-girlfriend's mother who is also his own mother's worst enemy makes for a much more interesting conflict.
Theresa's Pregnancy
Also, there's this:
My favorite new VILF (Villain I'd Love to Fuck)
I love that Melanie is involved here too and I hope she continues to stay involved. She and Theresa together are a lot of fun. And the less time Melanie spends with Serena and her god damned elephants, the better.
Those God Damned Elephants
So here we go with Serena making 491 attempts to switch out the elephants, which is completely unnecessary in the first place since all she needs to do is take the diamonds out of the secret compartment in the figure. She doesn't have to switch anything so who cares about the elephant itself and who cares if there were two? There didn't need to be two! So why are you harping on the fact that there were two, Nicole? Way to over-analyze a situation and focus on something that really isn't significant.
Hope and Aiden
But at least Aiden finally revealed something that I honestly didn't see coming. CHASE IS A PSYCHOTIC MURDERER! Fantastic. Turn him into the next Salem Stalker and maybe we'll actually have a story to work with here.
But seriously, Aiden. What was your train of thought when hiding Chase's bloody clothes? Was inside the wall not a permanent enough hiding place? Did you plan all along to come back and remove them should you ever sell the cabin? What would you do after you removed them? Destroy the evidence? If that's the case, WHY DIDN'T YOU DESTROY THE EVIDENCE IN THE FIRST PLACE? There are so many problems with his story, if I were Hope I would assumed that the clothes in the wall were the clothes of child Aiden had killed along with his wife.
Clyde Weston
What can I possibly say about Clyde Weston that the entire Days fanbase hasn't said already? Terrible? Horrible? Redneck? Totally NOT charming? I lost all respect for Kate when she fell for this country bumpkin dime store crook. It's absolutely insulting to EJ that a buffoon like Clyde is the one who did him in. I was so hopeful when Victor had him shot, but oy these writers. They think they've created a classic charismatic villain, but all they've created is a mistake.
Abby, Chad, and Ben
What's even going on with this story? It's pretty repetitive and uninteresting, consisting mostly of Chad screwing with Ben, Ben punching Chad, Abby getting mad, and then Chad admitting he was wrong. I have no idea where things are going or why I should care. Abby and Ben are yet another couple that is just "together." They didn't have to fight to be together or anything. There were no real obstacles in their relationship. They just got together and now here they are taking up space. At least they're pretty. I'll lump the Brady/Melanie relationship into this category too. I love them together, but their relationship had no journey, no struggle, no romance. It simply just came to be.
Will, Sonny, and Paul
Again, what can I possibly say about Will that hasn't been said? Poor Guy Wilson has about two fans in this world. It's sad but true that he's absolutely terrible. He was hard enough to like when he was still a good guy. But now that he's a lying, cheating, blackmailing ass hole, I'm wishing I still had Jordan and her resting bitch face!
Will Horton encapsulates another problem the current writing team has--creating villains you love to hate. They've had some success with Nick and Kristen, however JJ, Theresa, and now Will are just completely irredeemable. JJ and Theresa eventually came around, however when they first came to the show they were unlikable, unsympathetic, and incredibly annoying. Will is taking this to a whole new level through his inability to take responsibility for any of his actions. Sami was guilty of this same character flaw, however she was so enjoyably twisted that you couldn't help but love her. Not so much the case with Will. And maybe it's more an issue of poor casting in Guy Wilson. Either way--get rid of him! Why would Sonny want to stay with this fucker when he could have Paul? Or better yet...
Was this always hiding under that bellhop uniform?
Derrick. Good Night! Where was this hunk-a-saurus when they were casting the new Will?? Spencer Neville looks a lot more like Chandler than Guy does and holy mother of God that "V".
Aside from Will being terrible, he's also a sufferer of Unrealistic Intuition. He gets from A to Z by way of 1, 2, 3. One single photograph of Paul's mother on the DiMera property and suddenly Paul is the son of Stefano. Reaching much? We all know that Paul is going to turn out to be John's son (unless John's involvment is a clever mislead, though I don't give the writers enough credit to come up with something that sneaky) and that Will is wrong about Tori's connection to the DiMera's, but that's not what the issue is when it comes to these lazy writers. Even though Will is wrong, he is still putting together pieces of a puzzle that aren't even there. Will would have to be a fucking psychic to come to these conclusions. It's not like he found a picture of a pregnant Tori Narita wrapped in Peter Blake's arms. His deduction, based on a picture of her by a lake, is ludicrous.
This is just one more example of the piss poor clunky-ass writing that we get with Days.
The Music
Moving on from the writing, I'd like to focus on another aspect of the show that doesn't get nearly as much attention--the music. Occasionally I'll see the typical "Eve Moaning Theme" complaint from other viewers, which I agree is so bad that it's funny, but the background music in general has really taken a backseat. I remember when characters and couples used to have THEMES. Why did that go away? Are character themes considered outdated now? If they are, I strongly disagree. Good background music is something I miss desperately on this show. In the 80s, we had the brilliant Mary Davich compose dozens of memberable themes that they played throughout each episodes. The 90s brought in a new batch, as did the early 2000s. But for the last 5 or so years, the music they've used has for the most part been forgettable or laughably bad--the moaning. I would gladly buy the old soundtracks if they were available but unfortunately my only option is to rip them from old clips on the internet.
One of my old faves from the mid 90s.
A good soundtrack sets the mood and can really enhance a scene. Yet for some reason we rarely hear a good cue anymore. Suspenseful ones get the blood rushing and sad ones literally make you cry. I wish to God they'd either bring back some of the older, less dated cues, or at least invite Marty back to create a new batch of classics.
The Casting
Whoever is in charge of casting needs to be fired. I've seen better acting in porn! It's mind boggling to me how some of these folks get hired. I often wonder--"did they only audition two people and a pigeon???" Was there any competition at all? Or does the Days casting dept (and every other dept for that matter) just take the "good enough" approach. Not all of the poor casting choices are bad actors though. Some of them are talented, they just have the unfortunate luck of being given a horrible character or story. But regardless, several of these actors need to be let go.
Sashay Away
Paige Larson
Tori Narita
I feel bad about this one because Tori is such a cutie pie and I like her character...but the actress playing her is not the strongest. Tori has the potential to become a major player in Salem, and if she's going to be mixing it up with the likes of John and Marlena in the future, they're really going to need someone who can keep up. John might be over the top and ridiculous sometimes, but he's JOHN! He's LEGEND! 
Will Horton
Guy Wilson was a complete disaster. What were they thinking with this one? I don't usually like to bring up looks, but...no. You don't go from Chandler Massey to this. We need another recast pronto on this one. I feel for the guy, and behind the scenes I'm sure he is the greatest guy in the world...but y'all fucked up on this one, Days. Admit your boo boo, rip that band aid off quick, and then bring in Spencer Neville to kiss it and make it better.
Aiden Jennings
Daniel Cosgrove is a competent enough actor, but he just hasn't done it for me since 90210. He may have eventually won Hope over, but I still haven't warmed up to him. He was such a dick to Hope in the beginning and I guess I never got over how rude he was. Like, I know you've got issues and baggage, but there's no excuse for being an ass hole. I don't mean acting like an ass hole, I mean being an ass hole.
Clyde Weston
Ugh. Again, I don't think James Read is a bad actor, but who decided it would be a good idea to make him into a country bumpkin with a southern drawl? If they insisted he be a redneck, they could at least cast a real one. As a southerner, there's nothing more annoying to deal with than a character with a phony southern accent. (I'm looking at you Rick Grimes). I'll bet James Read is actually very charming in real life, but turn on that god awful accent and my ass hole clenches. You ain't gettin' in there, Mr. Weston! No ma'am!
Rafe Hernandez
I'm the cheese standing alone on this one. I don't think anyone else out there dislikes Rafe the way I do. Lucky for me, his character has become pretty damn pointless lately and doesn't do much. Hopefully he'll fade away and we'll never hear from him again...I'm not holding my breath though. His pact with satan remains in tact and he'll be on daytime till the day he dies, I have no doubt. But even I can't deny he's one handsome devil and the man doesn't age! 
Shante You Stay
Chad DiMera
Chad is one of the few recasts that I really love. He's a talented actor AND super hot! We got the whole package with this one. He also seems much more mature than the original Chad, which is good considering the way they're writing him. I couldn't see Casey Deidrick at all those boardroom meetings with Kate and Stefano. Billy Flynn is a welcome addition and if I were Abigail, I would be going DiMera again in no time.
Paul Narita
Paul might not be the strongest actor (getting emotional is not his greatest trick), but I do like him. I also think it's great to finally have an Asian on the show that isn't one of Stefano's concubines. (Although of course they're trying to connect Tori to Stefano.)
Theresa Donovan
Theresa started out as another irredeemable, unlikable villain, doing terrible things to good people for no reason other than she's cruel and selfish. They've done a good job of turning her into a more sympathetic and vulnerable character capable of being liked by the audience. I even root for her now! Also, Jenn Lilley is a great actress. I felt bad they'd given such a talented girl such an unlikable role, but I'm happy to see that turning around.
Eric Brady
Now that Eric isn't a priest anymore, he's a treat! Too bad he's being bogged down by the mess that is the SAGA OF THE ELEPHANTS. Keep Eric around, but give him a new storyline and a new love interest. Keep him away from Nicole though. I don't think I can take their back and forth bull shit anymore.
Clint
Excuse me while I drool on myself. Clint hasn't been a major player so far, but I'm enjoying the hell out of him! He's a great DiMera henchman and a hottie at that.
Riding the Line
Serena Mason
While I hate her storyline to death, I recognize that she's a good actress and I don't necessarily want her to leave, just her story...and those god forsaken elephants.
Daniel Jonas
If they stop writing Daniel like a hyper-sensitive bitch, I'll like him again. But lately he's just annoying...and Unrealistically Intuitive. "I KNOW something is going on with JJ! He was sad yesterday--but now he's happy! Tell me what it is since I'm NEVER going to let it go even though it's none of my god damned business!" That's been his dialogue for two weeks now. Fix it, Jesus.
Eve Donovan
Eve is another actress that I love, but can't get on board for her story and I don't think I'll be able to until they recast Paige.
JJ Deveraux
JJ is in the same boat as Eve. Just get him away from Paige and I'll be able to handle him. Paige is bringing everyone around her down...well, her and the writers.
Ben Rogers
He's hot...he can sort of act...but his family is the worst family to hit Salem since...ever...
Sonny Kiriakis
People like Sonny. And I do too. But from the beginning, I have not bought his performances. They usually fall kind of flat, however he did do some excellent work during the episodes when he confronted Will about sleeping with Paul. He really surprised me! But that's the thing--I shouldn't be surprised by a good performance. Impressed maybe, but not surprised. I used to think Chandler overshadowed Freddie as an actor and that Freddie was the weaker half of Will and Sonny. BOY has Guy Wilson reversed that opinion. Now I freaking love Sonny just because I can't stand Will!
The Sets
Moving onto the problem of the Sets, this is an area that I feel is most closely related to the budget cuts the show has gotten over the years. It's unfortunate and I don't think there's much they can do to fix this, but there are certain things I really wish they would put some money towards. If they need to free up some dough, cut a couple of actors--PLEASE!The thing with soap opera sets is that there's no hiding that they're indoor sets. It's obvious they're not filming on location but as an audience, we suspend our disbelief and buy into the illusion. The thing is, there are things they can do to help make that illusion more believable that they just don't do anymore. A light breeze, a little fog, light reflecting off the water. Back when they actually used to use the pier as a set, these subtle touches really painted a picture of where the characters were. Eventually, they dropped all of that and replaced it with bright lighting. A set that used to look like a waterfront basically took on the illusion of being a well lit alley way. I remember a later scene where EJ fished Sami's engagment ring out of the river and I was all thrown, like--this is still supposed to be a Pier???
One of the more painful scenes from recent memory that truly displayed how the restrained budget can affect the show's quality was during the huge "gala" event that Hope and Aiden put together. They built it up for months and I was looking forward to the possiblity of seeing a "nurses ball" caliber celebration. Knowing the budget woes, I didn't get my hopes too high up because I figured they would end up finding a way to work around showing the actual gala. Sure enough, they did. Everyone got all dressed up to go hang out in a freaking storage room (the old set for Kristen's hotel room, as if the fan's wouldn't notice!) It was pathetic. Maggie would stroll into the room and say, "Wow, this gala is a HUGE success! There are tons of people out there!" But of course we never see these people since Days can't afford to pay that many extras to be party guests. We just have to take Maggie's word for it that they're all out there having a blast. The only glimpse we get of the actual gala is through a monitor as everyone backstage watches Marlena's speech.
Painful stuff, folks. Absolutely painful.
So while the set situation is a definitely problem, it's an understandable one, and one that I feel they can work around and still make a good soap. But the things they can't work around are subpar writing and casting disasters. You would think that the producers and people in charge would be able to see these gigantic flaws before they hit the screen, but unfortunately its not until the viewers and the fans get a chance to see the final product that they get the feedback they need to make changes. And that leads us into the next glaring problem with Days:
The Production Schedule
Days of our Lives films about 4.5 months in advance. I imagine since they're not doing many set changes or location shoots filming gets done fairly quickly. But this gigantic time gap is a tremendous problem which leaves me to wonder why they continue to adhere to it! From a storytelling stand point, it makes it almost impossible to surprise viewers with casting changes. If a character makes a surprise return, it's going to be pretty hard to keep that secret under wraps for FOUR MONTHS vs less than 4 weeks like a regular soap. The bigger problem with a 4.5 month advance shooting schedule is that when a character or storyline airs and it falls flat with the audience, these situations need to be fixed FAST. When they finally do admit their mistake with Will (or Guy Wilson decides to "move on" to bigger better things), we are still going to have to sit through four and a half more months of shitty Will before we can finally get the recast we've been wanting. For me, it's torture but at least they know I'm in it through the good and bad. But for the casual fans? This is DEATH! They're not going to keep watching this crap. And with folks like Jordan, Will, Clyde, and Paige running around, people will be leaving in droves.
It's remarkable to me that Days hasn't been cancelled yet with so many things working against it! I'm curious what the actors think about the status of the show. Are they as deluded as the writers and producers? I follow Deidre Hall on facebook and she's always rainbows and butterflies, posting selfies with every actor on the show. And I'm sure she loves working with these folks because they're nice people, but is anyone PROUD of the product they're putting out there? I understand it's their job to promote the show and be positive about things, but it must be hard sometimes.
And while the actors have their personal social media outlets where they can put on that happy face (while their souls die little by little), the show has it's own crew of facebook promoters that do their best to put a positive spin on a hopeless disaster. Luckily they usually stick to funny quotes from Victor, but sometimes I just shake my head and give them the big Rory eyeroll. Let me pull up a gem from the official Days of our Lives facebook fan page:
Two thousand comments saying "The moment she left." Priceless
I really feel for those poor folks in charge of social media that have to think of creative ways to make this show seem interesting. They should focus on Throwback Thursday a little bit more because they past is the only thing that Days of our Lives has going for it. I'd rather watch 80s reruns than anything airing today.
So there you have it. My GIANT ASS COMMENT that wouldn't fit on Hulu. I hate that I'm able to rant on this long because the show is that terrible, but here's twist--I LOVE THIS SHOW! Obviously I love it, otherwise I wouldn't get so worked up about it getting so bad and take an entire evening to go online and bitch and moan about how it needs to change. I know this show has the potential to be fantastic and I know how absolutely incredible it has been! So when these fuckers go and put MY SOAP in danger of cancellation, I get pretty damn beyond infuriated. I'll be downright possessed by the devil and go Marlena Evans on their asses if they don't turn this show around. But lets hope it doesn't come to that. We've got Steve on the way, and Steve makes everything a-ok.
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