Like Sand Through an Hourglass: Behind the Scenes of DOOL

[DisneyBoy]

Oh lord.

Freddie - STOP.

[Petunia13]

3 hours ago, peachmangosteen said:

I don't know but it's up on youtube now for free lol.

But there’s ads on it so YouTube is paying them for views. He only makes like $3,000 a year off that channel according to his Social Blade. 

[methodwriter85]

13 hours ago, DisneyBoy said:

Yay for him. Did he charge people to watch the livestream online?

Sorry but I'm done with him and his weird grifting. Sucks that Will is stuck in a legacy coupling with this guy. He creeps me out.

Freddie did, however, have pretty good chemistry with Guy Wilson's Will. Guy Wilson in general seemed to be pretty good about generating the gay heat, but I remember he used to get so much shit about his looks because his looks were deemed inferior to Chandler's. My friend told me he couldn't get into Guy's Will because while Chandler had that sweet boy next door look, Guy looked like a Keebler elf. The fact that Guy Wilson put up with that type of stuff impressed me. It sounds like he still acts so I'm glad that experience didn't put him off acting.

Supposedly Freddie and Guy actually hung out together and got to know each other, which is why they clicked on screen pretty well. In terms of Freddie and Chandler, I don't get the feeling they're all that friendly with each other. I don't know if it's to the extent of Billy Flynn vs. Kate Mansi (supposedly he absolutely hates her and I kind of wonder if that's why they switched back to Marci Miller) but definitely don't get the feeling Chandler's buddies with Freddie like he is with Casey Deidrick. 

As a reminder...aww...

Sometimes I kind of miss Frat Boy Era Chad and the Chill bromance. I did appreciate Billy's little nod to it when he kissed Will on the forehead when the Chandler Massey form of Will came back.

Edited January 3, 2021 by methodwriter85

[peachmangosteen]

13 hours ago, Petunia13 said:

But there’s ads on it so YouTube is paying them for views. 

He isn't charging fans to watch it though. Which, like @DisneyBoy, I kind of expected him to lol.

[Petunia13]

10 hours ago, peachmangosteen said:

He isn't charging fans to watch it though. Which, like @DisneyBoy, I kind of expected him to lol.

I understood what you both meant. 

He does have the option to demonetize his video. Everyone does it’s considered bad form for people like Laura Lee or Logan Paul to monetize their apology videos which they did LOL. I’m surprised his views and subs are so low. They could probably make money at it if they knew what they were doing 🤷‍♀️ 

Edited January 4, 2021 by Petunia13

[superdeluxe]

On 1/3/2021 at 12:51 AM, methodwriter85 said:

Supposedly Freddie and Guy actually hung out together and got to know each other, which is why they clicked on screen pretty well. In terms of Freddie and Chandler, I don't get the feeling they're all that friendly with each other. I don't know if it's to the extent of Billy Flynn vs. Kate Mansi (supposedly he absolutely hates her and I kind of wonder if that's why they switched back to Marci Miller) but definitely don't get the feeling Chandler's buddies with Freddie like he is with Casey Deidrick.

I read somewhere that those two were mean to Freddie back in the day.  They were their own little clique and they wouldn't let anyone else in.  So, Freddie was pretty much relieved when Guy Wilson came in.  They were able to hang out and bond.  He wasn't doing scenes with someone who was treating him like garbage.  Now, who knows if that's true or not.  But that's what I remember reading.

[Rafael]

it is time for Days to show Carlivati  the door.

[ByaNose]

I know recently both Freddie & Chandler did a Skype interview and they seemed friendly-ish enough. They’re both on the east coast now. I know Freddie seemed eager to meet up whereas Chandler was more like, um, sure. LOL!!!! I always thought in the early days they didn’t get along was because Chandler was getting all the accolades and the awards and Freddie was jealous. Of course, Freddie later won, too. They are in their early 30’s now so I’m sure they’ve gotten over it. I’m curious if they’ll be back on contract anytime soon or if Days has moved on?!?!

[CanaryFan98]

9 hours ago, Rafael said:

it is time for Days to show Carlivati  the door.

Sure but the replacement may not improve the show(although its hard to imagine it worse I guess). I mean the show has deeper issues beyond HW a lot of the ideas etc existed on this show before Ron.

[DisneyBoy]

Honestly, as much as I am also tired of Ron's surface-level writing, preferential treatment of certain characters and rape infatuation....Dena was worse. I think whoever else they'd find would also be bad. Ron at least tries to use character histories and creates opportunities to bring back vets. He brings comedy and camp to the table (sometimes even successfully!) and tries to keep things exciting-ish, as they were in the 90s. It's an imitation, true, but the show was unwatchable before he came aboard. Now, there are some good days amidst the sea of bad ones.

I really do wonder how much Ken Corday and his team keep this series from being better. I'd be really curious to know which useless characters they insist on featuring, or good stories they've rejected, etc. Its easy to scapegoat Ron when we don't know what other opinions are shaping the narrative.

I also wonder about the talent pool. How many writers would actually want to headwrite a soap these days, given the genre's current reputation and the salary vs workload....

 

 

[DaphneCat]

2 hours ago, DisneyBoy said:

I also wonder about the talent pool. How many writers would actually want to headwrite a soap these days, given the genre's current reputation and the salary vs workload....

 

Given the fact that right now there aren't as many shows being produced I would think it would be easier to get someone who normally wouldn't even think about doing a soap.

[DisneyBoy]

But realistically who would want Days Of Our Lives on their resume? Someone starting out, maybe, but like the acting talent, no one wants to take on a big role who hasn't been in the biz already for 30 years. Sadly, because of the sad state of the genre, they're a stepping stone. I bet plenty of talented people completely stay away from soaps now because of how they'll be perceived in Hollywood. It was like that before too, but it's worse now. Daytime Emmy Awards used to mean something. Soaps used to pull in millions of viewers and have some prestige. Now....not the case.

[Petunia13]

Why is this in backstage gossip? This isn’t tea, just off hand random thought. 

[DisneyBoy]

Here's the full explanation for why Will vanished during Marlena's Xmas party...it was quite a complex situation. Apparently Sami was supposed to appear in person and an argument would ensue between her and Belle during the wedding (can't ONE wedding go uninterrupted? So glad AS' absence spared us that.)

Long story short, things got scrapped and Will got lost in the shuffle...

 

https://mobile.twitter.com/carlivatiron/status/1352632550339047425

Edited January 24, 2021 by DisneyBoy

[Jaded]

Whoever decides what cuts are made in regards to scenes on this show is/was a dumbass. In regards to this current situation the issues were were COVID related. There have been idiotic cuts made in the the not so distant past that made a lot of things disjointed storyline wise though so viewers were left to ask WTF was going on.

[DisneyBoy]

On very rare occasions, the cuts lead to better story opportunities later on. After Hattie was let out of jail because she helped Hope, they filmed a scene of her confronting Andre, aka "Alfie" the ex-boyfriend who got her locked up in the first place, in the town square. It was shot and promo photos were released, but the scene never aired...

...leaving the door open to fold Hattie into the show again having never had resolution with Andre. She and Bonnie took over that horrid Angelika story, and later Hattie dressed up as Marlena so she could finally curse Andre at his funeral, which was kind of fun. Had the original scene between them aired, their storyline might have been considered "done" and over.

Of course, they also foolishly cut out the final scene between Jarlena and Bo, which I can't understand. 

It was incredibly lame, given how often Will has been sidelined since coming out as gay, that he was excluded from the group family photo on Xmas. Sonny and Sami only using technology to participate wasn't a problem for me. We do that in real life all the time now.

 

 

[DisneyBoy]

https://mobile.twitter.com/SourceRyan/status/1356709961506643971

[Silver Raven]

Tyler Christopher arrested for public intoxication.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/celebrities/2019/11/13/general-hospital-actor-tyler-christopher-arrested/4179371002/

 

[howmanywords]

55 minutes ago, DisneyBoy said:

https://mobile.twitter.com/SourceRyan/status/1356709961506643971

Damn, this is giving bad vibes about the future of Days.

[CanaryFan98]

40 minutes ago, Silver Raven said:

Tyler Christopher arrested for public intoxication.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/celebrities/2019/11/13/general-hospital-actor-tyler-christopher-arrested/4179371002/

 

This article was from 2019. I know he did do a recent interview saying he's in a better place(but not sure if he is sincere though)

6 minutes ago, howmanywords said:

Damn, this is giving bad vibes about the future of Days.

I think Days will be renewed only because there's nothing better to replace the show with. However if you are right none of us should be surprised as with each passing year the budget gets smaller and the quality drops... it might be for the best for the show to be put out of its misery if there's no bigger budget or better writing/direction on the horizon. Although if Days were to go the rest of the soaps will follow.

[Silver Raven]

48 minutes ago, CanaryFan98 said:

This article was from 2019. I know he did do a recent interview saying he's in a better place(but not sure if he is sincere though)

Damn.  It was just on Twitter.  Sorry, I didn't check the date.

 

[DisneyBoy]

Honestly, what bothers me about Days is that they could do so much more with the show, even without increasing budgets. It's really all about the writing.

[Irlandesa]

41 minutes ago, DisneyBoy said:

Honestly, what bothers me about Days is that they could do so much more with the show, even without increasing budgets. It's really all about the writing.

It is but with all the competition out there with scripted series and scripted reality and scripted wrestling, good writing costs money too.

[Damian]

"Bruce Evans? Oh, wow, they must be married. 

...

...Wait."

My thought process this morning.

Anyway, they might as well cancel the show. Unless this turns out to be Jennifer's coma dream, it's completely irredeemable at this point.

[WendyCR72]

18 hours ago, Damian said:

"Bruce Evans? Oh, wow, they must be married. 

...

...Wait."

My thought process this morning.

Anyway, they might as well cancel the show. Unless this turns out to be Jennifer's coma dream, it's completely irredeemable at this point.

I know I read that some bigwig that supported the show was just fired. Not saying it means cancellation, but when you have those that back the show gone, it doesn't bode well for the future.

ETA: Oops! I see said firing was in one of the Twitter links on the previous page!

[buffynut]

On 2/2/2021 at 8:48 PM, howmanywords said:

Damn, this is giving bad vibes about the future of Days.

One of the mods on the DR site posted that while Bruce Evans did support the show, he was also one of the ones who would interfere with writing and storylines.   

Edited February 4, 2021 by buffynut

[buffynut]

On 12/29/2020 at 2:47 PM, DisneyBoy said:

I wonder what the lead time is now. Are they taping for April? February?

Also read on the DR site that their contract states that they must have filmed up to end of this season (sometime in Sep) by April 15th.  So the lead time will definitely be many months again soon.

[Silver Raven]

41 minutes ago, buffynut said:

Also read on the DR site that their contract states that they must have filmed up to end of this season (sometime in Sep) by April 15th.  So the lead time will definitely be many months again soon.

Yeah, but if the wrap for the end of the season is April, we would probably know soon after if it will be canceled.

 

[Irlandesa]

58 minutes ago, Silver Raven said:

Yeah, but if the wrap for the end of the season is April, we would probably know soon after if it will be canceled.

 

I think we'll know before.  As much of an afterthought that DOOL is to NBC, I can't imagine them completely ending a 50 year soap on a potential cliffhanger. 

[DisneyBoy]

Considering they just signed up AS for a full year contract, I'd assume that bodes well. She's well-liked. And Sami hasn't even started appearing yet.

[CanaryFan98]

I do wonder about contracts I mean if the show gets cancelled could some of them get out of the show if they find another gig?

[methodwriter85]

On 2/2/2021 at 10:39 PM, DisneyBoy said:

Honestly, what bothers me about Days is that they could do so much more with the show, even without increasing budgets. It's really all about the writing.

Soaps before about the late 70's/early 80's were mostly just two women talking to each other on a cheap set, or a couple having a love scene on a cheap set. The Luke/Laura adventures changed all that and budgets were increased to keep up with that kind of storytelling. Now that the budgets are crap again, they need to be able to get back to what soaps used to be good at doing- 2 to 4 characters in a scene relating to each other. They don't have the budget for flashy gimmicks anymore like Devil Marlena.

Edited February 6, 2021 by methodwriter85

[Irlandesa]

20 hours ago, CanaryFan98 said:

I do wonder about contracts I mean if the show gets cancelled could some of them get out of the show if they find another gig?

Their contracts are with Corday productions/Sony not NBC.

So NBC canceling the show won't automatically let them out of their contracts. 

They'd probably be let out or worked around, though.  Are there any long term contracts these days? I feel like the 3 year deal of days of yore is dead on this show.

[Petunia13]

22 hours ago, CanaryFan98 said:

I do wonder about contracts I mean if the show gets cancelled could some of them get out of the show if they find another gig?

They fired literally everyone a few months ago. Why would them being fired from cancellation be more scared or ironclad than whimsy? 

Anyhow theyre union and it’s a lot like other union jobs. 

Edited February 6, 2021 by Petunia13

[CanaryFan98]

1 hour ago, Petunia13 said:

They fired literally everyone a few months ago. Why would them being fired from cancellation be more scared or ironclad than whimsy? 

Anyhow theyre union and it’s a lot like other union jobs. 

Releasing people from contracts and re-signing for a new deal (lets say a year) and the show gets cancelled before then I would think that they could get out of it if they got another gig before the show went off the air? I'm not really sure how it worked I was just wondering.

[Petunia13]

If it got canceled and they have a contract they work till last day then bounce. I’m not sure what you at exactly asking us? If it was cancelled and turning shitty ....but they had contract till end they couldn’t just take an HBO job or something before Show’s last gasps or they’ll get sued? Yeah. That’s the case. 

Being union and minding the rules has saved a lot of their asses though, it got Eileen Davidson a cool million for like 2.5 months work each season on RHBH since they by law matched her grade. 

[WendyCR72]

On another board, someone posted old show synopses from the soaps in 1975. Part of the Days summary addresses David/Valerie and Julie's reaction. Now I know the current writers are crappy and push Julie as a bigot because of laziness. This is from that 1975 summary:

David and Val set about telling their families. Julie told David Val was the kind of girl any mother would want for her son. She warned David there would be problems because the world wasn't completely liberated from its bigotry. Julie suggested their love would have to be very strong, but since she believed in love, he had her blessing.

Julie is loud and abrasive these days. But, based on above, I'm blaming the writing and (lack of?) direction. I'd almost call it character assassination, really.

[DisneyBoy]

Wow.

Its odd, timing wise that is, because I was wondering how hard they went in on Julie as a bigot back in the day....if at all....

[CanaryFan98]

17 hours ago, DisneyBoy said:

Wow.

Its odd, timing wise that is, because I was wondering how hard they went in on Julie as a bigot back in the day....if at all....

Well if Susan's book is any indication Julie was a progressive character of her time. Which makes sense given how the Hortons were traditional and she was the black sheep of the family. I don't think the David/Valerie story lasted that long as Bill Bell the one who created the Grants and that storyline left the show shortly after to start Y&R. 

[Pearson80]

1 hour ago, CanaryFan98 said:

Well if Susan's book is any indication Julie was a progressive character of her time. Which makes sense given how the Hortons were traditional and she was the black sheep of the family. I don't think the David/Valerie story lasted that long as Bill Bell the one who created the Grants and that storyline left the show shortly after to start Y&R. 

Don't forget the viewers put a stop to the interracial romance between David and Valerie.  It was really ugly and the backlash led to the death threats for the actress who played Valerie.

[DisneyBoy]

So apparently AMC is why we were treated to a whole scene about pancakes today...

https://mobile.twitter.com/CarolynHinsey/status/1362101742968721412?ref_src=twsrc^tfw|twcamp^tweetembed|twterm^1362101742968721412|twgr^|twcon^s1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.datalounge.com%2Fthread%2F27978989-stupid-shopping-just-brought-something-stupid.-what-is-something-you-purchase-that-was-stupid-

[Irlandesa]

That's a little cruel considering that was her last day....as far as we know.

[peachmangosteen]

That's hilarious to me lol. And very Ron.

[methodwriter85]

On 2/18/2021 at 1:41 AM, DisneyBoy said:

So apparently AMC is why we were treated to a whole scene about pancakes today...

https://mobile.twitter.com/CarolynHinsey/status/1362101742968721412?ref_src=twsrc^tfw|twcamp^tweetembed|twterm^1362101742968721412|twgr^|twcon^s1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.datalounge.com%2Fthread%2F27978989-stupid-shopping-just-brought-something-stupid.-what-is-something-you-purchase-that-was-stupid-

I immediately thought that the reason as soon as we saw the pancakes.

Luckily they undid Dixie's death.

 

[katie9918]

On 2/8/2021 at 8:33 PM, Pearson80 said:

Don't forget the viewers put a stop to the interracial romance between David and Valerie.  It was really ugly and the backlash led to the death threats for the actress who played Valerie.

So this “racist” aspect that has been added to Julie to uglify the character really is a lot of bullshit, and probably ageist bullshit at that. Good to have that confirmed.

 

Am I the only one who remembers that Gabi tried to murder her via pacemaker app? 

[Pearson80]

4 minutes ago, katie9918 said:

So this “racist” aspect that has been added to Julie to uglify the character really is a lot of bullshit, and probably ageist bullshit at that. Good to have that confirmed.

 

Am I the only one who remembers that Gabi tried to murder her via pacemaker app? 

When Valerie came back they had the story of her not supporting David/Valerie and longtime fans were pissed and said that it was all lies. 

I am one of the few people who has never judged Julie for hating Gabi who killed her cousin and tried to kill her repeatedly..

[DisneyBoy]

2 hours ago, Pearson80 said:

When Valerie came back they had the story of her not supporting David/Valerie and longtime fans were pissed and said that it was all lies. 

I don't remember that longtime fans said that at the time - I'd like to think I'd have noticed and listened - but I do recall Julie having long been vaguely racist towards Gabi, more to do with the death of Nick but she always seemed to add a little twist to it. Maybe they opted to lean into that when retconing her opinion of Valerie and David?

I actually kind of like there being a prominent character with a slightly racist attitude because let's face it....people still do think that way. Its just a real shame if it rewrites who that character previously was.

That angry Chiquitaaaa! moment before she fell at Victor's place will live on.

Edited February 22, 2021 by DisneyBoy

[Pearson80]

12 hours ago, DisneyBoy said:

I don't remember that longtime fans said that at the time - I'd like to think I'd have noticed and listened - but I do recall Julie having long been vaguely racist towards Gabi, more to do with the death of Nick but she always seemed to add a little twist to it. Maybe they opted to lean into that when retconing her opinion of Valerie and David?

I actually kind of like there being a prominent character with a slightly racist attitude because let's face it....people still do think that way. Its just a real shame if it rewrites who that character previously was.

That angry Chiquitaaaa! moment before she fell at Victor's place will live on.

There are private forums where Fans of the show share videos and have discussions about the show like we do on here.  The only difference is that you have to have permission to join there and you need a password.  Youtube is full of private rooms where fans congregate without fear that our videos will be removed for copyright. I have been on them and it is cool to talk to fans who used to watch the show during the 70's and hearing their perspectives on things.  They have always said that Julie was never a racist and it was a retcon to create drama between Valerie and Julie. 

They did the same thing with Julie and Doug in the 80's when they opposed the Bo/Hope pairing.  Julie and Doug in character would never have done that so the actors protested  the storyline and were fired for going public with their opposition.. Doug and Julie are the last people to voice any opposition to anybody's relationship given their unconventional relationship.

Edited February 22, 2021 by Pearson80

[Silver Raven]

16 hours ago, katie9918 said:

Am I the only one who remembers that Gabi tried to murder her via pacemaker app? 

You say that like it's a bad thing.

 

16 hours ago, Pearson80 said:

I am one of the few people who has never judged Julie for hating Gabi who killed her cousin and tried to kill her repeatedly..

If by repeatedly, you mean never ...

 

[Katy M]

2 hours ago, Silver Raven said:

If by repeatedly, you mean never ...

Well, she was holding her heart function hostage with that cell phone.  She didn't have to give her Stefan's heart, but once done, she doesn't own it and have the right to stop it.