Like Sand Through an Hourglass: Behind the Scenes of DOOL

[RunningMarket]

46 minutes ago, Katy M said:

I'll do it.  First thing I'm doing is getting rid of the masks.

Thank you, These Times, as I immediately went "but COVID protocols!" Riiiiight. I'm with you now. Good call.

[buffynut]

Guessing Ron's still there, since he's tweeted about it.

Great news about the renewal.  And 2 years!   They just may make their 60th anniversary yet.

[peachmangosteen]

I was confident it'd be renewed but I'm glad to have it confirmed. And very nice they did a 2 year renewal. Now, if they can just keep up what they're doing right now!

[CanaryFan98]

While its great the show gets a 2 year renewal I have to wonder what was involved to make that happen.

Will we get a new writer? (one can hope)

Will the budget be even lower?(yeah probably although I can't imagine)

I think we're going to see more of the same old same old.

I also think that two years would be enough to wrap up Days (at least on NBC)

[peachmangosteen]

I'd say there's about a .01% chance of a new writer and probably like at least a 75% chance of a lower budget lol.

 

[Irlandesa]

6 hours ago, CanaryFan98 said:

I also think that two years would be enough to wrap up Days (at least on NBC)

I don't think that's the intent of a two year renewal. It's  a vote of confidence or at least commitment. Next year is going to be weird without the "it's going to be cancelled/renewed" debate with us not having this show's fate in doubt. 

They probably want to shoot two year's worth of shows in one lol.

Edited May 12, 2021 by Irlandesa

[enchantingmonkey]

It seems like the "New Head Writer" thing will probably go on until the show is cancelled.  Who is going to be the New Head Writer that is going to make the show great again?  They had Sheri Anderson in their midst years ago, and Ken Corday seemed fine with her departure.  There are a handful of Writers on the writing team who've written soaps for decades, and it seems unlikely any of them are getting promoted to HW.  It appears to me that Corday likes Carlivati's style of writing.  

 

2 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

They probably want to shoot two year's worth of shows in one lol.

The funny thing about that is that it sounds like NBC doesn't even care how much the fans like the storylines when the show is filmed so far in advance that nothing can be altered.  It's almost like they're saying, "As long as we have something affordable we can put on the air..."

[brisbydog]

18 hours ago, Katy M said:

I'll do it.  First thing I'm doing is getting rid of the masks.

Covid Masks: IN!

Kristen in Masks: OUT!!!!

[CanaryFan98]

20 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

I don't think that's the intent of a two year renewal. It's  a vote of confidence or at least commitment. Next year is going to be weird without the "it's going to be cancelled/renewed" debate with us not having this show's fate in doubt. 

They probably want to shoot two year's worth of shows in one lol.

I also think with the cancellation of Ellen and the network not having many options also helped save Days. As strange as it is Covid probably prevented a cancellation.

[Irlandesa]

18 minutes ago, CanaryFan98 said:

I also think with the cancellation of Ellen and the network not having many options also helped save Days.

I guess it's possible but I'm not really seeing the connection.  Sep. 2022 is a long ways away.  There's plenty of time to develop something to replace both Ellen (which wouldn't really be NBC's responsibility as it's syndicated) and DOOL if they were thinking of getting rid of DOOL.

[Petunia13]

Who told you this would happen with Ellen? Oh yeah me. (pats on back) 

 

[CanaryFan98]

On 5/12/2021 at 6:53 PM, Irlandesa said:

I guess it's possible but I'm not really seeing the connection.  Sep. 2022 is a long ways away.  There's plenty of time to develop something to replace both Ellen (which wouldn't really be NBC's responsibility as it's syndicated) and DOOL if they were thinking of getting rid of DOOL.

It takes time to develop something let alone a show that can be a viable replacement. I mean when ABC got rid of AMC/OLTL their replacements didn't last nearly as long. In retrospect they were better off keeping these soaps. Days already works for peanuts, has a built in audience and seems to be pandemic proof when it comes to their taping schedule. Sure the quality has fallen but might as well keep what works until you truly find something better. 

[Petunia13]

14 hours ago, CanaryFan98 said:

It takes time to develop something let alone a show that can be a viable replacement. I mean when ABC got rid of AMC/OLTL their replacements didn't last nearly as long. In retrospect they were better off keeping these soaps. Days already works for peanuts, has a built in audience and seems to be pandemic proof when it comes to their taping schedule. Sure the quality has fallen but might as well keep what works until you truly find something better. 

I agree w you on that. They were stupid dumping AMC and OLTL because they were already cheap and already had a guaranteed viewership, despite being small, and it probably cost more in the long run sourcing, developing, building replacements. And you brought up another point which is by taping ahead and being in a bubble it's pandemic or crisis proof. 
 

on other social media forums people talk about and miss AMC on threads to this day. I really miss OLTL too. 

[Irlandesa]

They may have been cheap compared to what they used to be but there's no way they were cheaper than a talk show.

[DisneyBoy]

But look at what can happen on a talk show - on-camera fights, backstage mistreatment, a shift in the public's tastes....on a soap, you can control the story and the edit. A "live" show? Not so much.

Plenty of talk shows die out quickly (Kelly, RuPaul, Latifa, etc), which means more scrambling to find replacements. Days, if profitable, is less of a hassle, and is kind of feather in their cap as it strides towards its 60th.

[FnkyChkn34]

On 5/12/2021 at 6:53 PM, Irlandesa said:

I guess it's possible but I'm not really seeing the connection.  Sep. 2022 is a long ways away.  There's plenty of time to develop something to replace both Ellen (which wouldn't really be NBC's responsibility as it's syndicated) and DOOL if they were thinking of getting rid of DOOL.

Thank you!  I don't get the connection between Ellen's talk show and Days at all!  Her show is syndicated.  Where I live, it airs on ABC.  

[WendyCR72]

7 hours ago, FnkyChkn34 said:

Thank you!  I don't get the connection between Ellen's talk show and Days at all!  Her show is syndicated.  Where I live, it airs on ABC.  

Yep, where I live, Ellen airs on my local CBS affiliate.

[Irlandesa]

I did read that Ellen was carried by more NBC affiliates than the affiliates of other broadcast networks but one of the four needed to be the leader.  It doesn't have anything to do with the larger network's programming though.

[Petunia13]

 

if Jordan eventually isn't dead can that mean Evan/Christian can come back too? 

[DisneyBoy]

Leave her dead. She wasn't that interesting. 

[Petunia13]

4 hours ago, DisneyBoy said:

Leave her dead. She wasn't that interesting. 

Yeah but I want Evan/Christian back. He's good looking and bisexual and unrelated to anyone so he could be paired lots of people. He hates Ben, that's a plus. And detests Rafe too. 

[tribeca]

I love Jordan before she went nuts. 

[CanaryFan98]

I did too she had a quirky personality and seemed like a real person then they paired her with Rafe and it went downhill. I didn't mind her with Chad though back when I actually found the character watchable.

[Pearson80]

8 hours ago, tribeca said:

I love Jordan before she went nuts. 

I hated how she was sacrificed on the altar of Ben.  

[Chellfairy]

2 hours ago, CanaryFan98 said:

I did too she had a quirky personality and seemed like a real person then they paired her with Rafe and it went downhill. I didn't mind her with Chad though back when I actually found the character watchable.

Everyone paired up with Rafe goes down. He’s just a bummer. On another board, we nicknamed him “Brick” .

  Due to his “charismatic, vibrant personality “!

Chad seems a little “brickish”,as well

Edited May 22, 2021 by Chellfairy

[DisneyBoy]

1 hour ago, Pearson80 said:

I hated how she was sacrificed on the altar of Ben.  

We have lost too many this way.

11 hours ago, Petunia13 said:

Yeah but I want Evan/Christian back. He's good looking and bisexual and unrelated to anyone so he could be paired lots of people. He hates Ben, that's a plus. And detests Rafe too. 

True, him I liked. Where is he now? How did his story end?

[JBC344]

I believe he is back in jail. We last saw him trying to kill Ben and Ciara after the explosion. He got knocked out by falling rubble right before Ben got Clara to the hospital. 

[methodwriter85]

3 hours ago, Pearson80 said:

I hated how she was sacrificed on the altar of Ben.  

I am legitimately surprised that the show didn't decide to have the Necktie Killer really being Jordan in a Ben mask. 

[WendyCR72]

2 hours ago, methodwriter85 said:

I am legitimately surprised that the show didn't decide to have the Necktie Killer really being Jordan in a Ben mask. 

Oh God, don't let Ron see this!

[DanaMB]

8 hours ago, methodwriter85 said:

I am legitimately surprised that the show didn't decide to have the Necktie Killer really being Jordan in a Ben mask. 

I’m honestly still waiting for something like this to happen. 

[peachmangosteen]

22 hours ago, Petunia13 said:

Yeah but I want Evan/Christian back. He's good looking and bisexual and unrelated to anyone so he could be paired lots of people. He hates Ben, that's a plus. And detests Rafe too. 

THIS.

9 hours ago, JBC344 said:

I believe he is back in jail. We last saw him trying to kill Ben and Ciara after the explosion. He got knocked out by falling rubble right before Ben got Clara to the hospital. 

I thought he escaped again, but maybe that's wishful thinking on my part lol.

45 minutes ago, DanaMB said:

I’m honestly still waiting for something like this to happen. 

Yea, I still fear that Ron will try to make Ben not an actual serial killer at some point, too.

[DisneyBoy]

Because....abs?

 

I *swear to god*, I don't get why they keep him. Ben is an irredeemable character, Robert is a lousy actor and the romance with Ciara (aka her obsessing over him) is so insulting it makes me want to organize a damn protest. How misogynistic can you get? Ciara's whole existence is running around yelling at people to love the serial killer?! Because thats what we want on our TVs apparently - female leads who exist solely to cheerlead for disturbed and dull male characters.

He's blackmailing them or something. He must be. This is crazy.

 

 

[Petunia13]

16 minutes ago, DisneyBoy said:

Because....abs?

 

I *swear to god*, I don't get why they keep him. Ben is an irredeemable character, Robert is a lousy actor and the romance with Ciara (aka her obsessing over him) is so insulting it makes me want to organize a damn protest. How misogynistic can you get? Ciara's whole existence is running around yelling at people to love the serial killer?! Because thats what we want on our TVs apparently - female leads who exist solely to cheerlead for disturbed and dull male characters.

He's blackmailing them or something. He must be. This is crazy.

Deirdre Hall / Mar went to Corday and asked he keep him.

I would rather he was back on the Price is Right, that seems more his "speed" and he could still make a very nice living. James is starting to look like an average joe slob w the covid beard and sloppy hair. 

[DisneyBoy]

43 minutes ago, Petunia13 said:

Deirdre Hall / Mar went to Corday and asked he keep him.

...but the guy who played her murdered gay grandson to great acclaim...the character Marlena is supposed to be super close to...can be dumped.

 

You know what? Dee can live without RSW, DOOL can live without RSW and lord knows WE can live without RSW.

...what is this, sleepaway camp? Everyone needs their widdle buddy? Let's bend time and space and logic to accommodate someone into the narrative...just because??

No. No! That is stupid. This show is SUCKING HARD when a plastic, woman-strangling serial killer is made a front-burner leading man.

Hes gotten three (?) years of undeserved cheques - let him go back to the whitening strip commercials and OFF THIS SHOW THAT USED TO HAVE STANDARDS.

 

[methodwriter85]

3 hours ago, DisneyBoy said:

Hes gotten three (?) years of undeserved cheques - let him go back to the whitening strip commercials and OFF THIS SHOW THAT USED TO HAVE STANDARDS.

Maybe it's all just a conspiracy to have us be okay with Rafe.

In all honesty, EJ was pretty reprehensible (he did fall short of being a serial killer) but he worked because he had James Scott's charisma and pathos. RSW does not have that. He's a hot Italian-American guy with looks that Rob clearly likes because his type infested One Life to Live when he was running it who speaks in a monotone because he's trying to hide his Boston accent. LOL. That's what he's got. It doesn't make Ben work. The only guy I think could have pulled off Ben is 1995 Roger Howarth. But even Roger Howarth as a middle-aged age man couldn't even really pull off the horrible storyline on GH where Franco the Serial Killer/Rapist was brought back and we were supposed to forgive everything.

If they really wanted to keep RSW, what they should have done was give Ben a twin and called him Ren. Ren could have been horrified by what Ben did, and they could have still done the Ciara storyline, and they could have still had RSW play the snarky version of Ben that I liked in the occasional moments where Ben gets out of jail.

3 hours ago, DisneyBoy said:

but the guy who played her murdered gay grandson to great acclaim...the character Marlena is supposed to be super close to...can be dumped.

I always wondered if shit went down between Chandler and Diedre because after he made his comeback they didn't interact nearly as much as they did before he left, and he mainly started turning towards Kate instead.

[tribeca]

Maybe he was upset that Deidre did not save his job.   I mean that’s great for Ben character that she asked them to keep him but it might cause resentment from other cast members.  

[DisneyBoy]

I imagine it would cause resentment, definitely. Why go to bat for a newbie? Its weird.

 

[CanaryFan98]

13 hours ago, Petunia13 said:

Deirdre Hall / Mar went to Corday and asked he keep him.

I would rather he was back on the Price is Right, that seems more his "speed" and he could still make a very nice living. James is starting to look like an average joe slob w the covid beard and sloppy hair. 

Who's James?

9 hours ago, methodwriter85 said:

Maybe it's all just a conspiracy to have us be okay with Rafe.

In all honesty, EJ was pretty reprehensible (he did fall short of being a serial killer) but he worked because he had James Scott's charisma and pathos. RSW does not have that. He's a hot Italian-American guy with looks that Rob clearly likes because his type infested One Life to Live when he was running it who speaks in a monotone because he's trying to hide his Boston accent. LOL. That's what he's got. It doesn't make Ben work. The only guy I think could have pulled off Ben is 1995 Roger Howarth. But even Roger Howarth as a middle-aged age man couldn't even really pull off the horrible storyline on GH where Franco the Serial Killer/Rapist was brought back and we were supposed to forgive everything.

If they really wanted to keep RSW, what they should have done was give Ben a twin and called him Ren. Ren could have been horrified by what Ben did, and they could have still done the Ciara storyline, and they could have still had RSW play the snarky version of Ben that I liked in the occasional moments where Ben gets out of jail.

I always wondered if shit went down between Chandler and Diedre because after he made his comeback they didn't interact nearly as much as they did before he left, and he mainly started turning towards Kate instead.

Yet that didn't stop GH from trying to make Franco a thing and the Friz pairing was popular even though it IMO went against the character of Liz entirely who was a rape survivor herself. Now that you mention it that would explain why Marlena/Will barely interact I think he calls her Marlena but Kate is grandma

[Petunia13]

5 minutes ago, CanaryFan98 said:

Who's James?

The model who replaced him. Rob was first male model in history of Price is Right then they added James and Devin. 

[methodwriter85]

1 hour ago, CanaryFan98 said:

Now that you mention it that would explain why Marlena/Will barely interact I think he calls her Marlena but Kate is grandma

To be honest, I did love Kate stepping up as a grandmother to Chandler's Will and meddling in his affairs like she did with Lucas and Austin. That was so in-character of her and I loved every minute of it.  I also loved the moment where she showed Will's his first Christmas with his father and Will being confused as to why he's a toddler and not a newborn in them. LOL.

So I guess that's a side benefit of whatever beef Chandler and Dierdre might have.

As a reminder of old gossip, apparently Deirdre hated the Phil replacement (Kyle from Real World Chicago) because he was an insufferable twat who wouldn't shut up about Princeton. I remember it being rumored that she went off on him in front of everybody, basically telling him that she was sick of hearing about him bragging about Princeton and also telling him that for an Ivy League grad, his vocabulary was terrible. LOL. It was supposedly an awesome moment for the cast and crew who also couldn't stand him. Kyle did manage to last for 3 years on the show so I'm guessing that moment probably made him fall in line- I can't imagine he could have lasted as long as he did if people still hated him that much the entire time.

[CanaryFan98]

His name is Kyle Brandt I also found him insufferable and this story isn't surprising at all.

He works for the NFL Network now which is probably a better career move for him but I hate that he's ruining NFL coverage for me. Fortunately I just avoid his show which is rather easy.

[Pearson80]

39 minutes ago, CanaryFan98 said:

His name is Kyle Brandt I also found him insufferable and this story isn't surprising at all.

He works for the NFL Network now which is probably a better career move for him but I hate that he's ruining NFL coverage for me. Fortunately I just avoid his show which is rather easy.

He also clashed with the actress who played Belle.  They did not get along with each other and he has made some disparaging statements about her. 

[Chellfairy]

17 hours ago, CanaryFan98 said:

His name is Kyle Brandt I also found him insufferable and this story isn't surprising at all.

He works for the NFL Network now which is probably a better career move for him but I hate that he's ruining NFL coverage for me. Fortunately I just avoid his show which is rather easy.

Hated KB Philip and I stopped watching anything to do with him. He sucked.

though I do recall a scene with him in a hideous leotard ..walking a tightrope. I think 🤔 

Sorry about the football commentating..good you don’t have to watch it!!

Edited May 24, 2021 by Chellfairy

[howmanywords]

Just in case you needed a reminder, Deidre loves her some RSW..and yes I blame her for probably never being rid of him

Edited May 24, 2021 by howmanywords

[DisneyBoy]

Careful Doc...he's going to strangle you again!!

The lighting is unfortunately making Paulina look like a ventriloquist's dummy.

God that photo is depressing. Add in Rafe and Lani, why don't you.

[peachmangosteen]

I'm somewhat interested to see Paulina/Ben scenes tbh. But I'd rather Paulina hate him and I'm sure they'll have her talking about how hot he is and being obsessed with him. No thanks lol.

[Retired at last]

In that picture, Jackee looks so much thinner than she does when I see her in her scenes.

[tribeca]

1 hour ago, Retired at last said:

In that picture, Jackee looks so much thinner than she does when I see her in her scenes.

I was thinking that too.  I find the same with the actor who plays Kayla.  

[Irlandesa]

I think some of it is wardrobe.  Jackee was on Pose recently and I thought she looked great.  The clothing they gave her was more form fitting than what Paulina normally wears.

[FnkyChkn34]

On 5/23/2021 at 12:19 AM, DisneyBoy said:

...but the guy who played her murdered gay grandson to great acclaim...the character Marlena is supposed to be super close to...can be dumped.

I thought that Chandler Massey wanted to leave?  Didn't they have to beg him to come back, because he was happy finishing his education and pursuing other endeavors?  

I don't absolutely hate Ben, or Robert Scott Wilson.  He's nice to look at, plus maybe he's a super nice person in real life?  None of us know him, so I'm sure he's fine.  Galen Gering seems like a nice guy too.  

Maybe I'm reading everyone's comments wrong, but the actors can only work with the material that they are given - so being mad at the actor is pretty pointless.  Rafe and Ben being "dull" is most definitely not 100% of the actors' fault, and I would say it's not even 10% of their fault.  The writers on this show have been pretty bad for years.  RSW and GG can deliver their lines just fine.  The actress who plays Lani, on the other hand... or the old Ciara...  now those are when you can blame the actors, IMO.