Like Sand Through an Hourglass: Behind the Scenes of DOOL

[CanaryFan98]

On 7/12/2022 at 2:47 AM, Irlandesa said:

It would depend on when they separated.  Just because the world found out about their separation when she announced her pregnancy and Steve said it wasn't his doesn't mean they hadn't already separated when she started dating someone else.

Do they even live in a state where infidelity is a reason for a divorce? 

They got married in CA but lived in Nashville. Not sure what the laws are except CA is a community property state.

[brisbydog]

#DAYS Alum Staci Greason Releases Novel https://t.co/Cyiv5h9hjr @nbcdays #DOOL @stacigreason

Matt A retweeted. Glad to know they are still friends. 

[WendyCR72]

4 hours ago, brisbydog said:

#DAYS Alum Staci Greason Releases Novel https://t.co/Cyiv5h9hjr @nbcdays #DOOL @stacigreason

Matt A retweeted. Glad to know they are still friends. 

Good for her! The novel description sort of sounds like Good Girls, that aired on NBC (now canceled). Always liked Staci Greason. Hope this does well for her. And yes, glad Matt and Staci are still friendly.

This also reminds me of another ex-soap (and movie!) actress, Harley Kozak, who has also written some novels.

Good for both women for branching out!

[CanaryFan98]

She's written books for a while which I think is probably for the best not that I didn't love Izzy B but if she had stuck around she would've been ruined eventually.

[SouthernChick]

4 minutes ago, CanaryFan98 said:

She's written books for a while which I think is probably for the best not that I didn't love Izzy B but if she had stuck around she would've been ruined eventually.

According to Drake, Staci was fired for asking too much money. They didn’t renew her contract. So it’s not true that she left on her own accord to write books.

John and Marlena’s affair was already planned, with or without Isabella. I do wonder if they would have turned her evil like her father Victor. I guess we will never know the full plan.

[WendyCR72]

12 minutes ago, SouthernChick said:

According to Drake, Staci was fired for asking too much money. They didn’t renew her contract. So it’s not true that she left on her own accord to write books.

John and Marlena’s affair was already planned, with or without Isabella. I do wonder if they would have turned her evil like her father Victor. I guess we will never know the full plan.

Oh, Isabella would have been Kristen without Kristen. Don't forget, Kristen was brought on after Isabella's death.

Had SG stayed, Isabella would have been trashed for the glorious wuv that is Doc and John. Never mind that, when they married, John and Isabella DID love each other. So it would have been annihilated in short order, and Isabella would be the villain in her own damn marriage.

So, money issue or not, I'm glad Staci Greason peaced out before her character and story were completely ruined as collateral damage as Roman was.

[SouthernChick]

7 minutes ago, WendyCR72 said:

Oh, Isabella would have been Kristen without Kristen. Don't forget, Kristen was brought on after Isabella's death.

Had SG stayed, Isabella would have been trashed for the glorious wuv that is Doc and John. Never mind that, when they married, John and Isabella DID love each other. So it would have been annihilated in short order, and Isabella would be the villain in her own damn marriage.

So, money issue or not, I'm glad Staci Greason peaced out before her character and story were completely ruined as collateral damage as Roman was.

I don’t think Roman was trashed. They wrote him quite sympathetically, IMO. That way he was rightfully furious when he found out Marlena cheated and that Belle wasn’t his. 
 

I do agree with your theories of Isabella being villainized though. 

[CanaryFan98]

I think Roman was reduced to collateral damage though as he's a total nonfactor on this show now. They could've had him in his own long term romance and stories of his own rather than being a talk to serving clam chowder at the pub. Course I was hoping he would be killed in a plane crash back in the 90s before JT took over the role.

[SouthernChick]

4 minutes ago, CanaryFan98 said:

I think Roman was reduced to collateral damage though as he's a total nonfactor on this show now. They could've had him in his own long term romance and stories of his own rather than being a talk to serving clam chowder at the pub. Course I was hoping he would be killed in a plane crash back in the 90s before JT took over the role.

Oh, I agree with that. I was referring to the writing of him from 1993 until WN left in 1994. The one thing I thought was out of character for Roman is to leave when his kids so desperately needed him in 1994. Especially Sami. He chose work over her and didn’t return until 3 years later. 

[CanaryFan98]

21 minutes ago, Lucas Rowan said:

I don't know what else could've been done with him back then, when Wayne was still in the role, but with Josh, I wouldn't have minded them pursuing something between him and Adriana Hernandez, Rafe and Gabi's mother, when Alma Delfina was on.  Might've been an interesting dynamic to see how Rafe handled his then-boss dating his mom.  And it would've given Roman something to do, at least.

Who happened to be his former father in law at one point

[DisneyBoy]

Mama H was kind of forced on us too quickly, but I liked her. 

*side-eyes Paulina*

[Pearson80]

4 hours ago, WendyCR72 said:

Had SG stayed, Isabella would have been trashed for the glorious wuv that is Doc and John. Never mind that, when they married, John and Isabella DID love each other. So it would have been annihilated in short order, and Isabella would be the villain in her own damn marriage.

I don't believe that at all because Sherry wrote wonderfully for RoJohn/Isabella and John/Isabella. JER was the one that turned Kristen evil for Jarlena.  Sherry never wanted to write the tale of the two Romans and she was forced to write it.  I can't blame her since Roman/Marlena was her signature couple alongside Bo and Hope. She wrote Isabella's beautiful death and I have no doubt that Isabella's dignity would have been intact after all was said and done, had she not died.

4 hours ago, SouthernChick said:

John and Marlena’s affair was already planned, with or without Isabella. I do wonder if they would have turned her evil like her father Victor. I guess we will never know the full plan.

Sherry confirmed this on a chat years ago and she said that the affair was going to happen no matter what and Isabella's death precipitated things for them.  She was the one that wrote the pit story that reawakened Jarlena's dormant feelings for each other.  The fallout of the affair was written by JER who marginalized Roman for Jarlena.

4 hours ago, CanaryFan98 said:

I think Roman was reduced to collateral damage though as he's a total nonfactor on this show now. They could've had him in his own long term romance and stories of his own rather than being a talk to serving clam chowder at the pub. Course I was hoping he would be killed in a plane crash back in the 90s before JT took over the role.

JER had not interest in writing for Roman and told Wayne this so he quit. Wayne also said that both John and Roman being on the show together made Roman obsolete.  Plus, the writing was on the wall that Jarlena was the future and Roman/Marlena was the past..

Edited July 28, 2022 by Pearson80

[WendyCR72]

59 minutes ago, Pearson80 said:

I don't believe that at all because Sherry wrote wonderfully for RoJohn/Isabella and John/Isabella. JER was the one that turned Kristen evil for Jarlena.  Sherry never wanted to write the tale of the two Romans and she was forced to write it.  I can't blame her since Roman/Marlena was her signature couple alongside Bo and Hope. She wrote Isabella's beautiful death and I have no doubt that Isabella's dignity would have been intact after all was said and done, had she not died.

Except JER took over in late 1992/early 1993, so he would have been in charge of the stories. So my opinion that Isabella would have gone the way of Kristen still stands for me.

Yeah, if Sheri Anderson had stayed, perhaps there would be better characterization and nuance. But since it was JER...not a chance in hell there.

[SouthernChick]

I believe Reilly and Anderson were co-headwriters from late 1992 to April 1993. Then they had creative differences and Sheri got fired. 

[WendyCR72]

2 minutes ago, SouthernChick said:

I believe Reilly and Anderson were co-headwriters from late 1992 to April 1993. Then they had creative differences and Sheri got fired. 

Yeah. Which would have left JER with complete control. Isabella would have been hamburger by the time he was through with her what with JER's love for Doc.

[SouthernChick]

16 minutes ago, WendyCR72 said:

Yeah. Which would have left JER with complete control. Isabella would have been hamburger by the time he was through with her what with JER's love for Doc.

But he tried to make John and Kristen happen, which is why I don’t think he was as big of a Jarlena shipper as some fans think. He only turned her evil after he realized he couldn’t make them the IT couple he wanted them to be. He was also planning on pairing John and Hope when they went to the jungle together, but he left to start Passions and SSM put a stop to it.

And yes I am glad he is gone. 

[WendyCR72]

1 hour ago, SouthernChick said:

But he tried to make John and Kristen happen, which is why I don’t think he was as big of a Jarlena shipper as some fans think.

Are we sure JER really wanted John/Kristen as a couple in their own right? Or maybe it was planned all along to make Kristen go 'round the bend and be the obstacle in the Wuv That Dare Not Speak Its Name?

(Because, let's face it: Kristen provided a LOT of the angst for the "alas, we cannot be!" Doc/John pairing, both good and looney, with said pairing driving her nuts. The timing could certainly mean such a change WAS planned. Hell, maybe THIS was to be Isabella instead?)

Just based on the whole time I watched this happen, JER certainly seemed to have a jones for Marlena and John. Guess we'll never really know what his intent was.

[brisbydog]

10 hours ago, WendyCR72 said:

Yeah. Which would have left JER with complete control. Isabella would have been hamburger by the time he was through with her what with JER's love for Doc.

Exactly this. I am forever grateful for Staci for leaving when she did and keeping Isabella as one of the few decent characters who was not trashed for Jarlena. I'm sure she saw the writing on the wall too. I loved Isabella and her warmth as opposed to Dee and her coldness that gets worse every year. I still have good memories of her character because she was not sacrificed to prop Doc 

[junemeatcleaver]

DAYS is moving to Peacock.

[LexieLily]

Why move a TV show to a service you have to pay for?

[Frozendiva]

Wonder if Global in Canada will continue to air it.

[RunningMarket]

2 minutes ago, Frozendiva said:

Wonder if Global in Canada will continue to air it.

Good question (as a fellow Canuck). I doubt it though, since it will now be on a paid streaming service.

Well, it's been a good run folks.

[buffynut]

4 minutes ago, Frozendiva said:

Wonder if Global in Canada will continue to air it.

2 minutes ago, RunningMarket said:

Good question (as a fellow Canuck). I doubt it though, since it will now be on a paid streaming service.

Well, it's been a good run folks.

Another Canuck here, also wondering what that means for us.  At first I thought maybe it would continue as is.  But then I saw some speculative comments on Twitter about the episode lengths possibly changing, or no longer being 5 days a week, plus that they'd now be able to put more adult content in the show, all of which might mean it would no longer be compatible with Global's afternoon airtime.  

I guess we'll find out soon, but I'm feeling pessimistic.  😟

[BuckeyeLou]

Wow, I guess I should not be surprised, but I still feel shocked, I have watched this show since my daughter was born & I was home with a baby...that was 42 years ago.  Our local news said that NBC will be putting on a daily one hour news show in its place...like we dont have enough News shows!  

[Frozendiva]

StackTV usually has Beyond Salem before it hits W network. I am not paying $12.99 a month for it. I already pay for those channels from my cable company. Interesting to see what Global does and what other international tv networks do.

[peachmangosteen]

Damn, starting September 12th. Not a ton of notice.

I don't know. I honestly really don't want to watch ads lol but I'm not sure it's worth paying $10 a month.

[tessaray]

25 minutes ago, peachmangosteen said:

Damn, starting September 12th. Not a ton of notice.

I don't know. I honestly really don't want to watch ads lol but I'm not sure it's worth paying $10 a month.

I pay $5 for the premium with limited ads. There are 7 one minute ad breaks and they are fairly  low key. Not nearly as obnoxious as Hulu. I haven't felt the need to upgrade to ad-free so far. 

[methodwriter85]

I figured this would happen, but I figured they were going to let the show finish out airing and then move to the Beyond Salem format after. This means it will no longer be eligible for Daytime Emmys, I think. At this point they really need to give up the ghost- only having 3 dramas being able to compete makes the entire category of Best Drama pointless.

Edited August 3, 2022 by methodwriter85

[DanaK]

Wow. I figured it might happen eventually for nearly every show, but I didn’t think something like this would happen for a few more years. Hopefully this move doesn’t lose too many fans

[peachmangosteen]

9 minutes ago, tessaray said:

I pay $5 for the premium with limited ads. There are 7 one minute ad breaks and they are fairly  low key. Not nearly as obnoxious as Hulu. I haven't felt the need to upgrade to ad-free so far. 

I would probably be OK with that but my sister most likely won’t. She really hates ads lol.

4 minutes ago, methodwriter85 said:

I figured this would happen, but I figured they were going to let the show finish out airing and then move to the Beyond Salem format after. This means it will no longer be eligible for Daytime Emmys, I think. At this point they really need to give up the ghost- only having 3 dramas being able to compete makes the entire category of Best Drama pointless.

Beyond Salem was nominated for Emmys so I assume it would still be eligible.

[carrier76]

I guess too bad for people like my 90 year old grandma who has watched this for as long as I can remember. I truly hate moving free tv shows to streaming.

[bunnyblue]

Most of the time when I remember to watch, it's usually on Peacock, so the move won't affect me. But I do feel bad for the older viewers who've watched on NBC for decades and may not be familiar or comfortable watching via streaming. And I don't doubt that viewership/ratings will take a hit with the move to Peacock; meaning this is probably it for DAYS. I hope the writers can get their shit together before the end and give the viewers and the cast/characters a nice bon voyage. I don't care how cheesy it may be, but I want Abby, Bo, and Adrienne to come back from the dead and give their couples happily-ever-afters.

[Artsda]

Wow.

I feel for the people who don't or can't watch on streaming. Plus how will international work? They get money from international rights. 

[KBrownie]

I really hope this big change also brings big changes in quality of the writing. I’m fine with streaming, but I’m surely not PAYING for the garbage that is the show right now. Who would?  Jake, nor Stefan, Dr. Rolf mad scientist, flop Gwen, etc. aren’t pulling in viewers when it’s free.  They really are going to have to cut out a LOT of fat to get people to pay. 
 

[RedElf]

57 minutes ago, methodwriter85 said:

I figured this would happen, but I figured they were going to let the show finish out airing and then move to the Beyond Salem format after. This means it will no longer be eligible for Daytime Emmys, I think. At this point they really need to give up the ghost- only having 3 dramas being able to compete makes the entire category of Best Drama pointless.

Beyond Salem was nominated for Daytime Emmys, so I don't see why the regular show won't be.  But I wonder if this is the end of Beyond Salem.

[Peanut6711]

I personally have a hard time getting into the show if it's not airing in its normal time slot. I like a little afternoon break from reality, which is why I tune in. But when "breaking news" interrupts it, it takes knowing there's something worth seeing to bring myself to watch it.  There are just other things I'd rather do in the evenings.  So after the switch-over, I expect my viewing to greatly decline.  I do wonder though if the full cast will remain or how the format might change.  Since this announcement wasn't made very far in advance, I expect there to be some fall out. 

[WendyCR72]

Holy shit, just saw the big news. I shouldn't be shocked, but...I am. I do wonder if there are enough customers streaming to make Days sustainable?

For the sake of all that watch and love the show, I hope so. But there are still those resistant to streaming, and I do feel sorry for them.

[Ral80]

59 minutes ago, RedElf said:

Beyond Salem was nominated for Daytime Emmys, so I don't see why the regular show won't be.  But I wonder if this is the end of Beyond Salem.

There are not many soaps to nominate. Each year, they rotate the winners. Winners are based on a campaign not necessarily the best acting, directing, writing, etc.

1 hour ago, bunnyblue said:

Most of the time when I remember to watch, it's usually on Peacock, so the move won't affect me. But I do feel bad for the older viewers who've watched on NBC for decades and may not be familiar or comfortable watching via streaming. And I don't doubt that viewership/ratings will take a hit with the move to Peacock; meaning this is probably it for DAYS. I hope the writers can get their shit together before the end and give the viewers and the cast/characters a nice bon voyage. I don't care how cheesy it may be, but I want Abby, Bo, and Adrienne to come back from the dead and give their couples happily-ever-afters.

People watched the free version, but you will need to upgrade $4.99 to now watch. I just don't see many people doing that.

Edited August 4, 2022 by Ral80

[Kitty Redstone]

So I've watched a previous days episode on Peacock for free, but after September will it only be on one of the paid versions of Peacock?  We recently slimmed down our cable package so I don't mind paying for the service, especially if it means I can stream old seasons of Project Runway. 

Maybe the move will get new viewers, better writing, etc.?

ETA: For fellow mystery lovers, Peacock has Columbo and Alfred Hitchcock and other old shows.  Oh and even Eureka and Face Off from Sci Fi!

Edited August 4, 2022 by Kitty Redstone
Adding a comment

[Retired at last]

I saw that they have filmed shows through January already, so I wonder when they were notified of this change. Like most of you, I thought they would stay as they were until the 2-year contract was over and then switch. As it is now, I wonder if they will get ready to announce Abby's killer on the last day on NBC and expect people to tune into Peacock for the reveal? 

I wonder if the soap magazines that do the daily summaries will continue? I haven't watched for two years now and can get enough from the summaries, so I would miss those. Not enough to pay for this, though.

[WendyCR72]

12 minutes ago, Kitty Redstone said:

So I've watched a previous days episode on Peacock for free, but after September will it only be on one of the paid versions of Peacock?  We recently slimmed down our cable package so I don't mind paying for the service, especially if it means I can stream old seasons of Project Runway. 

Maybe the move will get new viewers, better writing, etc.?

ETA: For fellow mystery lovers, Peacock has Columbo and Alfred Hitchcock and other old shows.  Oh and even Eureka and Face Off from Sci Fi!

I like to watch the Law & Order franchise (Criminal Intent, Mothership, early SVU) episodes on there, too. Yes, they are still all over TV, but I like I can choose what episodes I want to watch.

[Kitty Redstone]

Yes, I'd love to be able to watch L&O that way.  And Dark Shadows, which I've always heard about but never seen, so that's exciting!

[WendyCR72]

What this comes down to, though? Ron essentially killed OLTL, and now his shitty writing killed Days on NBC. Because if the numbers were still there, it would not be moving.

Why is this hack still employed?

[DeafAngelboy23]

There’s no money in streaming so it’s an intentional winding down to wrap up this longtime soap. Peacock is relying on WWE & Premier League to keep their numbers up but it’s not profitable yet… only Disney+ get to do that by 2025. 

[Kitty Redstone]

Not to take up for Ron, but I'm not sure even an exceptional writer could keep this soap on network television.

[kthomp38]

I paid for Peacock to show my kids the Harry Potter films and I am really enjoying watching other shows on their like House and all the Law and Orders so it won't affect me.  I don't really understand moving a soap though since most of their viewers are older and don't "get" streaming.

[sas616]

I think this is the nail in the coffin for this show.   So many viewers have been watching for years and years (and years).  Which means, like me, they're no spring chickens.  And many may not be able to afford a streaming service.   Luckily, I have Peacock with my cable package.   I'm already paying for 5 streaming channels (Netflix, Prime, Hulu, Britbox and Acorn) and that's enough for me.   I wouldn't subscribe to Peacock just to watch 1 program.    

[Kitty Redstone]

I'm going to be the optimist here and hope the move will bring in better writing and new viewers.  If it's the end of Days, so be it, but I'm hoping the move will breath new life into this old soap.

[Peanut6711]

32 minutes ago, Kitty Redstone said:

Yes, I'd love to be able to watch L&O that way.  And Dark Shadows, which I've always heard about but never seen, so that's exciting!

My hubs and I bought some of the Dark Shadows collections on DVD many years ago, and last winter I started re-watching them with our youngest who wanted to see it.  It's definitely worth checking out.  Just be forewarned, it moves slow and yet is still addicting.  Hopefully Peacock adds more seasons. 

[tessaray]

Some people will make a push to figure out the streaming thing once Days goes all digital. It happened with AMC and OLTL, though not enough to make money for Prospect Park.  Hopefully it's different today.  

I suspect enough people watch online already that the ones left behind won't matter to the advertisers.