TPTB: Or Why Do The Writers Hate Us?

[TigerLynx]

The problem I see with the Network's ability to neutralize Ken Corday is it is tied to whether or not Days gets renewed.  In 2012, Sami was going to get back together with Rafe, and EJ was going to be paired with the boring twit.  The Network over ruled Corday, and Sami and EJ were paired in January 2013.  As soon as Days was renewed, Corday started shredding Sami/EJ, and blamed Sami for everything.  Sami dared to be upset that Kristen drugged and raped Eric, and EJ lied to her about it, and Corday made Sami the bad guy.  EJ destroyed Sami's life again, and was going to get to go off and be happy with Slappy with another baby on the way while Sami was left to pick up the pieces of her life.  The only thing that stopped that from happening was AS and JS leaving the show, and Corday had the writers continue to drag the SL out until their very last day.  The entire time having everyone act like Sami was the villain.

 

The vets maybe back for the 50th, and there maybe new writers who are actually old writers that have written for Days before, but there is no guarantee if Days gets renewed that Ken Corday won't do the same thing he has been doing for years all over again.  Right now the vets that have returned and are taping seem to be happy with the way their SLs are going, but I'm interested to see how they feel six months or a year from now.

[Apprentice79]

I have a feeling that if the show is renewed for another 2 years, the Network will be monitoring closely because when Ken Corday is at the reigns the show's ratings are in the toilet..Low ratings mean that they cannot make  money like they want to..At the end of the day, it is a business and they will not lose money..The dissatisfaction with the show is everywhere, not just on here...For example: the hate for  everything that is Daniel Jonas and his insipid daughter..We are not the only ones that hate them, they are hated on other boards that I have frequented about Days..They call him: God, Taniel...e.t.c..I am pretty sure that the network has been made aware about this and it is no surprise that he was created by Ken Corday himself....Maggie is hated too because of her association with him....

Edited May 17, 2015 by Apprentice79

[SanDiegoInExile]

...when Ken Corday is at the reigns the show's ratings are in the toilet..Low ratings mean that they cannot make  money like they want to..At the end of the day, it is a business and they will not lose money..The dissatisfaction with the show is everywhere, not just on here...

 

Ken Corday has been running the show since the 1980s. The ratings have not been in the toilet for 30 years.

Everyone involved who would know such things, says that the show does not lose money.

 

Is it possible that Corday could retire?  Yes. Maybe even pushed upstairs and out of any decision-making role.  If that were to happen, maybe things would be different.  Though I doubt it.  No single person makes all decisions.  If anything, DOOL sufffers from too many cooks in the kitchen.

 

Strangely, most of the dissatisfaction that is out there is posted by folks under identical screennames or slightly varied names, often posting extremely similar comments, using the same syntax and misspelling/misuse (there/their or your/you're).   Networks and producers notice such things and readily discount the commentary.

[MsTree]

Thanks for your post, SanDiegoinExile...especially the last paragraph. Haters will always hate. They think by posting the same negativity 37 times in equally different ways, they'll be "heard".  And I'll never understand the Daniel hate. Sure he's a surgeon, an ob/gyn, an ER doc, a cardiologist and all around miracle worker, but so was Mike Horton (among other leading docs on the show), but viewers didn't seem to hate him.  Ah, the curse of the internet. Brings out the best and worst, you know?

[buffynut]

I don't remember all the specifics of Mike Hortons' storylines, but my memories of him are fond.  I loved him and April.  I loved the brother/sister affection with Jennifer.  I'm sure he wasn't always perfect, but my overall of opinion, of when I watched, is good.

 

I just find Daniel is either written badly or I don't like the way the actor portrays him.  I get so tired of him poking his nose into everyone's business that has nothing to do with him. (i.e. Paige & JJ, Serena & Xander, etc.) and having a nasty attitude about their business. And I really HATE the way he has been treating Nicole.  And for that matter, women in general.  if Daniel got a job in another city, or died, I wouldn't miss him at all.

 

Interestingly, the first time I remember seeing Daniel was when he and Jennifer were at the Horton cabin and Jennifer had appendicitis.  They were stranded on the island and Daniel was worried about during the surgery because of a shakiness in his hand.   I think they were just falling in love at that point. And I have no idea what had happened to his hand.  But my first impression of Daniel were good.  That was back when I just watched DOOL on the odd occasion, so maybe I just caught Daniel on a "good day".

[TigerLynx]

What the Network pays attention to is ratings, and whether or not advertisers buy spots on the show.  Most viewers don't post on message boards.  If they don't like what they see, they just stop watching. 

[SanDiegoInExile]

What the Network pays attention to is ratings, and whether or not advertisers buy spots on the show.  Most viewers don't post on message boards.  If they don't like what they see, they just stop watching. 

 

 

TV ratings in 2015 is a whole world of difference than TV ratings of even 2005.  Prime time shows barely register 2.0 in the demo and are considered "hits".  Ratings are important, but so are internet analytics and on-demand viewing.  That data is held extremely close to the vest by show producers and only lauded when there is some unique breakthrough PR they want to spout.

Why any of the women in Salem put up with the abusive men, I do not know.  It's gotten beyond offensive.

 

It's hardly a new development. Every single woman over 30 in the cast has had a rape storyline.  Nearly all have had imprisonment/abuse storylines.  Most have had to be "rescued" by a man. It's Soap 101 and has IMHO contributed to the decline of the genre.

[Petunia13]

I think the rating (tv and online or w/e) must be a lot shittier than even 15 years ago because look at the budget. A few small ass lame sets, weird clothes, no location shoots, for the longest taping a bunch of shows at once so it's 6 months in advance which makes it hard to change failing story and it is grueling on the cast and crew, and the soap mags always post how the show is in danger of being cancelled.

Those things are clues the ratings are shitty. I think.

[TigerLynx]

Days faces the same problem other soaps and TV shows do, and that is viewers do not have to watch in real time.  They can tape, DVR, FF through commercials, and the parts of the show they don't want to watch, etc.  Then there are the people who are only interested in one character, one couple, or one SL who simply watch clips on the internet.  This is why they need to get the fans interested in the entire show, wanting to tune in daily to see what happens.

 

I think Sonny's choices suck.  Will cheats on him, and Paul only came out of the closet and wanted to be with Sonny when it was convenient for Paul.  Sonny deserves someone better than both Will and Paul.

[radishcake]

Here's a topic for all speculation and chat about the writers, producers, and others who make our show the BEST and/or WORST. 

[islandgal140]

With the slew, and I do mean slew of vet returns, I feel more nervous about Days future than ever before. I know part of this is 50th anniversary related but I also think this maybe do or die time for Days. Like if there is no decent and prolonged bump in the ratings and demos, than NBC won't renew and Days is all set to sail into the sunset with some wonderful fan faves on the screen. 

 

I know there is a rumor or maybe Corday outright admitted to not liking vets, but I do think part of that is due to them being so expensive. So how can they suddenly afford all these heavy hitters? Because JS/AS left? Negotiated lower salaries? NBC give them a bigger budget? 

[Apprentice79]

I think it is a combination of all the things that you have listed in your post, islandgal..However, I think that the network have heard our collective dissatisfaction about our show and has taken action..I also think that they have neutralized Ken Corday.. Only time will tell...The show has been on a decline for a long time and I hope that they can turn it around..All they have to do is get rid of the superfluous characters like DAN and concentrate on characters that the viewers want to see and give us character-driven stories....They have a rich history and they need to use that to propel the show into the future...

Edited May 19, 2015 by Apprentice79

[TigerLynx]

I think they may have waited to long to do that.  I believe Ken Corday, the writers, Sony, and the Network all have/had their favorites, and they expected the fans to like those characters because they did.  There was a lot of backstage disagreement on where to take certain characters and SLs which lead to all the OOC actions and nonsenical SLs which went nowhere.  Bringing back fan favorites/the vets might get viewers to tune back in, but they also need to be looking to the future, and younger generations.

[Apprentice79]

That is true, they need to bring in the new generations of Brady, Horton, Dimera and Kiriakis into the fold and integrate them into the show...They also need to bring in new blood...Everybody being related in Salem is ridiculous. Sparkle should have been a stand-alone character, just like Victor was all those years ago...

Edited May 19, 2015 by Apprentice79

[Rick Kitchen]

I know B&B is only a half hour show, but how do they manage their outdoor shoots and upscale fashion lines?

[Apprentice79]

They have a bigger budget than Days of our lives..Plus, they are very popular overseas and I think the revenue from that funds their show...

[Petunia13]

I know B&B is only a half hour show, but how do they manage their outdoor shoots and upscale fashion lines?

They have a bigger budget than Days of our lives..Plus, they are very popular overseas and I think the revenue from that funds their show...

Its been the # 1 soap in the WORLD and #2 in the US along time. Also it's not corporate owned but owned by the EP Brad Bell and he has a lot of pride in the show. I heard a lot of stories from the actors on how well he treats them and I believe that since basically every cast member of it loves him to death.

I think when they go on location shoots he pays for their family to come with so they get lil vacations out of it. Last year they went on like 8 different location shoots to very cool places like Paris, Amsterdam, Dubai, ect. And when they go they really highlight the cities like film at the Eiffel Tower or on a canals of Amsterdam with local celebrities. Even the lighting and clothes are 5x better on B&B than even Y&R.

[slayer2]

I feel like DOOL is the most boring show on television right now. It's Fifty Shades of Grey times a thousand. It's so boring it should come with a degree in accounting, I'd almost rather crunch numbers than watch this. Is anyone else bored?

Edited May 19, 2015 by slayer2

[Kitty Redstone]

It is boring right now, but it's still a thousand times better than General Hospital.

[Petunia13]

Yes. And it's less dark or confusing than Y&R. And this soap has the hottest male daytime cast right now JMHO.

[TigerLynx]

I wish they would have some of the hot guys be decent human beings.  Whether they are supposed to be good, bad, or in between, they are all abusive jerks.

[radishcake]

Spoilers are not going to be tolerated in the threads that are not specifically labeled spoilers. If you think something might be a spoiler post it in either Spoilers & Shockers or in Anniversary Killer Spoilers if it's specifically about the serial killer.

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