It’s not often that I actually praise a soap in its entirety. OLTL is good, and I enjoy more of the show than I dislike of it… but it’s not GREAT. Which soap is, in my opinion? Hands down, Days of Our Lives has to be the best overall soap in daytime! It’s such a great soap that the things I hate about it are the things you’re SUPPOSED to hate about a soap or about the show’s characters. What makes DAYS such a great soap? Two words: consistency and BALANCE!
What can drive you crazy about some soaps (YnR, BnB, and GH) is that they lack balance. On the Bell soaps especially, the soap winds blow in only one direction. Either most characters are happy, or they’re all miserable. Bell soaps are tragic drama… minus the drama. Can you think of a week in which BnB spoilers didn’t suggests that a ‘couple would be torn apart’? Can you think of a week, on the BnB especially, in which characters weren’t uttering dialogue that is deeply inconsistent from the week before? How does Thorne Forrester shift from being tired of always being thought of as a last place loser in his family, to applauding having his ex-sister-in-law/former fiancee becoming a quarter owner in his FAMILY’S company? The YnR? Between the cancer storyline, the switched identities, Ashley having yet another breakdown, and the dead-for-live baby swap, watching the YnR could counteract the strongest prescribed anti-depressant. GH? There’s hope for the show… just very little of it. GH may as well have been taped in a dark studio, with night vision cameras. Given how heavy the show is, the change in lighting couldn’t possibly hurt. For these three soaps, it’s the same stuff, different day.
One Life to Live, All My Children and As The World Turns are shows that have balance, but lack consistency. The storylines change too quickly and by the time you become use to the direction of a storyline, it changes gear – in some cases that’s a good thing. I don’t know how many more months of Dorian knuckling under to Mitch Lawrence’s demands I could stand. Another week of JPL’s ‘Rex’ trying to emote as a ‘troubled and angry’ man and I really would have needed stitches from laughing. What was the point of introducing Allison Perkins? On ATWT, the ‘spare tissue’ pregnancy Janet suggested and was then shot down almost immediately? EH! (and who doesn’t already know that Janet will end up pregnant, anyway?) There’s a lot going on with the three shows above, but it’s almost as if the writers are overwhelmed and aren’t keeping track of who said what, and when.
While DAYS held on far too long to the ‘Sydnapping’ storyline, overall, the fact that the show has been consistent and balanced allowed fans, like myself, who were tired of the storyline to focus on something else. Knowing, last month, that the storyline would continue a while longer, I began tuning it out and focusing on other big onscreen news. I don’t know what it is about ‘Daniel’ and ‘Melanie’, but I think it’s sheer genius to pair them together as father and daughter (and yes, I’ve been reminded that she once flirted with him when neither knew they were related). Something about his presence in her life finishes Mel’s character profile out nicely. She’s been two characters in one during her tenure at DAYS. There is the manipulating and selfish Mel, and then there is the vulnerable and melancholy Mel. In some ways he softens Mel, but she does the same for him. Shawn Christian (as Daniel) hit his stride perfectly in the hospital visitation scenes, after finding out that Melanie was his child. His eyes were soft and a bit weepy, his tone of voice was relaxed, and it was easy to believe that he was in awe of the young woman in front of him, one he’d only recently found carried his genes in her DNA. That he was the doctor who operated on her and saved her life made the scene all the more meaningful. Melanie looked vulnerable and frail and in need of someone to protect her. He looked ready for the job. Priceless.
And if it must be mentioned…
The kidnapping storyline is done, sorta’. Anna will finally wise up and realize that EJ is capable of using and abusing anyone, until he no longer needs them, and she’s included in that number. When he’s done with you, you’re on your own. Too bad for EJ (but great for fans) that Anna isn’t a willing victim. For those of you who don’t know (spoiler alert, stop reading here… I warned ya’!), it’s Anna who will make sure that Nicole is freed of all charges and allowed to resume her life in Salem. Ej, you schmuck! You had it coming. So the question is, with Nicole’s return, how does EJ get busted for the kidnapping of his infant daughter?
1. Rafe, hottie hot hot, to the rescue? Rafe figures it all out and makes sure Sami knows what a low life EJ is? Sami tends to forget that fact of life when she allows EJ to play on her desperation.
2. Nicole is redeemed, to a degree, by joining forces with Brady and they bring the news to Sami and Rafe? Sorry Arianne Hernandez, with Nicole’s return, I’m hoping your DAYS are numbered… Phillip will probably be free soon – give him a call.
3. A dark horse candidate emerges. Stefano learns from Anna – who is by now hiding out in a bunker and out of Dimera reach, about EJ’s dastardly plan. He realizes that his son was willing to hurt him in among the worst ways possible and decides to deal with EJ his own way…by throwing him to the wolves!
I’m partial to the third option. I’d love to see Stefano strip Ej of his money and power. DAYS’ writers have been relatively creative in their storytelling. What could they do with a powerless EJ, who no longer has the ability to manipulate and/or offend the women of Salem? The writers could continue to move EJ on to the next storyline but in the end what good would it do if Ej isn’t completely deconstructed and rebuilt? He’s currently an (evil) freakshow! What would life look like from the other side, a man without resources at the mercy of the power brokers? Nothing could give him greater insight into what his negative influence has been over others than having him fend for himself against the next ‘Ej Dimera’. His deconstruction could also lead him to find real love for the first time, a woman he doesn’t have to force to have sex with him.
Other DAYS questions:
Can Chloe and Daniel survive his strong-willed adult daughter? Chloe isn’t too much older than Melanie and she may not think his penchant for younger women is so cute now that she can’t date him (and excuse me… EWWWW!) At some point, Melanie will most likely forgive Carly for allowing Lawrence to give her away and leave her at the mercy of her adoptive father. When she does, will she want to see her parents together and fulfill a childhood fantasy of having a mother and father who love her and are part of a complete and loving family?
Will the writers break up Phillip and Melanie for Nathan and Melanie, or will Melanie begin to realize that she does love Phillip. I’m on Team Nathan, but I do think it would be a more interesting storyline to have Phillip be a ‘good guy’ who genuinely loves Mel and wants to save his marriage to her without resorting to going to his ‘dark place’ to make it happen. The best triangles keep you rooting for everyone involved.
With Hope defending Bo and asserting that he is (professionally) an ethical man, will Bo begin to realize that he may be professionally ethical but that he’s lacking personally? For most of their adult lives, Hope has been defending their marriage against each of Bo’s new ‘great loves’ and any children that are born or resurface as a result. He has yet to have to do the same because she has centered her life around him. Is there some point in his life when he realizes that he’s taken more from his marriage than he’s ever given to Hope?
I could do this all day with Days of Our Lives. Each storyline offered is one that poetnitally generates an entirely new group of storylines. Days writers thank you for the use of both veterans balanced against the introduction of newbies. My only criticism… Abe… Lexie… MORE please! DAYS is the only show consistently posting large gains in viewership over the year before. Daytime writers… watch… learn… emulate!
In the last blog entry, I noted that I fully expected the BnB to lose the ratings race to DAYS. Here are the ratings for the week in question (and many thanks to the folks at 
Hey, if I must continue in committing soap heresy (as I’m sure Terror/Ethan fans will accuse me of), I have to admit that I’m not terribly interested in Vivian Alamain’s return. L-O-V-I-N-G Louise Sorel, I’m disappointed that the writing for her has made the character of Vivian so quirky and annoying. This Vivian is a caricature of Vivian 1.0 – who was always clever, conniving, and dangerous. Vivian 1.0 would be thinking of ways to make a tough business move to establish herself as Salem’s lead power broker, instead of focusing on how to woo a cantankerous and verbally abusive curmudgeon like Victor. As currently portrayed, I fully expect Disney to write a theme song to be played every time Vivian enters view and to watch small puppies tremor in fear in her presence – hey, those coats won’t make themselves, people! Vivian 2.0 … 3.0? 4.0? is focused on gaining power by ‘merging’ with Victor Kirakis. I hardly recognize Viv!
If I was a DAYS writer/producer thinking about how to keep the ratings rock rolling up hill instead of down, there would be more focus on both quadrangles and even exploit the overlapping relationships between the two quads; I’d kick up the Brady and Nicole storyline until Zuker goes on maternity leave. Brady would actually be on the run with Nicole, trying to get her to return to Salem but all the while knowing that he is willing to betray his family to be with her; I’d realize how much more interesting Stefano is without EJ and yes, Virginia, if there really is a Santa Claus – EJ would be history; Rafe’s family would also be gone; I’d avoid making Maggie the collector of lost souls – her relationship with Melanie worked because it was unique. With Mia it’s just old hat and a little tired. Why not a role reversal with Maggie having relationship problems and Melanie serving as her sounding board?; and finally, I’d think about what it would need to happen to make Abe and Lexi and frontburner and interesting couple. The writers need to do more to challenge themselves on what to do with the Carvers to enhance the show’s diversity in a way that’s meaningful. Too much of what happens with the Carvers feels like an afterthought.
I think that BOLD’s Ashley Jones’ appeal is severely underestimated – mainly by the BOLD writers since prime time writers, directors, and casting agents ‘get it’, given Ms. Jones’ string of successes in prime time appearances. Between Ashley Jones and Sarah Brown, the baby surrogacy storyline, added to the Logan/Forrester takeover, has the potential to give fans a reason to become excited about the show. SB’s Sandy is clearly playing the Nicole Walker role, but are her intentions are as pure as Nicole’s? It’s doubtful given Sandy’s fixation on the happy couple, the fact that they have everything, according to her, and that she has nothing. Could she have been targeting Nick and Bridget all along? Maybe it wasn’t her plan to become a surrogate, but that she’d planned to take advantage of Nick’s reputation as an unfaithful man. The guy slept with Bridget’s mother and her dying aunt, after all. How hard could it be to have him fall into bed with her? That the happy couple needed a surrogate might have been a happy coincidence for her. It would give her a chance to get closer to Nick, without Bridget needing to be around, and it set the stage for her making Bridget feel inadequate – or to at least try to.
When the Bold and the Beautiful is on, it’s ON. When it’s not, it’s the most confusing show on daytime. The inconsistency and character/plot shifting isn’t serving the show well. I’m hoping there’s a time when the show will play to the strength of it’s actors and rich history, and do so consistently. If DAYS does surpass the BnB in the ratings, who knows it will last? DAYS has also had problems with past writing teams being inconsistent and confusing. It’s hard to know who will ultimately prevail in this battle, but given the richness of the BnB, it seems that the BnB has the edge. The writers just need to wake up and wake the rest of us up as well.
OLTL’s Tea Delgado just helped free Todd, who recently violated his former rape victim. That storyline I could do without. It’s enough to make me want to revoke her bitch goddess status. She is, however, using that bit of tasteless work as cover for going after a different target – another potentially innocent woman who is the victim of a questionable man. Oh Tea. While I don’t like her behavior, it’s been a while since we’ve seen such a powerful and devious woman in daytime. We typically get one or the other.
Crude? Yes, and forgive me, but what the hell are the Foley boys packing in their pants? It must be magic! Cyrus supported freeing his pathologically criminal brother – Tammy’s murderer, and Cassie finds herself covering for Cyrus, knowing he’d stolen her neighbor’s stereo. Oh, wait… ‘swoon’… he broke into her neighbor’s house for HER SAKE! Yes, she was ‘grateful’/’impressed’ that he did it after she complained about the noise the neighbor made blasting the blessed thing all night long. She even gives Cyrus a key to her home to come and go! Her son RJDOES still live with her, right? OY! There’s dumb, and then there’s Cassie. Another move made FAR too soon. It’s tough enough to not lose lunch over the Cyrus/Cassie friendship, but that she’s not giving him a key to come and go from her home? I don’t think so.
Bo-Hope fans have been debating about the promotion to top cop and asking why Hope hasn’t finally been advanced to top cop in the Salem PD. Good question. For some, the answer is simple. She doesn’t have the same work history. I thought about how disturbing it is that the writers have been so inconsistent about Hope and her commitment to her job. She’s been kidnapped, lost her memory, home raising children, home mourning lost children, you name it – it’s happened. The oddity is that through most of that, Bo was at her side. He hasn’t exactly been on the job much more than Hope. Putting my two cents in, I would have loved to have seen Hope rise in ranks. Salem is going to need a tough top cop to deal with what’s coming…. tease tease tease…
Coffee At Cafe Russe 