September Reset Wish List (Read 843 times)

[fluffysmom]

I hope that John is involved in many of the stories. He has so many connections since he's a DiMera, his son is a Kiriakis, and he can get involved with the PD if needed or even bring back Basic Black and he's Sami step-dad. The possibilities are all there.

I agree that the writing will have to be there for the returning viewers to stick around. I am hopeful that we can get some positive changes but time will tell.

[Tom Horton]

Jul 28, 2011 8:51:53 GMT -5 slyn11 said:

I think my husband said it best last night. Bringing back the vets will get return viewers at first...ratings will rise, but then things will fall off. People will get over their nostalgia and realize it is all been there done that. The show should be using the vets to get people back in the door, but good stories for the younger generation should be what keeps the viewers there. You just can't go back. You have to write for the future. My hubby is a wise one.

If you look back at my previous posts you will see that I agree the show can't go backwards and that simply returning a few vets will not save the show. I don't agree however that the show should be written to give good stories to the younger generation. The show should be written to give good stories to all of the characters - the key word here is ensemble.

Nostalgia has been a key factor in the success of soaps and I believe it always will be. Days has gotten themselves into this mess by assuming that people would just get over what they always liked about the show and/or their attachments to some characters (and/or their anger at other characters.) It didn't happen and if the show doesn't shift away from the mistakes that ran off viewers in the first place, I'm not sure that merely returning a few vets will even gain a small, temporary rise in ratings.

Soaps have built themselves on longevity. The way they’ve always appealed to a new generation is to keep their longtime viewers excited enough about the show that they still want to share it with their younger relatives.... that's how nearly every current viewer at sites like these started. We watched with an older relative and even though the show wasn't geared to us specifically it had enough quality in the stories and characters to appeal to a wide range of ages and preferences. That may sound like a limited scope to pull new viewers from but its the surest way to do it and the attempts to do it any other way result in even lower viewership ... and in Days case, a very significant loss of viewership ... practically 1/3 of their customers lost in a 6 month period that even a year later they still haven't reclaimed. And it should be noted that the loss in total viewership corresponded with a drop in viewership among the targeted demographics also (i.e., the younger viewers).

There are plenty of other options for new and cutting TV shows (that quickly die away like new and cutting trends tend to do) but soaps are special – many existed before TV itself and they didn’t succeed this long by changing with every passing trend. Times have changed a lot in the past 50+ years but soaps have successfully survived all of it basically unchanged and now serve as the one and only medium that bridge between those very different worlds. It can certainly benefit a soap to make some changes that reflect the most significant and positive changes in the past 50 years, such as greater diversity in race and alternative lifestyles and women being more empowered (which Days is woefully behind on), but that doesn’t mean that all of the founding characters should be replaced by new ones or that they should all start acting (and dressing) like guests on the Jerry Springer show. Soaps have had a very long run and maybe they have become a dying breed but that doesn't mean they should lose all their dignity in the process or that what made them a success for such a long, long time should be dismissed as passe.

Soaps can and do survive some necessary, gradual, natural changes like the fact that Tom and Alice died and the fact that years before Frances Reed died the show had to ease away from Alice more and more. That worked because there had been decades to establish the younger members of her family ... when we talk gradual on a soap, it means decades not months or even a few years and most important it has to make sense and fit with how characters would really behave based on their established personalities and histories. However, intentionally trying to shift any show from it's core characters (and/or values) to a new set is the kiss of death. No one is going to watch Will and Grace if Will and Grace are replaced by Bill and Sue ....even though Karen and Jack were much more interesting characters and Bill & Sue are intended to be even "edgier".... and that is only a relatively short run series compared to a soap opera. If the only way to save Days is to replace the Hortons and Bradys with Hernandezes and Jonas-Laytons, glorify villains and promote evil triumphing over good, it's already doomed.... but I don't believe that for one second. Days still has a chance to rebuild itself and if they do it skillfully enough, it may even make another decade before it hopefully exits on a high note with some grace and class. Now the question of whether Days will succeed in doing that or not is dubious but I'm hoping for the best, not fully expecting it, but hoping none the less.

That's a rather long answer for my wishlist and I definitely don't expect it to be accomplished by September; I'm just hoping that Days will accomplish enough of it soon enough to stick around. I've written a long enough novel it seems and don't mean to discourage others from sharing their ideas or bore anyone, so I promise this post can serve as the end of my thoughts on the subject (well, in this thread at least but I have greatly enjoyed the conversation.

[fluffysmom]

Well said Kazz.

[jaysdelina]

Very well said Kazz.Honestly I'm cautiously optimistic for the changes coming in September.I'm not going to hold my breath that it's going to be fantastic,but at least beginning SOME change would be good.Heck,I'd be happy if the first change is they stop showing women as poor pitiful victims who can't lift a finger without a man telling them when,where and how.

[fluffysmom]

It would be nice if the women realized they could actually live without a man for a little while anyway. Take a short break in between husbands, lovers, or boyfriends.

[jaysdelina]

Exactly,this writing team seems to have a serious thing against women,or at least strong women.