SID: Interview with Marlene McPherson and Darrell (Read 207 times)

[karebr13]

from daytime royalty

daytimeroyaltyonline.com/topic/8607240/1/


SID: Interview with Marlene McPherson and Darrell Ray Thomas; 12/5 Issue

Setting Things Write

It's safe to say that on September 26th, all eyes were focused on Days of Our Lives as the show -- under new headwriters Marlene McPherson and Darrell Ray Thomas -- launched its much-heralded reboot. As Greg Meng, the show's executive in charge of production puts it, "Darrell and Marlene have been a godsend." Two months in, we asked the scribes to share their thoughts on the process so far... and give a little insight into what's yet to come!

SID: What was your primary goal in getting the show back on track?

Marlene McPherson: I started on the show in 1991. It was such a family-oriented show. Family and supercouples mattered so much to Darrell and I. We felt those elements were missing. We wanted to get back to those great, midwestern values.

Darrell Ray Thomas: Those things don't go out of style. Family, the way we define family, changes. For many people now, family is the people they choose to be with. But it's still family.

SID: What was the impetus for the story in which John is accused of stealing?

Thomas: We were drinking [laughs]. That's pretty much the answer to every question.

McPherson: We wanted to take one of the most heroic, upstanding characters on the show and have him go through something that would touch every member of their family. And it was timely!

SID: Especially with the whole Occupy Wall Street movement.

Thomas: As we sat around talking about doing a story that was timely, I don't want to beat our own drum here, but we kind of saw that this was something that wasn't even close to coming to a head and that it was going to be relevant even a year down the line. We were able to, through this story, say to fans, "We hear you! We know what you're going through!"

SID: Obviously, you've heard from fans who want EJ and Sami together. What do you say to them?

McPherson: I think we would like people to understand that it takes time to build things. We can't come on and just immediately change everything drastically. it takes time and a natural progression to let things build. We are listening to what fans are saying, and we do hear what they want, but some things just take a little bit of time to make them happen.

Thomas: There's a fine line you can walk where you give them a little taste. I think that's the whole carrot-and-a-stick thing that comes with writing an ongoing drama. We're conscious of that, and we keep it in the back of our minds all the time, no matter which couple or storyline you're writing or which group of storylines you're talking about.

SID: What would you say to a lapsed fan who hasn't yet come back into the fold?

Thomas: We'll pay you to watch us [laughs]. They'll look at the screen and see why they fell in love with Days in the first place. They'll recognize their show again.

[MrsM]

Natural progression? Sami and EJ have hardly talked since the reset and now they are sleeping together??? Apparently they were smoking something as well....

[fluffysmom]

I'd like to try some of what they were drinking.

[jaysdelina]

I still don't like the Sami/EJ thing.It's a story that should definitely be dropped.They aren't good around eachother and never have been.
I would however,be interested to see how the rest of the stories play out.I still have hope for these writers.

[sportsgirl]

So it is going to be a EJ/Sami pairing....there go the ratings, down again!
I am seriously thinking this is a deliberate attempt to ruin the show so NBC can cancel it...

[Tom Horton]

My only hope for these writers is that their pink slips come quick.

[Minako98]

For the love of God and all that is holy... please do NOT make Ej/Sami an endgame.

[Tom Horton]

Well the "end" part fits... EJ/Sami would be the surest and fastest way to end Days. Personally, I think they've already killed Days. The remote possibility exists that Corday could wander in off the golf course again and notice that the show has gone down even further and insist on a rewrite in time, but otherwise, I think Stefano was more right than anyone realized when he proclaimed over an infant lil Elvis that this son would destroy Salem.

[Kpatch]

If y'all can chip in for my air fare, I'll make the big sacrifice and apply for a writing job with Days. I had such great hope for the new writers and THIS is what they came up with? They are truly short-sighted simpletons.

[fluffysmom]

I think somebody besides Ejami fans need to be tweeting, emailing or whatever about what they want. I suspect that was how the Broe fans got some nice scenes before Chloe left.

[Tom Horton]

^^^ That's not the problem Fluffy. Corday lied when he said they were listening to fans. Days knows perfectly well how unpopular EJ/Sami is and that is precisely why they went in this direction. They are making the same mistake that Tomlin did in thinking that making the viewers furious will have them tuning in to see what happens next.... and like Tomlin they will learn that what infuriates viewers isn't the fictional characters or storyline but the real life issue at stake and that is what keeps costing them such large, fast drops in viewers who don't return even after the show moves on to the next plot point.

[mae00]

Nov 18, 2011 14:25:08 GMT -5 Kpatch said:

If y'all can chip in for my air fare, I'll make the big sacrifice and apply for a writing job with Days. I had such great hope for the new writers and THIS is what they came up with? They are truly short-sighted simpletons.

Oh please do!! I will gladly chip in for that!! Days would see their ratings improve by leaps & bounds if you became the writer for the show!!!


& Yes, if they think putting Sami & EJ back together b/c thier child is presumed dead is natural progression, then yes, they are very much short-sighted simpletons..