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Post by glouster on Feb 4, 2023 21:50:33 GMT -5
Criticizing the characters is natural; I've done plenty of it myself, but all too often, the blame isn't directed to where it belongs. The writers. And these are the worst in the business. All too often, they rely on their cheap bag of gimmicks ad nauseam to create drama while having no clue how to build a couple worth rooting for. And if you did fall into that trap of cheering a couple on, you'd be sorely disappointed. These writers continually drive every relationship into a brick wall.
They couldn't develop an original idea if their life depended on it. Lazy is what they are, and I'd shed no tears if they were fired.
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Post by horizon on Feb 4, 2023 22:30:30 GMT -5
Criticizing the characters is natural; I've done plenty of it myself, but all too often, the blame isn't directed to where it belongs. The writers. And these are the worst in the business. All too often, they rely on their cheap bag of gimmicks ad nauseam to create drama while having no clue how to build a couple worth rooting for. And if you did fall into that trap of cheering a couple on, you'd be sorely disappointed. These writers continually drive every relationship into a brick wall. They couldn't develop an original idea if their life depended on it. Lazy is what they are, and I'd shed no tears if they were fired The underlying grievance you express points at something that does seem to be an overriding essence to the writer's approach regarding characters. To me an overarching pattern I detect is a deep cynicism regarding people. Misanthropy. They are seemingly allergic to creating consistent characters with very sound moral values that last. So, they often blur the lines between the so called "good people" and "bad people" which at times provides useful commentary that exposes the hypocrisy that can be found in society. For instance, I am very sympathetic to characters like Xander and Gwen because they are often pigeonholed as lower-class individuals with lesser values than the so called "well off." But when the cynicism penetrates to the core of so many things' characters lose their individuality and humanity and become mere playthings to be moved around on a chessboard. I understand your frustration. We are at the writer's mercy. I may have in my mind so and so character is a good person but if they do something rotten there is very little, I can do, but react to what I am seeing on the screen. As viewers we are passive passengers and beholden to whatever they dish out. |
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Post by glouster on Feb 4, 2023 23:11:54 GMT -5
What an insightful and thoughtful comment, horizon. And I agree with most of what you said. After being a long-time viewer, I've been spoiled by talented writing from the past, and I suppose I expect it to return someday. I remember when they could write a villain with an underlying vulnerability you could sympathize with or write a hero riddled with flaws but never to the point of turning away the audience. Family dynamics were significant too, and always created a plethora of watchable drama. Man, I miss that. The characters they created never veered too far from who they were and what made them enjoyable. And let's not forget the couples who would take months to get to know each other before jumping into bed. Who wants to become invested in a couple barely invested in each other these days?
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Post by Kpatch on Feb 5, 2023 12:33:44 GMT -5
horizon and glousterGuys, I moved your posts from the "Private Event at Brady Pub" thread and created this new thread. Your analyses are too good to get buried under a different topic. glouster , you sound just like me. I hate triangles and I hate gimmicks. I agree 100% that it's lazy writing because the writing staff (or at least the head writer) doesn't know how to craft true, organic drama. In the old days, you knew when a couple was in it for the long haul. Bo and Hope for example, never had any real challenges for their love. Steve and Kayla too. They had interesting adventures together. They weren't immediately torn apart by a third party. And going back to the devil again and again? Stop the insanity.
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Post by fluffysmom on Feb 8, 2023 8:58:00 GMT -5
The MyHourglass fan fiction writers come up with better storylines than the Days writers.
The one thing I do like about the writing is when we have the mentions of history. That was missing for awhile.
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Post by wendylou on Feb 8, 2023 15:59:32 GMT -5
I agree with a lot of this. I often think back to a comment I believe Ron made about writing the characters as if they are stupid and I can’t help but think that he shares the same opinion about the audience- write as if they’re stupid. He doesn’t seem to think we deserve better.
I also agree about them trying to blur the lines between good and bad. I also think they push it too far. While I do agree there aren’t characters who are pure good guys and bad guys as they used to write them, I do think they go out of their way to try to excuse bad behavior and turn ideas about who’s good/bad or what’s right/wrong on it’s head.
And the freaking triangles - UGH!
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Post by mae00 on Feb 8, 2023 20:08:50 GMT -5
Sadly, this day in age is all about "reboot" and "recreate" with a twist. Just look at all the movie remakes that seem to be taking place instead of new movies. It's so sad to sit down and watch something that is supposedly new and then end up being able to guess what's about to take place next.
The soap opera genre (or at least the Days writers) seem to take the "recreate" step and run with it but never really add a twist. There is nothing original at all about they are coming up with. I love that right now they are bringing back some older characters giving more nods to history, and that we are seeing some different sets, but all of that gets lost with the stupidity of the storylines that they insist on repeating time and time again. Not everyone has to be involved in triangles, much less multiple triangles at one time.
And blurring the lines between good and bad......that line gets thinner and dimmer every day. I know that everyone has a good side and bad side. I know that everyone tends to lean more one way than the other. I want more multi-dimensional characters than what we have been getting but these writers just can't seem to get there. Multi-dimensional for me means that while the character is being devious, there is also a softer side that comes out at the same time. The character is one way for a while and then all of a sudden they are another way. Stop with the whiplash changing! Show a character actually struggling to change. While not perfect, Lucas's alcoholism is the closest thing we've seen to someone struggling to resist doing something they know they shouldn't do. I want more Victor, Stefano, Caroline, and Alice (even tho I've only seen snippets with Alice) type multi-dimensional.
And here's the other thing. I want to laugh and cry both. I want the happy tears as well as the sad. Lately all we have really seen is the depressing side of things. It casts a HUGE down shadow on the show. Then when there's more than enough sadness to go around it's only focused on one person. Like one person's family is more important than anyone else. One person's grief is more important than another.
It's one thing to ask us to suspend some reality but it's another thing to write things that are clearly so far off base that it makes the viewers look stupid for watching the show.
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Post by UhSir on Feb 9, 2023 11:34:52 GMT -5
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Post by fluffysmom on Feb 10, 2023 9:11:05 GMT -5
I think the writers need to get back to basics. Write an emotional love story. Make us root for a couple. Give someone an adventure.
How about having a young character struggling in a new career? Or someone like Eric struggling to find a new career in midlife?
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