How many of you heard that phrase from headwriters'...'The character is going in a new direction' or, "we are taking the show in a new direction...' or howabout this one...."Its time to move on... do any of those sound abundantly familiar?

They should because its the code word for Soap writers when they are doing something completely OPPOSITE than before...well guess what...
Goddess is going in a "new direction....":))))

I stated this in my last blog, that I have no trouble praising good quality writing nor do I have any trouble whatsoever recognizing an effort made forth in this industry to save it. I feel I have finally found my answer and its a very, nice surprise.

Days of Our Lives dominated the demos; the mags and of course viewers' hearts and souls during the glorious eighities and early nineties with their sweeping sagas of love stories and romance...ah yes I recall it well. I used to race home; tape whenever I could of the Saga of Bo and Hope and I will never ever forget that glorious sweeps location scene with Bo racing on his motor cycle to the tunes of "I need a hero" by Bonnie Tyler and barrelling inside the church to rescue his Fancy face from the evil Larry Welch.....Stunning, romantic gorgeous and it captured me as a true blue Bo and Hope lover but most of all, I feel for the writing.

Stunning Margaret De Priest.

You know her, don't you? well let's see. You may not know the name but you do know her storylines...Bo and Hope;, Shane and Kimberly; Justin and Adrienne; Roman and Marlena; Calliope and Eugene; Steve and kayla...Melissa and Pete; Frankie and Jennifer...ah yes recall those pairings? Neil and Liz?
Now let's talk about her writing partners...Thoma Racina and Sheri Anderson under the compelling production of the one and only, Shelley Curtis. Days was on the map and featured in every Soap Opera magazine the publishers could get their hands on and they dominated the key demographics. Sigh....The late eighties nineties under Anne Howard Bailey after her stint with Santa Barbara...can I just say...what happened to those glorious romances?

Ah yes...Well the late James E. Reilly took Days so into the abyss of far-fetched plot driven storytelling it became a universal trend along with other daytime writers just chimping at the bit to SHOCK YOU to watch...
Good quality storytelling took a backseat and days began to sink.....sigh....

The Best comeback stories are the ones you never see happening at all. When Ed Scott joined the fold last year with Corday and company, an impressive 13 emmy nominations was delivered to NBC and Corday's writing andproduction team...how on earth could this happen?

Simple.

Somebody listened and somebody woke up.

Now alas, Ed scott is gone once again and Dena Higley is still at the helm of Days...but with a surprising twist. Christopher Whitesell a Doug Marland apprentice from years back at ATWT who just so happened, to bring some of the most compelling work to General Hospital in the nineties....Sunset Beach he worked with none other than...Maggie De Periest...The man's credentials are truly well respected.....But who pre tell to produce such sweeping sagas of Days past Corday was on the hunt....
Gary Tomlin who rose OLTL to the top with critics and with demos at record speed. Sigh, Goddess adores Gary for oh so many reasons.....
He worked with Anne Howard Bailey at Santa Barbara along with Charles Pratt Jr; Frank Salisbury..Bob Guza and wife Meg Bennett, ...oh gee his writing bud Richard Culliton who is penning scripts for Days now, and ah yes, none other than my favorite scribe, Patrick Mulcahey.
So why does this formula work?
Proof is in the demos and ratings. Days has been climbing non stop with a bullet in the numbers by showcasing once more, the sweeping love stories; character driven format; young couples who are core characters from the rich history of the show....but with a twist....
It has the feel of Doug Marland written all over it and that pleases me ever so because.....

His RULEBOOK is present in the writing.

So let's talk about what Days is doing right...and what the other shows are doing wrong.

At GH.....Very convoluted. Guza has lost his way and cannot seem to stop interference from Brian Frons and he cannot seem to find the right blend...no matter how hard he tries...

Guza MUST FACE REALITY:

Sonny/Jason/MOB is PLAYED OUT.

Should he decide to end it once and for all, then Guza must rediscover his roots as a writer and recall what made him so incredibly famous in the first place: His ability to find the right character writer to connect with the viewer. In this case, that does not seem to be happening because the show has been on a rollercoaster ride of plot innuendo to make the mob story WORK.
Let it go Bob.....Let it GO.

Bold.

My goodness how to wreck a soap in just thirty days..would you like to see? Just disagree with key demographics and longtime viewers who understand the quality and the genre and wow.........you are on a roll. That 2.3 is going down down down..I have been hearing the proverbial call Bradley from your longtime viewership since 1987...


*Crickets chirping* .............they are moving...but where to?

Salem, perhaps?


With the compelling love Story of Daniel and Chloe, Days seems to have found its energy once again. The 'New Bo and Hope" of the Show are intriguing viewers all over with the intensity of SEXATION.....Yes you heard it right.....sexation...a word you simply do not see on soaps anymore and why is that?


Because majority of cast members on Soaps are well past their prime acting in youth storylines while the audience recalls watching them when they lived it previously. You cannot go back so....showcase new pairings with the heat intensity and INVEST.
Days heard the call and wow, in an impressive notion, there is a pairing for each and every single demographic. Daniel and Chloe; Rafe and Sami; Nicole and Ej; Stephanie and Phillip; Mia and Chad; Brady and Arianna; Bo and Hope and ah yes....must say it the new "jack and Jennifer of Days...Melanie and Nathan....

So that about covers the 12-17 18-34 18-49 and it shows because Days of Our Lives is once again #1 in the 18-34 demosa nd now climbing in 18-49 and only .2 of a point away from reaching the number two spot in households. How in the hell did this happen?

Simple....


Corday LISTENED and brought back the character driven romances of the 80's and 90's back with an impressive line up of writers; driven producers and a message to inform the Daytime genre....

"WE'RE BACK".

So am I.

Congratulations Corday. After my bow out in the mid nineties, I have returned because of three things:
The writing the writing the writing....
Keep it going.:)))