Hey, all four of you who still care about what’s going on in the world of soap operas, I’ve got some news for you: This morning, NBC announced that it has renewed Days of our Lives, the best sole remaining sudser in its daytime lineup, for another 18 months. That’ll keep Days — which celebrated its 43rd birthday last weekend — on the air through at least September 2010.
A PopWatch editor asked me if I’d write a little "fanboy tribute" to a show that I admittedly still watch every day, and his choice of wording made me smile. I guess I never thought of my allegiance to Days as anything approaching "fanboy." (Soap operas are downmarket enough as it is. Can’t I at least call myself a connoisseur?) Truth is, he’s right. By my estimation, I’ve been watching Days since I was roughly five years old. And after doing some very rough math, I can tell you that I’ve given approximately 6,240 hours of my life — many of them right after walking home from Catholic grade school — to this show. My love for Days peaked in the early-to-mid ’90s, when crazypants writer James E. Reilly launched the infamous buried alive storyline (still my all-time favorite), the Maison Blanche mystery, the legend of Samantha Brady (where would be without Alison Sweeney, people?), and what ended up being probably the most controversial storyline in daytime history: the demonic possession of Marlena Brady. Come on, PopWatchers, I know you remember this fantastic crap!!
As glad as I am to see Days given yet another reprieve, I can’t say I’ve sat through an episode fully absorbed in years. The show has been in a creative slump for a while now, there isn’t a single storyline currently holding my interest, and I’m not sure that NBC has the money (or the desire) to save what is admittedly one of the last of a dying breed. But we’ll see. In the meantime I, like any loyal soap fan, will keep tuning in tomorrow, ready to spend another 42 minutes with my beautiful, clueless, dazzling, and inane friends in Salem, U.S.A.
So, who’s willing to join my shame spiral and ‘fess up to be a present (or past) Days watcher? What are your all-time favorite storylines? And if you’re still watching, what’s your advice for the show in its next two years?
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I, like you, have been watching the show since around the age of five. Mother got he hooked, I had morning kindergarten, so I could spend my afternoons in Salem. And they didn’t know I was gay? However, I am glad it’s been renewed, I cant imagine NBC without Days… its unimaginable. The 90s were the heyday of this show, sadly the last few years have not been so kind, its starting to show its age. My idea to save it? Get rid of Dena Higley who’s writing the show and bring someone who knows the characters and the history.
My time with Days was in the 80s–my university days. I still love me some Patch and Kayla. Of course, I’ve watched Y&R everyday since grade 10, and continue to do so. It’s a great way to unwind after a work day (does that sound legit enough?)!
I have been watching since birth, I guess. I still watch off and on…Mostly off…:( But, I loved the buried alive story also. We used to rush through lunch in college just to watch Vivian torment poor Carly. There were probably 15 or 20 of us that would huddle around the Dorm T.V. My favorite all time couple would be Jack and Jennifer (1.0). I love a “good” girl and a “bad” guy. But, they botched it this last time they brought them back, and that is when I became a “casual” watcher. If they want to fix it, they need to move story quicker and give us some couples with “sizzle”…
I watched Days from the womb up until a few years ago. Getting a job probably had something to do with it… I used to tape it on random Fridays just to see what’s up but by now I barely recognize anyone. I have fond memories of Eileen Davidson playing three characters at once – Kristen, the nun, and the chick she stole the baby from, right? Also, Marlena possessed by the devil = best summer ever.
I’m an admitted Days-addict, and it’s the only soap I’ve ever watched. However, I’ve been increasingly annoyed by the lack of effort put into the writing, and the elimination of an entire generation of characters (Shawn, Belle, and Mimi all in a short time). Plus, is anyone else bothered how soap operas just seem to trade actors? In this picture, the actor used to be on Passions, and I can find former Days actors in the same time slot on ABC and CBS. It’s just strange – with all the out-of-work actors, why recycle so much?
I am a HUGE Days fan, in particular, a Bo and Hope fan. I’ve been watching for over 40 years, as my mother watched while I was a baby. In my opinion, backburnering the vets continues to be a problem. I don’t want to watch the teen mess and the ratings show that. They need to get back to basics…love in the afternoon.
Days was and is my grandma’s show, so my brother and I have been watching it our entire lives. Once we started school and she was no longer our babysitter, she would tape it for us (it comes on at 1:00 on the West coast, so we were still in school). To this day we still talk about the buried alive era…it’s unforgetable, really. And what about the Hope and Bo saga?? And Stephan! Ok, I could go on all day….Days is the best soap ever, there I said it. Now if only they would put it on DVD so we could enjoy forever……
I’ve been watching DAYS, off and on, since the early ’70s. I remember when Hope was a baby! It has ebbed and flowed over the years but it does seem to be on a continuing downward spiral. I miss the romance and adventure that was the hallmark of the show at it’s peak. The super couples were legendary – and plentiful. Nowadays they seem to rely much more on sleaze and steer away from any compelling romantic couples. I don’t understand it – it’s not that they don’t have the talent in the cast. Ali Sweeney and James Scott have amazing chemistry – but currently they are sharing zero screen time and are seemingly paired with other people. It’s an incredible waste. And they certainly still have the tried and true couples of Bo & Hope, Patch & Kayla, Tony & Anna – yet they are rarely seen and when they are, seem to be background filler.
So I agree that it seems they need to get rid of the current head writer and find someone who either knows the characters or will learn the history.
My mom has watched Days since it’s very beginning and I’m glad for her sake that it’s still going, if only for a short while longer. Due to her loyalty, I’ve seen quite a bit of Days growing up, namely the Marlena demon, the ridiculous age jump of Sammy and Eric, and my favorite tv character from childhood…Patch.
My mother watched Days from day one, so I got hooked when I was about 3-4. I also remember when Hope was born and the whole Doug & Julie, Mickey and Maggie, and of course Tom and Alice Horton. I loved the zany days of Bo and Hope, Patch and Kayla, Shane and Kim, Jack and Jennifer, etc… Days was a huge part of my childhood and helped me bond with my mother since I would come home from school (long before VCRs & DVRs) every afternoon and ask what happen on the program today. We always talked about the show as though the charcaters were real people/friends. I haven’t watch a complete episode in about 2 years, but I will be sad when the last sand falls through the hour glass.
The demonic possession storyline used to give me nightmares when I was a little kid.
My mom used to watch Days while I was at school. I watched when I was home with her during the summer months. Grew up had kids and watched it mysself everyday, my daughters followed me at it. But since going to work, put a crimp in watching it, haven’t really understood whats going on with it in years. My daughters have the same problem. I do know that Sammy was born just before or after my grandson (Marlena & my daughter were pregnant together), and he’s not that old! Always used to wish my kids grew as fast as their kidss did.
Days ugh who cares there hasn’t been a good soap on since Santa Barbara. The world of soaps stopped for me the day that was cancelled.
It was always my mom’s favorite too. I used to watch it religiously when I was on summer vacation in High School and while I was in University. But then I started to work where I didn’t have afternoons off and I stopped watching. My dad used to watch it on his lunch hour and I’d make him keep me filled in. I do find myself watching if I’m home sick or during Christmas vacation. I remember my roommates and I watching the episode with the Greta Coronation Massacre and I had to go to class before the end so we taped it and as soon as I got home I had to watch it like twice. So much carnage for a daytime show! It had the parental advisory and everything.
Days is a great show that I still love. Love pld Jack and Jennifer, love psossed Marlena. Nicole is my favorite character now. She is the best thing going for it. And I know the writer has this happening in her real life, but the autistic child’s story line is Boring!
I’ve been a Days fan all of my life and as long as there’s a Sami Brady, I will continue to be one.
My favorite storyline ever was Eileen Davidson as Kristen/Susan and three other “twins”. I also loved Aremid, Paris and most of the “location” shoots.
My advice in the next couple years would be to just write better long-term stories. Lately everything seems so schizophrenic.
I’d also like to see a new family come to town because the Bradys, Hortons, and Roberts are so tangled up that they’re out of unrelated people to date.
I started watching DAYS when I was in college (it was on between classes) during the trial of Sami’s rapist. Having never watched a soap before I had no idea that there were no quick resolutions at the end of each episode and 14 years later, I am still watching.
The writing has been dull lately and all of the screen time is going to the younger set. There needs to be a balance with more veterans in front burner storylines. And they need to stop with the introduction of new characters. At least the character of Brady is returning tomorrow (even if he will be played by a different actor).
Classic storylines/milestones: Marlena’s (real) twin sister; Doug and Julie’s courtship; Patch stepping aside so that his kid brother Jack could wed Kayla; the return of Bo and Hope; Allison Sweeney as Sammy.
Guilty pleasures: Caliope and Dr. Tom Horton Sr. opening a beat poetry club; Shane’s daughter Eve romancing her pimp Nick; Marlena’s alien twins!
Haven’t watched since probably the late eighties, but my fav stories were Bo & Hope, Roman and Marlena and Eugene and Calliope. Anyone remember the Salem Stalker storyline?
I grew up watching CBS soaps with my mom, but when my sister went to college in the early 80s, she introduced the rest of us to Days. I watched it for the next 15 or so years, until the Princess Gina crap finally drove me away. I loved Bo and Hope, Patch and Kayla, Shane and Kim, Eugene and Calliope, Jack and Jennifer, Marlena and Roman (and then Marlena and John) and Tom and Alice. During the last several years I’ll check on the show here and there, and be disappointed every time. I miss the “old Days” (along with Another World and Santa Barbara, but that’s another story.)
I have been a Days fan for a long time – since pre-teen time. I still look in from time to time to see what is happening. I am glad to see some “old-timers” come back as I believe they have been sorely missed. My favourite time was the early Patch and Kayla days. Loved that! I especially loved Rick Biggs as Patch’s confident and friend…Dr. Marcus Hunter. I had a chance to meet Rick after he was doing Babylon 5. We sort of became friends and he is sorely missed. With the Patch and Kayla storyline currently part of the show again, it is too bad that we cannot experience that trio relationship again. Still I have the memories.
The cruise of deception is my favorite memory from Days!
Am a big Bo & Hope fan but only tune in once in a while now b/c they shoulc be driving story and not be glorified extras. That is the big problem now- the gross underuse of the vets. When the Ed Scott/Dena Higley showdown happened Dena should have went. She is ruining the show again. The stories make no sense & forget about history. Under her it is to be ignored. This is why the show has gone from being must see to must flee.
I started watching when I was 10, which was 15 years ago. I was captured by the Austin-Carrie-Sami fiasco and felt that Sami and Lucas were destined for each other, even though they were “only friends” coniving to get Austin and Carrie apart. I was overjoyed when they finally hooked up for reals.
However, I had to stop watching after the Salem Stalker storyline. That just got to be too much. And I didn’t have the time anymore either.
I can honestly say I have been watching Days since birth. My mom started watching while she was pregnant with me. My favorite storyline was Adrienne’s recovery from rape with Justin at her side. I taped Days over my high school graduation tape accidently and still hear about it. That was 15 years ago. And yes, I DVR it daily. The storylines have gotten worse. I am tired of the stuff with the younger characters. Get rid of Melanie please!
I grew up watching CBS soaps with my mom, but when my sister went to college in the early 80s, she introduced the rest of us to Days. I watched it for the next 15 or so years, until the Princess Gina crap finally drove me away. I loved Bo and Hope, Patch and Kayla, Shane and Kim, Eugene and Calliope, Jack and Jennifer, Marlena and Roman (and then Marlena and John) and Tom and Alice. During the last several years I’ll check on the show here and there, and be disappointed every time. I miss the “old Days” (along with Another World and Santa Barbara, but that’s another story.)
I’ve been watching days since I was five years old. I come home every day to see this show. And yes, Days has been in a slump forever. Here’s the deal Day’s Writers: We love romance (Bo & Hope), (John & Marlena) (Lucas & Sammy). Stop putting people together and breaking them up. Its too confusing. Pick two characters and bring them together in a fun, odd way like you did in the 80s. We need Villains besides Stefano. Real, mean villains that you love to hate. We need storylines that are believable or totally crazy like before. What you have now, sucks. Please get rid of Melanie and NIck. (BORING). Also, bring some real mystery to the show. You are too predictable. okay, those are my thoughts.
I have been watching Days on and off since 1995 and it’s either really good or really bad. TPTB always seem to loose focus.
The show also doesn’t utilize it’s good actors. Why was Billy Warlock on the sidelines and given such a bad storyline during his return? Who does the show have that is better than him? That really bothered me back in 2006. He is amazing!
What is up with the Hortons being removed from center?
Get rid of Melanie and Nicole and more Lucas/Sami and Bo/Hope!
I have watched off and on since the mid-70’s when I was a kid and my mother had it on. I watched for 7 years straight from 90-97. I started to check out after Marlena’s possession and when a different actress played Jennifer Horton/Devareux. The DeMira’s are notorious, but Lawrence Alamain was the best villian in the history of Days, and his demented Aunt Vivian wasn’t far behind. I liked Victor K. when he has more shady and corrupt. I always enjoyed the child time warp…like when the Brady twins, Sammy and Eric, went away to Colorado when they were 8 and came back in a year at age 16. I watch it now maybe a few times a year…got a beautiful wife and 4 kids, so not much time for DOOL anymore. I will kind of miss it when it’s finally gone, but I think it’s DAY has passed. I remember spending hours talking to my mother about the Horton and Brady family histories, as if we were related to them.
I loved Bo nd Hope especilly when they were in New Orleans. The writing has been crap for years- I miss the good old Days.