TVSquad

Let me start this TV Squad Soap Report by saying that I have a soft spot in my heart for Days of Our Lives. It's the first soap I remember watching as a kid and I've always stuck with it, even when it's gone through some dark times. And if you're a Days fan, you know just what I mean (more on that later).

Right now I'm beginning to see a pattern on Days of Our Lives that's kind of upsetting. The show seems to be stuck in retro mode. They've been bringing back characters by the boat load. This is nothing new. All soaps do it. On All My Children, they just brought Cady McLain back -- and her character Dixie, who's supposedly dead. One Life to Live is resurrecting greatest Tina of all, Andrea Evans. So what's the big deal with what Days doing it? Nothing. It's perfectly legitimate. I support it...to a point. When it reaches a point to where new characters are not taking hold and more and more of the past is becoming the present.


Like sands through the hourglass, so are the retro days of our lives. Once upon a time, Days was all about creating new characters that were distinct and strong. Villain Victor Kiriakis was a terror, in the wake of Stefano Dimera, who was an even bigger threat. Today, Victor is still around and still causing mischief, albeit not like in his halcyon days on Days. The Dimeras, on the other hand, are truly the the phoenix -- rising and rising and rising and rising... ad naseum. It's been overdue for the Days of Our Lives writing regimes to develop -- and I mean really develop -- some new antagonists. This rerun of oldies is wearing thin.

One thing you could always count on with Days was great romance. Bo and Hope. John and Marlena. Patch and Kayla. Shane and Kimberly. Well, with the exception of Shane and Kimberly, the three others are still on the canvas and still going strong. I applaud that. I like that. I appreciate the idea of a long-term love stories that are rich with history and break-ups and reconciliations and returns from the dead. Those three couples have done it all. So, what's my beef? Where are the new super couples? Belle and Shawn D might have qualified, but they changed the actors mid-stream and now they've sent them on an around-the-world sailing trip. By the time they return, it'll be new actors again and hopes to re-invent a potential hot couple. Days needs to invest in some new relationships. If Sami and EJ are destiny's plan -- based on the old Irish tale we've endured this past year -- then commit to that.

Now more than ever, I want to see Days of Our Lives get back on track. The atmosphere at NBC is not conducive for soap operas. If Days could change it's name to ToDays of Our Lives, Jeff Zucker would make it four hours long (like Today). But that's not the way things are. The soap world which was once thriving on NBC -- with great shows like Santa Barbara and Another World -- is now reduced to only Days. Passions, a screwy experiment at remaking the genre at best, has bit the dust. So it behooves Ken Corday to keep Days strong. That starts with reinforcing what works -- those three classic couples -- but also building some new and exciting ones, too. And while you're at it, please, a new nemesis. The venerable Victor and the pot-boiling Dimeras are getting old hat.

I'm rooting for you, Days. Don't make me ever have to write that NBC has wiped you off the schedule. That would be a heartbreak. The sands have to keep flowing.