Back from the Beach
Jun. 2nd, 2006 09:35 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shipperxReturned from the beach the other night. It was a nice vacation. Great weather and the San Destin area had replenished the beaches from damage due to Hurricane Ivan and Hurricane Dennis (both of which had caused significant beach erosion). Now the beaches are as blindingly white, extra-get-into-everything-fine, and wide as ever.
We hit the Silver Sands outlet and I found a bottle of Burberry Brit Gold for half price (although I must admit, it's virtually indistinguishable (to my nose) from Burberry Classic. They describe them slightly differently, though. They list Brit as having top notes of neroli, magnolia, and black currant while they desribe Burberry Classic as top notes of black currant, green apple, and tagete. There's definitely a scent overlap between the two frangrances as both have black currant, vanilla, and sandlewood... though the Brit does seem to be "lighter" than the Burberry classic( which has been my favorite fragrance for a few years now.)
On a different note, I only made it through one book and truth to tell I found the conclusion to Dresden Files: Summer Knight to be a bit disappointing. I thought the ending felt a bit rushed. And it's a bit of a stretch that a wizard could overcome a queen fairy with a bunch of tiny fairies weilding box cutters. And honestly, how would he coerce tiny little Toot-Toot to attack a queen fairy? And why would Queen Mab leave that up to Dresden? Also, I found Elaine to be a rather thin character who seemed primarily plot based. That said, I did enjoy the book though I felt it dragged in parts and the ending was a tad rushed.
Returned to wander a few boards, thought I'd mention the things that have been going down back stage on Days (which according to all spoilers that I've read, the real life shenanigans are a hell of a lot more interesting than what's on screen.)
For those interested in the return of Steve and Kayla. Steve will appear on the show next Friday. I'm somewhat confused by the spoilers Jack, whose health is rapidly deteriorating (yes, he's still dying... again, sees Steve as an orderly and believes he's delusional (or... perhaps it is a delusion because there's also a spoiler that Steve shows up as a clown at Abe Carver's child's birthday party. The Jack "dream" is a legit spoiler. The clown thing is slightly less so... but I wouldn't put it past the assholes who write the show. Kayla won't appear until the NEXT week. And, turns out that Kayla has been to medical school since she last appeared on Days as Kayla is now to be a doctor instead of a nurse.
Now, for the interesting news/dirt. Rumor/buzz is that headwriter (I use the term euphemistically) James E. Reilly (ubiquitously referred to as JERk) has been fired. His contract ran out yesterday and the buzz has been that his contract was not renewed (huzzahs all round for that news. Please, please let it be true.) NBC and Corday Productions haven't verified this news, but the rumor has now been reported in Variety, TVGuide, and the New York Post, so it's not just net buzz... which gives hope that it is true and the talentless asshole has been given his walking papers. The good/bad news (according to your view of whether Days is even salvageable in its current craptastic state) is that my predictions of Days position with the network have ALSO proved 100% accurate (I'm smug enough to want to post "I TOLD you so!" on several boards). Unlike the apologists who kept claiming that NBC's failure to pick up Days' option when it came up in March was just "business as usual", I said it as a sign that Days was on dangerously thin ice.
Days had a five year contract through 2009. However, it was a contract where it was actually a three year contract with an option to pick up the last two. That option came up this past March. March came and went and not only had the option not been picked up, but NBC hadn't even opened negotiations.
Add in the New York Times article I read last summer where they wrote about the way that daytime programming sold ad space based on a speculative rating based on past performances and how, if the show under performed, the nets had to offer compensation ads where the advertiser is given free airtime on the network to make up the difference between the speculative rating and the actual ratings. The NYT article noted that NBC was in a particularly painful position since both of their soaps were simulatneously underperforming. Also, because they have such an abbreviated daytime schedule that they had little daytime space for additional compensation ads, such that due to Days and Passions underperformance that NBC was having to dole out PRIME TIME ad space for their daytime clients.
Then, add in that in the last four months Days has posted all-time low ratings. By all-time low I mean that in January they hit a new all-time low of 2.4. Then in March they reached a new low of 2.3... not once, but TWICE and they have hovered near that mark ever since. And just popping over to the board that posts the ratings, Days has now hit a new all-time low of 2.2 .
Then add the little blurb that hit Variety in February that NBC had bought a series of novella's ala the Spanish Soaps. That little blurb made me go... hmmm...
With all of that background (well, except for the 2.2), when the time came up for the option pick-up and the show's option was NOT picked up, I said on a few boards that meant that NBC was holding cancellation over Corday Production's head. At best NBC planned to massively cut Days budget (regarding the loss of profits due to lower ratings and ad rates.) At worst, they were seriously considering cancelling the show and their failure to pick the option up was NBC keeping their option for cancellation (without penalties) open. There were many apologists about saying how there was no basis that kind of analysis so, I cannot help but feel a bit of "Nyeh! I was RIGHT!" when both Variety and New York Post reported this week that NBC hasn't picked up Days' option because they plan massive budget cuts and possibly cancellation when the current contract (the one WITHOUT the option) runs out... which means that the show may well be off air in March 2007.
The good news is that this state of affairs may FINALLY have forced executive producer Ken Corday to get off his ass and finally fire that jerkwad JERk. It probably is also the motivation behind the sudden re-hiring of Mary Beth Evans and Stephen Nichols (which according to MBE's agen Michael Bruno when he was on Lisa Rinna's talk show wasn't something the show had planned, but a spur of the moment decision made when he called up Corday and told him that MBE was about to sign onto ATWT for another three years and if he had any interest in reviving Steve and Kayla he would have to do so. So, it turns out that it was never JERk who decided to bring back Steve and Kayla (as anyone with knowledge of JERk had to know as there had been plans to bring SN and MBE back in 2004 until JERk took over control of the show and nixed the idea. He can't stand S&K. . . or romances... or sanity from what I can tell.) The return of S&K was a spur of the moment thing that had nothing to do with long term plans for the show or planned storylines. It's a desperate plot to pull up the ratings in hope to stave off cancellation.
On the bright side are the rumors that JERk has been fired (here's hoping it's true). If so, the return of S&K won't necessarily be a total debacle (which, was/is virtually guarenteed as long as JERk is writing.. which, even with the best possible result means for the next 8 weeks of scripts airing). There's hope that As The World Turn's emmy winning writer Hogan Sheffer has been hired to take JERk's place (at least Sheffer's name is the one being floated by Variety and on the net). Who knows if Sheffer can write for Days in a way to satisfy fans, but then poo-flinging monkeys could write better than JERk.
So, it's possible that Days is entering a period vital to its existence. There is a massive budget cut coming, rumors are flying as to cast cuts (no rumors as to who is to be cut). And if the ratings don't go up -- in a hurry -- Days will be cancelled in the spring. But, at least with JERk not there, there would be hope and at least some dignity in Days death.
In other rumors:
Melissa Reeves ("Jennifer") has been vocally unhappy with her plot and discussing quitting the show when her contract is up in the early fall. She hates that they've had Jennifer hook up with Frankie just "months" after Jack's latest "death." (The actress is quite the J&Jer... though she also cannot be happy with her onscreen daughter repeatedly calling her a 'whore' either... gotta love JERk and his 'whores' and 'bitches'... the misogyny is rampant).
Matthew Ashford was recently signed to a new contract (another sign that JER may be on his way out because I cannot imagine why MA would be offered a contract when for the ENTIRE duration of his last three year contract Jack has been "mostly dead" spending 85% of his time off screen "dead" and the other 15% on screen DYING. Why in the hell offer the poor man a contract as long as JERk keeps killing off his character like he's South Park's Kenny? So the fact that he was offered a contract at all seems to indicate that JERk may have lost any say in the matter. Of course, as shown by MA's LAST two contracts with Days -- an actor's contract means exactly squat so if Melissa Reeves indeed leaves ths show this fall, there's still a significant chance that Ashford will be let go yet again (honestly, how many times can a guy be fired by the same people?!)
Diedre Hall and Drake Hogestyn are apparently being written off the show for the next nine weeks. I don't know how true that is, but I'm willing to believe it.
At any rate, the drama behind the scenes is vastly more interesting than any spoiler I've read for the show (and I don't watch... though, sadly, I almost certainly will next Friday when Steve Johnson returns).
We hit the Silver Sands outlet and I found a bottle of Burberry Brit Gold for half price (although I must admit, it's virtually indistinguishable (to my nose) from Burberry Classic. They describe them slightly differently, though. They list Brit as having top notes of neroli, magnolia, and black currant while they desribe Burberry Classic as top notes of black currant, green apple, and tagete. There's definitely a scent overlap between the two frangrances as both have black currant, vanilla, and sandlewood... though the Brit does seem to be "lighter" than the Burberry classic( which has been my favorite fragrance for a few years now.)
On a different note, I only made it through one book and truth to tell I found the conclusion to Dresden Files: Summer Knight to be a bit disappointing. I thought the ending felt a bit rushed. And it's a bit of a stretch that a wizard could overcome a queen fairy with a bunch of tiny fairies weilding box cutters. And honestly, how would he coerce tiny little Toot-Toot to attack a queen fairy? And why would Queen Mab leave that up to Dresden? Also, I found Elaine to be a rather thin character who seemed primarily plot based. That said, I did enjoy the book though I felt it dragged in parts and the ending was a tad rushed.
Returned to wander a few boards, thought I'd mention the things that have been going down back stage on Days (which according to all spoilers that I've read, the real life shenanigans are a hell of a lot more interesting than what's on screen.)
For those interested in the return of Steve and Kayla. Steve will appear on the show next Friday. I'm somewhat confused by the spoilers Jack, whose health is rapidly deteriorating (yes, he's still dying... again, sees Steve as an orderly and believes he's delusional (or... perhaps it is a delusion because there's also a spoiler that Steve shows up as a clown at Abe Carver's child's birthday party. The Jack "dream" is a legit spoiler. The clown thing is slightly less so... but I wouldn't put it past the assholes who write the show. Kayla won't appear until the NEXT week. And, turns out that Kayla has been to medical school since she last appeared on Days as Kayla is now to be a doctor instead of a nurse.
Now, for the interesting news/dirt. Rumor/buzz is that headwriter (I use the term euphemistically) James E. Reilly (ubiquitously referred to as JERk) has been fired. His contract ran out yesterday and the buzz has been that his contract was not renewed (huzzahs all round for that news. Please, please let it be true.) NBC and Corday Productions haven't verified this news, but the rumor has now been reported in Variety, TVGuide, and the New York Post, so it's not just net buzz... which gives hope that it is true and the talentless asshole has been given his walking papers. The good/bad news (according to your view of whether Days is even salvageable in its current craptastic state) is that my predictions of Days position with the network have ALSO proved 100% accurate (I'm smug enough to want to post "I TOLD you so!" on several boards). Unlike the apologists who kept claiming that NBC's failure to pick up Days' option when it came up in March was just "business as usual", I said it as a sign that Days was on dangerously thin ice.
Days had a five year contract through 2009. However, it was a contract where it was actually a three year contract with an option to pick up the last two. That option came up this past March. March came and went and not only had the option not been picked up, but NBC hadn't even opened negotiations.
Add in the New York Times article I read last summer where they wrote about the way that daytime programming sold ad space based on a speculative rating based on past performances and how, if the show under performed, the nets had to offer compensation ads where the advertiser is given free airtime on the network to make up the difference between the speculative rating and the actual ratings. The NYT article noted that NBC was in a particularly painful position since both of their soaps were simulatneously underperforming. Also, because they have such an abbreviated daytime schedule that they had little daytime space for additional compensation ads, such that due to Days and Passions underperformance that NBC was having to dole out PRIME TIME ad space for their daytime clients.
Then, add in that in the last four months Days has posted all-time low ratings. By all-time low I mean that in January they hit a new all-time low of 2.4. Then in March they reached a new low of 2.3... not once, but TWICE and they have hovered near that mark ever since. And just popping over to the board that posts the ratings, Days has now hit a new all-time low of 2.2 .
Then add the little blurb that hit Variety in February that NBC had bought a series of novella's ala the Spanish Soaps. That little blurb made me go... hmmm...
With all of that background (well, except for the 2.2), when the time came up for the option pick-up and the show's option was NOT picked up, I said on a few boards that meant that NBC was holding cancellation over Corday Production's head. At best NBC planned to massively cut Days budget (regarding the loss of profits due to lower ratings and ad rates.) At worst, they were seriously considering cancelling the show and their failure to pick the option up was NBC keeping their option for cancellation (without penalties) open. There were many apologists about saying how there was no basis that kind of analysis so, I cannot help but feel a bit of "Nyeh! I was RIGHT!" when both Variety and New York Post reported this week that NBC hasn't picked up Days' option because they plan massive budget cuts and possibly cancellation when the current contract (the one WITHOUT the option) runs out... which means that the show may well be off air in March 2007.
The good news is that this state of affairs may FINALLY have forced executive producer Ken Corday to get off his ass and finally fire that jerkwad JERk. It probably is also the motivation behind the sudden re-hiring of Mary Beth Evans and Stephen Nichols (which according to MBE's agen Michael Bruno when he was on Lisa Rinna's talk show wasn't something the show had planned, but a spur of the moment decision made when he called up Corday and told him that MBE was about to sign onto ATWT for another three years and if he had any interest in reviving Steve and Kayla he would have to do so. So, it turns out that it was never JERk who decided to bring back Steve and Kayla (as anyone with knowledge of JERk had to know as there had been plans to bring SN and MBE back in 2004 until JERk took over control of the show and nixed the idea. He can't stand S&K. . . or romances... or sanity from what I can tell.) The return of S&K was a spur of the moment thing that had nothing to do with long term plans for the show or planned storylines. It's a desperate plot to pull up the ratings in hope to stave off cancellation.
On the bright side are the rumors that JERk has been fired (here's hoping it's true). If so, the return of S&K won't necessarily be a total debacle (which, was/is virtually guarenteed as long as JERk is writing.. which, even with the best possible result means for the next 8 weeks of scripts airing). There's hope that As The World Turn's emmy winning writer Hogan Sheffer has been hired to take JERk's place (at least Sheffer's name is the one being floated by Variety and on the net). Who knows if Sheffer can write for Days in a way to satisfy fans, but then poo-flinging monkeys could write better than JERk.
So, it's possible that Days is entering a period vital to its existence. There is a massive budget cut coming, rumors are flying as to cast cuts (no rumors as to who is to be cut). And if the ratings don't go up -- in a hurry -- Days will be cancelled in the spring. But, at least with JERk not there, there would be hope and at least some dignity in Days death.
In other rumors:
Melissa Reeves ("Jennifer") has been vocally unhappy with her plot and discussing quitting the show when her contract is up in the early fall. She hates that they've had Jennifer hook up with Frankie just "months" after Jack's latest "death." (The actress is quite the J&Jer... though she also cannot be happy with her onscreen daughter repeatedly calling her a 'whore' either... gotta love JERk and his 'whores' and 'bitches'... the misogyny is rampant).
Matthew Ashford was recently signed to a new contract (another sign that JER may be on his way out because I cannot imagine why MA would be offered a contract when for the ENTIRE duration of his last three year contract Jack has been "mostly dead" spending 85% of his time off screen "dead" and the other 15% on screen DYING. Why in the hell offer the poor man a contract as long as JERk keeps killing off his character like he's South Park's Kenny? So the fact that he was offered a contract at all seems to indicate that JERk may have lost any say in the matter. Of course, as shown by MA's LAST two contracts with Days -- an actor's contract means exactly squat so if Melissa Reeves indeed leaves ths show this fall, there's still a significant chance that Ashford will be let go yet again (honestly, how many times can a guy be fired by the same people?!)
Diedre Hall and Drake Hogestyn are apparently being written off the show for the next nine weeks. I don't know how true that is, but I'm willing to believe it.
At any rate, the drama behind the scenes is vastly more interesting than any spoiler I've read for the show (and I don't watch... though, sadly, I almost certainly will next Friday when Steve Johnson returns).
