Dear Writers: We Need Balance

[Moira]

I have never understood this rush and overkill on stories the you are trying to push on us and then flick of an eyelash approach for emotional connections that already exist with your audience. Duh, writers.

Soaps are escape from reality. But everyone in Salem gets ridiculously high paying jobs with no qualifications. Where are the middle income people? Seems the only ones (or majority) are in law enforcement. I know college is not for everyone. No one on this soap goes to college; at least not very long. I can live with shortening the time for storyline purposes but it seems like 8 years of medical school happens in 18 months. The only doctors that appear fully-educated come on the show already a doctor.

I think there needs to be some small children or pre teens, high school and definitely college age characters. College age has opportunity for some great storylines. But I guess the you would have to have actually spent time in college to write about it. Many challenges there with kids living on their own for the first time and making some life choices. These teens and 20-something storylines are aimless and always seem to involve violence.

We need more Theo and his logic. I feel he is the only teen who comes off as having had a stable home life. Claire is so ridiculously petulant and skittish. Ciara is a big ball of craziness (young Abby, the stalker revisited). Joey is sullen drudge with a loser girl friend (no chemistry). JJ, former drug dealer, turned Joe Friday (facts, nothing but the facts).

Stop writing tripe for Maggie. Give Victor great zingers again, instead of personal attacks. Romance! Does anyone see romance on this show? Once in a while we see some 60-80 year olds smooching. The "love" story of Hope and Aiden had potential and then you blew it. Boy did you screw that one up. Hope and Rafe's love story has no credible ending they can overcome. You went too far.

Visions, psychic dreams are overdone. Find a new technique.

Did I mention you need to work on romance?

Signed, The Loyal fans who keep your show in the air

 

[Mtnmom]

I have to totally agree. You are spot on on every level. Lord knows I've screamed often enough about the poor storylines.

I love Maggie and Victor but am totally sick of her arms reaching out, begging for Summer or whoever, and the nasty ole Victor isn't helping matters anymore. Let's see some romance for these two.

Writers, take note: People can be over 15 and still have love and romance. :love:

 

[Poirot]

It really is a shame when a headwriter decides to focus solely on a character they favor over spreading story around. A mystery to me is why NOT do umbrella stories? Why NOT have a good mixup of the varying age groups, and have them interacting, as those in real life do. Has Joey, Ciara, Claire ever heard Caroline tell of the days when she & their grandfather ran the fishmarket? Do they even know there ever was such a thing? Or how the Pub came about?

The thing is, older folks have such great stories, family history to tell. (This is me, digging geneaology & wishing certain relatives were still alive, though I do have lots of stories). Has Hope ever talked to her children about how she met their father? Has Belle & Shawn ever talked of their high school antics to Claire?

When the show decided to send Johnny, Allie and Sydney off to parts unknown with Sami, we lost a whole generation of youngsters. Especially when they aged Ciara, Claire, Joey & Theo.

That was done with Belle, Shawn, Philip, Brady.........but the writing for that group of teens was really so much better.

Yes, older folks can truly be nasty curmudgeons, but lovable. Victor has truly turned very nasty. It is obvious he loves Maggie a great deal, but that does not stop him from insulting & berating those she loves. Enough of that.

I don't care who he doesn't like, doesn't trust, button that nasty lip.

But these people are Salemites........tired of the "bubbles" they are in as a couple of posters. call it. Let them interact with others, however, even if just meeting while passing at the coffee bar.

 

[Heather4CU]

I still think it was a mistake to age the newly aged teens to 18. They should have stayed 15/16. And yes we do need younger kids. All we have is Parker and 3 babies. Perhaps they will find Daniel Rafael alive one day. Or maybe bring back Baby No Name Reed who should be a little kid at this point.

 

[Poirot]

Wish I knew why they did that. They HAD aged them to 16, except for Claire, who was 15, and suddenly they all were hitting 18 one after the other, rebelling against parents, bragging of "being adults now". Those kids had no school dances, no prom, no graduation. I am waiting for Sept. when they will all maybe be 25!!

 

[Heather4CU]

I'm kind of glad they had Ciara move back home. Maybe this is the first step in "de-aging" them a bit. It could also explain why Claire doesn't want to go to college. Maybe it's the show's way of correcting the rapid aging.

 

[JasonDíSpeech]

I don't care who he doesn't like, doesn't trust, button that nasty lip.

They can always de-age the teens (à la Abby back in the early '00s, or Melanie in '11). Especially since they think we're not paying attention.

The biggest thing this show needs is BALANCE. In appearances, in storytelling, in character mixing. And they need to STOP writing every couple as the "greatest love of all." That's one of the things that did All My Children in.

 

[dariandiva]

Wish I knew why they did that. They HAD aged them to 16, except for Claire, who was 15, and suddenly they all were hitting 18 one after the other, rebelling against parents, bragging of "being adults now". Those kids had no school dances, no prom, no graduation. I am waiting for Sept. when they will all maybe be 25!!

We watched the kids go to prom, didn't we? Isn't that where Ciara got drunk and they vandalized the car?