Those Guys.......

[Poirot]

I miss them. I really do. I miss the stories, the relationships, the ISA, the umbrella stories that involved them all, in one way or another. Patch, Frankie, Shane, Bo, John, Tony, Bart. LOL. Bart was so much fun.
And yes, those guys are all 20-30 years older now, are parents of grown children, grandparents in some cases, even great-grandparent. They would not be doing those kinds of stories now, the kind they did in the 80s, early 90s. I know another generation has to come into play. But it does seem that back then, Days just continually lucked out in the actors they hired, and the writers who had the know how to write for them.
It does seem that since Betty Corday passed away, the show just doesn't have the same kind of good fortune. Oh, sure, Days rode along for a while on the good stuff for which she was responsible, but after a few years, it began to show. No longer the same dedicated leadership, overseeing, caring.
These guys, the heartthrobs of yesteryear, still make us sit up and take notice, long to see them.
Just as it made no difference that John Wayne got older, or Clint Eastwood....They always commanded our attention, made us eager to see them once again.

Days has brought on new guys, younger ones.....but, in my opinion, so far, Chad, Ben, Daniel, JJ can't hold a candle to the fellows before them. I really like JJ, but he cannot begin to endear himself as Frankie did. Daniel has a long, long way to go before he could even compare to Patch, Bo or Shane. Brady will never ever be the hero his father was.

I truly hope and pray that IF any of these actors return, even for short arcs, the stories do them justice.

 

[TheWriter]

I miss them too. And... don't forget Jack ! I miss him a lot. I know some here viewed him as a buffoon, but again, it was the writers' doing. Because the actor, Matthew Ashford, did a terrific job. Let's hope all of them, Shane, Bo, Jack, Frankie, Steve (my all time favourite) Tony, the real John, come back soon for some great stories.

 

[Poirot]

Oh, my gosh, Jack.....I absolutely LOVED Jack, still do. Thank you Writer, don't know how the heck I missed him, but it goes to show how Days had these wonderful hunky characters, ones who made you sigh, and cry, sometimes root, sometimes want to boot. I hope Days finds a way to bring Jack back to life.

 

[JasonDíSpeech]

I agree. The issue is systemic; they don't write supercouples anymore, and when they try, they're pre-determined, forced, and lock-stock&barrell. No more chemistry tests, moving characters around (though these writers have tried some mixed stories, because of the taping schedule, they're too slow to react to the audience's responses). Heck lately they have characters who are done taping practically before they've aired.

Another affront is that new characters are brought in as either "good" or "evil." And if they're good, they must be dumb. Take Clint, or Vargas. Both are thugs, have records, are not entirely unattractive, and look nice shirtless. But they're "bad." Then contrast how Patch was introduced to Kayla, or Bo to Hope, or even Austin to Carrie. Shades of grey. They don't do them anymore. And until they do them again, and do them well, we'll never get those "next generation" heroes, sadly. (JJ had potential, and the actor has the chops to carry it off. Sonny, too. But the writers aren't up to the challenge.)

 

[Heather4CU]

They seem to be going down the "grey" area now with Ben. Though it should have been done months ago.

I like JJ and Shawn-Douglas and Brady as played by Kyle Lowder. All could have been great successors to their dads in their respective professions. Instead, 2/3 are destroyed and 1 hasn't been seen in years. Even Andrew Donovan hasn't popped up yet. Other soaps are successful because they write professional related storylines around multiple generations of the same family. All we get are Daniel and Melanie working together at the hospital. Please!