Sunday, February 19, 2017

Ron Carlivati Wants 'Days of our Lives' Fans to Laugh, Cry and Yearn for Couples

It may not be the latest "Plan to Save Days of our Lives" but in the current issue of Soap Opera Digest, executive producer Ken Corday previews what to expect under new head writer Ron Carlivati.

"He will bring to the show things that the show hasn't had for quite a while," says Corday. "What he said to me is that he wants the show to make you laugh again and he wants the show to make you cry again and he wants the show to make you yearn for certain couples again as opposed to, ‘Why are they doing this? Why are they doing that?’ So he will resolidify shortly after his tenure starts. We will see couples that I’m a big fan of and that I think viewers are big fans of, as well."

Opinion
Carlivati was able to deliver wonderful humor as head writer for both One Life to Live and General Hospital, so we can expect the same on Days. It will honestly be a nice change from the current state of the show.

Hopefully rewritten history and long lost/forgotten children will not be a big part of the Carlivati vision for Days. Much One Life to Life history was written under Carlivati's uneven tenure, which detracted at times from his many successful storylines. At General Hospital, he gave Heather Webber a long lost son, Franco, and went as far as rewriting Ryan's Hope history with Delia's daughter, Ava. Just because a female character was technically off the canvas for a few months in the '70s or '80s doesn't mean a forgotten son or daughter needs to be created. At this point, it's is completely unoriginal and lazy writing. My first thought when Carlivati's hire was revealed was that Deidre Hall's Our House absences in the '80s would result in at least one child she forgot she gave birth to or failed to mention. And Zack Brady would turn up alive, now a shirtless hunky young man.

It's hard to know how much of the troubled moments at OLTL and GH should be pinned in Carlivati, versus executive producer Frank Valentini or ABC network executives. Now that he's at Days, we will get a better sense of his true potential. Hopefully, Carlivati will avoid Twitter wars with fans this time around, and focus on helping to keep Days on the air.

On the bright side, the latest regime change at Days should create some much-needed buzz for a show that lost its 50th anniversary momentum in record time. Carlivati soaps have managed to entertain for the most part over the years, and it will be great if Days becomes "must see TV" on a regular basis.



1 comment:

  1. I gave up hope on Days of Our Lives years ago and the hiring of Daytime's grim reaper is a huge mistake if they truly want to save DOOL, which I don't think they do. Just my opinion.

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