Universal’s “Mr. Greenblatt” Visits NBC’s “Days of Our Lives”

The trials and tribulations of daytime dramas in recent years amp8211 which collectively have far outweighed the problems and perils suffered by their characters amp8211 have left this unique broadcast format in near ruins Only four remain amp8211 CBSamp8217 amp8220The Young and the Restlessamp8221 and amp8220The Bold and the Beautifulamp8221 ABCamp8217s amp8220General Hospitalamp8221 and NBCamp8217s amp8220Days of Our Livesamp8221 amp8211 and while they are performing comparative miracles on shrinking budgets the everpresent threat of genre termination continues to hang over them allSuch concerns aside it has been a real treat watching them all strive to raise their game and call as much attention to themselves as possible It seems there is nothing they wonamp8217t try in their efforts to prove that soap operas can still deliver compelling entertainment They arenamp8217t as wild and crazy as they were in the Eighties the last great heyday of daytime serials though amp8220GHamp8221 is almost there but they still manage periodically to catch viewers off guard with twists and turns large and small Thatamp8217s no easy achievement in this era of digitally powered spoilers of all kindsOverall it would seem near impossible for a soap to surprise viewers with something they havenamp8217t seen before but amp8220Days of Our Livesamp8221 lately has managed to do exactly that with the arrival in Salem the fictional Midwestern town in which the show is set of a showbusiness executive who in what may be the most improbable storyline in the history of daytime drama wants to whisk one of the locals off to Hollywood and make her a star The Salemite being pursued is the evercombustible Sami Brady DiMera who has survived multiple torrid affairs bad marriages kidnappings explosions murder attempts electrocution a trip to an alternate dimension the possession of her mother by Satan and so much more As portrayed by Alison Sweeney pictured below also the host of NBCamp8217s amp8220The Biggest Loseramp8221 Sami has been an integral part of the action on amp8220Daysamp8221 for over 20 years Thatamp8217s coming to an end on Friday when Sweeney exits the show She actually left many months ago after this monthamp8217s episodes had been shot amp8220Daysamp8221 works at an extremely accelerated production pace as do the other remaining soaps It all has to do with performing comparative miracles on shrinking budgets as noted aboveThe amp8220Hollywood Guyamp8221 as he has quickly become known and his two subordinates have been obsessed with Sami since reading a story about her authored by her similarly problem prone son in a national magazine They envision a movie starring Kate Winslet or Kate Hudson or a miniseries or a reality show featuring their new findamp8220America is salivating for more Samiamp8221 Hollywood Guy enthusesamp8220With a body like yours you could host your own fitness programamp8221 gushes one of his subordinates in a nod to Sweeneyamp8217s other job Itamp8217s not exactly meta as it is currently defined but its closeThe real reason this small subplot caught my attention is that the Hollywood Guy is one amp8220Mr Greenblattamp8221 from amp8220Universal Picturesamp8221 Over the years Iamp8217ve seen every soap opera on every network try its best to impress its network or at least get the attention of its executives but I have never known one to name a character after its networkamp8217s chairmanThe full name of the Hollywood Guy on amp8220Daysamp8221 is amp8220Bruce Greenblattamp8221 and he doesnamp8217t have red hair but for those of us who know him it has been impossible not to think of NBC Entertainment Chairman Bob Greenblatt during these scenes Not to worry Bob the storyline may be a bit silly amp8211 Bruce Greenblatt even wants to bring Samiamp8217s son Will to Hollywood with her to write whatever project they settle on amp8211 but your daytime drama alterego comes off wellThe Hollywood executives on amp8220Daysamp8221 say they amp8220want to be in the Sami Brady DiMera businessamp8221 That may be a stretch but here in the real world I think Hollywood executives would be well advised to be in the Alison Sweeney business There is very little this accomplished actressauthorreality show host cannot do and do well as she has proven consistently since the early NinetiesEd Martin is the Editor of MediaBizBloggers He is also the television and video critic for the Myers Business NetworkCheck us out on Facebook at MediaBizBloggerscomFollow our Twitter updates at MediaBizBloggerThe opinions and points of view expressed in this commentary are exclusively the views of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaBizBloggerscom management or associated bloggers MediaBizBloggers is an open thought leadership platform and readers may share their comments and opinions in response to all commentaries

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Universal’s “Mr. Greenblatt” Visits NBC’s “Days of Our Lives”

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Universal’s “Mr. Greenblatt” Visits NBC’s “Days of Our Lives”

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