[paulabru]

Days of our Lives Star Alison Sweeney on "The New Sami"
by Daniel R. Coleridge

In 1993, Alison Sweeney joined NBC's Days of our Lives as Samantha Jean "Sami" Brady, the junior deceiver who grew up to be a full-fledged schemer. For years, Days watchers have wondered how Sami — the child of Salem supercop Roman Brady and saintly shrink Marlena Evans — could turn out so wrong. Our Sami has been trying to redeem herself lately, but she just can't catch a break. Last week, she was forced to cheat on her true love, Lucas Roberts, in order to save his life! (Only on the soaps, right?) In this TVGuide.com interview, Sweeney insists that while Sami's still lying and hiding secrets, she really is growing up.

TVGuide.com: It's such a relief to see Days' new headwriter, Hogan Sheffer, taking Sami in a fresh direction. It got old watching her chase Austin and make the same mistakes for years.
Alison Sweeney: I totally agree. The most frustrating thing is that there was no growth in my character. I am not opposed to Sami being a scheming villainess, but everybody learns from their mistakes. How much public humiliation can Sami suffer through before you think to yourself, "Maybe I shouldn't keep doing this."

TVGuide.com: It's true. Sami's sins are always exposed — and it's always in front of big crowds!
Sweeney: Hmm... Maybe she should stop going to family functions. [Laughs] We just needed a new twist on the character. Not for nothing, but I am 30 now. It felt sad and pathetic to [play Sami] chasing her sister's boyfriend at 30, like I did when I was 17. Now our storylines are about serving the characters, not the plot. Hogan's people are flawed, realistic characters; they're not just perfect people or villains. I also love that we have more opportunities to laugh and smile! We're not always drowning in drama and sorrow. My current story is so true to who Sami is, and it's certainly been exciting for me.

TVGuide.com: Your triangle with Lucas (Bryan Dattilo) and the evil EJ (James Scott) is hot stuff.
Sweeney: The EJ story reaches out with its tentacles and touches everyone in town. [Sami's triangle] with EJ and Lucas is compelling, exciting and it brings Sami back to her family. Circumstances are set up so that Sami can show who she really is. Sami has always been the kind of person that if Uncle Bo called her and asked her to help the Brady family, she would have done it. But now she's been given the chance, whereas they wouldn't have turned to Sami for help in the past.

TVGuide.com: Poor Sami. She wanted to be a good girl and help the cops bust EJ, but she only ended up helping him skip Salem.
Sweeney: I know! It's awesome because she's forced to go against everything she believes in to help a DiMera escape from justice. She has to lie to her dad and her uncle. It's so Sami's story. Just when she thinks she's cleaned herself up, there's another mess. Yet, at the same time, you can't blame her for this one!

TVGuide.com: No, we can't. EJ coerced Sami into having cheap sex with him to save Lucas' life. He gave her no real choice.
Sweeney: She definitely was coerced. Now she's agreed to keep it secret that she even saw EJ, who has fled town, and she's taken credit for saving Lucas all alone. In Sami's mind, she negotiated a deal with the devil. Sami feels, "I did what I had to do and I'd do it again." She's not going to second guess it. She can go on and be happy with Lucas because she feels like she earned it.

TVGuide.com: Well, they can be happy at least until the truth comes out. It wouldn't be Days if Sami had no dirty little secrets to hide!
Sweeney: That's so true! Obviously, she cheated on Lucas, even though she didn't want to. The great thing about it is that, in a way, Sami did the right thing! What, is her virtue more important than Lucas' life? That's ridiculous. But it's a big awakening for Sami to see that not only is she in this mess, but she did it to herself, by associating with EJ even though she was warned about him. When you're an adult, you can't keep blaming your problems on your parents and your childhood. Sami's not doing that anymore, and that's a big step for her.

TVGuide.com: EJ is plotting for Sami to have his baby. Why do these DiMera men always want to impregnate women with their heirs?
Sweeney: I know, it's so weird!

TVGuide.com: Since Sami has been intimate with both Lucas and EJ recently, I'm sure a "Who's the daddy?" pregnancy plot won't be far behind.
Sweeney: Yeah, I think there's an obvious set up. What's interesting about Hogan Sheffer is that although he tells classic soap stories like the one that's unfolding, I have no doubt he'll keep me on my toes with unexpected twists.

TVGuide.com: It'd be so fun if Sami had EJ's kid and became a part of the deviant DiMera clan.
Sweeney: I've often though there was a great story to tell there. What if Sami were lured away from her family into that dark DiMera world? And what if there were a DiMera-Brady child? Is the child good or bad? That would just be great for future stories. There would be a family fight that would never die.

TVGuide.com: By the way, I'm receiving "DiMera-Brady Love" postcards from Days fans. They have photos of you and James Scott with red devil horns!
Sweeney: Oh my gosh. I actually got a copy of Romeo and Juliet with pictures of me and James on the cover. It also said "Written by Hogan Sheffer." It was beautifully done! But the "Lumi" fans have also sent these great Lucas and Sami Christmas ornaments to us.

TVGuide.com: Can we talk about how dreamy my James Scott is?
Sweeney: [Chuckles] He is very good looking, with that James Bond thing he has going on.

TVGuide.com: What's great is that your triangle has a strong rooting interest on both sides. It's not like Bo, Hope and Patrick were. In this situation, I could honestly see Sami go with either Lucas or EJ.
Sweeney: I would agree with that only because Sami is so her own worst enemy. I definitely think Sami and Lucas are a strong rooting couple like Hope and Bo are. But EJ has his own agenda and if he wants Sami, I could see them going down that road. Especially with Sami's dark side. James plays it so sincerely that EJ has feelings for Sami. He has walked a fine line of playing a very interesting villain with his own agenda, who isn't just a mustache-twisting bad guy.

TVGuide.com: While you're more glammy than the average gal, Ali, Sami's very relatable. Who wouldn't enjoy the fantasy of being torn between two hotties?
Sweeney: Yeah, having these sexy guys fighting over her is something any woman would want! And sure, I have a makeup artist and a hairdresser to help me look fancy. But at heart Sami is still a girl with realistic flaws who's trying to hold a job and raise her son. I think she is happy with Lucas and that gives her the sense of strength to be good. It always does seem like when she's away from Lucas or when they're fighting, that's when she loses her cool and makes big mistakes. It will be interesting to see how long this "new" Sami lasts!

TVGuide.com: So I hear you're producing your own online soap opera?
Sweeney: Basically I came up with the idea for an online drama called InTune. We now have a one-minute trailer available on YouTube. It's a cool show about young people in a record store with lots of good music and drama. I love producing and directing. I feel like it's a big stride for me in my career.

TVGuide.com: Good luck and happy new year, Ali!
Sweeney: Thank you so much. Bye!

http://tvguide.com/N...QA/default.aspx?

Hi everyone Happy New Year! I hope you all had a wonderful holiday. I did... but more on that later.

This morning I was surfing the net, seeing the response from the fans in regards to Sami's new storyline. I guess when you're in the middle of it, it's hard to see it obejctively, but I must admit to being shocked by some of the posts I read on the subject of Rape. I hadn't realized how clever Hogan had been at developing a story that has so many different points of view... that people can all watch the same scene and interpret it in different ways.

What motivated me to post - on Sami's behalf - were the people who think Sami's 'gone back to her old ways' by lying about EJ's inovlvement in rescuing Lucas, and the rape. Most people seem to think she should tell. Am I the only one who heard James Scott (plays EJ) skillfully deliever the line in an incredibly menacing tone "If you tell the cops you saw me, you will wish you were dead. If I get arrested, I will tell them that you helped me escape, and we've been sleeping together for months. And when Lucas comes to hear that you and I have known each other..." while pointing a gun?

That seems pretty cut and dry to me. From Sami's perspective, she doesn't have the option of telling the truth - She wanted to tell Roman and couldn't because of EJ's threats.

This storyline has really been such a challenge to play. I love how difficult it is to play scenes where Sami has to pretend everything is okay, and then find moments for the audience to see her inner demons. I hope you all are enjoying Days as much as I am right now!

I love the debate, and I can't wait to hear what you all think!

xoxo
ali

http://boards.safese...ead.php?t=60258

[Moriah]

I don't doubt that EJ can be redeemed (but a Jack story it sure won't be, Daytime isn't capable of such great storytelling anymore). But he isn't redeemed now, he just committed the crime. That's why I find it ridiculous for the interviewer to see him as such a viable option for Sami, as if literally nothing happened. Besides, with the exception of L&L from 20 years ago, pairing redeemed victimizers with their victims rarely flies. It usually works better when they're paired with someone else who can see them with fresh eyes.

[mateo22]

I don't think that I really want Sami with EJ at all really, just more interested in the possibilities that can come from a Dimera/Brady baby. I'd like for this to be something that really rockets LUMI as a serious couple more than anything. I'm just excited that Sami has finally grown up and that Ali has finally gotten some good material!

[ademption]

Yuck. Ali's a queen at pleasing her fans (and I'm definitely one of them) but I couldn't disagree more with some of her comments, as well as those from the interviewer. This is no hot triangle, Sami was just RAPED. All these comments made sense two months ago, not now.

Ademption, totally agree with your comments about where they're going with this. You're one of my favourite Lucas fans from back in the day - I was wondering, do you like Hogan's writing for him and Lumi? I haven't watched all the eppies so I can't really judge, but it seems like Lucas is still very one-note. It's nice they have him talking about his flaws a bit (like insecurity) but they seem to be writing him like the angel on Sami's shoulder, always berating and actually yelling a lot, what's with that? He was always a sweet guy with the women he cared about and reserved the venom for his enemies.

Hi Moriah, long time no see!! Great to post with you again. Ali's comments brought memories back of that incident a few years ago, when Salem Critic got on Ali for refusing to say anything about Lucas slapping Sami in the churchyard after Roman's death(?) during the Salem Serial Killer storyline. Remember she tried to please fans on both sides of the issue? Ali is a very nice giving actress, but part of her job is to stick up for the show and generate interest so that both fanbases are enthusiastic about watching Days. I also disagreed with her comments, but I understand why she was giving those comments. She's a representative of Days and the whole hot triangle is part of Days' publicity. It's interesting that on her own message board, she seems to give another side to her perspective about the EJ/Sami scenes last Friday.

I have mixed feelings about Hogie's writing of Lucas/Lumi. For one thing, IMHO, Lucas is still islanded as a character, which is dangerous in the soap world. Despite his status as one of the few remaining adult male Hortons, he hasn't interacted with members of his family that much, like say Shawn for instance. He mainly shares scenes with Sami and Kate and periodically with Victor. I'm hoping that perhaps with the Sami rape storyline we'll see Lucas interact with more characters and that this story will be not only a Sami story, but a Lucas one as well.

Secondly, Hogan Sheffer hasn't written Lucas as a character that Days' viewers can root for (other than us diehard Lucas' fans). We know that Lucas is insecure about his relationship with Sami based upon his past experiences with Nicole and Carrie. On the positive side, he does have a protective streak when it comes to Sami. We've seen those 2 dimensions of his character play out fairly well. The pranks with Will and then later on pouring the paint can on EJ's head were a bit much. I guess HS was trying to display Lucas' immaturity in an extreme way. Those scenes fell a little flat to me though.

However, an insecure and immature man, as pointed out by EJ, isn't what Sami needs now, given her maturation over the past several months. The divide is widening and I could understand why non-Lumi fans are now questioning why Lumi should even be together. I can also understand why non-Lumi fans would question the relationship with Lucas just talking about having sex with Sami. Their conversations have become one note. There's no romance, just Lucas asking that Sami make love. That's it. No going out to have a romantic dinner together, dancing etc.

When Sami refuses to have sex with Lucas, Lucas says that he's fine with it, but then later on acts petulent. It's classic passive aggressive trait, which is consistent throughout the history of Lucas' character.

PASSIVE-AGGRESSIVE PERSONALITY CLUSTER

Passive-aggression is a learned behavior often developed in response to overcontroling parents during childhood. Later this "overcontrol" might be projected onto authority figures like bosses, teachers, and spouses.
---
What are the signatures of passive aggressive behavior and the folks who've learned to operate in this indirectly aggressive way? Persons who act in passive aggressive ways do some of the following:

*Have difficulty saying no to persons viewed as authorities. In seeming to outwardly comply with requests, the passive aggressive person will procrastinate, leave work undone, obstruct, do an insular job, do what was not requested, misplace, or "forget" to perform the requested tasks. When asked about their problem with delivering, the person with passive aggression is likely to make excuses, blame, or become sullen while claiming only good intentions.
--
*Often feels put upon, controlled, pressured, and victimized.
*Frequently is involved in fibbing, omitting information, or lying to avoid direct confrontation.
--
*Are frequently in trouble in work situations for excessive tardiness and incomplete tasks.
--
*May abuse alcohol and substances.
--
*In relationships may complain about partners to third parties instead of discussing issues directly with their partners.
*Chronically "forgets" to do important tasks whether for self or others.
--
*Giving a yes when actually meaning no.
*Submissive on the surface.
*Attempts to block or frustrate others (With underlying anger).
--
*Giving mixed signals: unclear yes and no's.
*Criticalness, subtle denigration, leaking hurtful information, sarcasm.
*Complaining about bosses, authorities, teachers, spouses behind their backs.
*Denial of emotions.
*Holding back on important information.
*Hunting for negative traits to avoid intimacy.
*Lack of commitment.
*Arguments and temper tantrums coming out of nowhere.
--
*Wavering on courses of action.
*Angry about being powerless, yet not able to assert this.

http://emoclear.com/...aggressive.html

I like Lucas' personality including his passive aggressive streak. But I can understand why most people don't like it, especially for a romantic lead or as the male counterpart of a supercouple in the making. My hope with the rape storyline is that Hogan Sheffer works on Lucas' passive aggressive traits. As I mentioned in another thread, perhaps Lucas could make a deal with the devil in this case Victor that Victor help Lucas take down EJ and in exchange Lucas helps Victor with Phillip's custody suit against Belle/Shawn? It would get Lucas out of the Sami/Kate island so that he would interact with more characters and give him his own story. More than anything, Lucas needs to become his own individual, not Sami's appendage. I've said that for a long time and I hope that is where Sheffer is going with this rape storyline. Also, Sheffer needs to make Lucas a character that average viewers would want to root for. Most people don't like his passive aggressive tendencies, so maybe HS will work it into the story where Lucas works on those issues and becomes a bit more aggressive, especially towards his mother, Kate.

If not, I don't see a bright future for Lumi, Lucas or Bryan D. It would be a shame b/c I really do like Hogan Sheffer's style of writing. I'm trying to remain positive. For one thing, HS didn't have to write that Lucas dream about Kate and Will when Lucas was passed out from hypothermia on last Friday's show. I know a lot of people were perplexed that the dream sequences were included in that episode, but I think HS was trying to provide insight into Lucas' character. Kate's seeds of doubt about Sami weigh heavily on Lucas' conscious, but Will is the one constant--the one person that gives him the will to live (think back to Will giving Lucas the will to wake up from the coma a few years ago).

Anyway, I can only hope for the best. HS seems to get the other characters pretty well. I'm hoping that he'll be able to flesh Lucas' character out a little more and turn him into a romantic lead, not only for Lumi's sake, but for Lucas and Bryan D's sake as well....

This post has been edited by ademption: 04 January 2007 - 01:49 AM

[Bree]

Hogan and his crew really need to get Lucas interacting more with his Horton clan. Every writer DAYS has had while Lucas was on isolated him, except for some great scenes between he and Maggie during his short-lived alcohol addiction story. Hogan has brought a lot of more family and character interaction on, so I'm not sure why Lucas continues to only exist in Sami's world.

I think many people don't like Lucas because for so long, writers have portrayed him as a yes man for Kate, and if it's one thing a lot of people can't stand, it's momma's boys. The previous writing has really hurt his character. It's time for Lucas to get some good story and for his character to be explored. Sami's had fourteen years. It's his turn now.

[DaysFanJean]

I like Lucas because he is a loving, caring person. Bryan portrays an excellent father/son relationship with Will so there is no doubt whatsoever that he isn't one loving/proud father. What is one thing both Sami and Lucas have is a genuine devotion for their son. Lucas has a much more tender heart than Sami. I find that sexy. I think Bryan is way sexier and fun than EJ...let's also say, more human LOL. Hogan said he was going to make a Nick/Nora detective team of Sami and Lucas and I'm holding him to his word. Truly, I don't even like Sami without Lucas.

[Cheyenne]

Did Jack ever cold-bloodedly murder someone? EJ is a cold-blooded killer and I just find that beyond any redemption.

Good point! I don't get why people necessary would want EJ to be nice guy. Yeah of course the Ejami fans want that, but the rest... why? I like the character way better when he's really showing his evil side. I hated when he was all snooty and smirking for months and every opportunity he got. It was just too annoying.

[Ponz]

I don't doubt that EJ can be redeemed (but a Jack story it sure won't be, Daytime isn't capable of such great storytelling anymore). But he isn't redeemed now, he just committed the crime. That's why I find it ridiculous for the interviewer to see him as such a viable option for Sami, as if literally nothing happened. Besides, with the exception of L&L from 20 years ago, pairing redeemed victimizers with their victims rarely flies. It usually works better when they're paired with someone else who can see them with fresh eyes.

The Luke and Laura story happened 26 years at a time when social attitudes to rape were alot less progressive than they currently are. The term 'date rape' had not even entered popular discourse when that story was written. The same story would never be accepted by today's audience. Add to that the fact that EJ has shown absolutely NO REMORSE for his crime (Luke and Jack showed remorse immediately) and the notion of EJ and Sami as a viable romantic pairing is simply insane.

I doubt EJ will be redeemed but if it does happen, it will be another woman and not Sami who accomplishes it.

This post has been edited by Ponz: 04 January 2007 - 11:39 AM

[Ponz]

The comments by both the interviewer and Ali about Sami being "forced to cheat" were kind of interesting to say the least. I don't think of rape as cheating. With the SOW publicity that Sami sleeps with EJ along with this latest interview, it's clear to me that the show's publicity department is trying to hedge the issue--make it more of a seduction thing than rape. Not too thrilled with that, but I think I know why they're doing it. It's pretty clear that they want to keep EJ/James Scott around for a while and it'll be easier to keep him around making the incident that occurred b/w Sami and EJ (whatever you choose to call it--I call it rape) if the publicity department describes the incident in gray terms...

I have to disagree, ademption. It's the interviewer (who is not a DAYS employee) doing the hedging. If the writers intended it to be a gray area, they would not have had Sami refer to the incident as 'rape' just before it happened. There's also a reason Lucas made so many references to 'rape' in the episodes preceding the crime. The official DAYS site at Sony refers to the incident as 'rape', as does Ali on her site. And there was a spoiler in TV GUIDE saying that EJ 'sexually assaults her at gunpoint'. IMO, this is enough evidence that TPTB want it seen as rape.

[Moriah]

For one thing, HS didn't have to write that Lucas dream about Kate and Will when Lucas was passed out from hypothermia on last Friday's show. I know a lot of people were perplexed that the dream sequences were included in that episode, but I think HS was trying to provide insight into Lucas' character.

I was glad to see those scenes too. It made me think, I doubt previous writers would have kept him in the episode as anything but a body on the floor, with Sami in the centre of the story. It would have been nice if Hogan had chosen to make Lucas one of the characters he wants to revitalise, like Sami and Marlena.

I'm more optimistic than you are about the viewer opinion of Lucas and Lumi. I think they're very popular due to chemistry and history, even when Lucas is written badly. I gave up on Lumi when I felt he turned into nothing but an Austin clone under JER, yet Lumi remained popular. I think the issue with Lucas' character is that us diehards know his personality very well, but more casual fans don't because of the inconsistency across previous writers and the damage done to him by Langan. It's the reason we had gripes with the writing for him under JER, while others online rarely spoke about it. After 13 years, this is a character that still needs establishing as an individual, not Sami's man. More family interaction would help, but I think to really help the character we'd need something more drastic, namely, his own story.

The more JER turned Lucas into Austin, the more I was desperate for JER to turn him back into the bad boy he used to be. So I didn't have a problem with things like the pranks (but I didn't watch much of it so it may have come across worse than I thought). But I think a mistake Hogan is actually making is he's almost adding flaws. Lucas coming across as so pushy with the sex, being unromantic and even pretty mean to Sami now that they're together? That's OOC, IMO. Things like him being a mama's boy stood in the way of him being a leading man in the past; not being sweet enough or loving enough was never the issue. It's those "swoon" moments that really make male characters and couples work for the viewers, and they could easily do them with Lucas so I'm not sure why it's not there.

I have to disagree, ademption. It's the interviewer (who is not a DAYS employee) doing the hedging. If the writers intended it to be a gray area, they would not have had Sami refer to the incident as 'rape' just before it happened. There's also a reason Lucas made so many references to 'rape' in the episodes preceding the crime. The official DAYS site at Sony refers to the incident as 'rape', as does Ali on her site. And there was a spoiler in TV GUIDE saying that EJ 'sexually assaults her at gunpoint'. IMO, this is enough evidence that TPTB want it seen as rape.

I actually agree. I don't think DAYS has a specific publicity objective to whitewash the rape. I think it's just one of those things that some people may not think to associate with the word rape. While they still think it's bad, rape is a powerful label that makes the mind go from "bad" tp "horrible crime," so if people like the TVGuide interviewer haven't made that jump, they respond differently. From what was seen onscreen, it didn't seem like they tried to make this not be rape, and they certainly could have if they wanted to.

[ademption]

The reason why I think this purposeful downplaying of the rape scene is part of Day's publicity department is that I just find it too much of a coincidence that first SOW and now this TV Guide interviewer were doing it. Where did SOW get the idea that EJ and Sami were just sleeping together? Maybe my conspiracy theory radar is going off too strongly and there's nothing there, but I find it strange that both publications owned by different corporations chose to take this angle. Don't the mags typically say "rape" on the cover instead of "sleep together" or "forced to cheat"?

For another thing, I think that soap mags, particularly with articles containing spoilers, just repeat what the soaps' publicity department tells them. I don't believe that soap mags give original news in these articles, but regurgigate whatever angle the publicity department wants them to cover. I think that Days would like to play up the rivalry b/w the Lumi/EJami fanbase. If Days' publicity didn't give EJami fans something with which to look forward, the concern would be that they stopped watching. Given Days' recent ratings problems, the show wouldn't want that, would they? In other words, I wouldn't be surprised despite the writing and what we see on the screen, that Days' publicity would try to play the EJ/Sami incident last week both ways to please both fanbases. You see by Daniel's response to my tirade over at the comments section of this article, where he pointed to a section of the article and said "see, I wrote something positive for Lumi fans too; it just wasn't biased towards EJ; blah, blah, blah..."

Secondly, the reason why I took DC's interview so seriously is b/c Days publicity tends to give him scoops about stuff. For instance, he was the one that said that EJ was Elvis long before anyone else. Supposedly he figured it out, but again, I think that Days publicity/HS gave him that scoop. Same deal with JKJ coming back as Phillip. The trend for his columns is to float an idea in those columns, see what the public's response is and then the show takes action. That's why I got hardcore up in that comment section about any suggestion of making Sami being romantically paired with EJ after last Friday's show.

I hope my vibes are wrong and I'm overanalyzing (what's new?). But I just didn't want to take the chance that Daniel or Ali for that matter were giving us some foreshadowing in that interview.....

This post has been edited by ademption: 05 January 2007 - 06:25 PM