DAYS: Behind the Scenes, Articles/Photos

[JackPeyton]

Yes, it is all saved.

[DRW50]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDH7DfbZ42I&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL

[DRW50]

From a late February 1982 Digest.

[Paul Raven]

Alda makes it seem like Days was his first soap,with all that talk about regrets he didn't do it sooner.But he was on Love of Life in the mid 60's.

When Pat Falken Smith returned Stuart Whyland,previously the big power broker in Salem, was revealed to be fronting for the DiMeras and was ushered out of town. I thought that was clever.

Incidentally,Martha Smith,who played Sandy Horton for a brief time in the early 80's has popped up on Selling LA on HGTV.She is now working in real estate.

[DRW50]

Too bad they couldn't bring Martha back as Sandy, at least as a way to introduce some other Horton relatives. She could just return briefly with a child or grandchild.

What were the results of Smith's lawsuits against DAYS? Were they thrown out?

[DRW50]

7/15/97 Digest.

[Cheap21]

Mark Valley...the best Jack IMO

I liked Matt Battagalia. Too bad he hasnt done anyting in daytime since Days. Maybe he can come back and play a Peter recast

Edited November 7, 2011 by Cheap21

[DRW50]

Valley's always seemed a little bland to me but he did a good job making Jack his own character, which the other Jack and Jennifer recasts never could.

Not sure why Battaglia didn't get more work. I guess he's worked a lot, but it seems like the only show which had him on for an extended run was QAF.

[Cheap21]

He's more subtle but he worked and had a good look for leading man. I think a step up from MA who is too over the top and a joke. MV's Jack was more serious and not a slapstick caricature. The guy that came after him was awful. Too plastic and the writing made it hard to like him as he was a bit self righteous.

[Gray Bunny]

Agreed! I also thought it was the one rare time when I saw Kristian Alfonso have chemistry with someone other than Peter Reckell. I remember there was a bit of time there when MV's Jack & "Gina"/Hope spent time together and it really clicked well.

Edited November 7, 2011 by Gray Bunny

[DRW50]

January 1993 Digest. Carolyn Hinsey reviews DAYS.

"Dazed" By the New DAYS OF OUR LIVES

DAYS OF OUR LIVES is in a critical period right now, and much of its success will depend on the audience's willingness to move forward along with the show. We're betting the end result will be well worth any growing pains along the way.

For years, DAYS has capitalized on the appeal of super couples. Duos like Doug and Julie, Roman and Marlena (the first time), Bo and Hope, Patch and Kayla and Kim and Shane have won the show fiercely loyal fans. But DAYS paid a price for this approach. By counting on the star quality of couples to win over viewers, it sacrificed mature, sophisticated storytelling and complex characters. One wicked wife after another came back from the dead to temporarily break up super couples; in the Brady family alone, Bo, Kayla, Roman and former "Brady" John suffered through this phenomenon.

Sure proof that simpleminded super couples are on the way out is the manner in which DAYS is handling the BO/Carly love story. In the old DAYS, the beloved Bo and Carly (played to perfection by Robert Kelker-Kelly and Crystal Chappell) would have gone through one crisis after another, reuniting over and over. This time, DAYS is relying on strong storytelling, not audience infatuation with a super couple, to keep viewers coming back for more. Formerly, Lawrence Alamain (Michael Sabatino) would have served as nothing more than a wrench in the romance of Bo and Carly. Now, Lawrence has been transformed into a riveting leading man, and DAYS is moving all the characters forward by making Lawrence a viable match for Carly. The revelation Lawrence made to Carly about Nicky during her wedding to Bo was a fitting climax for the well-told tale, and a good catalyst for the Bo/Carly breakup. Not that Bo will be left in the cold - many of our readers have been writing in for weeks encouraging a Bo/Billie (Lisa Rinna) romance. The fact that viewers are already behind these new couples and not clamoring for a Bo/Carly reunion indicates the success of DAYS's redirection.

Bo and Carly worked, and DAYS improved on them; the show is also changing what hasn't been working. Marlena and Roman were wildly successful as a couple once, but they sure don't work now. Fans got very used to the charismatic Drake Hogestyn playing Roman for five years. Now, thanks to months of "So what?" stories, Wayne Northrop just doesn't seem like Roman anymore. The actor's natural appeal wasn't written into the character the way it was the previous go-round. Roman even seems to be straining with his own family members, like calling Bo "little brother" all the time. We get it: They're brothers.

The biggest problem with the implausible resurfacing of Roman and Marlena stems from the fact that DAYS never deal with the implications of Roman's seven-year imprisonment. He just moved back to his house (and job!) like he had returned from a cruise. How did Roman feel about his wife and kids accepting another man in his place? Was he angry that John Black got promoted to police captain, a title he never achieved? And most importantly...when did Roman get new clothes? Or pay his taxes? Imagine the paperwork - gone seven years! And while we're on a roll, when did Roman catch up on current events? The whole thing was preposterous.

Thankfully, that's changing. Just before Marlena was thrown into the pit, she and Roman had their best scene together all year. They got their anger out on the table after months of dancing around each other. More scenes like this will go a long way toward developing them as a couple again. Equally rewarding were the scenes in the pit between John and Marlena. By finally addressing the fact that their relationship is unresolved (it wasn't as if they'd fallen out of love when she returned to Roman and he married Isabella), DAYS has opened the door for a compelling triangle. And there's nary a presumed-dead evil wife in sight.

While the adult characters are getting on track, DAYS's teen characters need considerable retooling. Carrie Brady came back to Salem a real spoiled brat: She tried to seduce Lawrence, played head games with her "friend," Molly, and bickered constantly with Roman and Marlena. Then, overnight, Carrie became the Patty Duke of the '90s, hosting dinners and flirting conquettishly with Austin (Patrick Muldoon, with whom the previous Carrie, Tracy Middendorf, had zero chemistry). This was a plot that were nowhere - fast - as Carrie moved in with Jesse, who immediately stopped buying drugs and started buying groceries. And then disappeared. The new character of Tim is a washout, and that whole Johnny Angel gambling story is a big snore. The return of Christy Clark to the role of Carrie suggests DAYS is addressing the problem, but the show still needs a dynamic teen group with believable ties to the older characters. Hopefully, the rapid aging of the Brady twins, Sammi and Eric, will accomplish just that. If DAYS is smart, scripts will finally explore the fact that the twins have suffered from multiple abandonments: the loss of their father and then their mother (who were both held captive in the Tiberon Islands); next, wannabe-dad John Black's instant ouster from the Brady house upon Roman I's return; and finally, the recent death of Isabella, who was the closest thing to a mother that they've ever had. A little reality on this front would go a long way toward making us care. Adolescence, in general, is an age of anger. These two kids, having endured so much, have every reason to wind up in juvenile hall.

On other fronts, DAYS has already proven that it can effectively weave young characters into the fabric of the show. Look at Jack and Jennifer: They're young, but they have interesting, humorous interaction with just about everyone in Salem. Matthew Ashford and Melissa Reeves have one of the best on-screen chemistries going, and DAYS is wise to capitalize on their acting talent (and popularity). Jack and Jenn's "Mr. Mom" storyline is an original for daytime, as many real-life couples are facing the same dilemma: Who cares for the baby when the wife earns more money? Kudos to DAYS for finding an interesting, timely story that hasn't been done. (Unfortunately, this story is being hampered by cheap soap opera ploys like Bill Horton entering their new house and saying, 'I hope I did the right thing...Jack and Jenn must never learn what happened in this house.")

Speaking of cheap soap opera ploys, I was all set to trash Kimberly's multiple personality storyline, which has been done to death on daytime (Viki/Niki on ONE LIFE TO LIVE, Sharly/Sharlene on ANOTHER WORLD, Mason/Sonny on SANTA BARBARA, Sonny/Solita on GUIDING LIGHT, to name just a few!) But after taking a good look at Patsy Pease playing Kim, Clare and Lacey, I have to give credit where credit is due. From the moment alter ego Lacey emerged, Pease shined in one of the most tired plots in the history of daytime. She did her best acting work to date playing three very believable, different, people. Greatly aided by Richard Burgi in the thankless role of Philip Collier, Kim's fiance and Clare's nemesis, Pease's scenes were among the best on the show.

One character who did not get enough scenes is Julie. Susan Seaforth Hayes has aged better than any other actress on daytime, and after 25 years in Salem, she deserved better than to sit around greeting strangers and saying, "Welcome to Wings." Where was the torrid love triangle with Victor and Vivian (the incomparable Louise Sorel, who deserves as much storyline as DAYS can feed her)? Hays was too talented and too much of a Salem staple to be wasted like this. And now she's leaving. Sigh.

DAYS is lucky to have such loyal fans, and the show undoubtedly wants to hang on to every one of them while reaching for a larger audience. Breaking out of the stale super couple mold may jolt some veteran viewers; the show will have to provide solid storytelling to keep its longtime fans loyal. But think of what DAYS can do now that it isn't devoted to churning out what became a juvenile, repetitive formula. It's an exciting time to be watching DAYS - the show is finally growing up.

[DRW50]

July 1971 TV Radio Show

[DRW50]

fuses to discuss any of their plans at all.

"What can I say about David?" she says smilingly. "He's a lovely, marvelous man...he's just...fabulous!" Denise met the star of The Bold Ones on a tennis court, and since that time has not stopped seeing him. While there have been other guys in her life before David, none of them have affected her quite like him. If Denise is no longer avoiding marriage, it is because she has come to realize "that you can love someone else without losing your identity at the same time."

Denise has been active in the theater and TV worlds for a long time, but she insists that she is not career-oriented. "I don't know..." Denise says in earnest, "...I think that I'm just oriented to people and life. I'm adventuresome, and in the back of my mind, I have this craving to learn and do all kinds of different things.

"As a matter of fact, I left acting for a while. I remember that I was doing Member of the Wedding with Ethel Waters and I just wasn't enjoying it. Now, there was a part I would think I would have adored doing, but I didn't. Then I went to Durango, Colorado to shoot Diamond Jim Brady...and...with all of the heat and hecticness of production, I just said to myself, "Why am I doing this?" And I couldn't give myself an answer so I decided to grow in other areas rather than just in performing.

"I really wanted to be a diplomat. I speak Italian and French. At one time I wanted to learn Russian. Now I want to speak German. And yes, I would love to travel abroad. I was supposed to go one summer, but instead I found myself working on Days of Our Lives."

Denise has been acting since the age of seven. "I was a painfully shy young child," she admits, "and very uninvolved with other children. My parents were concerned and decided to send me to dancing school as a way of socialization. So it probably all began then. Looking back on my childhood, I do believe that I had special parents...not what you might think of as show biz parents. They gave me everything...dancing lessons, we had a yacht. The only thing they expected of me was that I be a worthwhile human being.

"My career began early. I did The Children's Hour back East. And one of the parts I really adored was in The Diary of Anne Frank. i think that I admire Anne Frank most. I'd like to be like her because she stood proud even in the face of tragedy. Despite her bittersweet life she still maintained that people are good. I believe that. In that sense she was very much an optimist and so am I.

"I believe that there is nothing terrible that cannot be fixed. I also believe that things are...they just are...and a rose is a rose is a rose...and we should let them be and take from what is. Live every day the best you can for what is...that's all."

If Denise comes off sounding like a cockeyed-optimist, well it's true. Everything in her life seems to be sunshine yellow, from the colors in her house to the very things she loves to do. "I love walking in the sunshine," she says smilingly, "and I love the color yellow. And I love water and fresh air, and decorating my apartment.

"My apartment is done with all bright, lively colors...there are lots of yellows, of course. I love interior decorating. I think I caught that bug from my mother. It's a small apartment, but it's got high ceilings, French windows; it's comfortable, with graceful furniture and lots of charm. There are different styles used...Chinese, Italian, French, but basically it's cheery, and, in that sense, reflects me. One day I would like to live in a house though."

One of the reasons Denise was glad to leave New York City was that she hated apartment living. "When I was a kid and lived back East I hated living in the city. As a matter of fact, we had a house on Long Island and the apartment, but I never considered the apartment as being home. I would get that closed in feeling in New York, and I could never keep up with the pace.

"I remember when I first came out to the West Coast...it was on a vacation with my parents. It was all like a dream. I remember the ride into the city from the airport...there were all of these mountains and open spaces. Even the apartment buildings looked different...they were small and pretty. I knew then that this was my kind of city.

"The funny part of the story is that my father also fell in love with the city and decided to sell his business in the East and move t o the West Coast. Just like that and then we moved.

"Of course New York was exciting because you could have the opportunity of doing live theater, but I've done some here. I was in Under the Yum Yum Tree for a while. But then again, I hate long-term contracts so I would hate to be in a long run. I suppose it's because I would probably get bored of doing the same thing all of the time. And if I do a play, I prefer that it be a comedy. I think the most beautiful thing in the world is to make someone laugh.

"I love working on Days of Our Lives. I'm not really like the character I play, but I like her. And the cast is just great. We do quite a bit of socializing together which is nice. Susan Seaforth and I have great fun on set. And I'm always clowning around with Edward Mallory and Bill Hayes. I really am happy to be doing the show.

"Yes, I would like to make a film. I think that would be great fun. I made one film several years back called Crime in the Streets with John Cassavetes which I found to be very challenging."

When you ask Denise to finally sum herself up, she thinks hard, but she wants to come up with an honest answer. "Well," she says, using her hands as a guide, "I suppose you might say Denise Alexander is me...an actress...but even more than that a young woman...and a basically happy person. I like to think of myself as creative and as one who is interested in learning. I would like to be the best me I can possibly be."

[jam6242]

Thanks, I always loved Denise Alexander on Days. The rivalry between her Susan Martin & Julie Olson (after Susan Seaforth took over the role) is what got me hooked on the show. Really missed her when she left the show.

[DRW50]

Thank you for reading. I wish I could see her work as Susan. Susan sounds like such a fascinating character.