carolineg

It's pretty clear JER preferred couples he created like Bo/Billie and was forced to go with Bo/Hope once both actors returned. They were relegated to more B stories while John/Marlena/Kristen and Sami/Carrie/Austin/Lucas were featured more heavily. Even though he didn't create John/Marlena he did create romantic John/Marlena where it wasn't a love based on Marlena thinking he was Roman. I don't think JER ever knew what to do with Hope/Bo or 'got' their appeal. They never really fit on his ideal canvas. The miscasting of Krista Allen as Billie didn't help either.

I preferred RKK's Bo too for most of the 90's. I loved Bo/Billie in the beginning and was so mad Hope came back. To be fair, I still don't care for Hope but I like Peter so much as Bo now. It's hard for me to imagine RKK playing most of the Bo stories Peter got from the 2000's on.

I don't think that's unpopular. It did suck the air out of the Bo/Billie/Hope triangle. LR/RKK had great chemistry. PR/LR didn't have nearly as much. Once Kristian returned it was obvious how it was going to play and Rinna left not long after. It didn't help that JER didn't seem to care much for Bo/Hope and saddled them with some bad stories. I don't think her absence made the whole tribute feel incomplete. It was glaring though, especially when characters like Carrie came back, who objectively wasn't terribly close to Alice. I wonder if the show even asked Deidre or if Deidre declined.

All your points are valid and I do know the numbers did go up, which did surprise me. Like I posted I think you could have taken John off the canvas and had Marlena visit him frequently to free up guarantees and it wouldn't feel as awkward as them both leaving and not involved at all in Salem going ons. I thought Ron did a good job of using John/Marlena and Marlena specifically. It was clear he loved the Marlena character. While I disliked a lot of their Ron stories I thought the shoot the bride story was excellent and one of the best J&M arcs in years. Vivian works to me as a character that pops in and out. I didn't love her 2009 return, but I also don't think she's fit to stay on the canvas for long periods. She got very tired near the end of her 90's run.

The John/Marlena exit story was ridiculous. I can't believe that's how they wrote out their main supercouple. I would obviously keep both of them, but if cash was that strapped I would have written out John before Marlena. John could have been sent to rehab for the time being and Marlena could make frequent visits. It was always so odd that with all the Sami happenings during this era that Marlena wasn't around at all. CC/Carly probably could have worked with the proper writing with an earlier return. She was never mentioned and not important when she came back. It was far too late to make Carly important again, although I would argue they could have brought her back when Lisa Rinna left instead of recasting Billie. I think CC was too busy being a juggling clown on OLTL or something though.

Yes, lol. John/Marlena fans bought sheets so J/M could have more love scenes-and they used said sheets for Steve/Kayla. It's hilarious that a fanbase bought sheets, but also that Days was so cash strapped they used them for a different couple! I don't agree with the show writing John/Marlena out. They had just reunited haphazardly slapped together at the end after months of RoboJohn-and he ended up paralyzed. It was clear Higley just wasn't a fan of the couple and Marlena specifically. Sacred couple or not, it alienated a large (for Days) fan base. I don't really mind the Kayla/Steve write out. They weren't doing much. I think it's silly to write out two main couples. The show was suddenly losing some foundation and adding characters that to me weren't relevant. I will never like Carly or Chappell so the entire return was unnecessary and just a blip on the Days radar for me. Ditching two main couples and breaking up the third main couple was never going to work and the timing of CC's hiring was right around the time Deidre and Drake were fired, so I always correlate it together. Which may or may not be fair. Some elements of that era worked, but most didn't which is why Days rebooted a few years later and went back to their main baseline. I can't say if creatively that was right or wrong but Days is still going, so probably?

I have always been vocal about my love for MB/Melanie. I thought she was refreshing on a depressing canvas although getting so many stories and romances was overkill. Daniel/SC seemed to be a weird hill for Higley to die on because he was fine in small doses I guess? I just don't know what stuck out for DH to make her think he was the LEADING man on Days material.

I have clearly never been a CC fan in any iteration of Carly, but her antics were absolutely a train wreck. It was fun to watch, but picking a fight with KA probably wasn't the best decision. The return in theory wasn't horrible at the beginning. It was a very big disappointment to me that Days fired Deidre/Drake and then Steve/MBE and were like well here's....Carly. Her first run was too long ago for most to care. Tying her to Melanie/Daniel was also strange. Like you said a darker Carly probably would have worked better since she killed Lawrence at the start, but I also thought that move was a mistake. You are sucking a lot of potential drama at out her killing Lawrence at the jump.

I think Steve bought into his own hype and Kimberly never did. I respect Geary for feeling one type of way but Luke was treated a lot differently than the others.

I believe Jason talked to it about Sam too. Maybe around the time of Michael's prison rape reveal or when Sam really wanted a baby? Kind of the same era though. Oh, I don't think Steve was some sort of innocent. I think he loved being the star and didn't advocate for his veteran co-stars. I also don't think he advocated for them to be fired either. He was just more complacent in the going ons at the time.

I tend to agree with this. The show did seem to actively make her more relevant right before she left though. I agree. I don't think it was at Steve's urging or that he even wanted it. So many different things can be blamed. Frons's directives, JFP hating veterans, Guza wanting the show to be the Sopranos AND both Steve and Mo loving being bada** mobsters. There was a point during the Monavie era that I thought a lot went to Steve's head and he had way too much pull. He seems mellowed and more open now to play more nuance.

I believe SM said she chose to leave. Not sure if that was Frank giving her the option to say that or the truth. It all seemed abrupt, IMO.

I did. It was so strange after all the years they knew one another and how close Emily/Nik/Lucky/Liz were that the show decided they had undeniable feelings for one another at that point. Then Lucas was being a bit petty with Britt. Britt is an unlikable human being so I get it. I just couldn't recall if there was a concrete reason that he disliked her (besides the fact that she's awful in general)

It safe to say I blocked out everything about Liz/Nik as a romantic pairing so I don't remember that. I thought Lucas did like Britt because of Brad. Did Britt help with the Wiley switch in some way? Nina was offering so much without strings and Britt was just being stubborn and "independent" only to take Jason's charity and complain about it. Liesl also would have been quite helpful to Britt in getting her meds. So Britt was actually risking her health by being a brat. I still really don't know why Carly/Britt dislike one another. Carly hates everyone female Jason interacts with so it checks out, but I thought she was grateful to Britt because she saved Joss's life. Britt hates Carly because???? Jason runs to save Carly, which isn't really Carly's fault. There isn't any reason for them to rivals at all.

If there has to be a Charlotte in existence I do like this actress much better. Agreed. The writing with Lulu is slanted against her. GH thinks Britt being "britch" is hilarious. If they try to sell RP as anything other than a walking mannequin it will be laughable. At least he's good looking. I don't even know what Liz and Lucas have against Britt, so I am just going to assume it's valid and that I don't care.

FINALLY.

Weren't Tony and Anna discussing Stefano possibly being alive in the summer? That was an entire episode of them talking in the Dimera living room, IIRC.

I've always thought Steve was a decent actor even back in the 90's. It got muddied along the way when he started to play Stone Cold Action Hero Jason. I have never doubted he was capable if he tried.

The baby story is interesting, if totally illogical. The problem is it hinges on Leo Howard and Rachel Boyd to carry the emotional weight of the plot and neither are terribly strong. LH at least seems like a real human, but Boyd is the center of the story and is one of the worst actresses I have ever seen on tv. It's a shame because both Holly and Ari are played by much better actors. Madeline Kientz was miles better as well, and I wish the show had taken more time to recast Sophia. It seems like Johnny and Chanel will get the baby anyway so this feels like a time suck of a story where the ending is the same outcome.

I had the same thought. Why dump Sasha and the shared history with Michael if you are just going to pair him with another blonde grifter?

Someone who is not BRENDA.

That's why we don't even need Britt. Jason being entirely without immediate family is a great story. His only family (besides cousins and aunts) is Drew and his kids. That's way more interesting than anything Jason has played in years. Drew will care about Monica dying, but he'll probably just use it to manipulate Willow into marrying him or something. Willow is such a prize, you know lol.

I agree about Steve/Jason telling Tracy. It felt right. Willow is such a looney idiot and I love that for her lol.

Lol. This is off topic, but I thought Guza did right by Sonny/Brenda on that return. There was still something there, but he was committed to Carly. It wouldn't have lasted. Sonny would always be drawn to Brenda. They did Jax/Brenda really dirty though. I still can't believe Guza had Jax leave Brenda at the altar after EVERYTHING. I like that Brenda/Sonny don't have a child together if that makes sense? Their love for one another just binds them. Of course the last return was like 15 years ago and not relevant, but it's more entertaining to talk about than Sonny and the random DA lady lol.

I think it would play okay with Brenda and Jason even with their ages. They've known one another since they were teens. It's always been their dynamic although it could get tired. We know those two characters do like one another at this point despite the silliness. The Jason/Brenda what might have been is always a question. Sam played it out, but it would have been interesting if Jason wasn't the endgame and Brenda went back to Sonny. I doubt the show would have killed off a Sonny/Brenda baby like they killed off Baby Lila. Anyhow, I wish Britt had the emotional maturity to just say Jason hurt her. It's not even vulnerability to me if you lay it on the line instead of playing games. I get Britt likes to keep her walls up, but hanging around in a towel yelling at Jason and Carly in front of people eating breakfast for an extended period of time is way more embarrassing and juvenile.