carolineg

I think it was still good in 96-97, but it was gradually declining. I didn't notice it at the time, but looking back the Secret Room was the end of the golden era. It was weird JER had almost all his storylines climax that summer in 1997 maybe it was due to focusing on other projects. The clear favorite story for JER was John/Marlena/Kristen then maybe Carrie/Austin/Sami. I prefer those storylines, so it never bothered me, but I do think Bo/Hope got a little short changed. After the initial Hope/Gina stuff, they had some awful stories. The Bo/Billie stories with PR/Krista Allen really didn't land well and Franco was such a weird non-entity in that quad. It was nice when they moved him to Sami because he had no purpose. All the early stories pre-Possession were great and I did love Aremid. I loved that the show always felt like a true community as well. Unlike Y&R or GH, people on Days weren't in bubbles back then. Everyone knew one anothers business and the entire town would be at a wedding or an event. It's almost a shame that JER is best known for his outlandish stories and felt he kept having to go further and double down on the crazy because late 92-late 94 is probably his best work.

I agree with you! I loved JER's first run for the most part. The wheels starting to fall off the bus around Paris and really got nutty around the Secret Room/Susan/alters/etc, but I always felt there was a community feel. Aremid and even Paris still felt like a full cast experience. I believe Sherri Anderson was there for most of the beginning so that helped reign JER in. The character takes you had were great. Some quick thoughts- Eric was always a weird missing piece. His absence was glaring for so long, but Sami as a misunderstood teen to a villian was great. Wayne was fired. So Jarlena was moving towards endgame. I think it would have been very interesting to keep him around to reunite with Marlena and deal with Belle not being his and the lingering feelings Marlena had for John but I guess Marlena had to be possessed instead lol.

Yeah, I rarely praise episodes with this combo of characters. Sami, Lucas, Ali is always a win, but the other characters are usually so boring and most everyone outside Rafe was interesting today. I am glad Eli/Lani finally got real baby actors. Little Carver is so cute.

Today's show was good for a non-Possession show, but Sami always helps. Why would Abe think Lani/Eli would rename their kid lol? That's not a thing. I like when Ava does non cooking stuff, but I like TB. Why is a backstreet boy on this show though? Lol! I was just saying it was decent.

Well that certainly didn't help, but I did think the initial Robin "dying" story was pretty good. Her walking in on Patrick and Sabrina's wedding was really great soap. I prefer they got a happy ending off screen. Robin is a character who I think truly deserves that. It was awkward toward the end of both KMc and JT's run where Robin was in and out and he was with Sam? I think.

Yeah, it usually never works out as planned, but it worked out well for Patrick/Robin. Although I think both actors/characters would have worked well with several others. I consider them the last real big couple GH has had. Not supercouple, but the last couple that was critically adored and had a huge following. I am still a Robin/Jason stan so I never really cared one way or the other lol

So you raise valid points. My loose understanding is that the devil is in Marlena. The devil specifically wants(ed) Marlena to be his 'host' because they had so much fun last time and the job was unfinished. The Devil used Doug to get into Marlena's body because she was less vulnerable than last time and needed a bargaining chip I guess. The Devil has always been able to morph as far back as the initial story (Kristen/isabella/monsters) and I guess just does it when it's useful because it doesn't want John or Kristen's souls or whatever. Plus, John/Kristen being in two places while the devil is morphed into them I think makes it easier for the Devil to get caught, so it's not ideal to do long term? It gets super confusing because the Devil left Marlena to go into Susan to be Kristen, but Marlena morphed into John herself. It would have been easier to have Marlena morph into Kristen instead of using Susan, and possibly more effective, but the DH's and ED needed scenes together so the devil took the hard way because of Ron. No idea why the devil is so invested in this particular group of people. The devil is clearly invested in Marlena because it talks to her like she was an ex-lover of something and bitter at John due to the whole exorcism. It's fixated on Ben/Ciara because it wants a demon spawn and I just assume it hasn't taken his devil plans worldwide yet. Listen, that is the best way I can make sense of it, but it doesn't really make sense. And I assume I have just given it more thought than RC ever has.

Well, Cin is having Rosemary's baby right now I guess. I appreciate Ron trying to at least integrate them with some of the cast, but I think this would be better if, say, Belle was pregnant with a demon's spawn to tie it in with the original possession better. I actually get the reasoning behind choosing Ben to create a demon seed, but I don't need it. I thought VK was heavily recurring. Why is she on so much? Maybe The CW can book her for a show soon.

Numerous children? Lol. From the 2 most fertile people in town? Maxie has been making a case for herself lately in the fertility department as well these days though. Liz/Sonny would have been grosser than Sonny/Emily because there are actual scenes of the two actors interacting while Liz was a teenager. Anyhow, IN THEORY ONLY, it might have been interesting to see how Sonny dealt with Liz being a rape victim and looking back on how he treated women in the past. And Liz seeking out an older man because of Daddy/men issues. I always thought MB/BH worked well together in a friendship way. Anyway, even if BH was a bit older, Liz always read very young to me in a way that Brenda/Karen didn't even though at the time Liz was older than they were when those two dated Sonny. It's an interesting idea though. It's hard to go back knowing what we know now, but Sonny circa 2000 wasn't the worst human ever like he is now.

Yes lol. I can only imagine Mardevil eyerolling Ciara and Ben making out in the twin bed next to her in some seedy hotel. The part about Ciara/Ben being the only ones to help her is a bit ridiculous for Cin to believe. 95% of the town would want to help Marlena and John/Marlena if this was truly the case and it wasn't Mardevil, but Cin do consider themselves very important. If Cin and Marlena do go on the run I am sure it will get old fast. Why wouldn't Marlena's possession be about Cin? 🤣 Real John passed out and is currently in the hospital, so he's not actively looking for Marlena, but there is an APB out for her.

She went to Ben/Ciara and said John was abusing her. She had bruises on her wrist from the handcuffs I think and said John had been having violent outbursts due to the aneurysm still. Marlena then disappeared into Cin's bathroom and an enraged "John" showed up at Cin's house pounding on the door threatening to kill Marlena. It was the Devil shapeshifting into a fake John, so it appeared Marlena was telling the truth. Marlena also had a bunch of reasons why she didn't tell anyone, so someone with a long history with John wouldn't believe it but Ben did. Ciara was questioning it, but when fake John showed up screaming at the door acting nuts it seemed to be true to them. I rarely think anything on Days makes sense, but this whole scenario did. I think you have to see the episode. It wasn't the greatest moment of storytelling or anything, but I think it was plausible for Cin to believe it given the circumstances at the moment.

I agree. The show actually tried to make it make sense with the aneurism stuff and obviously the shape shifting, so while Ciara especially should have questioned it more or actually called Shawn, at least these things were brought up. I would assume Ciara is equally close to both John/Marlena, but she definitely interacts with Marlena more as well. They also addressed my annoyances from the last few episodes with people getting medical attention and an APB being put out. So I have a question about Chloe/Phillip. I promise I watch the show almost everyday, but I tend to be working/zoning out, so have Phillip/Chloe had sex since this iteration of their relationship started? I want to say yes, but I don't know if it has happened or been implied. I know they haven't had a love scene, but they have been together for months and it seems weird if they haven't. This triangle really needs some real movement because it just drags on with Phillip looking creepier and creepier.

I mean, I agree. As dumb as Ben was being, he really has no reason NOT to believe Marlena. Although there is zero evidence John would ever abuse Marlena I understand why he would immediately be on her side. I have to lol at the thought of the three of them on the run. Pretty good episode. Although Shawn still should have called Ciara to just let her know what's going on.

I liked the Richard Cates story too. It is underrated. It was shocking we found out he was bad right after he slept with Marlena and how it gave Abe a good story. It's crazy Marlena has literally only had 4 love interests in 45 years lol. It is a little gross Kim thought she could be Victor's daughter and pregnant with his child at the same time lol. Anyhow, I agree 83-87 is really good. I wish there was more readily available still.

The show moves into the Stockholm stuff pretty soon after. Which, while ridiculous, is probably my fave action/adventure story of the 80's.

I am not embarrassed to say I actually thought Marlena/Chris were cute together. I am the first to admit DH/JT have never shown an ounce of chemistry as Roman/Marlena, but for some reason they had some back then when he played Chris. Obviously, nothing like the DH's immediately had, but if the show hadn't went in the direction of recasting RoJohn I don't think I would have hated a Marlena/Chris pairing. I never saw Chris in real time, but when I went back and watched I liked him a lot. I was shocked that JT/DH did have some spark and I wonder why it all disappeared when he played Roman. Also, Drake looks so young here lol. I am sure Marlena/DH's 80's styling doesn't help, but he looks noticeably younger than Marlena. It's funny because I think John actually looks older than Marlena now lol.

Lol! I know and I enjoyed the show today. Unfortunately, pretty much everyone around town is talking about Marlena being the devil again, but only John's actively doing anything about it. Shawn tried, but at this point shouldn't he or Rafe put out an immediate APB for Marlena? How Susan and Stefano managed to have such a hot son (both incarnations) is beyond me lol.

Well, at least Ciara was dressed slightly appropriate today as in it fit the season for once. I have those pleather/leather leggings (or something just like them) and I can't imagine they are terribly comfortable for pregnancy but the look was better than usual for her. Shouldn't someone get Shawn D and Doug to a hospital though? John's gonna be John and run around town looking for Marlena but at least Doug should get checked out, especially since he's been drugged as well. Also, shouldn't someone be getting the word out that Marlena is in fact the devil. Maybe Shawn could have called his sister just for a doomsday heads up lol. Idk, I feel like someone should be in charge of calling Marlena's friends/acquaintances/family to let them know ASAP.

Agree 100% I actually felt a little bad today for ragging on Susan so much. She was ready to kill herself rather than let John or EJ die. That wasn't annoying lol. DF is really growing on me. I still find myself annoyed at Julie a lot, but SSH was good today. Her type of camp seems to work for these scenes. I am genuinely wondering where this is going to go. I assume John tracks down MarDevil fairly soon and the exorcism starts.

Well, at least he didn't inherit her dental issues lol. You would think an EJ/Sami kid would be more savvy, but, again, at least he's cute. Wow! I had no idea. How exactly?

I don't think Genie has, but Kin did. MB has had quite of few guest that were interesting from GH and other soaps. I've meant to watch more because the one with him and Kim was good. You could tell they had a genuine friendship and fun stories. I believe I said it on here, but the youtube show makes MB come off much more likable. I always thought he was moody and difficult (and maybe he is), but on the show he seems fun and to have a great bond with his peers.

I watched the one with KMc and I enjoyed it. I just liked to hear about the backstage stuff and their stories. It was interesting. I will probably watch both of those.

I have literally been wondering (especially when Susan's rambling) if these people lived in Salem and are long dead or if Stefano paid money to have all their bodies flown from Italy to Salem. That must have been more expensive than building another one in Italy🤣. The show could do a Peacock spinoff just about all these unheard of dead Dimeras and I can guarantee it's more exciting than half the show.

I was giving Johnny a chance, but I have had my concerns about him ever since he was looking for funding for his movie without reading the script lol. Shows rarely have 'dumb' characters, so I don't think we are supposed to think that, but Allie definitely appears to be the smarter twin. Sami always seemed like she was smarter than Eric too so maybe that's just the twin genetics in the family.

Today's show was pretty good. That nitwit Susan probably just cut herself and that's why she was covered in blood (not enough of an injury for her to shut up of course) Johnny was being dense lol. Marlena's costume and hanging out at the crypt excuses were epically stupid to begin with. I am starting to think Johnny might be more gifted in the looks department than the intelligence one. I enjoyed the Chanel/Paulina scenes. I have not been impressed with JH's acting in more serious scenes, but she and RB were very good today. All the Mardevil stuff was decent today. One of the better episodes of the Possession. I know this is blasphemous to say, but SSH/Julie tends to bug me a lot. Of course Julie is right about Marlena, but her OTT hatred for Marlena is odd for a women that has been her friend for over 40 years. Her histrionics are a lot. ETA-The Doug/Julie stuff was good. It's literally everyone else she interacts with that annoys me lol. Side note am I the only staring at the crypt and looking at all the weird, unknown Dimera dead people and wondering why we never saw them and who they were? I desperately want a copy of the Dimera family tree lol.