j swift

See, after Johnny, Tate, and Holly never searching their birth, I found it refreshing that at least one kid had the gumption to google themselves. Loving the new font and clean look of this thread. It is like someone came and wiped away all the cobwebs and it all fresh and new.

One other side note, because now I've re-read 1993-1994. I think that I found a ret-con issue. In 1993 after John finds out that Stefano is Kristen's father. It is not like I am claiming to have found nuclear fission, clearly mistakes happen. But, I found this to be amusing. In 1993, Stefano becomes deadly ill, so Kristen tells John that she needs to be by her father's side, but not to worry about the deadly disease, because she's adopted. Given, that I've always thought of Kristen as being adopted, until the more recent cannon that she is Stefano's biological child, it is interesting that in 1993, the week before Tony comes to town to announce that he is Kristen's fiancée. Kristen is saying that she can't give blood to her dying father, because she was adopted. So, the current reverse in cannon, neglects that detail. It is so funny to read this and then see Kristen and Tony in the crypt this week, 32 years later. That's more than half the show's history at this point, amazing.

I asked my soap historian GPT to help pull together the best available sources on Daniel Pilon’s run, and here’s what the research confirms: * Pilon played Max Dubujak on *Ryan’s Hope* from 1983–88. * He began appearing as Alan Spaulding on *Guiding Light* in 1988. * An academic source notes that he appeared as **Max and Alan simultaneously in November 1988 * His later-life interviews mention major upheavals, including losing his home in the Northridge earthquake and declaring bankruptcy in 1994. That’s the factual foundation. Now for the human side of it. I’ll admit Pilon was never my favorite Alan. The Spauldings are supposed to have that patrician, Midwestern money vibe, and suddenly here comes this very European-sounding gentleman sweeping into Springfield like he wandered in from a different soap entirely. It created a strange tonal shift, at least in my memory. Whether he was intended to be temporary is hard to pin down, but honestly, looking at what he was dealing with in his real life, I don’t know that the show ever had a truly stable window to figure it out. He was going through marital strife, while being talked about as the "next James Bond" back in Canada, and juggling work on two soaps at once is a lot. Under those circumstances, the question of whether he was the “right” type for Alan becomes almost secondary to the fact that he was working through multiple emergencies while stepping into one of GL’s biggest roles. So for me, the story of his Alan isn’t just about casting fit. It’s about an actor navigating chaos and the show adapting on the fly. Also, the proverbial soap hill that I would defend its honor, is that Ron Raines in the final week was so amazing, that for me, it erases all prior memories of his performance.

From TMZ, the Mia thing is a very trashy matter. She's accused of renting a furnished apartment. Then moved out in the middle of the night and took all the furniture and the TVs.

That's funny, I totally didn't think about the possibility that they'll pin this on someone else. I assumed they'd just roll him into the water. Obviously, I would not make an ideal hitman. I hope it's not Laura.

I went back to see how teen Sami even figured out how to sell a baby in 1993, and the recap is unintentionally hilarious. The exposition is so blunt it feels like the writers drafted it between bites of lunch. Suddenly there’s a teen mom named Karen who sold her baby through a shady lawyer, and somehow Sami just… knows this man and pays him with hospital volunteer money. You can tell they were trying to make the whole thing “plausible” enough, but also knew the baby wouldn’t be gone long enough to justify a real subplot. I know one thing, if Karen had confided in Jamie, Sami would've never met Steve Miller. Jamie knew that snitches get stitches. Not to be confused with the horrific Stephen Miller, who was 8 in 1993. AND Just to show the audience how shady Steve the lawyer could be, he was played by this guy -- Character actor Terry Wills was cast as creeps on every sitcom in the 1980s. I hope they used a doll if he had to handle baby Isabella. 🤞 Cut to John months later, "Roman, Marlena's mattress is like a bag of rocks. How did you ever get a good night's rest on that thing? No wonder, Doc told me you preferred your sleeping bag on the floor.."

Yeah, that's I mentioned the christening, when the truth comes out Reading October and November 1993, what is actually nuts is how much story they went through in a month. Because John's not even interested in Marlena at the time of Belle's birth. He is rebound lusting for Kristen, who delivered Belle (funny mention in SOD about Marlena being unable to service at the Horton cabin on her "cellular" phone, I assume there was heightened vigilance to the exposition covering the tech of the time). And, of course, since it was Kristen helping Marlena give birth during a stormy night, they both looked glossy, windswept, and gorgeous. Justice for Jamie, I bet she's still holding Sami's secrets wherever she is.

I gotta agree with Sami on this one. -- thanks @Franko for the source, that's a good find. I mean, not enough to sell the kid on the black market (pun intended) but.. At least it wasn't John who suggested it, that makes it cleaner. Roman had naming rights until the christening cleared up the paternity.

Just to confirm, Belle isn't named for Isabella Toscano, correct? It would be nuts for John to name his daughter after his dead wife, after he wound up with Marlena, right? For example, I would think it uncouth if Joe Biden named a child he had with Jill Biden, after his first wife Neilia, who died tragically. I was reading her wiki, when the thought came to mind. But, I also have a vague memory that Belle was named after Beauty and the Beast's Belle, or some other lore. And Rachel's named after Kristen's mother, so this seems wrong.

She appeared with Kelly and Mark earlier this month. It all began after she left AMC and joined CSI: Miami. What’s chilling is that one of his very first letters coincided with her scheduled appearance on Kelly and Regis, where her stalker demanded she mention him. She didn’t comply at the time. Yet, in a bitter twist, she later reflected that by speaking about her stalker on Kelly and Mark, she was doing exactly what he had wanted. And now, he’s already out of prison—after serving just three years.

I have to say that I was honestly surprised by the exit this week. With spoilers and casting news, it is tough to pull off an honest shocker, and this shooting actually made gasp out loud. I would bet many of you would enjoy it, if you watch it more regularly, I know that has been my experience this month.

If they bring back Connie, that kooky lady who kidnapped Melinda, or if Stephanie's stalker is a crazed fan, or if it is something based on her book, I may pluck an eyelash. I think the misdirect is that the stalker is after Alex, when they are really after Stephanie (unless it is Joy Wesley - that would be a surprise). But, defaulting to a nutty fan will give me Body & Soul flashbacks. Regardless of who is steering the ship, we can't keep going back to crazed fan well. Meanwhile, I'm getting ahead of myself, just a theory.

dayspeacock-20251119_134047-1098258959.mp4 At some point, Victor, you must blame yourself that both Caroline and Fiona didn't want him to know they bore his sons. But, looking back, I thought Bo would be richer as Victor's firstborn son than he turned out to be.

Not much to bitch about today, but Cat & Liam? Could be nice Horton Square is going to hell in a hand basket. First looting and errant pumpkins, now there's rampant purse snatching. Alice would be horrified. Meanwhile, Cat has the worst luck. Yesterday she got hit by a pumpkin, and today her wrist was injured. I hope she doesn't burn herself on the turkey next, it will ruin her nails, if she doesn't get accidentally pregnant from the turkey baster first.

Brittany Snow is on Las Cultch. She talks briefly about working with Hayden Panettiere and mentions that Laura-Bell Bundy "saved her ass", but no details. It sounds like being a kid on a New York soap was a wild time.

One more thing on Tuesday's episode, did anyone else notice the weird blocking? Belle and Eric were thanking Sarah, and worrying about Lyme Disease (which must be a red herring, I can't believe we're watching a PSA about inspecting for tics). Then, Belle turned to EJ and threatened him with a lawsuit. EJ acted as if he hadn't heard the entire conversation that was happening two inches away from him. I like EJ, but a little of silly/mean EJ goes a long way. His sarcasm during that scene felt out of place, regardless of Eric's presence. When he bugs his eyes, and feigns innocence, it is a little too OTT for my taste. I understand that he was the punching bag for most scenes, but EJ feels more mature than resorting to funny faces. Isn't rather quick to worry about Stephanie's sales, she just debuted the book yesterday in their timeline? And why is everyone against Jada and Theo? Jada could use a boytoy, and this doesn't feel like a "forever" romance.

There are no dumb questions here, we've all known each other long enough to fill in information without shaming each other. We want you to be happy @carolineg. Your POV as one of the few women here is vital. So, please, I hope you never feel as if any question, idea, or opinion is ever silly or stupid. Your daily reminders about the realities of manicure and menstrual management has become a part of the personality of this thread. As for Hank, while I'm confident there's a plan in place. It is frustrating that they announce these casting so far in advance that it is tough as an audience and wait it out until the thing happens. I'm happy they didn't blow it the second Mike was in town, a week after meeting Liam. So, it is a slow burn. And, conveniently, he lets us know when his episodes air. 😄 Speaking of silly stuff, is anyone bothered by the placement of Tony's pocket on his shirt? It is so odd that whatever bargain bin they found it, would choose to place a huge black pocket over the floral design?

It begs the question; when is a secret room no longer secret? Now that Rafe and half of Salem have been held there, I think it's time for re-branding.

I agree that what's happened, whether it was more plausible for a virgin to ask for a diaphragm from her OB/GYN, that questionable. 😉

I've learned my lesson from watching the summer preview, I am going spoiler-free (for this week).

This is officially my favorite form of content. I laughed my a$% off at the nail polish commentary, and it is something I have never even thought to notice. - thanks With regard to my comments on the DiMeras, I want to be precise. It is not a choice between fantasy-driven DiMera theatrics and grounded human drama. The show works when both are integrated. That mix is the core of DAYS for me. The Hortons, the Blacks, the Carvers, the whole set of normie families are the emotional anchor. They give us relatable reactions to experiences that are anything but relatable. Marlena is not simply grieving with her family at her side, she is grieving while haunted by literal ghosts. That is the house code of DAYS regardless of who is running the room. Big feelings, big life events, birth, romance, loss, identity, all filtered through something delightfully strange. @Wendy This has been true from the beginning. Marie coped with losing her brother by drifting into an almost incestuous dynamic with her surviving brother, then choosing the convent. Doug and Julie became the signature couple while raising the child he had with her mother. That is not AMC. That is not GH. That is DAYS DNA. For those who use literality to refute an argument, I am not saying other soaps haven't tried to copy DAYS DNA. I am saying it doesn't define other soaps in the same way. The supercouples were built on the idea of using romance to contrast with the absurd. What other soap has Hope Williams experience her first kiss while searching for a prism? Or Jennifer Horton losing her virginity, while Jack wore a condom on a desert island after a place crash killed Mama Dimera? After watching the sixty-year anniversary clips, the through-line is obvious. The show has always been unique because it commits to human emotion expressed through heightened, sometimes bizarre, story structures. That combination is why it endures.

Lately I’ve been thinking about how Days defines itself—especially now that it’s sixty. Characters like Dr. Rolf may not be critic darlings, but he represents something central to the show’s DNA: the blend of human drama with absurdism. To insist Days is purely about the Horton family or small-town romance feels historically inaccurate. The sci-fi, crime, and cloning chaos has been present for decades. Long before the possession or other plots of a single writer. It’s not an anomaly; it’s a house code. I say this as someone who’s fully onboard with the current DiMera energy. EJ, Kristen, and Chad form a compelling triangle, with Tony adding texture as the elder statesman. I’d take one sibling scene between EJ and Kristen over ten more Brady/Belle whine-offs. Rachel’s development has been genuinely fun to watch—there’s a real opportunity here for a slow-build villain arc, a la Sami. More than anything, it feels like the show has stopped treating the DiMeras as a revolving door of CEOs. They have a base, a dynamic, and a mystery. The “missing DiMeras” arc and the EJ shooting gave us compact, character-rooted suspense without blowing up the canvas. That’s how you use legacy villainy well. Days isn’t supposed to be tidy. It’s not All My Children or The Waltons. It’s a gothic sprawl. When it leans into that—on a small scale, with strong characters—it works. The mishegoss is part of the appeal.

I think that there are plenty of other candidates that have been mentioned recently (Dimitri, Stefan, even a nu-face Andre), and would require much less exposition than trying to re-explain the return of Stefano.

Ah, that answers soapsuds question about Kate and Roman being missing from the party today. 😄

It was good, but wouldn't have been a more apt conversation to have between Kate and Jen as two grandmothers? Kate found that he couldn't let her animosity for Sami get in the way of her love of Will. And she grew to appreciate Sami's parenting, but not the rest of her choices. Lucas's line was good, but a father fighting for custody is very different than the trickery Jen is causing.