Sindacco

On 11/25/2019 at 12:18 AM, DynamiteKiddo said:

I HATE that they tossed Lucas aside for EJ (and motherf'n Rafe).  Lumi really should be endgame... I know Sheffer never would've made EJami "soulmates."  And honestly, it was really Tomsell that deified EJami... Higley and MarDar were all about showing how sick they were together, despite their attraction.  And Tomsell initially seemed like they were going back to Safe (::barf::) but maybe tptb finally gave into the EJami stans.

It was actually JS and AS who had a meeting with TPTB and demanded that EJami were given a real chance as a couple, or so I've heard. But you are right when Tomlin and Whitesell took over as head writers after MarDar they were going back to Rafe and Sami. And then poof, Rafe walked around aimlessly for months until that random thing with Kate and then he spent a long time in a coma. Enter Jordan which eventually fizzled. During Tomlin/Whitesell's last year as writers Rafe was a manager at Victor's club. TPTB really seemed to struggle to keep Rafe relevant once Safe ended in 2012.

5 hours ago, Khan said:

Patrika Darbo and Kevin Spirtas' on-screen relationship has never made any sense to me.

Because?

To my suprise I'm actually looking forward to this.

22 hours ago, Antoyne said:

Wait Stefano is alive?

We have known that since 2017.

2 hours ago, soapfan770 said:

Wow Susan Adamson too? If I recall right I remember back in the day (2001) folks called her “Gigantor” lol.

And it's the original actress who played Susan before the role was recast.

41 minutes ago, KMan101 said:

Rumors have Jay Johnson (Philip) returning.

I hope he is the surprise. After all, Lauren recently posted about him on instagram.

22 minutes ago, John said:

Phillip should return to show married to Morgan Hollingsworth

Ugh, no!

19 hours ago, AbcNbc247 said:

Would Abc.com be a good place, or is that blocked outside of the US too?

It requires you to list a TV provider or sign up for subscription.

Surely I can't be the only one on message boards who download the episodes of soaps?

Can anyone pinpoint me in a direction where I can watch GH episodes online that aren't geo-blocked outside the US? The place I used to download from no longer uploads GH episodes.

On 10/13/2019 at 3:51 AM, Days22 said:

After the lady of the night or whatever Marlena wasn't even shown as possessed until a day or two before Christmas so Ken has no idea what he is talking about per usual. Says a lot about TIIC. I so need to help get this show cancelled. 

Maybe his time frame was about writing or shooting the episodes? Because like you said it started right before Christmas on-screen.

5 hours ago, vetsoapfan said:

 

1976 was my favorite year of DAYS...of all time! So engrossing, every single day! I'd kill to see that clip with Mickey, but damn border restrictions, the DAYS app is not available in my country. (I am gnashing my teeth in rage as I write this, LOL.)

I recently tweeted to Greg Meng (co-executive producer and creator of the app) about the geo-blocking, and many others have done the same. He liked our tweets so hopefully they're working on it, but so far no luck.

It's not just Canadians but everyone outside the US.

Haven't seen it yet but I'm usually not a fan of these dreams/standalone episodes.

7 hours ago, xtr said:

Also, it sounds like Ben may indeed go to jail. SOD says that Ben will dream of killing Jordan and will find a dead body. Soapoperanews says he will go to jail. Though like the spoiler regarding Jennifer being in the coma I'm not sure where there original source for that is. I do think Jen being in a coma/Ben going to jail spoilers are true, because the spoilers from SOD seem to be leading up to these things. 

 

I hope the dead body isn't Jordan.

HOGAN SHEFFER INTERVIEW 2006 PART 2

I promised you more scoopage from my recent in-depth interview with Hogan Sheffer, the new head writer of NBC's Days of our Lives. Last week, you read about Sheffer's big plans for the DiMera dynasty. Today's report is all about Salem rich boy Philip Kiriakis!

Just to refresh your memory, Kyle Brandt who started out on MTV's The Real World: Chicago has reached the end of his three-year contract with Days. He's chosen to leave the NBC soap to pursue other career endeavors. Brandt last airs on October 12.

Sheffer acknowledges that Days definitely intends to recast Philip because he sees the role as vital.

"Victor Kiriakis (John Aniston) can no longer be the big swinging [honcho] of that family anymore," he insists. "It's gotta be Philip, the next generation. He's gotta be the new Victor."

Could the charming, gorgeous and much-missed Jay Kenneth Johnson, who played Philip before Brandt, possibly return to Salem?

Johnson left Days in 2002 and went on to do the short-lived nighttime soap North Shore, as well as guest gigs on primetime series including The OC, CSI: NY and Scrubs. He's also got an upcoming guest-star gig on CSI: Miami (more details on that later).

Bottom line: Johnson's been working respectably, but it's not like his career has soared to such heights that daytime couldn't lure him back with a sweet deal.

"Jay will certainly be considered when the time comes," Sheffer says. "He's a great looking guy and everybody loved him on Days."

What's most important to Sheffer is restoring the integrity of Philip, who's been dumbed down like most of the men in Salem.

"There's been a lot of disrepect involved with [the writing of] Philip," Sheffer adds. "This character is missing a leg that he lost in combat. I didn't even know that until my co-head writer Meg Kelly called me and told me, 'Did you know Philip has a prosthetic leg?' I said, 'He doesn't even limp!' If you're going to do something like that, you've got to treat it with some kind of respect. I don't see Philip carrying much of a burden from what happened to him.

"In fact, if they can't get [Johnson], I would love them to cast a one-legged actor. And preferably, a [military] veteran."

Sheffer bursts into laughter. "Of course, that's a tall order!" he says. "[Executive producer] Ken Corday said, 'Why don't we just start with somebody talented, Hogan?' I said, 'That's a good idea, Ken.'"

HOGAN SHEFFER INTERVIEW 2006 PART 1

Last week, this TVGuide.com soap pundit had the great pleasure of lunching with Hogan Sheffer, the new head writer of NBC's Days of our Lives.

We spent two fascinating hours at Art's Delicatessen in Studio City, Calif., where we dished the current state of Salem and how he'll fix it. It's a big job, but if anyone can do it, Sheffer - who scored four Emmys while penning As the World Turns - is the guy.

During our chat, I found Sheffer to be candid, funny, down to earth and whipsmart. (I swear I'm not just saying that 'cause he promised he would order my new soap-opera book online - although a first-time author appreciates all the support he can get!) FYI, I got way too much great soap dish to blow it all in one blog posting. So I'll serve you my deli scoopage in delicious, digestible portions.

Let's start with Sheffer's take on the DiMera clan, that dynasty of deviants who've been stirring up terror in Salem since the '80s. "When I first got this job," Sheffer says, "everybody told me, 'You need to bring back the DiMeras.' This is the perfect time for that. I want to reward longtime Days fans by tapping the show's history of romance and old-school villains."

Need I say it? OK, I suppose I must... SPOILER ALERT!

Will Stefano DiMera return to Salem?

I outright told Sheffer that Days just shouldn't do any more DiMera stories sans Stefano DiMera, the cagey "Phoenix" himself. Daytime vet Joseph Mascolo recently left The Bold and the Beautiful and I've heard word he's returning to Days to reprise his signature Stefano role. True?

"Our problem, at the moment," Sheffer says, "is I don't know if [Mascolo] is willing to come back for a short span. We have to think about what to do about that. The first thing we'll do is make sure there's another generation of the DiMera family on the canvas. We need to start passing down those attributes that have been so successful to the next generation. The [younger] generation on this show is sitting around doing nothing."

Who is EJ Wells?

British actor James Scott (ex-Ethan, All My Children) has charmed Days fans as Sami Brady's mysterious friend, EJ Wells. It will be revealed this fall that EJ is a member of the DiMera clan and he's also the Gloved One who's been skulking around Salem.

"He's not going anywhere," Sheffer says. "To me, he is the next generation of the DiMera family. I think it will be a huge surprise as to who he is, how he's connected and what he's been doing. I won't tell you exactly who he is. Kudos to [former Days head writer] Jim Reilly for bringing on this character and for setting up what I think will be a great mystery. That's all his stuff, not mine. The way it's going to play out is mine."

Wasn't Jan Spears supposed to be the Gloved One at one point?

"Yeah, Jan Spears," Sheffer acknowledges. "One of the other versions of that story had Tek as the gloved hand. But there are only two people involved in that gloved hand business, EJ and Patrick. John and Bo will figure out their connection."

EJ Wells is not Benjy!

I recently offered up a wacky theory that EJ is Elvis, the son of Stefano and Susan Banks. (Read that theory here.) Several TVGuide.com readers countered by speculating that EJ is Stefano's long-lost Native American son, Benjy Hawk.

"You can say this," Sheffer winks. "Benjy is a DiMera and Benjy will be back. EJ Wells is not Benjy, though. We will see Benjy for the first time around the end of October. Benjy will be pivotal in what's happening in the months to come."

EJ is Getting a Wicked New Lover!

As Days fans know, Kate Roberts used to be Stefano's mistress. Let's keep it in the family, shall we?

"Kate and EJ are gonna start f---ing," Sheffer teases. "EJ is everybody's type. And why wouldn't he want her? She's a sexy woman! This also gives Kate her chops back. No more Roman and Victor - none of that. When Lauren Koslow (Kate) walks into a room, she just bowls me over. She's sexy, she's a great actress and she will be very, very busy."

Curtis Brown/Reed had some creepy scenes with Billie on DAYS in 1993.

Most of them are gone from Youtube but I found two.

Sad to see another DAYS vet pass, so many of them in the last couple of years. As someone who started watching the show in the mid-90s, I thought characters like Mickey, Alice, Caroline, Shawn played vital roles in keeping that family feel that's lacking these days. And Mickey was one of my favorite of the senior characters. But only when John Clarke portrayed him. 

I always thought it was classy of him to beg the show to kill Mickey off instead of Maggie during the Salem Stalker storyline since he wanted to retire anyway.

On 10/16/2019 at 9:19 PM, ranger1rg said:

And although I hate to be superficial, I never understood why TB's appearance was always so thin and waiflike, weak, stringy-haired, and no makeup. I don't think women on soaps need to be glammed up, but please. She always looks ill.

That's one of the things I like about TB. I think she looks great in a casual way. 

6 hours ago, KMan101 said:

Wasn't Tamara supposed to be dead though? lol. And where was Tamara during Lani's pregnancy and dead baby story?

No, that is something SOD made up. The show has never said Tamara is dead.

On 10/5/2019 at 12:35 AM, Donna B said:

Frances was very clear about it. And, she thought flat-out that the reason Reilly was starting with her first literally was because he did not like her!

What do you mean "starting with her first"? Alice was the last victim. 

And the story was definitely rewritten because Corday panicked.

He did a great job as Shiloh.

8 hours ago, KMan101 said:

Ron's trying something different. Eh. The time jump probably won't even matter within a few months. I'm not excited for the time jump but I'm not furious over it either.

I think so too and that's why a time jump in the end will be pointless. Like the 5 year jump on Desperate Housewives, didn't really change much. It was a stunt for initial reactions. The things that were good with DH continued to be good, and the things that were bad continued to be bad.

About the DAYS spoilers, if they are true. I think some of them sounds like fun and others BAD. But I will take a wait and see approach to some of these. Is this a desperate move by Ron and company, probably. But I think I prefer shake-ups instead of (I think it was around 2010-11) when Corday said they were deliberately playing things safe.

On 8/30/2019 at 5:40 PM, Khan said:

Why not just realize that Ben is an irredeemable psycho, kill him off, and find another eight-pack of abs for Ron Carlivati to have giggly fun with?

This!

On 8/23/2019 at 3:37 AM, Bright Eyes said:

The weird thing about Casey Moss is that he can be great with dramatic material, but he rarely has chemistry with any of his love interests. Still, it'll be a shame to lose him as an actor and as a Horton, but I'm surprised he's stuck around as long as he has. That's so rare for DAYS.

 

Thia Megia was DOA so no loss. However, it is unfortunate they couldn't cast a better actress to be their next Asian character in too white Salem. They did so well with Paul.

 

Kassie DePaiva has always been horribly miscast. She is way too damn old to be Eve. A recast of the character could have worked otherwise. I will say her work during Paige's death was outstanding. 

 

Losing Brandon Barash is a shame. Despite the character's stupid name, and luckily not having to deal with the stupid alter story, he's been a welcome addition.

Agree with all of this.

LOL.

He live-tweeted Bo's death episode a few years ago.

On 5/5/2019 at 6:46 PM, KMan101 said:

Anyway, on daytime royalty, Jason47 has been posting recaps and it's been a lot of fun to read the 80s stuff (and I'm watching what I can as well ... and there are some VERY detailed recaps that just suck you in, even a recap can suck me in but today the soaps do such a poor job of "drawing you in"), you can easily see the transitional periods where things would get dropped, characters in and out, and then around 85/86 you could clearly see them losing interest in Don, Liz, Neil, Marie (who basically was used as fill-in for Maggie while Suzanne Rogers was out for a year) ... I tended to get slightly disappointed in certain directions they took things. As much as I love the Bradys and Johnsons, I think they ultimately ended up taking a lot of focus away from the Hortons. Mickey and Maggie were finally reunited and only had the Neil/Sarah stuff a little later before no one had any interest in them. Marie sort of became forgotten about and then never brought back for long stints after that. Don disappeared mailing a letter (and they gave him no followup to Sonia's death, which I found odd, but they were clearly checked out on him, he was becoming the Mickey of Days before Mickey became that ... lol if that makes sense!). I thought Don filled a nice role but I'm glad Jed Allan went onto Santa Barbara (I've always loved Jed Allan but often have mixed feelings on Don)

 

I have to admit I liked how they tied the DiMera's to the core players like Liz (through Tony and Stefano), and they involved Doug and Julie (before it became about Bo and Hope), Mickey ... but if you didn't watch at the time or read up like I do, you'd never know most of it ... and it seems "Stefano had plans for Julie" ... fascinating she could have been his obsession before it became about Marlena and Roman.

 

Anyway, kind of random but it's fun, and interesting, to really see the transitions. I thought they gave couples a lot of ridiculous, stupid obstacles to overcome, LOL (which JER doubled down on in the 90s). Especially Melissa and Pete, lawd ...

The transitions are fun to read or rewatch. Even in more recent years when the show has been crap I find transition periods somewhat fascinating.

On 5/5/2019 at 6:05 PM, DaysFanatic777 said:

You've got to give the devil his due.  Ron did in fact save GH, and he has found a way to give Days four extra years (I'm telling you, it will be gone more than likely after this next chance for renewal).  That means two daytime dramas are still airing because Ron Carlivati found a way to reinvigorate the shows.  That's no small feat in 2019. 

 

Save the rapemance, I thought his first year to year and a half at Days was enjoyable.  Has it been plagues by tropes, ridiculous camp, enormous plot holes, and poorly developed characters?  Of course, but it is "Days of Our Lives" and no one expects this show to be an in depth character study.  There was a time when it was a sophisticated drama that was driven by interwoven relationships and social issues.  Sadly that show died with disco, and this is what we are left with.  I think Ron is a decent choice for the show at this point.

 

I'm just seriously dreading where we are headed from here.  Once he reaches this point in his tenure on any given show, things really go to hell in a hand basket.  Since the new year arrived, this show has fallen apart faster than a gazelle popping Adderall, and it's going to continue to spiral.

 

I had always hoped Sheri Anderson would be brought back to see this show off the air, but now that's highly unlikely.  Ron will be there when this show makes it's final bow, and I'd bet my entire savings account that it will be a f#cking dumpster fire of enormous proportions when the sand finally runs out of the hourglass. 

At least on GH his peaks were really good. I feel like on DAYS he's never even reached that, it's decent at best. The only good time periods IMO have been September - November 2017 and October 2018. That's not much in almost two years.

On 5/4/2019 at 6:58 PM, KMan101 said:

The conditions are much worse than they used to be, but back in the day, soaps would also work their actor 14-16+ days ... they're at a breakneck pace now and there's no time for rehearsals or re-shoots, etc. It's just become "it is what it is". But at the end of the day, like the commercials on TV say  "just OK is not OK"

And back then they worked much longer hours. I remember Drake once said in an interview they could start working 7AM or something and be done 11PM. Go home and sleep for a few hours and then back to the studio, and they also worked on weekends when they shot big events. These days an actor can be done for the day by lunch, or they don't start until after lunch. Plus they have alot of weeks off when the studio is dark.

On 5/4/2019 at 5:25 PM, KMan101 said:

This may sound simplistic but I'm just no longer drawn into soaps like I am when I watch anything from the past. There's very little depth anymore. Not that soaps weren't always a bit hollow at times, but I really feel they're so hollow now. I watch out of loyalty. Nothing I see really ever truly drags me in anymore. It's really sad. I can pick just about any episode, even a bad one, from the past and be instantly drawn in and interested.

So much THIS!

On 5/4/2019 at 6:00 PM, DaysFanatic777 said:

Plus, I enjoy intelligent dialogue that goes deeper than I hate this said character or whatever scene.  I want to engage in thought provoking discussion, and this is the place to do it!

 

Yep.

On 5/4/2019 at 6:00 PM, DaysFanatic777 said:

When I think of the 80's, I always remember the dog wedding Calliope put together.  That was HORRID!  I was just a kid, and it insulted my eight year old mind.  People lay all of the blame at Reilly's feet for Days turning into a shitshow.  While he made a massive contribution that cannot be denied, this show started going downhill long before he arrived. 

Love him or hate him, but he gave the show a new successful era when it became apparent around 1991-92 that the Adventure/Supercouple formula from the 80s wasn't working anymore.