KLN

They should've made Chloe vulnerable first. Say her cancer came back, some kind of scare that had Phillip/Brady at her side (while Kristen was locked up) and allowed their bonds to re-grow through adult eyes and trigger old pains. Remind the audience why these people care about each other again. Ron only cares about bullet points and they need to recast Phillip. Chloe too if they're going to use her like this. Nadia has the most flat vocal inflection I've ever heard, not great for an actress. I'm stuck on Lindsay Hartley but anyone could play her, rotated preferably. Roman's part in Kate's leg of this mess is going to annoy me, I can already tell.

I never bought Phillip loved Chloe even when Phloe was a thing. He was awful to her most of the time. Brady was a weird metro dude who hung out with a bunch of high schoolers but at least he was nice to Chloe (sometimes), they frolicked gazebos and sang showtunes together. Probably what turned him to booze and crazy women. Phillip can't move past Chloe because he's the Peter/TAndre of the story and Ron needs him obsessed with her. Which... okay. I'll go with it, I like Phillip darker but it's abrupt and JKJ isn't exactly rising to the occasion.

I'm excited to watch later. Carson has unique charm for a Days lead, I think he'll be great as "the devil." That expressive smirk? I totally buy him as the son of Sami and EJ. Johnny/Chanel are the soap version of Zach Morris and Lisa Turtle. Days has been nailing the casting lately. Sorry. We got carried away in the December thread with the month over, I'll stick to the current mess. 😄

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John and Hope were pushed hard. Drake and Kristian had weird chemistry, sure, but not in a million years. Not after the hell John just went through for Marlena. Even brainwashed it was stupid and tawdry. Those teens ATE the show when Langan took over. Kirsten's Belle was a rude alarm that only went off to songs from the Legally Blonde soundtrack. Molly Burnett was good for what she was but I resented pretty much everything about Days from that time period. Starting with Daniel and Melanie. Agreed about 2012. J&M acting brand new with each other and John being tempted by Kristen never rang true to me. I heard about Shoot the Bride as they were writing it. I wasn't watching but I knew they wanted Eileen. The time jump was meant for that but it got pushed back. When they finally recast Kristen I was like, "well... that was fun, later." It could've been pinnacle Kristen/Marlena but ED was a no. Total "won the lottery/died the next day" moment. Now after catching up with less attachment and giving her a chance I actually prefer Stacy.

Accurate. Right sensibilities, huge ego and lack of taste, similar to Reilly. Also like Reilly he needs a co-HW.

It tanked so fast. The jungle story was awful, you could tell they were at a pivot point and just trying to figure out how to get John's penis into Hope. I could tell right away new winds were blowing even though I didn't know at the time JER was leaving. I didn't even know I was a JER 'fan,' f__ked up as he was, 'til I experienced the scrambled ass "what do we do now?" identity crisis that was Days of Our Lives from 1998 - 2004. JER coming back was a nail I didn't see at the time 'cause he'd taken up permanent residence in cuckooland, but I DID appreciate (some of) the familiar themes because it was at least a direction. There was cruelty in his writing round 2. More than before. I think of Mimi barren as punishment for abortion. Maggie blugdeoned with a liquor bottle. The characters in general were more cynical, hateful and reflective of a nastier world people like Reilly helped create without knowing it. After that came Dollar General Days, Crystal Chappell's drunk ass, Melanie Jonas and a worse identity crisis than before. I was out. Then they nabbed ED and I was back for a while, half-heartedly, but honestly I was halfway watching before she left. There was something about the cracklike addiction of Reilly (with a budget) and his ability to tap into the self-serving, "it's me-or-you" nature of (some) humans even when they tie a bow on it and say "Jesus said." His black/white worldview lent itself to the art, albeit in an ultimately unhealthy way. Jesus said love. JER never got that. He wrote romance like a muhfukka but he literally never got love. You could tell in his writing. Tortured man. I hope he's at peace now. Marlena with JT's Roman. 😆😆 What a disaster. They need Wayne back.

No clue but I hated him, her hair and everything about that return. What a waste of Louise.

Stefano and Kristen did everyone a favor (except me) bringing Roman back.

No but my sister is loving it so I'll probably check it out. I'm glad you're liking it! I haven't heard anything bad yet. I don't watch much of anything these days. Who needs fiction when the world is a sh_tshow in real time? How perfect is Krista for Taylor? That wig though...

I meant to reply to this earlier. I liked the actor they got to play Bill for Alice's funeral when Frances passed. I saw some of that and he was great.

😄😄😄 Accurate.

I feel the same. She's kind of a wooden actress but she has charisma, rootability and heart, also important components. It bothered me they tossed Brandon Tyler in '99. He was as wooden as the floorboards but I bought him as the spoiled brat kid of Kate and Victor and thought he'd have been fine in time. JKJ came in with all his... weirdness, and I was like who is this dude? I never invested in Phloe or Phan or Phynthia or whoever the hell they tried pairing him with because I never liked JKJ. The only time I liked JKJ was when he f_cked MM's Belle. Best thing about Kyle Brandt was his looks. I crushed on him from Real World Chicago. By the way, hi Amello! 🙂

I remember that shot of Marlena crying out for John on the edge of the cliff. How good was that?

Me too! Its weirdly perfect. Similar looks, history with Eric, grown from the JER 'brand' which seems to inspire Ron, perfect amount of fire to square off with Kristen and they could repurpose old flashbacks if they needed like Arianna was Chloe. Nobody buys vacant, doe-eyed Nadia as an honest rival for Brady's heart vs. Kristen. Somebody like Lindsay balances the playing field. While they're at it recast Phillip too. I've been saying that since 2000.

I had the same reaction. I held in there til Halloween or so, probably dropped off before that but I gave that show every chance to be anything other than what it was. My sister, who's 3 years younger than me, loved Passions and was all "Days is boring," which, yeah, Days was naptime because John and Hope raped each other on a submarine and I lost pretty much all interest that had been generated the decade prior, but even then I saw JER was nuts. Nothing has ever compared to the craftsmanship and tonality I fell in love with in '93/'94/'95 no matter how much I rode that high through '97/'98. After that I pretty much only watched for personal attachment and such. Then I gave it up altogether. But yeah JER was a cuckoo bird.

I remember when EJ was introduced there was a brief scene hinting at Carrie recognizing him and them maybe having (romantic?) history just before she was written out. I think it might've been her last episode. I wish they'd pick up on that. I love CC/Carrie. She can make me cry just looking at her. 😄😄😄 I was always on a limb of my own.

Actually, they should just make Lindsay Chloe. I've never cared for Nadia, personally, but I understand the nostalgia and whatnot. I buy Lindsay more as Kristen's rival for Eric's Brady. Kind of perfect actually. I say cast her and do the flip-floppy rotation they like to do, two takes on the same character. I love that and think Days should actually embrace it with certain characters, make it a feature of the show. I won't mention Billy Miller or Lucas again... 😄

Lindsay gave everything to that crazy bitch. 😄😄 If they ever give Brady a new love interest I'd be down for pretending Arianna had a different face and give Lindsay another go. She was one of the few bright spots of Passions for me, maybe the only bright spot. 😄😄

I think it was JER but I've mentally blocked a lot of that. I remember loving Marlena's hair for Alex North. That's about it.

Totally. I gave Passions up a few months in but I remember the two-face "He/She" serial killer who had sex with his/her brother and got pregnant with his/her dad's baby. I saw bits of that here and was mortified. Theresa was nuts from day one. 😄 "I'm going to marry him!" Biiiitch.

Uh huh. Agoraphobic reclusive heretic incel bigot. They should've studied his brain when he passed.

In retrospect I agree. At the time I thought the shock value had a purpose. I put JER on a pedastal because of my own experience coming up with the show, not 100% caring what it was before (Days has seen many 'eras') and loving the semi-gothic tone and (overly) simple crafting of story that appealed to base level consumers because, let's face it, that's the purpose of soaps. All else aside, he understood the hook. In 2003, Days was in it's 2,497th plan for salvation and he went cheap to get eyeballs. I thought there would be a purpose to the death. A man like JER who laid pieces in place months, sometimes years in advance? I couldn't fathom a "faithful" man like him would go macabcre just for the sake of being macabre but, again, I didn't factor in Passions, the time that had passed or the rose colored glasses I viewed my own Days experience through. In the end JER fell victim to his own ego and distorted thinking.

It's a two way street. JER had issues but I liked his tonality and craftsmanship. Everyone views characters and stories through the lens of their own biases and experiences. Did I not just see a JER appreciation thread that got traction here? Everyone views things differently with time. I was roughly 10 when I started watching Days. I have my own experience but it doesn't mean anyone else's experience with the show is wrong. Salem Stalker ('04/'05) was wrong in my face. I couldn't fathom Reilly throwing stuff on the page with no plan.

Pretty sure it was the part in bold. She was an implant from another soap with eyes to make her a female romantic lead that never materialized. Then JER decided in his black/white worldview that if she wasn't f_ckable she'd be the fall guy and that gave her new purpose. Honestly it worked. Remember what the devil said to Kristen when Marlena was possessed the first time? JER knew what he was doing. The Banks siblings were never the draw for me.