KLN

1 hour ago, carolineg said:

There were plenty of times Chloe/Phillip/Brady were all on canvas and weren't together or interested in one another at all, so this death match over Chloe's love is strange.

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.

24 minutes ago, carolineg said:

For someone who's always been in love with Chloe (according to him), Phillip sure has had a lot of women in his life lol.

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.

38 minutes ago, carolineg said:

So far I am liking Johnny as the Devil.  Carson Boatman is a real find. 

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.

30 minutes ago, Toups said:

Guys, there’s way too much discussion about previous years/old storylines.  Please don’t use the monthly thread if you want to go pages and pages of discussion about the past.  Thanks. 

Sorry.

We got carried away in the December thread with the month over, I'll stick to the current mess.

On 1/3/2022 at 2:27 PM, David_Vickers said:

 

.

1 hour ago, carolineg said:

The Jungle story was so silly.  I didn't see John/Hope coming and I still was naive so I didn't even get that anvil.  I just thought it was strange lol.  Nothing would ever come of it!  Someone at some point said JER might have always been thinking about John/Hope because he was the one that found her as Maison Blanche.  It's an interesting thought. John was a strange choice to find Gina/Hope, but I thought the John/Hope/Gina stuff was more SSM and Langan.   But I know JER really loved his Bo/Billie. 

I assume the show knew ED was leaving at this point, so she never really got a story post-reveal.  She was in scenes doing things, but Kristen was just treading water as a character.

Honestly, I was convinced for years JT and DH disliked one another in real life because of how they interacted, but there is 0 evidence of that.  Maybe DH was just really bummed for her buddy Wayne, but I swear Marlena has more chemistry with a potted plant than this Roman.   JT really doesn't bother me much anymore in general, but to this day I can't believe him and Marlena were even friends let alone lovers/spouses.   

I really started falling out during the Saved by the Belle years because I hate all iterations of SORASed Belle.  I swear I was convinced Sami had succeeded with her black market baby scheme and this lame KS version of Belle was fake and a cooler real Belle would appear someday because John/Marlena's only child wouldn't be that obnoxious.  Obviously, that didn't happen.

 I watched some of the SSK stuff and JER's tone was definitely darker and more violent and cruel, but I do think the story started out really well.  I was interested in at least.  Outside of that mess, I thought there were some interesting beats like John's drug addiction and John/Kate as a couple.  I even thought Sami/Stan was at least creative.

I did watch the Alex North stuff because I liked Wayne so much, but that was a mess.  You gotta love the show for having the balls to use real Roman/Marlena flashbacks for a completely different story. I drifted away after because John was in a coma for 17 months then died and the Sami show was never my thing.  I will say the John death and Marlena hell bent on revenge was some of Deidre's best work.

I hate(d) CC and Carly and was bitter the DH's got fired so I missed most of that era.  Although I know I have gone on record here saying I liked Melanie and Molly Burnett lol.  I thought she was a likable actress.  I say that without any irony lol.

I thought most of Eileen's return was fantastic.  My only gripe was how easily she broke up John/Marlena after everything they had been through.  Overall, I thought it was the exact shot in the arm the show needed.  Bringing Brady in was genius.

The thing about Ron is that he starts of well.  He was excellent on GH in the beginning then fizzled out spectacularly with the Kate DID stuff.  I do appreciate Ron's use of veterans and I think he did great with the shoot the bride Marlena/John wedding arc he just needs someone to reign him in or a cowriter.  

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.

On 1/1/2022 at 1:12 PM, FrenchBug82 said:

Ron C. thinks he is emulating Reilly's DAYS but he is closer to later Reilly's PASSIONS.

Accurate.

Right sensibilities, huge ego and lack of taste, similar to Reilly.

Also like Reilly he needs a co-HW.

4 hours ago, carolineg said:

@KLNI am going to move over to the current month.  Sami/AS does remind me of Marci Walker.  There is nothing graceful about her, but she has such an angelic face you never thought she was capable of such evil.  I have never thought about it, but there is nothing about AS or Sami that is delicate or subtle.

The trifecta of newly returned Eric, Sami, and Roman right now make me want to punch them all repeatedly.  Thank goodness JA was hot because Eric is a whiny little baby man.  Roman wanting Marlena back is fine, but I just don't get why the kids and his family were pushing so hard for a reunion when they knew John/Marlena loved each other.  That seems like they are setting Roman up for heartbreak again.  And man, do DH and JT have anti-chemistry.  Marlena doesn't even pretend not to cringe when Roman touches her lol.  I know JT is bff with Corday and Wayne was on PC, but there wasn't any other available actor in town to take over Roman?  One that Deidre didn't actively looked disgusted by or didn't play a memorable character previously on Days for a decade?

I always thought Hope was more involved in this story and better friends with Marlena and John, but she doesn't really pop up until the jungle stuff.  And Kristen is doing nothing.  She is just standing around bothering John and waiting for Roman/Marlena to reunite.  What a waste!

Anyway, I will probably stop re watching soon because the Jungle story is the line in the sand for me when the show starts going horribly downhill.  

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.

15 hours ago, Neil Johnson said:

When Vivian returned almost a decade ago, and plotted to bury Maggie alive, she had a man-servant that she referred to using an unusual title. Does anyone remember what she called him?  I'm not asking his name, but by what title did Vivian refer to him??   It was some sort of antiquated phrase.    

No clue but I hated him, her hair and everything about that return.

What a waste of Louise.

On 1/2/2022 at 11:22 PM, carolineg said:

I am watching John/Marlena's non wedding now and the Kristen/Stefano plan to stop it sounds SOOOO SINISTER.  They keep saying how are we going to pull this off?  It's so EVIL!!  And like in the scheme of things, your timing is awful, but bringing Roman back to his family is pretty nice and not evil at all.    And Marlena and John are reading Roman's death letter in bed before having sex.  Weirdos........

Also, AS finally cut her hair and it's adorable and Deidre Hall is spending a full scene talking to AS about how beautiful her hair is in the background and I love it.  It's a cute scene where you know the actors are just Marlena says Sami has the best hair of all her children, and well, I saw MM's Belle hair in 2007 so no lies there.

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

12 hours ago, Bright Eyes said:

Also, glad to see you back Kenny! OT: Are you watching Dexter: New Blood? I'm cautiously loving it!

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?

12 hours ago, Bright Eyes said:

I can remember Krista Allen giving 'swamp girl' a makeover and that damn compact everyone went on and on about...

How perfect is Krista for Taylor?

That wig though...

7 hours ago, Bright Eyes said:

I would love to see the Laura/Roman/Kate triangle, but you best believe Bill should be an equal part of it. Let him and Kate reach the potential they never did, but in the end, Bill and Laura reunite once and for all. I can't help but always be in his corner. The poor bastard is given short shrift far too much for my liking.

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.

3 minutes ago, carolineg said:

In a sea of bad actors on Days, CC was nowhere near the bottom.  There were worse acting atrocities happening right next to her with Austin Peck.

She had heart and warmth with her co stars and was pretty enough but not overwhelmingly beautiful.  She was relatable.  Carrie was a girl you might know and be friends with.  

Accurate.

22 minutes ago, carolineg said:

Ouch.  I don't think she's a bad actress at all.  She's fair.  I don't think she ever got the credit she deserved because she was on Days in the 90's, but probably would have won a couple of emmys if she was on GH or YR.  Again, CC isn't a flashy actress but she is a likeable one. 

I feel the same.

She's kind of a wooden actress but she has charisma, rootability and heart, also important components.

21 minutes ago, Bright Eyes said:

Kyle Brandt is very successful as a sports TV journalist now.

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!

10 minutes ago, carolineg said:

Yes, the Hope/Gina/John stuff was awful, but stunts!  Location shots!  They put a lot into that wedding and I did think it was well done.  Probably the last thing I thought was really well done on Days tbh

I remember that shot of Marlena crying out for John on the edge of the cliff.

How good was that?

1 hour ago, carolineg said:

I could see Lindsay as Chloe, but it's not something I would think of.  Nadia is so painfully beautiful, but lacks spunk.  LH definitely has 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.

1 minute ago, Khan said:

Believe it or not, @carolineg, that (Sheridan's ties to Princess Diana) didn't bother me as much as it bothered others.  Was it tacky?  Yes.  But it wasn't the worst thing I'd ever seen on a soap.

I think what did ME in was one character (might have been Dana Sparks's) being visited by some bright light and told, in a childish voice, "Evil is coming!".  When I saw that, I was like, "What in the DARK SHADOWS is THAT mess!?".  It was just so unbelievably silly and amateurish to me.  Throw in Theresa dumping food for the first time on Original Ethan's head and I was done. 

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.

9 minutes ago, carolineg said:

I am not convinced Ali could lead a soap.  Days sure tried with her, but she works better as a villianess.  IMO.  I was always intrigued by the Marlena spin off Manhattan Lives that would feature Carrie as well.

I think Carrie/CC was more the heir apparent to a soap.  She was blandly perfect and innocuously likable enough to lead a show like Marlena.   She's less the lame than Belle but less polarizing than Sami.  It sounds like I am dissing CC/Carrie, but I genuinely think she was a stronger lead just based on personality and overall rootability.  I think she had a long history with the show to be comfortable for viewers, but was enough of a blank slate to build an entire new life outside Salem.  I think Sami/Ali works a lot better in the confines of Days and her own family, while Carrie seemed more adjustable and easy to spin off.  Just my opinion, but I think Carrie was always the next generation of heroine until she left and decided to leave acting for the most part.

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.

3 minutes ago, Khan said:

As @Vee would say, stop.

I was always on a limb of my own.

15 minutes ago, KLN said:

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.

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...

13 minutes ago, Franko said:

Oh, but it's FATE, KLN, can't you see that?!

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.

1 hour ago, KLN said:

Theresa was nuts from day one.

"I'm going to marry him!"

Biiiitch.

 

25 minutes ago, carolineg said:

One thing about JER is when he went for a story-he went for it. And I respected that.  Melaswen absolutely became such a cop out.  Perhaps he wasn't 100% invested in the end, but the story was built around Marlena and we know he was invested in her.  I would have rather he went for it and it be reviled then to back out and it still be reviled you know?

 

Again, we will never know what he had planned for the story.  For all we know it could have been a worse trainwreck, but I doubt it.

I will say I was majorly disappointed with his second run because I had such high hopes and knew he loved characters I loved.   Did he do the Alex North stuff?  I think so and that is unforgivable lol.  Also, I won't even start with Marlena's pregnancy.  It's too traumatizing for me to re-live ...

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.

2 hours ago, Vee said:

It was, yes. Whatever your personal struggles, I don't think you'd ever countenance putting out the kind of hateful bigotry drag disguised as camp Reilly regularly was producing by the end of PSSNS. It was him vomiting his demons onscreen in the darkest ways to me.

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.

2 hours ago, carolineg said:

I also thinking building a show around such an unlikeable heroine like Theresa didn't help, but I know others loved her.  I really only watched maybe a month of Passions so I am not the best judge.

Theresa was nuts from day one.

"I'm going to marry him!"

Biiiitch.

2 hours ago, carolineg said:

I can't say I have loved anything on Days post-1999, but I'd rather it be on the air than not, so I am fine with JER saving it at the time.

Yeah, I am giving JER a lot of flack because a lot of it's silly in re watch or when you think about it logically.   It doesn't hold up that well and his newer work certainly doesn't, but I do think it's very memorable.  In a way Days hasn't been for a long time.  I feel like I can make points and acknowledge silliness and stupidity in his writing in a way I can't with, say, Dena Higley.  Because nothing she did was memorable or worth discussing again during her run.  Anyhow, personal opinion and all.  I always enjoy discussing things with soap lovers even if when I disagree.

Wasn't JER very religious, but also gay?  And weren't there rumors he would act scenes out with dolls and only address the actors by character names?

Uh huh.

Agoraphobic reclusive heretic incel bigot.

They should've studied his brain when he passed.

4 hours ago, Khan said:

I was a teenager when JER's much-heralded first run began, and let me tell you: even then, I found it simplistic, juvenile, not at all what DAYS used to be or should have been, and an almost clarion-like call for help.

I would say it screwed over Drake in the long run, too, because it's clear (to me, anyway) that Drake has struggled for years and years (and years) with how to portray someone that's more a concept (a romantic, brainwashed mercenary with a sketchy, elusive past) than an actual human being.  Hence, the really bad acting that's emanated from him since then.

Well, it's one thing to shake up an ailing show with a serial-killer storyline.  DAYS had gone to that well many times before.  But the ways JER was dispatching some characters...?  It was sick, and it smacked of the guy delighting in sticking it to everyone -- Corday, Sony, NBC, the actors, the fans, everyone.

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.

On 1/2/2022 at 4:56 AM, Vee said:

...all I'll say is it's nice to see attitudes change on JER. Some of us were talking about Reilly's weird evangelical beliefs and psychosexual issues damn near 20 years ago here, and that was back when folks who were far too loyal to the show they grew up watching still felt he had some kind of brilliant plan...

It was always bad. Anyway: The man was not well, carry on.

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.

On 1/2/2022 at 2:47 AM, Khan said:

Did DAYS create Kristen first, and THEN they hired Eileen Davidson?  Did ED even audition for the role?  Or, did DAYS hire ED, because she'd been popular for years on Y&R, and THEN created a character for her?  If it was the latter -- and I've often suspected that it was -- then it wouldn't have been the first time DAYS had hired a popular star from another soap without having a real character for her to play (hi, Genie!).  However, as Genie's DAYS stint taught us, it takes more than sheer "star power" to make a new character "pop."

ETA: Yes, ED's Kristen "popped," but, IMO, she popped for all the wrong reasons: Susan, Penelope, Sister Mary Moira, Thomas and all the other lookalikes that I'm forgetting.

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.