Paul Raven

My other thought was to bring Reg back from the dead with Denise Alexander as his wife Marissa, who had no idea of his real identity and has to deal with this revelation. She would not be Mary. Marissa would be torn b/c Reg lied to her. She could have a son by Reg or a son Reg brought up as his own. Mother and son move to Bay City. The son 'Scott' might get involved with Nancy.

In my AW 'bible' Reg and Mary didn't happen. Two back from the deads and an amnesia that really didn't have any long term effect didn't warrant inclusion for me. I did think about Reg faking his death for whatever reason and coming back, but he wouldn't have been the moustache twirling villian we saw. So my question is, who would you have had Denise Alexander play in 86? She was 47 at the time. Is there a past character she could have played? If not , who would you create that would have fitted into the canvas at the time and provided an outlet for her talents?

Yes, some character relationships still need to be explored. Maybe the first month should have more of those scenes and leave Ashley/Derek out of it completely. Then in the second month Ashley could be introduced through her friend Naomi, who viewers now know clearly. As for making Ashley a nurse and using the hospital set, it is a bit of a puzzle to me. Sure Ted and Nicole work there but she is a psychiatrist and he's a plastic surgeon. Why would there offices be in the same area as the general admissions? There's no traditional soap doctor working alongside Ashley. Or is Vanessa's husband working at the hospital? Has he been seen there? Maybe Ashley should have been in real estate working alongside Vaness. The real estate office set could have been used and it would give Ashley more interaction with the wealthy Fairmontians. And Andre could be doing real estate photography, thus bringing him into regular contact with Ashley. And Derek could feel out of place in the new world Ashley is embracing.

Not to bore you further with my story ideas, but I had Vince and Maisie marry and become the working class tentpole couple, with Maisie's past as a venue to provide story if and when needed. Thom would return, her teen marriage to Carter over as he had an affair. Carter returns to sort out the divorce, only to find that his new love is no longer interested and Carter is alone. he tries to make it up to Thom but she is unforgiving. Thom and son move in with newlyweds Quinn and Reece, who is not happy sharing his marital home with his step daughter and her child. Carter and Ben establish a gym, with healthy eatery/juice bar which would be a meeting point for characters.

Just finished Fri. Daphne shines in every scene, such a good actress. The kids are not bad and even Martin seems to be improving. Bill is another who stands out for me-Timon seems to have a handle on his character. I prefer Vanessa straight rather than comedic, but the gambling story seems a little by the numbers. I would like to see some background music to enhance the scene-the lack of it makes things feel a little stagey. i know there's a lot of love for Kat round here, but I'm not really feeling it.

It's always strange when shows dip into history but make odd choices eg Julia Shearer, the never mentioned adopted daughter of Susan. They had Ricky Matthews, a possible daughter of Russ and Sam's daughter Susannah (Ada's niece) waiting in the wings as new young characters, but chose to do a rewrite. Same on Search when Sarah Whiting, Patti's never mentioned adopted daughter arrived, when her actual daughter Tracey could have been SORASED.

Anita looks like she's about to go on stage in Vegas and Vern is giving Grandpa on Sunday afternoon.

Thanks for filling in blanks re Chris. So maybe an average of one appearance a month? Thank goodness they wisely decided to bring back Nancy. I still recall her one off appearance at Tom and Margo's wedding(in location scenes only?) I wonder how that came about? Perhaps Helen was asked back repeatedly and refused? Maybe it was only recurring and she held out for a contract?

Thanks @DRW50 In my story Mike fell for Sara who was on the outs with Ben over Paulina . Ben was in a car accident arguing with Paulina and guiltily married her on her deathbed. Paulina appeared to have died and Ben fled the hospital. But they found a pulse and Paulina made a miraculous recovery and Ben found himself married. Paulina was recovering and Ben couldn't divorce her during this. Paulina used this to her advantage. Sara was distraught and Mike moved in, but realized Sara's heart belonged to Ben. So Mike began wooing Paulina to draw her away from Ben who deep down she knew really loved Sara and not her. So she began a relationship with Mike and he began to have genuine feelings for her, Paulina gave Ben a divorce but then found our Mike pursued her only for Sara's sake. She wouldn't believe Mike now genuinely cared for her. Pat returned from time to time to visit Mike, Liz etc. Ben and Sara finally married. Quinn got involved with Reece, Michael's business partner, but he was a bit of a player and Quinn wasn't sure she could trust him. She found herself attracted to Dennis, who as he had done with Elena, fell for an older woman. Iris was aghast about the age difference and the inter racial aspect. Eventually Quinn married Reece and Dennis turned to Vicky. Iris had a fling with Mitch, but he was hot for Pam. That kept Rachel in the mix. Iris also tried with Michael which put her up against Donna. Then Russ returned and Iris had to battle a now widowed Felicia for her one time fiance's attention.

Thanks. I actually set myself the challenge of writing outlines from 86 onwards. Taking over at the time DePriest was headwriter. Some of my plots: Pam and Gerald Davis return. Rachel has to deal with her father and half sister back in her life. Pam is in cahoots with a character I named Ryan. Ryan is invalid Geralds nurse/companion. He and Pam are scheming to inherit Gerald's money- he turned his life around. But Pam grows close to Rachel and no longer wants to be apart of the scheme but is forced to marry him. She falls for Mitch and tries to extricate herself. Zane doesn't die immediately. Instead he faces prostate cancer and he and Felicia battle together. Later Zane dies in an accident. Dennis and Iris return. Dennis falls for Vicky much to Iris' dismay and they marry. But when Jake returns sans Marley, Vicky and Jake have a ONS and Vicky is pregnant with Jake's baby. Donna recommends an abortion and Vicky agrees but is in a car accident on the way. At the hospital the doctor tells a delighted Dennis his wife is pregnant and she is forced to go along with the lie, especially when Jake tells her Marley is returning and they are going to rebuild their marriage. Vivien returns with Iris and has a romance with Wallingford. Ben McKinnon returns and gets involved with Vicky (prior to Dennis) His world is turned upside down when a baby is left on the doorstep and Ben realizes this is his son by a woman named Paulina. vicky breaks up with him as she doesn't want to be a surrogate mother to Ben's son. The McKinnons rally around and support Ben as a single father. Ben falls in love with a sweet girl named Sara but Paulina arrives to claim her child and Ben. Jamie is back (not as a doctor) working for Cory. He explores his past romances with Nicole and MJ. But MJ is falling for her cop partner Matt. Trouble is he's married (separated) Matt's wife Joanne pleads with MJ to step aside to give the marriage a chance -they have a son Adam. MJ does so and gets involved with Jamie, agreeing to marry him. This is after Nicole and he break up over her sordid past in NY. But Matt pleads with MJ not to go ahead with the wedding, saying he's tried his best in his marriage but it's MJ he loves. She calls off the wedding at the church, incurring Jamie and Rachel's wrath. Joanne is bitter and begins to stalk MJ, eventually framing Matt for her death. Matt finds out she had mental health issues before he met her. Matt is cleared and ready to marry MJ. However, he had a vasectomy to stop Joanne trapping him with another child. Joanne's mother Lorna disappears with Adam and Matt and MJ begin a fruitless search to track them down. Michael and Donna face a rocky road when his ex flame Joel arrives and says she will marry him( he proposed shortly before he came to Bay City) Michael has to extricate himself from Joel, who stays in Bay City. After a few failed romances, she decides to become a single mother. When Cass returns solo, she seduces him and gets pregnant. Kathleen and Cass re-unite with neither of them aware Cass is going to be a father. Cory Ewing and Amanda Cory are the new teen characters at some point. Sam Lucas(now widowed) returns and leaves his daughter Jenna with Ada. A Cory/Amanda/Jenna triangle ensues. At some point Liz and Ricky return along with Mike Randolph, Russ and his daughter, Just a few of my ideas.

Wally Curtin could have been brought back as the go to lawyer in a little nod to history as Marland brought on Carter Bowden on GL as the son of 60's character Alex Bowden. Ricky Matthews, not a blood Matthews but brought up as Bill's son. Had I been in charge in the mid 80's the Matthews family would have been invigorated with Mike Randolph, Ricky, Russ' child to lead the way. Pat and Liz as matriarchs.

I wonder how may episodes Don got once he went recurring? Did he even manage one a month? The writers didn't seem to be too interested in giving Chris scenes, even when he could have been included. When Nancy came back in 85 was she on contract? I imagine Helen Wagner would have insisted. But did Don go contract? I think not as he seemed to be quite ill in scenes from that time? Does anyone know if he was seen much in scenes outside of Nancy's initial return and the wedding/anniversary episodes?

I think this is a budget issue. Short scenes can be taped quickly as actors don't have a lot of dialogue to deal with. A longer scene usually involves more camera movement as actors move around the set. That requires more planning and rehearsal and the possibility of someone flubbing their lines or moving the wrong way is increased, and retakes might be necessary which costs time/money. Aren't they taping like 8 episodes a week in a limited time frame? And I don't think Peacock are flush with $$$ to throw at Days. And I'll repeat my agreement. Look back at 70's Days. Compelling character based stories played on limited sets. Most of those stories could be told today with some tweaks. Throw in a few more 'out there' elements and Days would be in better shape.

Was Joe Stuart still ep of Loving when JC was cast as Diane? We're they still involved at that point or was it possibly a role gifted by Joe as a favour to Jacquie? Was she still actively pursuing roles in the 80's? If so it's crazy that another soap didn't cast her. I know roles for 'older' actresses were drying up at that time but she had proven popularity. SFT, GL or ATWT could have found something for her.

Well it is show BUSINESS. He had a contract with a 13 week option and it was used. Very disappointing for him and viewers but he most likely will not be the only actor dropped over time. Best to ride high and move on.

All they would have to have an extra placing a vase of flowers on a table and exiting with a 'Thank you whoever' from Anita.

Nm

Jacquie was giving 80's soap diva vibes. Estelle on SFT? Or a Stephanie recast? Calla on GL? So many possibilities...

This!

That sort of overreach is a concern. Let's not have the characters be super rich or famous in the real world. Keep them in the Fairmont Crest bubble. Like Martin wanting to be president. So far we have not seen him at work. And the Duprees have no visible household staff.

Trouble is, Amanda was a dud. Another example of killing off a popular character and then tying themselves in knots trying to bring the actor back. Hilary didn't need to die and if she was returning as Hilary it would be way more interesting.

He needs to learn to run away from those toxic stan bases.

Agree. Bill and Hayley's house is particularly awful. I think some of the costuming also indicates that some of the characters think rich=flashy.

Re Nia Long and others who pursue outside roles. I kinda sympathise with the producers as it can be very disruptive to have to work around an actor who will be absent. I guess if you sign a soap contract, that should be your priority for the duration. If you are constantly looking for other roles, then don't do a soap. I can understand deciding to backburn a character if they seem to have one foot out the door. I have read of many soaps making an effort to accommodate actors involved in another project, so I guess it needs to be on case by case basis.

Evil twins, back from the dead, psychos, kidnappings...these are Josh's bread and butter. I say put Nick and Sharon back together. Sharon has had enough marriages and trauma. Sick of the musical chairs romances. Finding stories for them as happily married would be harder, but some challenge they face together could be found. Sharon finding a half brother/ sister with a shady past could provide conflict if Nick doesn't like/ trust them.