Jump to content

James E. Reilly Tribute


Recommended Posts

  • Administrator
JER.jpg


My Tribute to James E. Reilly


I just wanted to talk about my favourite Jim Reilly stories and characters, and say something about the man who got me into watching soap operas and has been a reason why I love this genre so much. It was the summer of 1993, and I was 11 years old, when Jim Reilly wrote one of his most memorable storylines - Carly is buried alived. It was something I’ve never seen before and I thought it was so crazy! I was immediately addicted to the suspense and drama and the anticipation of what’s going to happen next. I’ll never forget moments like Vivian rolling and laughing on Carly’s grave, or Vivian taunting Carly through speaker system inside the coffin, or Bo finally seeing Carly alive again. Thus began my fascination with Days Of Our Lives and soap operas!

In the fall of 1993 I had to go back to school and at the time I didn’t know how to program my VCR until late 1994. Thankfully, I did, because it was just in time for probably Reilly’s popular, and hated, yet most talked about storyline he’s ever written - Marlena’s possession by the devil. Yes, storyline had all the typical Reilly craziness (the moon and stars falling, the panther, the bees, the devil pretending to be Isabella) that he was known for, but I saw it as a love story between John and Marlena, and so did Reilly.

Love was something he always tried to implement in his stories.



When the storyline ended, John and Marlena still weren’t together! I was a John/Marlena fan and he tortured us by not having them become a “couple” but he always played the love, the sexual tension, the longing between them and I loved it. Jim Reilly was really good at that, as he did the same thing for many of his couples (Carrie/Austin, Sheridan/Luis, Ethan/Theresa, etc). In fact, some of Reilly’s best John/Marlena stories were when they weren’t a couple: The Affair, Maison Blanche, the Possession, Aremid, Lady in a Cage, the Secret Room.

Triangles and quads galore.......Everyone knows Jim Reilly loved writing those! I, of course, enjoyed most of them, especially his triangles/quads in the 90's at DAYS which were the bases of pretty much all of his stories.

- Roman/Marlena/John
- Tony/Kristen/John
- Marlena/John/Kristen
- Peter/Jennifer/Jack
- Billie/Bo/Hope
- Sami/Austin/Carrie
- Vivian/Victor/Kate

Each triangle had their time on frontburner and that one of the things I liked with his writing in the 90's.

With Passions:
- Kay/Miguel/Charity
- Grace/Sam/Ivy
- TC/Eve/Julian
- Luis/Sheridan/Antonio
- Theresa/Ethan/Gwen

Of course there were many...many more (:lol:) but those were his big ones.


Jim Reilly’s humour.......I got it...I got his humour.....I think we had the same sense of humour because I laughed at a all the outrageous and hilarious things he wrote. Let’s face it, the dude was nuts! He must’ve been to come up with what he did :lol: And he didn’t mind making fun of himself too! On Passions there was Judge James E. Reilly who takes bribes, and characters would always bash him. LOL Or sometimes characters would praise him: Rebecca: “That judge Reilly is worth every penny that we pay him. He always delivers, day in, day out, with such passion.” LOL!! Or this scene here with Julian who’s in the hospital after getting his penis chopped off, then re-attached, but he he’ll die if he has an erection.......



“What sort of sick mind comes up with this stuff? It’s got to be some reclusive hack with too much time on his hands.”

Of course there was also Timmy/Tabitha, Norma/Edna and Precious the monkey....I mean orangutang! And all the fantasy and dream sequences that he came up with.



Jim Reilly had such a hilarious imagination. There was absolutely no boundaries when it came to his humour.


Another aspect I loved about Jim Reilly’s writing was his slow, his extremely slow (;)) stories.
I didn’t mind that the took years to tell a story because I all needed was to be entertained, I didn't care how long it lasted.

I thought Jim Reilly was amazing at building up stories and then having these huge climaxes. He was especially good in the 90's! It was the conclusion of the Secret Room storyline that came within .3 of Y&R in the ratings. Everything that happened during that climax was Jim Reilly at his best. There was suspense, humour, action, huge revelations, secrets coming out, cliffhangers!


Weddings.......Reilly was one of the best at writing weddings.....whether they happened or not. LOL He would use these weddings as a place where secrets come out, so you always knew that something was gonna go down! If there was a wedding on a Jim Reilly show, you had to watch it! Some for example.....Sami stopped Austin/Carrie’s wedding in (1995?) when she revealed that she was pregnant with Austin’s baby. John/Susan’s Elvis style wedding (the flying teeth!!! :lol:) during the conclusion of the Secret Room.




Carrie knocking out Sami at Sami/Austin’s wedding and the revelation of Will’s true paternity.



Here are more of JER’s weddings from DAYS. I kept this post by blueeaglex from the Passions Coffeerooms board which was posted on March 7, 2002:



On Passions, Ivy driving into the church to stop Ethan/Theresa’s wedding. Or the 2002 quadruple wedding.
2002decemberweddingsad2.jpg


Julian and Theresa’s drunken wedding. :lol: And of course Ethan/Theresa’s wedding from the last episode of Passions.




How to create buzz with huge storylines.......Jim Reilly knew how to do it! I believe he called it “banging the drum”......and he sure did.....very loudly! He would create these larger than life stories that would be the talk of the industry or message boards or even at school! The big 2 were definitely The Possession and The Salem Serial Killer. And whether you hated it or loved it, you were definitely talking about it and that’s what he wanted.



When Reilly consulted for Sunset Beach in 1998, you could definitely feel his presence there. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that 1998 was Sunset Beach’s best year. There were huge storylines like Terror Island, Shockwave and The Cursed Jewels. Did Reilly come up with those storylines? Maybe not. But I like to think he had some hand in those storylines. :)

I definitely wish I could've seen his GL era.

More favourite Reilly moments.........Tony framing John in Aremid. I thought this was one of JER’s best plots ever.

">
" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344">


Here’s a beautiful montage of this storyline. Damn, DAYS was so gothic back then. Loved it!




At Belle’s Baptism, Marlena confesses about the affair: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BsTxZaRliCE


I think the John/Marlena affair story was the best all around story Jim Reilly ever wrote. It was pure human drama about love, betrayal, lies and family. I do wish he wrote more stories like this.


Here’s a thread I create a while go.....The Best of James. E Reilly: http://boards.soapoperanetwork.com/index.php?showtopic=21940

There were so many other great moments! I can go on and on and on about Jim Reilly, as you all probably know, but this is all I can come up with right now.

I just can’t believe that he’s gone now. I’ve always dreamed of meeting him, just wanting to talk soap operas and pick his brain on all the things he wrote. He brought so much entertainment and joy to my life for the past 15 years. I was so proud of him, proud to be a fan, proud to be “JimReillyJr”......... And I hope he now knows how grateful I am for all the things he's done. Thank you, Jim! You are my passion for life. Rest in peace.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 45
  • Created
  • Last Reply
  • Members

EXCELLENT tribute, Toups! Well said.

It James that got me hooked to Days with the SSK storyline. I enjoyed it a lot. I was glued to my tv at 1PM waiting to see who will die. I remember my mom telling me it had to be Marlena killing those people and I told her it couldn't be her. LOL

I LOVED Passions! Always have, always will. Loved James' humor. He was a funny man.

R.I.P James E. Reilly. You will never be forgotten. You will forever be missed.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Such a lovely tribute Toups, and I can certainly see that it came from the heart. Love him or hate him, JER left an impact that will never be forgotten.

As someone who did watch GL during the time he was there, I could definitely see some Reilly-isms in hindsight. Especially with the great stuff that happed in 1992. I know in particular the 1992 Springfield blackout was Reilly's creation and it bore his mark, though in a more traditional way. That event was used to bring to a climax several storylines, as well as a vehicle to create new ones (most of which would be carried out when he was gone). That was what JER was good at, for every climax, there is a beginning.

And come on, who else would come up with a storyline where Bridget putting on her blowdryder leads to the total colapse of the electricity in an entire city? I see a lot of the foundation in Bridget for what later became Sami on DAYS as well.

I also think one of the 1992 blackout epsidoes was submitted along with the Jan 1993 episode of Maureen's funeral that landed GL that writing Emmy in 1993, JER's only Emmy.

I'll always look back on this time of GL with great fondness, even if I give Curlee and Demorest the most credit for it. I'm glad JER at least has some contribution in making me a soap fan. If I didn't fall into GL somewhere in early 1991, I wouldn't be a fan of the soap genre right now.

I also found amusing, as I brought up in a another thread that both JER and JFP worked on GL in the early 90's. Two very controversial and polarizing soap opera figures, perhaps the two most controversial soap people from the past 20 years.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

I think the big climactic events from 91 and 92 bore a great Reilly stamp. The stories were built up and usually exposed in a big way, something JER would later be known for. Also, Bridget Reardon, though undoubtedly Curlee and Demorest created (they had much more knowledge of the Reardon family, having been there longer) had a lot of Reilly-esque qualities that I would later see in Sami Brady. Bridget, though only created in 91, was a pivotal part in many storylines from that era.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Reilly's big successes cannot be faked, every head writer has tried to be like Reilly in some sense and only he could pull it out. Reilly was great at GL and alot of that writing was very much continued with DAYS. OMG when Reilly took over for DAYS it was a mess in that it was at the bottom of the ratings. He took it over and within 1993-1994 ratigns magic took place and continued. His climax's like the Marlena posession, Sami's comeupannce or his biggest the revelation with Susan-Kristin. Actually DAYS hit a 7.0 and almost overtook Y&R for number 1 during that week. Just utterly amazing his ratings successes were just fabulous. He made NBC daytime a fortune. The only reason why AW was on for 7 more years then it should have was Reilly's high ratings were able to keep that show on longer. He consulted for Sunset Beach and did the whole earthquake/tsuanami. Then he created Passions which was all Reilly and was a success until Reilly was doing both shows. It affected both shows. I am so glad Reilly got to write Passions last episode and finish it. I will just conclude no matter what anyone says this man left a HUGE MARK IN THE DAYTIME WORLD. He is a genius on several different levels. I heard that he never meet the actors, he only wanted to know them as the characters. I also heard Reilly would wakeup in the middle of the night and write all his dreams on paper. The man had such a creative vision in his writing. He will be missed. He was a very rich rich man but he earned every day. What a loss for daytime especially during such a bad patch. Reilly will be missed, I did not Reilly was in such bad heath but they better pay tribute to this man. He left such a legacy.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

A lovely tribute Toups!

I also will never forget his first couple of years on DAYS. I will never forget how exciting Carly buried alive was.

The one story I think about most though, is the Roman/Marlena/John storyline. From the begining of the affair, to the end of Marlena's marriage to Roman, and how that contributed to the posession, it was a good 2 years of drama, and every moment on the show was worth watching for me.

One of my favorite Reilly Days moments is the often mentioned return of Belle, who Sami had kidnapped, to Marlena at the church with O Holy Night playing. I still get chills.

My heart belongs to Claire Labine's type of storytelling, but I was thrilled by Reilly in those days too. Right writer, right cast, right show.

I am revisiting his tenure on GL thanks to Youtube, and I see Reillyisms all the time, his fingerprints are all over several storylines.

When was he on GH? I'm thinking it was during the end of Monty's first tenure right? Guza was there too if I remember a quote by him correctly. I'm thinking Reilly was during Robert/Anna time, not Luke/Laura.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Wonderful Tribute Toups.

While I wasn't always a fan of his work, two of JER's storylines brought me to viewing Days over the years, the buried alive story while in college and the SSK story a few years ago. When JER was good, he was GOOD.

Rest In Peace

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

I came to DOOL very very late, 2004 to be exact. I was an ABC watcher but at that point has given up on all three ABC soaps and aol had on their front news page that greets you a window telling you the TV highlights. And there it was, "see who the salem serial killer is" so I clicked it and saw Tony spitting at Marlena.

I of course knew who Bill and Susan Seaforth Hayes were and then I remember reading he was killed off. I decided to tune in and see what the show was all about. I gave myself a week to make up my mind, and I loved what I saw. It was so dramatically different from the horrible abc soaps with their star system and lack of stories, I was so impressed with Days unrelenting adherence to plot and not just a fetish for couples.

Then I remember came the day when I think it was Marlena was pushed off a terrace and landed right on Sami. :D I knew the show was unlike any other. Jan Spears. How can anyone not love Jan Spears? Then came the whopper that had me regressing back to a kid watching Flash Gordon serials shown latenight on PBS: The island of dead people. I loved it. My favorite story and I know I am probably alone in that. But an island of dead people trapped by a forcefield with skeletons smoking cigars, volcanic eruptions, literal cliffhangers with Jennifer, John about to be diced by a giant fan...I felt like this was Batman 1966 (and that I mean as a compliment).

If there was any twist, no matter how crazy or how corny, JER took it.

Days led me to Passions. Alistair and his chalice. I love my villains extra evil, and Alistair fit the bill.

In my opinion Days has not been as entertaining since he left. I was hoping he would wind up on another soap.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.



  • Recent Posts

    • To me, that made no difference. The point stands whether Eva wants to be a Dupree or not. Anita was 110% on top of things. Also it's a logical inference that Eva might be interested in having a place in her supposedly real family. Frankly though I wonder if Eva knows how to feel ... yet. She could really be confused.
    • Does Jack ever dress in drag during that early '00s period where he was trying to get Jennifer back...or does he just fake being gay around then?
    • Here you go, by special request! https://www.instagram.com/p/DJlXDnWJImW/ DAYS 9-26-90 Matt Ashford as Jack Deveraux in drag
    • Concluding 1976... Raymond Schafer arrives in Springfield and begins an extensive probe into Malcolm’s death, puzzling Ed, who wonders why most of Schafer’s question sessions keep turning back to Rita’s involvement with Malcolm. Ed assures the man that Rita’s only connection with Malcolm was as his nurse; he is unaware that Schafer knows a great deal more about Rita than he does. Just to protect Rita, Ed has Mike check on Schafer’s credentials, and learns that he’s a  well-respected criminal attorney. The waitress at the restaurant where Malcolm suffered his stroke tells Schafer that the woman who was with him reacted very professionally to the sudden emergency, as if she were a nurse. Realizing that her little sister has fallen hard for Tim, Rita warns him that she’s very vulnerable and innocent, but Tim tells Rita her advice isn’t necessary. But Tim then receives a plum job offer to be chief neurological resident at a prestigious Philadelphia hospital and can’t pass up the opportunity. Evie is crushed by the news and spends the next several days at home crying. Joe Werner, fully recovered, has accepted a post as a medical aide in a destitute village in India and leaves alone, with Sarah to follow him later. Justin asks Sarah to consider a partnership with him in private practice, but she explains that she thrives on the hospital atmosphere. When a call comes from India that Joe has had another massive attack, Sarah leaves on the next available flight and arrives only moments before he dies. The painful news is relayed back to Cedars at once. Sara returns from India a heartbroken woman, but the day-to-day involvement of raising T.J. and of her career seem to be her salvation. Justin shows a surprisingly compassionate and understanding side to Sara, but, ironically, Justin’s ex-wife, Jackie, arrives in Springfield with her diabetic father, who is suffering from a heart attack. In the process of consulting with Justin on her father’s condition, Jackie comes face to face with Sara for the first time since their college days. Evie’s heartbreak at Tim’s departure turns to fury and hatred when she inadvertently discovers a letter which Tim wrote to Rita just after he left. In it he concedes that Rita was right about Evie’s vulnerability where he was concerned but reminds Rita that he badly hurt her in the same way she feared Evie would suffer. Evie is now sure that Rita somehow forced Tim to leave town and is livid at the idea that Tim was Rita’s lover. She insists she’s cutting off her relationship with Rita and will pay her back for any help she’s received in the past. Ben and Hope’s wedding plans are off, as Ben, while still insisting he’s innocent, won’t explain why the robbery evidence points to him. Hope feels his unwillingness to tell her the truth makes marriage to him impossible, but confides to Ann that she is miserable without him. Ben has echoed these sentiments to Mike but won’t confide in him, either as Hope’s father or as an attorney.   Holly is trying very hard to build a life without Ed, but since she sees him virtually every day at work,she’s unable to put him out of her mind. She accepts a date with a member of the hospital administration staff but is unable to avoid making comparisons between Ed and this young man and winds up alone, sadly holding Ed’s picture and recalling how much she loves him. Believing that the hospital board’s conclusions on Grainger’s death have settled the question once and for all, Rita has regained her self-confidence, and her romance with Ed is growing daily. They admit their love for each other, and Ed confides that he intentionally  held back with Rita for fear of making another mistake. Rita then tells Ed she has never married because for her marriage must be forever. Rita’s mother realizes that Rita is truly in love when she confides in her that she doesn’t understand why she’s been so lucky in having him love her and how she wants to be the very best person she can be for him. Ed proposes marriage to Rita and gives her time to think about it before answering. Rita painfully realizes that her past could, if it rose again against her, make a life with Ed a lost dream. But Raymond Shaefer has been quietly but efficiently carrying on his investigation and has learned that Grainger argued with Rita at her apartment. He presents the evidence he’s compiled to District Attorney Eric Van Gelder, who decides the case warrants further investigation. Rita goes to Ed’s office to tell him she loves him but can’t marry him, that she doesn’t deserve him and “can’t do it to him.” As she turns from a confused Ed to leave, she finds the district attorney and a police officer outside Ed’s door, waiting to arrest her. Ed, insisting that a serious mistake has been made, calls Mike to help her as Rita, shocked and humiliated, is taken under arrest through the hallways of the hospital in which she works. Mike manages Rita’s release on bail only after she has had to submit to the degrading booking procedure. Mike sees her alone at her apartment, explaining he can help her only if she tells him the whole truth. Rita equivocates until Mike mentions Texas, indicating to Rita that he knows at least some of the story. Van Gelder has, in fact, let Mike see the bulk of evidence in the case against Rita, to convince him her arrest wasn’t a capricious whim. Rita explains to Mike that Malcolm believed she intentionally vilified him to his father, to do him out of his rightful inheritance, and then wanted his father dead to collect her money. Mike expresses his appreciation of Rita’s honesty, promising to help her. But Rita’s tormented dreams confirm that she hasn’t yet told all the truth, and after Peggy visits, expressing firm support, Rita tells Roger she has to reveal his part in the story. Roger painfully tells Rita about his being Christina’s father to show her that if Ed knew, it would end Rita’s chances with him forever. Rita, who was ready to tell Ed the whole story, now realizes how risky that would be. Adding to Rita’s pain is her forced leave of absence from the hospital until she’s cleared and the embarrassment of seeing her name in the headlines.
    • Please register in order to view this content

         
    • Yes, but the stories are all pretty awful Seeing Victor rehashing his hatred of the Abbotts  when he married one of them and has a daughter that is half Abbott as well as walking around with Traci's daughter's heart keeping him alive makes him look worse than he already is. And I remember he and Jack chatting amicably in the past few years. Victor interfering in Kyle/Claire is just repeat of Billy/Victoria. Sharon, Nick,Phyllis etc are around but again the stories are lacking.
    • I think Kevin's 1996 Emmy was fair enough. He barely appeared for his second. I don't think anyone else on the list is that deserving but I might have gone with Moore as he did try with the whole Keesha AIDS story. @alwaysAMC Thanks to slick jones' cast list I was able to see that Nikki Rene played Tina. Not much on her, as you mentioned. Tap and a few Broadway listings (it doesn't help that a younger actress with a similar name is in a lot of roles). Nikki Rene: Credits, Bio, News & More | Broadway World https://onceonthisisland.fandom.com/wiki/Nikki_Rene Nikki Rene - IMDb
    • Thank you. That does ring a bell. I remember Theresa and Julian's drunk, giggly fake wedding (with Julian asking "Whassup?" to the minister). Was Bruce tricking the pair as a prank, or did somebody put him up to it? I especially liked Katherine recalling how dashing young Alistair was when he'd pick up Rachel for dates, and how she wished she could be her sister, then feeling guilty once Rachel had her boating accident ...
    • And Kevin Mambo beat Shemar Moore for those two Emmys. I chalk up the wins to the voters not wanting Jonathan Jackson to eventually end up with a five peat (he won 1995, 1998, 1999). These were the 1996 and 1997 Younger Actor races. 1996: Nathan Fillion, Jonathan Jackson, Kevin Mambo (winner), Shemar Moore, Joshua Morrow 1997: Steve Burton, Jonathan Jackson, Kevin Mambo (winner), Shemar Moore, Joshua Morrow
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy