DAYS: Discussion for the month of May

[JackPeyton]

Shes not afraid of him, IMHO... shes obsessed with him and desperate to keep him.

[Toups]

Yeah, I kinda said "come on!" to that too. Dr. Baker behind Stefano's disappearance? Come on, EJ!

I'm so happy he's being used. John Aniston and Joe Mascolo are the best part of this feud storyline. I smiled when Victor said to EJ, "We have him......You know who."

[SouthOfSoap]

I have to admit that Nicole faking CPR on Dr Baker was one of the funniest things I have seen on TV in a long time.

Friday was a good episode. I'm glad the week picked up from last week. I was worried we weren't gonna get a decent sweeps ([sarcasm] not that Days would ever do a thing like that [/sarcasm]).

Thanks for confirming.

[baller]

For the love of gawd they need to cut that boys hair. The constant head fling gives me whiplasph.

He's stiff--and I can't help but think before he started there were mentions about how good he was...

[SouthOfSoap]

Yeah he needs a haircut asap, but I think he has been told to play Will as a gawkish, uncomfortable, slightyly EMO kid. And I think that suits the character fine. With parents like Sami & lucas, I expect nothing less lol. I don't think his stiffness is a problem - it suits the role. The girl who plays Mia appears to be a better actress though, but that might just be because she has scenes with Ari Zuker and John Callahan who lift her game a lot. The poor kid who plays Will has to act accross Sami, Lucas, Chloe & Rafe mainly - they won't help him raise his acting chops but at the same time, I feel he holds his own with them. When they finally give him some meaty material, I will judge him as a success or a flop - at the moment he really hasnt had an opportunity to showcase much talent.

[Antoyne]

Is the show still ignoring Brady's DiMera ties? I'd love that beat to be played at some point in the feud.

[SouthOfSoap]

What beat were you hoping for? If just acknowledgement that DiMera blood runs through his veins, then fine. But I would be very dissapointed if Brady actually felt conflicted about where his loyalties should lie. Firstly, he has known he is a Kiriakis all his life and has always had a close bond with Victor wheras he only found out about his DiMera connection recently and has no relationship to speak of with Stefano. In addition Stefano tried to kill Phillip (who he is close to, relatively speaking) and EJ had him beaten up. Its a no-brainer who he should be supporting and anything else would just be contrived and non-sensicial. I also see many shades of Isabella in this incarnation of Brady (eric Martsolf's) and less of John (I thought Kyle Lowder's Brady was more John than Isabella) further reinforcing his attachment to his Kiriakis heritage.

[Khan]

Watched some of last Friday's DAYS this morning on SN, and you know something? It actually held my interest!

[Antoyne]

Just an acknowledgement really. I know it's a new development and such. But I love the fact that with two distinct family rivalries going there is one guy who is blood related to both.

[SouthOfSoap]

Yeah, that makes sense. I think that there are other characters off canvas who could straddle both sides of the conflict better than Brad,y like Justin (he doesnt know Brady & Phillip from a bar of soap and doesnt like Victor, yet still is a Kiriakis) and Vivian (who was married to Stefano and Victor (sort of) - although I think her loyalties would be towards Victor).

Just a general thought I had, that maybe Toups or anyone else may be able to answer for me: Its almost 5 years since JER returned to Days, surely his contract is almost up with Corday now? Does anyone know when it expires? I wonder what Days will do with the extra cash? Perhaps they already have been lending against that future cash flow to keep the production standards up (and by up, I mean not go the GL route thank goodness) or will they use it to extend the cast perhaps? I kind of like the compact feeling to the show (I know I'm in the minority, but I feel it works well). i have a feeling the original plan was to bring back the DHs once JER's contract expired and Deidre's divorce is finalized, but thats just pure speculation on my behalf. Tbh, I dont think the show needs them, especially if they will only write crappy stories for them like Bo/Hope.

[SouthOfSoap]

Oh yeah, forgot to add : Today was kickass with Victor. He really nailed it to EJ in those scenes. I'm glad they are letting John Aniston & Joe Mascolo drive the story - it would be underwhelming if Philip and EJ were the leads in this fued.

Between that and the Nicole/Baker scenes, today was a great episode. Richard Culliton put out some superb dialogue there.

The only minor quibble I have with todays episode was : where did EJ's bodyguards go between the time he met Victor on the pier, His blindfolding and taken to Stefano and his return to the pier? Surely they would have alerted some other DiMera goons? dunno. Victor was correct in saying that EJ isn't the same level of adversary as his father, becuase Stefano would never have shown up at the pier unprepared in the first place. Its believable for EJ to do that though - he certainly isn't his father.

I can't believe the turnaround in Days over the last few months. I hope they can maintain this consistency so that should the show wrap up next year, we can say it went out on a creative high.

[tylerbo20]

I think Jack and Jen are needed on this show more than ever now. we need more Hortons and i think they would be really good in this Kiriakis/Dimera storyline heck even bring back Peter!!!

[PhoenixRising05]

On Friday, on the pier, Victor forced EJ to call off his men and send them away. He told him he would not take him to Stefano until he did so. As soon as he did that, Victor's men grabbed EJ and ripped his cell phone out of his pocket and confiscated it so he couldn't alert anymore Dimera men. EJ did show up at the pier with men so he was prepared but Victor forced him to send them off.

[SouthOfSoap]

Thanks, I don't remember that part at all! i guess I wasn't paying as much attention as I thought I was lol. I'll have to find a clip on youtube! ETA: Wow, dont know how i forgot the cellphone part, sending off the bodyguards was a split second...

Since the Hortons are the middle class moral backbone of this town, I would hope that they wouldnt get involved in the fued at all. What did you have in mind? I love all these ideas!

I know that I am in a very small minority, but I believe if the stories are good, well written, paced and acted, and the characters likeable and well-developed, then it doesnt matter who is on canvas. I think that is part of the secret of success for British soaps - nobody hangs around on soaps for decades except for a few exceptions. When characters hang around too long, the characters may become worn out with different head writers with different visions forcing round characters into square pegged storylines. I think thats why Days is doing better at the moment - evrybody is acting in character generally and their histories are enabling rather than hindering the storylines. My point is that the show shouldn't bring back vets purely for the sake of bringing them back, unless there is a story to be told for them - that was the bustup of Steve & Kayla's return imho. Yes, the writers dropped the ball because there was plenty of story to be told - but it wasnt planned out and they never fixed it in the almost 3 years they were back. I'm not against any return, but I would prefer a well planned story and a reason to accompany a return, preferably one that ties in with what is on screen to minimise the risk of isolation. If they can't do that right, then they shouldn't bother in the first place.

[quartermainefan]

Monday's episode was really good. It is interesting that EJ, Stefano, Philip and Victor are all going concerns for the show so nobody is obviously going to be the loser and scapegoat by the end of the story the way someone like Roman III (Dr whatever his name was who married Marlena and brainwashed her a couple of years back) obviously had to see all his schemes undone. The only thing is Victor makes no sense. He wants to make sure the DiMeras are in no position to retaliate and he obviously is not above murder and mayhem, but the idea of just killing the DiMeras to make sure they can't retaliate doesn't cross his mind. The whole feud basically could have ended by the second scene today (and thus ending EJ and Nicole, EJ and Sami, EJ and air) but instead Victor goes about this complex scheme. I guess he really just wants the DiMera empire more than seeing the feud actually end. Still, John Aniston is a gem, I just don't get why he turns down contracts. His recurring status doesn't matter because he is on as much as a contract player, but it just seems weird.