4 hours ago, soapfan770 said:

Not going to lie I could also totally see Ken Corday hiring Marland on in one of his Plan to Save Days circa 1999, only for it to end in disaster.

I could see Marland giving an interview to SOD (or some other rag), explaining why he took on DAYS - "It's nice to have this challenge at this late stage of my career" - and reflecting upon how his HW'ing career began and ended at NBC.

26 minutes ago, Khan said:

I could see Marland giving an interview to SOD (or some other rag), explaining why he took on DAYS - "It's nice to have this challenge at this late stage of my career" - and reflecting upon how his HW'ing career began and ended at NBC.

"Kate needs to tell Sami she knows where to stick that pitchfork Iva Snyder dropped."

Carolyn Hinsey

Edited 15 hours ago15 hr by DRW50

6 minutes ago, DRW50 said:

"Kate needs to tell Sami she knows where to stick that pitchfork Iva Snyder dropped."

Carolyn Hinsey

LOL!!

One thing about Marland, though: there's no way he would've written Stefano DiMera the way others wrote him. He was like Harding Lemay in that his characters needed a reason for behaving the way they did, and not just because they need to further the plot. He'd also would've fought hard for a stronger focus on economic inequalities, with the introduction of a new, working class family in Salem.

Edited 15 hours ago15 hr by Khan

1 minute ago, Khan said:

LOL!!

One thing about Marland, though: there's no way he would've written Stefano DiMera the way others wrote him. He was like Harding Lemay in that his characters needed a reason for behaving the way they did, and not just because they need to further the plot. He'd also would've fought hard for a stronger focus on economic inequalities, with the introduction of a new, working class family in Salem.

I agree. I think he would have tried the same approach Lorraine Broderick tried before she was pushed out; maybe he would have had better luck.

1 hour ago, DRW50 said:

I agree. I think he would have tried the same approach Lorraine Broderick tried before she was pushed out; maybe he would have had better luck.

On the other hand, we all know how...nervous Ken Corday can be. All it takes is for him to hear someone make a passing remark about how boring DAYS is lately while he and his buddies play golf, and BOOM! We get the BREAKING NEWS that Douglas Marland is OUT as DAYS HW!!

The thought of Marland being at any pre/post-millennial soaps is wild to me. I can't see him fitting at modern ABC besides maybe AMC, and it was in a peculiar place by the late '90s. I'm sure Tony Geary would've raised a hue and cry to try to get him back to GH (he talked Marland up til the day he left the business) but I wonder what that would even look like.

Depressing or not, I can absolutely see both late-stage ATWT and Mr. Ken's Wild Ride hanging him out to dry in short order. Shades of Patrick Mulcahey in 2024.

Edited 12 hours ago12 hr by Vee

Just now, Vee said:

Depressing or not, I can absolutely see both late-stage ATWT and Mr. Ken's Wild Ride hanging him out to dry in short order. Shades of Patrick Mulcahey in 2004.

Oh, fans would've burned Chris Goutman in effigy for forcing Marland out, lol.

3 minutes ago, Khan said:

Oh, fans would've burned Chris Goutman in effigy for forcing Marland out, lol.

Daytime Confidential probably would have had someone write an article about how brave and bold that choice was, but everyone else, yes.

10 minutes ago, DRW50 said:

Daytime Confidential probably would have had someone write an article about how brave and bold that choice was, but everyone else, yes.

Believe me, folks here at SON wouldn't have been any better. Certain individuals (who shall remain nameless, but who'd consider JER or Megan McTavish to be the gold standards) would carp about how "boring" ATWT was under Marland II, and how much more exciting the show was once Goutman had his "dream team" of Leah Laiman and Jean Passanante back. (And you know I'm right about this, whoever you are).

Edited 12 hours ago12 hr by Khan

29 minutes ago, Vee said:

I'm sure Tony Geary would've raised a hue and cry to try to get him back to GH (he talked Marland up til the day he left the business) but I wonder what that would even look like.

It wouldn't have ended well, because even Marland would've questioned TG's late-stage re-interpretation of Luke Spencer as an unrepentant thug and child killer who felt his "angel" held him back from being his true self.

In fact, I could see Richard Culliton texting Marland and quoting Sofia in "The Color Purple": "Don't trade places with me, Miss Celie, he ain't worth it!"

At some point, Marland likely would've transitioned into writing exclusively for the theatre, with the explanation that he had made enough money from writing soaps to do the kind of work he wanted without network or sponsor interference. ("Daytime's a young writer's game, and I'm just too old and too comfortable to fight the 'suits' anymore over stories that I want to tell.")

Edited 12 hours ago12 hr by Khan

I remember Janice being one of the few bright spots on the show during the second half of 1993. With Marland's and Morrisons's deaths, Joseph Breen's illness, Glynis John's miscasting, and the mishandling of the Neal Alcott murder mystery (I still think that if Marland had lived he would have convinced Mary Kay Adams to stay), ATWT was definitely suffering. Janice was (at least at the beginning) a three dimensional villain who was unpredictable and fun to watch. Holly Cate gave her a sense of humanity which made her "evilness" interesting.