DAYS: Behind the Scenes, Articles/Photos

[KMan101]

 

Love it! 

[te.]

To be fair, I think it was just a joke referencing to how Tommy would just randomly disappear and re-appear during the 70s (though this is how urban legends get started). It seems like they just lost interest in the character after his initial storyline was done, so I don't know why they didn't just send him off screen. Certainly, the "falling in love with your own sister" thing would be a good reason to need a break from Salem.

Edited April 2, 2021 by te.

[vetsoapfan]

 

I agree that the anecdote was probably made in jest, but the problem is...so many people end up believing it, like the gag about Phyllis Diller being Susan Lucci's and Robin Strasser's mother, LOL.

 

Bill Bell and/or TPTB on his shows like DAYS and Y&R did have the annoying habit of dropping characters from the canvas, without any explanation, leaving them in twilight-zone limbo. Sometimes the characters would eventually reappear, but often not. I believe now the audience is to assume that poor Tommy Horton is gone for good, probably passed away.

[titan1978]

When I read that interview with Bill Bell and Claire Labine, where he said he doesn’t write storyline bibles or do story projections, I thought it was both incredible how much his stories did work and flow, and it also explained some of those strange dropped characters, story directions, and the sometimes treading water feeling I got watching Y&R.  But mostly pretty impressive!

[te.]

 

To be fair, he started when soap operas was basically live-to-tape and there were very little time between taping and airing date (maybe one or two weeks). Having long-terms plans probably didn't seem as necessary as getting the show on air on time, plus the audience feedback (positive/negative) could actually change the course of the story. I imagine he at least knew where the story was going, but I'd imagine that he'd also constantly had to have a plan b, c or e in the back-pocket in case the network/audience rejected stories in a big way.

 

I guess in some ways, soap writers have cushier jobs these days when they're at least two (or more in DAYS case) ahead.

[titan1978]

All true.  Except back then they had half hour shows and smaller casts to deal with too.  It’s still pretty remarkable that he continued to work this way.  Also demonstrates how much power he had and network respect, that was sadly not extended to people like PFS or Alden, two of his protégés.  They also didn’t burn story like they do now.  Even Y&R by the time he retired moved much faster than it used to.

Edited April 2, 2021 by titan1978

[vetsoapfan]

 

 

I know that Bell used to write yearly story projections in advance while he was at DAYS; he, Pat Falken Smith and Ann Marcus have all referenced them in various interviews. He had a long-term bible for the first year of Y&R as well. I wonder when he drifted away from preparing them. They seemed to be mandatory components of the writing process on soaps.

[asafi]

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is it just me or it seems Deidra and Phillis just were heartbroken here over Brenda Bennet's death and totally played out of character? so sad

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[allmc2008]

Didn't Bell write a storyline similar to Lori/Leslie on Y&R with a tell-all book but with brothers? If so, what exactly happened?

 

[AbcNbc247]

Yeah.

 

With Greg and Eric Peters. Eric was the jealous younger brother and he wrote a book titled “In My Brother’s Shadow” They got involved in a triangle over Susan, who had random sex in the park one night with Eric. She then blocked it out, cried rape, then found out she was pregnant. Greg was her doctor and they began dating. When she met Eric, she realized that he was the father of her baby and her “rapist”. Through hypnosis, she realized that the sex in the park was actually consensual. Eventually it all came out and her and Eric ended up together.

 

While that was happening was when Eric wrote his book, which included a chapter about that night in the park with Susan.

 

 

[allmc2008]

What years? And why did she block it out?

[AbcNbc247]

This all took place around like 71-73

 

Susan blocked it out because she was "sexually frigid", and her encounter with Eric brought up a lot of bad memories of David, and everything that happened to her (sleeping with him, getting pregnant, her baby dying, killing David, etc.)

[allmc2008]

I know sh*t. So, what was the situation with her and David?

[AbcNbc247]

David was Julie's boyfriend. She planned on eloping with him, but Tom talked her out of it. In anger, David had a one night stand with Susan (it was her first time) and got her pregnant. Julie found out, but still wanted to be with David. But it was the 60's, so the child had to be legitimized lol David ended up marrying Susan, with the intention of divorcing her and marrying Julie once the baby was born. The baby was born, but soon after, he fell out of a child's swing that David bought him and died. Susan then had a breakdown and shot and killed David. She was tried, but found not guilty.

[allmc2008]

All of that seems so riveting.

 

Edited April 7, 2021 by allmc2008