DAYS: Behind the Scenes, Articles/Photos

[carolineg]

Perhaps it was a fictional write up of Calliope/Arleen Sorkin?  I can believe maybe they wanted Calliope but weren't sure they could get her?

This all seems so bare bones and silly I can't take it too seriously.   Again, if Deidre wasn't the full on lead of Days for the entire 90's this project might have made sense.  

[JAS0N47]

Here's the Soap Weekly articles I had already scanned in my files regarding Manhattan Lives:

SOW 2/11/92

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SOW 2/25/92:

 

SOW 3/3/92:

 

SOW 3/31/92:

 

SOW 5/12/92:

 

SOW 7/14/92:

 

SOW 7/21/92:

 

SOW 1/12/93:

 

SOW 3/23/93:

 

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SOW 4/13/93:

 

SOW 1/4/94:

[Khan]

Sorry, @Franko.  I couldn't remember which poster had said it before.  Thanks for the reminder, though.

I agree.  On the other hand, I think "Manhattan Lives" had a much better chance of making it than that other spinoff featuring Tommy Horton in Hawaii ("Pacific Lives"?).

[Contessa Donatella]

12-4-91 Day 16 Not a jerk. (12-31-23) No idea who is playing Stefano but their accent is horrible! John finally acknowledges that he is not Roman. Roman looks forward to putting his family back together, beginning with Marlena as his wife. She has a funny expression on her face as he expresses this.

12-5-91 Day 17 Not a jerk. (1-4-24) Marlena expresses to John that she loves him & he says she doesn't & that he is not the man she fell in love with. He asks her if she can say that she does not love the other guy. She can't say that. He knew she couldn't. She tells Roman that she loves him. And that it feels very very good for him to hold her this way. But that she needs some time. Does he understand? He says he does. He says he is not going to push her. He's waited 7 years so he guesses he can wait longer.

[Lye-C]

Imagine being stuck with TM’s Carrie on the spinoff. Yuck.

[carolineg]

It makes me curious how far along this pilot or bible got.  Two head writers were working on it, but you only get the vaguest of details.   Were they going to kill off Roman? Lol.  And the concept of Marlena being a Midwesterner in the big city seems silly.  Marlena's one of the more sophisticated Days characters.  Would she be that out of place? 

For some reason I thought the spinoff was to take place after the affair, which doesn't seem to be the case.  I agree it sounds better than Pacific Lives, but I think it would have hurt the main show.  At the time Days was already veering heavily into the Carly Manning hour, I could only imagine what would have happened without Marlena, Roman, or Carrie around. 

[Khan]

I agree on both counts, @carolineg.

I think the only proposed DAYS spinoff, either real or rumored, that had any genuine, dramatic possibilities was the one that was supposed to take place wherever Maggie's family's old farm was located.  A rural-based soap would have been very novel, especially in the '70's (or even today, lol).

[carolineg]

Interesting.  Do you have more info on that spinoff?

[Lye-C]

I have to wonder if The Affair was meant to write Marlena off the show for the spinoff. 

[Khan]

Not really.  I just recall reading about it years ago, on one message board or another. 

Apparently, "Maggie's Farm," as I call it, was one of several DAYS-related spinoff ideas that NBCD was tossing around at that time, on account of DAYS burning up the ratings.  Another idea that TPTB had had was to spin off Doug and Julie, but I don't know how much farther anyone went with any of those proposals beyond just the talking stage.

[carolineg]

With the way the 80's shaped up for soaps I wonder if something like Maggie's Farm could last.  Doug and Julie spinning off sounds much more realistic as far as concept.

The other spinoff idea I always thought was interesting was the Aremid one.  I remember reading bits and pieces about it.  I don't know how far along it got though.  It obviously all fell apart when Missy quit.

[Contessa Donatella]

When Missy quit, that sounds so calm, regular, every day kind of thing. When nothing could be further from the reality of the chaos that was temporarily BTS in Salem! 

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[carolineg]

I think we all know the story at this point, so I didn't feel like getting into it again.  I know Missy isn't the greatest, but it must be so embarrassing to have the entire (soap) world know your private business.

[Lye-C]

The actress who played Sarah was supposed to be in the spinoff. I think many of the ideas for Aremid wound up on Passions which also took place in a small New England town.

I think she’s awesome. I just hope she chooses to return for Abby’s eventual resurrection. JnJ fan for 30+ years and I accept no imitations!!

[Contessa Donatella]

Well, if you live in the public eye & you are part of a scandal, those things are not easily erased from the "group mind"! I recall one time when Digest published an article on the most famous scandals. Vincent Irizarry was one who was furious.