DAYS: Behind the Scenes, Articles/Photos

[jcar03]

Yes, she has been back on recurring for some time now.

[jam6242]

Susan has said that she wasn't happy during the time her mother was writing the show.  Said everyone was coming to her if they had issues with the writing, and then Bill would complain at home.  She mentioned last year that she had to have therapy for it, and the show paid for it.

 

Re Rosemary Forsyth, I did like her, much better than I did Susan Oliver anyway.  Still, she wasn't as strong a presence as Susan Flannery, who will always be "real" Laura to me.

[Bright Eyes]

 

Susan Oliver is interesting to me because she apparently didn't fit as Laura, but I loved her on Peyton Place. Just a miscast, I guess.

[jam6242]

I liked her on Peyton Place too and other things I've seen her in.  Maybe it was just too soon for a recast.  And I might not feel the same now that I'm an adult, if I had the chance to watch her again.

[JAS0N47]

 

JASON47'S "DAYS OF OUR LIVES" 55TH ANNIVERSARY TRIBUTE VIDEO...

 

Here is the updated version of the anniversary video Jason47 made for the show's 50th update in 2015. The video was updated for the 52nd anniversary in 2017, and this new update includes all of the recent "Days" cast and Salem happenings from the last three years. See how many Salemites and "Days" events you can remember as you watch. The video is chronological from 1965-2020, followed by a special memorial to the "Days" family no longer with us.

 

 

[JAS0N47]

 

"DAYS" ANNIVERSARY WEEK...

 

 

 

 

19th Anniversary, 1984. Front Row: NBC Vice President Brian

Frons, Kristian Alfonso (Hope), Thaao Penghlis (Tony), NBC President Brandon

Tartikoff, Tom Hallick (Maxwell), Cheryl-Ann Wilson (Megan), Joseph Mascolo

(Stefano). 2nd Row: Patsy Pease (Kimberly), Melonie Mazman (Tess), Suzanne

Rogers (Maggie), Leann Hunley (Anna), NBC Vice President Steve Sohmer, Michael

Leon (Pete), Lisa Trusel (Melissa), DeAnna Robbins (Diane), Elaine Princi

(Linda), James Reynolds (Abe), Josh Taylor (Chris). 3rd Row: Marty Davich

(Marty), Andrew Masset (Larry), John Clarke (Mickey), Frances Reid (Alice),

Macdonald Carey (Tom), Joseph Gallison (Neil), Lanna Saunders (Marie). 4th Row:

Roger Aaron Brown (Danny), Don Frabotta (Dave), Stanley Brock (Howie), Gloria

Loring (Liz), Samantha Barrows (Noel), Don Diamont (Carlo), Charlene Howell

(Waitress). Top Row: Quinn Redeker (Alex), Andrea Barber (Carrie), Arleen Sorkin

(Calliope), John de Lancie (Eugene), Deidre Hall (Marlena), Wayne Northrop

(Roman), Anne-Marie Martin (Gwen), Peter Reckell (Bo).

 

 

 

 

 

20th Anniversary, 1985. Back Row: Andrew Masset (Larry), Patsy Pease (Kimberly),

Charles Shaughnessy (Shane), Thaao Penghlis (Tony), Leann Hunley (Anna), Rusty

Cundieff (Theo), Elaine Princi (Linda), Rod Arrants (Richard), Holly Gagnier

(Ivy), Shannon Tweed (Savannah), Michael Leon (Pete), Darby Hinton (Ian),

Kristian Alfonso (Hope), Lisa Trusel (Melissa), Arleen Sorkin (Calliope), James

Reynolds (Abe), Jane Windsor (Emma), David Wallace (Tod). Front Row: Quinn

Redeker (Alex), John Clarke (Mickey), Frances Reid (Alice), Macdonald Carey

(Tom), Deidre Hall (Marlena), Gloria Loring (Liz), Josh Taylor (Chris), Peter

Reckell (Bo).

 

 

 

 

 

 

21st Anniversary, 1986. Back Row: Frank Parker (Shawn), Quinn Redeker (Alex), Gregory

Wagrowski (Jake), Peter Reckell (Bo), John Aniston (Victor), [1 unknown], George

Deloy (Orpheus), Drake Hogestyn (Roman), Marilyn McCoo (Tamara), James Reynolds

(Abe), [1 unknown], Robert S. Woods (Paul). Second Row: Bill Hayes (Doug),

Camilla More (Grace), Charles Shaughnessy (Shane), Patsy Pease (Kimberly),

Michael T. Weiss (Mike), Holly Gagnier (Ivy), Arleen Sorkin (Calliope), Kristian

Alfonso (Hope), [1 unknown], Peggy McCay (Caroline), Joseph Gallison (Neil),

Lisa Trusel (Melissa), Pamela Kosh (Miss Peach), [2 unknown], Stephen Nichols

(Steve), Mary Beth Evans (Kayla), Marty Davich (Marty), Deidre Hall (Marlena),

[1 unknown], Don Frabotta (Dave). Front Row: Billy Warlock (Frankie), Melissa

Brennan (Jennifer), Rob Estes (Glenn), Michael Rhoton (Max), Frances Reid

(Alice), John Clarke (Mickey), Samantha Barrows (Noel), Christie Clark (Carrie),

[2 unknown].

 

 

 

 

 

 

22nd Anniversary, 1987. Back Row: Joseph Campanella (Harper), Stephen Anthony Henry

(Luke), [unknown], Frank Parker (Shawn), Drake Hogestyn (Roman), Matthew Ashford

(Jack), Lisa Trusel (Melissa), Joy Garrett (Jo), Richard Biggs (Marcus), Merritt

Yohnka (Joey), Christopher Stone (Bill), Michael Weiss (Mike). 2nd Row: James

Reynolds (Abe), George Jenesky (Nick), Judi Evans (Adrienne), Joseph Colligan

(Ethan; holding photo of Arleen Sorkin, Calliope), Jane Elliot (Anjelica), John

Aniston (Victor), Peggy McCay (Caroline), Valerie Karasek (Serena), Karen

Moncrieff (Gabrielle), Mary Beth Evans (Kayla), Wally Kurth (Justin). 3rd Row:

Don Frabotta (Dave), Patsy Pease (Kimberly), Charles Shaughnessy (Shane),

Charlotte Ross (Eve), Joseph Gallison (Neil), Suzanne Rogers (Maggie), Christie

Clark (Carrie), Billy Warlock (Frankie), Melissa Brennan (Jennifer), Marty

Davich (Marty). Front Row: Macdonald Carey (Tom), Frances Reid (Alice), John

Clarke (Mickey).

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tom & Alice Horton Wedding Photo, October 1988. John Clarke (Mickey), Suzanne

Rogers (Maggie), Lisa Trusel (Melissa), Frances Reid (Alice), Lisa Brinegar

(Sarah), Melissa Brennan (Jennifer), Macdonald Carey (Tom), Michael T. Weiss

(Mike).

 

 

 

 

 

23rd Anniversary, 1988. Back Row: [2 unknowns], Matthew Ashford (Jack), Frank Parker

(Shawn), Wally Kurth (Justin), [unknown], Judi Evans (Adrienne), Richard Biggs

(Marcus). Middle Row: George Jenesky (Nick), Charlotte Ross (Eve), [unknown],

Randy Reinholz (Adam), Patsy Pease (Kimberly), Drake Hogestyn (Roman), Peggy

McCay (Caroline), Jay Robinson (Monty), James Reynolds (Abe), Cyndi James

Gossett (Lexie), Joseph Gallison (Neil), Michael Weiss (Mike), Lisa Howard

(April), Suzanne Rogers (Maggie), Christie Clark (Carrie), Michael Bays (Julio),

[unknown], Ryan Brennan (Max), Mary Beth Evans (Kayla), Stephen Nichols (Steve).

Front Row: Charles Shaughnessy (Shane), Don Frabotta (Dave), Marty Davich

(Marty), John Aniston (Victor), Macdonald Carey (Tom), Frances Reid (Alice),

John Clarke (Mickey), [unknown].

 

 

 

[beebs]

Yeah, I think that would drive me absolutely bonkers as well. She is not her mother's keeper, and, although EH comes from Y&R, and thus was potentially more in keeping with the spirit of the Bell-era DAYS, I think coming in to headwrite the show that your daughter has been starring in for ten years is not a particularly appropriate decision by the brass. We've even seen with Bell how he, perhaps subconsciously, wrote to the favour of Lauralee. No one is impervious to this type of nepotism, and it really can create a toxic environment.

 

In ANY event, off we go to February 1979 (the SOD updates sort of bleed into the first few weeks of Elizabeth Harrower, so maybe we'll get something of a snapshot of the transition here.

 

 

Sam returns to Salem, and Marlena asks her to come to hers and Don's wedding. Don isn't sure if he wants her there. On the plane trip, Sam sits next to Joanne's lawyer, Jerry Reinhart. They hit it off, and agree to a date. I feel like this is the last we'll hear about this, but since SOD brought it up, we'll see.

 

Marlena is apparently the only one who can console Depressed Donna, who whines endlessly about how she's to blame for Don and Marlena not yet being married and what a terrible daughter she is and how she's worthless and only causes her loved ones pain and wah wah wah et cetera, et cetera...

 

And Marlena and Don may have AGAIN postpone their wedding, as Marlena hears from her brother (Marlena has a brother? That's one missed opportunity there) that her mother, Martha is in hospital with pneumonia, so she flies out to Colorado to see her. Cue more whining from Donna.

 

Turns out Martha has chronic emphysema, and thus is in critical condition. Don decides to fly to Colorado to be with Marlena, who bursts into tears of relief upon seeing him at the hospital there. Don embraces her, promising they'll be married as soon as Martha recovers, which apparently is in two weeks.

 

The day of the wedding is fraught with more nonsense drama. In a moment nearing self-parody, Marlena's car battery dies, Mickey has a flat tire, and Martha has something of a relapse of her illness, but everyone manages to pull it together in time for Don and Marlena to finally take their vows.

 

 

 

Julie confronts Maggie about Steve's accusation that she and Doug had been heading towards an affair. Maggie reassures Julie that all they shared were mutual problems. But Maggie remains depressed, and returns to the farm to figure out whether she even belongs in Salem with Mickey or not. Despite previously saying he was too busy to join her, Mickey does find time to make the trip out to see his wife. But Maggie's icy with him, instead spending time with Jay Livingstone, the farm hand who's been tending to the farm in Maggie's absence.

 

Mickey, fed up of Maggie's iciness, confronts her about the sense he gets that Maggie blames him for losing Janice. Maggie admits she does, and wishes Mickey had put more pressure on Joanne to leave earlier on before things got out of control. Mickey retorts that it was Maggie's neurotic behaviour and alcoholism that lost them the case, and points out that Maggie doesn't even want him to touch her since Janice left. Maggie, once again hysterical, blurts out that it doesn't matter anyway since he can't give her any babies. WHOOPS!

 

Maggie stays a few more days at the farm without Mickey, before returning, determined to make her marriage work. Mickey is skeptical, and thinks Maggie is only interested in staying married out of a sense of obligation. Maggie tries to open up with Mickey, and Mickey makes it clear that he wants Maggie to really desire him again. Maggie, feeling pressured from all sides, blurts out that she's trying her best, but all Mickey does is complain. This tension carries on until Don and Marlena's wedding, where, swept up in the moment, they go home and get into bed.

 

Their newfound peace lasts about five minutes before they get a letter from Joanne, stating that she's soon to be married and wants Janice permanently, to be adopted by her new fiancé. Maggie refuses to let this happen, and Mickey vows to fight Joanne tooth and nail at the final custody hearing.

 

 

 

 

Doug and Amanda discuss the jewellery box (this thing is the freaking Fay's Cameo of 1978-79, I swear), and Amanda is certain it's a fake. Doug asks Amanda not to share this with Julie, and instead confronts Steve with the information, which Steve responds to by holding Doug at gunpoint because Doug is withholding Trask's cheque from him, and Steve won't leave for Paris without it because he needs it for the loan sharks antiques. Kelly, one of the staff at Doug's Place whose role I don't actually know, arrives to see Doug, and Steve panics, pushes Doug out the way and leaves the club. 

 

Steve comes back later, realizing what an idiot he's being. Doug tells Steve he won't expose him, if Steve at least tells Julie about the fake boxes being fake. Julie takes the news as well as can be expected, but is still worried about refunding the customers' money for the fake boxes, and the impact on the antiques shop. Steve agrees to write a promissory note to repay the debt, though I'm not sure how that'll work when he still owes the loan sharks and now can't afford to go back to France since he has to give that cheque back to Trask. Guess he won't be marrying that Mimi woman after all. Doug also demands Steve sign a full confession to everything he's tried to pull since returning to Salem. Doug says if Steve ever tries anything again, he'll not hesitate to use it.

 

Doug and Julie reconnect after they're rid of Steve, and Julie tells Doug she wants to try for a baby with him before he scoops her up in his arms and they try for one.

 

But, of course...

 

So much for Rebecca LeClair's new life in Japan. Robert gets a call from the Japanese Embassy that Rebecca and Johnny were killed in a plane crash, but they're unsure if Dougie was with them. He later finds out Dougie is safe at home. Robert takes the next flight out to retrieve the boy. Once Neil finds out, the possibility of the truth coming out about baby Dougie being revealed to be Doug's weighs heavily on his mind.

 

Theresa takes off on tour around this time, and Trish takes over temporarily as resident caterwauler at Doug's Place. Julie is once again annoyed by this news, since she hates what Trish did to David. When Robert returns, he doesn't inform Theresa, as he worries a young, vital woman like her would have no interest being saddled with another woman's baby. (Come on, Robert! You're so damned insecure!)

 

When Theresa does return, she's hurt that Robert wouldn't reach out to her with the news of Rebecca and Johnny's death. Robert doesn't want to tie Theresa down, and tells Theresa to rejoin the group she was touring with. Looks like Theresa is the first casualty of Elizabeth Harrower's run.

 

 

 

 

Amanda returns to Doug and Julie's again, still complaining that Greg has no time for her and she's fed up, and insecure. Immediately, Steve, who, for some reason, is still in town, immediately takes a shine to Amanda. However, so does Neil, who, upon finding out Amanda's back in town without her husband, takes every opportunity to remind her of their past romance in the hopes of rekindling it. Gotta love the sleaze's spidey-sense.

 

 

 

Trish appears to be living with Sam in LA, who lets her know that Jeri is in Salem, and so is "Timmy". No, I don't know how Sam knows this, but I guess Marlena passed on the info by phone. TIT doesn't give me much info here. Trish also tells her manager that she did "bad things" to get the money to return to LA, so Italy must've really been rough if she's turning to sex work (because you just know that's what they're implying) to get out of there.

 

Stephanie and David start sleeping together, and when Trish makes it to Salem, now certain of Jeri and "Timmy"'s whereabouts, David insists there's nothing left between them, and won't let Trish near their son. Apparently the fisticuffs with SSH meant that David fired Jeri as Scotty's babysitter, hiring instead a woman named Mrs. Goodman. Trish plays nice with the new babysitter, winning some time with her son, only to have Mrs. Goodman find her a little too attached, and take Scotty away for a nap. Later on, Trish stops by David's to drop off a toy for Scotty, only to find Stephanie answering the door. Stephanie takes immense pleasure in telling Trish she's not welcome near Scotty, that David loves Stephanie now, and that David proposed to her. They'll be married as soon as David gets his divorce from Trish. Trish asks that Stephanie at least give "Timmy" the toy she bought him. It doesn't say whether Stephanie does or not.

 

Stephanie is anxious as well, and David tells her she's been talking in her sleep (more dreams of her car crash in 1977 while trying to evade police with a hitchhiker in tow, it appears). Her anxiety doesn't extend to the workplace, though, where she's now been promoted to Bob's executive assistant in Linda's absence. This bothers Mary, who worries Stephanie will now try to make a similar power play to what Linda did when in the same position.

 

To celebrate her promotion, Stephanie and David go out to Doug's Place. Except it happens to be the same night Trish makes her return performance. David is moved to tears, which doesn't help assuage Stephanie's insecurities about Trish's return. 

 

Trish admits to Doug and Robert that she regrets leaving the way she did, and asks Doug to talk to David on her behalf, hoping for a reconcilliation, or, at the very least, access to her son. He will have no part in it, but sees how regretful Trish is for leaving taking "Timmy" to LA. Finally got an explanation for why Trish left. Apparently she was desperate to make a proper career for herself on her own terms, and felt trapped by being a domestic, married woman. Gotta love the progressive take Ann Marcus had of women's liberation, eh? Make Trish look as irresponsible and selfish as possible!

 

Soon afterward, Trish pays David a visit at his office at Anderson. She asks David to visitation with "Timmy" and asks to have him that weekend. David is astounded by her chutzpah, and declares once again that he will not allow Trish to see Scotty for the weekend, or at any other time, largely since he can't guarantee she won't take off with the boy again. Trish tries again to explain and apologize, but David shoots her down and demands she leave, as he's busy with work. Trish tells David he cannot keep her from her son (the irony).

 

Stephanie pushes David at this point to start divorce proceedings, and David agrees. It's time. He calls Trish to his apartment to talk, but gets held up at the office. Trish arrives before they can reschedule, and Stephanie once again takes delight in spilling the beans. Trish, of course, thinks David is being pressured to do so by Stephanie, but Stephanie laughs in Trish's face, telling her that it's only sensible thing to do, since David is "obviously" over Trish. Julie isn't so sure, suggesting David take his time with the divorce, as it may backfire when it comes time to work out custody of Scotty if he comes off as if he's divorcing Trish as a punishment. David, on the other hand, worries that Stephanie may not be willing to wait for him if he drags this out, but agrees to follow his mother's advice. 

 

Jeri, meanwhile, tries to convince Trish to hire Jerry Reinhart as her lawyer for the divorce, hoping Trish will push for the divorce so that Trish wins custody, knowing that David's acrimony towards Trish could tip the scales in her daughter's favour.

 

Trish isn't convinced, still hoping David will change his mind, but ultimately decides to proceed with hiring Reinhart after Maggie sadly insists that a child's place is with her mother. Julie hears about Stephanie's pressuring David to get the divorce over with, and tries to convince her to back off. Stephanie lashes out at Julie for interfering, and stubbornly proclaims she will do the exact opposite. David decides to get some professional advice one way or another, and consults with Mickey, who confirms that David's affair with Stephanie, despite his extended estrangement with Trish could absolutely hurt his chances for custody of Scotty.

 

Jerry Reinhart agrees, and tells Trish that if she could get a witness to confirm David and Stephanie's affair, it could help her chances in court. Jeri takes it upon herself to do just that, by bursting into David's apartment while Stephanie and David are gettin' busy in the living room, and when David demands she get out, Jeri lays into him for how he's treating Trish. David fights back, telling Jeri he wishes he'd never met either of them. Jeri accuses Stephanie of homewrecking, but David cools off enough to tell Stephanie not to take the bait, and pushes Jeri out of his apartment. Jeri pushes back, calling David a "punk", then takes off on her own.

 

Trish is less-than-thrilled by her mother taking matters into her own hands, and lays into Jeri, worried that her outburst may hamper her chances in court. She also visits David, and apologizes to David on her mother's behalf. But David isn't buying what Trish is selling, and tells her that Scotty hasn't missed her at all, and loves being around Stephanie just fine. Trish can't resist sniping to David about Stephanie, but David won't hear it, and sends Trish packing once again.

 

Trish decides, on Doug's advice, to take an apartment away from Jeri so that she can't interfere. Trish does just that -- across the hall from David (weeeee!), and David hires yet another new babysitter for Scotty: DONNA! Yes, somehow Donna has taken enough of a break from the all-consuming task of pitying herself to get a job babysitting Scotty. Trish takes advantage of this, befriending Donna so she can secretly see "her Timmy" when David's out.

 

 

 

 

Margo is one of about three people happy to see Trish in Salem, because if she dies, at least Mike will have someone to fall back on, so, once she's released from UH, she instructs Mike to go make up with her (gag). Someone needs to tell this woman that being terminally ill is not a personality. Margo and Mike discuss Margo's dreams of buying a house, but Margo won't let Mike give up college or taking on another job to pay for one, so Bill and Laura give Mike the money for a down payment instead (must be nice). He surprises Margo with a house to boost her spirits, instead she freaks out and tells him he's playing games and she doesn't want the house and runs out crying.

 

 

 

Laura is now not only having vision problems, but also dizzy spells. She's hiding them from Bill. She's also hiding her frustration with Bill, after he and Kate volunteer together to help flood victims out of town. She overcompensates to a degree when Bill returns, giving him a passionate night of romance, but her headaches and dizzy spells continue, and she begins snapping at everyone. Bill finally gets fed up and demands she go through extensive neurological testing to figure out exactly what is wrong with her. Turns out, it's just anemia. Laura feels like she wasted everyone's time for making them worry for nothing.

 

 

 

Turns out Linda's amnesia is worse than we thought. She apparently struggles to remember Melissa, and things aren't improving at all, frustrating her. She asks Bill to have Melissa visit her in the hospital, but Bill doesn't want to upset Melissa and refuses. Linda calls Melissa at home, instead, to her daughter's delight. 

 

Mary, meanwhile, is at University Hospital, consulting with Bill on Linda's amnesia, as she's certain Linda's faking it to try to keep her hooks in Bob as long as possible (which, I admit, would be a very Linda thing to do). Bill wants to run more X-rays to see how Linda's recovery is going, to give a better timeline for when Linda's memories may return, and Mary meets with Linda in her hospital room. Linda finds her "lovely but troubled", so presumably Mary kept her fangs inside her mouth. At least around Linda. Mary did have a go at Neil, however.

 

Linda is well enough, despite her amnesia, to return home. Bob stupidly agrees to let her return home with him, and pretend nothing is wrong between them, as he feels guilty for causing her fall to begin with. Melissa, in conversation with her mother, recounts the argument between Linda and Bob that caused her fall. Linda is troubled by the news, and recalls nothing. However, no one will tell her what she and Bob were arguing about that night. Even Bob evades her questions, being intentionally vague as he doesn't think the time is right.

 

Linda can't figure out why so many people in town can't stand her. She asks Mary to explain the animosity she senses with people about town. Mary hesitates, but eventually tells Linda she was a nightmare to work for, and only married Bob for his money. Before they can get any further into the conversation, Bob shows up and Mary pipes down. Once Mary leaves, however, Linda confronts Bob with what Mary told her. Bob is incensed at Mary's interference, but Linda tells Bob that she's sick of being treated like a child, and wants to know the whole truth about where things stood before her accident. Bob only says that it's his duty to take care of her. Linda retorts that she's in love with someone else, but doesn't say who.

 

Shortly thereafter, she calls Mickey up and asks him to come over. What she DOES remember is how much in love she was with him, and all the details of their past affair, wondering if their affair is why Bob is so upset with her. Mickey is...not interested, and makes it clear that that is not the case. Their affair was a decade ago, he is no longer married to Laura, and is now married to Maggie. Linda is furious that Mickey didn't marry HER after divorcing Laura, and demands Mickey help her recover her memories. Mickey is at a loss. He's not in any position to help Linda, and insists to Linda that his marriage to Maggie is a good one, if only to get Linda off his back.

 

At Don and Marlena's wedding, Linda begins to regain some memories of her "courtship" with Bob, and how she pitted Tommy against Bob in order to manipulate Bob into marriage for access to Bob's money and power for herself. She leaves a note for Bob during the reception and leaves without him. The note tells Bob that things cannot continue the way they are, and she needs to go away for awhile to piece things together on her own.

 

 

 

Chris meets with Bob, insisting that his signature was forged on the carburator blueprints bill of sale, and that either Stephanie or Linda was the culprit. Inclined to believe Chris, particularly where Linda is concerned, Bob accepts Chris back into the fold, and is pleased to hear that Chris and Mary have agreed to their three months trial of living together before marrying. 

 

 

 

 

@Titus Andronicus I'm watching a partial episode from early February 1979, and in there is a scene between Mary and Chris where Mary asks about his past. It confirms Chris was in Vietnam in the army. So I'm now 100% certain that Chris was supposed to be the one with the Vietnamese lover who interrupts his wedding to Mary. I feel like how poorly the Don/Donna story was written, plus the suits' reticence to do another interracial romance story after David/Valerie, thrown in with Ann Marcus' stubborn stance on telling the story, was the final nail in Ann Marcus' tenure on the show.

 

 

I admit, this is a much longer post than before, and a lot less pithy than what I usually write, but...wow, what a difference! Elizabeth Harrower is really setting things up to be a far more emotionally intense show than what Ann Marcus had written. The difference in the intensity of everyone's interactions, the tightening up of the stories. I'm so far impressed. Now, whether this lasts remains to be seen, and if @Franko is correct, the wheels may fall off again rather quickly, but I'm really enjoying a lot more of what's being built here, despite Jeri being written as something of a basketcase, though she's always been a bit of a loose cannon.

 

It seems to me that Ann Marcus was setting up Laura to have a brain tumour storyline, but Elizabeth Harrower, thankfully, stopped that one with a quickness. Kate's involvement in Bill and Laura's story seems to be once again diminishing, if not totally disappearing. Kate is still appearing in episodes, however, so this may not be the end of her yet.

 

I also see the discovery of Stephanie's identity has been backburnered in favour of highlighting her relationship with David, and her rivalry with Trish. Probably not the worst idea, though I do wish the reveal of her identity had been a little more explosive in the end and less of an afterthought in the rush to be rid of the character.

 

Guess we'll see what happens as March goes on.

Edited November 5, 2020 by beebs

[Titus Andronicus]

Huh. So it is Chris.That means Ann Marcus essentially wanted to do the same storyline as Don/Donna, only switching up the country of origin.

 

It looks like Harrower was trying to move on from the icky storylines as quickly as possible, both Donna and Linda. At least everyone's acting pretty logically at this point. Even the stupid Steven storyline is doing something.

 

We'll see.

[carolineg]

That would be nice.  I always wanted JA/Don to come back in the mid 90's when Roman left to woo Marlena while John was with Kristen and help Mickey out with some cases but I am not sure if Don is even part of Marlena's current canon.  We sometimes here about DJ's death, but never about her past with Don. 

 

Also Marlena had a brother in the 70's?  Amazing fact..  Marlena is one of those characters that really had no ties or family (she should be included in that thread) until she married Roman.  She had Sam, her dayplayer parents, and a cousin Trista, but they could have made more of her family over the years.  But I guess it doesn't matter because she's now related to practically everyone in the cast in some way.

[Paul Raven]

Re Marlena's brother-maybe that was a misprint and should have said father?

As for Harrower over Marcus, how often have we seen new writers come in and make immediate improvements as they settle in before spiralling downwards once their own stories take shape?

[carolineg]

 

I would also assume it's a misprint.  Or maybe just a one off mention of a brother.   I have never seen or heard any evidence that Marlena had another sibling besides Sam.   I assume Marlena was fairly popular from the get-go, so it's weird the show didn't give her more family and basically only gave her Sam because DH had a real life twin, who probably should never had been killed off, even if it was great story at the time.  It was short-sighted for sure.  Sam could have been years of drama, but you needed Andrea Hall and maybe she wasn't wanting to act long term.  Also, again, not super relevant, but I always could clearly tell the difference between Deidre/Andrea.  They clearly aren't identical twins (plastic surgery jokes aside) so it's funny the show made them so.

[Forever8]

Deidre and Andrea are Mirror Twins 

 

[Paul Raven]

And Marlena's father attended the wedding but no brother.

 

Looking back on Ann Marcus' run a few observations.

Coming in she had the challenge of dealing with coming up with story for Bill/Laura,Doug/Julie and Mickey/Maggie - all popular couples who had fought the good fight for wedded bliss with the pressure of keeping them front burner.

 

For Doug/Julie she went with the Larry Atwood murder (agree that Jeri should have been the killer-more dramatically resonant and also a way of cutting down the large cast and getting rid of an older character)

Then when that was resolved there was the arrival of Steve who manipulated a trusting Julie.

 

Bill/Laura got the professional pressure story leading to the Kate/Bill attraction.

 

Mickey/Maggie dealt with the wife beating story followed by the Janice /alcoholism story.

 

The problem to me was that those stories,whilst achieving the aim of keeping those couples front burner -when concluded - left those couples exactly where they were at the beginning.

Julie's rape ,which could have devastated her and had long term repercussions was brushed over.

Bill didn't cheat on Laura and they reconciled.

Maggie stopped drinking and after a brief crisis got over the loss of Janice.

 

So pretty much Harrower had the same issues facing her with those couples -the path she took at least with two of them were much more drastic with long term fall out.

 

Also worth noting was that Marcus only introduced one successful character in Chris 

 

Looking forward to others' opinions.

[AbcNbc247]

I try to give Ann Marcus a break. This was around the time that the younger character's mandate came down from the network and when you have the execs. constantly pressuring you to fill the show with new young characters and immediately place them in front burner storylines, sometimes the writing suffers. Plus, not only did she have some big shoes to fill, pretty much every major storyline that had driven the show for years had reached there turning point just the year before she got there. But it still seems to me like some of the characters were dumbed down, and like you said @Paul Raven, there was almost no change in any of the characters relationships or lives once their story arcs ended. And she clearly had an obsession with Chris Kositchek, but then again every soap writer prefers their own characters over somebody else's. I wonder what Pat Falken Smith would have written had she been kept on the show for another few years.

 

My question is, what was it about Ann Marcus that made Betty Corday want her on DAYS so badly?

 

Edited November 5, 2020 by AbcNbc247

[beebs]

@AbcNbc247 my guess is the cache of nabbing a big prime time writer who worked with Norman Lear was too big a temptation for her. You know how daytime has this self-esteem issue and always sees themselves as inferior quality to primetime.

 

It's just too bad she didn't look at where the characters were and spin out from there, instead of looking to external forces for drama. And it's surprising that she didn't really utilize Marie, especially considering they needed younger Hortons and she is the youngest second-gen Horton with some major backstory but a long gap since she left Salem that could've been utilized. Maybe bringing back Susan, aging up Anne to a teen and using her in the Anderson drama could've been useful, with Susan struggling as a single parent while working full time. 

 

The wasted opportunities in the late 70s are startling.