DAYS: Behind the Scenes, Articles/Photos

[DRW50]

@JAS0N47 thank you for the cast photos. So nice to see them one after another.

 

55 years. Pretty amazing.

[Franko]

I mean, would you want to hang out with Margo more than you'd have to?

 

Darn it, now I'm picturing Laura dangling Jennifer out the window, a la Michael and Blanket Jackson.

 

I'd love to see how they executed this stunt.

 

A plot device only a mother could write.

 

As much as I wish Laura had a better exit storyline, I'm dying laughing as I read this. In my mind, Laura's reading the news or filing her nails, she's that unconcerned.

 

In my mind, the Julie story comes across like failed Emmy bait.

[Paul Raven]

 The initial scenario is months if not years of painful surgeries with no guarantee of success thus causing Julie untold angst  and then for story purposes  presto Julie is back to normal with no after effects. Bit of an insult to real burn victims and complete turnaround of what had been previously established.

[Khan]

Laura's exit story reads so awful and bizarre to me.  In retrospect, they would have been better off just killing her off in some accident or something.

[jam6242]

@Franko I think I have a magazine article about filming the scenes of Julie getting burned.  I'll try to find it.  You can see a few seconds of it here, at around 6:12.

 

Edited November 10, 2020 by jam6242

[Franko]

The stunt looked better than I expected. I wasn't expecting they'd show so much of it.

[Titus Andronicus]

 

Yeah. I'm impressed.

 

I agree that it feels like Emmy bait. The Laura part is so unnecessary for it. Julie didn't need Laura's weird meddling to be insecure and depressed. At least everybody wised up pretty quickly that something is off about Laura.

 

We'll see if Julie begins to eat up every storyline or if Harrower had any restraint. 

 

Amanda's beginning to grow on me a bit for all the relationships she's juggling. Linda remains Queen, subject to a potential challenge by Phyllis.

[Franko]

With Mary and Stephanie as the dysfunctional princesses.

[JAS0N47]

 

That was the first time the show ever used a stunt double.

[beebs]

Yeah, I'm actually impressed by it. I'll say one thing for Harrower's DAYS, she certainly took the trouble to SHOW, not tell the action, and it was a better show for it. I think the influence of Y&R and GH around this time meant DAYS really had to step up their game in terms of visual effects, and in some ways, action in their stories to keep up, despite their stories remaining FAR less action-based, and far more dialogue-heavy than what GH would do.

 

Thank you @jam6242 for posting the clip! 

 

LOL @Franko, yeah, Laura's reactions are so incongruous, it reads almost like black comedy, except I know full well it wasn't actually played that way on-screen. I suspect SOD's writing doesn't help that assessment. They've never quite caught the tone of the show quite the way DSN did, and I can't quite tell why, but when you actually watch the episodes, the writing is much stronger than their writeups suggests. I feel like they gloss over a LOT of the subtlety from the dialogue in a way DSN didn't.

 

 

ANYWAY, let's get to June...

 

Julie finally listens to the doctor from out of town and returns to Salem for surgery. Doug lavishes her with attention, and reassurances that he'll always love her, regardless of her appearance. Julie admits to having contemplated suicide, but didn't want to leave Doug with a lifetime of guilt.

 

Doug takes her to the hospital to prep for surgery. Stephanie, of all people, comes to visit her. Stephanie lets her guard down, earnestly revealing to Julie that she knows what Julie's going through, and reassuring her that she will be alright, and to trust her doctors. Not making the connection as to WHY Stephanie can relate so well, Julie is relieved and in good spirits, regardless. She feels she's known Stephanie all her life (I could offer a few explanations for that). The visit even reassures Doug that Julie's back to normal, and encourages Julie to recover soon so that they can get back to the bedroom and try for that baby they've been working towards.

 

That child will apparently not be Dougie, according to Robert, who draws up paperwork saying that, if anything should happen to Robert, Dougie would go not to Doug and Julie, but to Robert's sister in France. Why? Because Doug and Julie are too preoccupied to take care of the boy. 

 

Julie preps for surgery, and a slew of visitors come by to butter her up with endless compliments about how beautiful she is inside and out. I'm surprised they don't throw her a parade with fireworks as well. Regardless, this is the confidence boost Julie needs, under the circumstances. Especially since Laura's campaign of pessimism continues, with Laura even warning Julie as she's wheeled in for surgery that "you have scars on your psyche that no doctor can erase." (For fvck's sake, Laura! Just put the gun to her head already!)

 

Marlena, thankfully, counteracts Laura's doomsday scenario, telling her she has the strength to pull through.

 

The skin graft is a success, so now Laura decides it's time to start attacking Julie's psyche again! This time, going after her plans to have Doug's baby. She suggests that Hope will resent Julie for having Doug's baby, leaving less time for Hope and making Hope jealous and resentful of Julie.

 

Dr. Goddard, Julie's plastic surgeon, informs her that the surgery was successful, and that there's a good chance her body will accept the grafts. Stupid Julie makes a point of lavishing praise on Laura for helping her face reality, and that she has complete faith in her lunatic Aunt.

 

 

 

Jordan informs Bill of Laura's hallucination, but Bill is dismissive, even believing Jordan to be trying to steal Laura's job. Marie sets him straight, and Jordan encourages Bill to talk to Tom about Laura's condition before the whole hospital is put at risk.

 

Laura then bursts into Marlena's office with a stack of casefiles, dumps them on Marlena's desk, and declares that they're Marlena's problem now, for Laura is going to work with disturbed children in a clinic. She tells Marlena she feels she had a major breakthrough with Julie because Julie made it back to Salem with all limbs still attached. She then goes home, rips a few medical journals off the shelves, and scrawls all over them in red pen, announcing to Rosie and Bill that she's going to begin a whole new career, and wants to celebrate her (alleged) accomplishment with Julie's case.

 

The next day, Laura completely forgets having filled Marlena's desk with paperwork, and accuses Marlena of STEALING it! Then, when alone, tells herself that Julie's better off dead and that she never wants to see her again, and that Julie would be a better person if she learned to live with her scars. Laura, getting ready for bed, then proceeds to hallucinate being burned just like Julie, and begins screaming in agony. Bill rushes in, but Laura plays it off, claiming she just closed a drawer on her finger...which is a perfectly normal reaction to closing a drawer on your finger. I let out sustained bloodcurdling screams at momentary pain regularly. Don't you?

 

Jordan insists that Laura needs to be put in Bayview, not heading up a psychiatric ward at a major hospital. Marlena draws a line there, still dealing with lingering traces of PTSD from when Sam locked HER in Bayview, she begins to make excuses for Laura's behaviour, downplaying it to try to prevent her friend from experiencing the hell she did. Jordan retorts that Laura will cause more harm to her patients if left to run amok, noting her condition, if left untreated, will likely continue to deteriorate.

 

And deteriorate it does. After driving Mike to loan sharks, Laura's Ghost Mother decides she's Marie Kondo and thinks that having small children about the house doesn't spark joy. She convinces Laura that Bill would be much happier if he didn't have a small child to deal with. So she tells Donna, who's babysitting Jennifer as Rosie isn't available that day, that Laura will take Jennifer for a walk, and to stay at the house and not answer the phone. So Donna does, until the umpteenth call from Bill, who she finally fills in on all the bizarre things that happened, and the fact that Laura and Jennifer have been away all day.

 

So what did Laura do with Jennifer? She put her on a Greyhound bound for Dayton, as one does with a three-year-old. Laura then returns home, and accuses Donna of killing Jennifer, before lunging at her! Just as quickly as she does, Bill steps in. Laura instantly calms right down and wonders what all the commotion is about, then stammers and mutters to herself, wondering where Jennifer is. Bill files a missing person's report at this point.

 

Marlena arrives, and tries to walk Laura through her day. Laura insists she was working at UH all day (she wasn't), and insists Donna has Jennifer, randomly screaming out to Donna to bring Jennifer back at once. Marlena, exhausted from these exercises, and the stress of having to deal with her friend's extended breakdown, asks Jordan to take over the case. She feels too closely connected to the case to be objective. Jordan, in consult with Marlena about the case, suggests that the voice instructing Laura is likely an extension of her subconscious, and if that voice is of her mother, whom she KNOWS was insane, and Laura allows that voice to guide her actions, Laura must also have stepped over the line into insanity herself.

 

In Dayton, the bus driver asks Jennifer why she's sitting alone and where her mother is. Jennifer explains that her mother put her on the bus alone. The driver immediately turns her over to the police. The next day, the driver recognizes Jennifer's face in the newspaper, and tells them that she's the girl he found on his bus. The cops fly Jenn back to Salem. Laura greets Jennifer like any sane and rational mother would, tearfully, and vowing they'll never be apart again. Bill stupidly sees this as a sign that Laura's back to normal and just needed a nap or six. Marie is, as usual, the only person in the house with any sense or functioning brain matter, and tells Bill that Laura PROBABLY still needs to get some help cos like...sending a pre-schooler alone on a bus to God-knows-where and then trying to kill the babysitter after accusing her of killing your daughter MIGHT be slightly more serious than needing a couple days off.

 

Laura agrees. So she orders the same drug that her mother used in order to treat herself. I know I say this a lot, but this will SURELY end well!

 

 

Phyllis' new boyfriend is trying to convince Phyllis to sell her shares in Anderson. Neil worries she's being taken advantage of, somehow, and expresses as much to Bob. Bob has his trusty PI on call to look into it for Neil's sake.

 

 

 

Mike is this month's Ultimate Dumbass, spending $400 on a new jacket for Margo, who doesn't realize that he doesn't have any money because he's already up to his neck in debt from trying to keep her happy. After this, Loony Laura snaps at him, demanding the $500 she lent him for the house back because "you can't just keep borrowing money and thinking it's a gift". Mike does the dumbest thing and goes to a loan shark, then pays a bewildered Laura back, who wonders why Mike's so insistent on paying this back when it's a gift.

 

 

 

David keeps harping at Trish about how she pissed off to LA with Scotty. Trish wishes he'd shut up about it and forgive her already. David decides he will and kisses her lovingly. Barf.

 

 

 

Chris continues to prod Amanda to divorce Greg. She FINALLY listens, going to Mickey to ask him to file the papers, stating that she and Greg are completely out of touch with each other now. Mickey suggests marriage counselling, but Amanda stands firm, it's time. She also sheepishly admits there's another man...

 

Their next night out, Chris and Amanda are on a picnic in the moonlight. Relieved that she's finally setting the ball in motion to escape her marriage to Greg, and feeling genuinely happy and in love with Chris, Amanda finally feels comfortable to sleep with Chris, and they have a nice little al fresco romp, presumably finally relieving Chris' blue balls that were making him so pushy all these weeks.

 

 

 

The cause of Donna's sudden influx of cash is revealed: She isn't paying for the things she brings home. 

 

She goes to Chez Julie to buy Marlena a birthday gift, and Steve is working the shop. He shows her some rings, and then gets called away for a moment. So Donna takes it upon herself to slip one in her purse and leave. Charming.

 

Donna claims it's an old family heirloom, and Don and Marlena buy into that load of nonsense easily.

 

Later, at Doug's Place, Steve compliments Marlena on the ring, then sees Donna and makes the connection. He makes a mental note to check the inventory log at the shop later. Donna's not lookin' so slick anymore. Steve checks the records, then confronts Don with the evidence. Don has a hard time believing it (why, I don't know), but once he compares Marlena's ring with a picture of it Steve kept at the shop, he quickly write a cheque to cover for Donna's sticky fingers, and asks Steve to keep Donna's continued...teenageness quiet. Don then lays into the brat when she gets home. Donna eventually confesses and goes back to whining and begging Don to forgive her and promises to never ever do anything like that again she swears to God amen.

 

 

NEW DAYPLAYER DRAMA! Marlena's patient Lester Hall admits to her that he embezzled funds from the same Harold Trask that Steve swindled money out of when he was going on his lavish antique trips to France. Lester says he was doing it to help a cash-strapped teacher. Now, unbeknownst to Lester or Marlena, Trask knows about it, and is pressing charges, with Don as his attorney! Prepare for more nonsense drama in 5...4...3...

 

 

 

Putzy Bob's demeanour thaws further toward Linda. He wants to spare Melissa the pain of her parents' divorce, and suggests he and Linda return to sharing the same bed. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I feel this mix between feeling intense pathos for Laura, knowing that a lot of mental illness plays out in similarly bizarre ways (in full honesty, it hits close to home, a friend is dealing with similar hallucinations right now and it's...frankly, debilitating), and busting out laughing at the absurdity of how this is playing out. I have a strong feeling, judging from the 6-19-79 episode, that the subject was treated with a degree of respect that SOD just can't capture, but the twists and turns of the story are honestly just...stupefying. And the fact that no one is bothering to tell Julie that, ummm....maybe your Aunt isn't actually helping you right now? Blows my mind!

 

I like that they're once again dropping hints about Stephanie's identity. I would've loved to see that play itself out naturally, and how the relationship evolved between her and Mary once Mary found out who Stephanie really was, and that she was her sister. Killing her off was a stupid decision, and really hampered any attempt to keep the Anderson branch of the show on the canvas after 1980, Chris Kositchek notwithstanding.

 

I do like how Harrower is writing Amanda. She was always very much the victim under PFS. Always pingponging between Neil and Greg, and never really seeming to have much agency of her own. It's refreshing to see her being written as taking charge of her own life, and choosing someone who actually seems to appreciate her and make her feel special as a person, as opposed to being a prize to claim.

 

Donna's stories stay stupid. The less said about them, the better.

Edited November 10, 2020 by beebs

[te.]

The biggest issue with Laura's story is obvious - she's acting so nuts at this point that it requires most of the cast to play stupid. Only Jordan and Marie seem to be acting with a sense of logic; at least they are trying with Marlena still reeling from being stuck in Bayview herself. As has been said, if it actually was playing out like a black comedy it might've worked, but it's obviously meant to be taken seriously but the writing of the other characters reactions to Laura's actions doesn't reflect that.

[teplin]

I saw all of this play out intermittently, whenever I had a day off from school. I remember Laura putting Jennifer on the bus -- it was a rare location shoot. Not exactly glamorous, the location being the interior of a bus. I thought the ideas behind the Julie story were quite intriguing. A woman who had traded on her beauty, or at least benefited from it -- just about every man in Salem was after Julie at one point -- facing the loss of what she considered her most precious asset. A psychiatrist who magnified rather than allayed her patient's fears and insecurities. Because I saw relatively little of it play out on screen, I didn't see the day-to-day interactions that should have made it obvious to people that Laura was losing her grip, long before they finally accepted it. The writing made more sense when you saw less of it, I guess.

 

I have to confess that I never cottoned to Rosemary Forsyth as Laura. (Susan Flannery is tough to follow, even if there was an actress or two in between.) And it's so odd that I can't remember Lanna Saunders' Marie being involved in the story at all ... I would have sworn she wasn't even on the canvas yet (and I really liked her!).

 

 

 

 

[asafi]

Clips of late 60's and early 70's are so rare.. I really wish to see some scenes of Julie and Susan Hunter , I understand they were mortal enemies. 

[AbcNbc247]

IIRC, in the 1994 episodes Bill revealed that around the time Laura left Jennifer on the bus was when he started sleeping with Kate (Roberts). In retrospect, as much as I liked the storyline, it really did ruin the character of Bill a lot more than he already had been.

[Franko]

Speaking of which, I seem to recall Jennifer (under Missy) fearing she'd inherit mental illness, but did she and Laura (under JLB) ever talk about the events of 1979?