DAYS: Behind the Scenes, Articles/Photos

[vetsoapfan]

 

Personally, after growing up on Irna Phillips-style soaps, I loved and preferred the long, drawn-out and intimate scenes. To me, under Gloria Monty, GH was too abrupt and choppy. I wanted to see people TALK, and have them explore and reveal their feelings and motivation.

 

 

 

It's curious that there are no references to Flippen in the newspaper articles you found. Although she only lasted a brief time (about a month), she was definitely listed atop the list of writers for a while in 1980. After Laemmle took over, Flippen's name disappeared completely; she was not even listed among the dialogue writers. She goes down as a minor footnote in DAYS' history, like Lorraine Broderick, who also lasted for about a month as the show's headwriter before disappearing.

 

Personally, I found Flippen's work to be better than Ann Marcus' and particularly Nina Laemmle's.

[Paul Raven]

I get what you are saying and agree that sometimes longer scenes are necessary to dig deeper into character and motivation. However, sometimes those longer scenes were underwritten and a throwback to the live/live on tape days when scenes had to be a certain length regardless.

 Once VCRs were available the temptation to fast forward took hold.

Nowadays scenes are often of the blink and miss 'em category which is quite annoying.

I think a balance between the two is ideal.

[beebs]

Thank you SO MUCH for this clip @jam6242. I do feel the scene runs long, but the transitions help me retain my attention. These characters are so fascinating, and to know that it's all in this huge state of flux is just wild to me. And those changes are about to start.

 

The Andersons' actresses, Stanger and Barnett in particular, are fiery. I really enjoy reading about them because they're both fine actresses, with complex characters that fascinate me. So I'm a bit biased in being along for the ride, even if their stories have a lot of stopping and starting going on, particularly later on. The thing to remember is that the Andersons started off very much enmeshed in the Hortons' stories, as they were introduced as taking Julie in when her husband Scott died after a beam fell on him during construction of the Anderson plant. Julie then married Bob, and Phyllis married Neil. Brooke (now Stephanie) arrived on the show as David's college girlfriend. So they had more ties to the show's core that have been more or less severed, particularly during Harrower's run, which stupidly ended David and Stephanie's reunion instead of heating up the Trish/Stephanie rivalry during what seemed an inevitable custody battle for Scotty. I think too many opportunities were wasted under Harrower with the Andersons, and they became so islanded that it just made the most sense to ship them out. 

 

But I will NEVER understand the move Harrower is about to make.

 

Unless Harrower was under Corday/Rabin's orders to do what she's about to do to steer the ship in time for Laemmle/RBF, she 120% shat the bed with this twist that comes during this month's breakdown. You'll all see what I mean shortly. The absolutely STUPIDEST thing Harrower could've done, and now I see exactly why they had to kill the Anderson story afterwards.

 

 

Shall we? February 1980!

 

 

Mickey fires Linda, because it's now a conflict of interest since Bob intends to divorce her, and he's also certain Linda's read Bob's will. Linda angrily announces she plans to countersue, and implicate Stephanie as Bob's mistress (ick). She then confronts Bob, who's still under the weather, blaming him for getting her fired and for divorcing her, and reiterates her accusation that Bob is sleeping with Stephanie. Bob vehemently denies all of this, and says he had no hand in Linda losing her job. Linda doesn't buy it. She tells him that she'll sue the pants off him, and he'll wish he never met her. Bob clutches this chest and falls to the floor, he's having a heart attack, y'all! Watching him writhe in pain, desperately begging Linda to hand him his heart medication, Linda ponders it a moment, then decides she's saved him once and it got her nowhere, she won't help him again. Linda walks out of the room, leaving Bob to suffer. Phyllis thankfully arrives moments later, and, not being a complete sociopath, immediately calls an ambulance. Bob's pulse is weak, and he's rushed to ICU at University Hospital.

 

At the ICU, Linda waits for news, praying Bob dies before he has a chance to amend his will to cut Linda out of it. Linda, Stephanie, Mary, and Phyllis all await news, with Tom telling them it's touch and go.

 

Phyllis visits Bob in his hospital room, and professes her love for him, saying he's the only man she's ever really cared for. She cries, begging Bob to recover, for her sake, and for Mary's. Linda, meanwhile, offers to take over the plant in Bob's absence, just as she had done previously. Mary knows better, though, and tells her to get lost.

 

But Mary is, indeed, in over her head, and Alex smells fear, apparently, because he comes blazing in, offering to help her run Anderson. And being the fool she is, Mary agrees. Alex sends Mary away, and gloats openly about his latest victory. Blech!

 

While Bob is half-asleep, Stephanie pays him a visit. She tells him that the woman who died in the crash in 1977 was the hitchhiker she'd picked up, not her, and she is, in fact, Brooke. She tells him how afraid she was to tell him, and that she loves him. After Stephanie leaves, Bob calls out softly to her "Brooke...my daughter, Brooke". He heard her!

 

The next day, Bob tells Mickey to replace Linda with Stephanie in his will, and Mickey informs Mary that Stephanie is, in fact, her half-sister.

 

Alex also has news to share: Now that he's taken over as de facto head of Anderson, he's gonna dump Stephanie and marry Mary (and Mary's money!). Stephanie threatens to expose Alex, and tell them that he's been feeding her these ridiculous pills, but Alex has used her addiction to build mistrust within the organization against Stephanie, and tells her no one will believe her.

 

Stephanie, feeling rejected, gets in her car to go warn Mary about Alex. She's probably high as a kite and been drinking, of course. The more upset she gets, the worse she drives, and eventually careens off a cliff. Her car lands upside down. She's rushed to Emergency at UH, where she calls out for Bob repeatedly, but bleeds out and dies. 

 

MASSACRE VICTIM #1!

 

Beebs' Note: I should like to point out, that, if I am to believe what is listed as Eileen Barnett's last airdate, and what SOD says this synopsis covers, it would mean that ALL of the above events occurred over the course of FOUR DAYS. WHAT. THE. EVERLOVING. FVCK?!

 

Stephanie is now such an afterthought, they bury her the next day, and have Margo, of all people, read her eulogy. 

 

Alex has now been given the okay by Bob to run Anderson until Chris gets back from his DC trip. CHRIS ONLY LEFT ON THIS TRIP ABOUT A WEEK AGO WTFFFFF!!! Can you imagine leaving on a business trip and coming back to this kind of a wacky sh!tshow??? My head would explode! ANYWAY, when Alex tells Mary this, she warily asks what's in it for him. Alex claims purely altruistic motives, just wanting to help friends he cares for. Mary, gunning for this month's big Dumbass prize, believes him and kisses him. Alex and Mary begin to be seen all over Salem together, with her seeing the charming side of him that reels her in after her tumultuous time with Chris. Eventually (probably like a week on), they admit their (alleged) love for each other. Finally, Alex proposes to Mary, and she accepts. Yep. Dumbass of the month winner right here.

 

Bob recovers enough that Mary tells him of Stephanie's death. He's heartbroken that he didn't have enough time with her after learning she was Brooke, but Mary discourages him from making a public announcement that Stephanie was his daughter, as she was illegitimate, and we apparently cared about this type of thing in 1980.

 

Chris returns and is utterly dumbfounded by the fact that LITERALLY EVERYTHING has changed in the two-ish weeks he's been away. Chris asks Mary why da hell is Alex running Anderson, and Mary tells him that's the way she wants it. Chris (rightly) thinks that's ridiculous and tells Bob about everything that's going on, particularly with Alex. Bob is even surprised by some of what's happening, and is really shocked by Mary's fixation on Alex, as she hardly knows him. Bob reaffirms that he'd rather Chris be running Anderson than Alex, but Alex throws his weight around, and when Chris defies him, conflict is in the air.

 

Linda tries to beg Mickey and Don for her job back, but they won't budge. Linda asks Don to at least use his influence to help her find something new. No word on whether that trick worked or not. Melissa visits Bob, and he tells her that his marriage to Linda is well and truly over. Melissa sobs in his arms.

 

 

 

 

 

Cathy complains to Marie that she's failing her nursing courses, so Marie ships her out of town to complete her studies with a teacher that once taught Marie. GIRL, BYE!

 

MASSACRE VICTIM #2! (LITERALLY 4 DAYS AFTER STEPHANIE!)

 

 

 

 

 

Mimi returns, tracks Trish down at Doug's Place, and hands her the phony diamond Earl gave Margo. She demands the real one, and Trish has no idea what the hell she's on about, until she remembers the diamond she lent Margo. Realizing Earl pulled a fast one on Margo, Trish marches over to Earl's office and demands the real stone, pronto. Earl feigns innocence, but Trish doesn't play along, threatening to go to the police.

 

Terry realizes Earl is about to skip town and leave HIM on the hook for the porn mess. He threatens to tell all to Don, but Earl pulls a gun on him and makes Terry back off him. Earl calls Don and warns him not to do his Great Teen Porn Extavaganza or else, as his associates won't be very happy. Then Earl burns all his relevant paperwork, and skips town. Goodbyyyyyyye, Eeeeeearl! </dixiechicks>

 

A week or so later, Mickey tells Mike and Margo that Earl's been arrested in Chicago on Narcotics charges. Guess that's the end of him, too!

 

MASSACRE VICTIM #3!

 

Don's Bizarro Porn Festival of Shame happens, with Donna giving her speech about getting caught up in this mess, before Don gives a sanctimonious speech about the evils of porn, and how the parents of Salem should keep a watch over their children.

 

Donna immediately regrets letting Don show the film, as now she's getting eviscerated by everyone at school, and asks Marlena to let her finish school on the east coast with Don's parents. Marlena agrees to talk to Don about it. Don, however, is thrilled when a desperate Terry does indeed end up turning to him, ready to tell all to Don in hopes of protecting himself. Donna's fears are soon allayed when Terry's story hits the papers, confirming her innocence in the entire porn film mess.

 

Mimi comes back and threatens Trish again, but Trish tells her that Earl took the diamond and split. Mimi doesn't care, and says that if she can't get the diamond, then give her $5,000 or Durant will be veeeeery disappointed in her. Trish begs Doug to loan her the money, but Doug, in giving it to her, asks that Trish tell David that she's in trouble.

 

 

Marlena complains of gas pains at dinner, and excuses herself. When she returns, she's wearing her coat. SHE'S IN LABOUR. Hours later, with Don by her side, DJ is born...6 weeks premature. Marlena is scared he's in danger. And she'd be right. Who needs Dionne Warwick when you've got Marlena predicting the future so accurately?

 

 

 

Now that they're well rid of Earl, Mike can go back to dreaming of a future, and Margo can go back to moping about dying. 

 

No, literally. Mike wants a baby, and Margo is so scared of her remission being temporary, that she starts crying any time Mike brings up the subject.

 

 

 

 

 

Lee sees Neil, having caught the flu AND anemia while on holiday in Hawaii with Doug. He recommends meds and does blood work on her. Back at home, Lee recovers, then tries to seduce him, but Doug holds back. Lee notices he feels badly when they do have sex, as he's still thinking he's being unfaithful to Julie, and loses his bo...nerve. Doug agrees he's been seeing and thinking of Julie too much, and is apologetic to Lee. Thinking that maybe getting out of the house he shared with Julie would help, Lee suggests looking for a new one nearer to Hope's new school. Doug agrees to help her look, but secretly doubts he's ever going to be happy with anyone other than Julie. I've never seen two adults dance around each other like this in my life. Such childish nonsense.

 

Julie grows tired of Chez Julie, and asks Maggie to partner with her on an interior design business. Maggie doesn't want to overwhelm herself with work, especially at Mickey's expense, while they're working to rebuild their marriage. She declines Julie's offer.

 

Julie then invites Neil over to hers for dinner. Excited, Neil thinks Julie may finally be ready to get involved with him as more than a friend, but Julie is a mopey sack of depression, and though Neil tries his best, Julie isn't much fun. He tries to make a move on her, but she pulls away, and Neil snaps at her that he's "ONLY HUMAN!!!1", before heading for the door. He laments, "goodnight, Julie. It was a lovely dream." 

 

Okay, Miss Melodrama. We know you were just horny and had run through the rest of the women in town. You don't fool me, Curtis!

 

Lee visits Chez Julie to taunt Julie with the news that she and Doug are buying a new house. Julie smiles, and pretends she doesn't want to throttle the snooty southern bitch, all the while realizing that Doug's making a proper commitment to this woman now, so he's obviously moving on without her.

 

 

 

Bill returns home from visiting Laura with great news: She's ready to return home! And she promises to set Bill free if she can't be the woman he married. Promises, promises, Laura.




This...sucks.

This is an absolute mess, and, considering it's still Harrower's writing being wrapped up, it seems to me that she's shifting things about desperately to gear things up for her successor. But...WOW killing Stephanie is a dumb move. Things are SO disjointed, so clumsily written. I absolutely HATE this.

 

Seems viewers did, too. The show fell from 9th and 6.6, to 10th, and a 5.8, its lowest ratings this month (from what I can see) since November 1978 during the Janice custody trial. And the worst is yet to come!

Edited November 24, 2020 by beebs

[asafi]

Killing Stephanie like.. 5 minutes after telling Bob she is his daughter is indeed a stupid decision. 

[te.]

 

Did they also de-SORAS David at this point? I know Marx is five years younger than Guthrie, but it does seem like he's more appropriate as Julie's son at that point. (And again, it also just shows what a mess the early rapid SORAS of both David and Mike was)

[prefab1]

 

I'm sure that Quinn Redeker was a magnetic performer, but I feel like everything Alex-related is happening way too fast. How has he become the central character in all these storylines so quickly? Why are all these women suddenly throwing themselves at him? 

 

That's just Bad Soap Writing 101, where the writer falls in love with the new character they've introduced, and they decide that all the existing characters on the canvas need to fall in love with them too. 

[Forever8]

And you see how "old-fashioned" SSH came off in this promo. But from the clips of the early 90's she had big hair and her bosom were on display as well. 

[Paul Raven]

Chris was offscreen from 31 Jan till Feb 26 .

 

Earl last seen on the 12th

 

Stephanies last day Feb 15th

 

Cathy and Terry last seen Feb 19th

 

Mimi exited Feb 21st

 

Marlena gave birth on Feb 25th but Samantha got to see her nephew as her last day was the 27th.

[vetsoapfan]

 

I agree: sometimes, shorter and faster scenes can be effective to move the story along, but the longer, slower, intimate scenes are essential at certain times, especially when deep, character delineation is being explored. Many soaps in the early 1980s needed to remember that faster does not automatically mean better or more absorbing to the audience. ATWT, DAYS, Y&R, AW, etc., originally did extremely well and enjoyed high ratings and audience loyalty by featuring extended talk-to scenes...as long as the characters and undercurrents in them were captivating.

 

 

 

It was a stupid move; depriving us of a good climax to a long-running story and wasting a good actress whose storyline still had more fodder to it. I watched in horror in the late 1970s and early 1980s, as the show kept getting butchered more and more, and I longed for Pat Falken Smith to return.

 

Or *I* wanted to take over the writing reigns!

 

 

Edited November 24, 2020 by vetsoapfan

[soapfan770]

Wow had no idea she was pushing 70 when she took over, what a strange choice. I wonder how she felt to see her creations quickly get destroyed so fast. 

[Franko]

I'd love to get Eileen Barnett's recollections on playing Stephanie. It seems like the character went from a complex but likable anti-heroine to an easily manipulated mess. Did she want out? Was she fired? Also, so Bob and Mary know the truth about Stephanie, but I guess Phyllis, Melissa, Alex, Chris, David, Trish and the one I really wanted to find out, Linda, all remained in the dark.

 

For all our talk about DOOL eventually emulating GH, it's interesting that Linda being willing to let Bob die of a heart attack came a few months before the better remembered scene between Tracy and Edward Quartermaine.

 

SOD's copy editors must have taken more long coffee breaks. On the one hand, we have the copy going to great lengths to explain that Cathy will receive education from Sister Marie's former teacher. On the other hand, it's implied that Marlena, not D.J., was born six weeks early.

 

Seriously, Don, how can you think this is the best way to handle Donna's porn mess? Makes you wonder how he'd attempt damage control in the wake of Sami shooting Alan Harris in the groin or Marlena's possession.

 

Despite her relationship woes (and ew! to that scene with Neil), it must be kinda fun being Julie. Open an antiques business, discard when bored. Open an interior decorating practice, discard when bored. Take over a restaurant, discard when bored. What, no run as a realtor?

[vetsoapfan]

 

David knew, and he said he was going to tell Trish as well, although I don't remember seeing any scene in which he revealed the truth to her. The show seemed to want to be over and done with their dispatched characters instantly.

[AbcNbc247]

This was also around the time that Wes Kenney left and Al Rabin came in as co-EP. It does seem like NBC was trying to expand their control over DAYS and give less control to Betty Corday. I can't help but wonder if she supported all of these changes or was against them. 

 

 

Reminds me of Daniel Jonas lol

[jam6242]

If I’m remembering correctly, Linda earlier fantasized about smothering her husband Jim when he was in the hospital.  Anyone else remember this?

[Titus Andronicus]

 

Kenney left in January 1980.

 

An interview I read from a couple of weeks afterward said it was because of Ann Marcus' firing. That absolutely can't be and so I'm wondering if Harrower was already on the way out and he misspoke. Jason has Kenney with Days through the show that aired January 18.

 

 

The weird thing about Laemmle is that she didn't seem to give any comments at all to the media during her run. Marcus loved to interview, Harrower gave comments here and there. Laemmle? Nothing. 

 

A couple of Jon-Michael Reed columns from later that year said Laemmle left because of conflict, but that's as close to any insight at all. The newspaper archive site I subscribe has no mentions of Laemmle after, beyond a question from someone watching a rerun of Marcus Welby asking if she was related to Carl Laemmle.

 

I was curious about her writing staff and there are a couple of interesting entries. David Seidler went on to write the screenplay for The King's Speech.