DAYS: Behind the Scenes, Articles/Photos

[te.]

 

Honestly, it wouldn't surprise me if they just didn't realise it happened - the big story was the breakdown and then Laura appears for like two episodes where they claim she's well and she just disappears. It's such a small detail that it would probably be easy to miss, especially in the days pre-internet.

[Dion]

In 1987 when (recast) Bill returned to Salem, it was revealed that Laura had been institutionalized. Not sure what they said during this time (whether they said it was a relapse or whether they said she'd been there all along), but until that point Jennifer had believed her mother was in Europe.

 

But I think basically in '93 they could've just made it clear that everything that happened with Kate Roberts happened *after* this point in the Days "timeline" causing Laura to have a relapse, but they instead chose to muddy the waters a bit...i'm not sure.

[beebs]

To the current scriptwriters' credit, they did recently clarify that Kate's affair with Bill did cause a major relapse in Laura, so I think they're trying to make it clear that Kate and Bill hooked up once Bill had left for Lakewood, which, I'm honestly okay with. It makes the timeline clearer, and doesn't deny what we saw on screen during 1979-80, largely. 

 

I agree, @Khan, I never understood why these characters are evil for the sake of it. I already care exactly 0% for Kellam & Co. just based on their cartoon villainy straight out the gate. It's interesting that they appear to have given Liz a lot more nuance than the others. I wonder if that was the writing or if Gloria Loring was able to find something more than what was on the page. She always impressed me as being a good enough actress to do just that. 

Also thank you @victoria foxtonfor that repost. It looks like the article was supposed to be this big PR move welcoming everyone to the new era of the show... And yet, the entire executive team seems immediately defensive and desperate in trying to make it seem like this is exactly what they wanted to happen and everything was fine before and is fine now and it's fine FINE FINE nothing is wrong WHATSOEVER. 

[Franko]

Poor Melissa. That must have been absolutely heartbreaking, to put all her faith in Linda like that, and then be discarded so easily. I wonder how deeply that was explored when Linda returned in 1984-85, or if it was more about Linda's business machinations and the aspect of both women being involved with Pete.

 

Aw, that's nice. Really shows how Julie grew up over the past near-decade.

 

Yet another scene I'd love to see. Sounds like this is another turning point for Alex. He's still exceedingly evil, but also increasingly being kept in check. Better late than never for them to dial him down, I guess.

 

Well, at least Maggie and Mickey know all about Melissa's mother ...

 

Alice's inner monologue: "I'm to entertain WHO?"

 

Oh, now that's lazy writing, doing that kind of a shocker scene so close to Bob's death. Or was it before?

 

How I wish this had continued, with everyone leaving DOOL getting the chance to let it all out on the Doug's Place stage. Can't we JUST hear the endless renditions of "Cabaret"?

 

I was trying to figure this one out, too. The only way it makes sense to me is if Don was proposing outside the house. I mean, who doesn't pop the question while out for a stroll?

 

Like I said before, I imagine lots of viewers were changing the channel to AMC in April.

 

Wouldn't that be something if they're reading us? If we get a reference to "Barney's Beanery," we'll know for sure.

 

 

[AbcNbc247]

Thanks for reposting the article @victoria foxton!

 

It sounds like DAYS learned the hard way that you can't turn a daytime show into a primetime show. It fails miserably every time.

 

And I hate that "We ran of story possibilities" excuse. Literally, every time that was used in order to justify writing a character out, that character's exit storyline was massive and could have played out for months. I know everyone was insisting on younger characters at that time, but IMO there was still plenty of story left for a lot of those characters particularly Bill, Laura and Linda. Ironically, the only character that ran of story possibilities was younger character Margo.

[titan1978]

I imagine if Flannery had remained Laura would have as well.

 

DAYS reminds me so much of what happened to Y&R after Bell retired.  He left DAYS with a story bible and a trusted protege, and I wonder if the show was still a half hour show if PFS would have had more success.  Then a string of HW’s, the cast is decimated and started over several times before the show stabilized again in the super couple era.

 

Y&R fared better after he left, but eventually the network and Sony’s interference removes his protege, and we suffer through several head writing regimes that decimate the cast and the show is now reinvented and is nothing like it’s original DNA.  
 

Except Y&R has never stabilized in my opinion after Alden, and the state of soaps today means it probably won’t have the resurgence DAYS had after Bell had been gone for about 7 years or so.

 

He proved incredibly hard to follow

on DAYS, and eventually on Y&R.  Much more than after his earlier stints writing under Irna.

[vetsoapfan]

 

As a veteran viewer, I always longed for DAYS to return to its roots and offer viewers more of the Bell/Falken Smith style of adult, subtle, sophisticated, warm family drama and romance. From 1966 to 1976, the show was mesmerizing. The slowness of the physical action only added to its appeal, because the attention was always focused on intimate scenes among multi-dimensional, relatable and likeable characters.

 

While she pontificated that the show was "dull and repetitious," Nina Laemmle's DAYS was cold, sterile, foreign and hackneyed. Hindered by mainly non-descript actors, the vast majority of Laemmle's repellent new characters were instant duds. Kellam Chandler was sooooooo boring. Really, really boring. I could barely watch him and Max. Yawn. Stephen Brooks as Joshua Fallon was an exception among the new cast. He was magnetic on screen. Unfortunately, the actor quit after only a brief tenure, claiming the pace of filming and the scripts were not for him. His replacement, alas, made Joshua as bland as most of the other newbies. Gloria Gloring was the only long-lasting bright spot, even though Laemmle's writing originally painted her in a harsh, negative light as well. I could never figure out why Laemmle and TPTB though slaughtering a huge number of familiar, often beloved, faces and instantly replacing them with a set of cold, shrewish and/or unlikeable strangers would work.

 

It didn't. In the magazines' letter-to-the-editors' pages, viewers were enraged. And Laemmle only lasted six months.

 

Very briefly, under Laemmle's reign, DAYS started to open their episodes with brief teaser-snippets of what was going to happen on that day's show. You know how, on some primetime series, you'd get an announcer's voice ring out: "Tonight, on The Fugitive!", followed by a few 5-second clips of scenes from the upcoming broadcast. This was meant to entice viewers to watch the full hour. Forget it. DAYS was so awful at that time, the brief snippets of each episode's upcoming events were more of a turn off than anything. The show soon dropped this practice. Thank God.

 

 

Although you never know. AW fired Jacqueline Courtney in the mid-1970s, so no one was safe. 

 

 

I would say that 1975 and 1976 were the very best years in the history of DAYS, and that PFS was very successful in that regard. The problem was, most daytime soaps were on fire in the 1970s, and competition for ratings was particularly fierce. In the 1975-76 season, DAYS was tied for 4th place and had a respectable rating of 8.3. In 1976-77, the show has fallen a bit to 7th place, with a rating of 7.8. I wonder how much Ann Marcus' lousy writing was the cause of the decreased ratings, as she took over in 1977. 

 

 

When Ann Marcus took over in 1977, Bill Bell was still providing long-term storylines for the show. In an interview, however, Marcus said that she did not have to follow Bell's guidelines and could change them any time she wanted. Big mistake.

 

 

I was over the moon when DAYS resurged in 1982 with the return of PFS. Unfortunately, that was not to last. 

 

 

Yep.

[titan1978]

Well, didn’t she bring that on herself?  I have never heard Flannery described as anything but professional, and not difficult to work with.  Weren’t she and George fired because of issues on AW?

[vetsoapfan]

 

No one except writer Harding Lemay has ever alleged she was "difficult," and Lemay caustically denigrated people left, right and center. He simply hated the actress for his own unfathomable reasons, and was out to get her. (Along with others, BTW.) Maybe the alleged incident at the 1971 AW Christmas party is true, who knows? If you read Lemay's book and watched the show at the time, JC's supposed "crime" was to...um, play her scenes as he wrote them, and Lemay thought they were too melodramatic. After Courtney passed, producer Paul Rauch was quoted in an interview saying that Courtney was "a great gal" who was always a pro on AW and "gave great performances."

 

A huge number of his colleagues have confirmed that Reinholt was a nightmare to work with on both AW and OLTL (Erika Slezak said he "was crazy," LOL), but no one has ever claimed that about Courtney.

 

Susan Flannery has been called rude and imperious for her alleged behavior on B&B, but aside from the time she slapped Susan Seaforth across the face, I have never heard other negative accounts of her behavior on DAYS. She did, however, admit she was bored and unchallenged by the show by the time she quit.

 

Anyway, my original point was that no matter how beloved a performer and his/her character are, no one is safe. Except...maybe/probably Susan Lucci. I cringe when I think how poorly TPTB have treated Genie Francis, even though she was hugely popular. TGL axed Mart Hulswit, ATWT dumped Helen Wagner (!!!) at one point, GH fired Rachel Ames, OLTL got rid of Ellen Holly and Al Freeman Jr, for heaven's sake. ABC even dropped Agnes Nixon from her own show. The list is endless. I don't know if DAYS would have kept Laura around in the 1970s, even if Flannery were still there. TPTB eliminated Edward Mallory and  Bill and Susan Hayes at different times, all of whom should (IMHO) never have been fired.

 

Sigh. If only *I* could run daytime TV! HA!

 

Edited November 30, 2020 by vetsoapfan

[Titus Andronicus]

By all accounts in the press in 1979, Ed Mallory left on his own. I'm sure he saw the writing on the wall.

 

Charles Bateman was considered a strong hire, considering his character actor background. Too bad it looks like his character has nothing to it.

By all accounts in the press in 1979, Ed Mallory left on his own. I'm sure he saw the writing on the wall.

 

Charles Bateman was considered a strong hire, considering his character actor background. Too bad it looks like his character has nothing to it.

[titan1978]

Thanks for the insights @vetsoapfan! I have wondered over the years after reading comments and stories about them if JC was just collateral in Harding Lemay wanting out of the Steve/Alice storyline, especially with George being difficult.  If so she didn’t deserve it.

 

As far as Flannery slapping Susan Seaforth Hayes- well I love both of them but by all accounts she was at several times a nightmare to work with.  Didn’t she also get in a fight with another costar?  I have heard Flannery was rude, but that is not the same as unprofessional.  When did Flannery slap her?

 

As far as anyone could be fired, it always seemed to me that even someone like Susan Lucci, Erika Slezak, Tony Geary etc could be let go.  If not fired outright, then offered such shitty deals they would just choose to leave themselves.  The last daytime firing that actually shocked me was when Drake was fired on DAYS.  And then shortly after coming back, they fire both him and Deidre Hall and from that point on I figured it could happen to anyone.

 

 

[jam6242]

I think the Flannery slap was a prank.  SSH said she (in character) opened a door and Flannery surprised her with the slap.  SSH and Denise Alexander were friends with Flannery and called her Flannels.

[Paul Raven]

Jacquie Courtney was on OLTL for years with no mention of difficult to work with (of course there was the matter of sleeping with the boss...)

 

The shakeup at Days is fascinating in the choices made. By writing in all the new characters in a matter of days and then pretty much pivoting the story towards them seems a recipe for disaster.

 

Really Kellam and his assistant Max should have been introduced and left the audience wondering what their motives might be. Have them connect with various characters over the course of a few weeks.

then bring in either Tod or Liz.

If Donna had have stayed around she could have met Tod and the audience wouldn't know for a while that he was Kellam's son.

Slowly bring on the newbies while keeping known characters front burner.

Maybe some exits should have been delayed eg Bill and Laura so they get a proper goodbye.

Perhaps Jordan could have been revealed to have a connection to the Chandlers. He'd been around for a while and not much was known about his background and audiences might have been more interested than atotal newbie like Joshua.

 

The other puzzling thing to me was making Kellam and Max roughly the same age and therefore adding two more over 40 characters.

Why not have Max be a hotshot younger guy?

Same with Joshua- Stephen Brooks was 38 - why not make Josh 28?

Liz could have been younger also.

 

Days needed younger characters at that point, especially that Laemmle ignored Mike and David pretty much

[prefab1]

That's the part that's so baffling to me. One actually could make a legitimate case that the late-1970s cast of DAYS was a little worn-out and contained so many middle-aged characters, it just couldn't compete with more youth-oriented soaps like General Hospital. (This was, after all, the time when Guiding Light poached Doug Marland, partly so that he could introduce more young characters). But for some reason, DAYS saw characters like Bob and thought, "Hmmm...can we replace them with characters who are also middle-aged businessmen, only more boring and one-dimensional?"

[beebs]

You're all providing so much great info. Thanks again, everyone!

 

I know the last summary ended at an awkward spot, with the glut of new characters just seeping in. I forgot to note Sam's departure as Massacre Victim #14 (how on Earth the show survived THIS many characters leaving in such short order is astounding to me). We still have one more to go at least, with Margo finally kicking the bucket this month, so...let's go!

 

 

May 1980:

 

 

So, Margo's feeling a little better (for now), and decides to keep herself busy by writing up invitations to Julie's new design shop in the mall. Mike thanks Julie for giving her something to focus on other than dying, and laments how little time they have left. Julie reminds him how fortunate he and Margo are to have each other at all, as she's still moping about Doug.

 

Mother Superior contacts Marie and informs her she's sending her Cathy 2.0 a young orphan girl who also, coincidentally, wants to become a nurse. Why they couldn't just recast Cathy is beyond me, but okay. Alex just happens to walk in as Marie is reading the letter about Jessica, and Marie laments the lack of money available to help her. Alex offers to financially assist Jessica, but Marie turns him down flat, saying she'll ask Tom instead. Alex ignores her, and donates a bunch of money to Tom so that when Marie asks Tom for the money to fund Jessica's education, it's essentially coming from Alex anyway (presumably plus a lot more, otherwise why is Tom going along with this???). And All Tom's gotta do is keep his mouth shut to Marie.

 

Jessica passes her test and begins training as a lab tech at UH. Alex lurks around her, making the mousy twit uncomfortable. But, as Marie finds out, everything makes Jessica uncomfortable, she struggles to make friends. Probably because they can never hear her when she talks. Marie suggests Jessica befriend Margo (great, two mealy-mouthed Mary Sues running about whispering at each other, how perfect), after Jessica is upset to learn of Margo's imminent death. Yes, why don't you go make a new friend, Jessica, with the dying girl. This is a great time investment for you, dear! Thankfully, Jessica and Margo hit it off, as do Jessica and Mike. Mike thanks her for showing Margo no pity, and for being so understanding. Tom allows Margo to go pass out at attend the grand opening of the mall, and Mike and Jessica go shopping for a dress for Margo to wear to the event.

 

Jessica meets a new friend at the lab: Cassie Burns. Cassie is Todd Chandler's girlfriend, and wants to invite Jessica to some of Todd's parties, even offering to set Jessica up with some guys on blind dates. Jessica whispers that she doesn't like parties and doesn't want to date. Jessica is a party pooper.

 

Tom (stupidly) asks Alex again to join the hospital board, noting that he needs someone with Alex's financial expertise (very self-aware of Tom considering how he he nearly bankrupted the place several times in the past year). Alex, suddenly realizing that joining the hospital board will keep him in close proximity to Marie, eventually agrees. Alex, in a sudden attack of uncharacteristic empathy, helps Marie complete some of her bookkeeping, fearing for Marie's health, as she's apparently overloading herself.

 

Tom calls Mike to his office, telling him that Margo's deteriorating fast. Mike snaps at his grandfather, screaming that all "you doctors" have done to help has been for nothing, and that he's checking Margo out of the hospital to go die at home so she can be happy. He then immediately has second thoughts when relaying the story of his tantrum to Jessica, who reassures him that Margo will be happier dying outside the hospital with Mike, suggesting he take Margo to a special place. Mike thinks of Maggie's farm, and decides to take Margo out there for her final days.

 

Chris agrees to give Mike a leave of absence, telling Mike to take all the time he needs, and to make every minute count, giving Mike a warm hug. Margo tells Jessica not to feel sad for her, sharing Mike's plan to take her to the farm. Backtracking on Margo's earlier wish that Trish be Mike's shoulder to lean on once she's gone, she asks the same of Jessica instead. Jessica agrees, before stepping out of Margo's room. Jessica tears up outside the room, as Joshua Fallon, who's in the hospital (more on that later), wheels up next to Jessica, who breaks down crying on his shoulder, before relaying Margo's story to him. Josh is sympathetic to the Whispering Waif.

 

Chris and Leslie visit Margo the day she's to go to the farm with Mike. They shower her with gifts, before Marie comes to wheel her to Mike's car. Margo breaks down crying, and Chris cries along with her, as they tearfully say their goodbyes.

 

 

 

 

 

Mickey tells Don about Kellam's new bid for governor. Don's livid, pointing out how Kellam had his hand in the till before, and finds his audacity to run again tremendous. Don decides five minutes later to back Kellam's bid for governor, because Kellam and Don are both against the bill to legalize gambling in the state. Kellam, recognizing how useful Don could be to their campaign, offers to hire Don to work with him. Marlena doesn't want the upheaval of another big political campaign (come on, Marlena! It's not like you have Donna around to screw it all up this time!), and would rather he stay working with Mickey. So, after careful consideration, Don completely ignores Marlena's concerns and agrees to work for the sleazeball.

 

Kellam, trying to make himself a nice warm, fuzzy public image, calls his daughter, Liz in Paris. He asks her, a recent divorcée of some Hollywood actor, to come home to Salem so that he can look good to the public. Liz only agrees if Kellam draws up a new will that favours her. Kellam agrees. Liz's return annoys her brother, Todd, who can't understand why self-centred Liz is helping their father. Todd's apparently a "mischievous free spirit", and part of Liz's duty in coming to Salem is to reign her brother in. Todd can't stand either Kellam or Liz, for the record.

 

Liz makes a beeline for Julie's design shop, and commissions Julie to design the new Chandler house, and do it ASAP. Julie pleases her first clients, enough that Kellam invites her to a party at the new house. At the party, Kellam openly flirts with Marlena, while Liz eyes Don.

 

Hoping to keep Todd in line, Kellam threatens to send Todd to military school if he doesn't join him on a campaign tour, and dump his girlfriend, Cassie, who Kellam thinks is "cheap".

 

 

Maggie visits Marlena one day, and Marlena goes to check on DJ, who's set down for a nap. Of course, we all know what happens next. When DJ won't wake up, Marlena panics. Maggie calls Neil, who declares DJ dead. Don, out of town campaigning for Kellam, is contacted and returns home, and blames MARLENA for working herself too hard during her pregnancy. Charmer.

 

 

 

 

Doug decides to sell Doug's Place, and will help everyone that remains find new jobs. Trish, shocked by the news, takes a little time alone after work, which annoys David. She tells him about the club's closure, and David is momentarily understanding, until Trish doesn't perk up at the news of David's secret promotion. Thinking she only cares about her career and not his (not that David's given Trish many options to continue her career since he gets annoyed at every new gig Trish gets), Trish sobs that Doug's Place is more than a club to her, and that she fears she'll never have another singing gig again. David condescendingly tells her she can always sing for him (whooooo cares?)

 

Lee, on the other hand, is tickled pink by Doug's Place's closure, and assumes Doug is doing it for her. Doug admits he's actually closing it because Robert's absence has left a hole too big to fill. He also is strongly considering buying the overpriced penthouse Lee wanted, and things only begin to sour when Lee reaffirms her desire to send Hope away to boarding school. Doug refuses, wanting Hope to join them in their penthouse. He is determined to make it a "real home" for her (good luck with the ice queen present). He ends up buying the penthouse, and Lee is ecstatic.

 

Doug, upon hearing about Julie's shop in the mall, offers to help fund the project, but Julie refuses, saying she doesn't want to rely on him. They have a heart-to-heart after Doug explains that he's closing the club, and why.

 

So what does Doug want to do now that he's closed the club? He wants to buy an old mansion and turn it into a casino! You know, just like Doug was 120% against not two years ago when Larry Atwood wanted to do the same thing! And he's gonna hire back all the old Doug's Place staff! So what was the point of all this song-and-dance about closing Doug's Place if you're just moving and adding some craps tables??! *slams head against keyboard repeatedly*

 

Doug buys the house from a despondent old woman, Mrs. Chisholm, who is being forced to sell because she can't pay the taxes on it. Mrs. Chisholm's comforted by the house's caretaker, Joshua Fallon. Julie visits to try to smooth things over with Mrs. Chisholm, and Mrs. Chisholm immediately notes how much Julie reminds her of her daughter: Kellam's deceased second wife (oh brother, here we go). Julie charms the pants off Joshua as well (not literally), and they become fast enough friends that Josh helps Julie buy a new station wagon for her mall storefront. Doug feels guilty about the situation he's put the old woman in, and agrees to let her stay living in the house alongside Joshua, who will continue to be a caretaker to both the house and Mrs. (Flora) Chisholm. BONUS: Joshua used to work in casinos. 

 

Lee is less pleased that Doug bought the mansion to house the casino without consulting her.

 

Julie decides to tell Hope she can no longer see her, as it's too confusing for her between Julie and Lee (apparently not realizing she can simply shift the relationship to be Hope's sister, considering THAT IS WHAT JULIE IS). Hope is baffled, and thinks Julie doesn't love her. Julie explains she's doing this because she loves Hope. Hope still doesn't get it, but agrees to stay away if Julie wants her to. I expect smoke poured out of Hope's ears shortly afterwards from trying to figure out wtf Julie's logic is.

 

Josh drives Julie home, and tells her he served in Vietnam, but won't go into detail. He also confirms Flora's assertion that Julie looks a lot like Kellam's dead wife. Later, Flora deliriously shouts to Josh and Doug that someone is out to get her! But begs Josh not to make her tell him about who it is...but she also can't remember who this person is, and don't trouble her about it. Crazy old bat.

 

Josh helps Doug move some furniture, but has to stop when he feels an intense pain in his head. Josh lies down, and Doug calls an ambulance. At UH, Josh is checked out, and starts shaking uncontrollably and begins to run a high fever. It's MALARIA! In Salem. If Josh recovers, he better buy a lottery ticket, cos that's some WILD odds! I guess, in a way, he wins the lottery, because Josh does recover, and Doug pays his medical bills. 

 

Julie hears about Josh, and rushes to his side. She shouts to Neil that she "just can't STAND to see him suffer like this". Girl, you met this man two weeks ago. Chill! Josh, in his delirium, calls out to Julie "mom! mom! You've come back!" I guess Josh was supposed to turn out to be Kellam's wife's secret son or something?

 

Josh fades in and out of consciousness. When he finally stabilizes, he meets and becomes quickly fascinated by Jessica. Jessica learns Cassie knows Josh through Todd. Josh warns Jessica to be careful around Cassie, and that "Cassie runs with a fast crowd". Thanks for the already apparent unsolicited advice, Josh. It's not like Jessica leaves the hospital at any point as it is.

 

Gambling becomes legal! Too bad, Don! Doug is thrilled, he can open his new club which is totally different from the old one which is ABSOLUTELY NOTHING like the club Larry Atwood wanted to open. AT ALL. Doug calls on Julie to decorate the place. Julie, still not wanting to rely on Doug, reluctantly agrees. Julie's work at Doug's NEW Place means postponing finishing up the Chandler mansion, which pisses Liz off. She accuses Julie of breaching their contract, which Julie quickly points out that there WAS no contract. Kellam overhears the argument, and breaks it up, giving Julie permission to finish up Doug's NEW Place, then return to finish up the Chandler mansion. This infuriates Liz, who has now taken an instant dislike to Julie, presumably because Julie had the audacity to tell Liz "no". 

 

After Julie leaves, Liz senses Kellam is interested in Julie, and warns him not to pursue an affair with Julie, as she's "not a wholesome woman, she's been married as many times as I have". Oh okay, Liz. As long as you're also shading yourself...

 

Julie visits Flora, and tells her about Josh's ridiculous illness. Flora is beside herself, and regales Julie with the story of how she knows Josh. Flora claims she met Josh as a young boy, and was friends with his mother. They apparently had good times, but that Josh was then sent to boarding school and had a lonely time. So it's nice that Josh has made such good friends in Doug and Julie. She presumably had to then wake Julie up after having dozed off from that dull-ass story.

 

Kellam wins his party nomination, and decide to use Doug's casino as a wedge issue for voters, hoping to rile up NIMBYs in the community against Doug's plans to win him the campaign, allowing them to neatly glaze over the fact Kellam is as crooked as a fish hook. So he files an injunction against Doug to try to keep the casino from opening. Their plan? Use Don as their "white knight" to make their position look honourable, so they can win the election. Once elected, THEY can run the casinos and set up a gambling commission.

 

Liz is surprised to hear about Josh's ridiculous illness, and follows it up by shading him for being a "drifter". Todd mocks Liz for being a snob, and notes that Liz only acts like she doesn't like him because he turned down her job offer to be her driver. Surprisingly, Liz actually listens to her brother, and goes to visit Josh in the hospital, apologizing for being a snooty beeotch to him. Josh reluctantly agrees to put the past behind them.

 

Someone who Liz will NOT leave the past behind for is Lee. Recognizing her instantly, Liz has Max dig into Lee's past on her behalf. Max apparently spends all of five minutes looking, as he only discovers that Lee was married to Byron and lived abroad with him for many years. Apparently, this is enough for Liz, who decides to pay Lee a visit. First Tony Kingman, now Liz. Lee certainly got her name around Paris, didn't she?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mickey tells Chris about Max and Kellam's intention to buy Anderson. Mickey and Chris are both suspicious of their intentions, but believe their interest is tied to Chris' solar generator. Either they intend to buy it to profit from it, or to keep it from market. Either way, Chris refuses to sell. Alex is apparently now teaming up with Chris to help run the plant (I guess Chris doesn't want the entire responsibility on his shoulder...either that or Chris gave Alex an inch so that he wouldn't contest Bob's will). Alex runs more of the business affairs, while Chris does more of the day-to-day operations of the plant. Alex is excited about promoting the generator, and ropes Mary into doing promo for it. This pisses Chris right off, as the generator isn't ready yet, and won't be anytime soon, despite Alex's optimistic assertions. Mary and Chris have another blowout fight over it, with Mary defending her d!ckhead of a husband.

 

Alex is sleazy again. He and Mary discuss children, with Mary saying she's uninterested in having them right now, Alex says he's not getting any younger, and scoops her up in his arms, throws her on the bed, and gets on top of her, saying "you're not daddy's little girl anymore". According to SOD, she magically becomes consenting at this point, and they finally consummate their farce of a marriage. Eugh. They really aren't selling me on this man.

 

Leslie James arrives at Anderson, and, despite the fact Chris wanted to hire her, and didn't want to overwhelm himself with responsibility, she now has suddenly become foisted upon him by the government (apparently thanks to machinations by Alex), and Chris immediately sees Leslie as a threat (???). This doesn't last, and Chris soon learns to trust and respect her (because, I mean, otherwise, why did you hire this woman in the first place??). Alex, however, sees Leslie as a threat still (WHICH IS WHY CHRIS WANTED TO HIRE HER IN THE FIRST PLACE!!!)

 

Alex instructs David to keep close tabs on Leslie, especially since Leslie isn't fooled by Alex's charm offensive. Mary seems threatened by her as well (likely due to lingering feelings for Chris, but I digress), and is icy as a Siberian winter towards her. Soon, the entire plant is split down the middle between loyalties for Chris and for Alex. God knows how an interloper has so quickly garnered such intense loyalty after literally weeks on the job, but whatever. Leslie suggests Chris fire the workers on Team Alex, as they're gossipy and not taking direction. Chris reluctantly agrees. Leslie recommends a friend of hers from California, Dylan O'Grady, who wants to start a new life with his daughter Katie, after a divorce.

 

Chris and Leslie work so well together, that when Leslie gets her new apartment in Salem, Chris is the first guest. As they cook dinner together, there's David in the bushes, spying on them for Alex. Trish begins to worry about David's attitude, worrying he's putting too much faith in Alex, and asks Julie to talk him down.

 

Max and Kellam make their intentions clear: they want the Anderson solar generator project put on ice ASAP. Why? ...*shrug*. Max presents Kellam with a dossier full of dirt on Alex, which they plan to use to get Alex on side with their plans for Anderson. Kellam has Liz call Alex and Mary over for dinner. Mary is polite on the phone, promising to run it by Alex before getting back to them, but once off the phone, she calls the Chandler crew "vultures" to Alex, and refuses to attend dinner with them. Alex (stupidly) thinks it's a GREAT idea, and orders Mary to accept the invitation, as the Chandlers could prove useful to them.

 

Liz is dreading the dinner, whinging about having to entertain a bore like Mary who has "never been outside of Salem". OOF! She manages to keep her fangs inside her mouth long enough to make small talk with Mary, while Alex and Kellam talk business after dinner. Max and Kellam demand Alex sell them Anderson, threatening him with their dossier on Alex's shady dealings, having sunk $4 Million of Magnus(?)/Magnis(?) funds into the Anderson plant. Kellam demands that Alex arrange "mishaps" at Anderson, which Alex will blame on Chris. Once Anderson's reputation (and value) have sunk, Chandler will buy up the plant for dirt cheap. In exchange, Alex will be put in charge of the plant. Alex, backed into a corner, but also enticed by the offer, agrees to it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'm just gonna say it: Nina Laemmle's stories are dumb as hell, and when they DO make sense, they're lousy. It's like she took an entire new show she had been wanting to write and grafted it onto DAYS in some weird Frankenstein move and hoped no one would notice. Absolutely god-awful in every way. No story has any appeal, and as much as I understand why they went the way they did with DJ dying, and how it plays on a lot of history with Don losing another child previously, and using Marlena's difficult pregnancy to fuel Don's anger, and using it as a good way to insert Liz into their story, it's just...way too much, way too soon. Blech. 

 

The Chandlers have WAY too much influence on the stories for how long they've been on the show, and the fact that every single storyline is now tied to them in some way (minus Margo & The Interminable Death) is just annoying. I can absolutely see why viewers were tuning out in droves at this point. 

Edited December 2, 2020 by beebs