DAYS: Behind the Scenes, Articles/Photos

[vetsoapfan]

 

I think outlandish stories like GH's Ice Princess and Marlena's Possession can create short-term buzz, with viewers talking about the shows and tuning in temporarily out of curiosity. In that sense, they serve a purpose. However, history has shown us that stunts like this, while they may create sudden spikes in ratings, don't equate to long-term audience loyalty, popularity and success. I truly believe that these stories alienate far more viewers than they attract, and are ultimately responsible (in a large part) for the destruction of the soap opera medium.

[carolineg]

 

I definitely don't think it gained long term fans.  At BEST they stuck it out through the Secret Room.  Days jump lasted less than 5 years.  GH was strong through the entire decade.  

But I feel like Laura has always been tied to Luke and I do think Marlena can stand on her own.  I never felt any writer outside Labine tried to make Laura anything other than a Luke appendage.

[vetsoapfan]

 

Yep: Labine tried to write for CHARACTER and bring depth and nuance to the show, yet reportedly Tony Geary did not like it. I'll never forget him saying that after the divine Pat Falken Smith was replaced by the hack writers who followed her that he did not see any difference in the quality of their work. OMFG! It was like going from Masterpiece Theatre to Beavis & Butthead, LOL!

[j swift]

I was just sitting here wondering if Joe Gallison (Dr. Neil Curtis) suffered from "Sarah Brown Syndrome"?

 

An actor who was hired due to their popularity on another soap but didn't get the writing they deserved on their new show.  Proof that an actor's likability is never enough if their character's story is not well told.  Bill Matthews was charismatic and popular on AW, but while Neil should have been interesting (a gambling addicted doctor who may have been a doppelgänger) , he just wasn't that intriguing on screen.  Neil was always a "b" story kind of guy.  Although Joe's good looks made him appear like a leading man, to me, he was always a little stiff.  As a result, unlike Don, when he disappeared from Salem, I hardly noticed.

 

https://www.starnewsonline.com/article/NC/20151113/news/605048397/WM

Edited April 22, 2021 by j swift

[teplin]

Aww, I always liked Neil, from his early days as somewhat of a cad to his star-crossed romance with Liz. Once Gloria Loring left, it seems the writers lost interest in him, except for the ridiculous affair with Maggie and the reveal that Sarah is his daughter. He was ushered off the canvas soon after that, and by that point, I didn't much miss him.

[carolineg]

 

I would be hesitant to say he suffered from Sarah Brown syndrome.  His role lasted almost a decade or more.  Sarah Brown has never had that.  He was just sorta there, but I think he was very popular with Liz.  He is Sarah's father and Noelle's.  And he served some sort of purpose as the resident MD.  He was never Roman, Steve, Bo, John, etc but I do think a soap needs that character that is very steady or just ordinary.

[beebs]

From what I read of his time in the 70s, he was FAR more central to the story up to probably 1979 or 1980. His mentions tend to drop off a lot after he finally divorces Phyllis, and Amanda is gone from the show permanently. Much of his story revolved around Amanda, Greg, Phyllis, Bob, and Linda. Once those characters were gone by 1980, I think they really struggled to find a place for him, even with his popularity with Liz.

I suspect a lot of what made his character fit in the canvas ended up swallowed up by Alex Marshall. Even though he was popular with Liz, the mentions in SOD paint him as being increasingly the "go-to" doctor in that time, with his tortured romance with Liz being mostly an incidental thing more than a central driver of story on the show after 1980. I suspect a lot of this was also down to the youth obsession that took hold around then, leading to the fixation of Toad, Prissy Jessica, Clumsy Cassie, and Josh, before shifting to Bo & Hope after '83.

[JAS0N47]

 

Here's Joe's monthly stats:

 

Joseph Gallison (Neil Curtis)

2/74: 1

3/74: 3

4/74: 6

5/74: 7

6/74: 4

7/74: 8

8/74: 1

9/74: 5

10/74: 7

11/74: 6

12/74: 10

1/75: 9

2/75: 9

3/75: 7

4/75: 6

5/75: 8

6/75: 6

7/75: 15

8/75: 18

9/75: 11

10/75: 12

11/75: 6

12/75: 11

1/76: 10

2/76: 7

3/76: 10

4/76: 12

5/76: 8

6/76: 10

7/76: 9

8/76: 11

9/76: 4

10/76: 8

11/76: 14

12/76: 11

1/77: 5

2/77: 4

3/77: 9

4/77: 8

5/77: 9

6/77: 10

7/77: 10

8/77: 7

9/77: 7

10/77: 7

11/77: 4

12/77: 6

1/78: 8

2/78: 4

3/78: 5

4/78: 8

5/78: 4

6/78: 6

7/78: 4

8/78: 5

9/78: 6

10/78: 13

11/78: 10

12/78: 7

1/79: 10

2/79: 5

3/79: 7

4/79: 10

5/79: 6

6/79: 6

7/79: 8

8/79: 8

9/79: 5

10/79: 8

11/79: 8

12/79: 12

1/80: 8

2/80: 9

3/80: 6

4/80: 6

5/80: 9

6/80: 6

7/80: 14

8/80: 12

9/80: 14

10/80: 14

11/80: 7

12/80: 10

1/81: 9

2/81: 6

3/81: 7

4/81: 10

5/81: 13

6/81: 8

7/81: 14

8/81: 9

9/81: 7

10/81: 11

11/81: 10

12/81: 14

1/82: 9

2/82: 7

3/82: 14

4/82: 8

5/82: 8

6/82: 8

7/82: 10

8/82: 6

9/82: 9

10/82: 9

11/82: 9

12/82: 9

1/83: 11

2/83: 8

3/83: 15

4/83: 13

5/83: 18

6/83: 7

7/83: 15

8/83: 3

9/83: 5

10/83: 11

11/83: 9

12/83: 12

1/84: 6

2/84: 3

3/84: 6

4/84: 12

5/84: 12

6/84: 6

7/84: 3

8/84: 7

9/84: 9

10/84: 10

11/84: 8

12/84: 11

1/85: 5

2/85: 2

3/85: 7

4/85: 10

5/85: 8

6/85: 11

7/85: 10

8/85: 10

9/85: 3

10/85: 7

11/85: 6

12/85: 8

1/86: 9

2/86: 11

3/86: 8

4/86: 11

5/86: 10

6/86: 8

7/86: 8

8/86: 7

9/86: 8

10/86: 11

11/86: 6

12/86: 6

1/87: 8

2/87: 9

3/87: 9

4/87: 8

5/87: 10

6/87: 7

7/87: 7

8/87: 5

9/87: 8

10/87: 5

11/87: 4

12/87: 8

1/88: 7

2/88: 4

3/88: 6

4/88: 5

5/88: 8

6/88: 2

7/88: 5

8/88: 7

9/88: 5

10/88: 4

11/88: 7

12/88: 8

1/89: 7

2/89: 7

3/89: 8

4/89: 8

5/89: 7

6/89: 2

7/89: 5

8/89: 6

9/89: 8

10/89: 8

11/89: 5

12/89: 7

1/90: 6

2/90: 10

3/90: 8

4/90: 6

5/90: 8

6/90: 4

7/90: 9

8/90: 12

9/90: 8

10/90: 8

11/90: 8

12/90: 9

1/91: 8

2/91: 8

3/91: 7

4/91: 9

5/91: 6

6/91: 3

7/91: 8

8/91: 5

9/91: 3

10/91: 2

[beebs]

Oh INTERESTING. Thanks @JAS0N47 as usual for the info. I'm surprised he was featured more heavily in '83. Seems like that was the last hurrah for a lot of the 70s vets before being cleared out for the Bradys. I do get the sense that PFS enjoyed writing for Neil far more than Ann Marcus, considering the numbers. But his appearances were always fairly consistent.

[victoria foxton]

 I think Neil should've left Salem with his Blondie, Liz. I don't remember his marriage to Angelica. His affair with Maggie. And making him Sarah's father were bad. One story they didn't follow through. Was Jo being in love with Neil. Who was clueless about this. That could've been a good story for him. In the end Neil never got a proper exit. Which sucks when he was popular long running character.

Edited April 23, 2021 by victoria foxton

[fivethej]

Erik Stone strikes again. Why can't this POS take a hint and **** right off. He steals from everyone and gets a real thrill out of pissing everyone off and seeing channels get taken down. Everyone calls him out about what he's doing and isn't man enough to respond. I can't believe someone is actually helping him with the private links.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Edited April 27, 2021 by fivethej

[vetsoapfan]

 

Aside from the fact that he is a gleeful, unrepentant troll, he seems to be intellectually limited and riddled with mental issues. All in all, a bad combination.

[Vee]

Like I said before about these types of situations, it's very clear who this person actually is. Just keep things locked tight and move on.

[fivethej]

 

How exactly do you "keep things locked tight" when someone else is supplying him with the private links?

 

Tell that to every person who has lost their channel/group or else been forced to make it private all thanks to the gem.

[Vee]

Then people should be more careful who they supply to, or simply keep the videos off YouTube and in private lockers, period. This is not complicated. As long as this dude is around he's going to keep doing it. I'm sure I'm not the only person on this forum who's suspected for a long time who it actually is.