DAYS: Behind the Scenes, Articles/Photos

[carolineg]

I would personally put Dee up for the win in 1980.   I feel like that's her strongest work.

But I would absolutely put her in the 1995 nominees....

[Dion]

Another thought that just occurred to me is that someone (maybe Reilly) thought Jarlena (and Marlena in particular - with the obvious double standards at play here) needed to be punished for a bit as their relationship was adulterous.

[carolineg]

Perhaps, and that's where the devil/religion came into play, but I don't think he lost sight of the endgame in Jarlena ever.  It's clear he adored them.

And Good god Marlena has suffered more than most for [!@#$%^&*] on a conference room table and marrying that man approximately 20 years ago

Edited September 26, 2021 by carolineg

[Dion]

Yes, he definitely did adore them and never lost sight of them as endgame. And the series of "punishments" they endured also helpfully gave the other characters a chance to plausibly forgive and start rooting for them.

Except Sami of course. She has never fully forgiven them.

[carolineg]

Lol   I still love Sami bringing it up.  The entire town is like it's been decades and we are cool with that, but not our Sami   She will just bring it up casually on the reg.  I wish she'd sell Belle on  the black market again

[Vee]

Probably, yes. If they did it now I wouldn't blink tbh.

[carolineg]

Well, Shawn and Belle would full on be committing incest as well as Brady but I would full on  be onboard if Brady was Brady Brady lol

[Dion]

That reminds me how the show once again rewrote John's past in 2014 (making him not Colleen Brady's son after all) all so Brady and Theresa could hook up without them being second cousins.

Like c'mon, they were toxic anyway, them being second cousins wouldn't have mattered lol!

[te.]

Hell, Belle would probably be a more exciting character with a bit of incest.

[Dion]

Both Belle's nanny and Brady's nanny had taken the Christmas period off and there was noone else to cover during the Christmas period so Alice suggested that Gina could cover for both nannies during the holiday season. I believe Alice thought that Gina would benefit from being around John for a while as he'd had similar experiences to Gina.

[will81]

Speaking of Kristen/John/Roman/Marlena

One of things I remember is Wayne and Diedre just didn't have the same chemistry anymore but Drake and Dee were off the charts, which honestly made whatever Wayne and Dee once had seem like a distant memory. When Eileen came on, she and Drake had strong enough chemistry, even if it wasn't as strong as Drake and Diedre. It was still good and worked well.

I never ever saw Kristen as anything more than a distraction, even before she went full DiMera. If NBC or anyone from the show wanted John/Kristen, they were going to be disappointed. I never saw them together long term, granted I didn't expect the turn of events we got, but as soon as Kristen doubted John's innocence and hid that letter I think we all knew the show was gearing up for a J&M reunion.....eventually

The other thing is and what doesn't get talked about very often, Eileen and Dee had quite a strong and fascinating chemistry too that was just as instrumental as John/Marlena or John/Kristen. There was always a tension between them that was great to watch and was another reason that trio worked so beautifully and the Drake/Dee/Wayne trio did not. Wayne just didn't fit well with that pair and Eileen did. Even 12 or so years later when she returned it was all still there. 

[carolineg]

That seems like very poor planning on Jarlena's part to give BOTH their nannies Christmas off lol, but thanks for the explanation.  I vaguely remember Gina/Hope being the nanny and then we got Brady/Belle's regular nanny Chelsea back eventually.  I am actually ashamed that I knew Belle/Brady's nanny's name off the top of my head lol

Yeah, Deidre and Wayne seem to lose some of their romantic chemistry for sure.  They still work well together, but the writing was clearly stacked against that pairing and all for John.

I think Eileen was a big enough name and a decent get for Days that they may have ran with John/Kristen.  The story just got very muddled with Tony and the Possession seemed to build John/Marlena back up, but Aremid is where JER went all in with the pairing.

I think Eileen/Kristen worked better with John/Marlena because the whole situation is OTT.   Wayne's Roman was just more down to earth as a character.  I can't see him battling devils or hanging out in the underworld of Paris. 

I've always wondered how Isabella would have fit to all of this if Staci Greason would have re-signed her contract.  I believe the Affair was already planned with or without Isabella and I just have always wondered how that would have played out.

[Vee]

The idea of NBC/Sony hiring Eileen and pushing for Drake with a younger woman wouldn't surprise me at all. But I do think they did work well together at the time, even if I felt the Tony story was so stupid (and a waste of Thaao Penghlis, who would continue to be squandered for years to come until they finally brought back the real, more benevolent Tony).

I wonder how much was plotted out with Isabella still in the mix - all the way to the boardroom scenes? I wonder basically a) when they decided to do the affair vs. leaving John with Isabella and Marlena with Roman (assuming that was originally the intent when Dee and Wayne returned) and b) when they decided John and Marlena was the endgame. I don't know if Dee, Drake, etc. have ever spoken on how the storyline and BTS machinations evolved. I always assumed it was a done deal as soon as they fucked at Titan, and I'd forgotten that was around when Eileen first came in. Knowing JER he may have just been lying in wait on the long game for the couple even then.

Edited September 26, 2021 by Vee

[titan1978]

I remember thinking the show either didn’t want them together or wasn’t ready for that endgame yet.  There were times it seemed like the connection was being kept alive by the two of them and not the show.

I loved Wayne.  And he could be very intense as Roman, but he also had a sarcastic and fun side in his original run and his whole story upon returning was dealing with the trauma of what happened, creating a bond with John, and convincing Marlena he was Roman.  He wasn’t really written well.  Although I do think his Roman would have been utterly betrayed by the affair and his anger rang true to me.

[JAS0N47]

THE "DAYS" BIBLE...ALICE HORTON

 

Here's the next batch of pages from the 1964 "Days" bible, which detail the life of Alice Horton: https://www.jason47.com/days/daysbible.html

 

Edited September 26, 2021 by JAS0N47