DAYS: Behind the Scenes, Articles/Photos

[Dion]

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15 minutes in.

 

 

[JAS0N47]

1994 weekly ratings: http://www.jason47.com/days/nielsens1994.html

1995 weekly ratings: http://www.jason47.com/days/nielsens1995.html

[DRW50]

Thanks @Dion !

[Titus Andronicus]

A little late here, but the blowoff to Maison Blanche was incredible and probably my favorite episodes overall. The hurricane, the fire, Roman saving John and Marlena, Tony going blind. Stefano escaping with Hope, but their boat tipping over. John, who had run after Stefano, finding Hope and carrying her to the first light he saw ... which happened to be Bo's and Billie's hotel room where they're about to do it for the first time.

John barges in with the unconscious Hope and Billie's the first to see her. The look on her face was amazing. Everything she had fought for, a decent life, Bo, just blew up right there because this person looks a whole lot like Hope.

I enjoyed the Susan storyline when it aired, but it was pretty much the end. John had been so dumbed down he was braindead. I couldn't watch the Jonesy stuff when it aired. So demeaning to such a great character as Vivian.

[carolineg]

Love Maison Blanche.  I go back and forth all the time about whether that or Aremid is my favorite.  I think Maison Blanche pushed more story for multiple people-Stefano's return, Hope's return, Bo/Billie, Tony/Kristen, Peter/Jen, the end of Roman/Marlena etc than Aremid did.  

I still like the Susan story if only because I thought Marlena/Kristen were gold in the Secret Room.  It was clearly the beginning of the end though with John and Marlena being very dumb by not figuring Susan out and the fact that they were clearly in love with one another.  There is dragging things out and there is John missing the most obvious social cues every day of his life.  The Elvis wedding was like the precursor to the wacky Jonesy stuff.  Neither were as funny as JER thought. 

[Franko]

Not long after the Hope & Billie moment @Titus Andronicus mentioned, but still worth noting. Lisa Rinna is breaking my heart here.

 

 

[Dion]

I just found this and I absolutely adore it lol

 

[Vee]

I loved Maison Blanche. So much. I never had it in for Hope/Gina, because I found Kristian Alfonso fascinating (if much tamer on DAYS than she'd been on Melrose Place, my first exposure to her) but I adored Billie.

I do remember JER gave a very explicit interview in '97 or so about how he felt John/Hope could be a major couple and would be together bc John and Marlena must pay for their sins against God - adultery, or whatever - and Bo must honor his marriage vows to NuBillie. He gave no indication of reuniting the prior couples at that time. I never knew how much of it was him mugging for the press and playing the teaser, because Reilly's issues with his faith were truly twisted and dogmatic onscreen, especially on Passions later. I did think Drake and Kristian had chemistry, but no one has ever utilized it properly.

I also loved Mike and Carrie at the time - sue me.

Edited September 29, 2021 by Vee

[carolineg]

You know, thinking about it Kristian and Drake did have chemistry and really always have even when he was playing Roman.  Their love scene was pretty hot.   I think it's just a case of two characters that really don't belong together ala Shane/Kayla.   I think there was a brief window of time post Maison Blanche/Gina/Hope confusion where it could have worked but John was a priest. 

I never knew anything about that interview and I didn't think JER was particularly pro-John/Hope.  I thought it was more of a Langan thing, but the seeds were planted all the way back at MB when John found Gina/Hope which I always thought was strange and meant something.  And of course the Jungle stuff. 

So JER's reasoning would be Jarlena need to pay for their affair etc before being together so John gets punished by hooking up with Hope while Marlena gets to repent for her sins alone for the next 4 more years?  Sounds fair.  Oh JER.......

[FrenchBug82]

I am going to share what is probably going to be an unpopular opinion but while I don't question the John/Marlena chemistry and the fact they are the end game, I found DH was considerably more interesting when playing John/Gina, John/Kristen and John/Kate.

[carolineg]

I think it was probably more interesting for DH to play these stories and it showed. I assume the DH's get bored of playing similar stories year after year.  I think John/Kristen and even John/Kate were something different, but I found the John/Gina stuff entirely awful.  It really felt like something that has been pushed and pushed on us for years even up to last year.  It's not going to happen.  The audience hates it.  Let it die. 

The best Drake stuff was probably the post-Roman into the Isabella death story IMO.  I do think Drake is an actor that tends to have good chemistry with most of his female love interests though and that's pretty rare. 

[Dion]

Here's an interview with JER, not the one Vee mentions, but he does talk about "The affair", why Victor was put on the backburner and suffered a stroke, why it took so long to give Mike a story and why it took so long for Eric to be introduced. Also talks about the then unnamed Passions.

 

https://www.serialscoop.com/2016/04/flashback-days-of-our-lives-head-writer.html

[Vee]

That's the sanest interview I've ever seen with him (and they're rare, period).

[FrenchBug82]

It is a bit cross-threads comment but I have to laugh at his description of what he saw as the drama being completely drained from Roman's return because this reminds me so much of what we are saying about GH right now.

[carolineg]

Thanks!  Interesting stuff.  Isn't it common knowledge that JER had a falling out with JA and that's why Victor didn't appear?  I have a hard time believing there was no story for him, but the show was pretty packed with stuff going on I guess.   I don't really get the narrative that you can't have two villians the same age either since they are really two different types of villians

I appreciate his ideas and him bringing back threads like the Tale of 2 Romans stuff, but I wouldn't agree Marlena was just like "oopsie, my bad" after it all.  There were some mitigating circumstances.

I don't know why it was so hard to find an Eric.  Jensen was good and obviously capitalized on his success, but it's not like he brought that much to Eric lol.  I am sure there were a lot of guys in Hollywood that could bring something similar to the table, but I know his story was dropped or interfered with.

 

The drama was drained because the Tale of 2 Romans stuff dragged on forever!  Even if it didn't in actuality it seemed like forever and there didn't seem to be a real way to get out of it except the way they did with Isabella pregnant, which I always thought was too much extra drama on top since they obviously knew Wayne was coming back.