DAYS: Behind the Scenes, Articles/Photos

[carolineg]

If you just started watching in 2000 Maggie was random.  In fact, I am not even sure why she had a restaurant.  I don't remember that being of an interest to her previously, but I honestly can't recall any jobs Maggie had really.

I loved the glamour of those formal restaurants!  I never really thought about the practicality of it lol.  It does seem a little excessive now to put a suit and ballgown on to go to your local Italian restaurant where you basically are dining with the same people you see everyday, but I wish they'd bring it back.   Days always kept changing locales of these fancy restaurants too-The Penthouse Grille, Tuscany, Chez Rouge (Vous?).

I know people like that 2000-2002 ere of Days, but I absolutely hated it.  So much of the teens and I hated pretty much every story John/Marlena and Bo/Hope got (except the baby switch).  So much time spent on Father John/Gina and the baby's father for it to be Bo.   I don't think I have ever hated an introduction of a legacy child more than Brady.  He's fine now, but I swear he seemed borderline psychotic when he was introduced lol.

[Contessa Donatella]

Didn't Maggie initially begin to help Alice with Alice's Restaurant? And then it just became a natural next step? I could be wrong! But, I have this little memory tickling me. I don't think of Maggi & job or career or occupation.

[janea4old]

 

 

 

Edited October 3, 2022 by janea4old

[AbcNbc247]

Eugene and Calliope 

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I think Doug and Julie couldn't make it for some reason. Maggie was living in New York at the time, Tommy was long gone, Don had already left to go mail the letter and Marie had just stopped appearing by that point as well, which sucks because in her final weeks on the show, she was helping Hope plan the wedding. But I was surprised that Mickey wasn't there.

[victoria foxton]

 

  

[carolineg]

Now that you say that I think you are right.  I just never considered it an organic choice for Maggie, but I guess it was something for her to do.

 

I don't know if I would consider Eve underrated (not directed at you @victoria foxtonspecifically).  Pretty much everyone remembered her/Charlotte Ross even before KDP took over.   Nick and April I suppose, but I wasn't big fans of either in rewatch.  

[Contessa Donatella]

I feel like we've uncovered an imposter restauranteur!

I don't think any of them was underrated. Eve had lots of story & adoring fans! Nick also had lots of story & was a favorite of many. And, Boom Boom? Gosh, she was huge! I think they're all 3 great characters, B list, not A, and celebrating them is a fine idea.

[victoria foxton]

As a kid i liked Nick and April. And still have a soft spot for them.

[Contessa Donatella]

I loved the whole lot of them! And my love for Boom Boom also spreads over to her brothers, Emilio & Julio. They were the best Latin family!

[victoria foxton]

Thank you for not saying Latinx. And i agree never liked the Hernandez clan.

[Contessa Donatella]

They just don't measure up. Remember how cute Carrie & Julio were? Not to mention Michael T. Weiss & Boom Boom.

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[DynamiteKiddo]

I recall everything fondly till like Greta’s coronation (I even liked Virtual Eden!

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)… then everything really sucked till Brash & Cwikly, who I think were the best head writing team of the 2000’s, even though I didn’t co-sign everything they did (mostly the Billie/Bo/Hope/Larry story and the Gemini twins).

Langan’s writing for J&M, B&H, and J&J was really hateful, no doubt about it.  And while the Brady story was sooo hateful, I will say it is a time when Marlena had a lot of agency and an identity with AND separate from John, which I can still appreciate.  She had the revival of her radio show, which incorporated her messy relationship with Roman at the time, dredged up the Samantha stuff + Hattie/Rolf, and created a feud with Nancy.  And, of course, she had alllll the family drama with John, Brady, and Belle.  In all the years since (except for TomSell, but she was sooo back burner then), she’s suffered from the 1/2 of a supercouple curse.  (I guess she had a real moment under Sheffer when John was “dead” for a min.) But Langan obviously had a lot of contempt for the super couples and he esp. seemed to resent Marlena and Jack.  This was, overall, one of the worst periods in the show’s history, despite my nostalgia for some of it.  But what I look back at most fondly was that with Langan as ep and hw, it felt like the show never had more $$… almost everyone had a home set and there were so many public spaces.  Salem really was a complete town.  This continued with Brash & Cwikly, but then they were fired for budgetary issues (too many big sets and all cast events with long hours, iirc) and Higley did obviously economize the show.  I remember a lot of sets being used when Reilly returned but it was never the same after 2002.  A lot of people hate on Steve Wyman (he did have some bizarre aesthetics with all the color/b&w manipulated freeze frames and flashbacks), but I think the show always looked good under him.  Obviously, Ed Scott’s “Days” looked the best (even with only half the sets of years’ past) and was sooo different from the show’s normal aesthetic… it’s a shame he was one of the first casualties of what would become the massive budget desecration.

[carolineg]

I agree with nearly everything you are saying.  Marlena did have some interesting stories outside of John, but most of it ended up dropped.  Langan seemed to be determined to make his own supercouples with the teens and the fixation on John/Gina.  And at that point just make Zach John's.  In the scheme of things it wouldn't have mattered at all.  Zach was killed off.   It went on so long without much payoff.

Jack and Marlena were obviously not Langan's faves at the same time I thought John and Jen weren't painted in very good light either.  I don't feel like Hope/Bo acted that out of character (except when Gina obvi).  John was so wildly out of character letting Brady speak to Marlena like that in her house, his obsession with Greta/Gina, and just being an all around rage monkey.  I don't even want to start on Jen and the Colin Murphy situation lol.  I also felt Langan didn't really know what to do with Sami after the Franco murder/execution story ended.  Eric, Greta, Austin, etc didn't have any direction either.

The show was really at it's peak in budget back then though.  

Steve Wyman and those freeze frames though.....

In retrospect Langan wasn't the worst about supercouples.  Higley clearly hated Marlena and Reily Jack.  

[px780]

I think Days clicked for me partly because of Sami, who, like Nancy, wasn't played by the typical looking person on television. It's interesting that of all the things they try to repeat on the show, they haven't cast one or two other regular-and-pretty people in significant roles. 

[victoria foxton]

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