I've said this a million times but I always remember Marlena de la Croix lamenting that Reilly had taken about 50 IQ points from Marlena (the character).

I forgot to post this earlier, with all the Kristen/Jenn/Billie talk going on a while back . . . everyone ready?!? ED, Krista Allen, and Stephanie Cameron!

http://youtu.be/R49BJhNnSxE

Sweet mother of Murgatroyd! I can't imagine why people considered DAYS (or soaps) provincial or quaint in its sensibilities.

I always wondered how serious Reilly was when he once expounded on his would've-been plans for DAYS after he'd been dismissed in the '90s. He explained that he'd wanted Bo/Faux!Billie and John/Hope to be together, and that Bo and Hope could not get back together because of his "sacred vows to God" to Billie. The scary thing is that I've often thought he totally believed it.

Edited December 17, 201212 yr by Vee

That fake flashback is weird. Jennifer has the hair color she had after she went on the run, or became a prison guard, or whatever, and Eileen had obviously forgotten how to play "normal" Kristen by that time. She looks like she's about to initiate a drunken threeway, or devour their brains.

At least they tried.

Edited December 17, 201212 yr by CarlD2

Oh, was this some made-up flashback? Yeah, I don't understand how they were all friends at that point. Was this supposed to be a flashback to 1993 or something? I hated when DAYS would make scenes up and/or try to play them with the recasts. Here it feels especially unnatural with Krista Allen (awful) and Stephanie Cameron (wallpaper). And yeah, Kristen looks like a drag queen.

Edited December 17, 201212 yr by Vee

Yes. By this time I don't think Billie and Jennifer were as close, as Billie had become a bad girl. Kristen was presumed dead at this point, either that or was about to "die", as a complete town pariah.

I do wonder if they ever had a scene like this with Eileen/Reeves/Rinna. Probably not.

I can't get over how generic and lame their dialogue is either. I kept expecting them to start talking about feminine protection.

Now there was a wasted chance for product placement.

Kotex and Wanchai Ferry.

I agree with this.. especially in regards to Billie. Granted, you could argue that Billie changed the moment she was recast with Krista Allen.. but I recall that her Billie wasnt initially the psycho 3rd wheel in the triangle for awhile. However, didnt her Billie eventually get exposed and then move on after JER stopped writing the show? I seem to recall Billie having a fling with Roman then flirting with Nicholas ( setting up a Kate/Billie/Nicholas triangle that ended before it really began) before leaving in late 1999?

If I remember correctly, Krista Allen's Billie was basically ok until J.L. King (or one of his lackeys?) pumped heroin into her and then she got really needy toward Bo. Which is what I meant by a character thing turning into a plot thing (Billie's addiction). Then she got super schemey and it got so much worse when she found out she was pregnant.

Sally Sussman Morina, Reilly's successor, actually took Billie to the brink. She was the writer who had Billie lie about Hope causing her to lose her baby (who turned out to be Chelsea six years later). But SSM brought her back from the edge and started Billie's thing with law enforcement and teased her and Eric, put her with Roman, and then teased her with Nicholas. It seemed like Billie was floundering through '99, but TPTB didn't write her out till Krista Allen's contract expired. However, many agree that by the summer of '99, SSM wasn't actually responsible for the writing, Tom Langan was. But SSM is credited as head writer up until around the time Billie left the show.

That fake flashback is weird. Jennifer has the hair color she had after she went on the run, or became a prison guard, or whatever, and Eileen had obviously forgotten how to play "normal" Kristen by that time. She looks like she's about to initiate a drunken threeway, or devour their brains.

At least they tried.

I do wonder if they ever had a scene like this with Eileen/Reeves/Rinna. Probably not.

The description says it's a re-taped flashback from 1994. Everything about that scene is equal parts horrifying and hilarious. What's funny is that Billie's hair is supposed to be short there, but instead it's long (I assume as a nod to Krista's hair when she first joined the show) . . . in a recreated Bo & Billie flashback from Reilly Round II, they gave Julie Pinson super long extensions, too.

Thanks. If anyone has the original please post it. Can't quite imagine Reeves or ED doing that.

There's always something weird about seeing Eileen play a heroine. I never buy it.

I remember back when she was heroine Kristen, in love with John but stuck with Tony/Andre. I liked her. But now I kind of wonder how that got by with that for so long. Ashley was a kind of heroine on Y&R though, right? Kristen is when she went full-on villainess.

I hate the fake flashback thing so, so much. It's always so awkward and forced and unintentionally laughable. DAYS did it again when Greg Vaughan turned up a few weeks ago, with Ari Zuker trying to pretend to be 12 years younger with hair extensions ("ohhh, Eric!") and GV having to pretend to be Jensen Ackles aged 19 or whatever. It was ludicrous. This is exactly the [!@#$%^&*] no one takes seriously about DAYS.

I mean GH does the same thing, but true it's just as bad.

I agree with this.. especially in regards to Billie. Granted, you could argue that Billie changed the moment she was recast with Krista Allen.. but I recall that her Billie wasnt initially the psycho 3rd wheel in the triangle for awhile. However, didnt her Billie eventually get exposed and then move on after JER stopped writing the show? I seem to recall Billie having a fling with Roman then flirting with Nicholas ( setting up a Kate/Billie/Nicholas triangle that ended before it really began) before leaving in late 1999?

Krista Allen's Billie was one of the "good girls" when JER was writing in 1996-1997. Sally Sussman-Morina made Billie a scheemer but during Krista's last year on the show Billie moved on from Bo. She went undercover with Roman on his ISA mission, and they later hooked up in Salem. She also helped Sami and Austin when they were on the run to prove Sami was innocent of Franco's murder. And finally she started dating Nicholas but then found out he had feelings for Kate and left Salem.

JER made Julie Pinson's Billie a rapist during his second run.

I don't think he was permitted them. Palumbo and Reilly(/Anderson) had clear intentions with Roman as the "safe" (and very boring) choice. Ro never had a chance once WN returned. It sucks because he's one of the serial's most important characters who's devolved into a total joke.

I think that Reilly, for whatever reasons, started really telling "his" kind of stories (that were distinct on "Days" in '97/'03-'06 and all through "Passions") on "Days" somewhere 'round '95 . . . that's when "Tony" lost it, Peter went from grey to (deep) black, and the triangles went from ambiguous to very clear. By Kristen's total character 180 in '96, I don't think Reilly was remotely interested in displaying anyone's internal motivations . . . "I NEED John!!!" was the only motivation of Kristen's that he was compelled to put on screen. It's like how Billie's heroin addiction went from a complex, interesting character study with Lisa Rinna in the role to a plot point just to trigger (or by that point reinforce?) her dependency on Bo and soon after turn her into a patented Reilly third-wheel-in-the-triangle psycho. Despite some fondly recalling his first run, I think it was void of any meaningful depth and characterization. It being fun and compelling is a totally different discussion, but I still see it as very, very destructive.

And on the flip side, Reilly never allowed any of the "heroes" or "heroines" to show any perspective past their bubble (i.e. righteous indignation and their "fated romance"). I guess I've never even thought about the implications of Marlena being a psychiatrist and not, at least, musing on Kristen's clear mental breakdown. But by the time Mar became wise to Kristen, hadn't K already wreaked SOOO much havoc on M's life? If I were a Reilly heroine, I don't think I'd care about the psychological wellbeing of my Reilly villain counterpart who had tried to ruin/steal my life. Psychiatrist or not. LOL!

In terms of Wayne Northrup, I always got the feeling they didn't want him back. it was Dee's idea from what I heard and one of the conditions of her return, which apparently they were desperate for, and they totally humiliated the Roman character with the writing, not at all surprised Wayne left again.

I agree to an extent with the last line, but Marlena was always objective, rational and smart. She should have seen Kristen's behaviour change before all the craziness, that would have been more in character, though less fun. But I am sure they could have written some intense stuff around Kristen having a breakdown and it triggering her bi-polar/manic depression. With Marlena as her doctor, she could have still wreaked havoc with John and Marlena without everyone needing to be dumbed down so much.

So to cover up the lie in regards to How far along Gabi is, they say she and Nick hooked up as soon as he got out of prison. Huh? That still doesn't add up as he wasn't released till weeks after she slept with Will

Rafe: "Im Gabi's only family" He is? So they arent even gonna pretend that the mother is around just not seen anymore?

Edited December 18, 201212 yr by Cheap21

I can't decide who cared less about the man they loved dying, Jen on DAYS or Starr on GH.