DAYS: January Discussion Thread

[marlenafan]

BTW, let the Kristen vs Nicole beyach fest BEGIN! I'm SOOOOO looking forward to their rivalry. Arianne Zuker and Eileen Davidson are going to be a treat to watch going against each other!

[Gemma]

Thanks for the info Ira. Would Chad be willing to face jail time (though it's questionable given that he could probably squirm out of it somehow) to expose Gabi if it benefitted Will? Nick would have to have proof and overhearing someone is not proof and he didn't record it. EJ would never testify to what really happened. To a judge, Will would look much more fit than Gabi..... if it came out. Gabi doesn't deserve to be so happy. Two people died and she put her so-called best friend through hell just to have a chance with a guy who could care less about her romantically. I'm not a fan of Sami but involuntary confinement/hiring someone to stalk you warrants jail time. Kristen being evil is a good addition to the show but I wish she'd stop squealing like this is high school. She did it again today as she watched Marlena cry a river. Brady's a dolt.

[will81]

I gotta say the baby storyline wasn't great to begin with, but the fallout and aftermath have been handled well. This has affected Chad/Abby/Cameron and Sami/EJ/Rafe and of course Will/Sonny/Nick and Gabi. As well as getting Adrian and Justin and Lucas involved as supporting players which is excellent, I would also like to see Marlena and Kate involved to some extent.

The writers have done a great job of turning a somewhat lukewarm story into one I am currently enjoying, the pacing is better and they are getting more into the heads of the characters. The fact that this story has had an impact on other stories, and can potentially affect characters and stories for years to come is what makes good soap opera. It finally feels like they are planning for the future instead of trying to hold a sinking ship together until the next renewal.

I also loved the other day when Will had his hands around Sonny's neck and was playing with his ear. Chandler is doing a great job of the little things with Will and Sonny that are making this couple more believable.

The weakest part of this show is still Jenn/Daniel. Everything else is coming together. And other things have potential, but this pairing is still bleh. The only thing that makes it even somewhat watchable is Chole, Maggie, Kate and the small bits with Billie. But that makes me hate the couple more as they are using these characters in a story with a couple I don't like, and I don't care what they do, I just don't like Daniel.

[will81]

Well what Nick heard could be dismissed as hear-say. Chad might make the sacrifice if it meant proving himself to Abby and to make it up to Will, as he seems to care about both of them a lot. I think things would have to be dire though for that to happen as he wouldn't want to risk messing things up again in case revealing the truth backfired.

[dc11786]

They were vague on the sworn statement deal. I suspect the sworn statements each state Chad and Gabi are innocent of the crimes that they are truly guilty of. If Chad were to testify in court that Gabi is guilty, he would be guilty of perjury as his sworn statement states the opposite. Similarly, I suspect, if Nick claims Chad was guilty of beating him up, he would be guilty of perjury because one would assume his sworn statement clears Chad of any wrongdoing.

CD's contract is up this summer. I bet the decision to send Chad to prison will depend on whether or not CD renews.

[KMan101]

I noticed it too. Suzanne has looked really good lately. She does look great for her age.

+1000

[marlenafan]

Yes, I agree, I think that is Eileen Davidson's acting choice and I hate when she does that. It makes her seem so cartoonish and teenage. When she does it, she teleports herself back to the 90s when Days was more campy. I need her to not be campy with her character. I mean, this woman as hot as she is, is in her early 50s and it is 2013. Leave that stuff to Gabi and Abby. I would much rather see Kristen give an evil smirk or something else. She is good at giving those.

[Antoyne]

I enjoy the high school squeals and the evil grins equally.

[Cheap21]

[will81]

Yeah the school girl giddiness sometimes gets to me, but I also think it makes her seem more mentally unstable, instead of just bad or evil, which I sort of like.

I do like that she isn't giving up on Brady, and Stefano called it when he thought it might be more than just revenge on Marlena and John. She is definitely falling for Brady. But what do they do with that? Make her change her ways slightly, give up the vandetta, but still do bad things (though not evil things) behind his back and he never finds out about what she did to Marlena and John, make Brady a bad boy who discovers she is bad and who goes along with Kristen (almost like some people begin using drugs to connect with their partner) or have her be revealed and Brady dumps her and she goes completely psycho obsessed again.

The last option is the worst for me, simply because it will write Kristen into a corner, isolate her even more and end with her being written off (unless Vivian comes back as her ally and friend somehow, or bring in someone new) No way will Chad or EJ go along with it.

There is also the possibility of her going completely psycho, Marlena putting her in a psych ward (sweet vengeance) and being redeemed, this would take a few years of story and it would be interesting to see Kristen in a mental institution.

I honestly would have loved Kate to move away from the Salem community more, stay married to Stefano and have her be Kristen's step-mother and have them and even Billie interact. Even be friendly. When Eileen returned and Kate filed for divorce I thought that was a missed opportunity to stabilise the DiMera's. They could have had Kate, Billie and Kristen go into business against Sami, EJ and Brady with Brady ultimately defecting because of Kristen.

[JackPeyton]

Yes the hammy OTT 90s camp can be annoying, but I agree that it's a good fit for her. It really shows she's not just evil, but likely mentally unstable and [!@#$%^&*] out there and needs a whole lot of help lol. Eileen does it well most of the time too. It's so nice to see dee hall actually showing up and putting an effort in snow too. It's such a shame drake is as horrid as he is, he's the weak link. Martsolf is actually doing a damn fine job IMHO.

[jfung79]

I think Drake Hogestyn may be the only weak actor on the entire show, which is kind of sad (because he is a vet) and awesome (because it means everyone else is good) at the same time. I thought John had already left last week, so I was surprised to see him again. But I was glad to see him saying goodbye to Marlena, Brady, and Eric. Eric's confrontation with Brady was nice.

Nicole being shifted to going up against Kristen by talking to Father Matthew (I believe that was his name) was probably not what the priest had in mind, LOL, but that talk was still a good scene exploring Nicole's character.

There was an interesting parallel where Marlena tried to get through to John unsuccessfully by kissing him passionately in the cafe, as Will had done the day before with Sonny. I wonder if Will and Marlena will discuss this parallel when they next meet.

I hadn't really thought of Kristen's giggling being that unusual or indicating mental instability. Interesting idea, but the giggling is just a little quirk and isn't that noticeable to me. I also don't consider it campy. Campy was when Eileen Davidson was playing a gazillion different characters back in the day. I giggle with glee sometimes too, although not because of getting revenge on someone!

[will81]

I guess the giggling and jumping stuff didn't start until Kristen went off the deep end in the late 90's and was one upping Marlena (Kristen never did this previous to that) So for me it is a reminder of that period and just serves to remind me of how insane she was. Eileen has toned it down a lot, but keeping that little element connects the new Kristen to the old one for me.

I will say, it might not work in current days, but I miss Eileen/Kristen yelling Maarlanuh! Don't see current Kristen doing this, mostly because her anger is well hidden, she is more seething and vengeful now and less psychotic and batshit crazy. At least on the outside.

[marlenafan]

Even though Drake has been the weakest link in the storyline, I must say, he really isn't that bad. He just looks really bad because Dee Hall, Eileen Davidson, and Eric Martsolf are showing up for work and sinking their teeth into their scenes. I am sure Drake is trying to do the same thing but the aforementioned three just have a lot more range than he does so he isn't quite measuring up to them in this storyline. However, I think, for Drake Hogestyn, he's been doing a decent job. With his current level of acting, I am sure he would seem outstanding in scenes opposite Camila Banus, Casey Deidrick, or even Galen Gering lol

But on a serious note, I do get annoyed when actors (who are weak actors) spend years in the industry without improving their craft. As much as I enjoy John's character (even though he is presently getting on my nerves), I just think that the actor has spent much too long on this show interacting and sharing scenes with too many seasoned and phenomenal talent to not be a better actor in 2013. I mean, my god! Over the years, he has been in scenes and stories with Lauren Koslow, Joseph Mascolo, John Aniston, Louise Sorel, Eileen Davidson, Dee Hall, Peter Reckell, Wayne Northrop, Michael Sabatino, Thaao Penghlis, Genie Francis, just to name a few off the top of my head. Not to mention the fact that I am sure he has seen many shows and movies with other folk that have great acting ability. Do you mean to tell me that after all these years, this dude has still not picked up anything that would make him capable of keeping up with the talent around him? No pointers where gleaned? No notes where taken? Or perhaps he did learn from them and this is the best he can do. Then he wants to turn around and do twitter campaigns about keeping John in Salem? I'm sorry but if TPTB were to let go of Drake after his story is over, I wouldn't be surprised. Based on what I see, the writers are attempting more character driven storylines and it takes great acting to pull those off. One is never too old to use an acting coach. However, if loosing Drake means that we get Peter Reckell back, I am all for it! <End Rant>

[KMan101]

When Drake was let go in 2007 and John died, Marlena was on fire and so compelling to watch. Dee showed up to work and it showed. I really think Marlena works best away from John, on a majority of levels. As much as I honestly enjoyed Robo-John, I wish they hadn't caved and brought Drake back in 2008 only to write him out paralyzed a year later. I think I got that timeline right.

I really do miss Peter Reckell. More than I really thought I would. Bo has been such a staple. I think it's also ridiculous we haven't seen Shawn or Belle come back. Philip and Chloe have an endless amount of returns and exits and they're just sailing around happily? LOL. I guess good for them but I really hope the show isn't holding out for Jason Cook or Kirsten Storms.