Days recast

[Liberty City]

 

Except, Daytime Confidential only reported it as rumour... not verifiable casting. He looks amazing in his first portrait as EJ!

[DRW50]

EJ was a terrible character who mostly just got fan response because a lot of people wanted to [!@#$%^&*] James Scott. And now we will have the same response. Why not bring in a new character who isn't an emo woe rapist trotting out "witty" one-liners?

 

I guess, given Ron's love of this type of man in his soap "writing," he just has to belch another one out. 

Edited May 22, 2021 by DRW50

[soapfan770]

The legacy of Hogan Sheffer and his irresponsible irreparable damage still haunts both Days and Y&R to this day. 

[KMan101]

 

No lies here, Carl. Spot on. I was never a fan of EJ. I was willing to give the new guy a shot and give the character a fresh chance but eh, it's Ron so ... (too bad he made Stefan a rapist too and killed him; Jake doesn't cut it) 

 

Ron is very short-sighted as a writer. And I think even he'd probably admit it (he said on Twitter he shouldn't have killed Jordan). He does things for shock and doesn't really think about the long-term. 

 

EJ really shouldn't even exist as he is. Rapid aging ... and then the terrible writing.

 

I mean, even Sweeney was drinking the Scott kool-aid and seemed to think the EJ/Sami relationship was the be all end all. Now she's back on the Lumi train.

 

 

It sure does

 

Side note, I also have to LOL we've known this since March and it was just "confirmed" in May, literally almost two months to the day (which is better than it used to be!)

 

Remember when we'd hear of someone being cast and then not see them for like six months and by the time they were airing we learned they were already gone? Fun times. lol

Edited May 23, 2021 by KMan101

[soapfan770]

 
EJ really should’ve have been Benjy or some lost son of Tony & Anna instead of the ridiculous notion he was Elvis, whose own origin was absolutely silly to begin with. A Passions story before there was a Passions lol. 
 

 

EJ had a such a promising start but the whole blackmail rape was a disaster IMO that when EJ and Sami had gross grief sex in 2011 I turned Days off for good for  a couple years there, especially since Days had spent two whole years pushing the idea Rafe & Sami were the new Roman & Marlena. 

As for Carlivati, I’ve seen his name hyped up and also very disparaged lol for years but Days is the first time I’ve seen his work first hand. Entertaining overall but he clearly went to the same writing school of thought with Hogan, Kriezman, Hamner, Pratt etc. when it came to “redeeming” villains. The fact Ben Weston exists is utterly absurd but straight out of Sheffer’s old playbook.

Edited May 23, 2021 by soapfan770

[Skin]

I’m of the opinion that EJ likely wouldn’t work without Scott in the role. He in so many ways made the character plausible and ultimately made so many of his storylines bearable. It says volumes that within a few years so many Days storylines ended up involving him as a crux point, either as an antagonist, point of conflict or an accelerator of other stories.
 

People may hate EJ but I think his role on the canvas was pivotal in maturing Days beyond ridiculous “New Salem” storylines and the dried and busted love triangles between Nicole, Brady, Chloe, Shelle and whatever other nonsense existed, prior to him, and Sami in drag, mooning over Austin spreading epigenetics lies because she can’t stand her sister being happy or some other nonsense mess. 
 

His influence on the canvas is pretty obvious, which is why the show had like three clones of him in some shape or form since his exit with Chad, Brandon Barash’s character, and that Tyler Christopher role. All of them are in some way EJ-lite because he was able to transition the show beyond the regular paint by numbers Days dynamics. 
 

I’m not terribly interested in this return just because I don’t think Days is a suitable soap any longer, and it feels like this return will diminish what the character was for the better part of a decade.
 

EJ also just feels like something of a bit of a by gone era, and towards the end he just felt like the half of Sami, she was reluctant to really recognize. The darker villainess that really came into her powers in the end by acknowledging who she was warts and all. Sami was playing pretend with Lucas, Austin, Rafe and all the others. While with EJ she was just herself, and he wanted all of her any way so she never had to play pretend and be Fake Carrie or Fake Belle for him to love her. I don’t think Ron will really get that, so it’s a bit of a moot reunion.

Edited May 23, 2021 by Skin

[AbcNbc247]

How can we forget 

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[soapfan770]

 

LOL....

 

Didn’t this happen the same week Vivian & Ivan dressed up as a hot dog & french fry mascots for a greasy spoon establishment as part of the Jonesey money story?

[j swift]

I think DAYS has actually done a good job at setting up the canvas for EJ's return.  Obviously, he'll be a spanner in the Lucas/Sami relationship, but this time there is enough fan support for the reunion of those two characters that it makes that a viable triangle. 

 

Also, we have former lovers Nicole and Kate being single.  Nicole tends to wallow as a character without a love interest, and Eric has been gone for nearly a year, so she needed something to do.  BTW does anyone in Salem recall that Rafe and Kate dated?

 

The emergence of Jake and Brady in business sets up some interesting story potential for EJ.  The recent Susan shenanigans, and her subsequent exit, means that DAYS won't need to deal with EJ's odd origin story.  Also, given Clyde's part in EJ's exit, it sets up some story potential for Ben, aside from Ciara.

 

SO, while he could have been a number of other characters, strategically, this seems like the correct time for EJ to return.  I just hope he isn't wearing a mask.

Edited May 23, 2021 by j swift

[Skin]

 

Yeah, this sort of speaks to the element I was thinking about before when I mentioned that EJ was influential enough to create like three clones of himself that impacted the canvas after his departure in 2014. Jake, Chad and Stefan essential played the role 'EJ' would have played if he was still on the canvas, more or less. They are EJ just with different names. 

 

Overall this sort of implies to me that Jake, Chad and Stefan weren't used effectively -- or it implies that they weren't able to capture the show with the same fervor JS did in a similar role. If EJ is still needed to deal with this much story on the table, and resolve so much it just underscores the value and importance of the role, and getting the right actor to play it. It makes me think they really were underprepared on how to handle the show when JS left.   

[Vee]

E.J. isn't the first or last dark male antihero lead on a soap (let alone on DAYS). He isn't even the thirtieth. He did not fundamentally change the shape of the show. Was he a very popular lead, of course. But there's not one single character or actor on American soaps in the 21st century who has innovated or altered the larger form of any soap opera in any real or lasting way.

 

Can a recast go well - sure. But while the actor seems to have a solid resume the writing isn't there, James Scott isn't there, and I don't expect much from the endeavor. Plus, in this day and age, a rapist lead just isn't cute. He may well continue to have a major presence on the show, but I don't think it's anything revolutionary.

Edited May 24, 2021 by Vee

[j swift]

I wonder if the sudden onset of EJ's exit story as a drug dealer, coupled with the later retcon of his demise, leads to the idea of DAYS being caught off guard by Mr. Scott's decision to quit?  Certainly, Sami's exit felt more planned, due to the groundwork which had been laid for weeks prior to her exit, and Gabi was in place as a suitable replicate as the romantic, yet somewhat morally corrupt, heroine.

[Skin]

Yeah despite commentary to the contrary there were definitely moments on the show where EJ was a major machination to plot where he fed story of multiple players in Salem, and it was like that for like 7 years. There were definitely moments where it felt like he was involved in way too much at times, but the soap liked putting him in the thick of so many things, as a lynchpin. It makes me think they knew what viewers were interested in watching, and just went hog wild. When I look at what Days was in 2003 - 2006, and then compare it to what Days eventually became post 2010, it just feels like a completely different show. I remember Days in 2003 and 2004 and it was a hot mess, compared to what Days was in like 2012 and 2013.  

 

EJ was often ubiquitous, even appearing in stories where he really shouldn't have been involved at all (every time he was involved in the whole Steve/Patch stuff, or he shared scenes with Bo and Hope it honestly felt like overkill). That Mayor storyline with him and Abe was ridiculous, along with having him involved so heavily with Will (more than even his own father). But the soap liked him being an agitator to Safe, and giving Nicole stories so that was that. 

 

I really can't think of a character who was like him in that he straddled the line of 'good/evil'  like he did on the show, yet still received warm reception from fans and the audience, enough to still want him to either win or have a happy ending. You would have to go back a generation or so to find maybe Tony or Jack who came on the show in the 80's for that similar reception. I hesitate to find an equivalent of a male lead who played the role of anti-hero so effectively that he popped in all of his scenes regardless of context be it dramatic, romantic or humorous.  

Edited May 25, 2021 by Skin

[Vee]

Plenty of antihero characters are lynchpins or drive heavy plot. It's been that way since at least Roger Thorpe on GL in the '70s. If you want to talk about a similar antihero on this specific show then yes, I suppose you could make a case for that. But in a larger sense, E.J. is not different or special; he did not revolutionize DAYS or the genre. The '80s revolutionized DAYS, the supercouple and high adventure era; JER in the '90s revolutionized DAYS. All E.J.'s presence did was help them shift focus while also, not coincidentally, changing the same bad HW who had been there for years. If you want to know what really changed the show, it was finally firing Reilly for the final time. He should never have been allowed back.

[janea4old]

 

This.