Reilly on DAYS - a renewed appreciation

[titan1978]

I’ve been binging Reilly’s first DAYS run on YouTube, mostly the Marlena stuff but a lot of other stories have been featured too (Carly buried alive, Curtis Reed, etc), and I had truly forgotten how balanced and really good the show was under him during those first couple of years.

When I used to think of Reilly and DAYS, I remembered more of the later original era- over the top, stories/characters in their own bubbles, everyone talking to themselves all the time, the constant triangles with the same people.  But that earlier run is more like what he was doing with Demorest and Curlee at GL (which I binged during the earlier part of the pandemic).

It really is an ensemble show- all the A and B storyline lead characters have their own stories and crossover with others.  There is a lot of emotional stakes, the characters have believable differences in income levels, the younger characters have a point of view, they have working/school lives and home lives.  Yes, Carly buried alive was gothic and over the top like the whole show became, but it didn’t feel the same as it does just a couple of years later.

Look at Kate- it is a master stroke to make that family the way they did-  Horrible Curtis, Austin tied to the Bradys with Carrie and Sami/Billie with Bo. Laura’s return and the eventual reveal about Lucas.

Sami- she’s been the insufferable Sami for so long it is hard to remember all the steps that got us there.  The affair, her complicated relationship with John before and after her witnessing him with Marlena.  Her over devotion to Roman. Bulimia, closeness and then also intense rivalry with Carrie, her rape by Alan, faking Belle’s paternity, the kidnapping with plans to sell her!  She has many more layers before the affair/baby reveal.  Once that happens she is pretty much the Sami she would be for the rest of Reilly’s run, especially towards Carrie and Marlena.  Eric not being there really does stand out though.

The affair- it all makes sense.  Even Roman’s stubborn refusal to forgive is rooted in his character.  I wonder if Wayne had stayed if they would have eventually gotten back together.  I know in hindsight it seemed like the show was shipping John/Marlena, but she is so miserable and longing for Roman to take her back.  Soaps just don’t take chances like this with their major leads anymore.  And Drake still had a lot of charm and personality that just kind of evaporates once his past as a priest is revealed.

Once possessed Marlena floats for the first time, it’s like the whole show is different from that point on.  The community and crossover effect was greatly diminished, replaced by people mostly staying inside their own story bubbles.  And MarDevil was for sure the beginning of constant talking to yourself and almost being overheard.

I know the later era and Passions has lots of fans, it just wasn’t for me.  But that earlier period I could watch anytime and find something to sink my teeth into.

[carolineg]

I agree with you!  I loved JER's first run for the most part.  The wheels starting to fall off the bus around Paris and really got nutty around the Secret Room/Susan/alters/etc, but I always felt there was a community feel.  Aremid and even Paris still felt like a full cast experience. 

I believe Sherri Anderson was there for most of the beginning so that helped reign JER in.

The character takes you had were great.  

Some quick thoughts-

Eric was always a weird missing piece.  His absence was glaring for so long, but Sami as a misunderstood teen to a villian was great.

Wayne was fired.  So Jarlena was moving towards endgame.  I think it would have been very interesting to keep him around to reunite with Marlena and deal with Belle not being his and the lingering feelings Marlena had for John but I guess Marlena had to be possessed instead lol.

[te.]

Sami remains the crown jewel in JERs creation.

[Cat]

Couldn't have said it better myself @titan1978. Reilly's run during most of the first half of the 90s was Must Watch TV. I used to watch with friends and almost every episode (especially the Friday cliff-hangers) gave us goose bumps while watching, there was so much going on and they were so exciting.

And I'm not talking cheap-thrills exciting, I'm talking Sami going from problem child to villainess, Marlena and John struggling with their attraction to each other (which had been established at least two years before the incident on John's private jet!). People's relationships with each other across the cast of characters were being fleshed out with care, hitting all the marks, never rushed, but you always felt there was momentum in these relationships and you didn't always know where they were going. Reilly was invested in this gothicky little town of Salem -- where most scenes seemed to take place after sundown (!!) -- and the denizens. He clearly loved writing for Marlena and her torment as she tried to do the right thing while staying honest with herself, but I never felt the other characters were shortchanged. And Reilly really painted a picture of a community, with all the age groups represented.

I have such happy memories of Days during this time -- a golden age for soaps in general, IMO, because TPTB put in the effort and seemed to care about the stories and characters. Like on Days TPTB seemed caught up in the whirl and excitement of certain SLs the way the viewers did.

Edited December 2, 2021 by Cat

[Cat]

Delete.

Edited December 2, 2021 by Cat

[AbcNbc247]

My guess is that by 96-97, JER had really started to develop Passions, plus consulting on Sunset Beach at the same time led to the decline in quality on Days. I still find it all extremely watchable though.

I really ought to go back and rewatch 90s Days.

[pdm1974]

I enjoyed a lot of his early run, too. It was totally must see TV! I appreciated his focus on family. The Hortons had practically dwindled to hardly anything when he brought back Laura, Mike, and created Lucas.

I loved the initial Austin/Carrie/Sami/Lucas quad, Vivian/Kate/Victor, the emergence of Sami, and Bo/Billie.

After the possession was so successful in the ratings, I feel like the goal to just get crazier and crazier too over the show.

[carolineg]

I think it was still good in 96-97, but it was gradually declining.   I didn't notice it at the time, but looking back the Secret Room was the end of the golden era.  It was weird JER had almost all his storylines climax that summer in 1997 maybe it was due to focusing on other projects.

The clear favorite story for JER was John/Marlena/Kristen then maybe Carrie/Austin/Sami.  I prefer those storylines, so it never bothered me, but I do think Bo/Hope got a little short changed.  After the initial Hope/Gina stuff, they had some awful stories.  The Bo/Billie stories with PR/Krista Allen really didn't land well and Franco was such a weird non-entity in that quad.  It was nice when they moved him to Sami because he had no purpose.

All the early stories pre-Possession were great and I did love Aremid.  I loved that the show always felt like a true community as well.  Unlike Y&R or GH, people on Days weren't in bubbles back then.  Everyone knew one anothers business and the entire town would be at a wedding or an event.  It's almost a shame that JER is best known for his outlandish stories and felt he kept having to go further and double down on the crazy because late 92-late 94 is probably his best work.

[KLN]

Reilly is one of the best there ever was.

Watching back, some of the things that didn't bother me when I was younger drive me crazy now. But his ability to craft compelling, long game story and capture it in that perfect gothic tone was the zenith of the art for me. Lighting in a bottle.

Watching back, I appreciate the earlier years more than 96-97. Dumbing down the characters, Susan overload, etc. brought the show down after a while. But with Sheri there to ground him it was magic.

It's kind of weird to post here again. Been a long time. Hi everybody.

[Taoboi]

Yeah, I remember soap magazines (back when there was so many) announcing that JER was leaving and it was like since he knew, JER decided to climax all of his stories before he left. But one thing he was good at during that first run was the fact he built up so many nice stories and then gave payoffs. 

 

And lord was it Must See TV. I used to skip class (or go late) during those weeks in college. lol. 

 

And the Friday cliffhangers were always on point. 

[titan1978]

Marlena figuring out Sami was bulimic and that leading to Sami revealing she knew about the affair was just excellent soap opera, and she used her background as a psychologist to put it all together.  These were not the stupid people/caricatures they became later in his run.

Marlena loved to hypnotize people back then lol.  She did it all the time!

I also loved Adair’s Kate- calculating but not the quasi-vixen she becomes later on.  Her whole story with Victor, Vivian, Phillip, Lucas, Curtis, and Austin/Billie was just awesome.  I preferred her back then and now she just isn’t even the same character.  Hasn’t been since Adair left.

When Billie was on trial for killing Curtis, I forgot how many people were tied to this.  At one point in court we had Roman, Bo, Marlena, Victor, Billie, Austin, Carrie, Vivian, Ivan, Laura, Jennifer…and Stefano not present but tying it all together by being the actual killer.  And Laura just flat out wanting revenge in Kate and Bill, and Lucas being the fallout was so great.

I also love how Marlena is the only one willing to comment on who John used to be.  When people bring up their closeness and the affair and any feelings she may have had she is the first one to say he was my husband, I believe he was the man I loved.

Edited December 2, 2021 by titan1978

[titan1978]

I still prefer her with Wayne, and I prefer him as Roman.  I know John/Marlena are the endgame, but I will always just root for original Roman.

[carolineg]

I totally understand why he wanted to end his own stories, but I wished he spaced out the Carrie/Sami/Austin reveal and the John/Marlena/Kristen reveal since we had waited so long and they both ended within weeks of each other.  I remember faking sick a lot to not go to school so I could watch Days/GH too.  The Brenda/Sonny engagement/non wedding was the same summer lol.  Still have not re-watched that non-wedding due to emotional trauma 25 years later lol.

Marlena loved to hypnotize John which is totally ethical lol.  I *think* Marlena is supposed to be some sort of famous expert in hypnosis.  I swear the show has told me that before. 

I actually like that Marlena is a shrink and can see others issues clearly, but couldn't or wouldn't solve her own until it was too late.

I liked Wayne a lot too.  John/Marlena is totally my preferred pairing, but I think there was a lot to do with Roman/Marlena back then.  WN/DH have such a nice rapport and chemistry.  Very different for what she has with Drake.

[titan1978]

@carolinegIts funny you brought up GH, because I was thinking this reminds me of rewatching Labine’s run and being reminded that Sonny was once sexy, I did think he was a good actor, and enjoyed him.

I quit watching the show daily about halfway through Aremid.  The usual antics were not working for me anymore, the characters had gotten really stupid, and the Jennifer replacement destroyed that section of the story.  I came back for the secret room, and then left again because it was just silly to me, all camp and not enough grit.  I gave Passions a few weeks, but again, it just wasn’t for me.

After this and GL earlier in the pandemic it’s kind of nice to have this deep appreciation since the current soaps are not doing it.  Although GL was mostly new to me.  But especially now I can see Reilly’s fingerprints on a lot of characters- Blake and Bridget come to mind immediately.  As does the Frank/Eleni/Alan-Michael triangle.

Also- it’s been said many times, but Sami needs that foil of Carrie.  The show works better for me when they are both there and Carrie has her number, wants to love her fully but can’t, and Sami is just slightly jealous and therefore crazy when it comes to Carrie.

The affair is such a soap classic and filled with his specific storytelling- using several mini -arcs to tell the overall major story.  The affair was the story, and from that there were two years of mini stories that kept the momentum up.

Edited December 2, 2021 by titan1978

[asafi]

1993-1994 got me hooked! loved the characters and the stories. it was very smart bringing back Laura Horton after 17 years in sanitarium and the revelation Lucas was bill's son. loved how Kristen slowly became evil like her father, and of course hope's return