Jump to content

DAYS: R.I.P. Drake Hogestyn (John Black, Days of our Lives)


Errol

Recommended Posts

  • Members

Don't apologize!  Your work is invaluable.  I thought it had taken place much earlier and just took a peek to see if that was the episode.  And then just started looking back because it felt like the same time period.  I frankly barely remember any of this era and kind of wanted to look what RoJohn was up to.  Thanks again for all you do!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 394
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

  • Members

I'm just now getting back into the loop of news after hurricane power outages.

John was my first favorite character. In so many ways, he was the perfect soap character. A blank slate, a background easily adaptable to whatever it needed to be. Days sometimes abused that by giving John so many storylines that established his real identity ... and they mostly fell flat. Mainly because John was a mystery that never should have been solved.

Hogestyn was still very much a newcomer to acting when he signed on with Days, and I think that's what made John Black initially work. John's uncertainty about not knowing anything about himself was made for a developing actor also finding himself. Hogestyn was never the greatest, but he pulled his weight quickly. Marlena falling from the building and the wedding were barely months later.

It's been a treat seeing tributes from all the actresses who were young when they first met him. He was a natural with kids in scenes, his goofiness bringing out the best in them.

There was a small scene that was a favorite back when YouTube had all the great clips. Victor planned to marry Diana. Roman was invited and, on a snowy night, found out he, Justin and Serena were pretty much the only guests. With Diana not ready yet (nervously up in her room), Roman pretends to get extremely drunk to get kicked out ... so he could rescue Diana. There are a bunch of hilarious retorts and lines, all playing to his acting style.

I moved on to prefer other characters, other actors, but always had a soft spot for Drake Hogestyn. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

You probably included them in this statement but, for posterity, right or wrong, ROMAN and Marlena's kids, too. Since John did raise those kids and loved them like his own for so many years...

Still trying to wrap my head around this, days later.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

It's true what he says in this clip.
They could give him a crazy storyline because he'd play it as real as he could, and it worked.
He played every scene as if it were real, in the moment,
 and never tongue-in-cheek..

 

Edited by janea4old
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Unfortunately, your content contains terms that we do not allow. Please edit your content to remove the highlighted words below.
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.



  • Recent Posts

    • Yes from when they went on Let’s Make a Deal too. Pam stole Forrester designs for Jackie M. Of course a month later we saw Nick, Lesley, Owen, and Bridget all exit in the same episode.
    • Great pairing that seemed to come out of the blue! Around that time, it felt like Sheffer/Goutman didn’t really know what to do with Emily or Hal. And KM and BH had surprisingly great chemistry. It was good for Emily especially because she was coming off those unsympathetic years with the Tom affair and then running the Intruder and essentially just being a busybody.
    • I think the issue with Lulu is less the character (which was the issue in the Julie Berman days under Guza II) and more the lack of nuance. The current GH team rarely writes nuance for any character or at least can't sustain it for long, or they reserve it for a favored few. I also think the rooting interest at GH BTS often remains on preferred characters or actors - BLQ/Setton - vs. Laura's kids. So it's easy to make Lulu the heavy if you think Brook Lynn and Chase are the money on this show. I don't, but I think FV does. And that's not to say I think Amanda Setton is bad in the role, or that I would get rid of BLQ. I don't trend towards either (though I do think that if Setton's personal beliefs keep getting in the way of material I would reluctantly recast). I think Brook Lynn is essential to use as a lead presently. But I don't think it needs to be the black and white dichotomy of suffering young matriarch BLQ and aggressor Lulu. While it's good that unlike in the Guza years they can recognize that Lulu can be obnoxious and rash, can be her own worst enemy and that that is part of the character, it can be toned down or given more layers than it has of late. There's nothing wrong there the writing can't fix.
    • 1999: I just watched it. It felt so primetime. La Lucci is making history. Aretha's daydreaming segment. @Contessa Donatella Thank you, my love. So helpful and informative as always. adding them to my queue.
    • I know this isn’t a usual or anywhere near universal take, but I loved the relatively brief Hal/Emily relationship/marriage more than I ever thought I would have with KMH/BH.
    • In my field (not that) I've written my share of dreck when it's what people wanted vs. something good. In the end what matters is the check. These pilots may not be great, but whether or not those writers intended otherwise they got paid.
    • I think there is plenty to critique and/or roast about the show, but I think there's also good bones and a lot of progressive improvement. It's the Bell/B&B formula and house style that is hardest for it to shake and the most necessary IMO, as well as some dead weight actors or characters, but that formula also apparently works for a lot of general viewers and I suspect CBS. OTOH it's also very modern in certain ways (sometimes overly hip dialogue, and some story) that still make it feel like a show that's bouncing between distant past staples of soap opera fundamentals and the present moment. And the old fashioned product placement is fun but also so goofy, while material like June is hysterical. Imagine leading with 'the underpass is where I live, and I like it there!' It's an unusual show in that way, because its identity and tone is still not fully formed. You don't know what it'll be. But that's normal at this juncture. The closest thing to a glimpse of the future foundation, I think (besides the obvious core family setup that's been there since Day 1), is the rivalry and future familial bond - and likely love/hate relationship - between Kat and Eva. A la many central sisters or siblings throughout soap history.
    • I loved Kelley Menighan! She was an MVP, especially during the show’s last few years. I always looked forward to anything she did with MM, BH, CZ, MW,  and the two grownup Alisons. Wasn’t a big fan of her with RH’s Paul. I always admired how she balanced being a vixen and being neurotic.
    • LLC can be a lot (lady definitely doesn’t phone it in), but her scenes with Rena made me wish they played actual sisters on a better platform.  Aside from JE, who is a legend so it’s no surprise when she’s excellent, Amanda Setton is my MVP of this story and she hasn’t always been great in this role. You see so much happening in her face as she’s navigating the shifts and layers of this story. She’s fully locked in. Glad Rory Gibson is getting his due on GH. I knew he had more to give than what Y&R was giving him. The writing will be a factor here as well because the character of Michael hasn’t been written well in ages (if ever, arguably). GH just can’t sustain the good stuff for more than a few weeks. Alexa Havins is a very good actress and was widely embraced as Lulu initially, but the character’s one-note abrasiveness has a lot of folks wishing she was gone at this point. 
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy