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

[Antoyne]

Having Sami/Nicole as the leads in their absence wasn’t a bad thing. But like you said Drake/Deidre just makes it feel like Days. And I feel like when John/Marlena were gone there was a lot Sami went through where they naturally should’ve been on canvas as her support even if they weren’t the leads.

[j swift]

We often reference when both Drake and Deidre were fired in 2008/2009 (fired in November 2008, left in January 2009).

But even after they returned, weren't there multiple times when it seemed like DAYS was trying to get rid of John?  For example, I forget if he was shot by EJ before or after 2009, and then he was in a coma a few times.  But, when Xander shot Marlena, and during the whole fatal orchid story, it never seemed Ms. Hall was on her way out the door. 

Am I the only one who feels like they tried to get rid of the character a couple of times over the past decade?

[carolineg]

Exactly my thoughts.  Sami was going through major struggles and so were other parts of their family and John/Marlena just weren't there?  It was so out of character for them to be off screen.  It was a noticeable hole and I don't think most Days characters have that impact.  Sami would say a lot of times that she would just call her mom and get advice.  We've known Marlena for years.  Sami's guilt trip alone about her problems would make Marlena immediately fly out to assess the situation lol. 

[j swift]

I posted this in the October thread, but soaps.com is reporting that Eric's current storyline investigating Sarah's accident was written for Drake, but due to his illness, Greg Vaughan stepped in and took over that part of the plot. 

Edited October 5, 2024 by j swift

[Titus Andronicus]

The first week of the RoboJohn storyline was some of Hogestyn's best work to me. Dee Hall was really strong in that period, too. I actually really liked that arc, up until he became bogged down with the Hollingsworths.

Just remembered I have a tape of that week somewhere. Need to dig that out.

[janea4old]

I think soaps.com may have been speculating, but it's a reasonable guess in this case, and likely true.

This is from the official fall preview:
"John (Drake Hogestyn) puts the pieces together regarding the accident that caused Sarah’s (Linsey Godfrey) paralysis."
https://www.tvinsider.com/1151079/soaps-fall-2024-preview-general-hospital-days-of-our-lives-young-and-the-restless-bold-and-the-beautiful/

Eric Brady is doing that this week so it fits, especially with the promo for week of Oct. 7th.
 

[j swift]

It is pretty seamless because they tied in Eric through his prior vehicular manslaughter of Daniel.  But, it also fits with Marlena and Brady's scene this week, which included exposition about John's absence during Brady's arrest.

If soap.com had not referenced the Fall Preview, I would not have assumed it was re-written.

Edited October 5, 2024 by j swift

[Liberty City]

Melanie's last substantial stint worked for me, aside from her pairing with Brady. I could have done without that. I think part of the hate comes from them tying her to Daniel Jonas, who a lot of people hated with a fiery passion.

[carolineg]

The pairing with Brady was weird, but Molly Burnett always seemed so joyful and gave it her all.  I have seen people even making fun of her teeth and I literally found nothing offensive about the girl. She had spunk even if Melanie wasn't the most defined or clear character.

[Liberty City]

I agree; plus, her relationship with Maggie was always one I enjoyed seeing.

[Antoyne]

Melanie drove me insane. And it felt like all the young male characters just had to have her. And then they tied her to Daniel. Another character I couldn’t stand. It’s funny I actually found Molly’s acting on GH as a sub for KS for some reason ten times less grating than when she was on Days.

 

Really seamless and smart transition from John to Eric, I will applaud them on that.

I absolutely loved Drake as RoboJohn. He cracked me the hell up tbh. He was so rude. It was so different from normal John. 

[JAS0N47]

The texts that Greg Vaughan shared from Drake also support that. Drake mentions he might be able to "pinch hit" (a baseball term for a substitution), in this case, which perhaps alludes to Greg subbing for him in the Brady storyline. 

Edited October 5, 2024 by JAS0N47

[Liberty City]

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[JAS0N47]

 

DRAKE HOGESTYN...SOAP OPERA DIGEST "DAYS" 50TH ANNIVERSARY INTERVIEW...

 

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DRAKE HOGESTYN...40TH ANNIVERSARY COLLECTORS MAGAZINE INTERVIEW...

 

 

DRAKE HOGESTYN...25TH ANNIVERSARY HOLLYWOOD REPORTER INTERVIEW...

 

 

DRAKE HOGESTYN...25TH ANNIVERSARY HOLLYWOOD REPORTER AD...

 

 

DRAKE HOGESTYN...1994 SOAP OPERA DIGEST AWARD PROGRAM PAGE (DRAKE WINS FOR HOTTEST MALE)...

 

 

DRAKE HOGESTYN...1994 DAYS FAN CLUB NEWSLETTER PROFILE...

 

 

DRAKE HOGESTYN...1999 DAYS FAN CLUB NEWSLETTER PHOTOS...

 

[dc11786]

I returned to "Days of our Lives" in September, 2008, after having stopped watching consistently somwhere around 1997 (though I popped in and kept up). I loved that 2008-2011 era. Free from the shackles of the supercouples, I felt the show had finally had room to breathe and it was refreshing. The stripped down version required more emphasis on family, angst, and other emotions rather than simply relying on the latest attempt to recreate the spark of JER's original run. It was also nice seeing characters that I cared about who hadn't necessarily dominated the show for the past two decades. It was a much more intimate Salem and I felt more connection to that group of people than I had to a lot of the long time players that I had grown up with in the early to mid 1990s.

I think there was barely a month between John and Marlena's departure (mid to late January) for abroad and Steve and Kayla simply disappearing from the canvas after Kayla recovered from Hope shooting her (early to mid February). Tony did stay on slightly longer (sometime in March). Anna had stopped appearing around September when Tomlin came on, but she came back off for a one-off appearance in April to threaten Stefano or E.J. and to take Tony's ashes with her. Anna returned in December, 2009, when she was watching baby Sydney after E.J. had her kidnapped. 

Maggie Horton was definitely featured more in the 2009-2011 period, but her role (initially) and Marlena's story functions were significantly different. Maggie was the natural successor to Alice Horton when Francis Reid was reaching a point where she could no longer appear consistently. In the first year of the stripped down "Days" (2009), Maggie acted strictly as a talk to for characters like Melanie and Mia McCormick before Nathan arrived and he also moved in with Grandma Maggie.

I don't think until year 2 (2010), that Maggie started getting the dramatic story that Deidre Hall usually would get (Mickey's death, hints of her alcoholism returning and the rumored drunk driving storyline, the remission of her MG, the romance with Victor). Many of those things also Suzanne Rogers openly discussed being opposed to (the drinking and the MS). 

The Victor / Maggie romance surprised me because I thought for sure they were just going the friendship angle with them, but I should have realized they were developing that story from the minute they increased the Victor/Maggie scenes around February, 2010, when Vivian was about to murder Melanie at her wedding to Philip. 

In my opinion, it was a necessary moment for the show that had been creatively hampered by years of trying to recreate supercouples and or half-baked sci-fi plots. The show still had Bo and Hope and would tell some of those sci-fi stories (Bo's visions, Nighttime Hope), but the shift away from the ongoing antics of Stefano Dimera supervillain was a much needed breath of fresh air. 

Ali Sweeney did wield a bit of power at that point. She was the reason behind the safe house story as I recall because she was pregnant and didn't want to hide behind props or something of that nature. The baby switch was the best story the show had told in years so I don't really hate her for it in the end. Sami was definitely more emotional in 2009-2011, but she still could be dangerous. I think she shot E.J. in the head point blank in 2010 because he threatened to take her kids away. 

The recton of Daniel being Maggie's eggbaby was after Marlena and John returned. There was absolutely no reason for it considering MarDar had no use for the Maggie/Melanie relationship.

Maggie's increase in 2009 was directly related to Melanie. After Nick Fallon was sent to prison, the show had planned on pairing Melanie with an aged Will Horton, a college baseball player. Will and Melanie were suppose to be the pairing until the show cast Dylan Patton and decide to go Mia / Will and then Mia / Will / Chad / Gabi. I think Maggie was also used as a bit of a talk to for Chloe due to her marriage to Lucas. I think Maggie may have even been privvy to the knowledge that Chloe and Daniel were having an affair. 

Melanie was heavily featured after the purge of 2008/2009 so people felt she was taking over the show. Molly Burnett had energy, which many of the younger actresses didn't have at the time (Shelley Hennig, Rachel Melvin, Taylor Spreitler) so I enjoyed her. Hennig did come into her own much later on and Spreitler gave much better young vixen in her final months than she had as young ingenue.

I thought the execution of the reset in 2011 was a mistake. Burning through all the good will of bringing back a slew of vets in the first Monday episode after "All My Children" was off the air and having almost no compelling story in place after surviving for the past two and half to three years on strong long story was a massive misfire. It was too easy for me to tune out in September, 2011, when Carly slipped off on the plane and there was literally no story carrying the show other than Daniel and Jennifer's impending engagement.  

I did enjoy Marlena and John when Eileen Davidson returned a year later, but I can't say there was anything during the 2011-2012 period prior that I enjoyed. Even Marlena's attempts to force Will out of the closet were a bit obnoxious because they limited Will's world to just Marlena and not others like Kate and Maggie who had been there for him in the missing years. 

I don't disagree, but I am not sure the audience that wanted John and Marlena back on the show at that point were comfortable with John and Marlena back solely in a supporting capacity. This was one of the few reasons I didn't mind that John and Marlena weren't there for Alice's funeral because I don't think there was a way to have them back without it being the John and Marlena's show. The missing years reset some of the audience so that they were more comfortbale with a show not dominated by the supercouples. 

Was John's 2007 death suppose to be permanent? I feel like he was back pretty quickly. I think Tomlin and Whitesell also wrote John out after the original Brady / Kristen arc. Hogestyn may have even been off contract in 2014 or 2015 for a bit.  

I thought Drake Hogestyn did some really good work in his last months (September 2008-January 2009) as the sort of damaged person after his death. I thought it was smart to reset the character in a way that would require him to fall in love with Marlena again. I seem to recall something happening around Christmas, 2008, where Hogestyn played John as unlocking emotions and realizing that he wanted the home and the family and the love of Marlena and it being very powerful. 

I liked the Hollingsworths. I only saw a bit of them at the end, but I thought Kristen Renton was a fun presence. 

The show started pairing Brady and Melanie platonically around March, 2009, when it became clear that Darren Brooks wouldn't be renewing his contract. Brady was suppose to be her conscious and look out for her the way an older brother was supposed to. Brady assumed several of Max's roles as I recall. I think when Felisha Terrell first appeared as Arianna as a waitress at Brady's Pub, they looked to be considering a Arianna / Max pairing after the show had moved away from the suggestion of a Stephanie / Max / Chelsea triangle. 

I thought Brady and Melanie made sense plot wise in early 2011 when Arianna was dead, Dario had just arrived, and they were resolving Arianna's murder. I don't think there was enough to play the Dario / Melanie / Brady triangle long term, but it worked as a stop gap transition for both characters. Bringing back Melanie for Brady in 2014 was silly. I love Molly Burnett, but she only agreed to a six month return. If I were EP, I would have nixed the offer. I thought the suggestion of a Melanie / J.J. pairing when she first came back in November, 2014, was promising but that went nowhere. 

In defense of Melanie, she was the only non-related game in town for quite a bit of time so maybe the guys of Salem were growing tired of all the pseudo incest. Though, Melanie did flirt with Daniel when she first became a nursing student so she did maintain the Salem history of inappropriate family ties. This was the point in the story (April 2009) where I think they were still planning on revealing that Melanie was Nicole's daughter by Trent.

I thought Daniel, Carly, and Melanie made a nice little family unit for a show that had restructured itself in a way that was emphasizing University Hospital again. Having two doctors and their nurse daughter kept that piece of the show functioning.