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1.28.2000
Favorite Alice scene of all time...
Talking to Tom about "the children" in the first episode
Breaking down when Addie died
Breaking down when Hope died...the first time
Comforting Marlena after Stockholm
Helping B.H in New Orleans
Her reaction when Eugene said he was the father of Sami and Eric
Talking to Jenn about the birds and the bees
Giving Julie a tongue lashing about Doug and Addie
Her talk with Hope before her wedding to Bo
Flirting with Bo...sweet
Her wedding to Tom
Finding out that Tom was a poet
I am sure there are plenty more
1.28.2000
Favorite Stefano moment of all time??
Stefano used to be one of the coolest characters on
TV. Unfortunately, he has become a pod like the others. What are your favorite Stefano scenes?
My list:
Turning around at the Concert Hall when Marlena saw him
Being disguised as Mrs. Lafferty
Wanting Marlena to go with him to Caracas
Being shot by Marlena
Marlena seeing him for first time in 93. He was so scary, and can she do hysteria well.
Forcing Marlena to choose between John and Roman at Maison Blanche
Getting furious at Marlena during the Cage when she refused him (my all-time favorite. He is ferocious there.)
1.28.2000
In terms of sheer chemistry, what three
couples had the most?
My list:
John and Marlena
Kim and Shane
Bo and Hope
1.27.2000
This would be a way to John.Marlena.Greta.Eric...
Write Eric off for a time. I should preface this by
saying that I think Greta is the Walking Plot Device. However, I do think JM can act. She is not hopeless like
Nicholas for example. What Days could do is this Eric and Greta could continue to fall in love. They could kiss
but not have sex. Meanwhile, the DNA results show that Greta is not PG's child. PG was barren. Greta knows John
is her father. Greta sees Nicole try to seduce Eric. She runs away and gets in an accident. She needs blood. Her
type matches Marlena's. It turns out that Marlena is her mother. J.M knew each other years ago before either came
to Salem. That would explain the soulmate bond, even though Marlena didn't know John because of his amnesia and
because of his plastic surgery. This makes Eric and Greta realize that they can't be together. Eric goes off for
a while. Greta becomes a real 3 dimensional character, not a walking plot device. When Eric comes back as a recast,
they bring Sarah Horton on for him. Greta gets involved with Scotty Banning, who returns to town.
1.24.2000
Taking their hats off...
I finally caught the Night Gallery on the Sci-fi channel
with Deidre Hall (named Deidre Hudson in the credits.) It is just a bit. She is very young and very beautiful (That
was redundant.) She walks into an elevator and every man takes off his hat. Then, a monster like creature comes
in and doesn't remove his hat. It is very surreal.
1.23.2000
Pick three scenes of your favorite couple
to show the essence...
of why you like them. J.M are my favorites, and there are
countless scenes, but here are the three that currently come to mind:
1. The mountaintop scene where John becomes Roman...and
that fiery kiss that follows the news. For anyone who watched during that time, they know that Marlena DIDN'T love
John because she thought he was Roman. She thought he was Stefano and she still couldn't stop loving him. When
he became Roman, it was as much a relief that he wasn’t' Stefano as it was her husband coming back.
2. The pier scene...DDH has never been better than he is in this scene. They may have loved other people, but that
scene shows just how singular their love is. In a scene where there are only six words of dialogue, they convey
all the love the characters have felt for as long as they have known each other.
3. The plane scene...There is nothing sexier than to see the beautiful, elegant woman defrost right in front of
your eyes. John has always been Marlena's big weakness and he is the only one who can make her lose her sense of
self-control. The moment he rips her coat off, and that whoosh sound!!!! Soaps rarely get hotter.
1.17.2000
Cast your favorite twosome in a classic movie...
What parts would they play? Why???
I can see DH/DDH in Hitchcock's Notorious. DDH is good at playing hard and tough. He can also play cruel quite
well too. DH would have made a classic Hitchcock blonde...beautiful, elegant, classy... and oh so sexy when she
melts. I can just see the scenes with them when Alicia (Ingrid Bergman in the old movie) is finally discovered
by Devlin (Cary Grant in the old movie.) The close-ups are mesmerizing, and I can see DDH/Dh performing the same
magic.
1.17.2000
You have to get rid of five characters...
and you want to keep most of the audience happy. What
five characters do you axe?
Nicholas
Nicole
Greta
Brandon
Stump
1.17.2000
When did the show first go off track with your favorite couple?
Well, let me say that after R/M in the early 80's I
thought I would never want Marlena with anyone else again. Days tried to get WN to come back and he wouldn't at
that time. But if he have, R/M would be my favorite couple to this day.
But since DDH came on the show, that place is held by J/M. So, I tend to think Days starting wrecking them when
first, they fired DH, second, they left the pier, and third (and as much as I loved R/M) when they brought back
Roman. Things would be so much better if DDH still played Roman.
1.17.2000
At what precise moment did you think
that Marlena looked her most beautiful?
This is a brief moment, but it is 93. She is pregnant at her
baby shower. John says, "This pregnancy really
agrees with you, Doc. I have never seen you look so beautiful." She just smiles.
that Hope looked her most beautiful?
During B/H's first anniversary party. She is wearing a white
dress. She is very tan. The dress is very low cut.
1.16.2000
Who would write Ken Corday a thank you note if...
after horrible Friday episode, he came on the screen,
and said, "I want to apologize for the truly disastrous Days you have been watching for the last few years.
Because we have gotten so many complaints from the loyal fans, we have decided to retool our show. We will be off
for a month, and in that month, we will be showing vintage Days episodes that will help you catch up with the real
history of the characters before we come back with new episodes. I personally promise that we will resume having
supercouples, real romance, friendships, good winning out over evil,
history being honored, no more pods, and hopefully a lot of happy viewers. Thanks your patience. Have a good day."
1.14.2000
How bad writing can kill even the most popular couple...
I was reading the results of the viewer voice in SOW.
There was a question about Reva/Josh on GL. Most fans, it seems, don't want them to reunite. R/J are one of, if
not the most, popular couples on GL ever. In the last half year, they have totally destroyed Reva's character.
Regardless of the fabulous history R/J share, and regardless of the chemistry their portrayers have, most fans
now want them apart. That is what amazes me about both J/M and B/H. Their fans somehow hang on, despite the equally
bad writing. I wonder will the pregnancy be the nail in the coffin with many fans.
1.13.2000
Acting 101...
As someone said below, some have gotten off by bashing
KA, DH, DDH, or PR. So, in an effort to post something positive, I decided to post two scenes for each that come
readily to mind when I think of their greatest scenes. These lists may change tomorrow (like the plot of the show),
and I don't have the energy to describe them in detail.
KA:
When Patch was comforting her after the first miscarriage...I always liked their scenes. I never liked him and
MEB.
The letter scene (PR's second day back in 95) Anyone who sees
the scene sees the magic of B/H.
PR:
The letter scene again (this is their greatest scene in the 90's)
Holding Roman on the beach
DDH:
Saying goodbye to the children in Aremid...the last time my shirt was drenched from this show...
Seeing Marlena on the pier...He is brilliant!!!
DH:
Finding out she is the desecrator ...if you ever want to see crying, that is the scene. She has rarely been so
good.
Finding out Sam is dead...Great stuff!!!!
1.12.2000
"How not to kill a soap"
Posted by Mackenzee I know this has been discussed before.
I found this article with Douglas Marland talking about what makes a good show. Wouldn't be nice if Corday &
Langan took Marland's advice.
Interview
with the late Douglas Marland; SOD, 4.27.93:
1. Watch the show.
2. Learn the history of the show. You would be surprised at the ideas that you can get from the back story of your
characters.
3. Read the fan mail. The very characters that are not thrilling to you may be the audience's favorites.
4. Be objective. When I came to ATWT, the first thing I said was, what is pleasing the audience? You have to put
your own personal likes and dislikes aside and develop the characters that the audience wants to see.
5. Talk to everyone: writers and actors especially. There may be something in a character's history that will work
beautifully for you, and who would know better than the actor who has been playing the role?
6. Don't change a core character. You can certainly give them edges they didn't have before, or give them a logical
reason to change their behavior. But when the audience says, "He would never do that," then you have
failed.
7. Build new characters slowly. Everyone knows that it takes six months to a year for an audience to care about
a new character. Tie them in to existing characters. Don't shove them down the viewers' throats.
8. If you feel staff changes are in order, look within the organization first. P&G does a lot of promoting
from within. Almost all of our producers worked their way up from staff positions, and that means they know the
show.
9. Don't fire anyone for six months. I feel very deeply that you should look at the show's canvas before you do
anything.
10. Good soap opera is good storytelling. It's very simple.
In Reply to: "How not to kill a soap"
posted by Mackenzee
I love that list.
Doug Marland was one of the giants of the industry. Unfortunately, Tom Langan is one of the pygmies.
1.11.2000
Pod Bo and Pod Marlena...
Although I do think that Bo is wrong in this situation,
I don't think we would be discussing who is right if both characters hadn't turned into pods concerning this story.
Would real Marlena have ever taken Hope as a client in the first place? I don't think it matters that Hope/Gina
begged her to either. Would real Bo have ever thought that Gope was his Fancy Face? Nope. He would have known.
Some have said turn around is fair play (meaning the Mar/Bo scene from 84 when Marlena blasted Bo for leaving Roman
on the beach). That was a great scene, and I felt so sorry for Bo. The question is: Would Pod Bo really remember
this when his brother is now Chris Kostichek. Besides, real Bo was never vindictive anyway.
1.11.2000
In Reply to: True...Whenever someone says that soaps are a passe genre... posted by Valee
You are killing me...
Did you ever see the scenes when Marlena was talking to the therapist about Sam's death? DH has rarely been as
good as she is in those scenes (as I am sure Surfergirl can attest to). She admits to herself that she is so glad
she didn't die. She had felt so guilty about Sam's death and her life as well. AS the camera gets closer and closer
to Marlena's face, you see her finally exonerate herself for Sam's death. She has rarely cried so much, and unlike
some other actresses, they don't have to cut away to get the tears.
1.10.2000
Anyone remember Hart Bennett???
Someone mentioned him on FTH. I haven't watched those
tapes in ages. Hart Bennett was the lawyer who prosecuted Marlena after she shot Stefano. He became obsessed with
her (as smart men usually do), and (I am a little cloudy on all the details...Surfergirl, I need you.) he kills
himself (I believe in her front yard. It gave DH some wonderfully emotional stuff to play. Of course, with NuDays
being so shallow and inconsequential about everything, I won't beholding my breath waiting to see that kind of
emotion.
1.10.2000
John should take Bo to the woodshed...
While I can believe that Bo may be momentarily irrational
about Hope's shooting, I can't believe that John wouldn't let him have it since Bo's "wife" almost killed
John's wife when Bo unfairly attacks Marlena. Marlena did everything but put a psycho flag in front of Bo's face
to let him know that "Hope" needed help. In 1984 when Roman died, Marlena became majorly irrational when
Bo returned from the island. In her pain, Marlena blamed Bo for leaving Roman on the island. Since Bo already felt
guilty, he accepted it. This led to some wonderful scenes where they made up. PR and DH have always had wonderful
chemistry. I certainly want to feel some passion between the characters. The mood is so dispirited. The main principals
on Friday all appeared very tired and were merely going through the motions. IF we can get some great scenes between
Bo and Marlena where their real history is explored and Bo realizes that he deserves as much, if not more, for
what happened, then these scenes will serve some point.
1.7.2000
Bashing the actors...
I saw this down below and I decided to bring it up to
the top. I have mixed feelings. I think some comments are a little much regarding the actors. Speculating about
someone's private life, for example, or constantly bashing someone's looks seem to me both in bad taste and pointless.
ON the other hand, critiquing someone's performance is certainly fair game. Most of the bashing is caused by the
idiotic decisions by the show anyway. I never have felt bad for calling JT's Roman "Stump" because he
will never be Roman Brady. I never really noticed his woodenness years ago, but having him play Roman just made
it very evident. If he started playing Chris, I would never call him Stump again.. As for Kirstin Storms, some
may complain about her high voice, but much of the criticism is directed at the way she is written. If she were
playing J/M's long lost child from the plane crash, she would have been far more popular. The fact she was aged
so recklessly made a lot of people instantly dislike her. As for the J/M and the B/H fans feud, I don't think it
is most fans. Some B/H fans blame John for being between B/H, so they blame DDH. Some J/M fans blame Hope for coming
between J/M, so they blame KA. Some fans will never like an actress or an actor playing a double role because that
means their favorite is probably getting less screen time. As for the few people who can't stand DH, KA, and the
other divas (and I am using that term in a positive way as it was originally meant), I think divas will always
have bashers. I won't speculate on the reasons.
1.6.2000
My letter to SOU Regarding the best of
the decade...
I found your choices for the best of the 90's very interesting. I certainly agree that John and Marlena's love
story was the best of the decade. Other choices, however, I find questionable. You thought that the Sami/Austin/Carrie
and not the Brooke/Ridge/Taylor triangle was the best triangle of the decade? You thought that Days and not GH
was the best show of the decade? Days certainly had the glorious John and Marlena affair, not to mention the story
where Kate realizes Billie and Austin are her children, but it also had egregious Dead Pool morass, the stupid
Kristen/Susan debacle, and the convoluted Gina/Hope mess. GH, on the other hand, had the wonderful Claire Labine
and the early Bob Guza years where BJ died (rightfully, you picked it as the best story.), the Brenda/Sonny/Jax
triangle, and the reintroduction of the Cassidines. As for best performance, Eileen Davidson did some fine work
as her main character Kristen, but much of her work as Susas was embarrassingly amateurish. I think GL's Cynthia
Watros did much better work with a similar character, and I would also have to include Days' Drake Hogestyn and
Deidre Hall for anchoring the John and Marlena love story, as well as GH's Maurice Benard and Vanessa Marcil for
anchoring the Sonny and Brenda story.
Sincerely,
An alias
1.6.2000
Dramatic ending today...
Today was one of the most dramatic endings in recent memory. My all-time favorite ending was the pier scene and
those great close-ups of Marlena and John. A close second was the Plane episode as Marlena pulled John down and
they started attacking each other. Days has never been hotter.
1.6.2000
Chemistry and unpopular pairings...
I have been on the net for a long time, and I don't think I have even seen such a strongly unpopular reaction to
any couples as there is to John and Hope, and Sami and Austin. IN the S/A case, most people hate that Austin could
forgive Sami for raping him and not his own wife. There were a lot of C/A fans who will never embrace S/A. ON the
other hand, with John/Hope, most people seem to think there is zero chemistry and there is an incestuous tinge
to their pairing.
1.5.2000
Pods V. Real...AKA Defending your favorite
character...
So many actions by the most popular characters on the show in recent years have been plot dictated. That is why
I find it amusing (and I count myself in this equation so I am casting no aspersions) when we twist logic to defend
our favorites. Let's admit it. This show is all about plot. Characters no longer matter. Are John, Marlena, Bo,
Hope, Stefano, Alice, Viv, etc any more than their former selves? There are sometimes gleams of their old selves,
but then the plot starts creaking again and the old gleams are gone. Think about it.
•
Would the real Stefano ever care about art treasures?
•
Would the real Stefano put another woman over Marlena?
•
Was the real Stefano ever interested in Hope?
•
Wouldn't the real Bo know who Hope is?
•
Would the real Bo ever be rude to Marlena?
•
Wouldn't the real John be able to fight Stefano's mind
control if his love for Marlena was the opponent?
•
Would the real Marlena ever think Hope or John would
ever have sex?
•
Would the real Hope want Billie to stay in town to explore
her feelings for Bo?
•
Would the real Alice even talk to Kate again after she
found out what Kate did to B/H?
There are fifty million other examples about these characters,
and I haven't even started on some of the other characters.
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