Got Questions?: We've Got Answers!

[mstaken]

Or, well, at least I hope some of you veterans have answers :) As a relative newbie, I'm in a state of constant cluelessness! In case there are other recently tuned in or just forgetful viewers, i thought it might be great where we can ask questions about the show. Here are a few that leap to mind:

 

1) How many times---and to how many men---has Sami been married? And why do I adore her despite my better judgment? (Okay, feel free not to answer that part!) How old are her kids? 

 

2) Is my equally beloved Kayla still on the show?! If not, when and how did they write her out?! I tried looking it up and just saw something vague about her being "recurring" for a handful of years now...?

 

3) Are they going to replace Alison Sweeney with a different actress or just write out Sami altogether?

 

I tried looking at a DooL family tree in a futile attempt to understand exactly how the characters are (and aren't) related, but I felt an immediate migraine coming on :) 

 

 

[QuelleC]

I don't remember exactly how Eve is related except she is a Donovan. And yes, they had to recast her since Charlotte Ross is as old as Jenn.

Alison Sweeney said she wants to come back for holidays and big Days anniversaries so no, she isn't going to be recast. When Days gets its next renewal I think she'll be back but for now she has a lot of offers. Good for her.

I don't know about Kayla's contract but she is always excellent and many have noted she has great chemistry with Abe and Aiden. She is underutilised for sure. I love her because she's the only Brady who actually helps out at the pub even though everyone is aware Caroline needs help. Sami just dumped her kids off there. We'd all like to see Joey, too. Ciara is controling Theo; maybe Joey could call out the bad seed.

Edited June 12, 2014 by QuelleC

[Peanut6711]

1) How many times---and to how many men---has Sami been married? And why do I adore her despite my better judgment? (Okay, feel free not to answer that part!) How old are her kids?

I’m honestly lost myself on who all Sami actually married since she has such a high disaster rate with her weddings. She's been involved with Austin, Lucas, Franco, Brandon, EJ, and Rafe--not necessarily in that order and with repeats. Most recently it has been Lucas, then EJ, then Rafe, and back to EJ.  As for her kids, Will I guess is in his early twenties. The twins—early elementary school. And Sydney a few years younger. That is all based on details about the characters currently, not their age via when they were actually born.

 

2) Is my equally beloved Kayla still on the show?! If not, when and how did they write her out?! I tried looking it up and just saw something vague about her being "recurring" for a handful of years now...?

Yes, Kayla is still on occasionally. She was a favorite of mine too.  She is chief of staff at the hospital but we rarely see her.

 

3) Are they going to replace Alison Sweeney with a different actress or just write out Sami altogether?

Sami is to leave town to the best of my knowledge (the spoilers). AS has indicated she’d return for appearances though.

 

I don't remember exactly how Eve is related except she is a Donovan. And yes, they had to recast her since Charlotte Ross is as old as Jenn.

Eve his the daughter of Shane Donovan and his former ISA partner Gabrielle Pascal. So Kim Brady is her step-mother.   She was around Jenn’s age back in the ‘80’s. I think the recast came though because CR was not available. I forget what show she is doing.

[Rick Kitchen]

According to Wikipedia, Sami has been married to:

 

Austin Reed (1996–97)
Franco Kelly (1998)
Brandon Walker (2003)
Lucas Roberts (2007)
EJ DiMera (2007–08)
Rafe Hernandez (2010–12)

 

Soaps are notoriously close to the vest on how old characters are.  Will is 21, I think (his age was given on Arianna's birth certificate as 20, and she just celebrated her first birthday).  Johnny and Allie were born on air in 2007, and Sydney was born on air in 2009. But SORAS is a thing.

Edited June 12, 2014 by Rick Kitchen

[QuelleC]

Ha ha with the weddings. The last AS interview I read was that her favorite scene involved going through her closet with all the wedding gowns hanging there. I remember that!

They really aren't sorasing the Samikidz. Or Bope's kid. Yeah, Will is just graduating so 21 or so is about right. The twins who played Johnny just turned 9 and they were on the show for 5 yrs. Allie looks way bigger than Ciara, and she is supposed to be several years younger. Then again, Ciara is the bad seed of skeletal Hope. No wonder she's greedy, she's probably starving.

Edited June 12, 2014 by QuelleC

[janeyjay]

Has Marlena always been this much of a bitch to Sami or is it simply the only way she can react since her face is incapable of movement? She's about as much fun as a hot poker to the eye.

[LeftPhalange]

Kate, the woman who spent years trying to ruin Sami's life and set her up to be executed has been more of a mother to her than Marlena has.

[janeyjay]

Wow. I had a feeling, but wow. 

[sunnyheart]

Wow. I had a feeling, but wow. 

 

I don't like Sami, but I can see why she is the way she is.  Marlena really has done a number on her.

[LeftPhalange]

I sued to think Roman was decent to Sami but I don't know now. He doesn't seem to care about her all that much. Maybe that's because he's hardly ever on.

Edited June 13, 2014 by LeftPhalange

[TigerLynx]

Roman and Marlena should have gotten help for Sami when she was a teenager.  Their lectures to Sami now just annoy me.  Sami saw John and Marlena having sex/cheating on Roman, was raped by Alan, kidnapped Belle and was going to sale her on the black market then changed her mind and decided she was going to raise Belle herself, pressed charges against Alan at Carrie's urging and then Carrie testified against Sami.  Thirty years later, it's a little late for Roman and Marlena to step up.  Besides they didn't have any reaction to Sami shooting EJ in the head so I don't know why they would be upset about Sami, Kate, and Gabi tossing Nick in the river.  It's no wonder Sami gravitates to EJ and Kate.

[plurie]

I don't like Sami, but I can see why she is the way she is.  Marlena really has done a number on her.

The absolute low point was when Sami thought her child was dead and Marlena couldn't tear herself away from John long enough to stop by and check on her daughter.

[janeyjay]

So today we got to see the returning Eve Donovan. As a newbie, I don't know her backstory -- was she good/bad/indifferent? 

[Rick Kitchen]

As with practically all females on Days, Eve is a former prostitute.

 

Eve's father is Shane Donovan, Theresa's father.  She originally thought that her mother was Emma, Shane's first wife, and she came to Salem to destroy Shane and Kim's marriage.  It was only later found out that her real mother was Gabrielle Pascal.

 

Eve wanted Frankie, but Frankie was in love with Jennifer.  She caused trouble for both of them, but eventually Frankie left town.  When her pimp died mysteriously, she inherited his money, but everybody thought she had killed him, till it turned out he wasn't really dead, but then he did die later on, and she really did inherit his money, but only on the proviso that she get married.  She tried to get Frankie to marry her (he was back in town), but he wouldn't, so she married Jack, who married her for the money.  They got an annulment, she eventually left town with Frankie when he went to work in Africa.

[janeyjay]

Thank you! She sounds like a lot of fun -- especially since it appears that Jenn probably hates her. Or at least isn't all that fond of her.

[LeftPhalange]

How did Eve become a hooker? Did Frankie and Eve leave town together as a couple? I remember Frankie getting together with Jen when Jack was presumed dead so what happened with him and Eve?

[Peanut6711]

When Eve came to town looking for Shane she met pimp Nick Corelli. She was only like 15 and needed money and he sweet talked her into working for him.  She was in town a little while before Shane knew she was his daughter as she tried to work her way into his life.  Not sure about her departure as I started tuning out by then. 

[QuelleC]

That's all I remember about Eve, when she was with the pimp Nick Corelli.  Didn't he get shot?

 

A quick google says Eve was accused, but it ended up being Jo Johnson, Steve's mother. 

[LeftPhalange]

Didn't Billie own CW? How was Stefano able to buy it?

[QuelleC]

I think it was part of Stephano blackmailing Kate into marrying him?

[sunnyheart]

I think Eve left town with Frankie as a couple but beats me what happened after that.  Didn't he go to Africa? And if Paige is her daughter - WHO IS HER FATHER?! Didn't Eve marry Jack? Are Paige and JJ...duh, duh, DUH..SIBLINGS?!  

[Dandesun]

According to my friend who is an old time Days fan, Eve did leave the show with Frankie and they went to Africa. But didn't Frankie come back at some point saying it didn't work out? Jack and Eve had a marriage of convenience so that she could get her pimp's money or something... It wasn't a marriage of love.

 

My friend is convinced that Paige has to be Frankie's and that would make her part Von Leuschner... but she didn't have time to go into detail about what she called one of the great stories and villains ever because it was late and I was exhausted.

 

Eve's been gone for a long time so it stands to reason that Paige could be anyone's daughter. (I'm hoping for Frankie because I like ties like that.)

[Peanut6711]

Frankie was mentioned today so that would be a nice twist if Paige turned out to be his. I have no idea though what is going on with the last name thing though. Or who the "cousin" would be. 

[Rick Kitchen]

Jack and Eve were married and annulled before he ever married Jennifer, I think.

 

Nick Corelli got shot once, presumed dead, came back, and then was shot again.

[Peanut6711]

Question: Since the end of yesterday's episode I've been racking my brain trying to remember Victor and Eve's history and I"m coming up blank. Did they have any storylines or interactions with each other?  I'm curious because otherwise I don't get Victor's trash talking Eve. I know his a history with Kimberly so I get his disdain for Theresa (as her daughter) along side Theresa's interactions with Brady, but Kim was only Eve's stepmother and she hated her. So does Vic have a real reason to not like Eve or is this more Jennifer/Danial worship now from Vic??? 

[boes]

For you long time viewers -

 

Maggie has two daughters, right?  And doesn't one of those daughters have a son?  ]

Do we ever hear any mention of any of them, and when was the last time any child other than Dan played a role in Maggie's storyline?  Or was even on the show?

[Peanut6711]

Maggie had two adoptive daughters--Janice and Melissa, and one biological daughter Sara. Not sure where Sara is. Janice was killed by a serial killer. Melissa is out of town. Melissa's son Nathan was on a few years ago. (His character was as boring as watching paint dry IMO; He is also a doctor but has clean hair unlike Dan.)

Edited June 21, 2014 by Peanut6711

[boes]

Maggie had two adoptive daughters--Janice and Melissa, and one biological daughter Sara. Not sure where Sara is. Janice was killed by a serial killer. Melissa is out of town. Melissa's son Nathan was on a few years ago. (His character was as boring as watching paint dry IMO; He is also a doctor but has clean hair unlike Dan.)

 

Thanks, Peanut.  I wish Maggie had somebody better to put all of her maternal stuff on to rather than Daniel.  She gets on my nerves but the woman deserves better.

At least Parker is cute.

[Peanut6711]

Thanks, Peanut.  I wish Maggie had somebody better to put all of her maternal stuff on to rather than Daniel.  She gets on my nerves but the woman deserves better.

At least Parker is cute.

Totally agree there is Daniel overload on this show. Sara would probably be the best one to bring back because she hasn't been shown in decades (last time I remember her she was still a little girl and hit by a car teenage Eve was driving) so any actress cast could make the role her own and they'd have plenty of room to write background for the character.

[ASpring1900]

So what is the reason for Days taping so far in advance, compared to other soaps? SOD had a current on-set picture and there were Halloween decorations in it.

[OnceSane]

I think taping so far ahead is supposed to be cheaper.

[Rick Kitchen]

It gives the actors time to do other things during long breaks.

[LeftPhalange]

On GH they have something like 20+ dark weeks where the set is closed. They shoot a bunch of scenes at one time that are then spread out over multiple episodes. That has to save the studio some money in addition to allowing the actors to do outside projects. I would imagine the same thing happens at Days.

[Ladybyrd]

I'm mainly an ABC girl, but I've always watched the occasional Days episode.  I'm ducking back in now for my beloved Kassie DePaiva, and I've clearly missed a lot.

 

What's the deal with Bo?  Is he still married to Hope and just not shown?  Out of town?

[sunnyheart]

What's the deal with Bo?  Is he still married to Hope and just not shown?  Out of town?

Ooooh!  Ooooh!  I know this one!  Well, Ladybyrd, a few years ago, Bo left Salem with Hope's blessing to look for "evidence" against Stefano.  He called in every so often (one-sided conversations - we only saw Hope) and the conversations were brief at best.  Then last year, John Black came back in town with a letter for Hope from Bo.  The letter told Hope that Bo needed to go "deep undercover" and didn't know when he could contact her again. He didn't bother asking her this time. See ya Fancy Face!  Good luck raising our kid! So basically Hope is waiting around for Bo to show up and frankly, if I were her, I would kick him in the nuts and serve him divorce papers.  And once again, Days has destroyed a supercouple.

[prican58]

My soap watching died a slow painful death watching Guiding Light and AMC being put out of their miseries.I used to watch DOOL back in the Doug/Julie era when I was a teen. I started watching again when Crystal Chappell returned. Boy, what a mess that was! I do remember the time where Victor was going to marry Maggie and all of Victor's ex wives/paramours were at the cocktail party or some such nonsense.  I loved seeing LK, CC, AZ, and Louise Sorrell all interacting. DOOL dropped the ball back then b/c they are all good actresses and much could have been done with such a foursome. Pity.  

 

I stayed around after her character left (I was happy with that b/c TPTB had no idea what to do with Carly)and I was in deep with the Will coming out stuff. But then it just bored the hell out of me. I was only hanging on for Chandler and AZ. I had to jump ship.

 

I hated Hope, hated how they screwed Peter R around and the Sami/Rafe/EJ triangle had become annoying. Glad I'm gone, but I am curious as to the goings on.

 

I do have some questions. Is Galen still on the show? Can't act but damn he is sure pretty! But he actually did a good job as the evil twin. Is Lauren Koslow now just window dressing? What happened to Chloe? Is there no sign of Philip yet? I liked the actor. Are Brady's pecs still amazing? 

 

I imagine that Ciara and Theo were SORASED. Is Theo still autistic or whatever? Wouldn't be surprised if he's been "cured".

[Peanut6711]

I do have some questions. Is Galen still on the show? Can't act but damn he is sure pretty! But he actually did a good job as the evil twin. Is Lauren Koslow now just window dressing? What happened to Chloe? Is there no sign of Philip yet? I liked the actor. Are Brady's pecs still amazing?

I imagine that Ciara and Theo were SORASED. Is Theo still autistic or whatever? Wouldn't be surprised if he's been "cured".

Hi prican58--

Rafe is still on. Kate is front and center with a scheme with Sami (yes, I actually said with Sami, not against her.)  Chloe is out of town, so is Philip. (They are not together though). Brady is a drunk and a coke head but he still looks good shirtless.  Ciara and Theo are still elementary school kids. No mention of Theo's issues lately but Ciara is a real piece of work.  You should try tuning in again.

Edited June 25, 2014 by Peanut6711

[prican58]

I sit here laughing, peanut6711 because I don't think I could ever be a reg viewer again. Soaps just use up so much mental energy. I do like to cruise sites like these from time to time as it's the only place where one can probably get an honest appraisal of all the chicanery.

 

I will admit that Sami/ Kate could be charming. We'll see. Thanks for the update. BTW are Ciara and Theo played by the same actors? 

 

This is bad. I keep asking more and more questions. Must...resist.

[Peanut6711]

prican58- Some days I'm not sure why I still watch but it does have it's moments. Might I recommend you check out a youtube clip (for time sake) of last week's episode where Kate and Sami faked a food fight with Abigail Deveraux caught in the middle. It was the highlight of last week.  As for the kids, the same actors have played them for a while. Ciara is quite the schemer. She has conned Sami out of multiple pairs of expensive earrings, wrapped Roman around her little finger to set him up on a date with a woman he despised, and even gets sassy with Hope. 

[LeftPhalange]

 

I will admit that Sami/ Kate could be charming. We'll see.

 

Sami is on her way out. AS filmed her last scenes a few weeks ago. They shoot like six months in advanced though so Sami will be on screen for awhile. LK has said that the current story Kate and Sami are involved in is her favorite story ever.

[boes]

Can some of you folks who were watching back then tell me about Maggie's drinking problem?  Was it all that bad?

The way she drones on at Brady makes her sound like she was Nurse Jackie or something.  And I find her attitude pretty insufferable. 

 

So was she a bad, deceitful drunk, or an also-ran?

[TeeVee329]

How/why did Kristen DiMera and Jennifer Horton become friends?  They seem like polar opposites that would never interact, let alone be besties.

[LeftPhalange]

From what I understand, Kristen wasn't always crazy. She used to be normal and then something happened to cause her to go off the rails. I think that something was her getting involved with John and then getting desperate to keep him once Marlena came back from the dead.

[Peanut6711]

How/why did Kristen DiMera and Jennifer Horton become friends?  They seem like polar opposites that would never interact, let alone be besties.

LeftPhalange is right. Kristin wasn’t always crazy. In fact, when Marlena was possessed by the devil she was a bit of the ‘victim’ in that story. She was mostly a normal social worker when she first appeared on the show. Jennifer was married to her biological brother, Peter, as much as the show and MR would like everyone to forget that piece of history.

Kristin’s crazy seemed to kick in when she faked her pregnancy of EJ in order to keep John from going back to Marlena.

[TigerLynx]

At one time, Kristen was considered one of the good Dimeras, and she was friends with Billie and Jenn.  One of Kristen's worst crimes was locating Roman and bringing him back to Salem in the form of CK instead of original Roman (WN).  She just went downhill from there.

[JBC344]

TeeVee, Kristin used to actually be considered the good Dimera.  She was a protégé of Alice Horton.  Kristen and Peter were considered the good Dimera children before Lexi.  In fact Kristen and Peter were a big reason why Lexi was able to come to terms with Stefano being her father, because Kristen and Peter were her friends and good people. 

 

Kristen for all intents and purposes was a "normal" character.  She and Jon used to have a really good relationship.  She went crazy when she had a miscarriage and Peter was presumed dead.  During that time Kristen found a letter that Jon had written Marlena when he was on death row claiming Marlena to be the love of his life, while Kristen was being the dutiful supportive pregnant fiancée.

 

Kristen had a mental breakdown after that and decided to keep up a fake pregnancy and asked Stefano for help.  This is where EJ and Susan came in.

 

Kristen, Jennifer, and Billie were all best friends back in the day.  They actually used to call themselves the Three Musketeers.  There were a really great trio.  That was back when we Days used to actually take the time to develop friendships and weren't so obsessed with couples.  You can actually see the old clips on youtube.  In fact when Lisa Rinna left as Billie and Krista Allen replaced her, they actually went back and re-shot a lot of friendship scenes of Kristen, Billie, and Jennifer so they could still do flashbacks of them hanging out.

 

In essence Kristen was really screwed over by Jon and Marlena back in the day. That is why a lot of fans had no issue when she returned and starting messing with them.  I wished they would of focused on her revenge against Jon and Marlena and not brought Brady into the mix.

 

Kristen is also responsible for Roman being alive and back in Salem.  Yes, Kristen wanted to use Roman to help her break up Jon and Marlena so her motives weren't good.  But Roman was presumed dead on a mission and Kristen was the one who wouldn't take no for an answer and went on a hunt for Roman who was on death's door at the time.  She got him medical help and brought him back to Salem.  Hell, even Sami at the time had to give it up and thank Kristen for saving Roman.

Edited July 21, 2014 by JBC344

[Rick Kitchen]

Because they wanted us not to know who Theresa was for the first two days she was on the show.

[JBC344]

Which was really ridiculous in and of itself.  The name change would of actually made more sense if she was hiding out in Salem avoiding the Brady's.  At first I thought they were going with the name change so that Brady wouldn't realize that he was lusting after his cousin.  But then they went ahead and ret-conned Brady and Theresa being related so that they could pair them up.  Basically erasing a whole two years of plot in one sentence just to make another couple.

[DisneyBoy]

Here's a question that I'm not sure if the show ever bothered to answer:  Why did Stefano sleep with Susan Banks?

 

I'm guessing it was a retcon that Susan's baby was actually Stefano's - something they probably came up with well after introducing Susan Banks - but did they ever even try to explain what would possess Stefano to sleep with someone who looked so much like his own beloved adopted daughter Kristin?  Isn't that...well hella disgusting when you think about it?  Was there ever a scene where Kristin went "Um...father...did you sleep with her because she reminded you of me??"

 

I had to ask.

[JBC344]

Stefano actually seduced Susan to impregnate her for Kristen.  Very early in Kristen and John's pregnancy, Kristen had a miscarriage, this along with Peter being "killed", and Kristen finding out that John was still in love with Marlena is what caused Kristen to have a mental breakdown and actually ask Stefano for help. After the miscarriage, Kristen was still keeping up with the scheme that she was still pregnant.  She wanted Stefano to help her figure out a way to get a baby and keep John.

 

Stefano and Rolf found Susan because she was a look a like to Kristen and had similar bone structure. To be fair Susan doesn't really look like Kristen enough for it to be too weird.  Susan would have to wear fake teeth and change her appearance a little when impersonating Kristen. Susan and Kristen are more like the before and after pictures. 

 

Stefano dressed up as Elvis, seduced and slept with Susan and then got her to agree to impersonate Kristen for her doctor appointments and when it was time to deliver. 

 

It was during the time that Susan was impersonating Kristen that she fell in love with John and sort of became a rival to both Kristen and Marlena for John.  Ironically when the dust settled on that storyline Susan and EJ actually lived in the penthouse with Marlena until she and John helped her and Edmund escape Salem with EJ.

 

My hope with ED being back for a few months that we will finally get a scene of Susan back to help usher EJ off the canvas.

Edited July 31, 2014 by JBC344