Best and Worst of Days of Our Lives

[mstaken]

This is the thread to rank and chat about your favorite and least favorite aspects of the show, past and present. Favorite and least favorite characters, romantic relationships, familial relationships and friendships, storylines, godawful hairstyles...etc. 

 

Here's a question to kick us off: If you could get rid of 5-7 current characters, who would they be? And if you could bring back 5-7 characters who are no longer on the show, who would you choose?! 

[Rick Kitchen]

Bring back Frankie!!!!!

[LeftPhalange]

 

If you could get rid of 5-7 current characters, who would they be?

 

Jen, Abby, Dan, Nicole, Julie, Adrienne, Marlena

 

 

And if you could bring back 5-7 characters who are no longer on the show, who would you choose?!

 

Mimi, Chelsea, Max, Phillip

[plurie]

If you could get rid of 5-7 current characters, who would they be?

 

Jennifer, Abigail, Maggie, Eric, Daniel, Jordan, Ben

 

I'd keep Brady, but only if he's drunk all the time. Jen and Maggie used to be favorites of mine a LONG time ago, but now they're annoying busybodies. John is pretty useless, but if he keeps annoying Marlena and pushing Brady to drink, we can keep him around.

 

 

If you could bring back 5-7 characters who are no longer on the show, who would you choose?

 

Jack, Tony, Bo, Ava, Steve, the psychiatrist who was treating Steve in the mental hospital, Doug

 

Julie was a lot less annoying with Doug around, and Doug could always be counted on for a musical interlude. Jack, Steve and Bo (the three musketeers) have endless plot possibilities, and might even make Hope, Kayla and Adrienne interesting again. We need another shrink in Salem, and Steve's doc was terrific. Ava could be her patient!

 

 

[sunnyheart]

I wish they would get rid of Jennifer and Nicole - their characters completely suck now.  I don't mind Marlena now that I realize she's just conducting a giant SCIENCE! experiment on Salem.  I'm not crazy about John but he sure does bring unintended hilarity to the show so I guess he can stay too.  I despise the current version of Roman - I want them to get rid of Josh Taylor and recast Roman as someone hot.  

 

I desperately want Steve and especially Kayla on fulltime.  I really want Jack back.  I'd like more Justin too.  I do not want Bo back because I hate it when he says "Fancyface". Drives.Me.Nuts.  Also, Hope needs to move on with Rafe, NOT Aiden. 

 

These people can stay if the writers keep/change their characters as:

• Drunk Rafe booty calling Hope
• Drunk Brady booty calling Theresa
• Eric turning his back on God and becoming the town slut
• Daniel learning that hygiene is important for surgeons and it's unethical to date/screw your patients.  Also not being so freaking perfect all the time
• Abby is batshit crazy for real
• Jordan and Ben can stay if their secret is that they were locked in an attic throughout childhood and have developed unhealthy feelings for each other.  Also Jordan needs to start wearing her glasses again because she looks weird without them.

 

It cannot be said enough how happy I am that EJ and Sami are exiting the show.  They've eaten enough airtime and I am thrilled that others will get a chance to shine.

[Peanut6711]

Drunk Rafe booty calling Hope

Oh my god that would be hilarious!  He can drown his sorrows about his sister going to jail and Hope can show up for “comfort.”  They already have some chemistry and are a nice looking couple together.

 

I want Steve and Kayla back too but with a good story and dynamics like they had when they were on the first time. Not Kayla having a baby at 50 or Steve sleeping with Billie or whatever all crap they threw at them last time that made me stop watching.

[sunnyheart]

Yes, I agree.  I would like for Steve and Kayla to come back but without relationship drama.  Been there, done that.  I just remember them as the most romantic, starcrossed couple and god, did I have a thing for that sexy eye patch.  And if they can't get Steve Nichols back, then for crying out loud, bring MBE/Kayla front and center with someone new to the show.  I miss her.

[CaughtOnTape]

Jack is the only character I want back.  And if he's back, they can keep Jen and Abigail as long as he gets to slap them around verbally for a little while.

 

You can get rid of Sami and EJ....oh wait, there they go....*waves*  LOATHE!

In fact all the Dimera's.  Stefano's like 106....go sit down somewhere, you aren't scary anymore.

 

And yes to all the MBE praising.  Why the hell this woman is still sitting in the background while Ali Sweeney's scene chewing suckage is front and center is beyond me.

[cmahorror]

Jack definitely.

 

But I want him to come back with no memory of Jenn (I know, amnesia is old trope but bear with me) and with a new love interest. After he recovers his memory he tells Jenn that although he will always love her, he is in love with the new woman and moving on with her. Also, Dan has dumped Jenn permanently so she is alone and leaves town with Abby.

 

Then Steve, Kayla, Bo, Hope, Jack and his new girl go on plenty of adventures with guest appearances by Shane.

 

A girl can dream lol.

[metter1]

Oh, this is fun!

First, let's boot out:

• Jennifer (because she's beige and sanctimonious)
• Daniel -- because I always think of Pigpen when I see him
• Bev -- because she is only a plot point, and an uninteresting one at that
• Eric -- because he is the only guy I know who could make a hot priest boring
• Ben and Jordan -- because, as someone else says, unless their secret is that the starred in Toys in the Attic, they are pretty useless

 

As for those who should be brought back, I am a sentimentalist here. I watched DOOL during its heyday in the mid to late 80s, and I really would like to see some of the key players reunited (with the original actors):

• Steve -- because the iconic Patch was the perfect "bad boy with a heart of gold" and part of the best supercouple in soap history -- and speaking of which, more Kayla, please!
• Bo -- because he is an important part of the old team and should be aging into the show's patriarch down the road
• Jack -- because there is no one who can play poignant but snarky better than Matt Ashford
• Shane -- because the debonair Mr. Donovan brought a veddy British elegance to the proceedings (Kimberly can come back, too, as long as she tones down her propensity to histrionics
• Frankie -- because he is such a serviceable character, and who doesn't love Billy Warlock?

[QuelleC]

 

The Bad Seed

10:35 PM on WPT HD 38.1, 2 hr 10 min 1956

A mother suspects her seemingly perfect little 8-year-old daughter is a ruthless killer.

In honor of Ciara!  I'll let you decide if Ciara is the best or the worst.  One of my favorite movies.

[boes]

In honor of Ciara!  I'll let you decide if Ciara is the best or the worst.  One of my favorite movies.

 

Me too!  Little Rhoda does remind me of Little Ciara.  Now you have me thinking of exactly what Ciara might have done to Sami if Sami hadn't gotten her those earrings......just remember what Rhoda had planned for Monica because of that damned bird.

[Sandman]

And yes to all the MBE praising.  Why the hell this woman is still sitting in the background while Ali Sweeney's scene chewing suckage is front and center is beyond me.

 

Mary Beth Evans has had to put up with worse than being a supporting player in Sami's endless drama. Hello, Kayla gets backburnered in favour of the monosynaptic Dr. Strippergram? Kayla has to prop up the relationship between Casey Diedrick's unwashed emo hair and Abigail the Vestal? They cast the role of Boring Ben twice to drum up interest in his alleged secret from his lacklustre past with his non-entity of sister, and Kayla can't get scenes that don't involve "Paging Doctor Exposition. Dr. Exposition to the Nurses' Station coffee stand, stat!"? I mean, really.

 

(Kimberly can come back, too, as long as she tones down her propensity to histrionics)

 

Patsy Pease would look like a model of subtlety and decorum next to ravening harpies and professional victims like Kristen, Julie and Nicole.

Edited June 23, 2014 by Sandman

[metter1]

Sandman, re Patsy Pease, you have a point!

[JBC344]

I would love to have Celeste come back.  She was such a serviceable character for many plots.  One of my favorite plots was Sami and Celeste teaming up years ago to kill EJ.

[metter1]

I would love to have Celeste come back.  She was such a serviceable character for many plots.  One of my favorite plots was Sami and Celeste teaming up years ago to kill EJ.

I miss Celeste immensely. And yes, the plot with Sami to off EJ was farfetched but fun! They need to strengthen Abe's family tree and bring the (original) Celeste back.

[ParadoxLost]

So I admittedly tuned out when the Devil came to Salem, but I just clicked on this link and in it Marlena fights with John, falls off a sky scraper, falls for a ridiculously long time, bounces {yes bounces} off an awning, and lands on Sami.

 

It was like the best worst scene ever.  Can anyone top it?

[sunnyheart]

ParadoxLost, I found the clip and I want to thank you for pointing me towards it.  No, I can't top it - that may be one of the greatest scenes in soap history.  Honestly, the part with Marlena falling was comedy gold.  And then the part with Bo, Hope and various others getting there well before EMS confirms my long-held suspicion that the good folks of Salem have transporter pods in their homes.

 

LOVED Sami vowing revenge on John as she lay under Marlena's body.  That girl never forgets, does she?

[Kitty Redstone]

That clip was pretty good!  It makes me wonder all over again why Jason Cook and Peter Reckell aren't on this show.  I don't have any history with Belle or Philip, but am almost positive they would be preferable to characters like Abby, JJ, Ben, and Jordan.

[annabel]

Link please!!

[sunnyheart]

Here ya go!  

 

How they kept from laughing, I do not know.

[LeftPhalange]

It took Marlena like 20 seconds to fall over the railing and then another 20 seconds to actually hit the ground. 

[TigerLynx]

OMG.  That was hilarious.  I had forgotten how crazy some of the SLs were back then.

[sunnyheart]

I love how her bathrobe stayed on her, perfectly wrapped, because Marlena must always look just so.

[mstaken]

So here's a question that might elicit slightly different answers since we last asked it: If you could permanently get rid of five current Days characters, who would you pick? The challenge is to pick just five, with no ties allowed...though I get that it might be tempting to pick about 30 ;) 

[sunnyheart]

Abigail and Jordan can take all five of my spots - I want them gone THAT BAD!

[bantering]

I used to think Sami's acting was kind of weird, but considering how out-of-this-world those storylines were I think Sami's acting choices make sense in retrospect.

 

The part where she asked John whether he was happy now was funny.

 

There are times Sami seemed to indicate she loved Marlena. Who knew? The loyalty towards her family does seem to come out during tough times...

Edited August 5, 2014 by bantering

[Sandman]

Most of the people who grossed me out the most are gone (Nick, Gabi) not used very often (Julie, Stefano), or just too boring to bother about, but I think my list is actually pretty easy:

 

1. Kristen (duh)
2. John
3. Julie
4. Stefano
5. Jennifer

 

I think the Kristen character is stupid, and it might be the laziest performance ever to win an Emmy; if one more person (I'm looking at you, Eileen) tries to tell me how great the writing is, I'll scream. I think there's no point to the John character any more, but there again, it's mostly the (non-) acting that bothers me. Julie just makes me grind my teeth.

 

The fact that so much still apparently revolves around Stefano just underlines how starved for ideas these writers are, and I think getting rid of him as the writers' ace in the hole would force some new story directions. Jennifer is the worst example (in a town stuffed full of them) of a character who is praised for all sorts of qualities she doesn't actually possess, and who acts in ways diametrically opposed to her stated virtues. She's lauded for being generous and giving, and acts in the most blindly self-seeking way imaginable. John does this, too. It's hateful, and it angried up my blood. Some part of me just wants to take the writers' pretty, pretty toy away. I'm tempted to include Ann, but if Jennifer goes, there's no point to the Ann character, so she'll just fade into obscurity. I thought about putting Will on my list, but for me it's mostly a matter of the extreme dullness of the performance. I don't hate the character (quite), but Guy Wilson is not working in this role. I considered Jordan, but she's just too dull to hate, and I never watched her scenes anyway.

 

The only question is, how did I keep watching so long??

Edited August 5, 2014 by Sandman

[LeftPhalange]

 

If you could permanently get rid of five current Days characters, who would you pick? 

 

EJ

Stefano

Jen

Abby

Adrienne. 

 

I can't decide who is worse, Adrienne or Julie. 

Edited August 5, 2014 by LeftPhalange

[boes]

Good Game!

 

Abigail

Jenn

Dan

Will

Jordan

[mstaken]

I'll happily kill off Abby, Jennifer, Dan, Jordan and Adrienne.

 

I know Adrienne isn't on enough to torture me as often as the others do, but whenever she does pop up she more than makes up for lost time by being among the most insufferable, sanctimonious annoyances I've ever come across. I almost put Brady here as well, but if he were dead I think I'd miss our (and Victor's) snark about just how profoundly, unfathomably stupid he is.  

Edited August 5, 2014 by mstaken

[sunnyheart]

I almost put Brady here as well, but if he were dead I think I'd miss our (and Victor's) snark about just how profoundly, unfathomably stupid he is.  

Plus his pissy interactions with John make me laugh.  The two of them together could go on the road with a comedy act.

[SwordQueen]

1. Jen (although unless she's waving her arms and yelling, she kind of just blends into the carpeting.  Think I'm going to start calling her CamoJen.)

2. Abby (She can go crawl under a man and stay there)

3. Kristen (Just sad.  In the pathetic way, not the poor poodle way.)

4. Eric  (Why IS Eric?)

5. Julie.  (She takes the shrew cake.)

 

 

This was tough!  I almost said Nicole.  Guys, okay, you guys, here me out first.  Love her when she's marrying geezers for money, sexing hot men and snarking on all of the Salemites while tossing back a few martinis.  But, she's just so pathetic now and I feel like her hair and wardrobe are going through some kind of manic-depression as a side-effect of having to chase after Father Eeyore and his little gray rain cloud.  I don't want her off permanently, just give her a vacation with some cabana boys and credit card so she can go shopping and get her hair fixed. 

[Rick Kitchen]

Alison is posting her favorite Lumi moments, starting today, and then she's going to do her favorite Ejami moments.

 

The first one:

 

 

One of my all time favorite sequences was Sami & Lucas getting into a food fight at Will’s school at Halloween. The close-up on Chris Gerse’s (Will) horrified face as cake was flying back and forth in front of him, was hysterical. Also, I remember that I was really worried that the cake I had to put in the teachers face would slide off the plate before I got to her. And you really only get one take at that kind of thing in soaps (it would take forever to clean up and try again). So I knew I had to get it right the first time, so yes, I went a little over board in my enthusiasm. The cake even went up her nose a little. But luckily the actress had a sense of humor about it, and gave as good as she got in the rest of the scenes!

 

Here's the scene:

 

[JBC344]

Thanks, always love a Lumi scene.  Keep them coming, :)

[Rick Kitchen]

Alison's second Lumi post.  I can't find a video of this one.

 

 

They’re not all going to be about food, I swear, but another favorite #Lumi scene is when Sami & Lucas were determined to bake for Will. In the scene Sami is supposed to feel indignant about something Lucas says and toss a bit of flour in his face. But once again, because we’d not had the chance to really practice throwing flour, I only got a teeny tiny little bit on his face. So I went back for a bit more, because you couldn’t really see any. Well, Bryan must of thought I’d just been trying to double up on the flour toss, so in retaliation, or just to make sure he didn’t make the same mistake, he got a huge handful of flour and poof! I got a mouthful of flour. It was hilarious, and we were totally laughing for real. But when the stage manager didn’t stop the scene, we realized we should probably keep going and try to salvage it from there. It turned out to be a really cute scene, and one of my favorites. Especially because you can see a bit of Bryan & Ali in it too

[Maelstrom]

Rick Kitchen, it's right here - the flour throwing starts around 4:40. Any long-time viewers know what year this is from?

 

Really makes me wish I'd seen more of Lumi, they have such great chemistry together.

[Rick Kitchen]

That video is so funny.  Sami talks about Will being too young for girls, and then later, how she dreamed he wrote a book like "Mommy Dearest" and everybody in town was ready to stone her.  Such foreshadowing.  :)

[sunnyheart]

AS is so pretty and luminous in the food fighting video.  It's funny that Sami was supposed to be the Ugly Duckling to Carrie when IMO, she surpassed Carrie in attractiveness somewhere along the way. 

 

LOL at the little girl dressed up as Sami the Serial Killer.

[Rick Kitchen]

Alison's next comment:

 

 

Bryan and I had so much fun shooting the circus stuff. Somewhere in the early 2000s, right? We were dressed up in ridiculous costumes for some reason, and watching Tony get mauled by a tiger, but still. It was fun. We had these intense scenes where Sami & Lucas revealed their feelings to each other. In a clown car. I can only imagine how hard it was for him to take me seriously with my sparkly make-up and outrageous hair. Anyway, Bryan always has a way of making everyone laugh and enjoy their job and certainly he had a lot of material to work from then

 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1PxsKU3VHRA

[Maelstrom]

Damn I love Lumi! I didn't start watching Days until 2006, so I only got to see the death knell of Lumi as Ejami came about - but I'm really enjoying these clips! Makes me sad Lucas/BD has been pushed to the sidelines. Thanks for finding the video, Rick Kitchen.

 

So this clip was from 2004 when JER started killing off everyone over 29, right? Wow. What a horrible thing to do to your viewers.

 

Looking forward to the next one on Alison's countdown.

[JBC344]

Yeah this is from the Salem Stalker storyline where half the cast was fired and killed off.  The outcry was so strong that they eventually came up with the Melaswen storyline to bring everybody back.  TPTB tried to play it off that it was all part of the storyline but Matt Ashford and the Frances Reid (Alice Horton) let the cat out of the bag and revealed that no half the cast was really fired and it was the fans that got them all back.

 

I hope the future vids show more old school Lumi, before they became Lumi.  When Sami and Lucas were best friends scheming together to break up Carrie and Austin.  Bonus point of that clip was Doug reminding meddlesome Julie that she was the "Sami" of her generation.  Someone should remind modern day Julie, recent scene notwithstanding.

[scarynikki12]

I loved the Salem Stalker storyline so much and was pissed as hell when it was reversed.  I was sad to see Jack and Alice go, because I found both actors and characters to still be assets to the show, but I would have accepted losing them if it meant that the others were permanently gone.  Plus, I loved that Marlena was the serial killer.  I got the biggest laugh when I learned that Marlena was going around killing people.  Then they retconned everything and ruined the show beyond repair.  If they were going to make such dramatic changes in casting and turn one of their leading ladies into a serial killer, then they needed to commit to it and weather the fan anger, not go back on it and make everything the Dimera's fault after all.  That resolution was tired and lame.  My sorority sisters and I were riveted to the television during the Stalker months and we stopped adjusting our schedules around the show when the retcon happened. 

[Rick Kitchen]

Next from Alison:

 

 

Shortly after the circus incident, Sami & Lucas decided to take Will camping. With a Tiger on the loose. Not the best move, I suppose. But it lead to fun scenes with cameo guest Sharon Osborne, and then Lumi trying to be outdoorsy. From pitching the tent, to Sami being afraid of snakes, we made the most of the comedy behind-the-scenes

 

 

I'm not sure if this is the scene she's talking about, but it's about the same scenes:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNRJx3_a0z8

[shesajar]

I just killed the second part of  my work day watching old videos of that circus, ending with Tony getting attacked by the tiger. I miss the hell out of Tony/Andre. Now, *that's* how you Dimera.

[Rick Kitchen]

 

Today's Lumi memory includes the whole Salem Stalker storyline. It was a tough time in Salem. It was hard for the cast too. and I remember that Bryan and I felt very isolated sometimes, we were sort of in our own story line, and because of scheduling, we never really got to see all the people who were on the ‘island’. But I remember how funny it was to Bryan and I that at one point Lucas snuck up on Sami pretending to be the lethal killer? That Lucas, such a prankster.

 

No real video to cover the whole Salem Stalker storyline.

[JBC344]

Wow, Sami was really on a tear during that storyline.  That was when we got the infamous Marlena falling off the balcony and landing on Sami.  Too hilarious. 

 

That was also when Sami was pushing to break up John/Marlena and Roman/Kate so Marlena and Roman could get back together, which led to Cassie and Rex's paternity coming out. 

[QuelleC]

I really miss the Salem Stalker.  It was pre-internet for me and I worried everyone was dying but what fun that was!  Didn't someone fall all bloody out of a pinata?  The tiger scenes were great.  Except I think Will was traumatized by wearing that costume no kid would ever wear.  And go stand on a ladder, kid, because tigers can't climb.  Still, good times.

[Rick Kitchen]

Here's Marlena falling on Sami.  That fall is hilarious.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ucZo5740iJE

[Rick Kitchen]

And here's Carrie falling out of a pinata:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LqgiRcplj90