It's pretty much old news now even though it hasn't been made official: James E. Reilly is out as head writer. Can't say I'm surprised or disappointed. Not surprised because he hasn't done what he was suppose to do when Corday was forced to make him head writer again, and that was to raise the ratings. Instead he drove them into the gutter. I could speculate all day about why he did it, but it's really pointless. For whatever reason, Reilly's return BOMBED. Instead of delivering a message of true love everlasting and romance, he made us all aware of the depressing possibility that when we die our loved ones move on without much grieving, or even respect for our memory. It was more than insulting, it was a big fat downer.

It's repetitive to say that I'm disappointed in Reilly's second coming to Days. Not that I ever expected him to make me happy all the time, but I at least hoped I'd get those few moments for J&M that would keep me tuning in and enjoying the painful ride. And you knew it was going to be painful, or at least full of things you would be rolling your eyes at and full of repetitive nonsense. At least I hoped he would get the easy things right and wouldn't suddenly forget the essential J&M. Which he did. In spades. His Serial Killer story had some nice J&M moments, some good dialogue, some nice angst... but I didn't like the story. I didn't get invested in it by doing a lot of speculating on who the killer was or why it was happening, or trying to connect all the crazy dots, or trying to figure out why Mac Carey's head was floating about or what that nutty children's song meant, or why Sami suddenly enjoyed burning photos of John and Marlena. It was soon very apparent that none of it would pan out to mean a thing. But, as long as I got some good J&M, I was pretty content. That all went to hell when the dead came back and Marlena was sent to the island of more ridiculous plots. It was apparent that Reilly had lost his mind. The writer who wrote my favorite story, Maison Blanche, had not only left the room, but the planet.

It always seems like we J&M fans (excuse me for speaking for thee), are fighting for the merest glint of the real J&M. The J&M we fell in love with. We all know what it is, and it's what made them special to us, but it seems impossible to get the writers on the same page; even writers like Reilly who was writing when I fell in love with John & Marlena. Maybe the real J&M are only in our heads. Maybe they never existed on the page or screen. Or maybe it's the actors that made them who we love so much. But, if it's all in our heads, why do we all share the same brain? It can't be that.

I'm always amazed and delighted when I meet someone new online that's a fellow J&M fan and I find out that they love the same exact things about John and Marlena that I love. And it happens ALL THE TIME. So, why can't we get a writer that feels the same things we do?

And so we say good-bye again to the devil we know, and welcome the devil we don't know, praying he's truly the angel we've longed would fly down from heaven ready to bring our dreams for J&M to the script pages in Deidre and Drake's hands. Why does it feel so impossible?

What can you say about a show that has become nothing but an exercise in futility? James E. Reilly has become the kind of eccentric recluse that no longer has the ability to escape his own inner demons to entertain anyone anymore. We saw him begin that journey at the end of his first Days tenure, and now he is like a child. His writing doesn't contain adult complexities that make great character driven stories. At least back during stories like Maison Blanche and the Possession, he found it in himself to write about adult human emotions amidst the gimmicky stunts. But who knows, maybe that was the work of the associate writers at that time who are no longer around. Whatever happened along the way to where we are now, he's obviously gotten filthy rich and lazy. He seems to take the most interest in pissing off fans and tricking them... but you'd think that would get old even for him. How many times can you write a scene where you have the characters do something horrible and then reveal that it was just a character's nightmare? Oh yea, you got us again, Reilly you clever man!

Wow, reading my 12/21/05 entry and I can't believe nothing has changed since then! That my friends, is the story of Days. A never-ending swill of disappointments.

Is there really anything left to say? I haven't felt the need to write any letters to TPTB or the Soap *press* for months. I no longer feel any real anger when new spoilers come out that are intent to make me want to throw sandwiches at the tv... usually I just shrug my shoulders and think "oh well, that's not surprising", and go on with my day. I was actually kind of optimistic for a while, but what's the point of being optimistic for something that never happens? I mean seriously, when was the last time J&M fans had anything to cheer about? I even had hope that this amnesia story would be the salvation for J&M, and restore them to some semblance of who they really are. I mean, why wouldn't it be? It is the storyline J&M fans have dreamed of. My god, they finally listened to us! They finally decided to write a J&M story again! And of course, it didn't go the way I expected or wanted, plus we had an actor standing around in scenes where John was suppose to be worried out of his mind about Marlena and instead Drake Hogestyn just stood there like a tree stump. Can't get those scenes back.  And I was even enjoying the character of Alex, played by Wayne Northrop. He was creepy and I wanted to know why he was this way. What happened to make him so demented? Why does he want to destroy J&M? Alas, that also ended up being a big joke on me. So, thanks to Drake Hogestyn, who wishes J&M were over and could care less about this story obviously (Link to Drake's private internet chat with John/Kate fans), and tptb and all the lies we are told, why care anymore? Why invest a second of hope for what will never happen? Let Drake have his beloved John/Kate pairing. Rename the character Roger, and he and Kate can become the most loathed couple in daytime, and I can finally call it quits. I welcome you apathy. The freedom not to care is a beautiful thing.
 
 

Days might have gotten what they want this time. Their destruction of John and Marlena with the spouse swapping sex was pretty much the final nail for me. We'll see how it goes, but I'm not feeling it. Congratulations, Ken Corday, James Reilly, and NBC... you've finally pushed this diehard fan to the edge.

Jope pushed me very near the edge, and J&M really never recovered, but I was able to enjoy them after that nightmare in the few good scenes we got, but they've yet to have a great story again and bit by bit TPTB seem intent on breaking my will and chipping away at what makes J&M special. After Jope, J&M weren't special anymore, but they were still good, and D&D still had that amazing chemistry that kept me watching, but they just weren't the great couple they were before that. I lowered my expectations, learned to ignore the bad stuff written by bad writers, and simply take the crumbs when they were tossed my way.

Now with this horrible story.... I don't know if there's anything left to scavenge.

Having Marlena say things to fauxman about only loving John because she thought he was him, and other unspeakable utterances as she decides to have sex with him, was just too much to bear. And watching John lose his soulmate connection to Marlena, and his needing to move on in record time and then hearing the things John said to Kate while screwing her (not that I watched, but i read Bev's post about it)... well, I don't know that I can ever like him again. He's been ruined.

Yes, I know it's all just bad writing and contrived plot to separate them and give them *conflict*, but there is only so much you can take before the feelings you feel just can't be wiped away. How do I look at John after all this and not remember how easily he moved on, barely mourning for her? How can I look at Marlena and not remember the words she said to fauxman?

I don't know how I'll feel down the road, and I know that if it weren't for my friends in the J&M fan base I would have been long gone, but as long as the characters are on the show played by the same actors, I'll have that same curiosity to know what they're doing (unless of course they never share scenes and are permanently separated). What I won't be doing is watching - I have only watched a few episodes since Marlena was killed in May, unless something major happens to change all this and Bev says something that makes me want to tune in again.

Well, once again J&M fans were left out of the Christmas celebrations on Days. Not only are J&M separated, with John stupidly believing Marlena is dead *again*, but she's chained to fauxman. I never would have guessed that James Reilly would try to redo Maison Blanche with faux & Marlena. What a joke. His own story and he can't even replicate it or improve on it - just reproducing it very badly. AND WITH THE WRONG COUPLE!

It's the end of the year and I have barely been watching since May when Marlena was first killed off. I miss John and Marlena, but I don't miss Days per say.

I keep trying to think of reasons why this is happening. Keep trying to blame someone besides Mr. Reilly, but when it comes down to it, he is to blame completely. It was foolish to think that he would write good material for John and Marlena... all I had to do was look back at the last storyline he wrote for them. The ED show. That wasn't even about John and Marlena. Looking back, it's apparent that Reilly wrote some great things for them, but as the years passed, he got lazier and lazier, relying on stupid plots and never really giving us any payoffs. Now he not only can't figure out a decent plot, but he's lost sight of the true characters of John and Marlena - rewriting his own history and making me dislike them.

At the beginning of his return there were signs of hope. There were some really good J&M scenes and some good dialogue, but soon it began to flounder, and even with the best of it, there was always something missing or off with it.

So, once again, my faith is lost on this show. Shame on me.

Well, it was nice while it lasted, but I've stopped watching now. John thinks Marlena is dead and he's acting like it's not a big deal. Gee, how quickly I hate him again. And how quickly I have stopped tuning in. Is Tom Langan back? Is Dena Higley writing again? I'm back to listening to the radio all day - thank you Al Franken! Of course my steady diet of NPR has never wavered. My TV doesn't even go on. Which is a nice change of pace I must say. Though I do watch some TV. Monk is starting it's new season - god I love that show! And there is always my beloved baseball. And I can't wait for CBS to start "The Amazing Race" again in July!

I'm reading "To Kill A Mockingbird". How did I never read that book or see that movie my whole life? I used to read a lot before my obsession with Days. And I mean A LOT. I would go through phases of reading different genres. For a long time I was really into mysteries - Gregory McDonald, Lawrence Block, Robert B. Parker, Carl Hiaasen, and Elmore Leonard... Then it was short story collections - Raymond Carver, Tobias Wolff, Ellen Gilchrist, John Cheever and Ann Beattie were favorites. And contemporary fiction, one of my favorite authors is John Irving (he ain't bad looking either), along with David James Duncan (The River Why is one of my all time favorite novels), and Jon Hassler.

So, while I will miss John and Marlena, and I'm sure I'll need to watch my tapes, I've never been without means to entertain myself to get through the daily grind. Time to catch up on all the books I've put aside, and I hope you do too! :)
 
 

Yes, there is *one* bad thing about enjoying Days these Days. There's not much to write about on this page. Discontent is a mighty motivator, but here I am loving the show and actually watching it... so what's to complain about? Nuthin'. Back when Langan was writing, every word he wrote was infuriating, which gave me plenty to talk about. Now I have become a satisfied customer. It's such a different feeling. It is so nice to not be worried about what tomorrow's show is going to be like. I am once again daydreaming about Days like I did in the 90's. I would drift off while washing dishes or whatever and my mind would come up with wonderful scenerios for John and Marlena. Of course the show never lived up to my daydreams, but at least I wasn't getting Joped to death. At least J&M were in character. Then Reilly left to write Passions. I was thrilled. I imagined Sally Sussman-Morina would save my show from things like The Many Faces Of Eileen Davidson. It's true what they say about the devil you know being better than the one you don't know. Who could have imagined that Sussman-Morina, then Tom Langan, then Cwikly & Brash, then Dena Higley would be 100 times worse than James Reilly? Who could have invisioned the nightmare of Sussman-Morina and Langan's Jope? Langan's sorasing Belle and Brady into the antithesis of what I dreamed they would grow up to be. Hell, why did they have to age ten years overnight anyway? I could go on and on, but I'm sure most of you know what the sequel to Reilly was for many years.

When you go from what you think is bad writing to nightmarish writing, you soon realize how good you had it. You give thanks and then when you start to see the characters you missed for so long return, you embrace each well written scene like it's your last.

I may not have much to complain about now, but it's all good ;)
 
 

As you all know, James Reilly is writing a serial killer storyline now on Days. He's not just killing off bad guys, or characters nobody cares about. He's going for the very heart and history of the show. Killing off Maggie Horton? Caroline Brady? Jack Deveraux? Abe Carver? Wha? How can that be?

I don't have any good answers. I am just trusting that the story will be worth it. A good storyteller takes risks and is bold and innovative. Now, many will argue that Reilly is anything but, and is a repetitive hack. I can only go by what he's written in the past that I liked. And I liked a lot of it.

Days was going to be cancelled. NBC had little reason to renew its contract with Corday/Sony when the show kept getting worse and worse and vieweres continued to drop like flies. I suppose they decided to bring Reilly back because he'd had some success at Days in the past. I don't think it's farfetched of them to think this. There appears to be a lack of talented soap writers out there. Few writers love the genre and want to devote themselves to it. There is one thing you cannot dispute about James Reilly, and that is that he loves what he does and devotes his whole life to it.. Whether you think he is destroying the genre or not, you can't tell me he isn't ambitious or that he doesn't have vision. And his vision for Days appears to be to shake the show to its core. There are rumors that the actors are walking on egg shells not knowing if they will be next to be killed off. Who can blame them. Yet, this is a business. An entertainment business where there are no guarantees. You don't get into show biz for the security do you?

Will I miss Maggie, Abe and Caroline? Sure, especially around the holidays on Days. Am I enjoying the show now? Yes, much more than I was before Reilly came back. Do I wish he would have written something that would have spared these characters? Yes, but I am not the writer. Things happen on soaps constantly that I hate. My whole life I have watched soaps and lived through terribly sad things on the screen. Bad things happen, just like in real life. Some of my favorite stories have the saddest moments ever.

It's obvious that Mr. Reilly knows he has to get the ratings up. Killing off Maggie Horton was probably not the first idea that came into his head when contemplating what to do with a show that had basically become a shell of it's former self. Why would he think that a serial killer story would get viewers to tune in again, or get new viewers? I can't answer that. I only know that the show is making sense a lot more now than before he came back. And my favorite couple is in character again after years of destruction by other writers.

As for enjoying the show when beloved vets like Peggy McCay and Suzanne Rogers are losing their jobs, well... again, I'm not the writer, and I just want to be entertained. I don't feel guilty for being happy Reilly is back or for enjoying the show again. Did I tell him to do this? Did I write in for him to kill off these characters? Are there any guarantees for me that my favorites won't be among them some day soon? No, no, and no. I'm just taking it one day at a time, and enjoying what I can from a show that not too long ago, for me, was totally unwatchable.

Killing off vets is not a way to make friends, but James Reilly isn't the kind of writer that writes as a friend making venture. He's a storyteller, and so far this story ain't bad and I think it will get really good once the killing is done. The murders are terrible, awful and incredibly sad. They are SUPPOSE to be.

As for the actors being let go... I doubt anyone ever told them that being on a soap was a lifelong job. Yes, there are some that are lucky enough to spend their entire adult lives working on a soap, but I would bet even they know nothing lasts forever, and any writer can come along and kill them off with a flick of their pen. Life isn't fair. And life on a soap is probably less than fair, but the check probably doesn't hurt either.

They say they are the most important, right? Well, then the news is mixed on James Reilly's first weeks back writing for Days in my humble opinion. While I see that the show seems to becoming more in focus and consistent... why are we seeing the foreshadowing of a Fauxman/Kate/Marlena/John quadrangle? That is going to raise the dangling ratings Days is getting?

I was pretty happy with the beginnings of the Sami/John hatred story. It was full of history and geez, when was the last time we got any of that on Days? Sami was showing herself to be deluded where John is concerned and Lucas was telling the truth--that she did love John and he was a good father to her. That one ep with Sami and Lucas talking about John felt like a miracle to me. I had sudden hopes that Reilly would make John Roman again, or at least resolve the Sami/John relationship. A week later I witnessed Sami burning a photo of John and Kate in a fruit bowl. Needless to say, my hopes are a bit dashed. A friend horrified me by predicting that evil Sami would soon be drugging John and Kate and somehow getting them to have sex and to have Marlena and faux find them together. A week earlier I would have poo-pooed it. Now I am just counting down the days till it happens.

Yes, J&M are on a lot so far. Love seeing them for a change, but they're not doing anything interesting at all. Again, why is this going to raise ratings? I know Reilly likes to build his stories to a big payoff, but this is the best he could come up with? Ugh. I'm going to try to be patient, but I'm not a patient person when it comes to Days.

Recently I was on a Days discussion board having a heated debate with another Days fan, when she made a comment meant to put me down. She was basically saying that she noticed that all I cared about was John and Marlena and how that was the difference between us because she cared about all couples and characters. I know I was suppose to feel ashamed but I did not in the least, LOL I pointed out to her that I was hardly the only person on that board who only cared about a favorite couple. I would estimate that most fans now are only fans of one or more couples. It is far more likely now that a fan is solely watching for one couple as not, considering how this show has pitted fan bases against each other. This isn't the 80's anymore, as much as I would love that to be true. But, even in the 80s when I consider the soaps were a lot more fun and better written, I usually was a fan of one couple on a show---the difference then was that I usually watched the whole show despite that. Most of it was watchable and enjoyable.

Another thing this poster made sure to point out to me was that she didn't have a favorite couple and she was more likely to care about all couples but she wasn't a hard-core fan of any one couple or character. Again, I was meant to feel bad about being someone who only watched for John and Marlena. This is about the most misplaced calling to the carpet ever given to me, because I have never denied or felt ashamed of just being a J&M fan. Why feign interest in things I don't like, such as another couple who doesn't do a thing for me? I also got the impression from this poster that I was supposed to be impressed by her declarations. Honestly I can't think of what is so wonderful about having such a blasé proclivity toward something like a soap. I don't think there is anything wrong with it, but I have much more respect for someone who has passionate feelings about something. And when it comes to soaps, I would much rather have a discussion with someone who feels fiercely fervent for a certain character or couple than someone who says they don't have a particular favorite and care about many equally.

I've watched soaps since I was in kindergarten. We used to come home for lunch during the school year and mom would make us something to eat and we'd all watch her ABC soap ALL MY CHILDREN together, then off again we'd run to school. Since then I've watched all the soaps at one time or another. Now it is just Days. And of course, who's watching Days anymore? Anyway... what it was that made me watch a soap was either that I was just looking for something to watch and I tuned in and just naturally got caught up in the entire show, or suddenly a certain couple or character would click with me and I'd become obsessed. It happened with Cass & Kathleen and Perry and Nancy on AW. It happened with Fletcher and Claire and Annabelle and Tony on Guiding Light. On ATWT I watched for Betsy and Steve and pretty much the whole show. And on Days it was Kim and Shane... then later in the 90's it was John and Marlena. For me it is not a matter of going out in search of something to go crazy about on my tv, it just happens. The combination of the actors and the writing has to be something that hits me and hits me hard, and without warning. So you see, I can relate to people who have a particular obsession and passion for a couple on a soap. I may not be able to relate specifically to their obsession but I respect it all the same. It is, in many ways, just out of your hands. And when people who can't relate put you down for it, I just have to laugh because I know that someday something they watch will hit them the same way, whether they think they are immune or not. So, don't pity the fan who is hard-core and who gets worked up about their favorite... you may just find yourself in a similar boat someday.

And it's nothing to be ashamed about. Passionate fans have more fun :>

Okay, so I changed my mind. I am going to write about the things Reilly did that I hated. I've been watching some tapes from his tenure and I couldn't ignore those things that made me fast-forward so much material. However, nothing he did could compare to what came after him. These are mere nuisances compared to what Tom Langan and Co. did. There is a HUGE difference to me when it comes to being annoyed at the way Reilly made John stupid to Langan's John treating Marlena like dirt. So, no matter what I hated about Reilly, keep this in mind.

I hated the way Reilly gave more attention to Kristen and Susan than to J&M. There were so many missed opportunites for John and Marlena because he was too busy writing Kristen's next scheme. I waited SO long for John to learn that Marlena had found the "letter" and when he did, they maybe said a whole 2 lines of dialogue about it. GRRRR! Well, the whole REUNION stunk--can you say "Roman"? Reilly didn't spend enough time on that reunion. I think it was a whole two episodes. He should have given us scene after scene of J&M discussing the things that Kristen did and their feelings of being apart, their past, what made them find their way back together, etc. But no, they made love and talked about "Roman". It was out of the blue and one scene would have been ENOUGH. Reilly made it look SO obvious that he was bringing back "Roman" it only made him look stupid. The reunion was thrown together like a messy salad with no dressing. Reilly had a tendancy to build up to something, and then while he gave a payoff, he didn't go as far as he could. He didn't satisfy the female desire to *communicate* :>

The thing I felt that Reilly really missed the boat on was that during the whole time J&M were pretending they didn't love each other, he kept Marlena as this cloistered woman that other men apparently didn't know existed. I didn't buy that. And it would have been so great to see Marlena trying to move on and dating other men and being unable to forget John as well as seeing John go insane with jealousy watching her dating other men! We could have had so many great angsty J&M scenes where they are longing for each other. Wow, I would have really enjoyed that! Big stupid Jim Reilly fauxpaux imo. That could have been the story instead of the whole pillow baby thing and I would have been thrilled to watch it play out. It even could have lead to a story where Marlena's rejection of one of the men she's dating turned into a stalker situation with John having to save her. Now, wouldn't that have been much more interesting and less stupid than watching idiot Susan and her doll Lisa Marie? Again, JR wasted a lot of good J&M stuff on repetitive ridiculous shenanigans played out week after week. I mean, how many times did he play the "how will Kristen (or Susan) get out of this latest jam" card? He could have gotten rid of Kristen before she became a total joke and a tired foil for J&M. Which would of course saved us completely from SSM & Langan's Killing Pool story and the added ED characters! It ultimately showed that Reilly would rather torture his viewers by showing MEN sleeping with other women while the loves of their lives watch in celibate agony. Women viewers would much rather watch a man suffer a celibate existence while fighting to get back with the one they love. It is not a universal truth that women love to hate the "bitches" on soaps! Why can't TPTB get that? We want ROMANCE, ROMANCE and more ROMANCE!

Gimmicks! Yes, Reilly uses too many gimmicks! You don't need so many, sir. Really you don't. I LOVED the Possession, but Reilly spent way too much time fiddling with special-effects gimmicks to push the story. I didn't need to see Marlena turn into a panther. I didn't really care if a swarm of bees almost killed Shawn. It wasn't even necessary to show me Marlena levitating and speaking in Satan's tongue. It all looked so fake anyway. The good parts were when the devil used his evil to manipulate things like when Mardevil made sure John walked in on her naked, or when she caused him to remember their past love. The green eyes were not why I watched. Yet, as I write this, I have to say that most of his gimmicks, while ridiculous, worked to create some very good stuff (*cough* virtual reality goggles *cough*)... but this is about the stuff I hate, right? ;)
 
 

I will save my thoughts about what I *hated* about Reilly for another day.. or maybe never... ;)

I loved the way Reilly must have known deep down that fans just were never going to accept John with Kristen and would never give up on John and Marlena. No matter how he tried to convince everyone, people just didn't care for J/K and the majority wanted J&M. I mean, afterall, Kristen was yet just another replacement for Marlena in John's life.

Even when they rushed to put Roman & Marlena and John & Isabella together, he would write little scenes that gave me hope that someday I would get my wish. Those little scenes were gems to have in my pocket to carry with me and to treasure---to pull out and look at and give me hope. The actors also capitalized on these sparse scenes and made them extraordinary.

In these scenes, where J&M are suppose to only be friends, there is an underlying suggestion that they are just going through the motions and they will never have the kind of love with others that they had with each other. And WOW how I loved that notion, and it is probably why I was willing to go along for the ride. What is more tantalizing than two people in denial and fighting a mutual attraction? Two people with an incredible history of both great passion and great torment! It's classic tragedy and I couldn't look away.

Of course, later Reilly would go in the open about it, giving up finally on J/K, and both J&M told the audience who they really loved. More torment, more contrivance, but I didn't really care when it came down to it. I was getting my shot of J&M magic almost daily!

I was never as bothered as some of my fellow J&M fan friends when Reilly would hint at a J&M reunion and then pull back and seem to start all over again, i.e. going back to Kritter after the Possession. I was just happy that I would be getting more great J&M stuff! The longer he dangled the carrot the longer I knew I was guaranteed to get me some yummy J&M! Having lived through other couples on other soaps, I was afraid that they would put J&M together and then they would split them up permanently, and I was just happy to know Reilly wanted to keep doing what I loved seeing. And really, when you look at other soap couples, their stories last a couple years and then they are done. I guess I was willing to accept all the bad that came with that guarantee Reilly was giving me.

For the year of '96 I have 27 tapes (SP speed) of edited J&M. For the year of '99 I have about 7 tapes. I have averaged about 6 J&M tapes a year since. I never watch Days live anymore. Not even when J&M are on. I used to be so happy when I could watch and dub LIVE to get the best quality. Now I could care less if I dub in EP or SP.

Yes, I want James E. Reilly to return to Days! Do I KNOW Reilly will give me something I want to watch again? Nope, but considering J&M are barely on, in a BAD storyline, heading for the backburner, I'll take the chance.
 
 

I make NO apologies for only caring about John and Marlena! And I have to laugh at the sudden claims of utilitarianism by other couple fans now that James Reilly's name is in the game. Gimme a break! I've been watching soaps my whole life, and sometimes I like the whole show, and other times I fall in love with a certain couple and watch only for them, and yet other times, I have a favorite and also enjoy other parts of the show. But where is it written that I'm suppose to care about anything but my favorites? James Reilly wrote some of my favorite J&M stuff and I could care less if he comes back and dumps Bo and Hope. Sorry, they don't concern me. Not at all.

Why would I waste my time pretending to care about other characters/couples when in fact I fast-forward them whenever possible? Why are people like me considered annoying and irrelevant by TPTB, simply because I only watch for one couple? I am still a customer. I still have the power to turn it off completely and to vote in polls etc.

I am also confused by those that think I should care if an actor gets released from their contract. It's not my concern. If the character they play annoys me, I don't want to see that character anymore and I'm going to say so. The show can listen or not.

Why should it concern me, a viewer, that an actor loses his or her job? Am I the one that writes the show? Am I the one that hires or fires anyone? Nope, I am just a viewer who wants to see what I want to see. When a character isn't working and people want to see them gone, then the show should get rid of them, just like a coach/manager will get rid of a player who is not helping the team. That's the way things work. If you think that's unfair, then I suppose you might like a show that employs every actor in the country---because nobody wants to see anyone unemployed, right? I'm not sure though, that that would make *anyone* happy.

So, yes, I only care about my favorites. I love them and can't waste my time on things that don't matter to me. I leave that up to their own fans. Who do an admirable job supporting their favorites. Unlike in real life, where caring about things that you don't necessarily like or need is sometimes VERY important and crucial.
 
 

Many times I hear people lecture others on the internet that they should support the actors and the show no matter what. This seems silly to me. As a fan, the only responsibility I have is to watch when I like what I see and tune out when I don't---and even then, is that a responsibility?

DAYS has ignored John and Marlena fans for years now when we have voluntarily written to them with suggestions and pleadings to write a good story for our couple. Many of us have taken time out of our day to post instant critiques on what DAYS airs daily. Then we are chastised for "never being happy". And this is OUR fault? I don't remember anyone paying me or my fellow J&M fans to write the show. What kind of business lays the responsibility of their product's quality on their consumers? None that I can think of. It is the arrogance and conceit of Hollywood that dares to do this--at their own peril I might add.

Daytime soap operas are becoming a very unstable genre. Is this the time for those in charge to demand their viewers do what they the producers and writers want or they will threaten them with destroying the one thing that they come to their door for? Is this the time for actors to jump onto their own internet message boards and lecture their fans on how to be a good fan---alienating those that have been loyal for years? I know that I certainly don't appreciate being told how to express myself---to shut up and be supportive, and to pat the producers and writers on the head like children so that I don't upset the cart. How silly is it for an actor to be upset when I complain about the way their *character* is being written---to take it *personally*??? Good grief! Is it simply that those in Hollywood expect to be treated specially? I don't know what else to think. Instead of demanding fans do this and do that, how about a little understanding of how frustrating it is to get through to a management that thinks of us as the enemy? How about a little thanks for our taking the time to CARE at all? When an actress like Deidre Hall uses her internet message board to say that what she reads on the internet is disturbing, and when she implies that people who post their opinions on the internet have no lives, isn't she biting the hand that feeds her? Does she realize that these are real people that take time out of their lives to support her? Does she think that honest criticism is so horrible that she would rather have a bunch of sheep out there saying they love CRAP? I don't get it.

All I know is that I will support whoever I feel deserves it. Serve me an inferior product and I'll complain until you listen, and I'm not about to treat you like a child who can't take criticism. That protective shell that they hover under in Burbank needs to be removed and allow some reality inside.

I hate cults. I think it's terrible when people give away their indiviual identities and worship men and woman who claim to have a universal truth about life and death. That said, even I enjoy being in a cult. Being a part of a group of like-minded individuals who agree with me and feel passionate about one thing. In my case it's the Cult of John and Marlena.

Those in the cult don't give away their identities, or devote their lives or give all their money to the TV characters John & Marlena, or even realize they are in a cult, but we are a cult all the same. We come together from all over the world, different ages, sexes, and races, and we became fans of John & Marlena at different times, but there are things we all agree on, and if you don't agree on them, you are likely to be outcast. That's just the way it goes in a cult. Nothing says you can't be a fan of J&M and be outside the cult, that's a choice you make, but don't pretend you're a member of the cult, please. Don't waste our time. I can detect a fraud within minutes :>

To be in the cult, you must agree that John and Marlena are soulmates, destined to be together. Whether you were originally a fan of Roman and Marlena or not, or if you enjoyed RoJohn with Diana, you MUST agree that J&M are soulmates. This is a blood agreement.

Other things we agree on are:

• Both John and Marlena would DIE for the other, no questions asked, and in a split second.
• DEIDRE HALL & DRAKE HOGESTYN have chemistry like no others on TV today.
• TOM LANGAN is the Anti-Christ and the single worst write.r J&M have ever seen.
• JAMES E. REILLY is both good and evil, and we don't need anyone to remind us about the evil part.
• JOPE and MONY are/were pathetic attempts to destroy John and Marlena by producers and writers who are bitter and stupid.
• The affair was a GOOD thing! "The Plane" and "The Conference Table" are the hottest love scenes ever! We sometimes differ as to which was THE HOTTEST, but since we agree they were both very HOT, this is a minor matter :>
• Brady and Belle should be DE-sorased back to the sweet little kids they used to be.
• Tony is no Stefano! We love Stefano! A great villain and antagonist for our couple.
• John's tattoo shouldn't have been removed.
• Every woman in John's life besides Marlena has merely been a replacement for her, when he couldn't be with her--whether she was dead or unavailable.
• Marlena loved Roman, but her passion is John.