Look at my blinkies...he's an imposter, and I hate him. I haven't liked him since they wheeled him into J&M's wedding mumbling "Duck" "Duck" saying he was Roman, when in fact he is Chris K, or how he's always moping around saying he'll never love anyone like he loved his Duck. I hate how when he was dying in bed in 97, J&M would be kissing, and he would see it and be like "Duck, what are you doing?" and then was too freaking stupid to figure things out. Hello dumba$$! She loves John just like she ALWAYS has! And I hated how he just moved in with his Duck when he came back in 97 and expected her to just want to be with him when HE was the one to run off with his tail between his Faux legs. And how he'd sit on the couch at the penthouse and wonder why Marlena had pictures of John up and why she kept looking at them from across the room. Again...hello Dumba$$! She loves John just like she ALWAYS has! I hate how he's too stupid to ever figure anything out on his own so he just scratches his face and swings his upper torso around until he thinks of something to say...and even then it begins with "wha duh hell"!! And then when he found out Kristen's schemes and how J&M were together, he decided to go along with it and lie just like Kritter was, so he could make his Duck fall in love with him. He's no better than the DiMeras! Hey, maybe he's ONE OF THEM!!!

And I hate how his Stumpy *** is the one that saved Belle from the poisoning that his new friend Kritter caused! And I hate how his illness is what drove John into the jungle and began the whole Jope mess. Stumpy's disease is what infested the whole show with Jope!

And I hate how HE was the one who got a big farewell scene with Carrie when she left, when Drake's Roman is the one who RAISED Carrie, and he didn't even GET a goodbye scene. (although I love that John got most of the time with her on the most recent goodbye)

And I hate how his dumba$$ tried to get Carrie and Sami to just kiss and make up and pretend that Sami hadn't TORMENTED Carrie for YEARS! That's right, he wouldn't know, because he WASN'T AROUND!

He was in Imposter School during that time, or else losing his memory as Chris K! And I hate how he had his throat slit by the SK and survived. (But I loved the shot of him with the wedding cake people in his throat! LOL) And I hate how he infected Unchained Melody by dancing to that with Kate. I hated his cowboy outfit he wore with Billie in Europe, and how he thought his Stumpy self was so cool because he got it on with her. Hey, Stumpy, she's now doing that Nick kid, so I don't think she has very high standards!

I hate how he was living in J&M's house for a while, and then sold it to Abe & Lexie. I hate how he moved in on Marlena when she got the island. I hate how he had the nerve to wear John's replica pajamas. Go stay at your own replica house Stumpy! Or better yet, find a way off the island instead of into Marlena's bed! What a pathetic excuse for a cop! I hate how Cassie & Rex are his! Not because I love Cassie & Rex, but because now we have two more of his spawn children running around somewhere. I hate how he stood there like a pathetic wimp when J&M reunited on the island...helloooo what about your wife Kate at the time? He didn't even act like he missed her! Oh, and I hate how he called her Katie and still does!! Grrrrr!!! I hate how everytime Fauxmar saw Jate on screen, instead of being upset about his wife and missing HER, he wanted to suck face with his Duck! I hate how he supposedly collected all these tools and could never come up with a way to try to escape! What the heck were you planning on doing with those you idiot?!?!?! AND I HATE his "What DA hell"ing all over the place, and it's parTner, not parDner, dumb@$$!!!

I also hated how he begged Marlena to marry him on his death bed in 97! You pathetic LOSER! And then begged Marlena to f*&% him on the island because he thought he was dying from a leg wound! Is that the only way to get some, Stumpy? And when he walked into the New Years party and collapsed and ruined some wicked cute J&M scenes! And I hate how he played the martyr when Belle was poisoned and "stepped aside" for J&M...give me a freaking break, Stumpy! You knew you didn't have a chance! And before that showing up at the cabin to find Marlena, and THEN being p!ssed that John was there!!! WHAT DA HELL do you think YOU were doing? At least John had enough decency to leave and let Marlena have some space, but you had to make sure you got Marlena in your Faux car so you could try to convince her to pick Stump over Hunk on the drive back to Salem!! And I hate how you gave in to Sami about John killing Marlena and had to go over there like the serial killer patrol and barge into *J&M's* house!! You are not welcome Stumpy! Oh, and btw, I never appreciated how you trashed JOHN's plane on NYE when you saw J&M kissing, buddy!!! Did you ever pay for the damages you did? Of course not! Again...how STUPID were you back then? It took THAT for you to pull your Faux head out of your Faux ***? You should have died in that island hospital that Kristen SUPPOSEDLY found you in!!!

And that's the worst thing...they constantly dangle his death in front of us, but never follow through! And on top of that, whenever he IS close to kicking the bucket, they always have him requesting sex or marriage from Marlena! Couldn't he at least have the decency to really DIE one of these times!!!???

And now John's in a coma, and who happens to be one of the first people to visit Marlena and offer her a ride home? That's right. I don't even have to say it, do I?

Geez, I bet he takes her home and invites himself in for coffee so he can be around her even longer. And I bet he will also continue to pretend that he isn't the one that coordinated that botched attempt to meet up with EJ, using John! And why the heck did he sit in the freaking car once he realized that the communication was lost? Isn't that a possible sign of trouble, you idiot?!?! And now he tells Marlena that he'll go to Mexico illegally if he has to, in order to catch EJ. How much do you want to bet he doesn't follow through with THAT promise!?!??? (Just like the countless times he's been on his deathbed swearing it would be the last time he asks Marlena for sex!!) I've got an idea for him...just head to Mexico, and never come back! Unfortunately, Mexico may not want the Stump either!

I hate Fauxman!!! One of these days, I'll get my revenge for all the "Ducks" and "parDners" and "What DA hells" and "Screw me, Doc, I'm dying" he's put me through over the years, when he's revealed to be the imposter he is!!!

AND MAYBE ONE OF THE VERY WORST THINGS ABOUT HIM BEING ROMAN AND NOT CHRIS K OR AN IMPOSTER IS...

I HATE how his presence is preventing us from EVER seeing John & Marlena's first meeting/handshake scene because he's smack dab in the middle of it as Chris K!!! That scene is AWESOME and J&M fans should get to see it!!!

After seeing the recent John and Marlena love scenes, I have to say something. I need to get it off my chest & into words or I will never stop thinking about it.

First let me start off by saying I didn't think it was possible to love two characters so much. I mean I have never let myself get this excited & obsessed about two fictional people in my life. But, with John & Marlena, I can't help myself. They are just amazing & wonderful & I can't get enough of them. I find myself thinking about them at work or when I am doing other things, it's just so wonderfully ridiculous.

The love scenes from Monday re-confirmed why I love them so much. They are just out-of-this-world sizzling, steaming, smoking, burning HOT!

Drake & Deidre packed so much passion into the three short scenes we got to catch my television on fire. I was surprised I didn't need a fire extinguisher. I don't think any other actors or characters can put that much chemistry & passion into three short scenes like they can.

Drake & Deidre aren't like any other actors in my opinion. Their chemistry & rapport on-screen is amazing & rare. Yes, other actors & characters have chemistry & look good together but Drake & Deidre have the type of chemistry that's hard to find, you can't even begin to describe.

They take my breath away.

There are probably a great many people who think I'm absolutely, completely, out of my mind crazy but I don't care.
After the garbage that we were spoon fed for almost four years by Reilly is now a distant memory. I didn't think I would ever feel the same about John & Marlena ever again, after what Reilly did to them; together & apart. He literally chewed them up, spit them out, & then stomped on them until they were completely unrecognizable. It was devastating.

I had lost all hope for John & Marlena but then Sheffer came on board & completely changed my mind. He brought our couple back & did it better than ever. They are better than they've ever been. It was a wonderful, beautiful thing to enjoy Days & my couple again.

Drake & Deidre have still got it as well & are better than they've ever been.

We were long overdue for a love scene & I was not disappointed, although they could have been longer, Sheffer delivered.
John & Marlena made up for lost time after being apart for so long, they couldn't get enough of each other.

See how John & Marlena's love scenes can be passionate but tasteful? When I watched them, I didn't feel like I was watching pornography. What I saw was two beautiful people who were in love & were physically sharing that love with each other.
It was beautiful & passionate & they didn't look like two dogs in heat. It was slow, sweet, & sensual. That's the way love scenes should be. This time around Deidre didn't even need a body double.

When I was watching them, I wanted to turn away, but couldn't, it was that beautiful. Drake & Deidre make it look so real, you feel like you are intruding. You want to watch but at the same time you don't want to disturb them because they look so amazing together.

Who would have guessed all those years ago when Drake & Deidre's characters were paired together that they would be so successful, have so much chemistry, be so popular for so many years & be loved & admired by so many people? The casting directors knew a good thing when they saw it. I could kiss the person or people who thought John & Marlena would be great together.

Every time I see a John & Marlena love scene, I always remember some things Deidre said about her love scenes with Drake. She said that love scenes are difficult because of the work involved but also tactfully difficult because it's very hard in those moments to know right from wrong. You are wearing nothing but body stockings & your bodies are touching. You rely on your leading man for everything, so you can't let yourself get lost in the moment during those scenes.

She also said what helps her is the trust she has for Drake. It's the most important thing. She feels comfortable with him so it's easier to do love scenes. He's not bad to look at either.

I thought about those things she said when I saw the recent love scenes & I could tell how comfortable they are with each other. That's probably why the scenes look so believable & realistic to us viewers.

They have worked together so long, so it probably doesn't take much for them to get into their characters & scenes.
They have a mutual trust, friendship, positive fan base, & a rare natural, passionate chemistry that is not easily found in other actors of the same magnitude.

Luke & Laura, Bo & Hope, & Doug and Julie are three of the insanely popular daytime couples. I am not doubting their chemistry & popularity by any means, but for me I feel that John & Marlena are in that group & are disregarded as a less popular couple & I don't know why.

Could it be that John and Marlena came to be because of the demise of Roman & Marlena who were also popular?

Could it be because some people think Drake & or Deidre have had their time in the sun & are now old news?

Could it be because some people don't want Drake's character tied down to one woman, or Deidre's character tied down to one man?

Could it be that some people don't like Drake or maybe they don't like Deidre, & if they don't like one half, they don't want them paired up.

Those reasons I listed may not even be the reasons. I don't have the answers. I know for a fact that they're my favorite & they always will be.

Thank you Drake & Deidre for giving us our John & Marlena & thanks to Hogan Sheffer for bringing them back better than ever. It's nice to finally have something to look forward to & enjoy again.

I hope these recent love scenes are just the beginning of more love scenes to come.

I am a J & Moholic, but I don't plan on quitting anytime soon.

Sorry that was so long but I had a lot to get off my chest. Please feel free to comment.

This is meant to be humorous and somewhat true. Enjoy!

Now that two weeks have gone by, I have come to realize that I have been suffering from a relatively new condition called John and Marlena Withdrawal, otherwise known as JMW. In order to help others out there who may also be suffering, here are the symptoms of JMW.

1. Feelings of loss that two of you favorite people are not on the screen for your pleasure.

2. Intense hatred for whoever the genius was that decided that John and Marlena don't deserve air time to get reacquainted with each other.

3. Extreme disinterest for anything else that is happening on Days right now.

4. A renewed use of the fast forward button.

5. A sense of unease for what may become of John and Marlena.

I've had all these symptoms, and I have finally put it all together and realized what is wrong with me. So, if you are also suffering from these symptoms, please do not be afraid. JMW may be new, but it is fairly typical for John and Marlena fans, and you are not the only one suffering from it.

However, there are only two real treatments for JMW. The first is treating the withdrawal with fixes. If you feel you need a John and Marlena fix, dig out your old tapes, read fan fiction stories, view montages, do anything that will let you see, hear, or read John and Marlena. This is how I've been treating my case of JMW, and it's helped me quite a bit.
The other treatment is a little more severe. It's cold turkey. Quitting Days and John and Marlena altogether. The strong person can do this, so if this works for you, good for you. You will find that once you've stopped watching, you will have so much more free time. And you'll be a happier person for it.

But for all those people who can't quit and will stick with fixes, you are not a failure. You are simply a devoted fan who will not give up John and Marlena unless they are off your screen permanently. So for all you JMW sufferers out there, admit your problem and find a way to help yourself. We can all help each other deal with our symptoms and hang on to our hope that eventually, JMW will only be a distant memory.

God, I have too much time on my hands. :)

So this is it?  This is the conlcusion to the great J&M love story we were promised?  J&M fans have waited days, weeks, months heck even years to finally have our couple back together but where is the love story?  This was a load of crap as far as I am concerned.  If I could I would demand my money back, money for the time I wasted watching this show waiting to see if I would ever make sense of what was going on.  So much time, time I can never get back and for what?  For a kiss here and there and then poof J&M are gone.  Not even on the back burner mind you they aren't even on the stove, heck I think they may not even be in the kitchen.  John and Marlena, Drake and Deidre and the J&M fans deserve oh so much more for our loyalty.  We deserve to at least be given a story that makes sense.  You know one that had a beginning a middle and an end.  One that has oh I don't know a train of thought that actually connects from one end to the other.  Was this story written in the dark?  Did JER just throw a dart at a board with story aspects on it and that was how he wrote the story as a whole?

What happened to a soap opera that actually told a story where you looked forward to watching it every day?  Days hasn't been one of those soaps in years IMO.  Days once one of the best soaps around is now simply a shell of itself.  It is losing viewers right and left.  Hopefully they will correct this problem with the new HW rumored to be coming on board.  Though call me a cynic but I have my doubts Days can ever go back to being the great show it once was.  If nothing else hopefully this writer will understand the rich history that is J&M and he (or she) will respect it and their fans and finally give us something to look forward to.

Are some people just blind? I don't understand how some people have come to love John and Kate as a couple. They have absolutely no chemistry together whatsoever.What are they seeing that we don't?

They make me want to do bodily harm to myself just so I can forget that they ever copulated on the penthouse living room floor. It was nasty, repulsive, disgusting, puke-worthy, and traumatizing. I had nightmares for weeks after those scenes.
Some people think that those scenes were hot and beautiful? YUCK! If that was beautiful then I want to know what it looks like when two dogs are going at it.

How many times do the Jate fans have to be told by us,by John and many other characters on the show that John has eyes for only one woman and one woman only, Marlena? John will never reunite with Kate, in any way, shape or form. They might as well give up.What John and Kate were was a one time mistake. John and Kate don't make a good couple.John wants to be with Marlena out of obligation? Please. Jate fans hear what they want to hear.

Kate is a former hooker, a liar, manipulator, and so much more. Kate makes John look bad. He looks like a moron when he's with her. It's hard to like him when he's around her. I can't find anything to like about Kate, if she left the show I wouldn't miss her.
Kate is justified in her actions by some because she loves her children and goes after what she wants. That's a load of crap. You don't do the things Kate does for any good reason. Now, Marlena is a horrible, awful person because of the things she's done? They act like Marlena is the only woman to ever commit adultery. Kate committed adultery with Victor. She tried to have him killed, she tried to have Sami killed several times, she almost killed Lucas, the list goes on.

Marlena is a saint compared to Kate. I don't know where their thinking and logic comes in. Doesn't make any sense to me.
Another thing why is Deidre put down by the Jate fans? Because they are jealous. Lauren will never have the star status and popularity that Deidre has. Deidre is a leading lady, whereas Lauren is a supporting lady. She was shoved down our throats for months while Deidre was backburnered.It did absolutely nothing for the ratings. Not that Lauren isn't a good actress, she is or I wouldn't loathe Kate as much as I do. It's just that Deidre is my favorite.

Now what was Drake's problem a few months back? His whole attitude and demeanor changed onscreen and off. He wanted John and Marlena's marriage over, he boycotted SOD because it was pro John and Marlena, he wanted to work more with Lauren and be paired with her onscreen at the expense of Deidre. Drake and Deidre have been friends for many years and they shine onscreen together and now suddenly because a chosen few loved Drake with Lauren he is going to tell the John and Marlena fans as well as Deidre to go to Hell? I don't think so. The John and Marlena fanbase is better, stronger, dedicated, and has been around a lot longer. We know what we want and we go for it.

The Jaters are mad at us because we wouldn't put up with Drake's attitude towards John and Marlena and John and Marlena fans? Let 'em  be mad. We know the real Drake and had every right to be angered by his behavior. We have known him longer and have admired him a lot longer than the Jaters. Just because we love someone as an actor and a person doesn't mean we have to put up with immature, unprofessional behavior. The Jaters can't tell us how to think, feel or act. Why should they be any different?

After months of this behavior I am finally seeing the real John. The one I have missed all this time. Is there hope for Drake yet? Is he following the mantra, "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em?" One can only hope. Drake is finally showing John's vulnerability, sensitivity, and passion for his soulmate Marlena. I'm seeing it onscreen and actually believing it after all this time. I wasn't convinced for a long time. Actions speak louder than words, and Drake's actions were shouting at me. Shouting at me about how much he didn't want to be in scenes with Deidre and how unhappy he was with scenes he didn't want to do but did them because his job was on the line. Now, he's back doing his job and I couldn't be happier. Let's hope it continues.

Deidre never once let us down. She shone in every scene, even if the writing was crappy. She gave the John and Marlena fans positive feedback and told us not to give up. Even when she was paired up with her friend, Wayne she still was rooting for John and Marlena to reunite. She knows how to treat her fans. She seems to enjoy working with both Drake and Wayne and being paired onscreen with both. But, I am sure she knows that the majority want John and Marlena and that's what she is doing her best to give us. I couldn't love her more for her loyalty, her beauty, her acting, and her personality. She is awesome or as some of us say, "Simply the Best!" Thanks, Deidre.

Can the Jaters say that about Lauren? Who knows? Honestly I could care less. If the Jaters can't find anything nice to say about Deidre, then I can't find anything nice to say about Lauren. They are hypocrites because they say they are the more positive fan base. Please. If that is positive then I want to know what is negative.

Drake has become what he has become because of Deidre. She helped him become popular. He is good by himself but he is better with Deidre. Plain and simple. She taught him so much about acting. Drake owes his career to her. The pairing of John and Marlena was an instant success. The chemistry was instant, it is still to this day natural and explosive. How many actors who are paired together can say that? Not many. It is a rarity to find two actors who connect so well onscreen and work so well together. Deidre has said on several occasions that she is comfortable and trusting working with Drake because they are friends and their chemistry is natural as well as there being a strong and positive fanbase for John and Marlena. Couldn't ask for anything better and that is an awesome thing. The Jaters can't say that.

We have 20 some years of John and Marlena history and I know the characters of John and Marlena almost as well as I know myself. The Jaters can't expect J&M fans to forget all that history and neither can Drake. We aren't going to forget what John and Marlena mean to each other. John's words and actions regarding Marlena were sincere then and I know are sincere now. That is why we know that John would never inevitably be with Kate. The one woman who will always have his heart and soul is Marlena. No ifs, ands, or buts.

I don't have to accept John with Kate, I don't have to accept Drake under-acting, and I don't have to bow down to the Jaters. We are the John and Marlena fan base and we are rockin' the house! Long live John and Marlena and long live the John and Marlena fan base!

Lauren doesn’t like Bo and Hope.  Lauren doesn’t like Bo and Hope for a number of reasons.  Take a seat, people, this may take a while.

It all started during a little 5-year story called the Princess Gina headache.  That is when the John and Marlena bending over backwards for Bope started, as did Preppy’s resentment towards the golden idiots.  It seems that unlike John and Marlena, who are more than capable of fighting battles on their own, Bo and Hope require the damn whole town to help them get back together.  It was just as much John and Marlena’s concern for Hope to get her memory back as it was Bo’s.  I still remember Bo interrupting John celebrating his wedding to Marlena to ask him what his precious Hope said to John on the mountain.  Then John has to leave Marlena and go to Paris because Bo’s love for Hope isn’t strong enough to break through the Gina persona without John rejecting her first.  But you know what?  I was happy about that because I’d wanted John to say all those nasty things to that bitch for months and I thought we’d finally reached the end of the “Fab 4”, which is a silly name for J&M being props to Bope.

Boy, oh boy, was I wrong!  It was only the beginning.  Gina went into therapy with Marlena because Bo and “Hope” thought that she needed closure or whatever after being controlled for nearly a year.  Cue Marlena having to listen to all of Gina’s twisted lies about John on J&M’s honeymoon and starting to have seeds of doubt about John.  After Bo slept with Gina (not knowing the difference between her and his supposed soul mate), he decided to marry the big fat faker against Marlena’s advice that “Hope” wasn’t ready for it.  Well, Bo wasn’t going to hear any of that, even though it was his idea to consult her.  He berates her and treats her like dirt and goes ahead and marries the nut anyway.  But of course, who is to blame when the nut pulls a gun on Marlena and tries to kill her and Shawn but ends up dying herself?  Well, it couldn’t be BO himself, who ignored Shawn, Alice AND Marlena when they said something wasn’t right with “Hope”!  It had to be Marlena because she had the nerve to uphold doctor/patient confidentiality.  She told him that “Hope” wasn’t ready for marriage but didn’t tell him why and that’s why Bo went ahead with the wedding.  It was ALLLLL Marlena’s fault that “Hope” died.

Of course, Hope wasn’t really dead as they soon learn (not that it makes Bo apologize to Marlena or anything) and once again, the whole damn town sets out to save Hope with Bo.  And Bo isn’t above using anyone when he needs help getting Hope back.  He sucks up to Victor (another person he treats like dirt unless he needs something) and gets John to buy a new plane just to take his whole cavalry over to rescue Fancy Face.  Remember how John only needed Abe’s assistance to rescue Marlena, and that was mostly because Abe was really a cop?  Bo needs everyone from Eric, to Belle, to Alice and her doughnut maker.  He’s just damn lucky John’s mercenary personality came back just in time to save his damn family on that plane AND in the castle.  If it had just been Bo, that plane would have been at the bottom of the ocean and Hope would still be stuck in the castle with Stefano.  I still don’t remember hearing a thank you for that, either.

So this brings us to my favorite part in the Bope/J&M history, Hope’s pregnancy.  A true chance to see what the big love between Bo and Hope consists of.  What does it consist of?? Lies, lies and more lies.  All at the expense of J&M.  Bo sees that Hope is pregnant, knows that he’s not the father but can’t bear to tell his precious Fancy Face the truth.  Poor Hope is far too fragile for that.  So the answer is to coerce his friends to lie with him and convince Hope that he IS the father.  Never mind that John’s mind is slowly coming apart at the seams, it’s more important to keep Hope’s sanity and Bope’s family together.  So this continues for a few months with John feeling uncomfortable because he thinks he’s the father, Bo’s alternating between lying his ass of and being pissed at John for having an opinion, and Hope’s in blissful ignorance to it all.

Then it happens.  Bo the ass takes off for Ireland while JT’s about to die and John finds out that he is the father.  Within a month of getting proof that he is JT’s father (record time in soaps) John tells Marlena the truth and we’re smack dab in the middle of Langan hell.  Do J&M get to deal with this on their own?  NO!  Because Bo the ass took off for Ireland and John needs to be there to support his “son” and the still ignorant Hope.  Belle’s in a coma, Marlena just found out her husband fathered another woman’s child, Brady’s being an abusive piece of scumb and Marlena’s about to lose her mind.  So she makes one slip that leads to Hope learning the truth about JT’s paternity because keeping Bope’s marriage in tact is not the first thing on her mind.  And she’ll pay for that little mistake when Bo gets home and learns what happened.

So now Hope knows the truth about JT’s father.  Does she decide to correct Bo’s lie and tell him that John is the father?  NO!!  Of course not!!  It makes much more sense to deprive John of knowing his child and ask him to let the ass that didn’t care enough to stick around to see if JT would live if he can raise that child.  Oh, and she decides that it’s best to reward Bo’s lying efforts to protect her with some lies of her own to protect him.  And these people have the nerve to stand up and vow to be honest and true to each other during their oh, so special Christmas wedding ceremony.  At that wedding is where Marlena gets treated like absolute dirt by Bo again (even after he managed to marry the right woman) because his lie wasn’t her priority while her daughter was on the brink of death.  Just like Gina dying at the wedding, it wasn’t his fault that Hope found out he lied to her because he lied to her in the first place.  It’s Marlena’s fault for forgetting that he and Hope take precedence over everything else.  John and Marlena’s marriage is falling apart because of all of this, but that doesn’t matter because it’s much more important to make sure Bo and Hope are blissfully enjoying their lie filled marriage.

Things go from bad to worse for John and Marlena and good to better for Bo and Hope.  Bo’s finally bonded with and accepted John’s son as his own.  Hope should be eternally grateful for the sacrifice John made for her family, right?  She should, but she’s not.  It’s much better to rub it in his face that Bo is such a wonderful father and John has nothing but his rapidly deteriorating marriage to Marlena.  Case in point: The four have dinner in Paris during which Hope spends the entire evening gloating about how perfect their life is and how much Bo and JT love each other with absolutely no regard to how the other couple at the table feels about it.  Especially the one that’s stabbing a knife into his finger to keep himself from saying something.  God, I was rooting for John AND Marlena to just tell Bo the truth then and there and tell both of them to rot in hell.  Why they let these two cruel “friends” play them like this I’ll never understand.  Their marriage was falling apart and instead of Bope helping them like J&M helped them get back together, it was more important that J&M fall further apart in order to preserve BOPE’s marriage.

The lies continue all to the benefit of Bope but J&M are finally returning to some semblance of normal by the summer of 2001.  The Brady mess has been resolved, Marlena’s gotten over subsex, and John’s accepted that Bo is JT’s father.  Leave it to Hope to fuck things up again.  She can’t be happy that she has the perfect little family and just leave John and Marlena in peace.  Nooo, she has to know how JT was conceived in case he wants to know when he grows up!!  How many of you wanted to know the details of YOUR conception?!  So she hounds John for months, taking advantage of every moment behind Marlena’s back, desperate to know how hot she was on the sub.  Doesn’t matter that John has no desire to relive it or that Marlena might have a problem with it.  Hope needs to know so that’s all that matters.  Again, John has the chance to lie to Marlena just like Hope does to Bo but he doesn’t.  He actually gets her permission to relay the sordid details to the desperate one and she agrees to finally get the shrew off their backs.  Possibly my favorite line during this time is Marlena confronting Hope about her little fact finding mission.  “Everything you discuss with MY husband, he comes home and discusses with me  because WE don’t have secrets in our marriage!”  The unsaid part being, “unlike some people”.  I’d waited a LONG time for Marlena to unload some of that on little Miss Hopeless.  If only John could swat her away as easily.

So Hope gets her way and we all have to relive possibly the worst moments I’ve ever experienced on Days and the first episode I actually turned the TV off in disgust (the first of many to come).  No one wants to hear it but Hope needs to know, so we all have to suffer through it.  Everyone should go back to being content now, right?  NOPE!  The second generation golden idiots get themselves in a heap of trouble in Puerto Rico and everyone thinks they’re dead.  The oh, so selfless Hope decides that this is God’s way of punishing her for all the lies she’s told and now, once everyone’s lives are in order, she’s decided to finally tell the truth and screw everything up again.  After everyone’s turned their lives upside down to protect Hope and her marriage, she decides to blow it all up in their faces because she feels a little guilty.  Thank God Marlena talked sense into the idiot by telling her that the situation was tragic for all of them and it wasn’t just about her.  Belle and Philip were presumed dead too and it was not the time or the place for Hope to make this situation all about her lies.

Of course, John goes down to save all the teens while the oh, so guilty Hope and the oblivious Bo sit on their asses back at home.  I guess Bo couldn’t round up all Alice and her doughnut maker, so John had to go down and find the kids himself.  He brings them all home and we learn what a horny little girl Miss Belle is.  Another chance to make Marlena look bad arises!  Hope is totally supportive of her wonderful Sailor Man dating Belle and Marlena gets to look like the shrew because she’s not all too happy about the idea of her 17 year old daughter having sex with the wonderful Sailor Man in the University Hospital broom closet.  Marlena looks like a bitch for not thinking that Shawn and Belle should get too close too fast, which is a good thought considering the bright and wonderful Sailor Man nearly got her daughter killed in Puerto Rico.  Hope just tells her that her daughter couldn’t be in better hands, completely disregarding that Belle being in those hands is exactly what Marlena’s worried about.  Hope gets to be the cool mom, Marlena’s the overprotective one that doesn’t want anyone to have any fun

And now that Shelle are a couple we get to hear it proclaimed from far and wide about how they will be the next Bo and Hope.  That pisses Bope fans off for sure, but when you’re a J&M fan, it has the connotation that if you’re not Bo and Hope, you’re no one.  John said it best at the “Shelle is the next supercouple” Mexican party at Tuscany: “What does that make me and Marlena, chopped chimichangas?!”  Exactly.  Quite frankly, I wouldn’t want John and Marlena to be anything like Bo and Hope if it means a marriage that can’t stand on it’s own without a dozen lies to keep it up but I don’t understand why that kind of marriage is held up as the epitome.  Not to mention why so many people are concerned in keeping that kind of marriage in tact.

The Holy Bope Marriage does finally get it’s first and only shake up during Lexie’s “Mother of the Year” party.  John just has to take out Hope’s brain chip during this party, and of course, he’s told Marlena exactly what’s going on, while she’s keeping Bo in the dark about another thing.  What’s one more lie, anyway?  So John takes the chip out of her brain with a spare knife in a bedroom of the DiMera mansion and Bo walks in just in time to see Hope plant a big one on John.  Now, is it Hope’s fault for kissing John at that moment?  Nope, it’s alllll John’s fault because he forced himself on poor, little, innocent Hope.  What reward does John get for his efforts to keep Bope’s marriage together for the past two years?  He gets to be beaten to a bloody pulp by Bo the ass.  See what sacrifices to these two get you?  Marlena gets verbal abuse and John gets physical.  And still, no thank you’s to be found.

All of Hope’s lies finally come out and I FINALLY get the moment I’ve been waiting for.  After a year of watching John and Marlena on the brink of divorce because of Hope, JT, and Brady, while Bope live together blissfully, I get to see the break up that’s been coming after a year of lies.  I actually kept Bo and Hope’s fight after they got home from the party on tape because it was such a beautiful thing.  I watched the J&M scenes during that episode and thought “this is the difference between telling your spouse the truth and trusting in your marriage and lying for a year.”  Little did I know it would only last a week and then the baby switch would conveniently come out at the same time and let Hope completely off the hook where Bo was concerned.  He went from just about moving out of the house to cooing to Hope that he wasn’t going to let anyone take “their” son away.  What a freakin’ rip off!!  John tells Marlena the truth immediately and their marriage is on the skids for a year.  Hope lies straight to Bo’s face about everything under the sun and SHE’S the bloody victim!!!

And John’s the villain.  John, who was kidnapped, drugged, and brainwashed on his HONEYMOON, is the villain that took advantage of poor, innocent Hope.  Never mind that it was HOPE’S other personality that set this all in motion.  John was just standing on a beach proclaiming his love for his new wife, the wife that then got to suffer by thinking he was dead for days.  So Bo and Shawn growl about how John took advantage of poor, innocent Hope and we get to listen to Sami rant to her mother about how her husband cheated on her and will probably do it again.  Fauxman basically tells her the same thing.  This is what we get for a year of misery.  Bope still living in bliss, blaming J&M and then we get to hear everyone say that John’s the bastard who did all this and he doesn’t deserve Marlena.  What a freakin’ pay off!

The only pay off we get is the pleasure of knowing John didn’t father Hope’s little spawn.  The only pay off that comes from that is knowing that we will no longer have to watch John and Marlena bend over backwards to help these ungrateful idiots.  On the wonderful balcony scene, we get Marlena telling John that this is no longer their personal problem and she’d like it to stay that way.  AMEN, Marlena!  A thousand times, AMEN!!  Get away from all of them as fast as possible!  Then we get our two second vow renewal with J&M dressed up like Arthur and Guinevere with a five second love scene and there’s our reward for the past two years.

I was really, really expecting the writers to go all the way and give Bope everything they wanted, which were both JT and Zach.  I could just see them having the judge decree that Glen and Barb and Abe and Lexie were all unfit parents and could never compare to the holy family of lies that the boys would get with the Brady’s.  What I really loved was how all of them would go around and proclaim the Reiber’s as pure evil for wanting to take their adorable JT from them and then they turn around and do the same thing to Abe and Lexie after they do lose custody of JT.  This was back when they still thought Lexie was their friend.  They lost a son to someone, so they’re going to take someone else’s to replace him.  Abe and Lexie’s feelings be damned.  When the Reiber’s took JT, they were kind enough (despite the way the Brady’s treated them) to keep JT’s name the same and tell Bope they were always welcome to visit him.  They never wanted JT to forget the time he spent with the Brady’s.  When the Brady’s got custody of Isaac, they changed his name and had him baptized again to take his place as a true Brady, completely erasing his history with the Carvers.

It goes without saying that Bope got the payoff of finding out that Bo was really Zach’s father all along.  It’s such an amazing, memorable love they share.  Not only does Bo sleep with another woman and not know the difference between her and Hope, Bo and Hope can sleep with each other and not remember it for years afterward.  It seems to me they have something else in common with Shawn and Belle.  Why they deserved such a payoff when they really got to live happily together for nearly the entire time of this, I’ll never understand.  They had one fight and they deserve to add another son to the litter.  We have a year of fighting and get rewarded with Tony and the Alien Twits landing.  Nothing like trading one child shared with someone else for two more.

Granted, after all this, I didn’t have to suffer through John and Marlena doing much with Bo and Hope after the baby switch was resolved.  But I guess everything that happened during that time just left such a bad taste in my mouth, it makes me sick every time I have to hear (from Bo and Hope themselves) about how they’re the greatest love Salem has ever seen and no one can ever compare.  It kind of ticks me off when the whole damn town gets involved (again) in a huge plot to rescue Hope from Larry Welch, who I guess is 10 times more dangerous than Stefano considering how many people it took to bring him down.  It ticks me off because all of these people go out of their way to help Bo and Hope but when they need help, Bo and Hope are no where to be found.  Are Bo and Hope helping John get Marlena’s memory back like they did when Hope was Gina?  Did Bo help John get Marlena away from Tony when he was manipulating her at every turn?  Did Hope offer to give Marlena advice when she found out she had two children with Tony?  Did Bo help save John when he went down on Tony’s submarine?  Did either one of them support John and Marlena when they were afraid John was Stefano’s son?  The answer to all of the above is a resounding “NO!!”

So yes, Bo and Hope are a supercouple and they belong together.  I’m not disputing that at all.  God knows they tell us often enough that they belong together.  But what makes me spit nails is when they act like the suffer soooo much more than anyone else.  No one’s pain could ever compare to theirs.  Or my favorite line from Shawn today, “God doesn’t care about this family.”  Sailor Man, the whole damn town has suffered just as much as your precious family and just because your parents and grandparents are pillars of the community doesn’t mean that they aren’t going to suffer.  Everyone else in town certainly does.

Have you ever felt like a television show was part of the family? Or maybe not so much a part of the family but a constant in your life? Prime time shows come and go with the longest airing what 20 years give or take? But daytime soap operas are a mainstay in the television industry. They started out on the radio for pete's sake and look at Guiding Light, it’s been on the air longer then any show in history and it actually started on the radio. That is quite an achievement isn’t it? Sure Days of Our Lives hasn’t been on as long as Guiding Light but that doesn’t mean it hasn’t had as big of an impact on people’s lives. Days is one of... okay, I should say was one of the best soaps on television. Back when Ted and Betty Corday ran things Days was an example of what a successful soap was, then sadly they handed the reigns over to their son Ken and he obviously did not know what it took to make a successful soap because he has surely if not slowly (and some times very fast) run the once beloved show into the ground.

Let’s talk about my own personal experience with this soap and soaps in particular. I was born in 1969 and Days was a mere four years old then having come on the air in 1965. My mother quit her job and stayed home with me until I started the first grade and then she had my older sisters watched me before and after school. During the first 6 years of my life Days was one of the constants I had. My mom and my grandma (on my dad’s side) both watched Days so no matter where I was at one in the afternoon Days was on. It was part of my psyche without me even realizing it. It’s not that I actively watched it but it was always there in the background of my life. I went to school and would then only see or I guess hear it during the summers. No VCR for me until well into high school. I do have flashes of memories of watching Days during those summer breaks or school holidays or snow days or whatever. I can still see in my head when Mike found out he wasn’t Mickey’s son. I can still remember the Salem Strangler storyline and how Roman and Marlena become a couple. They were my first couple, but they would not be my last. Days had this way of writing couples so that they ruined them for anyone else. Other soaps can pair people up with this person and that person and it works more often then not, but not Days. Once you are made part of a couple that’s it you are part of that couple for life and any attempts to pair one half with someone else inevitably fails. I have loved so many couples on Days over the years, Jenn & Frankie, Bo & Hope, Steve & Kayla, Shane & Kim and so many more and of course, my ultimate favorite couple of John & Marlena, which was the one exception to the rule. Marlena was separated from her first super couple half and then paired with John and not only did it work but it was like sky rockets taking off; they become such a strong couple that it was hard to believe she had ever been successfully paired with Roman which was proven when the show tried bringing Roman back and re-pairing them and it fizzled faster then you could blink in my opinion.

So as I grew up watching Days I also watched other soaps off and on but Days was the one I always stayed with - the one I came back to time after time. Days was the reason I decided to major in Radio/Television in college and in turn do an internship on an actual soap. Sure my dream was to do an internship on Days but alas that was not meant to be. Instead I opted for an internship on The Young and The Restless and it was everything I had ever dreamed it would be. I loved every single minute of it. There was something about working on a soap opera that just made me feel like I was in my element. I went on to work on a primetime comedy that I hated and then Sunset Beach which I loved. But I guess I wasn’t meant to actually work in soaps long term and I have come to terms with that, really I have. If nothing else my moving to Los Angeles to intern on Y&R put me on the path to finding my husband and who can complain about that?

I have also come to realize how lucky I am not to have worked on Days because if I had what is happening to my favorite soap ever would be a thousand times worse. I was so happy when they re-hired James E. Reilly as head writer because he had written some of my favorite storylines ever. Sadly this JER and that one seem like two completely different human beings. This one thinks he can write but I assure you he can’t. He doesn’t know how to write a successful soap and if he ever did then something has happened to make him forget. Maybe he has hysterical amnesia. I don’t know... all I do know is that he has all but ruined the best soap on television, oh sure he has had help by Corday and the writers who came after him like Langan and so many others. Days could be the best soap out there again if Corday would get his head out of his butt and bring in someone who not only knows how to write for daytime but also respects the wonderful history that Days has.

Reilly is not that person. He has re-written so much history they should just rename the show "Salem Place" and not even remotely call it Days of Our Lives because that show doesn’t exist anymore. That show obviously died with Ted and Betty but we weren’t told. We were lied to year after year, Corday is much like the Wizard in the Wizard of Oz hiding behind his curtain and trying to make us think he is giving us what we want when all he is giving us is crap after crap after crap. Corday should be ashamed of himself because his parents built up a wonderful show - a legacy to be handed down for generations and Corday has crapped on it and turned it into an embarrassment. So many great couples created over the years on Days and all of them sacrificed at the alter of JER. This latest J&M storyline (and I say that laughingly because it is not a J&M storyline in my opinion) is the straw that broke the camels back. John off having drugged up sex with Kate the whore of Salem. Marlena under mind control and now being told she was married to Alex and none of her marriages since then were legit? I don’t know of any (okay maybe a couple but definitely not me) who would find this to be a captivating J&M love story. This is a let’s kick them while they are down love story and was written to make us hate our favorites. John would never have given up on Marlena being alive and trying to find her so quickly just to have druggie sex with the whore. Marlena would not be so easily manipulated and tricked into believing the cock and bull Alex is trying to get her to believe. And don’t even get me started on Bo/Hope/Billie/Chelsea, Jack/Jenn/Frankie/Jackdying, or Sami/Lucas and all the other crap being shoveled down our throats right now. Days is a laugh and is not the show I grew up loving. It isn’t the show that made me want to work in the television industry and it isn’t the show that made me fall in love with John & Marlena. Days is dead, time to tell the cast and let them and the fans move on with their lives!

Forgive this rant, but I made the mistake of taping and watching the show despite the fact that I said I wouldn't. I guess I got caught up in all of the excitement from everyone regarding the new story for our favorites (namely John & Marlena of course).

Sadly after watching today's show I have come to realize that my earlier suspicions were correct, namely that this writer doesn't have it in him to write a decent J&M love story. Today's show was terrible. The acting by both DH & DDH was deplorable. Drake was as emotionless and hollow as I've seen, and I don't even know what the heck DH was trying to do. I think it would be clear, even to a 10 year old, that this show has it's medical facts all screwed up. Perhaps it's moving fast for Wayne's big entrance, but that's been part of the problem with this show and it's head writer all along, namely the writing is for the plot and NOT the love and emotions that drive these characters.

And sadly, after reading the previews for later this week, I don't see anything but more shoddy writing. Instead of Marlena's family and friends rallying around her we get:

1) More needless John/Sami bickering and John being snide enough to think that Marlena would recognize Belle over Sami. What a putz!

2) More slug fighting between John and Roman when instead of feeling guilty and jealous over their own selfish behavior they should be BOTH focusing on the fact that Marlena is in serious trouble. As someone said the other day, where is the compassion that used to be John Black? It's gone.

3) More Kate! Afterall, it will be all about her won't it?

If today's show is any indication at all about what this writer has in store, and if it's any indication of what these actors are going to deliver, I'm predicting another failure in a long line of failures for John
and Marlena fans. I was stupid enough to cave and watch today but I won't do that again. I'll have to keep informed from the internet because I can't stomach another meaningless, shallow, and hollow episode like today's show.

I'm sorry for bringing everyone down by this, but I couldn't contain my anger and disappointment. I'm almost wondering if this whole story was conceived to bring back Wayne more than it was to get J&M fans excited again. Again, I hope for my sake and all of our sakes that I'm wrong and way off base. I want nothing more than a great J&M story, but I don't think we're going to get one YET again. I'm done watching the show for now, and the next time I'm tempted to Tape I've told my husband to unplug the darn VCR (LOL). If things change for the better I'll tune back in, but if not, I'll live in the past with my tapes. :(

Posted on July 26, 2005

I've been watching the Shawn, Belle, and Philip saga and have been disgusted by Shawn's attitude, the way he seems to completely disregard Belle's feelings and just does what he wants. He keeps pushing for her to tell Philip the truth even when she isn't ready, went off to rescue Philip only to have Belle break up with him, and now flew over to Germany because he needs to push Belle to say she only wants to be with him, again disregarding how she feels and what she wants. And as I've watched this, I realized that this is the same scenario that happened in 1997 when Roman the snooze (I never liked him) came back from the dead believing he had a chance with Marlena . Everyone was forced to lie to him about John and Marlena's relationship for the sake of his health. And John was behaving the same way-he supported the decision, but just wanted to hear from Marlena that she loved him and wanted to be with him after everything was over. And back then, I was in John's corner. Why did I side with John in that situation and not Shawn in this one? The situation is the same-a woman torn between two men she loves differently but can't be with the man she really loves out of respect for the man she loves in a different way. Everyone is pressuring the woman to be with the man they think she should be with instead of supporting her being with the man she really loves. The sick, or injured, man is clueless to the real feelings and situation with the woman and the other man, and his illness or injury is the only reason he has the girl in the first place. The other man, while supporting the woman he loves, is terrified that the woman will stay with the injured/sick man out of guilt or pressure from others, and just wants to hear the woman say she loves only him and will be with him. And the other man risked his life to save the injured/sick man. You can put either of  triangles into this situation. So why back in 1997 I wanted John and Marlena together while now I want Shawn to stay away from Belle? Maybe it's because I never liked Shawn ever since he left Belle when she needed him, and I never liked Philip ever since he tried to get close to Belle while she was still with Shawn. Maybe it's because of those circumstances, I never liked any of those kids, and that's what they are, kids. Or maybe it's just because you have to have a rooting interest in a triangle to care who ends up with who, and back in 1997, my rooting interest was John and Marlena, and always was. I wanted John and Marlena together, and wanted Roman to leave them alone. With the kids, I could care less who ends up with who, so instead of rooting for my favorites, I analyze their behavior and get ticked off. So I guess the bottom line is that everyone has their own opinions, but to be invested in a triangle, you have to have your own favorite couple, so I guess that's why despite the similar situations, I always rooted for John and Marlena while I hope Shawn gets kicked in the @#$%. Think about it.

Do TPTB think we are idiots?  Better question would be does Reilly think we are idiots?  They must because the crap they have been shoveling at us is surely insulting our intelligence.  So now we are to believe that Roman was and is the love of Marlena's life?  We are to believe that Marlena only fell in love with John because she believed him to be Roman?  I think Mr. Reilly needs to watch all the old tapes of the show because what he is trying to make us believe is not what we actually saw happen.  I don't know about anyone else but I saw Marlena fall in love with John even when she thought he might be Stefano.  It had absolutely nothing to do with him being Roman.  She had no clue he was going to be Roman and still she had fallen in love with him.

The affair they had was proof that she loved John the man, didn't matter what his name was.  She betrayed Roman in a way no one ever thought possible of Marlena.  Now if that is how you treat your one true love I would hate to see what Marlena would do to Roman if she hated him.  John and Marlena had a love that nothing and no one could ever stop no matter how hard so many tried.  They all failed... Roman, Kristen, Stefano even to a certain extent Hope/Gina.  Nothing worked, in the end it was always John and Marlena's love for each other that got them through.  They would have died for each other and proved it on more than one occasion.

Now Reilly and TPTB want us to believe otherwise?  They want us to think that Roman is Marlena's one great love?  That John will some how not forgive Marlena anything she could have done wrong while she was held captive?  Well I am one fan who isn't buying it.  I saw what I saw and I know what I know.  John and Marlena love each other like they have never loved anyone else.  They would never give up one each other that easily.  No one or nothing can compare and that's a fact!

It was with guarded exhultation that I welcomed the news of Jim Reilly's return to Days.  Only the announcement of Sheri Anderson as headwriter would have made me ecstatic but Jim Reilly was a coup.  Here was the writer who helped DEFINE John and Marlena.  The writer who helped me fall more deeply in love with these characters.  The guarded part came from the recent misuse and disrespect of this signature couple.  I'd become jaded.

The serial killer storyline started out slow but I didn't hate it.  I was merely indifferent and stuck around out of curiosity.  Then the suspense built and I was watching (almost) the whole show; something I hadn't done in years.  I was intrigued.  I had a new "theory" every week.  With the reveal of Marlena as the serial killer I was riveted.  Deidre Hall and Drake Hogestyn were outstanding in their performances.  Marlena was a serial killer and I LOVED it.  Marlena was killed and I LOVED it.  Marlena gets to NuSalem island and I started snoozing.  I asked myself:  How could something so phenominally good get so disastrously dull in just ONE SHORT WEEK??

Fast forward to present.  I'm done asking myself "Who ARE these people?"  I'm done theorizing.  I'm done watching the characters of John and Marlena being sacrificed for the sake of the plot.  I'm done being disgusted with the smack coming out of their mouths.  I'm done with a story that for a year has only questions with no answers. Simply put, I'm done.  Done and terribly disappointed.

It’s the elephant in the room that no one (no one in the industry, anyway) wants to talk about, but it’s there and it isn’t going away.  What is this elephant, you ask?  It’s the inevitable demise of daytime soaps.

Before you say, “Nothing lasts forever” or “Everything must come to an end”, ask yourself why?  In most cases, we really don’t have much say in the matter, so we tend not to question it.  However, in the case of daytime drama, we do have a say and we have been questioning.  Unfortunately viewers, like myself, are continually ignored by the very people who should be knocking down our doors in an effort to save this medium—the writers, producers, network executives and even the soap opera press.

So, just exactly why is this long-running and once beloved genre in such trouble?  Let’s address each of the above, shall we?

First, we’ll begin with the writers.  After all, they are the ones who actually pen the uninspired drivel we are subjected to day in and day out.

For some reason, this industry has convinced itself that only a dozen people in this great land of ours is capable of writing a soap opera.  Therefore, the same 12 people keep showing up at the same soaps year after year.  They bring with them the same storylines and the same overused gimmicks.  It’s pathetic.  It’s also amazing that these people are actually getting paid for what they do.  Most of them couldn’t write the ingredients on a cereal box without making a mockery of the cereal, yet these writers (and I use the term loosely) are paid very nice salaries for making a mockery of the very medium they profess to love.

It’s very frustrating to watch your favorite show or favorite character/couple sacrificed because of the inability of some hack who shouldn’t be allowed to use a box of crayons without supervision or because some ego-inflated jerk wants to do things his way, regardless of what the fans want.  Nothing turns the viewers off (and the televisions) more than a writer who just doesn’t get it or doesn’t care enough to get it, which, unfortunately, seems to be the norm these days.

If I hear one more writer say, “A happy couple is a boring couple” or “We needed to break them up to make them interesting” or “We created a triangle to heat things up a bit”, I think my head is going to explode!   These are the same unimaginative and lazy excuses that are being used over and over again to perpetuate the myth in the soap community that the “writer knows best and the fans know nothing”.  It’s not only insulting; it’s stupid as well.

It is no coincidence that “Fan Fiction” has become so popular on the internet over the past few years.  Instead of waiting for these writers to finally come around and give the viewers what they want when it comes to their favorite show or characters, these viewers have taken it upon themselves to write their own storylines.  And a lot of them are actually very good.  Not only are they creative but they are also filled with one very important element that has been missing from soaps for quite some time—ROMANCE, which used to be the staple of daytime drama.  Now it’s cheesy sci-fi stories or silly mob tales.

If these fans can come up with great character-driven love stories, why can’t the overpaid professionals?  Maybe we should ask the producers who keep hiring them.

Nothing inspires heated debate or plain outrage from an already disenfranchised fan base more than an egomaniacal producer who can’t seem to keep his foot out of his mouth.  And it happens all the time.  The internet fan sites are filled with post after post about these head honchos who give interviews or make statements in the press that completely negate the wants and desires of these fan bases or go even further and just insult them all together.  In fact, there is often more talk about “The Powers That Be” than the storylines themselves.

Fans today know that show producers don’t care about them and treat them as nothing more than a necessary evil.  Not only is this poor public relations but it’s also mean spirited.  If it weren’t for the fans, most of these show executives would be bagging groceries or flipping burgers, considering all they really know about producing good, quality daytime drama.

Just where does this arrogance regarding soap fans come from anyway?  Could the network executives be part of the problem, too?  They could and they are.

These suits behind the soaps are a HUGE part of the problem.  Networks today are hiring Doogie Howser types who have never watched a soap in their lives (and probably still don’t watch their own product) and only vaguely remember their grandmothers watching them.  Or they are employing elitist snobs who could care less about the genre and are only using their current positions as stepping stones to bigger and better things (i.e. primetime).

Despite what they may say publicly, these executives harbor a great deal of resentment for the daytime fans.  They believe we are a bunch of uneducated hicks who should be counted in demos but not heard.

And that’s where the soap press comes in.  The few remaining soap publications still hanging on may as well be products of the networks and shows themselves since they tend to pander, more often than not, to the writers and producers.   This is not to say there aren’t a few fair minded and fan friendly members of the soap press out there but they are certainly a minority.

In an effort to reach out to the fans, though, two of these publications sponsor weekly fan chats on the internet.  However, despite all the feedback and fan insight provided during these chats, very little seems to be gained by it.  In fact, it’s not uncommon to get the same responses from the magazine editors that we get from the show executives.  “Stay tuned” and “Be patient” are touted so often at these chats; it’s hard to distinguish who we are actually “chatting” with—the editors or the executives.

The sad fact of the matter is, despite what we all know is wrong with this medium, nothing is being done about it.  The top rated soap on the air right now only boasts about 5 million viewers and each year, those viewers become fewer and fewer.  In fact, every soap on the air right now is losing viewers.   Instead of addressing the problems, though, the powers that be would rather ignore them and blame the fans for jumping ship.

Why is the burden always on the fans?  We’ve already acknowledged the elephant in the room.  Maybe if it was female and between the ages of 18-49, those behind the scenes would actually take notice.   However, that would also mean admitting they were wrong and that the fans aren’t so dumb after all.  And quite frankly, I think there’s a better chance of OJ finding the “real” killer.

So, as fans, it’s time to accept the inevitable and begin mourning this once great genre.  It’s on its deathbed, with very little hope of resurrection, and we aren’t to blame.  The Powers That Be can take credit for this one.

I have been a loyal fan of 'Days of our Lives' almost since I was born. It has been a kind of tradition in my family, passed down by my grandmother who first started watching in 1966. Truly this show has provided countless hours of (sometimes) top-notch entertainment for several generations of my family.

Let me start by explaining why, as a young adult, I have continued to watch a show that most people in our society often view as “fluff”. My reasons are actually quite simple. I watch because of a certain love between a man and a woman; specifically, the love between John and Marlena.

My earliest memory of 'Days' goes all the way back to 1991...

John Black (then Roman Brady) was standing out on the pier, looking out into the ocean, his eyes showing a captivating, yet mysterious, deep-rooted sorrow and pain. The image of a lone woman then appeared, walking elegantly, although hesitant, through the almost blinding ocean mist. Suddenly, John heard the footsteps of the mysterious woman coming up upon him and as he glanced around ever so slightly to view whose presence was now before him, he became taken aback. The image that was now standing before his very eyes was astonishing, even euphoric, as he then ran to embrace the mysterious woman, tears flowing from both of their eyes.

THAT is what made me a fan of Days of our Lives at the very young age of six. I have often thought that if I hadn’t witnessed that beautiful scene, the legacy of 'Days of our Lives' in my family would have ended with my mother.

Circa 1995, I was recording 'Days of our Lives' daily. Can you imagine a little ten year old girl doing that? I was hooked! The wonderful 'Possession' storyline kept me glued to my screen. To watch what could have been a traditionally “boring” love story, told in the most exciting of ways, was an experience I‘ll never forget.

Then came the almost Shakespearean storyline known as ‘Aremid’. This was far more of a “traditional” love story than the Possession and yet somehow it was elevated to the exact same intensity as the Possession. That is the beauty of Dr. Marlena Evans / Deidre Hall and John Black / Drake Hogestyn; INTENSITY.

Deidre and Drake can take mediocre material and make it somewhat bearable. They can also make wonderful material (such as what James Reilly used to give them and was giving) and make it truly inspiring.

This brings me to current state of Days. I was a huge fan of the Serial Killer storyline and supported it because of the raw and powerful emotion that derived from it. We went from storylines like Love is Blind to really intense stuff and I for one loved it. Characters were in character; drama and suspense had returned; and because the threat of death was very real for everyone, the usually infallible characters were presented with a very real sense of danger (which had the potential to carry over into future storylines for years to come). While I was shocked at seeing my favorite leading lady put into the position of a sadistic killer, her 20+ year history on the show was all the proof I needed that she was innocent and so I enjoyed ride. However, I am anything but enjoying the current Captive Island storyline.

As a fan of John and Marlena, I have felt used and abused since 1998. John having sex with Hope on his honeymoon? A stepson emotionally and verbally abusing his mother, a mother with whom had NEVER done anything but always love him? The mess that became of the Tony/Marlena/Aliens storyline? John and Marlena put on backburner status!?!? This is just a few of the many slaps in the face I have endured through the years. With Reilly back, I had thought that at last John and Marlena as I always knew them were back in full force.

So where is Reilly? If I didn’t know any better I would swear that there had been yet another change in head writer. The amount of dropped plots points; the drastic change in characters' personalities and actions that go completely out-of-character; the inexplicable change in atmosphere and tone; I honestly think that for whatever the reason, TPTB got scared and altered the storyline at the expense of everything else! With all the lies I have been told by TPTB during this SK story, forgive me if I am a little more than skeptical that the dead being alive was planned all along (especially since it hurts the story).

So how could a man whose specialty, it always seemed, was brilliantly orchestrating separations and heart-wrenching angst, have really dropped the ball this time?

If Reilly had to separate John and Marlena yet again, which I don't think was necessary, he should have taken a long look at his past work to see how these two characters have grieved for one another. Since John really believes that Marlena is dead, why haven’t we gotten anything remotely on the caliber of her 1987 “death” and Possession “death”?

Just look at when Marlena was kidnapped by Stefano in 1996. Now that was a storyline showcasing John and Marlena’s unwavering love and devotion. John’s never-ending and unrelenting drive to find Marlena was staggering and awe-inspiring. Marlena dreaming and longing to be with John brought me to tears on more than one occasion. And the fact that the only thing that gave them both their strength during that ordeal was their mutual love and faith in each other, gave further proof why they are the literal soul mates of the show. John and Marlena were willing to sacrifice themselves for the other; as showcased in one of their most memorable scenes that involved a guillotine.

Truly Reilly’s last stint as head writer was one long drawn out separation that had fantastically (and epically) established J&M as soul mates (arguably more so than any head writer of their past). Why is it that this time he hasn't been playing the separation card for all its worth? It just doesn't make sense to me.

Deidre and Drake have proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that they are more than capable of pulling in ratings. Langan, Brash and Cwinkley, and Dena Higley had all learned the hard way what happens when you brush J&M to the side. How many times (and how many more head writer's) is it going to take before they stop using an abusing J&M instead of milking them for all their worth? When I think of all the wasted years it makes me sick to my stomach.

What started out as having the potential to be the most epic and sweeping storyline in Days of our Lives history, will never be. This SK storyline had a lot of potential to be a "soap opera masterpiece", proven by the brief glimpses of greatness that would occasionally arise.

I am dreaming of John and Marlena's reunion. Why aren't John and Marlena?

Through this entire story, the one thing you could count on is that Deidre Hall will rock your socks
off. And she has. Continously. Every single day. Not only that, but she just gets better every day. Each performances more breathtaking, mindracking, brilliant and heartbreaking than the one before. She's energetic while playing a dying Marlena. She's heartbreaking while portraying a character we saw kill 5 beloved characters, 2 hated ones and 2 indifferent. She's breathtaking as she drops hints to the viewers that this IS Marlena, but then it isn't. She's brilliant as she shifts from ice cold serial killer to confused and torn apart mom, lover and wife. Each performances just shocks, amazes and takes your breath away more than the one before. She's hilarious, humorous and sarcastic. BRILLIANT! I have no words. And lately, Drake has been given the chance to shine. And as Deidre has been saying, he's stepped up and been magnificent. I've always seen 'it' in him, but he's really showing what a caliber actor he is. He's portraying a heartbroken, scared and confused husband to a T! He's been breaking my heart daily.

I'm hooked!

If Deidre isn't nominated for the Emmys next year, it will officially be a scandal. She outplays whatever other actresses have done the entire year just through one single performances.

I have watched a ton of TV series and movies through my TV watching years, but I have never ever seen two people who work as well together, are so connected and as damn hot as Deidre Hall & Drake Hogestyn. They just oooze that special *it*. That's why I don't have a second favourite, I have favourites after J&M/R&M/D&D.

John's love for Marlena has always been his biggest flaw and his best quality. Because while it means that he's always there for her, it means that he's never been able to give other women what they want - his heart. "She was the only one" - John [as Roman] to Abe.

I like that in a TV couple. I want the man obsessed with the woman and I want the woman to be tough and independant. Smart and sexy. Funny, yet serious. When they first started out, John made Marlena feel again. She trusted him with her own life and loved him deeply, even when they thought he was Stefano DiMera.

That's why I've always said John and Stefano are in fact similar in many ways. They're both obsessed with Marlena. Stefano with getting her, John with keeping her safe and protected. They would both die for their children and would go to extreme lengths to make things happen the way they want it to. However, John doesn't turn evil because of it. Why? Because of Marlena. She's the one thing that keeps him sane when Stefano's wrecking havoc on their lives.

With other couples, the writers tried to make us belive that the new woman/new man was the person's true love. That never was with John & Marlena. Because while John settled for Isabella, Rebecca and Kritter when Marlena was unavailable, and Marlena settled for Roman to make her children happy - there was never any question that John & Marlena were star-crossed lovers and the epitome of soulmates.

What I love even more is that beyond being married, beyond being lovers, John & Marlena are each other's best friend. When John was sentenced to die, while the woman he'd been sleeping with - although while calling out Marlena's name in bed - was trying to comfort him, John didn't want that. Marlena made him laugh and made him smile, even on what he thought would be his last days.

And there is one scene that really gets to me during Aremid. John has just gotten the sentence, Kritter howls on his shoulder - John looks like he wants her away [duh, the woman thought he was capable of murder]. Meanwhile Marlena just holds out her hand and looks at him. It was so simple and so perfect.

You can see him looking at her [major sexual tension between those two] and you see that Drake has John showing even at that point how much John loves Marlena. Marlena knows him even better than John knows himself. And she knows what he needs.

Marlena has always been the tough lady of Salem. She always puts up a front to make people think she's always strong and tough. Not with John. John always knows when she's scared, when she needs a hug or when to just hold her hand [watch Monday's episode]. They can just look at each other and they connect. Hell, they don't even have to be in the same room.

TPTB count them as "older", while the truth is that no other pairing on daytime have a realness or more passionate chemistry than Deidre Hall & Drake Hogestyn. John & Marlena have always been in the far out storylines, but it has its reason. During the affair [which was refreshingly normal wasn't it?] it was that these two had a passion and a love that was undeniable and irresistable. During Maison Blanche it was that these two would die for each other. During the Possession, it was that John was willing to go to any lengths to save Marlena - even selling his soul. During Aremid it was that Marlena was willing to do anything for what she believes in - even giving her body to Stefano. But through all the SCI-FI, Deidre Hall & Drake Hogestyn manage to show us through the little things, that these people are head over heels in love with each other. Something that's refreshing in today's world of 50% chance of divorce or break-ups and the terror after 9/11.

There are a lot of things I can say about Days, but usually broaching the subject of the show these days just angers me. Let's face it.  In reality, soaps aren't supposed to be something we can relate too. When people die 400 times and come back a week later and get possessed by a devil, well, it's obvious it's just fun to watch. But somewhere in the midst of revivals and possessions, Days began to suck so badly that instead of enjoying the show, bitching became a daily habit.

It happened somewhere between Roman coming back (a man my roommate will always refer to as Jack McKay) and Hope becoming Gina, and switching head writers millions of times ... yet the show still remains in the slumps. And let's just take a look why. You have Tinkerbitch ... a teenager who is supposed to be a product of a strong independant woman and a loving yet even stronger man. But what do we get? A whiny brat who cries about her hair being out of place, that her boyfriend won't sleep with her even though she made him wear a purity ring, and the fact that life is oh so hard in her gorgeous loft with the perfect parents. There's Rex, who was cute at first until he was such a freak you just wanted to rip his body apart so he'd shut up and stop having these weirdass headaches which I can guarentee will NEVER pay off. There's his evil slut sister Cassie, although I'm sort of confused on why she thinks she is this sex Goddess when up until last year she lived in a locked room and still hasn't had sex yet. There's Philip, who came back from wherever and is now in the ISA ...

Speaking of the ISA, why is everyone in it? Can I join? I mean I graduated high school, it seems that is all you need. I can look good in all black, kicking ass. And shouldn't this secret little organization be private? But sure, everyone in Salem knows John is in it. And now Tek is a cop because he had practice as an ISA man. Days needs a new organization. It can be called: Please join if you're the dumbest resident in Salem. People will be out the door signing up for that one.

I'm obviously a John and Marlena fan, but these days I kind of have to wonder why. Don't get me wrong, I'll always resort back to the tapes, to the shell of the girl who just wanted to be these people and have their love. But really, when was the last time they had a scene not talking about one of their defective children, Tony, Hope, Lexie, Abe, and any other member of Salem. The answer, my friend, is to long ago to remember.

Samantha Brady. How I wish someone would beat her over the head with a brick. You're 27 or something! Stop whining! Stop blaming John for your parents divorce when you had no problem with him last month! Just stop talking! She needs a muzzle. And a lobotomy. I feel if I write anymore, I'll just get even angrier. So those are the rants for the day. God Bless Deidre and Drake for making this wretched show at least a tad bit bearable.

A few weeks ago, myself and many other J&M fans were devastated by a mere rumor that Drake Hogestyn, the man who has portrayed the ultimate hero of John Black for the last seventeen years, was let go by Days of our Lives. For a few days in September, these long suffering loyalists of a pairing who has been repeatedly tormented had to face the unthinkable: one half of the quintessential supercouple would be no more. Thank goodness that this report was nothing more than a rumor, but it was enough to get you thinking. For the last several months, I can count on one hand how many times I have taped DAYS. It was the same old story:  teens, teens, and teens in shallow and asinine stories that bear almost no resemblance to what real college students face on a day to day basis. I was learning to live without a crumb here and there of John & Marlena scenes that allowed the true characters to shine through, but then I heard Drake might have been fired and it was then I realized that even though I hadn't cared about the show, I still cared about the actors and characters and I was ready to put up a fight. I started to discuss ideas for a campaign, a petition, anything to help the cause, but less than 48 hours later, the rumor was dispelled and all those things were no longer necessary. I was relieved to say the least and I had a renewed interest in DAYS.  Reilly is back on board and a murder mystery is in the works.  Now that I know my favorites are safe, I can watch the story unfold with anticipation, and hope that good things are coming. I am still a little leery considering the track record with the last several head writers at DAYS and what they have done to J&M, but it can't be worse than DAYS without either one of them.

When I was first asked to do this rant back in May, I agreed whole heartedly. In part because of an infernal weakness, a love for the sound of my own voice, and in part because I thought I had something to say. And yet the days stretched into weeks and the weeks into months and nothing seemed to find its way to my pen--to appropriately inspire me. I simply had nothing to add to the discussion. Detached, I watched Higley's "exodus" and welcomed with cautious optimism Reilly's "triumphant return." Perhaps it was a bit of hypocrisy to breathe a sigh of relief at the return of a man who just a few short years earlier I had counted down the days until he was finally out the door. If so, then I openly accept the banner of hypocrisy. Maybe that's what five plus years of solid disappointments will do to a person. All I know is suddenly all of Reilly's bad habits didn't seem so bad. I was willing to once again take on his never-ending plots, repetitiveness, dumbed-down characters and repeated insults to my intelligence in return for true character motivations and storylines that once again tapped one's heart. Make no doubt my of my optimism was selfish. In his first stint as Days' headwriter Reilly proved one thing above all else--he got John and Marlena, as both individuals and as a couple. I am first and foremost a John and Marlena fan, and so after years of disregard (the faceless saccharine of Sussman-Morina, the mind-boggling hate of Langan, the "oh yeah" after thought treatment of Brash and Cwilky, and finally the whiplash perversion of Higley) I, like so many other John and Marlena fans, of course welcomed Reilly return.

It's a strange reputation John and Marlena fans have acquired in the soap community--simultaneously heralded for our passion and shunned for our demanding whininess. But most odd is the deifying of our "power." The sense of power is a funny thing amongst John and Marlena fans because after so many years of misery for our favorite characters we had all pretty much surrendered any belief we may have had in our own "press" long ago. Still there was a certain ironic joy at seeing other's buy into the hype…allowed us for a tiny moment in time to feel like Superman--to feel invincible. It was a silly, trifling feeling, but then again so were all the feelings that the "almighty" John and Marlena fans were not only somehow above all the ills befalling other fanbases, but also inexplicably responsible for said ills. But Superman is no different no different than any other mortal. He has weakness and vulnerabilities to exploit the same as any other man.

We all knew of the show's budget woes. We all knew that cutbacks were inevitable, but we all hoped that it wouldn't claim our favorites. I'm sad to say that I'm not one of the lucky ones although this perception may prove false. With the direction Days is going, it may prove to be a blessing that I won't feel compelled to follow them down the dark path. When the "rumor" of Drake's firing broke, I was numb--am still numb. It will sound crazy of course, but I have not felt this way since the night of my 21st birthday when I received a phone call telling me my "denmom" had been killed in a car accident. Certainly it is not the same thing. Drake is a strong, vivacious, beautiful, talented man. He will go on. But there is something about welcoming a person into your home everyday for years. Even when they're fictional, they become a part of you and so I can't help but mourn for that loss. I will miss John, and I will miss the wonderful relationship between John and Marlena. As corny as it may be, they have taught me so much about the fundamental of love--the cornerstones of friendship, honesty and a healthy dose of lust never hurt either. Deidre and Drake have made of John and Marlena so much more than what was on the page. They have brought them to life.

I would be lying to say I'm not angry and frustrated at my helplessness to somehow turn that anger into something fruitful. Maybe it is wrong of me to give in so easily, to accept defeat with more grace than Days saw fit to dole it out with. Maybe I should not go gently into that good night…but I refuse to degenerate into some raving lunatic with my conspiracy theories and misguided anger and totally myopic perception about the importance of this news in the grand scheme of things. Even more than I feel for myself as a fan, though, I feel for Drake. The consummate team player, he has gone to bat for this show time and time again. He has let other, bigger, opportunities slide past to stay "home" in Salem. And with each new writer's vision of John Black, he has strove to remain true to his character and his character's motivations--an increasingly difficult task that he's undertook with courage and grace under pressure. Moreover, he has been as accessible to the fans as anyone who has ever come before him and probably anyone who will ever come after him--spending hours chatting with fans long after his co-stars have left events and headed for home. And so to send him out in the early days of Reilly's return to tout the good vibe and optimism on the set, to allow murmurings of a great storyline that will "stretch" and "challenge" him as a performer, only to have him return from his vacation to a pink slip is in my estimation a grave disservice to Drake and all he has meant to this show since he joined the cast in 1986.

The fact that news of his firing was leaked to the fans in unconscionable. In that regard, I must step back and say I did not have enough sympathy for other fans (fans of James Reynolds, Matthew Ashford and Suzanne Rogers) that found out in a likewise manner. The limbo of knowing and yet not knowing, of not believing but knowing in your gut that it's true, is excruciating and unfair. No one should be put on the spot like that. They should be allowed the right to mourn their loss however they see fit without having to worry about how other fanbases will construe their silence.

When was the last time Days didn't deliver on the disappointment scale? When was the last time they took the classy route? Somewhere along the way it ceased to even be about the firings and began to be about standard operating procedure. I remember when all the performers talked about just what a family Days was--the atmosphere that Ted and Betty Corday created and fostered. It was always a very safe and alluring idea--the idea of family…. It brought people back into the fold that you never imagined would return. And so it is pitiable to see that disintegrating before our eyes. Certainly the newbies will never know it as the rare, finite gift it was. I have no idea how long this show will be able to continue, and I find it hard to care. One thing is certain though, this show will never be the same. I am not so naïve as to think that one performer is the entirety of this shows success. But then, we really aren't talking about the dismissal of any one performer are we? Look around…Drake's firing is symptomatic of a much larger problem. Like a diabetic who can no longer control their disease--Days is slowly but surely cutting away it's very soul.

        In Retrospect

        Last year changed its seasons
        subtly, stripped its sultry winds
        for the reds of dying leaves, let
        gelid drips of winter ice melt onto a
        warming earth and urged the dormant
        bulbs to brave the
        pain of spring.

        We, loving, above the whim of
        time, did not notice.

        Alone, I remember now.

                    - Maya Angelou

*LuvDeidreHall*...

Let me see:

- I love thee for the chemistry that has never been matched by anyone

- I love thee for thy are soulmates

- I love thee with the very depth of my soul, and all of my heart

- I love thee to the end of time

Anyone remember "How do I love thee?". Such an amazing poem, recited on such a disasterous honeymoon. John & Marlena fans waited 13 years. 13, count them, 13 years for a wedding that focused on everyone but the couple that should have been the focus. They switched from Sami, to Gina, to Mike and Carrie, to Gina, to a jealous glimpse from Austin, to Gina and Bo, then a short kiss from the bride and groom. And they wonder why John & Marlena fans are unhappy?

When Deidre Hall got the permission to show the wedding at her fan event the days before the wedding was to air, fans were happy, and they loved what they saw. Little did they know that what they saw unedited, and what would air were two very different things.

I`m not even going to start on describing Tom Langan`s time as head hack, I mean head writer.

We got JOPE'd to death, we got Brady`s hatred for Marlena, we got John Black becoming Jerk Bwack, we got Jerk Bwack being mean to Marlena and defending Brady over and over. Then the dreaded Mother Of The Year party. Once again, Hope/John was to be the focus. Then the news that Tom Langan had been fired. And BOY were we happy.

Peter Brash and Paula Cwickly hired as co-headwriters. Along came Sami`s wedding (fantastic acting by Ali Sweeney), we got John & Marlena`s renewal of wows, and a recreating of their wedding night. Did I love it? Yes. Did I think it was the appropriate time? No. Why? Because it was too rushed. We`d just gotten that amazing balcony scene, where John was actually IN character, and told Marlena "it was always you". That should have been the start of a road to recovery. John helped Brady hurt Marlena (I don`t count the Jerk Bwack time as John), and we get the "it was always you" scene, and a rushed vow-renewal and wedding night during Sami`s wedding? Peter Brash and Paula Cwickly did well for a few months. Until they brought back Tony and Billie, and brought on the Gemini Twins. They gave us the Grab scene (December 16th, where J&M make love while waiting for the test result) and of course the Sexy Santa Scene (to me, the 3s').

Then they were let go, and Dena Higley hired as headwriter. J&J fans had hope, after the Valentine`s proposal and making Jennifer not pregnant with Colin`s kid, B&H fans did with the spoilers of B/H starting a PI company, J&M fans got MONY'ed to death. Once again, a slap in the face. We got Marlena acting out of character, John most IN character of the two, but still out of character. We get Marlena trusting Tony, John hating him. We had the foundations of John & Marlena`s relationship, such as trust, and honesty, completely ignored and twisted around. Then, June comes along, rumors of Reilly being rehired was circling, and all of a sudden, Higley changes her destructive pace, to a different angle, but equally destructive. Now Marlena hates Tony, while John is giving him a chance.

After all these slaps in the face, I truly wonder if things can get any worse? And if they can`t, it can only get better right? I have high hopes for James Reilly`s writing for my all-time favourite couple, and I hope he fulfills our dreams and hopes, if even just a tiny bit. We need an UNedited lovescene, a J&M love story focusing on JOHN & MARLENA, not everyone else.

Here`s to hoping, wishing and dreaming, and in time, maybe trusting as well... Welcome
back Reilly!

Recently while having lunch with my little sister, she said ‘Hey, are you still watching DOOL? Is that still your soap?’ My sister is a witness to how addicted I became. On several occasions she'd rat me out to my mom that I’d skip school and come home to watch it. I answered that while I’m still a John and Marlena fan, I hardly watch anymore but with JER’s return, I’m hoping to start enjoying it again. She then confessed that she had been trying to get into the soap but hadn’t been able to and found the writing lousy. Then she said: ‘The way John and Marlena come across now with this writing, you wouldn’t know that they share the history and incredible love story that you claim they do.’

Her words made me think deeply about how terribly cheated our couple has been. I, like many others, started watching during the Possession storyline. I was absolutely captivated by it. Not because of the special effects or because ‘Satan’ was in Salem. I’ll admit, it caught my attention to hear about some woman levitating on her bed. But soon it was apparent to me that it was so much more. I was 15 years, the age when most girls start thinking about love and romance. Before me I watched the most incredible love story unfold. A love so great than not even the most evil force in the universe, the devil, could undo. A man who loved a woman so much, that he’d give his all to save her: mind, body and soul. When John thought Marlena was dead, the anguish and torment he showed, I bawled like a baby. That is the moment I fell in love with this couple.

Fast forward to my sister’s comment. I put myself in her place, imagining I was trying to view this soap opera for the first time, to see what it was all about. I see exactly what she meant. There is hardly any indication to what a supercouple John and Marlena really are. In every other scene, they are running around, being props to their kids, chasing goop and tending to alien freaks. The crumbs and scraps we’re thrown are few and far between and it seems like every tender and loving scene is extremely short or interrupted. The ultimate slap in the face was the ridiculous scene in which Hackley has Shelle in a picnic with J&M, I guess in her demented mind to mirror the ‘old & stale’ couple with the ‘young & fresh’ couple. One of the many glimpse in her writing that indicates she views J&M as nothing but the past and whose glory days have come and gone.

While many await Reilly’s return with caution, I await it with a glimmer of hope, a possibility that I will finally get to see my couple in the storyline I have been awaiting. That I will get to see them bond, share tender moments and love scenes galore! I anticipate the day I can tell my sister to turn on her television set to NBC and watch my favorites in action. So that she can finally understand why for so long I have been enthralled in the magic that is John and Marlena.

In recent years, John and Marlena have been seriously lacking a lot of things. A decent story, some good dialogue, flashbacks, and love scenes come to mind. But also something everyone needs, and that is...

FRIENDS. You just gotta have friends! Granted, John and Marlena are each other's best friend, but they need someone else to hang out with, to confide in, to seek advice from... And who exactly do they have? Well lets take a look...

John has always had a friend in Abe. But ever since Roman (a.k.a. Fauxman) returned, he has seemed to take John's place, so that John and Abe's friendship just vanished.. And it looks like we'll never get it back, since Abe will be leaving soon. Then along came OPS, John's new partner. He was new and unique - we liked him. But then of course OPS was dumped, to allow room for new partners Philip and TEK. I will not even imply that those
two idiots are John's friends - it's an insult for them to even be in John's scenes. So who exactly does that leave? Oh, that's right... Bo. Need I even go there?

Moving along to Marlena. Just like John, her friendship with Abe (and Lexie) has seemed to vanish, with the exception of her stealing a hug from Abe once in a great while. Then of course there is Maggie. She's rarely on, and when she is - it's never with Marlena. When the two actually get in the same room, they often talk about their friendship (like meeting up for lunch), but do we ever actually see them do so? No. And how about Alice? You wouldn't even know the two knew each other! They haven't had scenes together in forever. Oh, and what about Kate? Ha! Even to me that friendship is mostly a joke. Yes, Marlena may not know all the crap Kate has done to her daughter, but unless Marlena is deaf, dumb, AND blind, then she should at least know Kate has made Samantha's life a living hell and vice versa. It makes no sense that none of that is ever brought up, Marlena and Kate shouldn't act so buddy-buddy. Okay, so that leaves Hope. Like John and Bo, do I need to even go there? I rather Marlena be friendless, lonely, and talk to herself before being friends with the likes of Mrs. Brady!

That being said, I would love for Laura Horton to return - she was my favorite of Marlena's friends. Speaking of Laura, what a rip off we got with her mini-return. I would have killed for a decent scene of those two catching up - but instead we get a half second hug. Typical. And for John, I would love to see OPS return and take his spot back from TEK.

If they would just give J&M a life, and some friends, I would be happy (for a while, at least). I want to see them interact with more people than just Bope, Tony, and their pathetic children (and teen friends)! Here's to hoping Reilly will supply...

I hate it when people say that John and Marlena are boring, stupid, old, annoying, and so on and then say that Belle and Shawn or some other useless teen couple are great. I do not blame those that say that John and Marlena are boring and so on, I blame Corday, Langan, Higley, and Kalouria. When I hear someone say that Shelle is the best couple it's just a reminder of what this show has gone to, which is pot.

I don't care what anyone says, John and Marlena have taken the most hits by the pathetic writing staff. I get so frustrated sometimes, when I think about all the years they wasted. I get so frustrated when I see brand new viewers become useless teen couple fans. I hate it when I say something about Days at school and someone says, "Yeah, Belle and Shawn are so hot together, who do you think Phillip should be with?" The other day I was talking to some younger friends of mine and one of them mentioned that they watched Days. The first thing I asked was what was her favorite couple on the show. She replied, "I don't know. I guess Brady and Chloe." To me that says volumes about the show right now, and in the recent past. Used to, back in the good ole Days you could ask someone and they'd know who was their favorite or reply with I like everyone. And the fact that Brady and Chloe were the only couple that she thought of also speaks volumes. That just goes to show that this soap is nothing but a teeny bopper fluff piece.

I hate it when the viewers that started watching during the Langan destruction of John bash his character to bits, even now, saying that he is the worst. Now, I see that new viewers who started watching around March and April hate Marlena hence the Higley destruction of her character. This also frustrates me to no end. I hate the fact that John and Marlena haven't had a GOOD COMPLETE love scene in long over a year. The day I heard about Reilly coming back, I'd been thinking about the show that morning, and I'd decided that maybe I should just let it go and give up because it was going to get canceled and even if it didn't there was no hope for anything good for John and Marlena, but then I got online and saw the news. I was in shock for over a week; it's like I didn't believe that it was true. Awaiting his return has been brutal, especially since school starts back next week, the week of his return. I wished away my whole summer hoping that August would come. Because I saw what he is capable of, true supercouple greatness. I just hope he wants to do it again.

It really doesn’t take much to get this J/M worked up about the possibility for J/M’s future..I loved seeing them today, thrilled to be back in each others arms, John spinning her around and looking at each other lovingly. Its amazing to me still that Drake and Deidre can bring across that glimmer of hope that we will one day again soon see the magical storylines that this pairing can so richly bring to our screens. To me there isn’t a more passionate fan base, such a dedicated group of fans so willing to stick by what no one can tell us is a lost cause or that John and Marlena have lost "it"...Drake and Deidre have both said that they are so lucky to have that very special chemistry that most actors could only dream of having. Yet we still sit here waiting anxiously for those “keeper” moments because the last 4 writers have refused to write for them. We’ve had to get by on crumbs for several very long years…an occasional session of hand holding, a look across the room or a few sweet kisses. But since we’ve seen the best we want the best and should expect the best for them. Last night I watched scenes during Marlena’s pregnancy where John stood pleading with her for the truth, and asking her emphatically “Isn’t there just a part of you, a part of you that remembers the passion that we shared…a part of you that wants this baby to be mine?” She replies “I LOVED being married to you…” and what kept me watching when they weren’t together was not only their chemistry and drama but the fact that I trusted that this story would at some point give me what a really wanted..for them to be together and be married. (Little did I know what a nightmare that wish would turn into!) there was so much desperation, so much emotion and love and confusion that I just couldn’t turn if off, and ended up watching those scenes through Belles birth. The list of wonderful scenes is endless and the fact that the actors and the fans have had to wait several years now for an emotional heartfelt storyline for them again is a joke and such a waste. I can only hope that James Reilly will help to restore what was once so great about J/M, their love, passion, commitment and desperation to protect one another. If he sticks to what he knows best about them, and has emphasized in the past, it really doesn’t matter what the story is. This is a continuing drama, but I sure wouldn’t mind if he continued by starting fresh and restoring the wonderful things about them that made us J/M fans to begin with. To me what makes the characters so special, is the chemistry of the actors, the fact that they don’t even need dialouge in scenes to draw in a new fan. The previous writers failed because they didn’t stick to what the characters were based on. They didn’t pay attention to their rich history and use it to their advantage. The skeptics that say James Reilly will make a joke of this show and ruin what is special may have reasons for their feelings but they didn’t see what I saw. I saw two incredibly passionate people and a writer who knew how to make them shine.

Samantha Jean Brady has had few constants in her life due to Stefano and his  vendetta against her family. One of those constants was John Black who for nearly  seven years believed he was her Father, Roman Brady. He raised her and loved her like any Father loves his own flesh and blood. When Roman came back to life John did what he thought was best for Sami and Eric and stepped back and let Roman take them back as his children. Much like losing a loved one to death, Sami and Eric experienced all of the stages of grief. Sami and Eric, feeling guilt over having loved John so much, had a hard time with the transition. Honestly though, what guilt did they have to feel? They were two years old when John entered their life, far too young to understand who their *Father* was let alone the possibility that John might not really be him. Yet they did at such a young age claim to feel that way. In all reality what they really felt was confusion and any guilt they felt should have been put to rest by Roman. He should have made sure his children knew it was okay for them to have loved John and believed that he was their Father. That they were children and innocent victims in this entire mess. The only thing they should have felt was confusion that the "Daddy" they knew and loved was gone from their lives. In his place was this man who claimed to love them and yet was a virtual stranger to them. Now did they stay in Salem to bond with their Father? No, they were sent away to live with their Grandparents. Sami came back to Salem as a teenager, very confused about who she was and where she fit into her family's dynamics.

Sami of course happened upon the info that her Mother and John where having an affair. How terrible of them to not deny the love they felt for each other. After all she was denying the love she felt for John wasn't she? Sami will most likely never admit it but IMO she was jealous that Marlena had the strength to say 'I may be married to Roman but my heart belongs to John'. Sami deep down inside would love to do that exact same thing but her value system is so screwed up she doesn't even realize it. She thinks that if she is loyal to her Father then that makes her a good person. When the whole mess came out about John and Marlena's affair what was Roman's reaction to it? How did he handle it? He thought of himself and he left town. He did not think about his Daughter and how this was affecting her. Through out it all John was still there. Willing to listen to Sami and help her in any way that he could. So was Marlena and yet Sami struck out at them. She took her anger out on them, when it was her Father whom she should have been mad at. Roman took the easy way out and left. John and Marlena stayed, knowing they would be scorned by many and that at the moment Sami hated them more than they could ever imagine.

Time and time again Sami has turned to Roman hoping for the unconditional love and support she so deeply craves and time and time again she has seen that she comes up short in his eyes. She knows she will never be as good as Carrie in his eyes and this hurts her a great deal. Sami keeps playing the little girl scorned card and it is time for her to realize that won't get her anywhere. When Sami looks back on her life all she sees is pain and that her parents neglected her. If she really looked back she would see John as her loving Father and realize that when she was a baby that Marlena was her world. Sami strikes out at Marlena and John because she knows they are the constants in her life. If they haven't left her by now then they won't ever leave her. Roman though will pick up and leave in a heartbeat, this she knows for a fact since he has already done it once.

Sami needs to get in touch with her inner child and realize that it is calling out for the only Father it has ever had and that is John. Once she gets past that huge step then and only then will she be able to move forward past the stage she is in, in her life. John has always loved her as if she was his own flesh and blood and Sami is just too afraid to see it. She has been hurt too much by her bio dad and that one reality has shaped who she is now as an adult. She craves unconditional love so she tries to get it with every may she can get her hooks into. What she doesn't want or seem able to see is that there is a man who loves her unconditionally and that man is John the Father she loved as a child and should be loving as an adult. Days has teased us with a couple of almost Father/Daughter moments over the years. It is as if they see the potential but they are also afraid to let it happen and see what comes of it. Days has a gold mine in the Father Daughter relationship of John and Sami, if only they would try it out and see what would happen.

Let me start off by saying I was a bit apprehensive to contribute a rant. I'm not exactly a poster whom everyone is familiar with. I decided to throw caution to the wind and go for it. So in the spirit of those who have gone before me- Let the ranting begin!

Being a J/M fan has had incredible highs and unbelievable, unbearable lows. I've written the tactful letter and I've voted in the polls. All the while, writer after writer has made a reckless attempt at storytelling. The lack of effort, forethought, and consequence have been glaring reminders of their incompetence.

I've watched John, the tender lover, turn callous and mean. His past made a mockery of. I've watched Marlena, the smart self sufficient heroine, turn into a helpless bystander in her own life. Her qualities as a mother spun into something sinister. I've witnessed the history of J/M rewritten and sacrificed for the sake of today's ridiculous plot.

Disappointment and missed opportunities are what come to mind when I think of the last 5 to 6 years. When looking back at the '99 wedding and honeymoon the little kid in me screams, " No fair! I wanna do over!" When I think of Marlena's missing years and John's tattoo removal I shake my head and think of what could have been. I shudder to think of the strawberries and whipped cream being replaced with Bag-O-Meat last Valentines. Deidre showed some real emotion during Sami's latest near death experience. If I felt anything for this story I might have been moved by her performance. I wasn't moved and Drake's absence only added to the disappointment.

The very things that myself and others found so endearing about this couple needs to be brought back. Bring back the soft spoken words. Let us hear every emotional sigh and exhale. Bring back the unwavering trust and commitment. Bring back John's vulnerability and Marlena's wit. Let us see the respect as friends and the passion as lovers. Utilize the depth of their chemistry. Not doing so is simply an insult.

J/M's history is rich in love , adventure, and romance. The ingredients are there. It's frustrating to know that the J/M so many have missed and longed for could be a mere storyline away. Will Reilly provide the story that brings them back? God, I hope so. Time can be an enemy. If not him then who and when?

After every ending there is a beginning. I'd like to believe that a new beginning will unfold for J/M ,and that their winter is over. I'm reminded of a beautiful verse that illustrates just that. Perhaps you'll recognize it.

                             "Rise up my love, my fair one, and come away ,
                              for though the winter has passed, the rains are
                              over and gone, the flowers are peering on us,
                              and the time for singing birds has come. My beloved
                              is mine and I am his until dawn breaks and
                              the shadows fade, turn my beloved, and be
                              thou ever mine."

The return of James E. Reilly as head writer has met with much controversy amongst the fans of Days Of Our Lives. This is completely understandable, since he wrote the storylines of the show in a controversial manner. For John and Marlena, he created a conflict by utilizing the character of Kristen. She was a strong antagonist between John and Marlena, and her years of scheming to keep them apart were exasperating, to say the least, but it kept an intense  interest in the show and caused many, including myself, to crave watching each day’s episode. In the end, Reilly gave the viewers a payoff like none other. Seeing Kristen crumble to the floor in a pile of sobbing defeat in the DiMera Mansion had to be one of the best scenes, and the days that followed with John and Marlena coming together was a gloriously enjoyable time for the John and Marlena fans. Similarly, for Bo and Hope he created a conflict by utilizing the character of Billie; and for Jack and Jennifer he created a conflict by utilizing the character of Peter.

As much as we hated Kristen, Billie, and Peter, they were instrumental in strengthening our desire for our favorite couples to come together. JER gave us a reason to enjoy Days of Our Lives, even if that meant using brainwashing, pillow babies, and magical goggles in doing so. The appointed head writers over the last five years, since Reilly’s departure, have been extremely disappointing. Granted, they have given the viewers a magical crumb occasionally, but overall their writing has been a waste of airtime. Why is Marlena feeling ‘connected’ to Tony, and being dishonest with John about his advances? Why is Hope either baking cupcakes for the PTA, or flashing her ‘melons’ at unsuspecting border officers? Why are Jack and Jennifer  hosting “In The House” and concerning themselves with zoo animals such as binturongs? All very strange, and all very out-of-character for the characters mentioned.

Personally, I cannot wait for the return of JER. His ideas have always been fresh, ground-breaking, and unique to the soap world. I do not expect Reilly to bring back Kristen, Billie, or Peter. He may not be everyone’s favorite writer, but he is certainly not ignorant to the fact that these characters have run their course on the show. I am optimistically expecting him to create new and exciting storylines for the super couples of the show, including catalysts which will create conflict as well as coalescence among John and Marlena, Bo and Hope, and Jack and Jennifer.

Overall, Days of our Lives is in the toilet right now. The Neilson ratings are at an all-time low, and many fans are just not watching anymore, including myself. All of the new characters being introduced to the show are all ‘stuff & nonsense’ as the song goes. Tek? Vin? Chaz? Maria? Maya? Who are these people, and why are the current writers at Days Of Our Lives insulting the viewer’s intelligence with the presence of them? More importantly, what happened to the real John and Marlena? Thanks to Dena Higley, we are now seeing them being written as completely different characters. Characters which infuriate the J&M fans due to the absurd storylines that Dena Higley is creating. John would never plant a bug on Marlena, and Marlena would CERTAINLY not keep information from him. The real Marlena would know instinctively that the twins were not her children, and would assist John in discovering the truth, and in bringing Tony down. The love that John and Marlena share is based on a trust that is stronger than any antagonist would dare to come up against, especially Tony DiMera. With Jim Reilly’s return, the real John and Marlena will emerge, and we’ll see them as they were written in the past: a couple whose undying love for each other knows no boundaries. A relationship based on trust, passion, and self-sacrificing love for one another.

What can I say.....one day you are sitting bored in front of the television set channel surfing, and with a flick of the button you are changed. You didn¹t mean for it to happen, you had seen it all before, you were never going to let it get to you again. But some how you knew this time it was different. This was the real thing. You are free falling.

What am I talking about you ask? Why John and Marlena of course! At first, you ask yourself, am I the only one? What is it between these two characters that makes them different from anything you have seen before? What do they do to make you forget any other couple before or since? There is no word to describe how they make you feel, so you rationalize that it must come down to that undefinable, overused and mysterious word........*chemistry*. You go through all the emotions, the first look, the growing attraction, the total devotion. You think nothing can distort this, you are confident, this time your trust will be rewarded. One day you get *plugged* in and low and behold you find *others*, they feel the same as you do and you can¹t believe your joy. You are giddy, you let down your defenses, you make a commitment.

Then something happens. You can¹t put your finger on it. You didn¹t count on outside forces, the ones beyond your control, the ones who don¹t care, the ones who like to tear things down. Sometimes you see a glimmer of the glory and you tell yourself, you must be mistaken, this cannot be happening, you are in denial. And then one fateful day, you realize the trust has been broken, they are not to be spared, they are not special, your heart is broken. But even in your new reality you cannot let go completely, they won¹t let you go quietly. You are left waiting.

If you only knew then what you know now, would it have been different? Would you have let yourself become so involved? Would you have opened yourself up for heartache and disappointment? Off course, the answer is yes. You would do it again in a heartbeat, but this time you would saver it even more.

I am so tired of non J/M fans continuing to distort John's past and "his women".  He was a good father to Carrie and the Twiners ~ the only really stable influence they had in their young lives. He may have had several women (co-stars come and go ~ what should a good-looking youngish actor do ~ just sit on the back burner until TIIC can bring back his soulmate?) but he was never promiscuous. Be he The Pawn,  Roman,  or  John he has always been a one-woman man  (except for that unfortunate Kristen/Susan crap which is one of the reasons why I am in the "cautiously optimistic" JER camp) and there was generally a reasonable (soap opera) time between his serious relationships.

Another thing ~ at least he is always well-groomed :)  Whenever I am unfortunate enough to see Bo,  I always wonder if he smells as bad as he looks! The other day someone posted that he would be a judge at the Miss Universe pageant and my immediate reaction was "Gee,  I wonder if he will shampoo and shower?" Even had a response typed,  but unlike all the John bashers,  I thought better of it and deleted before posting. I totally understand not liking a character/actor but why is it always necessary for many of these non J/M'ers to jump into a pro J/M thread and demean and denigrate the actors. If I see one more "constipated" look comment I may totally lose it ~ I never saw so many people obsessed with facial expressions,  and as I have always responded,  I'll take constipated over perpetual smirk any day!

It was bad enough having to endure the Jope/Gope days and try to find something still positive about John when TL was destroying years of John's history with his mean writing, but now I have to live with the legacy of John being the butt of so many poster's jokes. I generally just ignore them,  but when they distort the real history,  it just p*sses me off!

I have been watching soaps since I was knee high to a grasshopper. I grew up watching Ryan’s Hope and All My Children with my mother. In fact, All My Children was my soap of choice for over 12 years, until one fateful day in August of 1991—when I was introduced to the incredible chemistry of Deidre Hall and Drake Hogestyn, otherwise known as John (Roman at the time) and Marlena.

It was all by accident. I had grown bored with the goings-on in Pine Valley and just started channel surfing. I happened upon my local NBC affiliate and found myself suddenly engrossed in the story of a beautiful woman trying to find her way back to her handsome husband after apparently being torn apart for years. From what I could make out, everyone in town thought she was dead and he was about to marry someone else.

I didn’t know these characters from Adam and hadn’t yet built up allegiances for any particular pairings but I was, nonetheless, becoming more and more involved in the lives of Roman Brady, his fiancée Isabella and his presumed dead wife Marlena. I wanted to know what was going to happen next. But why? Why did I care? Especially so soon?

Then it happened—one of the all-time greatest moments in soap opera history as far as I’m concerned—the now famous "reunion on the pier." After weeks of bad timing and missed opportunities, Marlena walked out of that fog and back into Roman’s loving arms. It was incredible! The looks they gave each other, the emotion in their voices, the body language and that great moment of Roman reaching out to Marlena touching her face with his trembling hand and then grabbing her tightly and kissing her had me sitting on the edge of my seat with a lump in my throat! Now suddenly it all made sense. I knew exactly why I cared. These two were magic together!! I was officially hooked and couldn’t get enough!

Had I known, however, how incredibly painful being a John & Marlena fan was going to be, I would have just walked away then and never looked back. While I understand the concept of "star crossed lovers" and the need for a soap to keep the audience wanting more, I cannot for the life of me understand why the powers that be at Days are so intent on sabotaging this show’s greatest asset and alienating one of its biggest fan bases. It’s just mind boggling!

John & Marlena fans have been lied to, ignored, and even insulted by Executive Producer Ken Corday and his revolving door of untalented, unqualified and just all around bad writers. We’ve had to endure the constant attempts to break up our favorite couple via ill-conceived, unintelligent, poorly constructed and just plain mean-spirited storylines such as: having our long-awaited wedding and honeymoon completely ruined because some evil bastard thought it would be a good idea for John and Hope to have "sex" on a submarine (by far the worst idea since New Coke and the most chemistry-free pairing EVER in daytime) AND having the highly anticipated reveal of Marlena’s missing years turned into a contrived and oh-so-obvious attempt to introduce two more pointless teens to the show’s already overcrowded mall-rat population.

At a time when soaps in general are struggling to stay afloat and Days of our Lives, in particular, has taken such a drastic nose dive in the ratings, you would think those in charge would be doing anything and everything to not only keep the few remaining fans they have left, but to also woo back those who have already jumped shipped. One would think. Unfortunately for John & Marlena fans, that doesn’t appear to be the case. Instead this show just keeps shooting itself in the foot and alienating more and more fans each day.

It’s sad really that a show blessed with such an incredible gift in the pairing of Deidre Hall and Drake Hogestyn would be so hesitant to capitalize on it and milk it for everything its worth. There still isn’t another couple out there who can steam up a television screen like these two can. They are the epitome of chemistry!! So, why not take advantage of it??!

Despite rumors to the contrary, John & Marlena (and their portrayers) and still very much adored by their legions of fans—young and old. And while we may have abandoned Days of our Lives in record numbers (just look at the recent Nielsen’s), we have not abandoned our favorite couple. Those behind the scenes have done that.

If NBC and Ken Corday are serious about saving Days of our Lives, I suggest they look no further than their two biggest stars—Deidre and Drake. They had me convinced on a foggy pier back in 1991 and almost twelve years later, I am still a believer. Just imagine what they could do on that pier today. Oh the possibilities……

I am having a sad week.  Why you ask?  Because this is normally the time of the year when I travel to LA to see friends, play tourist in the area, and interact with the likes of Deidre Hall and Drake Hogestyn.  It is usually a good time for a vacation, as summer begins, and transition time around the Memorial Day week is just darn difficult!

This year however, I chose to stay home, as did all of my friends, instead of all of us coming together from different states, and different countries to enjoy discussing our favorite show and characters.  But since Days of our Lives no longer fits the bill, why bother?  Well, I miss my friends!!  At least that is one of few things that Days/Corday cannot take away from me. The friendships I have made because of being a fan of Deidre Hall and Drake Hogestyn. They are irreplaceable!  And so are the memories we have made over the years.

Reasons for staying home?
1.  The show SUCKS!  Dare I repeat myself here?

2.  Deidre and Drake are not having seperate events, nor is there an official Days Fan Club event in which they participate.  Deidre and Drake did their thing in February, we went out to LA, renewed friendships, and got together to talk about how great Deidre and Drake looked, and how crappy the show is.  Oops, there I go repeating myself again.

3.  I am still in the midst of rehab from my second knee surgery.  And I am going to have to have revenge on my physical therapist this week for the overkill treatment he has enduced on my quads and gluts!  I can barely walk!  Okay, why did I bring this up?  Because it is yet another chance to mention that during my recovery, I have not bothered to watch Days of our Lives because the show SUCKS!

4.  Stargate SG-1 is a much better show right now.  Besides, who can pass up Richard Dean Anderson?  He once dated Deidre Hall in the 70s, and co-starred with Drake Hogestyn on Seven Brides for Seven Brothers.  Nice little tie in there, eh?

5.  Did I mention the show sucks?

To recap, Days of our Lives has disappointed me for the last time.  I watched the it for the first 32 years of my life, attended many events which I thoroughly enjoyed, became active in the fan clubs, and got to meet some wonderful people.  But unless things change drastically, I won't be looking back.  While my friends and I look for other great excuses to travel to see one another, many of us don't hold out hope any longer for the fun Days weekend becoming what it once was.

There's an old saying that "Perception is Everything". In my experience, everyone's perception, opinion and motivation are valid for them. That's how I run my business; that's how I live my life. In that spirit, I will offer my perception of the past month's events.

It's tough to be a John and Marlena fan. We haven't had a good story since the mid-90's. I have the history and good fortune of falling in love with RoJohn and Marlena in 1986. I waited in breathless anticipation when Marlena cried, "Oh God!" on that plane in '93. I have the gift of character, motivation and HISTORY with my faves. I find it amazing that J&M have teenagers falling in love with them presently like I did back then. That's truly testimony to the chemistry of DEIDRE HALL & DRAKE HOGESTYN. Their stories certainly can't be captivating these kids.

There's talk (then backpedaling) about backburnering John and Marlena. I'm glad to see the outpouring from fans that won't tolerate this. Personally, I think Days executives were ready to put John and Marlena out to pasture years ago and only the squawking and protesting from J&M fans that have kept them on the canvas. I'm not ready to give them up yet. Glad to know I have lots of company. John and Marlena are inexorably linked; like it or not, that's the plain fact.

There's talk that J&M fans are the reason for the show's falling ratings. Sorry, this cracks me up! John and Marlena fans have evaporated? We've abandoned them? Sorry again. We've not abandoned them, the WRITERS HAVE! To me, they are the scapegoats and smokescreen for the real reason: money. Drake & Deidre probably are amongst the highest paid actors on Days, and cutting them loose was a cost-saving measure. The ratings are in the toilet and it can't possibly be the atrocious writing for their travesty of a story in particular, and the show in general. Must be their FANS' fault. Glad to know people give us that much power, though. John, Marlena and their fans must still remain a formidable force. Unfortunately for Days I don't live in Stepford. I have high expectations of my entertainment and at this point in time, Days doesn't even come close to meeting those expectations. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to love Days again. I'd love to run in the door and straight to the VCR. I'll keep waiting on the sidelines. I'll keep waiting until some glorious writer comes along that doesn't need to massacre characters to further a plot. I was confused and angry at John during JOPE and I'm furious at Marlena's idiocy during this MONY mess. It's not that difficult for fanfic writers to develop fabulous stories for J&M that don't involve third parties. Why is it so hard for trained, paid professionals?

There's talk that the John and Marlena internet posting fans are the reason that Drake & Deidre have been publicly humiliated by their bosses. I find it interesting the oft trotted out argument that the internet is NOT an accurate depiction of Days viewership was so easily discarded. How can it be both ways? How can we be dismissed as an accurate sampling yet burdened with the responsibility of the ultimate sabotage of J&M? Are the 100 J&M internet posters responsible for the million viewer that have tuned out since Dena Higley took over? Is one young woman to be specifically targeted with this burden? How people choose to answer these questions reflects more about them than the question itself. I find it fascinating how the principles have responded during this adversity. If you want to blame somebody, look closer to home. There are ways to discreetly send messages. Blaring headlines in Soap Opera Weekly certainly isn't it. Blasting someone on a public website isn't it either.

I'm a well-educated, professional woman. I know how to write a polite letter and I've done so, many times. I've never received an acknowledgement from anyone other than Stephanie Sloane, editor at Soap Opera Digest. Was that an effective strategy? Did anyone consider my opinion? I can only surmise "no" based on what's on Days these days. I will not accept responsibility for the state of Days. If I don't deliver a quality product in a timely manner to my clients, I lose them. If my favorite pizzeria changes the chefs and the pizza becomes lousy, I go elsewhere to find good pizza. Gauging consumer reaction is not difficult. You just need to LISTEN. I'd think 2.8 HH ratings would do it, but I'm not so sure.

It is a confusing time to be a John & Marlena fan.  Despite the painful obstacles in recent years (Jope, Hateful Brady, MercJohn, SubSex, etc) I feel as though I've reached the most difficult hurdles yet: fabrications, rumors, feelings of helplessness, and shaken faith.  The last few weeks have been a stormy roller coaster ride.  One moment, prepared to do battle.  The next, prepared to walk away....

There is no question that I am an unhappy John & Marlena fan.  They have not had a story centering on their love, their history, or their characters for what seems like eternity.  They have had "stories", but what good is that if it involves rewritten history and character assassination?  The character of John went through his dark days disguised as a mercenary with no depth, feeling, or motivation.  And now, it seems, it is Marlena's turn to put on the mask.  I do not see the strong, intelligent, compassionate, independent woman I have admired for half my life.  Instead, I see a naive, untrusting, and at times, irrational person whom I no longer recognize.

The fabric of John & Marlena is being pulled away, strand by strand.  Trust is paramount in John & Marlena's relationship.  It always has been.  To take that away diminishes their bond.  Respect is a two way street.  John did not give it in recent years; Marlena is not giving it now.  Take away their respect for one another, and it eats away at their core.  Their love for one another has never been questioned. To do that would destroy their foundation. Hearing "I used to be touched when you said that, but now it’s like nails on a blackboard…" epitomizes this destruction.

John & Marlena fans have repeatedly been told by Ken Corday and numerous writers to "wait it out" "see what happens" "J&M have a BIG wonderful story coming up" "wait until sweeps" "you'll get everything you are hoping for" "give so and so a chance" "J&M are the money couple" and "we need J&M to bring the ratings back up". And so the John & Marlena fans waited. We campaigned. We waited some more. We campaigned again. Did the powers that be come through for us? NO. Quite the opposite, as things only got worse and the true characters of John & Marlena slipped further from their true selves.

How many times can one be disappointed, misled, and disregarded before reaching the breaking point?  I was ready to throw my hands in the air and walk away from all the disappointment, and then I heard the rumors of Marlena being killed off, the rumor of Days of Our Lives being cancelled, and finally, that John & Marlena were going to be forever backburnered and that TPTB felt their popularity had dwindled. Faced with the thought that either one half of my favorite couple would be gone, or that both would be gone permanently, stirred a passion inside me that I thought had possibly died. I still cared about this couple, and I was still willing to do battle for this couple, in spite of all the letdowns. I would not "go quietly into the night", even if they wanted me to, or thought I already had.

Their popularity has not "dwindled". The fans have not left John & Marlena and Days. Days has left John & Marlena and their fans.

But here is the million-dollar question: How do you do battle with an enemy who doesn’t even care that you are fighting? An enemy that leaves you on the battlefield alone? When the letters are never read, when the campaigns fail, when the pleas are ignored, and when the years of loyalty are discarded, what is one left with? I know that I am left with feelings of helplessness, bitterness and negativity. And though I do not welcome those feelings, I will not apologize for having them.

The key, however, is what I choose to do with those feelings.  Do I reluctantly accept them and walk away, giving them what they want?  Or do I use them as the only weapon I possess?  Do I kick and scream and holler, and do everything I can to get noticed by the unseeing, uncaring eyes of TPTB? Since nothing else was ever "seen", I chose the latter. I know it is not the best ammunition, but when it is all you have left, you use it.

Some disapprove of the ranting. Some join in. Some do not understand it. Most recently, one has criticized it in a very public and wounding way. Was I singled out? Maybe. Was my question answered? Yes. Was my question understood? No.

Instead of trying to understand and appreciate why fans are ranting, why fans no longer recognize their favorite character, why we are negative, we are instead scolded for fighting a battle we did not choose to wage. Admonished for using the only ammunition we feel we have left.

This may surprise many, but I do not expect, nor do I want an apology. All I want is an understanding of why John & Marlena fans feel discarded and betrayed. An acknowledgment that we have not abandoned our favorite characters or actors - John & Marlena and Deidre & Drake. An appreciation that we are still fighting for the right reasons, even if means are not ideal. Something that indicates we are still on the same side here. Anything that proves our decision not to bow out was the correct one.

I will not apologize for how I have chosen to fight the substandard writing of John & Marlena. My methods have run the gamut, ranging from positive to negative. If the rumors prove true, if the lies continue, if I begin to feel helpless again, and even if my faith is shaken once again, I will have no regrets. I will forever support John & Marlena and Deidre Hall & Drake Hogestyn. Yielding to something simply because I’m tired or seemingly beaten is unacceptable. Accepting the end of my favorite couple or the end of the their love without expressing resistance would be unforgivable.