Kenny

Oct 29 2007, 06:19 AM

I don't have a problem with the way the story ended.

They had a "fight to the death" in the morgue. Finally, after all that time, a literal physical fight. It's not as if John just bumped into Marlena in the street someplace and said, "go back to hell," LoL. He fought for her!

jcar03

Oct 29 2007, 12:04 AM

Tara had a very small role as Ashley, I do believe she was one of Sami's friends.

Kenny

Oct 29 2007, 02:36 AM

PhoenixRising05

Oct 29 2007, 03:04 AM

Wow...seeing those 3 episodes tonight reminded me of how good I thought the possession was at the time and how bad I think it is now. There was a time where I praised JER's first stint to high heaven but something that changed that for me was watching clips of his first stint and watching my old tapes a few times. The more I see it the more I realize how stupid it all was and how it relied on the camp and outrageousness to cover up the crappy writing behind it. That is why Days' ratings surged back then. Nothing like what was being dished out had ever been seen on daytime and it was also a different era. There was less choices of what to watch, budgets were in a much better state, writer's still had fresh idea's, etc. One of Days' big problems is the fact that the show has alot of vets and their characters have been through so much that it's hard to come up with something original and that the audience will allow. The fanbases would never allow what JER did now. That is why his second stint sucked ratings-wise. The audience was no longer willing to accept that stuff. Different times. Different eras. Plus, the fact that so many soaps tried to emulate Days or some of the stories eventually caused fans to reject that type of story, especially since fans of other soaps did not expect that from their soaps and the result was alienation of viewers.

The only part of the possession marathon tonight that affected me was the Marlena reunion scenes in the last episode. Those were written well for the most part. I was also reminded of how far Drake has fallen in the acting department. I also found Alice annoying back then. People complain about propping now but Alice was an even bigger propper back then then anything I see now. I also enjoyed seeing people like Carrie, MV's Jack, RKK's Bo (even if I hate what he did), Vivian, Sami, Lisa Rinna's Billie, Austin Peck when he was decent, Caroline, Victor, Fr. Jansen and Fr. Francis, Kristen, etc. I also was reminded of how bad some of the SFX were at times even then. Makes me love Ed Scott much more. It was great to see this and be reminded of 10+ years ago. I wish that they would show some 80's/early 90's stuff to show fans from JER's first stint and beyond what Days is really about. That was gold. That was what made legions of fans fall in love with this show. All JER's stint did was create a division among fans who want his style and fans that want a return to the show's glory years.

I had fun watching this event tonight but it makes me wonder what I saw in this the first time. To me, the actors salvaged this and made something of it. No matter how much I watch them, Aremid and Maison Blanche still seem just as good now as then, unlike possession. Maybe because they were grounded and about real drama with a gothic twist. JER seemed so much better with Sheri with him. The start of his stint with her was fantastic with Roman/Marlena.John especially. I know it was probably more Sheri then JER but still. That is why I like Sheri as a co-HW for Hogan. She rocks that role. I wish we could get more classic episodes, especially 80's stuff. Cruise of Deception is a good idea. Now that would be a dream.

Parts of the possession were hokey and ridiculous (like the panther thing), but other parts were truly chilling and creepy... such as the original desecrations, levitating on Christmas Eve and most everything from the early stages of the storyline.

SOAPnet just chose to show the most outrageous episodes of the storyline, LoL. The bees attacking Shawn and the panther were ridiculous then, just as they are now.

It was definitely a love or hate story.

Meanwhile... you're right about Maison Blanche, Aremid, etc. They were BRILLIANCE. John and Marlena were amazing in the 90's, all the way from The Affair to The Secret Room. Even the triangle of Sami/Austin/Carrie was intensely good.