50 Ways To Say Goodbye

After the fantastic and surprising win for Days of Our Lives at the Daytime Emmy's, fans had little time to revel in the soap's victory. While many of the directors, producers, and cast members celebrated their "Outstanding Daytime Drama Award," Chandler Massey was behind the curtain telling interviewers about his plans to leave the show once his contract expired.

From that point on, the talk was 20% "Yay, Days won!"
And 80% "OMFG, Chandler's leaving! What's gonna happen to WilSon?"

Unfortunately, the Days PR had to deal with one of the most horrific things a soap has to go through: a member of the cast leaving, and taking their character with them.

Guy Wilson & Freddie Smith: new WilSon promotional photo shoot

At first, producer, Ken Corday, said that there wouldn't be a recast. However, clearly, WilSon wouldn't survive if this were true. And Corday could not in good conscience let go of a storyline or a couple that had granted his show so much attention and notoriety.

This, I believe, was a good decision. WilSon wasn't ready to die. And ratings would have gone down so much, it would have significantly hurt the show.


Then, however, the question became: how do we continue without Chandler?

Well, there are several ways to deal with an actor leaving: Recast, Character exit, Cure exit, Character death, Invisible person, and Fading into oblivion.

These are the main strategies soaps use to keep the story going when the show loses an actor.


RECAST
The one most commonly used in the middle of a storyline is the recast. Luckily, for WilSon fans, Guy Wilson is stepping in so that the storyline can continue. I further go into Days recast in Too Faces, One Soul.

Instead of having the character leave with the actor, a recast with another similar-looking actor ensures that no gaps occur.

CHARACTER EXIT
Perhaps the most common strategy is to just have the character leave Salem. When a character decides it is the time to move or relocate to Chicago, London, or elsewhere, usually it is because their actor counterpart is leaving the show.

Carrie and Austin retreat to Switzerland whenever they leave. Billie went to London to work at a Titan branch. Steve/Patch and Kayla went to Africa. Lucas went to work in Japan. Max and Chelsea went to London. Philip went to Chicago. Chloe followed him to Chicago. Melanie went to Europe to see her mom. And most recently, Cameron joined Doctors Without Borders.

CURE EXIT
Often times, a character's storyline begins to culminate when their deadline is approaching. This could result in some kind of injury that demands the character's relocation--and thus an exit from Salem.

John Black left with Marlena for Switzerland to cure his paralysis, when the actors, Drake Hogestyn and Deidre Hall, were too expensive to keep in the cast. Carly Manning, who was suffering from a severe drug addiction, went away on a retreat cruise. And most recently, Chad DiMera left for Boston to have heart surgery and is staying there for unknown and unexplored reasons.

CHARACTER DEATH
The cleanest and yet most tragic way to deal with a character upon an actor's departure is to simply kill them off. On the hit NBC TV show, "F.R.I.E.N.D.S." Joey's character on Days of Our Lives got thrown down an elevator shaft when he badmouthed the writers. Beware the DAYS writers!

Anyway, some notable deaths were Tony DiMera who fell off the pier stairs and got impaled by a sharp pole in 2009. During the DAYSaster (thanks, Gabi) Jack and Madison both lost their lives and their stories took a drastic turn. Sadly, Lexi Carver died of a brain tumor when Renee Jones left.

Of course, the most recent example is our friend Nick Fallon. When Blake Berris left, Gabi decided to finally stand up to him and hit him in the head with a rock. Now his death will serve as a major plot point for these three murderesses. However, Nick Fallon has recently been written back on the show as alive, so the writers are using the tactic of "supposed murder" to generate some drama and then bring the character back to life.

Even if a character is "killed" in a soap, he or she can always come back. During the dry period of 2002-2004, the producers and writers created the Salem Stalker to kill off half the inhabitants of Salem, only to have them come back, alive living on Melaswen (new salem, backwards).

Marlena, Alice, Jack, Roman, and Abe were among these victims. John Black has been killed off a few times and has always come back(with or without his memory). And don't get me started on Stefano DiMera...the phoenix will always rise again.

INVISIBLE PERSON
A less common strategy is to simply have the character's storyline continue but off screen. Like Greek plays, the character stays in the story but he is never shown on screen. The best example of this is what's going on with Bo.

Bo can't die and he can't leave Salem because his character is too important and he is half of Bope. DAYS writers can't destroy the character and they can't break up a supercouple. So, the only solution is to have an invisible person. Hope often mentions Bo, and that he's on some sort of secret mission. Victor and other characters ask about him, but we never get a solid answer. He's still involved in the story because of Hope and Ciara, but he's not there physically because Peter Reckell left the cast.

FADE INTO OBLIVION
Sometimes a character is small enough that the writers don't have to make a big fuss over the end of that character. If a storyline comes to a natural conclusion and there's not a lot of drama surrounding that person, then the writers just have to stop writing for that character and he/she will soon be forgotten.

The best example is Stephanie Johnson. When Nathan left her and her conflict with Melanie ended, Shelly Henning left the cast. But Stephanie didn't have a dramatic exit storyline. She just stopped showing up on screen. No one bothered because nobody's storyline intersected with her. Her character was just able to fade into oblivion.


***
When Chandler Massey announced his departure in early summer, all of these possibilities were floating around. There are so many ways the writer's could handle this. Will could go away with Gabi (when Camilla left). Will could have died, or been sent to prison. Will could have been an invisible person with Sonny as the central story character. OR Will could be recast.

Clearly, DAYS made the right decision. This storyline isn't over yet. Will doesn't have to leave even though Chandler does. WilSon must live on!

Unfortunately, we'll have to say goodbye to Chandler. But Will...we don't wanna say goodbye to him just yet.

*The section of this post that has been updated on 1/27/14 is underlined.

Two Faces, One Soul

"Wilson is the new half on WilSon!" read the Soap Opera Digest headline.

With a heavy heart, the fans bid farewell to Chandler Massey, who brought life to Will Horton for nearly four years and single-handedly transitioned the viewers into DAY's gay storyline.

Many fans are sad to see him go, but still support the show and are excited to see Guy Wilson take on the role. Others are swearing to never watch the show again because apparently "there is no WilSon (and no show) without Chandler."

Um...no!

Yes. He was a big asset. But the show must go on. The storyline must go on. And after all, this isn't the first character to switch actors in the middle of a storyline. And this won't be the last.

Characters like Cameron Davis and Taylor Walker lost their actors without notice and had to be replaced immediately. Characters like Gabi Hernandez and Will Horton were switched to accommodate   a different storyline and to take the character in a new direction.  This is where Chandler Massey got his break.

Some actor switches are the result of a character coming back and the show is unable to get the original actor. Abby Deveraux was on in 2006 and came back as someone else in 2011. Philip Kiriakis left in 2002 and returned as a different face in 2003. (And then the reverse happened in 2006 and 2007). Brady Black was one actor in 2004 and then another in 2008.

To see a chart of these recasts view my Tumblr posts Here

And Here

The famous couple, Shelle, was played by four different combinations of actors. Originally, at Salem High it was Kirsten Storms and Jason Cook. Then, Storms left and Charity Ramher stepped in for two seconds. Then, they cast Martha Madison as Belle alongside Cook. These two were the ones who were involved in the infamous year-long paternity secret regarding their daughter Claire. Jason Cook played the man in love with his best friend's wife and secretly wishing Claire was his. Until..the secret came out. He was!

Unfortunately, that's all Cook got to play. He found out he was the father, had a fight with the step-father, Philip (the replacement, Kyle Brandt), and then was recast!

Brandon Beemer was thrown into the middle of a love triangle and a custody battle. And then started the last version of Shelle, Madison and Beemer.

Interestingly, the custody battle included another recast. When Philip reappeared for the hearing in 2007, Jay Kenneth Johnson, the original Philip, returned to the role.

So, the award for most recasts in a storyline goes to...this one!

If Brandon Beemer can transition into a 7-year supercouple role in the middle of a paternity reveal and still carry the story with the support of the fans... then, I think Guy will be fine.

The key to a recast is keeping the character true. If the new actor doesn't have the same motivation in the scenes, or the same demeanor, or the same chemistry with their scene partners, then the recast fails


The transition must be seamless, so much so that it doesn't seem like a different person.

If the fans don't like it, then it tanks. In the world of soaps, this kind of thing happens all the time, and the fans deal with it. We pretend it has been the same person all along. Like nothing has changed.

Within the two actors, the characters themselves stay the same. Although they may have two different faces, they have one soul.

Shhh...It's a Secret

"I hate secrets." Said Will Horton before he went to testify at his mother's trial. Little did he know that his boyfriend was actually keeping secrets from him at that very moment. More than one, in fact.

Indeed, the award for secret keeping this week goes to Sonny Kiriakis and Chad DiMera. Our friend Sonny is keeping secrets from his beloved partner, both pertaining to the mother of his child. Last year, he discovered that Gabi was responsible for what happened to Melanie and consequently the explosions. He has not, however, told this to Will. And recently, Sonny learned that Gabi was sleeping with Nick. He is also refraining from telling Will this information. Meanwhile, Chad is spinning a secret inside a secret. Chad told Cameron that he had a brain tumor, which he does not. And he has Cameron believing that he is keeping this "secret" from Abigail.

Phew!

Both are participating in the most infamous and yet most popular strategy for soap drama: secret keeping.

In Chad's case, he is manipulating the situation and doing it for his own personal gain. This sounds suspiciously like a DiMera. Oh, wait...

Sonny, on the other hand, is being manipulated by a) Chad so he doesn't go to jail for breach of contract and b) Gabi as she is threatening to leave and take Ari with her. Sonny is clearly also doing it to spare Will's feelings...or so he probably tells himself. It is odd because he says that he hates it, and he knows it's wrong... but he does it anyway.

The worst, the absolute worst thing you can do (on a soap and in life) other than cheat is lie and keep secrets from your partner. When a connection between two people is strong and built on trust, one cannot ever betray that trust, otherwise hellfire will burn the relationship to the ground.

"Will and I do not keep secrets from each other," Sonny said to Gabi.
"Keeping secrets, especially about something this serious is NOT a good way to start a relationship," said Kayla to Chad.
My post on Tumblr inspired this and can be viewed here

Indeed, Kayla was correct. It is never a good idea to keep secrets at any point in a relationship. Yet, so many soap characters do it. And it ALWAYS backfires.

If we look at Chad, he has already lied about falling for Melanie while he was with Abby the first time and that did not end well. Sonny is keeping two secrets currently. However, Will also kept a pretty big one from Sonny--the fact that he was the father of Gabi's baby.

Interestingly, the most popular secrets, and the most dramatic, are paternity secrets. They are very easy to lie about and almost alway cause domestic issues. (which are infinitely fun to watch). When the paternity of a child is called into question it usually will involve a lot of people, thus increasing the number of scenes a show can have. With a bunch of people enveloped in the story, either directly or indirectly, keeping paternity secrets are sure to stir up a lot of drama.

Will has had first hand experience with paternity secrets. His mother instilled in him the art of secret keeping. For even at a young age, Samantha Brady had everyone in Salem either believing her lies or keeping her secrets.

And her secrets continue to this day. To name a few there was: Will's paternity, drugging Austin, all her Carrie-stunts, custody-battle lies, pretending to be Stan, Grace's birth, shooting EJ, sleeping with EJ, and her most recent secrets from her attorney including knowing Bernardi, Will's involvement, Nick's incident, and the video.

Now we know why Will hates secrets.

One of the most well done paternity secrets was the one occurring throughout the year 2010. Chloe Lane slept with two men and had no idea who the father was. We still don't know! (I still believe we don't know the whole story for the explanation was rushed, too easily accepted, and Parker looks like Phil). Read about it in "The Lost Storyline" here

Chloe's paternity secret took the whole year of 2010 and extended into the aftermath in 2011. Her secret kept leaking and springing up more holes. Too many people found out. And that is the reason that it all came crashing down in the most heated baptism ever.

Other secrets, such as the Sydnapping, locking Vivian in a coffin, locking Carly in a coffin, locking Marlena in a basement, and faking a pregnancy because of a miscarriage, are the product of Days drama writing over the years. And this is not even including all of the secrets the DiMera's had.

So, we can safely assume that keeping secrets is the catalyst for dramatic revelations in soap operas. And since our beloved soaps are so thirsty for drama, the characters keep secrets even if they don't want to and know it's wrong. (Or they are a DiMera)

We suspect that Will will soon find out about the Gabi/Nick secret. Chad could possibly get away with his tumor secret for a while longer before Cameron starts digging. Gabi's secret should come out eventually. Although, it possibly already did when Chad found out and gave her grief.

With all of this secret keeping in Salem between Sonny, Chad, Sami, Stefano, Kristen, Marlena, and Nicole, drama is bound to unfold once these secrets are exposed.

Like the law of gravity: what goes up must come down...on a soap opera, a secret must always come out.

It's Ok, 'Cause They're Not Gay.

Has anyone noticed how paralleled the relationships are in Days of our lives?

Every couple is compared to another. Particularly, all the "young ones."

Back in early 2000s, Phloe and Shelle were the two big young storylines.
Just going back a few years, Chick (Chelsea and Nick) was always compared to Stax (Stephanie and Max).
In the last couple of years, Phelanie (Philip and Melanie) was paralleled with Stathan (Stephanie and Nathan).
Last year, Chad and Abby's relationship was played out alongside Will and Gabby's . Both ended...the latter for obvious reasons.

Today, after the whole "gay relationship" has become less of a shocking, radical storyline, the writers are trying to bring back that parallelism. Now with a new gay twist!

Today's episode really played this. To demonstrate the scenes I will use letters (W: Will, G: Gabby, S: Sonny, and T: Tad)
Scene1: ST
Scene 2: WG
Scene 3: WT
Scene 4: SG

I feel like I'm in high school bio learning about DNA configurations!!!!! Tad talks to Sonny. Gabby talks to Will. And then they switch. Classic.

The lovely parallel between Tad/Audrey & Will/Sonny AND between Nick/Gabby & Will/Sonny is very obviously flushed out.

Meanwhile, Abigail, Cameron, and Chad are floating around preparing to be inevitably worked into this too.

It seemed that both "Wilson" and "Nabby" reached that point in their relationship at the same time: sex.
However, only one went trough with it. Any guesses as to which?

The straight couple! Obviously. There has to be one couple who just jumps right in and enjoys basking in the afterglow. And there has to be one that comes so close but some stupid thing gets in-between them and ruins everything.

Interestingly, Nabby has moved faster than the speed of light. Whereas Wilson has been developing for months and everyone is saying "SLOW DOWN!!!"

Coincidence? I think not. People find out about the straight couple and think, "eh." and then drop it. BUT the gay couple: everyone who could possibly be connected must be involved and give their input.

Boy and a girl: "oh, whatever. as long as you are happy."
Boy and a boy: "whoa! stop the presses! be careful! i think....."

Complete double standard. It's funny because Nick is the one with the questionable background (you know, prison). Oh, but let's go after the gay guy who owns a coffee shop!

This is probably how it is in the real world. So, Days gets the award for reflecting reality.

The fight between the guys was well-done in that it was a plausible argument and reflected a dispute that is real and could have happened between anyone. You don't have to be straight to fight about ex-boyfriends! or interfering fathers!

Luckily, the fight will end in a make-up...and possibly make-up sex. Very Days.

One more thing. Ken Corday was not very subtle when he released the spoiler that Gabby with have some big news that will affect Nick, Will, Sonny, Rafe, and Sami.

Hhhmmm. What could it be? Gabby is probably pregnant! She slept with Will for a reason. Now that will allow for some serious parallels!Can't wait for this storyline to unfold!

Until then, Days will keep it real, keeping it unequal.