♥ Home Run 2007 ♥ Note on soap magazine publication dates and content of articles/interviews regarding multiple soap stars: Many of the monthly or every other month (and sometimes quarterly) magazines back in the 1980's would be on the newsstands a long time before the date on the actual magazine. We've noticed, for instance, that DAYTIME TV magazine did an interview with Drake in late 1986 about his upcoming wedding, which was scheduled for December 1986, yet the interview didn't appear until the July 1987 issue several months later. Therefore, it might be a bit confusing to read about his "upcoming" wedding in an interview dated July 1987 when you happen to know he was married in December 1986. We've tried to date the articles to match the date on the magazine, regardless of when the events talked about took place. Hopefully it will make sense as you go along! We've also edited some of the articles/interviews to just include John's storyline, since this is a Drake/John website. We've left out comments and sections about other actors or storylines unless they're involved with John's storyline. This too should be very apparent and clear when we've done that so it makes sense and you don't have to skim through a long article to find the "John parts." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

♥ 2007 Best And Worst... Best And Worst Of 2007: To be honest, some points in this year's meeting left us all a little stumped. How else to explain the shrugs around the conference table as everyone was charged with naming a best couple from each show in hopes of crowning one Best Couple (page sixty-four) overall, or the fact that Best Show (page eighty-one) and Most Disappointing Show (page eighty) were pretty much unanimous, but still required state-of-soaps caveats? Of course, there were also the usual delightful moments - gleeful groans about Worst Recast (page sixty-nine), a few sighs about Biggest Tearjerker (page seventy-nine), no arguments about Best Story (page sixty-three), helpful quibbles about what does and doesn't constitute a Shocking Plot Twist (page seventy-one). One thing to keep in mind as you read (and invariably shake and/or nod your heads at) this year's list? When it comes to the best and worst in soaps, it really is all relative... Worst History Rewrite - The Vendetta, DAYS: Oh, did this story have promise. The source of the Brady/DiMera feud, which has dominated the front-burner for twenty-five years, was finally going to be revealed. Sadly, in the end, it made about as much sense as the DiMeras rising from the dead again and again. Where to start? How about that Sami was suddenly a dead ringer for her great-aunt Colleen, a fact that had never been mentioned before. And, oh, look: EJ was a doppelgänger for Stefano's father, Santo, who was in love with Colleen. Yeah, you could smell the rest coming a mile away. A feud that initially targeted Roman, Marlena and then John somehow became about Sami and EJ, who weren't even alive when it started. Letter reading, flashbacks, André's knife play and organ-stealing compounded the silliness of what could have been a compelling tale. And why does a Sami/EJ union settle the vendetta? We just don't get it... Biggest Waste Of Talent - The Veterans, DAYS: Imagine for a moment that the network that airs your show has announced that it's unlikely they'll pick it up when its contract expires. What to do? Put all of your most popular characters on the front burner in a fabulous story? If you're DAYS, no. Rather than featuring longtime favorites like Deidre Hall (Marlena), Drake Hogestyn (Ex-John), Kristian Alfonso (Hope) and Peter Reckell (Bo), the show was overtaken by the dopey Touch The Sky story and a little place we'd like to forget called Tinda Lau. And when the Fab Four did get airplay, it was to read letters and talk about the show's other big story (the Vendetta, see page sixty-eight) that they legitimately should have been the focus of. All the fan campaigning didn't seem to change the course of DAYS' storytelling and sadly, the ratings have shown what a grave error that was... Biggest Tearjerker - John's Death, DAYS: Perfectly paced, well-written and beautifully acted, John's death and funeral provided DAYS with a much-needed dramatic shot in the arm. Deidre Hall (Marlena), Martha Madison (Belle) and Alison Sweeney (Sami) turned in top-notch performances while doing the unthinkable - bidding farewell to Drake Hogestyn (Ex-John), who was as popular off-screen as on. Belle's agonizing uncertainty about her final words to her father and Marlena's brave front while urging John to close his eyes felt painfully real. Ditto the heartfelt hospital good-byes that roped in other heavy hitters, like Peter Reckell (Bo), Mary Beth Evans (Kayla) and Stephen Nichols (Steve), and glowing eulogies that featured Kristian Alfonso's (Hope) memorable, emotional delivery. (OOPS! This is wrong. Typo alert! This sentence makes no sense. In our opinion it should be "Ditto for the heartfelt hospital good-byes that roped in other heavy hitters, like..." not "Ditto the heartfelt hospital good-byes that roped in other heavy hitters, like...") It was a fitting tribute to a fallen hero. SOAP OPERA DIGEST, 12/11/07