Chrishell Stause (Jordan) Interview

Having Daniel mention he went to med school with someone named "Ridgeway" was just to show how easily rattled Jordan was (about her past). And to also show how desperately she was trying to fly under the radar.

Actually one time I did follow an actor. I had loved Stephen Schnetzer as Cass Winthrop on Another World so much that when I heard after it was cancelled he would still be playing Cass on As the World Turns, I had to start to watch it.

Stephen Schnetzer also played Julie and Hope's brother, Steven Olson, on Days. (prior to being cast as Cass Winthrop on Another World)

Fans do follow actors. I followed Crystal Chappell (ex-Carly) to OLTL and later GL in the 1990s (after her first Days stint ended). And if someone from Days is in a movie, I will usually make a point to watch the movie.

But the harebrained attempt to cast former ABC actors on Days and then give them NO story just shows how much of a Travesty the show has been the past few years. Even the Melissa Archer (Serena) fan site that I follow online ignores her work on Days. Because it's just ridiculous.

I had a gut feeling, with all the commercials praising Melissa Archer (Serena) coming to Days, that this was probably not going to turn out well. Why? Well, I'll tell you:

1 - they were making far too big a deal about it.

2 - Days has shown that they really know how to undervalue talent, and screw up storylines involving new characters. It's almost like they don't know what to do with them or how to properly integrate them into the hierarchy of legacy characters/families/relationships. Everyone has to know someone already or be from their past or something. It's almost like they only know how to deal with the legacy characters because the backstories are so rich, and the relationships are easy.

I think they actually did something right when they introduced the Hernandez family because they *weren't* tied to anyone initially that they knew from the past, or that they lived on the other side of town. They were *new*. And they didn't bring them all at once. I do wish they hadn't killed off Arianna. And we still haven't seen Mama Hernandez (we just know she exists because the siblings have talked about her).

edited to add character's name - please remember that not everyone knows the real names of the actors who play the various characters - JS

Exactly. They actually introduced Serena with a much stronger backstory than anyone else, but failed miserably to develop her motivations/story after the first 2-3 weeks.

It's simple to introduce a new character: they have to make a friend, make a joke, and make a plot point happen. If Serena had befriended Nicole instead of immediately hating on her, while working to get some sort of DiMera disease cured or something, she could have been a great character. And then they could have had the Fred/diamonds storyline after an initial plot that helped someone else out (cured John's coma, revived EJ, whatever).

It's also a good rule of thumb on soaps to connect characters to two leads. They did a great job connecting her to Eric. Making friends with Nicole (or Paige, as newbies at the hospital, or Anne, or ANYBODY) would have accomplished that.

Same fail with Jordan (more EPIC in its proportions though). They isolated her for her first 200 episodes in a giant room with Rafe, or had her sparring with Kate. Snore.

I hope they have bruises on their backsides from landing on the street when they were booted out the door. LOL

I'll also add that I hate how Anne is used on the show. If Anne likes someone, they are bad. And if she hates someone, they are "good." It's ridiculous, cheap, and a waste of talent.

Agreed. Anne is so one-dimensional. But we have a similar problem with Maxine - we only ever see her in the hospital, she loves Daniel and Jennifer, and dislikes anyone who doesn't like them together. I like that they were making progress by pulling her out of the hospital with Abe, but that seems to have been scuttled.

While I haven't watched in ages, I'll again refer to restraints placed on the writers by the higher ups in regards to who should get airtime and where story should be centered. I'd think that Jordan's introduction was handicapped by obvious attempts to lessen Rafe's airtime and storyline, due to the show's emphasis on "lock, stock and barrel" EJ/Sami. Those characters and that storyline, along with Kristen were where NBC and SONY wanted the show centered and every other story, aside from Daniel and Jennifer suffered.