Guide to Days of Our Lives Soap Opera

When the Days of Our Lives soap opera premiered in 1965, critics lauded it for showing ‘contemporary’ American life as it followed the trials and tribulations of the Horton family. The show tackled tough subjects, but overall the family values the show demonstrated is what appealed to viewers. It would blaze trails in the early years as it confronted storylines of artificial insemination, incest and interracial romance. Breaking these television taboos was always done in the course of storyline and character development and never as a ‘stunt’ that is expected in more modern storylines.

The Horton Family

Character studies set Days apart from the competition as the plot explored the fragile mental state of Marie Horton and the rape of Mickey Horton’s wife Laura by his own brother Bill. The triangle of Mickey, Laura and Bill would play out on the canvas for 7 years, but the ripples of that storyline were felt for more than 20 years as their offspring appeared on the show. Another major storyline from the 70s was the love triangle involving Horton daughter Addie, her daughter Julie and their shared paramour Doug Williams. That storyline resulted in the death of Addie in 1974 and the marriage of Doug and Julie in 1976, but not before Addie gave birth to another daughter with Doug and named her Hope. Hope Williams, a legacy character, would prove to be pivotal from the 80s onwards.

The Hortons remained the central family of Days, interacting with other characters only as love interests and points of drama until the early 1980s when the Bradys and the DiMeras were introduced. The Hortons were the middle to upper class family of lawyers and physicians while the Bradys were the salt of the earth, blue-collar family that developed an antipathy for the DiMeras, a wealthy, privileged family that hid many dark secrets.

Storylines

The storylines of Days set it apart form the very beginning with the return of amnesiac Tom Horton, Jr. who returned from the Korean War a very different man. He met and fell in love with Marie, his younger sister. When they were revealed as siblings, the pressure cracks Marie’s fragile mental state and she confined herself to a nunnery.

Later storylines included the romance of Hope Williams with Bo Brady. Their adventures were likened to that of Luke and Laura on rival soap opera General Hospital. A memorable sequence shows them dressing up and dancing on a plantation in New Orleans. Bo’s older brother Roman was married to Dr. Marlena Evans, but was presumed dead at the hands of the DiMeras.

Amnesiac John Black arrived on the scene and through storyline twists it was discovered that he was Roman, his appearance altered by plastic surgery. Thus began a 20-year odyssey that ultimately culminated in the fact that John Black was not Roman Brady, but merely a pawn used to impersonate him, revealed when the real Roman finally returned.

Supernatural

The family atmosphere of the "Days of Our Lives soap opera" took a hit in the 1990s when the show flirted with supernatural storylines including having Marlena Evans Brady being possessed by the devil. The controversial storyline turned away many long time viewers while damaging Days reputation. Soap operas as a whole declined in ratings during the 90s due in part to the advent of widespread cable and satellite television as well as the OJ Simpson trial which aired in lieu of soap operas on multiple networks.

The Modern Days

The show sought to repair this damage as veterans returned to the canvas including Stephen Nichols (Steve “Patch” Johnson), Mary Beth Evans (Kayla Brady), Joseph Mascolo (Stefano DiMera), Kristian Alfonso (Hope Williams Brady) and Peter Reckell (Bo Brady). Currently, Days is expected to run through 2009, but declining ratings and a changing audience have left its future up in the air after that. Days currently airs on NBC during the day and on SOAPnet in the evenings..