♥ Home Run 2008 ♥ 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." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

♥ Critical Mass Hit: DAYS' John Is Back In Action John Black's return as Stefano's brainwashed Pawn initially sounded like a recycling of Drake Hogestyn's 1986 introduction to DAYS OF OUR LIVES. But this story has been filled with enough shocking twists to make it a whole new chess game. It's impossible to take your eyes off the new John. He's meaner, more menacing - and sexier - than his old self. One minute he's flirting with nurses; the next he's in mercenary mode, leaving viewers to wonder if such a mercurial character might actually turn on Marlena or the Bradys. Marlena, meanwhile, has stood by John, determined to bring her husband back. But she hasn't let him play her; Marlena has an intelligence and ferociousness that has been missing for years. Witness how she injected Stefano with a drug that left him a vegetable. Deidre Hall has been absolutely mesmerizing as the vengeful Doc, relishing every second of incapacitating the man who has inflicted so much suffering on her family. And Hogestyn has never been better. The biggest shock came with the reveal that John was programmed to kill Colleen Brady, who was surprisingly still alive. Oh - and she's John's mother! At long last, the real root of the Brady/DiMera feud: Stefano was jealous of his father's love child with a woman who wasn't his mother. Now, that makes sense. John's refusal to kill his own mother gave Marlena and fans hope that they might get their hero back. And this return has shown that DAYS can still play the game with the best of them. Checkmate. Janet Di Lauro, SOAP OPERA WEEKLY, 2/26/08 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

♥ Critical Mass Hit: Days Of Our LOL's Forget supercouples and brain chips. After years of focusing on the same old formula, DAYS OF OUR LIVES has developed a sense of humor, and it's never been more entertaining. It all started with John's brainwashing and subsequent emergence as stand-up comic. His demeanor and one-liners are hilarious, and not just for soaps. His deadpan retort to Marlena's rhapsodizing about the significance of the docks was, "Were we mugged here?" John insisting Rolf lose his German accent has also provided plenty of fodder, as the mad scientist-turned-butler wanders around muttering tongue-twisters. John's banter with Sami and EJ the day they asked to move into the mansion was priceless, too. "The last thing I need is to have a couple of brats running around here - not to mention your children," he cracked, blowing cigar smoke in their faces. John is not the only one garnering laughs in Salem. Tony and Anna's slapstick adventures are a hoot, as was the conversion at the recent Kiriakis dinner party, from Chloe comparing the dysfunctional family to LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE to Victor and Nicole trading barbs. Even stodgy Kate got into the act, dismissing the return of Victor's ex as "what happens when you don't think with your head." Clearly, the-powers-that-be are thinking. Full of sass and pizzazz, Salem is the best place to find a good laugh in the afternoon. Seriously. Janet Di Lauro, SOAP OPERA WEEKLY, 4/29/08 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

♥ It's Only My Opinion Let's praise a few shows for providing light moments in the midst of all the misery on GUIDING LIGHT and GENERAL HOSPITAL, and the basic boredom of some other shows... DAYS OF OUR LIVES is also throwing us the funny with pretty much every scene John is in. "The last thing I need is a couple of brats running around," he snarked when Sami asked if she and EJ could move in with their twins. "Not to mention your children." Good one, John! Rolf trying to lose his accent is a riot, and Chelsea explaining her complicated family tree to Dr. McKasnoff prompted this: "I'm going to have to meditate on that one," he responded. "Actually, medicate." I love how DAYS is going back to the always effective family dinner. Since GENERAL HOSPITAL killed half the Quartermaines, and THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS no longer has the Abbotts to kick around, those raucous soap staples are no longer available to them. But DAYS treated us to the entire Kiriakis clan with hilarious results. "Yeah, we're a regular LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE," chortled Chloe as Victor accused her of killing Brady, and Nicole of trying to kill him. "Now, now," Victor cautioned Nicole. "Claws in." Pass the gravy... Hey. It's only my opinion. Please click HERE if you have any questions or comments for SOAP OPERA DIGEST's Carolyn Hinsey. Carolyn Hinsey, SOAP OPERA DIGEST, 4/29/08 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

♥ Critical Mass Hit: Sami's History Lesson On DAYS Hungry to learn about his real past - not the sugar-coated version Blondie had been feeding him - DAYS OF OUR LIVES' John turned to Sami, who served up his meaty backstory with brazen frankness. Sami told the tale of John and Marlena's great love, leaving in all the unsavory details - like their adulterous tryst on the Titan conference room table, and John's submarine sex with Hope while on his honeymoon with Marlena. Sami seemed to relish filling John in on his imperfect past almost as much he delighted in hearing it. (OOPS! This is wrong. Typo alert! This sentence makes no sense. In our opinion it should be "Sami seemed to relish filling John in on his imperfect past almost as much as he delighted in hearing it" not "Sami seemed to relish filling John in on his imperfect past almost much as he delighted in hearing it.") "It takes the pressure off," he said, admitting he was tired of being depicted as a superhero. Sami was downright vulnerable at times - particularly while recounting how John and Marlena's affair and resulting love child, Belle, had nearly destroyed Sami's father, Roman. That led to how Sami changed her little sister's paternity test and kidnapped her. Sami's confession showed just how far she has come from her bratty teen years. Meanwhile, John soaked it all in, welcoming the truth about his confusing past, chinks and all. As he noted, it certainly was "illuminating" - moreso for viewers. Janet Di Lauro, SOAP OPERA WEEKLY, 6/3/08 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

♥ Applause Applause Drake Hogestyn (John, DAYS OF OUR LIVES): When John confronted his past in the form of Stefano, Santo and his noble former self, it marked the greatest performances of Drake Hogestyn's twenty-plus years on the soap. John encountered visions of the hurt boy he used to be and a young Stefano railing about their ruined family. (OOPS! This is wrong. He didn't meet himself as a boy, just the young Stefano.) Hogestyn stared, shaking his head in confusion. "I'm sorry," John wailed, dropping to his knees. "It was our father's fault." On cue, Santo appeared and pleaded his case, but John snarled, "I don't want to hear your version of the truth," through gritted teeth, then turned away in disgust. When Santo counseled him to be more like his mother, John snapped. "My mother abandoned me!" he yelled, raising his fist as tears filled his eyes. John rejected pleas to accept Marlena's help - until his old self intervened. Hogestyn fluctuated between the two characterizations, keeping Old John relaxed, calm and controlled, while antsy New John wiggled uncomfortably. When Old John scolded his new persona for living in Stefano's mansion, New John mocked him; Hogestyn grinned and salivated while describing his newfound power. But Old John countered: "Life is about love…family and friendship." And it's about Marlena. "That's not who I want to be," John moaned, and Hogestyn's expression resembled a lost boy. When Santo reappeared and embraced his son, begging him not to give up on love, Hogestyn stiffened and backed away. Then a single tear slipped down his face and Hogestyn mustered a small smile, signaling John had gotten the message. DAYS fans got the message, too: Gotta love the Drake! Janet Di Lauro, SOAP OPERA WEEKLY, 9/16/08 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

♥ Performers Of The Week Deidre Hall And Drake Hogestyn (Marlena And John, DAYS OF OUR LIVES): For months, Marlena has been sympathetic, patient and loving where an emotionally void John was concerned. But the recent hospital lockdown had opposite effects on them: she emerged from her near-death experience fiercely independent, where he turned suddenly needy. The role reversal proved compelling during their showdown in her office. "Ever since I realized you were alive, I've done one thing - I focused on you," she explained, with anger in her voice and eyes blazing as she rued the time she wasted with what now seemed like a lost cause. "Helping you get better, helping you grow stronger, helping you remember our life together. I can't do that anymore. It has to be about me now." A befuddled John called her selfish, then noted, "I finally realized how important you are to me." But it was too little, too late as far as Marlena was concerned and you felt badly for John that he didn't understand that. He wouldn't let it go, though, and Hogestyn deftly demonstrated John's conflict. He changed his tone, taking a more gentle approach in manner and voice, yet still acting borderline petulant that he wasn't getting his way. Hall's gaze went from starry-eyed to sympathetic in an "Oh, dear, you just don't get it" kind of way, so he dug deeper, referencing their previous lovemaking at the plane crash site earlier this year. "That's all I was thinking about when you were lying in that hospital bed... 'WOW, I might never feel that with her again.' Or hear your voice, or see your smile. And I just kind of short-circuited," he said softly, tears brimming in his eyes. That did it. Thinking he had truly changed, her walls came down and she began to cry, too. She confessed how alone she felt and he assured her that she wouldn't be anymore. They hugged, and he grinned triumphantly (and mischievously?) over her shoulder in a way that indicated he knew exactly what he was doing, saying the right words to lure her back into his life - and his bed. And it worked. So, has John really changed? We're not too sure, but it took only one episode to make it clear that this fan-favorite duo still has a lot of mileage in their pas de deux. SOAP OPERA DIGEST, 9/30/08