♥ Never Ending Story 1988 ♥ 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." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After Two Lost Loves, Can Roman Find Happiness in Diana's Arms? Can Roman Find Happiness in Diana's Arms? When it comes to finding long-lasting love and happiness, Roman Brady doesn't exactly have the luck of the Irish. His track record in the romance department has always left a lot to be desired. First, there was his first wife, Anna. She was a lovely, innocent young woman when Roman first married her. Then, she suddenly disappeared from his life, only to turn up again years later. But Anna had changed drastically in that time. She'd become devious, manipulative and an incredible schemer. Before long their marriage had ended in divorce. Roman's second love, Marlena, was perhaps the one true love of his life. She was a strong-willed yet sensitive lady, and it wasn't long before Roman fell head-over-heels for her. On the day of their wedding, Roman was sure he'd found a lifetime of happiness. He was sure Marlena was the woman he'd spend the rest of his life with...grow old and gray with. Little did he know at that time how short-lived their union would be. Sadly, only a few years after they exchanged vows, Marlena was tragically killed in an airplane crash, leaving Roman a widower. Roman was devastated. He was certain he'd never be able to get over Marlena's death. He'd never be able to get on with his life. Roman truly believed he'd never find love again and that he was destined to live the rest of his life alone. He'd convinced himself to devote all his time to the Salem Police Department and to raising his three beautiful children: Carrie and the twins, Samantha and Eric. Fortunately, fate had other plans for Roman Brady. Another very beautiful, very intriguing blonde was yet to enter his life. He was destined to find one more chance at happiness. Roman first met news reporter Diana Colville when she came to town to avenge the murder of her fiancé. The twists and turns of this complicated case linked Diana's fiancé's death to Salem's very own Victor Kiriakis. Meanwhile, Roman was busy investigating the evil Kiriakis for another crime. He was certain Victor was somehow connected to the disappearance of an ISA disc that had mysteriously disappeared from agent Shane Donovan's home. Roman and Diana's investigation of Victor took them both to Greece. Together they dodged danger at every curve and squabbled like cats and dogs every step of the way. Diana insisted that she could take care of herself...that she was a strong, self-sufficient woman. But far too often her desire to express her independence got her into deep trouble. She became determined to trap Victor, and what better way but to appeal to his number one weakness - women! Diana began feigning an attraction for Victor. She even went so far as to stay with him in his Greek palace. She'd lead him on...she'd go as far as she had to go...anything to avenge her fiancé's death. Of course, Roman wasn't too pleased with Diana's plan. He insisted on keeping a watchful eye on Diana. And lucky for Diana he did, because Roman got her out of trouble time after time. One day Roman and Diana decided to work together. They followed Victor to a secret meeting with a mysterious dark-haired woman. After their rendezvous was over, Victor left and the dark-haired woman seemed to disappear into a nearby fortress. While trailing her, Roman and Diana found themselves locked in. They were forced to spend the night alone together. It was at that moment that the pair realized something special was happening between them. They couldn't deny the sexual tension between them any longer and made love. Shortly afterwards, though, their moment of happiness came to an abrupt end. Roman became involved in a shoot-out with the dark-haired woman, when he discovered that she - not Victor - had the disc. As she fell to the ground, her wig fell off her head. At that point Diana let out a screeching scream. She recognized the woman immediately. It was her long-lost mother, Serena. As a result of Roman's gunshot, Serena had been left temporarily paralyzed. Then, to make matters worse, Roman insisted on pressing charges against Serena. Diana was furious at him. She begged Roman to have mercy on her poor mother, but Roman would hear none of it. He knew Serena was a conniving criminal, and he vowed to bring her to justice. He vowed to send her to prison. Diana mistakenly believed in her mother's innocence. Desperate to save Serena from a life in jail, she turned to Victor to help. He agreed to pull some strings to get Serena off the hook - if Diana agreed to be his bride. Reluctantly, she accepted his "proposal." When Roman learned of Victor and Diana's engagement, he was in shock. He knew in his heart that Diana loved him. So, why on earth was she engaged to Victor? Once he learned her motives, he decided to take matters into his own hands. Moments before Victor and Diana's scheduled nuptials, Roman kidnapped Diana. He took her away to an old cottage and kept her handcuffed to a bed, hoping she'd finally come to her senses. Although Diana was furious at Roman for what he'd done, she couldn't deny her feelings for him. She did indeed love him with all her heart. Eventually, Diana learned the truth - her mother was a guilty woman. She felt ashamed and betrayed. Roman stood by her through this trying time, as he would through all the trying times in her life. He was there to comfort Diana when her father, Phillip, died. And he assured her he'd be there for her again and again, whenever she needed him. Yet, for some reason, Roman's love wasn't enough for Diana. She continued to seek revenge against Victor Kiriakis time after time, despite Roman's pleas to leave matters to him. He was a policeman, he'd bring Victor down himself. But Diana couldn't wait! Victor had ruined her life in so many ways. He'd been involved in the death of her fiancé and the death of her father; he'd stolen all her money; and he had her blackballed from every newspaper in Salem. Diana was obsessed with getting even. Roman feared that this obsession would be the downfall of his and Diana's love. "You take advantage of my feelings for you," he scolded Diana. "You keep getting yourself in one bad situation after another. You know I'll always be there to save you, because I love you so much. I feel used." Roman's words kept ringing in Diana's ears. She knew how deeply her obsession with Victor Kiriakis had taken its toll on their romance. She knew she had to find a way to make things right with Roman. She had to find a way to win back his trust. She had to find a way to make Roman believe in her again. She loved Roman with all her heart, and she wasn't about to lose him. Diana would find a way to win back Roman Brady. Her future happiness depended on it. Janet Di Lauro, DAYTIME TV, EVERYTHING YOU WANT TO KNOW ABOUT DAYS OF OUR LIVES, 1988 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Salem Sweethearts Love Was A Battlefield For Roman And Diana (Please Note: We always make a conscious effort to arrange all of the articles on BASEBALL MEMORIES AND MALIBU DREAMS according to the issue date on the magazine, but because the soap opera magazines like SOAP OPERA DIGEST (and others) often had a "Pull-Out" section outlining past storylines, we're going to list these articles by storyline instead of by publication date. Even though these articles might seem like they're not organized right because of the date "appearing" to be out of order, they ARE in order but according to storyline.) It was certainly not love at first sight when the man known as Roman Brady (now John Black) met intrepid young reporter Diana Colville. With Roman as the police lieutenant and with Diana out to uncover any story, these two were bound to butt heads from the start - but they couldn't deny there was a certain underlying attraction that kept drawing them together. Roman began to look at Diana in a new light when she risked her life to rescue his daughter, Carrie, when the young girl fell in the river. To show his gratitude, Roman gave Diana a gold charm of a life preserver that she wore on her neck from that day forward. The two soon began sharing passionate kisses, but would not allow their relationship to go any further. When Diana developed a friendship with reputed mobster Victor Kiriakis, Roman warned her of the danger she might be in. As a woman who never liked being told what to do, she didn't listen and agreed to accompany Victor to Greece and stay in his villa when his nephew, Justin, married Adrienne Johnson. Roman also traveled to Greece to investigate Victor's illegal doings and try to bring him down just one more time. While there, he climbed the trellis and snuck in Diana's window and confessed his true feelings for her. The two finally admitted they were in love and consummated those feelings. They snuck around Greece, meeting for romance wherever they could, even at the great ruins of the historic country. Finally, the danger Roman had warned about came to a head during a shoot-out in an abandoned tunnel. One of the people injured was Diana's mother, Serena, whom she had believed for years was possibly dead. Diana blamed Roman for her mother's injuries and everyone returned to Salem. That was when Serena recovered and Diana was able to forgive Roman. He comforted her through the realization that her mother had always cheated on her father, which was what drove him to an affair with her aunt. They moved in together and planned to marry. Diana bought the newspaper, THE SPECTATOR, and Roman was promoted to police commander. Everything looked glorious for the two lovers, especially when his children began to think of her as a mother. But then, Diana's past came back to haunt her in the form of Cal Winters, an ex-serviceman who claimed to be her long-lost husband. Roman couldn't believe that Diana never told him of Cal's existence. She tried to prove that her marriage to him was invalid, but Cal wouldn't let her go. He became obsessed, and Roman had to rescue her from his devious plots against Diana many times. They were highly relieved when he turned his interest to the troubled Kimberly Brady. Still, Diana's relationship with Roman never fully recovered, and when Jack Deveraux bought and practically took over her newspaper, Diana left town, leaving her true love heartbroken and looking for Ms. Right once again. (OOPS! This is wrong. Diana left town because she saw Cal and Roman fighting one evening and it looked like Roman was going to be shot with Cal's gun. Diana went for a gun that Roman kept in a drawer in his living room. Roman only used this gun for protection when he was at home. Diana unknowingly shot Roman in his neck (she thought Cal is the one who shot Roman) and he lapsed into a coma after undergoing surgery to have the bullet removed from his neck. Diana blocked it out, but once the truth came out, she left town because she couldn't deal with the fact that she nearly killed the man that she loves.) INSIDE DAYS OF OUR LIVES, July 1996 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

♥ Exclusive - The Top Ten Survivors... SOAP OPERA UPDATE'S Top Ten - The Greatest Soap Opera Survival Stories: The world of soap opera is a dangerous, treacherous one, where paralysis, plagues, plastic surgery, palimony and poor relations can lurk around every corner. In such an arena, it takes strong, resilient types to weather the storm-tossed seas of daytime and nighttime soap drama. SOAP OPERA UPDATE has compiled for you our choices for the ten soap characters that are proof positive that the strong do survive. Rating Character, Background, Recommendation Show 1. Viki Lord ONE LIFE TO LIVE 2. Rachel Cory ANOTHER WORLD 3. Roman Brady. He can face anything...even a new face! You have to hand it to Commander Brady. Despite years missing from his memory, a new face via plastic surgery, and a beautiful wife who spent months in a coma before being kidnapped by his arch-enemy and then dying in a plane crash, Roman's taken it all in his stride. He was even promoted to Commander despite never seeming to log that many hours in the station house. Recently, he's been plagued by MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE-like nightmares which have put a crimp in his love-life, but don't think it'll slow him down too much. Heck, he may even find out he's not really Roman Brady at all - but don't worry - he'll survive. DAYS OF OUR LIVES 4. Kay Chancellor THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS 5. J. R. Ewing DALLAS 6. Billy-Jack Johnson-Deveraux DAYS OF OUR LIVES 7. Bobbie Meyer GENERAL HOSPITAL 8. Steven Carrington DYNASTY 9. Phillip Spaulding GUIDING LIGHT 10. Eden Capwell Castillo SANTA BARBARA SOAP OPERA UPDATE, 11/28/88