A Look Back - A Mockumentary (Read 3,865 times)

[André DiMera]

Better Than Revenge

SOUNDTRACK
“Better Than Revenge” by Taylor Swift -

“Moonlight Sonata” by Ludwig van Beethoven -

THE STORY
ANDRE DIMERA (Writer): Better Than Revenge was the first story written in a completely different canon than my previous stories. It was first written in 2010, and it was a different type of story. I had wanted to do a sort of Days version of the Stephen King novel Misery, but I changed it around a bit, and instead of being his number one fan, Marlena, who is revealed eventually to be Samantha, wants to torture E.J.

RETURNING CHARACTERS
ANDRE DIMERA: The first person I knew I wanted to bring back was Samantha Evans, Marlena's twin sister. This, of course, meant that I had to come up with a reason as to why she is not dead, because, if I'm correct, we saw her die onscreen. The thing is, I wanted there to be a distinct resemblance to Marlena, but have enough differences so you know it's not quite the real Marlena. And, as much as I love Deidre Hall, I didn't want her to play Samantha. So, I got in touch with her sister, Andrea, and she agreed to come back as Samantha. And then, I wanted to bring back the real Marlena as well as Lucas.
ANDREA HALL (Samantha Evans): I was last on Days around 2001 or so when I played a character named Hattie Adams. I hadn't been Samantha since the early '80s, so it was interesting to come back as Sam. I got to work alongside my twin, which, of course, is always wonderful because I get to see her more than usual. And, I worked alongside James Scott, who is a very good actor. I hope this doesn't sound too horrible, but it was fun to torture him. James played it very well.

STORYLINES
ANDRE DIMERA: At the time I wrote this, I hated E.J.! I really did! So, I wrote this story as a way to bring him down, and reintroduce Samantha to the cast. I also wasn't too thrilled that Sami was with Rafe. Not because I don't like Rafe, but simply because I prefer Sami with Lucas. So, I brought Lucas back and had him and Sami get back together.
BRYAN DATILLO (Lucas Horton): I had had lunch with Allison (Sweeney) a few days before getting the call to come back, and she made a few “subtle” hints that I might be wanted back, and would I be interested. Well, of course I was interested. I love working on Days. It's great! I think it was actually the next day that I got called in. and it was great to be back.
ANDRE DIMERA: I also included my favorite fan-fic character: jkjpatch's Dick Dorkay. And, a big thank you to jkjpatch for allowing me to borrow him. He is just one of the greatest characters ever!
JAMES SCOTT (E.J. DiMera): I got the feeling when I got the script that it might be time for me to go. When I saw the title, I thought “well, what's Sami doing to me this time?” and, it turned out not to be Sami at all. It was her aunt, Samantha Evans. Andrea (Hall) is a great lady, she is every bit as great as her sister. It was an absolute joy working with her.

CLIFFHANGER
ANDRE DIMERA: This story was left on a bit of a cliffhanger. It introduced the underlying threat of something called the Pattern. But, we wouldn't find the answer to what the Pattern is for a few more stories.

[Kpatch]

Oct 14, 2011 8:24:34 GMT -5 André DiMera said:

ANDRE DIMERA: I also included my favorite fan-fic character: jkjpatch's Dick Dorkay. And, a big thank you to jkjpatch for allowing me to borrow him. He is just one of the greatest characters ever!

You're welcome Andre! Dick was just asking me about royalties for appearing in your story. He's such an idiot.

Thank you for the lovely compliment!

I enjoyed the interviews, especially the one with Bryan.

[ghoulgirl]

This has been a fun read. Thanks for posting Andre!

[fluffysmom]

It has definitely been a fun read. Anything with the words Last Blast in it intrigues me.

[ghoulgirl]

It's funny you say that cause I voted for the second one before I read the third one and I had already hit submit and didn't have time to change my vote. That'll teach me for jumpin' the gun!

[fluffysmom]

Yes, it will. LOL

[André DiMera]

Mutual of Salem's Wild Forest

SOUNDTRACK
“You Raise Me Up (Instrumental)” by Josh Groban -

“Victory Celebration” by John Williams -

THE STORY & REMASTERING THE STORY
ANDRE DIMERA (Writer): This story was written in 2009, and a lot of it had to be re-written when I came to MyHourglass. Originally, it was part of a much larger storyline called All Summer Long, but I didn't want to put out all of All Summer Long on MyHourglass. Three of the characters from the original disappeared and their lines were either said by different characters, or just written out entirely.

RETURNING CHARACTERS
ANDRE DIMERA: Almost half of the characters in this story were returning characters. The list includes: Belle, Cassie, Max, Shawn-D, Rex, Chelsea, Abby, Morgan, and Mimi. As I said earlier, this was written in 2009, so Philip, Stephanie, and Mia can't be considered returning characters, as they were all onscreen at the time of writing.
ALEXIS THORPE (Cassie Brady): The Gemini Twins were back in Salem. Eric (Winter) and I always seem to appear on Days together. When one of us leaves, we usually both end up leaving. And, we had a really great time coming back. This storyline was, in my opinion, amazing!
KIRSTEN STORMS (Belle Brady): Jason (Cook) and I were re-united on the set of General Hospital, and then we both got called back to Days at the same time. Jason's a great actor. I love working with him.

STORYLINES
ANDRE DIMERA: I wanted to do a sort of high school/college/young adult summer storyline, as the current high school kids left a bit to be desired. So, I went back to the Last Blast generation, integrated a few of the modern teens, put Brady in to be the leader of the gang, and we were off.
ASHLEY BENSON (Abby Deveraux): Rachel (Melvin), Kristen (Renton), and I had all been on Days at the same time when Abby, Chelsea, and Morgan were in the same sorority in college. And, it was really cool to join Jason (Cook), Kirsten (Storms), Jay (Johnson), and the rest of them. To us, they're legends. I know I certainly watched Days when I was younger, and the Last Blast Teens were the ultimate group of kids during the early part of the new millennium! So, it was amazing to work with them. They are the coolest!
JAY KENNETH JOHNSON (Philip Kiriakis): Working with everybody again was great. It was awesome to see Jason (Cook) and Kirsten (Storms) again. I hadn't seen them since I had left and was replaced by Kyle Brandt. And, it was great to work with the new set of kids, too. We weren't on the regular sets, except for the first and last days, but it was fun not being on the regular sets. We had a great group, and it feels so awesome that I got to work with them!

PREQUEL?
ANDRE DIMERA: One of the interesting, and yet unintentional parts of this story, is that it became a sort of prequel to Dinner With the Family. In the very last chapter, Will and Mia make a comment that they're about to go to dinner at Lucas' apartment. Now, at the time of writing, this was a throw-away line. But, in the current order of stories, this story was sort of become a prequel to the André DiMera trilogy, purely by accident, though.

[Kpatch]

Thanks Andre. I really liked reading Ashley Benson's views of the last blast actors, calling them legends. That was cute.

[fluffysmom]

That was a fun story. Thanks for the behind the scenes info.

[André DiMera]

Don't You Want Me?

SOUNDTRACK
“Don't You Want Me” by the Human League -

“Under the Bridge” by Red Hot Chili Peppers -

THE STORY
ANDRE DIMERA (Writer): This story came to me when I rediscovered one of my favorite characters: Jan Spears. I had liked Jan since the Love Cage storyline, and I really wanted to write a story for her. It started out as a separate story, but it soon became part of the story that began in Better Than Revenge.

RETURNING CAST
ANDRE DIMERA: Technically, Marlena and Samantha can't be counted as returning cast, as they had appeared already in the first part of this new series, Better Than Revenge. However, we had returning cast members in the form of Jason Cook, Kirsten Storms, Drake Hogestyn, and Heather Lindell.
HEATHER LINDELL (Jan Spears): I had wanted to return to Days for a while, but they didn't really have anything for me when I asked them. Then, I got a call from my agent to be in this story as Jan again. Which was great! I loved playing Jan!

STORYLINES
ANDRE DIMERA: The main storyline is that Shawn-D and Belle have returned to Salem, but Shawn-D has been kidnapped by Jan Spears, who has come out of her coma. She then proceeds to think of new and inventive ways to torture Shawn-D. Of course, she doesn't think she's torturing him.
HEATHER LINDELL: I liked playing the crazy side of Jan. And, this time, she was more crazy than she had ever been. She was certifiable, that's how bad it was. But, I got to work with Jason (Cook) again, and he is a lot of fun to work with.
JASON COOK (Shawn-Douglas Brady): The majority of my work on this storyline was done with Heather Lindell. It had been about six years since I had worked with her last, and it was really good to see her again. She did a great job of pulling off the craziness of Jan. Most of what I did for the story was make sarcastic remarks and beg Jan to let me out of the cage.
KIRSTEN STORMS (Belle Brady): It's always nice working with Jason (Cook), but I didn't get to work with him much this time. Which, was fine. I got to work with my TV parents: Deidre (Hall) and Drake (Hogestyn) again. They are two incredible actors.

CLIFFHANGER
ANDRE DIMERA: This story ended on a cliffhanger of sorts. It doesn't quite seem like that when you first read it, but upon re-reading there is a brief cliffhanger. One of the last sentences in the story is: “in a strange way that he [Shawn-D] would never be able to understand, he liked her [Jan]”. This leads nicely on to my next story.

[André DiMera]

Eclipse of the Heart

SOUNDTRACK
“Dreaming of You” by Selena -

“Total Eclipse of the Heart” by Bonnie Tyler -

THE STORY
ANDRE DIMERA (Writer): This was the follow up to my previous story, Don't You Want Me, and I wanted to do something big. I wanted to give Jan a personality change. I wanted the year she spent in prison to change her. Now, I thought about what the consequences of this would be. I wondered if I should even release it. But, my gut told me that it would give the character a new dynamic and, if I could find a way to make Jan a sympathetic character, it might actually work. And, I hope that it did.

RETURNING CHARACTERS
ANDRE DIMERA: The most major returning character for this story was Philip. Like most fans, I was extremely disappointed that the show had allowed Jay Kenneth Johnson to leave. So, when I started writing this story, I thought of an opportunity to bring Philip back.
JAY KENNETH JOHNSON (Philip Kiriakis): As always, working with Jason (Cook), Kirsten (Storms), and Molly (Burnett) was amazing! I love those guys. They're like family to me. So, I had a really great time being back.
ANDRE DIMERA: Now, technically, Jan was already back on the canvas. Everyone from the previous story that I needed for this story had been signed on. So, everything was set, but there was one problem. Because of scheduling conflicts, Heather Lindell wouldn't have been able to tape all of Jan's scenes when I needed her to. So, I had to do some quick recasting, and I ended up casting the actress who played Jan during the Last Blast/High School/Puerto Rico storyline, Heather Lauren Olsen.
HEATHER LAUREN OLSEN (Jan Spears): I hadn't been on Days since, I think it was 2004. But, once I got back on set, it was like I had never left. Jason (Cook), Kirsten (Storms) and Jay (Johnson) were there, just like they had been when I had left. So, it was kind of like a mini-reunion of the Last Blast teens.

STORYLINES
ANDRE DIMERA: When I had finished writing this, I wasn't even sure if I should put this out, mainly because it completely destroyed my favorite couple: Shawn-D and Belle. But, I wanted to experiment with what would happen if Shawn-D was actually willing to be in a relationship with Jan. Again, I didn't know how well it would go over. I didn't know if I should even release this story. But, I did in the end. And, I think, I made for an interesting story.
JASON COOK (Shawn-Douglas Brady): When I got the script, I couldn't believe it. I think I actually walked up to André (DiMera, of MyHourglass)'s office and said, “what the hell is this? You can't do this! It completely destroys both my character and the marriage of Shawn-D and Belle!”. But, he promised me that there would be a pay off, eventually.
ANDRE DIMERA: I do remember Jason (Cook) being a bit frustrated when he first read the script. But, I explained to him what I had planned, and he was alright with it, after he heard what was to come in the next several stories.
HEATHER LAUREN OLSEN: I got to play a very different side of Jan than has ever been shown on the screen before. And, I liked it. Her entire time onscreen, Jan has been evil, twisted, even psychotic. And, I think people sometimes forget that there are reasons why she is like that. Now, please, don't think I'm trying to make excuses for her, because I'm not. There are definitely some situations she's gotten into which have been her fault. Most of them are. But, a few of them, especially the early situations, like Puerto Rico, were not entirely her fault. And, I think that Puerto Rico, getting raped, and then losing her baby is what really drove Jan over the edge. Or, at least, that's my opinion.

CLIFFHANGER
ANDRE DIMERA: So, Jan ends up pregnant and Shawn-D proposes to her. Shawn-D and Belle's marriage is officially over. But, all is not as it appears.

[sportsgirl]

Just love Jason's reaction... he really had to think you were crazy!

[fluffysmom]

I liked the return of Heather Lauren Olson as Jan.

[André DiMera]

Baby

SOUNDTRACK
“Almost Paradise” by Loverboy -

“If Loving You is Wrong (I Don't Wanna Be Right)” by Luther Ingram -

THE STORY
ANDRE DIMERA (Writer): This story continues on from the previous story and sees us through Jan's pregnancy and marriage to Shawn-D. We saw a softer side to Jan in the previous story, and now we see her defend herself against Paul Mendez and finally get the happy ending with Shawn-D that she's been longing for.

RETURNING CHARACTERS
ANDRE DIMERA: The first, and main returning character was Paul Mendez. I had wanted to write a story involving him for a while, and I finally got much chance with this story. Other returning characters included Mia, Tony, and (though she was technically onscreen at the time, so this doesn't really count) Taylor.
TAYLOR SPRIETLER (Mia McCormick): I didn't really have a big part in the story, but I was happy with what I got. I worked with Thaao Penghlis and Chandler Massey again, and those two guys are great. Plus, I love working with André (DiMera, of MyHourglass)!
EDDIE VELEZ (Paul Mendez): Technically, I had returned in a brief, uncredited cameo appearance at the end of Eclipse of the Heart. But, this time, Mendez was back in full swing. It was really good to be back! I think the last time I was on, I taped some flashback scenes with Arianne (Zucker). And, this time, I was working with Heather (Olsen) again, who I hadn't worked with for nearly ten years at the time of filming.

STORYLINES
ANDRE DIMERA: I furthered the relationship of Shawn-D and Jan by having Jan become pregnant and the two of them getting married. I also had Jan become paranoid about what happened to her last baby. I then decided to reveal the mystery man from the end of the last story as Paul Mendez. Then, Tony was added in as Jan's father.
THAAO PENGHLIS (Tony DiMera): It was interesting being Jan's father. As far as I can remember, neither Tony, nor André ever had children on the show. So, it was a different, but nice road to go down.
HEATHER LAUREN OLSEN (Jan Spears-Brady): For most, if not all of this story, I wore pads under my shirt to make it look like Jan was pregnant. The first time I played a pregnant Jan, in 2001, it never really got to the point that I had to wear pads. But, I enjoyed doing it. It was a cool turn for my character, that and the fact that she was being normal.

CLIFFHANGER
ANDRE DIMERA: And yet, not all was right in the world by the end. The man we've come to know and love as John Black confessed that he was actually Roman Brady. Also, there were two strange men in a white room, talking about how hard things are going to become for a certain young lady.
MICHAEL CEREVIS (Man #1): The man that I played was basically the same character that I play on the FOX television show, Fringe. In fact, André (DiMera, of MyHourglass) even told me that my character was based on the Observer. Of course, he couldn't use that name, but I liked playing it. Plus, I got to work in a scene with Leonard Nimoy, and up until that time, I had not been able to act alongside him. And, he is one of the actors that everybody is thrilled to get the chance to work with him. .

[André DiMera]

Adventures in Babysitting

SOUNDTRACK
“Secret” by Reba McEntire -

THE STORY
ANDRE DIMERA (Writer): This is probably the earliest story that I wrote that has been posted on MyHourglass. I say earliest in that it was written in 2009 as part of All Summer Long, a much longer storyline that was written on a different forum. It was posted on MyHourglass until just about (at the time of writing) two months ago. And, this is one of my personal favorites of the All Summer Long story. There is no true returning cast, as Mia was onscreen at the time in which Adventures in Babysitting was written. Therefore, she can't be considered a returning character.

STORYLINES
ANDRE DIMERA: At the time this story was written, Mia and Will were being explored as a couple. I wrote the story that they had already been a couple for a while, and Will was helping Mia get her baby back.
TAYLOR SPRIETLER (Mia McCormick): This was the first official story I taped with André (DiMera of MyHourlgass), and it was really cool. I was still working with most of the same people I worked with on the show. The only real difference was that Sami was of no consequence. In André (DiMera of MyHourglass)'s version of things, the baby switch had never happened, so Sydney really was Mia's baby.
CHANDLER MASSEY (Will Horton): Though I missed working with Ali (Sweeney), I think it was an interesting road to go down, not having Sami being Sydney's real mother. Having Mia be Sydney's mother made a bit more sense. It gave Mia a legitimate reason to want her baby. Sure, in the show, she didn't know that Sydney wasn't her baby until it was too late. But, I think it's really cool the way it was done.
ARIANNE ZUCKER (Nicole Walker): One of my favorite bits of the story was the last chapter. Mainly because, Nicole was finally nice to Mia. I love Taylor (Sprietler), and I'm really glad that we finally got a scene where our characters aren't fighting with each other.
TAYLOR SPRIETLER: In the end, I think Mia made the right choice. As much as she loves Sydney, which she does with all her heart, she really was not ready to have a baby. So, keeping her with Nicole and E.J. was really what's best, and I'm glad that, in this version of events, she was finally able to see that.