Remembering the Greats of 2008: James E. Reilly

In all honesty, there are instances where I just don’t know how to feel about this man.

After seeing some of the episodes of Days of our Lives with the Marlena possession storyline, I have to admit I enjoyed them, but more for the camp factor. It was hard to take seriously, but it had its interesting moments. However, from what I’ve seen of it, outside of the theme arrangement, 2004’s Melaswen storyline looked just awful, and I don’t feel bad that I missed out on much of it.

And I’m a bit mixed with Passions as well. In 1999, I was furious to find out that Sunset Beach was cancelled, and in its place at 1 PM in Indianapolis was this show, but I found myself getting hooked. But the big problems I had with this show is that the payoff factor wasn’t very high. I distinctly remember more than once that whenever Theresa would think that her ultimate fear had come true and that the man of her dreams, Ethan was leaving her, there were just way too many instances where it or a storyline like that with a big reveal was all a dream, and it would become seriously annoying. And I also remember being a seriously disgruntled Sheridan and Luis fan. The storylines would drag out WAY too long and the dialogue could get really repetitive, and more than so than your traditional soap.

But I did love all the “accidents” that helped Ethan and Theresa eventually come together in the beginning, and although it would have been nice to see Sheridan and Luis be married at least ONE time, I admit I enjoyed it so much when a furious Ivy crashed into the church the first time it was supposed to happen. I enjoyed Tabitha Lenox’s relationship with her doll Timmy (RIP, Josh Ryan Evans). But regardless, of the fun times, in the end I’m not upset that I wound up eventually giving up on this show. The payoff and writing just weren’t that great for me to continue all the way through.

For fans of his work, he’ll be remembered as a legend. For people who were not, he’ll always be remembered for one (or two) of the biggest disliked storylines on Days of our Lives, and Passions, the show that many people hated to see replace Another World (or in some areas, Sunset Beach).