Days of our Lives storylines (1990s)
This is a listing of all major storylines from Days of our Lives from the 1980s.
The Cruise of Deception
The story took place aboard the Loretta, an ocean liner commandeered by vengeful Ernesto, and Ernesto's island located somewhere in the Mediterranean Sea. His main purpose in putting together the cruise was to exact revenge on all of his supposed enemies at once. Invited on the cruise were Isabella Toscano (Staci Greason), John Black (believed to be Roman Brady) (Drake Hogestyn), Bo Brady (Peter Reckell), Hope Brady (Kristian Alfonso), Jack Deveraux (Matthew Ashford), Jennifer Horton (Melissa Brennan Reeves), Julie Williams (Susan Seaforth Hayes), and Ernesto's #1 enemy Victor Kiriakis (John Aniston). Ernesto used his love of magic tricks to deceive and terrorize his passengers.
Several key events that transpired during the cruise and subsequent trek to Ernesto's island included: the performance of Ernesto's play "Fatal Passion," in which Victor nearly murdered Roman/John; Jack and Jennifer revealing that Isabella was really Victor's daughter, not Ernesto's, after an affair with Ernesto's wife; Roman/John and Isabella realizing they are in love with each other; Ernesto planting a bomb on board the Loretta; everyone washing ashore on his island; Jack and Jennifer, the show's "supercouple" at the time, making love for the first time; Ernesto slowly poisoning Isabella for accidentally murdering her half-sister Marina earlier in the series; Victor and Julie's first kiss; and Bo double-crossing Ernesto, which in turn led to the shocking climactic ending to the storyline: Hope and Ernesto's supposed deaths during one of Ernesto's "magic tricks" in an explosion while inside a cage suspended over a vat of acid.
Following their rescue from Ernesto's island, the shipwrecked characters return to the show's hometown of Salem, USA to cope with Hope's "death" and move on with their lives following the life-changing events of the story. Eventually, actress Kristian Alfonso returned to the show four years later, and it was learned that Hope Was in fact switched at the last moment before the explosion with an actress, Greta. Ernesto's fate was never revealed.
The Alamain family
That fall, a young doctor, Carly Manning (Crystal Chappell), came to town and was instantly attracted to the grieving Bo.
Carly Manning was revealed to be oil heiress Katerina Von Leuschner, who had been Jennifer's best friend in boarding school. The aristocratic Carly had been promised since birth to marry Lawrence Alamain (Michael Sabatino) and claimed that she didn't wish to. Trying to extract her best friend from an unwanted (and forced) engagement, Jennifer impersonated Carly to break the engagement. Unknown to Jennifer, Lawrence was aware that she was an impostor, but he didn't care. He needed to marry *a* Katerina Von Leuschner to fulfill the Von Leuschener will and gain their fortune and if the real Katerina wasn't available, he'd take the fake one.
Meanwhile, Steve and Kayla were intending to renew their wedding vows when Harper Deveraux escaped prison intent on murdering them. It was Jack who rushed to save Steve and Kayla, begging his father to spare their lives, and—when Harper wouldn't give up his murderous plan—struggling to pull the rifle from his adoptive father's hands, [...] Harper in the process. Steve and Kayla called Jack a hero for his actions, but Jack saw himself as a [...]. Once again Jack pulled away from Jennifer, citing his dysfunctional past as a reason the two could never be together. But for Jack, an even greater tragedy was about to happen that would shatter his world.
Bo Brady had found himself at odds with Lawrence Alamain over Lawrence's illegal corporate activities. To silence Bo, Lawrence hired Nick Corelli to blow up Bo's boat. It wasn't Bo, however, that was on the boat when it exploded, but Steve Johnson. Steve survived the initial explosion and with Kayla, Jack, Jo, and Adrienne at his bedside, he rallied. Only Lawrence, fearing that Steve had evidence of his crimes, hired a hospital employee to poison Steve's IV. Steve was pronounced dead but Lawrence's henchmen swapped Steve's coffin (in order to set up a way to bring back the character at a later date), leaving nothing but an empty grave.
The death of his estranged brother led to Jack finally having the courage to commit to a relationship with Jennifer, but Jennifer was at this point occupied with pretending to be Katerina Von Leuschner and being engaged to Lawrence Alamain. Jennifer stubbornly refused to give up the charade and Jack couldn't figure out why. She never told him that Frankie Brady (now revealed to be Carly Manning's brother Francois Von Leuschner) was being held prisoner in order to blackmail Jennifer into going through with the wedding and fulfilling the terms of the Von Leuschner will.
Jennifer went to Lawrence's bedroom to meet Jack as they had earlier planned, so they could escape through an elevator to the tunnels underneath the villa. But Jack had been forcibly detained by Lawrence's men, and was trapped in a room adjacent to Frankie's. Both men conversed through the wall with neither on of them aware who the other really was. Lawrence showed up instead of Jack and Jennifer tried to talk him out of his suspicious anger at finding her there. She offered him champagne, and then the situation rapidly spiralled out of control. Lawrence seemed to lose his grip on reality and seemed to think that she was really Carly and he forced her back down on the bed and raped her, angry about Carly's abandonment of him years ago.
Jack escape from his prison, but Frankie wasn't so lucky. Jack wandered around looking for Frankie in the grounds outside the villa and finally ran into Kayla, Julie and Shane, all who had come to Lawrence's country in an attempt to get answers about Steve's death and Alice's and Jennifer's whereabouts. Shane informed Jack that he believed Lawrence had killed Steve and Jack insisted on working with them, despite Shane's belief that he would only screw things up for them. Kayla supported Jack by reminding Shane that Jack was Steve's brother and had every right to help.
Jack rescued Jennifer from Lawrence clutches several days later, but she would mention nothing about the [...]. In retaliation, Lawrence blew up his villa trapping Alice Horton, Bo Brady, Carly Manning, Jack Deveaux, Jennifer Horton, Frankie Brady, Kayla Johnson and Shane Donovan in the wreckage. It took them days to dig themselves out.
Still grieving Steve's death, Kayla drifted into a relationship with Shane Donovan (whose marriage to Kim had imploded months earlier). The pairing of these two popular characters was anything but popular, however, and when their contracts expired both actors separately left the show in 1992. Nick Corelli was later killed by an emotionally distraught Jo Johnson (Joy Garrett), in retaliation for Steve's death. Pleading temporary insanity, Jo was made to serve her sentence in a mental institution.
Bo (who was eventually recast with Robert Kelker-Kelly) and Carly's burgeoning relationship grew as Jack and Jennifer's fell apart in the wake of the incidents in Lawrence's home country. Lawrence had followed the Salemites back Salem and continued to torment his many enemies. Jennifer, fearing Jack's reaction, kept the secret of what Lawrence had done to her. Every time Jack tried to get close to Jennifer, she pulled away. She rejeted his suggestion that they live together, inviting Frankie to be her roommate at the loft. Jack began to be suspicious that Jennifer and Frankie were rekindling their love, a belief that was exacerbated by his untimely arrival at the loft when a half-dressed Frankie was holding Jennifer after she had a nightmare about Lawrence. Jennifer vehemently denied any interest in Frankie, but Frankie was still in love with Jennifer and Jack knew this. He didn't believe that Jennifer wasn't starting to remember her feelings for Frankie and he continued to operate under the suspicion that once again, he was being deceived by the woman he loved. Desperate to save what he had with Jennifer, he kept begging her to share with him what was wrong with their relationship.
He asked her to marry him, something that Jennifer had once feared would never happen given his past with Kayla and Melissa, but Jennifer had no choice but to turn him down for now. She begged him to just give her time to work things through. Jack came back later on down her chimney dressed as Santa, and told her that Mr. Deveraux had begged him to plead his cause. Touched by this amount of love and romanticism, and touched also by the fact tha Jack was opening his heart up to her, Jennifer agreed and things seemed to be back on track.
Then, Jack asked Jennifer to go away with him for New Years and she turned him down, telling him that she had no choice but to cover the new years benefit for work. Jennifer's boss disabused him on the notion that Jennifer had been forced into covering the benefit and Jack began to become even more suspicious of Jennifer and Frankie. A suspicion that was being fanned into flames by Eve Donovan, who also believed that Frankie was drifting back to Jennifer. Jack furiously confronted Jennifer at the loft, backing down after she broke into a panic at his anger.
Jack tried to get her to go away from him by showing up at work one day and telling her he had arranged it with her boss and packed her bags. Jennifer consented to go with him, but once at the cabin she began to withdraw into herself. Jack put his emotions on the line and he kept begging her to work with him to save their relationship. In a desperate move, he kissed her hard, trying to remind her of how great things had been between them and that triggered flashbacks which caused her to slap him and then call him a [...].
Jack was immediately devastated and he recoiled from her when Jennifer desperately tried to apologize. He bitterly told her that she shouldn't apologize for telling the truth. He is a [...]. He had raped Kayla. He'd always known that he was unworthy of Jennifer, and now Jennifer realized it too. Jennifer kept pleading with him to understand but Jack couldn't see that Jennifer was going through her own trauma because he was still caught up in his own.
Both heartbroken, Jack called off their engagement. Jennifer refused to remove her ring off her finger, forcing him to do it for her. Jack insisted it was now time for them to go their separate ways, and Jennifer still kept trying to find a way to fix things. She was still unable to tell him what happened because she believed based on his past behavior with her that if he knew, he would never be able to be in a relationship with her again.
Meanwhile, Lawrence was enjoying his time in Salem, tormenting his enemies as the writers established Lawrence as the new main villain of the series. In particular, Lawrence sought to gain ownership over the Spectator just to spite Jack - a move which mirrored Jack's own hostile takeover of the paper just a few years earlier. In order to stop that from happening, and because he believed Jennifer had fallen back into a relationship with Frankie, a heartbroken Jack married Eve Donovan (Charlotte Ross) so that they could inherit Nick's fortune. This resulted in a brief but widely popular arc where Jack and Eve were forced to pretend to be a loving and utterly devoted couple in spite of their obvious disdain for each other.
After Frankie urging Jennifer to tell Jack the truth about what was really going on, Jennifer finally confessed the truth about Lawrence having raped her, which led to more angst for Jack over whether or not Jennifer would be able to love Jack now that she had been a victim of [...] as well. The [...] revelation made him view himself as a mirror image to Lawrence; though with Lawrence, Jack saw what he could have been, had Jack never abandoned his evil ways and sought redemption for his villainous misdeeds. This was made clear when Jennifer insisted that she still loved Jack despite his dark past and could no longer imagine life without him by her side.
Eventually, Jennifer pressed charges against Lawrence. This forced Jack to come full circle with what he had done to Kayla as Lawrence discovered and sought to use Jack's own history of [...] against him, culminating in a fight between the two in Jennifer's loft. Fearing his own loss of control and desperately seeking that Jennifer receive justice for what had happened to her, Jack committed himself to seeing that Lawrence did not escape punishment for his crime.
This led to Jack and Kayla gaining a level of closure towards their own past together, as Kayla forgave Jack for raping her, though Jack continued to feel guilty over the way he had denied that what had happened was [...]. This led to a tense moment on the witness stand, as Lawrence's attorney goaded Jack (called to the stand as a hostile witness for the defense) by saying that Lawrence didn't [...] Jennifer, just like Jack didn't [...] Kayla - as both couples were married at the time of the incidents. Pushed to the edge, Jack yells out that he did [...] Kayla, just like Lawrence raped Jennifer.
As the trial drew to a close, Shane Donovan feared that the jury would acquit Lawrence and controversially took matters into his own hands via recording a conversation between himself and Lawrence with Lawrence admitting to raping Jennifer. While the tape could not be admitted into evidence (as it was illegally obtained), fear of it being leaked to the press was enough to blackmail Lawrence into accepting a plea-bargain for 3rd degree marital [...].
With Lawrence temporarily defeated, Jack and Jennifer reunited in the wake of the trial and finally married in a wild-west rodeo themed wedding.
John Black
Meanwhile Isabella and "Roman" (John) grew closer and Isabella became pregnant just as "Roman's" wife, Marlena Evans returned from the grave. Marlena's death had been faked, and she had been the prisoner of Stefano DiMera. If that twist wasn't enough it was then revealed that Roman Brady (Wayne Northrop) was still alive meaning that the Drake Hogestyn Roman who had been in Salem for the last half of the 1980s wasn't Roman Brady after all. Returning to the name "John Black", John found himself confused as to who he was. Isabella said it didn't matter to her. She knew the man, not the name, and she loved him anyway. On the day that their son, Brady Black, was born, John and Isabella were married. Unfortunately, poor Isabella was soon diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. And on the evening that Abigail Deveraux (Jack and Jennifer Deveraux's child) was born, Isabella quietly slipped from life while held cradled in her husband's arms.
The behind the scenes reason for such a massive swerve in story was that the producers had approached Deidre Hall about returning to the show in the role of Marlena. Hall agreed to return only if the producers also brought back her close friend Wayne Northrop in the role he originated, Roman Brady. The producers were interested but knew quite well that Hogestyn was extremely popular with viewers and they couldn't just fire him. However, since Hogestyn's Roman had moved on to Isabella, a compromise was struck: Northrop returned as Roman, who had been held prisoner by arch-villain Stefano DiMera for seven years, and it was revealed that Hogestyn's character, John Black, was one of Stefano's mercenaries who had his memories taken from him and was brainwashed into thinking he was Roman as punishment for betraying Stefano (as well as a means of carrying on Stefano's favorite hobby—the continual torment of the Brady family).
In fairness to the writers and producers, it should be noted that the idea that Hogestyn's character was not the real Roman Brady was nothing new; various magazine articles in 1988 hinted at the idea during a story arc that involved the return of Stefano and explored what really happened to Roman during his 2 years in Stefano's custody. One idea floated in the press at the time centered around the possibility of Hogestyn's character actually being one of Stefano's unknown sons. However, this was never fleshed out and the storyline concluded with a fairly clear resolution that Hogestyn's character was truly Roman Brady who had been captured by Stefano, given a new face via plastic surgery, brainwashed into believing he was one of Stefano's assassins (but not successfully to the point where he actually assassinated anybody), accidentally caused an explosion that caused the deafness of Stefano's son Benji Hawk, and was found by the ISA but abandoned again when its other agents in Stefano's organization were discovered and killed. Roman remained in Stefano's clutches until Stefano went into hiding during one of his faked deaths, and Roman was auctioned off to Victor Kiriakis as "The Pawn".
Nevertheless, the return of the "real" Roman was particularly amusing to fans who paid close attention to the obvious physical differences between Northrop and Hogestyn, and wondered how anyone, particularly Marlena who had been married to (and slept with) both men, would readily accept one in place of the other. Hogestyn was taller, darker, hairier, had straighter hair, and was right-handed, in contrast with the shorter, fairer-skinned, smoother, curly-haired, left-handed Northrop. It was also apparent that Hogestyn was either a few years younger than Northrop, or it was just that being cooped up in Stefano's prison for 7 years had caused Roman not to age quite as well as his Salem-bound counterpart.
Through many different writing regimes, John's past would change considerably. He is, to date, quite possibly the most continually rewritten character in the history of television. His character has been retconned at least 6 or 7 times over the period 1986-2008. First it was revealed that he was a member of the wealthy Alamain family, and then he was a priest who Stefano's mistress confided in. Eventually it was revealed that John was a mercenary, con artist, and jewel thief who worked with Gina von Amberg, a royal princess who was a con artist like her lover on the side (and who, like Hope Williams, was portrayed by Kristian Alfonso). Years later it was rewritten yet again that John was actually the illegitimate son of Daphne DiMera, Stefano's deceased common law wife and Alamain sister, and an as-yet-unrevealed father. By 2008, John's origin was re-written once again and he was revealed to be Stefano's half brother and the secret love child of Santo DiMera and Colleen Brady, Ryan Brady. Before all of these various revisions, Marlena reunited with the real Roman while John and Isabella were together.
Much had changed since Roman was last in town, and he struggled to fit into the canvas. Meanwhile, John and Isabella's happiness was short-lived, as Isabella was given fatal pancreatic cancer to accommodate the exit of Staci Greason when contract talks broke down because the actress demanded too much money. After dealing with his grief, John began a controversial affair with Marlena, which culminated with Marlena and Roman's daughter Sami (Alison Sweeney) catching them having [...] on a conference table at Victor Kiriakis's new Titan Industries office building. When she became pregnant as a result of this fling, she believed the child to be Roman's and was aided in this belief by Sami, who altered a paternity test to make it appear that Roman was the father. Ultimately, Sami was exposed after kidnapping and attempting to sell her younger sister Belle (named for the late Isabella Black). Unable to forgive Marlena, Roman fled town in disgrace at being cuckolded by John. The scandal would force Marlena to raise Belle alone while John found comfort with a new arrival in Salem, social worker Kristen Blake (Eileen Davidson). Sami, meanwhile, never forgave Marlena and John (who Sami considered a second father) for betraying Roman like they did, with the incident triggering a serious turn to the dark side for Sami.
Buried alive: the James E. Reilly era begins
In 1993, the show began to drift towards more supernatural storylines with the hiring of new head writer James E. Reilly. One of his first major storylines was to have Carly Manning buried alive by John and Lawrence's insane aunt, Vivian Alamain (Louise Sorel). The show shot up in the ratings as NBC heavily promoted the storyline with lurid commercials showing actress Crystal Chappell in a coffin screaming while Louise Sorel laughed like a mad woman while lying on top of Carly's grave. With ratings at a high level, Reilly decided to fire several popular actors who Reilly had disliked; most notably Matthew Ashford, Michael Sabatino, and Crystal Chappell. Carly and Lawrence's complicated and often adversarial relationship ended up turning to love in a rather rushed storyline where they reclaimed Nicholas, the child that they long believed dead from Vivian. The happy family ended up leaving town for a life together in Europe. Jack Deveraux meanwhile would not get a happy send-off; Jack was controversially written out of the series so that Reilly could pair Jennifer up with a newly created character of his named Peter Blake (Jason Brooks), who was a mob boss and Stefano DiMera's adopted son. Jack fled his wife and newborn daughter Abby after Abby recovered from cancer, after it was publicly exposed that Abby's illness was caused by toxic chemicals Jack (while working for his adopted father Harper as a teenager) had ordered dumped near where the couple lived.
Carrie and Austin and Sami and Lucas
Reilly also began to fill the show with new young actors to help promote the show to younger viewers. Besides Carrie (Christie Clark, who had been a cast member of the show since she was a little girl), there was her half-sister Sami Brady (Alison Sweeney). There were also two dysfunctional half-siblings Lucas Roberts Horton (Bryan Dattilo) and Austin Reed (Patrick Muldoon). Lucas himself was the offspring of a relationship between his mother Kate Roberts (Deborah Adair, Lauren Koslow) and Bill Horton, retroactively inserted into Days canon as the event that caused Laura Horton to have her nervous breakdown. Austin and his sister Billie (Lisa Rinna) were children of a previous marriage of Kate that had ended in Kate having to abandon her children to an abusive father. Austin was a boxer whose budding romance with Carrie suffered after a mobster threw acid in her face (Austin was the intended target).
Reilly quickly created a love "rectangle" between Austin, Carrie, Lucas, and Sami that would borrow from previous love triangles, most notably the Bill/Mickey/Laura triangle from the early 1970s. Carrie was a very attractive young woman who had to endure the manipulation and lukewarm relationship of her jealous sister, Sami. At one time, Sami was infatuated with a young man named Alan, but Alan wanted Carrie and had planned to [...] her. When he was unsuccessful in this, he instead raped Sami. She eventually shot him in the testicles, effectively castrating him. Carrie convinced Sami to press charges against Alan but when Sami lost in court, she sank further into manipulative and self-destructive behavior. Austin showed her kindness and she then became obsessed with him. Sami drugged Austin and seduced him, only to run from his house the next morning when Austin told her he would only love Carrie. She ran to Lucas's arms, and they slept together in an effort to get over their mutual heartbreak over Carrie and Austin's relationship, as Lucas also wanted Carrie. With help from Vivian, Sami convinced Austin he was her baby's father and attempted to get him to marry her. The truth about Will's paternity came out, resulting in a wedding for Carrie and Austin. Lucas declared his undying hatred for Sami for not telling him he was in fact Will's father, as he had longstanding issues with his own absent father.
The role of Austin was recast mid-way through the storyline. Patrick Muldoon played Austin but left the show and Austin Peck became the new Austin Reed. The recast took place between episodes where Austin and Sami were married.
The Bo, Hope and Billie love triangle
Then Hope (Kristian Alfonso) returned from the dead, only she had amnesia. While there were lingering questions as to whether Hope was really Hope or Gina, another impostor created by the DiMeras, Bo continued in his relationship with Billie. They married. However, when Robert Kelker-Kelly was fired and replaced by Bo's originator Peter Reckell, there was an emotional shift in the story as the writers decided to reconcile Bo and Hope. Hope was revealed to really be Hope and it was only a matter of time before Bo and Hope reunited and Billie left for Europe. Later, Billie (Krista Allen) returned to the show and made trouble for Bo and Hope. In a convoluted plotline that involved Bo leaving Hope as part of an undercover operation, Bo was forced to make love to Billie, who was captured by [...] dealers who rehooked the former addict onto drugs.
Billie became pregnant, but the child, Georgia, was apparently stillborn, ending their relationship as Bo and Hope reconciled again
Return of Tony DiMera
Tony DiMera (Thaao Penghlis) returned under Reilly's pen in 1993 to take care of an ill Stefano and to marry his longtime sweetheart, Kristen. Tony had reconciled his differences with Stefano during their absent years from the show. Tony was now portrayed as a protagonist, who wanted to legitimize the DiMera business. After a few mishaps, Tony was able to marry Kristen but she ultimately left him for John, resulting in Tony faking his own death and making it look like John had murdered him. [In 2007, however, it would retroactively be determined that Tony's 1993 return to Salem was really the return of his dead 'identical' cousin, Andre DiMera, once again impersonating Tony. Andre would pretend to be Tony until the real Tony returns in 2007.]
Mike Horton: Returns Again
Mike Horton moved back to Salem and next door to Marlena Evans, having recently returned from the Middle East where he worked for a medical relief agency. Unfortunately, Mike's return came at the same time that the relief agency he worked with was busted for smuggling explosives into the region (Mike wasn't involved in the smuggling plot but due to his high ranking position inside the agency, was terrified that the scandal would ruin both his reputation and that of the Horton family if his involvement in the scandal ever became public). Stefano knew about this and one day showed up at Mike's door and threatened to expose Mike's unwitting involvement in the smuggling ring to disgrace the Horton family name, if Mike didn't give Stefano regular access to his apartment. This storyline was dropped in favor of Mike becoming Salem's all-purpose doctor at University Hospital. Mike slowly developed a life that included more than just helping his family and saving lives. Mike helped his childhood friend Carrie Brady work through her troubled relationship with Austin, who was married to her half-sister Sami at the time. Mike’s feelings for Carrie intensified but she reunited and later wed Austin despite Mike’s gentle urging against it.
Mike eventually revealed his feelings to Carrie after they kissed for the first time underneath fireworks at the July 4 Horton-Brady picnic in 1998. Despite this, Carrie helped Mike with his campaign to become Chief-of-Staff at University Hospital. Mike won despite facing his Dr. Craig Wesley and his wife Nancy (played by Kevin Spirtas and Patrika Darbo, respectively). Craig and Nancy made Mike’s his life hell and tried to use Mike’s secret love for the married Carrie Brady against him. When Mike won the position Craig and Nancy schemed to replace him and pushed Nurse Ali McIntyre (played briefly by Carrie Genzel and then Lisa Linde), with home Mike had a brief relationship, into suing Mike for [...] harassment. Ali was disgruntled that Mike did not make her head nurse and then later broker her heart when Mike dumped her. Ali’s obsession with Mike grew deeper and more dangerous leading a critical moment where she tried to kill Mike be driving him off a cliff. Ali was institutionalized but the ordeal had brought Mike and Carrie closer together. After months of fighting their feelings for each other, Mike and Carrie had an affair (on a flying bed) in Las Vegas while she was still married to Austin. Austin and Carrie’s marriage broke down and she and Mike eventually got together and the rode off into the sunset. Years later it was revealed that Carrie and Mike’s love would not last; he remained off screen in Israel with his son Jeremy and Carrie eventually reunited with Austin in Salem.
Enter the devil and the OJ Simpson trial
Stefano was now turning taking extreme measures to try and force Marlena to love him, leading to him casting a spell (one that required Stefano be in close proximity to Marlena) that would brainwash Marlena into loving him. Unfortunately for Stefano, he utterly failed to realize what dangerous forces he was involving himself in and instead of brainwashing Marlena, he instead accidentally offered Marlena up to Satan, who promptly possessed Marlena. Marlena, now under the devil's domination, tormented local churches via mass acts of vandalism and nearly killed Stefano and John Black before being subdued. Afterwards began a lengthy "exorcism" storyline that coincided with the retcon that John Black was a priest, leading to John being forced to perform the lengthy ceremony to save Marlena from the devil's clutches.
The demonic possession storyline was extremely controversial, as many fans and critics began to turn against Reilly's writing for taking the show into a direction that was more supernatural-based than reality-based. But the storyline, which gained mainstream attention from the media for its lurid twists (such as Marlena floating in mid-air), was a ratings goldmine for NBC. Adding to this was the fact that the possession storyline ran at the same time as the O.J. Simpson [...] case, when the big three networks all preempted their soap line-up so as to devote the time for coverage of the real life trial. The fact that Days, with this controversial storyline, could keep its ratings high while suffering from multiple hiatuses helped solidify Reilly's power base with network executives.
The Jennifer, Jack and Peter love triangle
Writers were not satisfied with the Jennifer Horton and Peter Blake pairing and decided to recast the role of Jack Deveraux and bring him back to Salem to seek to reclaim his family from Peter Blake's grasp. Now played by Mark Valley, Jack's return was added to the metatext-esque storyline of Jennifer's mother Laura's (now sane and played by Jaime Lyn Bauer) utter disapproval of Jennifer's relationship with Peter. Laura was suspicious of Peter and desperately wanted to expose his villainy to her daughter, so Peter had Laura's office painted with toxic chemicals to send her around the bend and make it look like she had suffered another nervous breakdown. Rather than force her mother back into a mental institution, Jennifer sent Laura to a mental health spa where Laura had a one night stand with Jack. They had no idea of the other's identity as Jack had never met Jennifer's mother before. They were using assumed names and in spite of wanting to see Jack and Jennifer reunite, Laura was torn with her own attraction to her former son-in-law.
A monkey wrench was thrown into the now love rectangle story when Melissa Reeves quit the show in the fall of 1995 without advance notice, amid rumors that Melissa Reeves had begun an affair with co-star Jason Brooks and had quit the show in order to try and salvage her marriage.
The result was the recasting of the role of Jennifer with look-alike Stephanie Cameron, along with a brand new recast of Jack (Steve Wilder) when Mark Valley's contract was not renewed. The Jack/Laura relationship was quickly dropped and the writers rushed a quickly reconciliation between Jack and Jennifer, just as Stefano faked Peter's death and framed Jack for the [...] (in truth, Peter had gone insane and gained super-strength due to a rare tropical illness he had contracted -- the Jungle Madness).
After a year of sporadic appearances while working with a traveling circus, Jack and Jennifer cleared Jack's name and exposed Peter as being alive. Peter was promptly arrested at long last and the characters of Jack, Jennifer, and Abby left the show for Africa in 1998.
Aremid
Another big storyline was the Aremid storyline. Aremid was a town not too far from Salem, and Stefano DiMera convinced many Salem Residents to visit this small, creepy town. Many Salem Residents were first brought to this town to attend Jennifer Horton and Peter Blake's wedding. Also, during their visit, Kristen Blake schemed to win John Black's love, but he still loved Dr. Marlena Evans. Next, Dr. Lexie Carver looked into her past and discovered the people she had thought were her parents were not her birth parents. That in truth, the woman she called "Aunt" Frankie was her mom, Celeste Perrault - Stefano's Call-Girl many years ago. However, Celeste wanted to keep her father's identity a secret (Her father was no other than Stefano DiMera, and he did not even know he had a daughter). Next, a jealous Andre (posing as Tony) faked a [...] but made it look like John Black had killed him. John went on trial for Tony's apparent death and was found guilty of [...]. He was sentenced to die in the gas chamber. However, during the trial, Marlena Evans did some searching and found Tony's (Andre's) diary containing tha plans for his [...]. Marlena brought the diary to the death chamber and proved John's innocence just in time. The climax of this trip was when Hope was "killed" in an avalanche in the nearby mountains. After these events, many Salem residents left Aremid. Curiously enough, AREMID is DIMERA spelled backwards.
The Paris Adventures
Another big storyline was the Lady in the Cage storyline. Stefano kidnapped Marlena and kept her in a golden cage in the catacombs of Paris. John Black's trial resumed in 1996 and Peter Blake put Kristen Blake on the stand. Kristen admitted to the court that she believed that John killed her husband, Tony DiMera. John was sentenced to death because Stefano blackmailed the judge. The death sentence was to be carried out immediately. On the night of John's execution, Stefano dined with Marlena Brady at the Blake House. Marlena managed to get Tony's diary and give it to the Woman in White. The Woman in White dropped it on the way to the courthouse, but Jack Devereaux found it and got it there in time to save John from the gas chamber. Meanwhile, Marlena told Stefano that she knows he ordered John's death sentence and she hates him. Stefano abducted Marlena and tried to make his getaway, but Celeste followed him and demands he take her too. Stefano refused, so Celeste tells him that Lexie is his daughter, in hopes of staying with him. Stefano escaped with Marlena into some underground tunnels below Aremid. Lexie tried to reason with her father, but he and Marlena are lost in a cave in. Stefano managed to escape to the ocean, but John rescued Marlena. Stefano escapes via helicopter and vowed to return for Marlena.
Stefano returned to Salem like he vowed. He arranged for Jonah Carver to return to Medical School to please his daughter, Lexie. Stefano contacted Kristen and asked her to help him kidnap Marlena. Kristen refused to at first, but after learning that John loved Marlena more she agreed to help. Kristen gave Stefano the plane number that Rachel and Marlena would be flying to San Francisco on. Stefano told Kristen that he would return her mother to her later. Unfortunately, the police got tipped off that Stefano was back in town and his plan to kidnap Marlena was foiled. Stefano forced Vivian and Ivan to help him flee Salem.
Marlena and Rachel made plans for another trip and Marlena gave Kristen a list she was to obey. Kristen was not to sleep with John and she was not to wear his engagement ring. Stefano arranged for himself to be captured, so it appeared that Marlena and Rachel were safe to fly to San Francisco. After their plane took off, John learned that the man they captured was wearing a latex mask. Upon searching the DiMera Mansion they found Rachel Blake bound and gagged. Stefano, disguised as Rachel, had snuck onboard the plane with Marlena. Stefano faked a plane crash which convinced Salem that Marlena and Stefano had both died.
Stefano took Marlena to some caverns below Paris which he ruled as King and he intended to make her his queen. Marlena became deeply depressed and a doctor told Stefano that if she wasn't cheered up soon she could die. Stefano produced a set of goggles that allowed the person wearing them to view people who were dear to them. Marlena was able to see John and her children though these goggles. However, Stefano learned that the other set of goggles he had left in Salem were being used and realized John was the one using them. In the Paris underground, Marlena began to write things in a daily journal. Stefano planted a bomb in the warehouse where the second set of goggles were in order to kill John. The plan failed, but Stefano convinced Marlena that John died in the explosion. Stefano agrees to let Marlena out of the cage and takes her to a street carnival where they are spotted by Vivian and Ivan. Upon learning John was in Paris, Stefano sent a forged fax from John to Kristen and Rachel asking them to come to Paris.
John realized that Stefano is holding Marlena prisoner in the Paris underground. To lure him out, John set up a huge ball, where Marie Antoinette's crown would be displayed. John knew that Stefano would try to steal it for his "Queen" Marlena. John also knew that if Stefano follows the game, Marlena would show up wearing a gold gown. Unfortunately, Stefano anticipated this. Stefano took Marlena to the ball, but he arranged for many women to be dressed exactly like Marlena. John, Kristen, Abe, Lexie, and John's French cop friend Renee combed the ball looking for Marlena and each had a mini TV set that was hooked up to many cameras at the ball. Marlena and Kristen came face to face and they argued. Marlena ran off and eventually found John. Unfortunately, Stefano stabbed John with a needle and [...] him off while Kristen watched. Stefano also managed to steal the crown by having someone impersonate Renee.
In the Paris Underground, Stefano put John on trial for his crimes against him. John was found guilty and was sentenced to be executed by beheading. Marlena attempted to stop the execution, but failed. Luckily, Vivian and Ivan were searching for Stefano and managed to free John from the guillotine he was in. John and Marlena ran for the tunnels and Stefano pursued them. Kristen decided to find the Paris Underground to try and save John and her mother, Rachel, insisted on going. An explosion in the underground buried Kristen and Rachel, but Abe and Lexie managed to save them. They all searched for John and Lexie. When they found him, John had a gun and was holding it on Stefano. Marlena was hurt during the explosion and John gave his gun to Rachel to hold on Stefano so he could carry Marlena. Stefano managed to escape and Rachel followed him. Rachel and Stefano ended up near a gas tank. Rachel, knowing the consequences, shot at Stefano. The tank exploded and Stefano and Rachel were presumed dead.
Kristen, Susan and Marlena
One of the other memorable storyline was Kristen Blake's character played by Eileen Davidson. In the storyline, Kristen found herself pregnant by John Black who impregnated her when he thought Marlena was dead. When Marlena returned from the dead, John went back to Marlena and Kristen suffered a devastating miscarriage. In an attempt to keep John she paid a pregnant woman named Susan Banks to impersonate Kristen. Kristen (actually Susan) told John she was pregnant with his child and if he left, she would have an abortion. John thinking she was really carrying his child stayed with her. Marlena questioned Kristen's Pregnancy and did some investigating and realized that Kristen was actually Susan Banks - a former call-girl of Stefano DiMera and the baby she was carrying was actually Stefano, not John. When Marlena treated to expose the truth, Susan locked both Kristen and Marlena in one of the DiMera's secret rooms in the mansion releasing a poisonous gas. While Kristen and Marlena were dying of the gas, Kristen (Susan) and John were getting married in the DiMera's backyard in an Elvis style wedding. At the reception, Susan's teeth that she used for her disguise fell out of her mouth and revealing the truth. John demanded Susan to tell him where Kristen and Marlena were but she refused. With Abe, Roman and Shane's help, John managed to find the two women a few minutes later. When the two women woke up, Kristen confessed to everything and John and Marlena reunited. Kristen was angry and after the wedding wanted revenge - after losing John, Kristen went insane and with the help of Vivian Alamain killed Susan Banks' sister - who was thought to have been Kristen. Months later, Susan gave birth to Elvis Jr., however she did not tell Stefano about the birth and with the help of her dear friend and soon to be husband, Edmund, she left Salem for England to start a new life. When Susan found out that Kristen had killed her sister, she kidnapped Kristen and forced her to write a letter saying she left Salem. Afterward, Susan and Edmund took her to a small desecrated island in the Caribbean and left her there. It is implied that she is still there, but she probably died on the island. Edmund and Susan and Elvis Jr. moved to England to start a new life. However, Elvis Jr. came back to Salem in 2006 as British race car driver, EJ Wells who embraced his evil father, Stefano and helps him in his devious plans.
Sami on Death Row
1999 was a tough year for Sami Brady. She was embroiled in a bitter custody battle with Lucas and struggling to find love and acceptance. When her relationship with Austin took a turn for the worse, she turned to Franco Kelly for comfort and support. Franco took advantage of her vulnerability and saw it as a perfect chance to get his green card. He proposed marriage and she happily accepted. Kate, however, knew about Franco's plans and tried to expose Franco as a con artist. Franco attempted to permanently silence Kate but Lucas fatally shot him before he could kill her. When Sami saw her Fiance dead on the floor, she blacked out. Thinking quickly, Kate wiped the fingerprints off the gun and planted it in Sami's hand. When she awoke, Sami didn't remember a thing; she was convicted of murdering Franco and sentenced to death by lethal injection.
From her cell, Sami fought to clear her name and urged Austin to stay with Carrie so that they could get custody of Will. She watched the court case via television and was devastated when Nicole and Lucas were awarded custody of Will. She faked an anxiety attack and was rushed to the hospital where she poisoned a guard, stole his uniform and escaped. She kidnapped Will and fled to Canada with Austin, the only person who believed in her innocence. Roman managed to convince her to return to Salem to fight for her freedom. Once in custody, however, DA Palmer persuaded the judge to order her immediate execution and the countdown began.
Meanwhile, Roman began questioning Roberto about Franco's [...]. Kate prevented him from speaking and gave him a coma inducing injection of saline. When he awoke, she desperately attempted to bribe him into taking the fall for Franco's [...].
Back at the prison, Sami was strapped to the deathbed while her friends and family watched in silence. Tears streamed down her face as the lethal drugs were injected into her veins. All of a sudden, Lucas burst through the doors and confessed to [...] Franco. At the same time, the governor called to stop the execution. Moreover, Kate announced that Roberto had confessed to the [...] before dying. Sami went into cardiac arrest but was revived back at the hospital. The DA dropped all charges against her and Lucas quickly recanted his confession when he discovered that Roberto took the fall for the [...]. Roman, however, was determined to uncover the truth and refused to drop the investigation.
Austin picked Sami up from the hospital and they had a heartfelt reunion. As a free woman, Sami thanked Kate for her assistance and she devoted her energy to working things out with Lucas for Will's sake. (Source: 1
The Gina/John Black storyline
As the 1990s ended, the writers finally ended up resolving the mystery of Hope's missing years with it revealed that Stefano had brainwashed Hope into thinking she was the famous art thief Princess Gina Von Amberg. In one of John's many retconned pasts before he arrived in Salem, he had been a cohort of the evil Princess Gina, travelling with her under the guise of being a priest (removing that particular aspect of John's background) and stealing valuable artwork for Stefano.
Needing Gina for one last score, Stefano restored her brainwashed persona shortly before John and Marlena were married again. In a controversial storyline that would devastate the show's ratings, a brainwashed Hope (now calling herself "Gina") stole John from Marlena on her honeymoon, brainwashed John, and then made love to him on a submarine. The "Sub-[...]", as it was called by fans, created an outcry as many saw it as being a massive betrayal of the characters and their respective marriages, even though both John and Hope were under mental control when they had [...]. Furthermore "Gina" seduced Stefano and had Bo kidnapped and brainwashed into thinking he was a mime and left to wander the streets of Paris, his mind conditioned to prevent Bo from remembering who he was or from even being able to speak.
The storyline was horribly controversial and reached even further heights of anger when Hope became pregnant and the writers ran a fan contest to decide if Stefano or John was the father, with Bo not being offered up as a possible father.
This proved to be a bad move ratings-wise as ratings fell precipitously even as the real Princess Gina surfaced, determined to claim John from her doppelganger. Bo was rescued and freed from being forced to spend the rest of his life as a mute amnesiac and exposed the real Princess Gina (now pretending to be Hope, after locking Hope and Stefano up in her European castle turret) as she lay dying after her scheme was exposed. Hope and Stefano were rescued and Hope gave birth to a child who was revealed to be John's.
The storyline was horribly unpopular and when the writers changed in 2001, the new writers created a hastily conceived retcon where it was revealed that the brainwashed Hope slipped out from Stefano's sight one night after they brainwashed Bo and decided to have a little "fun" with him, in terms of "Gina" having [...] with the mute, amnesiac, mime-clad Bo, resulting in Bo being the father of Hope's child after all.