Days of Our Lives: Beyond Salem

I wasn't expecting to enjoy this as much as I did. It's a fun, tight little action-adventure series developed exclusively for Peacock bringing together some old and new faces. Peacock may have a hit on their hands. Hopefully it gets future seasons.

It started off slow for me....like watching grains of sand through an hourglass! John and his over-the-top dramatic grimaces were never a favorite of mine. So to have him open the show was a bit ho-hum, even if it did involve the great Maxwell Sheffield, I mean Charles Shaughnessy as Shane Donovan. And once you brought in the legendary Jackée Henry, The acid-tongued Leo Stark (Greg Rikaart) and my all-time personal favorite Leann Hunley, how could it not be a hoot?

No, this is not "The Crown" and I don't think that was it's purpose. It's a silly mystery with typical soap turns and false starts. But it brings back many Days alumni. Seeing Eileen Davidson back as Kristin DiMera brought a smile to my face. She IS Kristen. I enjoyed seeing Will and I was surprised that I actually preferred the new Sonny. Zack Tinker made the character more three dimensional. I thought the Will-Sonny chemistry was more believable. I also liked going back in time and seeing Carrie and Austin. (Why did they not get included in the beginning credits!??) Consider this a kind of reunion show and you'll enjoy it. The cheapo sets mixed are mixed with lots of stock glamor clips of the cities they are supposed to be in. The story line is cheesy and the "I gotcha scenes" are laughable. That's what makes soaps fun!

This was fun, hope creator, staffing continue to stream. Bring some curious in. I wonder how they do ratings on Peacock? It can't be much more expensive than regular show?! We must have extreme new Sonny daytime, even if involves Will for some.

Wasn't expecting any new sets of budget. I must stress that our soap eliminate the brightest fake green shrubbery and then 2-3 people in front nasty close-up. Please listen.

Billy had her welcome back with Lisa but this once enough. Was odd they chose series around her, didn't need to. The only roles I need in this for next series are Kate, Gabby, Jake, Abby. Until someone new substantial enters. Remainder can exit, Maybe have Sammy do arc around her make her primary.

Growing up, I was forced to watching DOOL with my mother after work (ya know, cuz she used to set the VCR to record it every weekday). I haven't watched DOOL since the 90s, and it's clear that a lot has transpired but yet, everything is still the same-except for maybe the confusion I'm having over Carrie calling someone other than Marlena "mom", but such is daytime soaps. They have to make up insanely unbelievable storylines to spice it up without changing actors. Lol

Okay so this Beyond Salem thing. IT IS BEYOND CHEESY. Like worse than the 90s DOOL cheesy. Yet, here I am watching it (or allowing it to play) because I don't know how to delete it from my history on Peacock. I don't want to see it constantly in my continue to watch, so I'm letting it play.

Listen, if you're a glutton for insanely cheesy, unbelievable, laughable shows-this is for you!

That said, there are a handful actors in this who have actually gone on to do other work and excel beyond that of the stereotypical daytime soap opera actor skills. (Charles Shaughnessy, Jackée Harry)

I'm dying inside as this is playing. D-Y-I-N-G!

I've never seen Days of Our Lives but thought I'd check this one out because I like the silly guilty pleasures of soap operas.

I admire the writers for soaps. The fact they can keep the storylines going for ages when most issues can be resolved by asking the correct question 2 seconds later intrigues me. As someone who knows nothing about these characters going in, the writers have done a good job in bringing viewers up to speed in the character vignettes of the first episode.

My 7-star rating is for the acting being pretty bad; I expected a little better. This is a soap opera so if you don't have ability to get past watching a soap, you probably won't enjoy this.

If you're a soap opera fan this will be a silly pleasure to watch with your favorite snack and tune out of life for about 50 minutes.

The storyline of season 1 is fun and I'll keep watching it for the campy-ness, hoping the acting improves.