It’s no secret that Steve and Kayla Johnson have lingered in the background for far too long and have been seriously lacking a frontburner storyline of their own. Lately, Kayla has been restricted to being a background character, even though she just recently became Chief of Staff of University Hospital. I recently received a newsletter from Stephen Nichols’s website, and sadly his character will only be on one day later this month. However, according to the Soap Opera Weekly November Sweeps, John will hire Steve to find Mayor Marino’s killer, much to Kayla’s chagrin.
With all the budget cuts and hiring of new characters, it doesn’t make me feel too comfortable that one of the greatest supercouples in the history of DAYS are hardly getting airtime or even a story of their own. As fans are well aware, no character is safe on this show, no matter how huge of a fan following he or she may have. Many fans have complained that these two have just become boring, and there’s no need for them anymore. I strongly disagree. If Steve and Kayla have become boring to some, it’s because they’ve been written that way and the Powers That Be (TPTB) don’t care to let these two talented characters shine.
Brief History
As longtime DAYS fans may recall, Steve first came to Salem back in 1985 and worked for Victor Kiriakis. He was determined to seek revenge against his former enemy Bo Brady for knifing his eye out years earlier. Never did I imagine back then that Steve and Bo would ultimately become best friends again, as they are today.
Mary Beth Evans was the second actress to portray Kayla Brady and first appeared in 1986, when Kayla was a nurse in Cleveland. Steve was hired to terrorize the pretty young nurse. He made prank calls and even ransacked her apartment in Cleveland, scaring her back to Salem. She soon began working at the Riverfront Emergency Clinic and met Steve Johnson. The two didn’t have an easy road ahead of them. They began spending a lot of time together and many viewers saw the incredible chemistry between the two and the potential of an amazing love story. Steve or “Patch” kept trying to push her away, insisting that they were from two different worlds, but Kayla was eventually the one who was able to get Steve to open his heart. She was the one who saw the good behind his rough exterior.
After many adventures and obstacles to overcome, which included an abusive father, rape, and poisoning, Steve and Kayla were married in the summer of 1988 aboard a yacht on Salem Harbor. Their wedding was one of the highest ranked episodes in the history of DAYS and was even during the five-month writers’ strike that year. Kayla, along with many fans, were heartbroken when Steve “died” in 1990 as a result of a bomb explosion meant for Bo. Kayla had a brief romance with ISA Agent Shane Donovan, but it quickly fizzled when she left town in 1992.
A Happy Return
Many fans, including myself, were overjoyed when Stephen Nichols and Mary Beth Evans were brought back to the show in June 2006 as Steve and Kayla. Steve had amnesia and had been living with the name Nick Stockton. He didn’t remember his past life or his love for Kayla. Finally, Steve remembered his love for Kayla and his memories came flooding back in December of that same year, when they were at the bungalow, the same place they hid from Victor Kiriakis two decades earlier. It was one of the best emotional scenes of the year as viewers got to see that beautiful moment of Steve remembering all the time he spent with his "Sweetness," as he affectionately called her. I confess that I have watched that particular scene more than a few times on YouTube.
From that moment on, fans had to endure that awful storyline of Steve falling to his knees when that Devil Tarot card was displayed in his face and being forced to do E.J.’s dirty work, then being forced into the mental institution. Many fans were not pleased when a woman from Steve’s past, Ava Vitali, resurfaced and wreaked havoc for Steve, Kayla, Bo, and Hope. I, for one, certainly didn’t mind, because I was mesmerized by Tamara Braun’s portrayal of Ava and was glad that one of my favorite DAYS couples were getting a story at all!
Favorites Among Fans
Steven Nichols and Mary Beth Evans are consistently ranked as number one week after week on DAYS in the “Poll Call” as favorite couple in Soap Opera Digest. Additionally, Steven Nichols and Mary Beth Evans are consistently ranked as favorite actor and favorite actress on the show in the magazine. Thus, it’s quite obvious that I’m not the only one who would love to see more of these two who still have undeniable chemistry after all these years. If you love these two as much as I do, please keep showing your support by voting for them in the Soap Opera Digest polls. You can do this online at the Soap Opera Digest website.
What You Can Do
I have also updated the DAYS contact information page, so please write your letters to show support for these two and let the show know you want to see more of Steve and Kayla. I don’t encourage you to write to Dena Higley and send hate mail; that won’t help the cause and she probably gets enough of that as it is. Also, the Steve and Kayla fan website is having a “NOW or never” campaign. You must be a registered member in order to read about it and find out how to participate. Hopefully, the persistent efforts of the loyal Steve and Kayla fans will pay off and our couple will get more airtime and a decent storyline!
