laurisa

I was thrilled when I heard that Blake Berris was coming back to DAYS. Not quite @Tony_S_Days Kristen-level-of-excitement (I tend to reserve that for shoes), but pretty darn close! Emmy nominated, Berris was impressive during his last run on the show. The scene in which a completely broken Nick confesses to Chelsea that the police had taken his belt from him to avoid a suicide attempt was both chilling and brilliant. Why wouldn’t I be excited to see him again?

Oh, that’s right. Because Nick Fallon would soon become a horrid he-beast over Will's baby.

As I mentioned in the Alex North Memorial Awards, I firmly believe that this was an attempt to get Blake Berris and Chandler Massey to bring their giant cans of acting whoop-ass to an otherwise dull storyline. That’s absolutely the right idea. But, the problem is that Nick got an attitude-ectomy for this storyline to work. This Eric-Cartman-meets-Dr.-Evil villain version of Nick Fallon is so far off base from who the real Nick was, that I’m actually considering checking the guest book in Stefano’s basement to see if Nicky spent any time there.

Here's why:

1. Nick is a social outcast.

Nick Fallon came to the show as a socially awkward geek, whose brilliance never encompassed social skills. Heck, even Abigail was specifically given the job of hanging out with him because Maggie was worried that he’d have trouble making friends. His first love was a very beauty and the geek situation, and he was always thankful for the friends that he had. The real Nick would have a hard time judging another human being, least of all those from a group that is already the target of bullying.

Sure, I’d totally buy that prison changed him…if the changes were all-encompassing. But instead, Nick is a choir boy around Gabi, Rafe, Melanie, and Caroline, yet a first class jerkface to Will and Kate. And now that Kate’s been added to the mix, I can’t even chalk it up to complete homophobia. I honestly don’t know who Nick is going to be a butthead to next, but I’d advise Maggie not to even think about serving stale doughnuts to Nick for breakfast!

2. Nick’s never been a schemer

If anything, his main character flaw was his naiveté. He’s too trusting. Chelsea had the upper hand the entire course of their relationship. And, he almost got saddled with two kids, courtesy of ex-wife (which she also tricked him into), China Lee.

Yes, I realize that he’s been responsible for at least one kidnapping and two deaths. But it was very well established the last time that those crimes were committed under the influence of drugs. Hardly anyone raised an eyebrow at Hope for the months she spent bashing men over the head and trying to set her own husband on fire. But yet, Nick is labeled as some kind of criminal mastermind.


3. Nick is in the wrong age group

This is the most puzzling of all. Maybe it’s just me, but I think that Nick is pretty close to being a 30-year-old man. When he came to the show in 2006, Nick had his PhD and even worked as an associate professor at Salem U. Since one of his very first scenes was at a bar (where Chelsea got in trouble for having a fake ID) we can assume that at the very least, he was 21. There has been no recast to de-SORAS Nick. That makes him a minimum of 27. Personally, I’d put him closer to 30. In either case, Gabi and Will are still 19.

Eight years is not that big of an age difference later in life. But at this point, it is huge. And while there’s a healthy amount of blame on Will too, I still can’t shake the feeling that Nick is a full-fledged adult here and shouldn’t be threatening someone who is 19.

E.J., Rafe, or even Daniel would make a more age-appropriate adversary for Nick. In the cases of E.J. and Daniel – there’s actually backstory already there! What a concept!


On the bright side, I don’t see any quit out of Blake Berris. He’s talented enough to make me cringe the same way that Michal J. Fox does on the “Good Wife.” (Haaaate that guy!!!) But that still isn’t enough to make me forget that I ever knew and liked the geek genius with a heart of gold. Godspeed, Mr. Berris. Hopefully this catastrophe will end soon.