It's hard to ever remember a time when you could watch soaps and be spoiler-free, but in 1982, shocked viewers were outraged when DAYS apparently let its most popular heroine, Marlena Evans (Diedre Hall) get offed by the notorious Salem Strangler (the first and "best" of the four serial killer storylines that DAYS would do in a 20-year period). After this unforgettable Friday cliffhanger, furious fans actually took to the streets and actually picketed NBC Studios in California. Fan disgust was so heated that Hall herself had to reassure fans that all was well: the actual victim was Marlena's twin sister, Samantha. But such was the soap climate in the early 1980s, when there was no Internet to let you know what Monday's episode had in store for you.
It's hard to ever remember a time when you could watch soaps and be spoiler-free, but in 1982, shocked viewers were outraged when DAYS apparently let its most popular heroine, Marlena Evans (Diedre Hall) get offed by the notorious Salem Strangler (the first and "best" of the four serial killer storylines that DAYS would do in a 20-year period). After this unforgettable Friday cliffhanger, furious fans actually took to the streets and actually picketed NBC Studios in California. Fan disgust was so heated that Hall herself had to reassure fans that all was well: the actual victim was Marlena's twin sister, Samantha. But such was the soap climate in the early 1980s, when there was no Internet to let you know what Monday's episode had in store for you.