Writers could be back to work this week, however, I am not sure if that is a good thing or a bad thing for ATWT. Before the strike, we were left with beloved characters acting in ways we never thought they would or a constant retread of the same stories. This week, I felt like I was watching General Hospital - there were three deaths in one week. It looks like the beginning of another murder mystery and we just finished one - when will we get some new stories and interesting journeys for the characters of Oakdale.

Luke and Noah
It looks like these two are the only folks in Oakdale with a decent story - their story is moving along at a sensible pace. They are exploring the ups and downs of young love in addition to being involved in other things in Oakdale. I enjoyed Luke's conversation with Lucinda as she was so broken up about how she felt she was the cause of Dusty's death due to her scheme against Craig.

The interim writers are writing for these characters and they were on more than once this week - talking about their relationship. I certainly hope we get more of that. It is obvious for whatever reason that the show has pulled back on really treating them like a real couple in the romance department. The important part is that they are being shown on a regular basis and the story is continuing to move along.

Holden and Lily
What a turnaround in just a few weeks? They are reconciling and putting the bad stuff behind them. It seems that Holden's short flirtation with Bonnie is over before it began. It would have been nice to see Holden veer away from Lily for a while. It is always Lily that leaves him and he seems to wait and not do much until they are back together. I don't know how many times this week Holden told Lily that her kids need their mother when he was trying to keep her from them last month.

Don't get wrong, I like Holden and Lily as a couple but this breakup took a long time to happen and their relationship was repaired in short order. So what's next for them? Maybe they can open a detective agency since they did such a good job working together to solve Dusty's murder.

This whodunit was a complete waste of time: we knew it was Evan. Evan was a loon that we never really got a chance to really know. I did have some questions that were not answered: how did Lucinda find him in the first place? Why did she choose the son of Evan Walsh? How dangerous was he: he holds two women hostage with a syringe of poison - that in itself was laughable as I watched. A number of police were standing right there as he walked past them and to the roof - I would never call the Oakdale police if I am in danger.

Carly and Sam
We knew a man who talked to a dummy had to have a few screws loose; though the only person who saw through it was a child. Parker has had Sam's number early on and since he has been such a screw-up himself then no one believed him.

Carly Tenney is a fighter and she gave it her best as she tried to fight off Sam as he tried to attack her. My question: why let him drink all those beers after he confessed he loved her and she turned him down hard? So we have another death after the lab tech and Evan last week - the death toll is rising in Oakdale.

So who pulled the trigger? Was it Parker - to stop the man he hated who tried to hurt his mother? Was it Kit - who found out what kind of man Sam was and shot him when she saw what he was doing to Carly? Those are my only two logical choices and illogical choice is - the guy from the band because Sam cancelled their show and they lost money on the gig.

Sophie and the Kidnapping
I have not, do not and probably will not ever like the character of Sophie - she is epitome of boring and brainless. She calls on these men who show any interest in her whenever she has a problem. First there is Aaron, who it seems came back to Oakdale just to support this poor girl and her problems. He has nothing of substance since he returned - such a waste of time. How did he get to New York from Oakdale so quickly? In addition, Sophie was sitting in the same spot when she called him distress and then he shows up and she is still sitting with a baby in the cold. Did he take the Walsh jet?

Later, she leaves New York after speaking to Chris and ends up at the Memorial Hospital in record time. For a minute, I thought I was watching an episode of Bewitched - people going from one place to the other in no space of time.

What happens next, I believe she will try to get her baby back? I think it might be somewhat difficult after this kidnapping.

Why was Will so hard on Barbara after the discovery as if she engineered this like he has never made any mistakes in his life? It may not have been the right time but she needed the rest as she is having cancer treatments.

It seems viewers are very disenchanted with the way things are in Oakdale right now as most of my mail has been about the negative state of the show; here are some of those views:

Vivien said, "Holden "hides" the needle in the cupboard? Huh? He couldn't find any other place to dispose of it? Like the Snyder Pond. Frozen? The woods? Toss it out of the window on the way home from the hospital. DISPOSE OF IT! And once again the crack Oakdale Police then arrests the wrong person. Margo giving Holden the third degree as if he was the mad bomber instead of a good friend for the past 20 years, and Jack interrogating his own cousin, just smacks of such bad writing that I'm about to give up on ATWT. I realize the police department is small and that the only people in town who seem to be remotely guilty are friends and family, but the police are always wrong, so why don't they at least tread lightly when approaching loved ones they're about to accuse of murder? These seem to be nitpicking points, but after the bizarre storylines of the past six months, stories I just can't invest myself into, the details are all I seem to be able to focus on lately. And these have been grating. Now, with half the cast about to depart may just be the time for me to check out of the ATWT hotel."

Kimberly said, "Why is Katie living in a hotel? What happened to her house? Why isn't Katie taken care of Brad in his "new house". How do all these people make enough money to live in a hotel? Why? I am disappointed as well in ATWT lately, with this and a lot of the stories lines. There are too many people leaving. Is there going to be a new family coming in the show?"

Diana said, "I see ATWT in a downward spiral. The writing is poor, characters and storylines are underdeveloped, main characters are not used; the sets are almost non existent and so on. P&G needs to make a commitment to a quality show or give it up. They think viewer are down but have no idea how many of us tape the show."

Bobby said, "I have been a fan of ATWT since 1977. Last few days, I stopped watching because of poor storyline. No character is the same anymore."

Becky said, I had noticed too that almost everyone seems to be living at the Snyder farm these days--even Holden and Lily, who have a beautiful home. The number of sets they use has been greatly reduced. Gone is Katie's cute little cottage and now those few who aren't living at the Snyder's are living at the hotel (so "real" life - not!) But the worst scenes seem to be taking place in the echoing, cold, unappealing stairwell of the hospital! Horrible!"

Mim said, "I have been a avid viewer since 1956. Never, Never have I seen such bad writing as I have in the past year. I continue to think this show will get better, but frankly I have almost given up hope. It seems to go from bad to worse. I really am going to stop wasting my time watching. I can't understand how it is continuing to keep sponsors, or a fan base. They need to fire every writer they have and try to get some in that can put some reality into print. That might salvage the show if it's not to late. I can't believe they are getting rid of or have gotten rid of; some of the very best talent they have meaning Grayson McCouch, Jennifer Landon and the talented Mr. Soffer, not to mention Cady McClain and Scott Bryce. But their storylines have been butchered, and so meaningless lately that it's such a waste of talent. I expect to hear of a great drop in ratings, while I am tuning out. I can only read about it. Someone needs to step up to the plate and (quickly) if this is to be turned around and the soap salvaged.....otherwise I predict, "It is going to be on the worst written soap opera list"."

Finally, I hope the strike is over this week and the writers go back to work. I also hope like with a couple of other shows that ATWT fires its head writerbefore the strike and start fresh with someone new with interesting stories to tell about the people in Oakdale -this show needs it bad.

That's all I have for now.
Reggie Jackson