There are three stories in Oakdale worth really watching while there three others that I can fast forward through entirely: Sofie and Cole, Alison - The Egg Donor and Rosanna remembers the accident. I do try to find the best in every story so I can watch an entire episode; however, this week, I watched the episodes from Monday and Tuesday last as they were mostly involved these stories. I have nothing against the actors or the acting; it is the forcing of new characters like Sofie and Cole on us too fast when other characters get no story at all or Gwen choosing Alison as an egg donor (bad move) or Paul's revenge on Craig once again. The majority of this is not interesting to watch.

Colonel Mayer is a Killer
I guess Maddie and Noah will have something else in common when it comes to light that his father killed his mother, Cheri - the prostitute. Poor Noah, as if he did not have enough on his plate trying to decide who he was. He is going to need his friends and some therapy. Is Dr. Michaels still around? Noah wants so badly to please his father so I wonder how he will react when he finds out what a horrible person he is by letting him think his mother was dead then killing her and framing someone else for the murder. It was kind of obvious early on that Winston Mayer was wound up a bit too tight - now it crystal clear that he had a lot to hide.

Dusty should know that he cannot always handle everything himself. Why didn't he tell Lily what he found out about the colonel? I understand he does not want her involved but he gets himself into these situations like getting shot and being stuffed in a trunk. I thought Dusty might just sit around until Emily got back but he has been busy in her absence - I wonder if he even missed her.

I have enjoyed the scenes with Noah and Maddie. Maddie has every reason to be angry as he did try to use her to make himself look good to his father. He was unable to deny his feelings for Luke in the process and he knows that this is something that he cannot change about himself even for his father. There is an intensity that shows between Noah and Luke. It is good to see this relationship being played out in the same manner as a romance for any other character in Oakdale.

Carly, Jack, Katie and Brad
I hate that Carly is sick and is refuses to tell Jack right away. Jack and Katie both have been so mean to her lately. Oakdale is a small town so of course they will be at the same places at times; how arrogant of them to believe she is following them around town. Carly appears to have accepted the fact that Jack is marrying Katie and she does not want to interfere. Brad has been a good friend to Carly by being her one confidante throughout all of this. Why can't she tell her sisters: Rosanna or Gwen that she is ill? In old Oakdale, Carly would tell Rosanna and Gwen and they would still be able to handle their own problems and still be there for their sister. I hate the way things are so compartmentalized nowadays in Oakdale.

When Jack does find out that Carly is ill, he will feel so bad because of the way he has treated her lately - I can't wait for that. The other moment I can hardly wait to see is Katie in the background as Jack runs to Carly. The fact that she dismissed the fact that Jack said he loved Carly when he was hurt means something - he is and always will be in love with Carly.

Hasn't Brad become the guy to root for? He is right there for Carly right now when she has no one else. He is being the perfect partner for Katie even though he has strong feelings for her. He seems to have even repaired whatever distance there was with Jack. I hope that Katie leans on him when Jack ultimately runs to Carly and realizes that he is the brother that she should have chosen.

Paul and Rosanna
This revenge plot for Craig needs to end and these two need to get on with their lives. Rosanna should listen to Carly when she told her that all of this revenge is taking away precious time for her and Paul to reconnect and enjoy each other. I have a feeling that Paul is going to hurt Rosanna when it comes to light that he truly loves Meg.

Sofie and Cole
Does anyone really care what happens to these two characters? I am in no way invested in anything that they do. Cole is not a sympathetic character at all. Sofie is sort of wimpy similar to Mike's sister, Sarah Kasnoff who was on the show for a short period years ago.

Some readers have some comments about the current happenings in Oakdale:

Diane said, "Katie is and always was a spoiled brat. She is annoying. Oh and yes she cheats on all her men. Why would Jack find her appealing? Did he forget it was Katie's jealousy over Simon that drove Carly away in the first place?"

Monique said, "I think you are RIGHT ON about Cheri being Noah's presumed-death mother. What I think could make this storyline really come full circle would be for Noah's father to get imprisoned for killing Noah's mother; then Noah could stop trying so hard to please his overbearing father and just be himself (openly gay)."

Glenda said, "I just want to weigh in favor of the Luke/Noah story and I do hope the show doesn't cave in to pressure from the narrow-minded. I can still remember the response to an ATWT gay storyline back in the early '90s - and that 'kiss scene' was a simple kiss on the forehead of a person dying with AIDS! I thought the negative feedback was outrageous then and so is the current one. I don't understand how murder, adultery, prostitution, rape, child abuse, violence, etc. are acceptable storylines but not same sex attraction or love. What kind of sick culture are we?"

Nora said, "Here's my thought on the Will/Gwen/Alison thing: Why didn't they ask Carly about being a donor first before agreeing to Alison? In fact, have they even told Carly anything about this situation? Carly probably would have offered. Then the baby would have some genetics in common with Gwen. Or ask Maddie? Have they talked to Maddie at all? Why can't Gwen have more than one friend at a time???"

Jenny said, "I thought the kiss w/Luke and Noah was amazing. I'm glad ATWT had the guts to show it more than once. I am so sick of the haters. The Luke/Noah storyline pacing is seriously off. They aren't on that much, so why would you continue to get emails of dismay. Luke and Noah are hardly ever featured. I guess that is to appease those who hate the story. I just wish the story had as much airtime as Jack, Carly, and Katie."

Karen said, "What I wanted to say about the Luke and Noah storyline is that it is the most realistic and believable story going now on the soap. Alison as an egg donor (what 3 months after ending a meth addiction), Lily as a detective, Rosanna doing traveling for business 2 weeks after waking from a coma, and the list goes on. We accept the ridiculous and absurd on a daily basis. The Luke/Noah storyline is touching, moving, challenging and very believable. Kudos to the writers for this story and for doing it well."

Finally, it was nice to see Nancy Hughes after such a long time. I was hoping when she was talking to Katie about how Carly would never give up on Jack that she would have thrown in a story about how Lisa was after she was divorced from Bob - just like Carly is today, it would have been perfect way to connect the history of Oakdale - that is just wishful thinking for the current writing staff.

That's all I have for now.
Reggie Jackson