There has been a change in the show recently where certain characters are acting differently: Lily is scheming to keep Meg away from Damian and Barbara decides to have Paul committed - wow, what a difference it makes storywise - kind of interesting. However, I have issues with the way this Dr. Bob story is starting off.

Lily and Damian
Lily has become a real busybody again because her feelings for Damian have resurfaced. She knows that getting involved with Damian is going to cause problems with Holden. She is obviously jealous of Meg and Damian's budding relationship. She intentionally went to Emma so she would not babysit for Eliza. She is also blatantly picking fights with Meg about Damian - how obvious is that for trying to hide her feelings? Then when Damian confronts her and kisses her, she does not fight back for long as she kisses him back. I must admit that Lily and Damian do have some undeniable chemistry which makes Holden seem a little boring right now.

The problem continues to be that when Holden has a story of his own for a few minutes like his affair with Carly then he became interesting; however when he plays second fiddle to Lily and her shenanigans then he looks like a wimp and a boring wimp at that. He is sitting around with his mother-in-law plotting to get Luke to join her at Worldwide.

So the question is: what is Damian doing with Meg? Is he using her just to make Lily jealous? We know Meg is just moving to her next conquest because Paul is unavailable and Dusty has moved on with Bonnie. I think that Meg would run back to Paul if he remembered her.

Paul and Emily
There is always a real fire between these two; he says he has no memory of his life and the women in it. I still don't know if I believe that he really has amnesia. We know that Paul will scheme and scheme while fooling everyone until he gets caught. However, if he is not faking, please do not let him get his memory back, I like this Paul so much better - he is funny and will say just about anything. This Paul is always smiling while pre-amnesia Paul had a scowl on his face all the time.

One reason I do not really believe that he is faking is that when he went to the wine cellar and saw James' diary - he immediately knew who James was. There are moments that keep that nugget of doubt about whether this is Paul being Paul or if it's a true memory loss.

I have to also say that it is great to see Barbara back in the mix again as a meddling mother - fighting with Emily and going around town creating havoc. I know she has been sick lately but it's great to see Barbara being seen and showing her strength again.

Henry and his Mother
The writers are continuing to put Henry in these situational comedy type scenarios - he thinks his mother is a serial killer and planning to kill again. The knocking the drink out of the hand of his mother's friends was not funny. I don't find this to be comical at all.

Why not dig into the relationship between Henry and his mother from a dramatic perspective? She left her family years ago - there could be some major dramatic moments between these two but this show falls back on treating Henry like a the type character that always has to be doing something funny. This is supposed to be one hour of drama - it continues to miss the boat here.

Luke and Noah
These two are starting to be really boring lately. It's obvious with all of these conversations between Noah and his professor will end up with Noah cheating on Luke.

Luke says he wants to work for his father and make his own decisions then Damian cancels their business trip; he can't make a decision on his own and has to come to Noah to ask what he should do. His next stop should have been to Holden and told him he wanted to go with him.

I never thought I'd be writing this but this couple is such a snooze fest lately and the spark that they had as a couple is not there right now.

Margo and Riley
It's time for her to tell the truth about Riley as the deception with Tom is becoming a little too repetitive. As the Chief of Detective, I am sure she can do something to help her son.

Dr. Bob's Illness
What was wrong with Riley or was his temporary illness just a device to show that Dr. Bob is having some issues. Why it is that Alison is the only person who is seeing these moments of his anyway? So far, the only thing he has done is call people the wrong name and gave one order for an increased dosage of medicine.

I think other people should be seeing these signs that Bob is having some memory problems like Kim or other medical colleagues. It would help if we saw him spending time with other members of his family.

WOAK
Can anyone just walk into town and get a job at Oakdale Now as a co-host? Brad was in town like two weeks before he was Katie's co-host; Katie is out due to her pregnancy then Vienna steps in all of a sudden. After Vienna, it was Henry in drag as Geneva Swift; now Janet's sister has just come to town and she is offered a job with no experience. Now Jack wants Janet to get the job as an on air personality because she is feels she has missed out on so much in her life. Where are her credentials to be the co-host on a talk show? The real question: why is this show so mismanaged that anyone can become the star on it - sorry Kim?

Here are some comments from readers:

Judy said, "I agree with you that we CANNOT have Bob develop Alzheimer's. I have been watching following Don Hastings' career since his "Captain Video" days; he's the main reason I've stuck through all the goofy storylines that have take place over the past 53 years. They already did an Alzheimer's storyline with Nancy's 2nd husband Dan. It would be really painful to go thru it again, especially if it involved such a core character. Maybe he secretly (subconsciously) wants to reunite with Lisa again! Now THAT'S a storyline I would relish!"

Robert said, "I wanted to agree that the Dr. Bob storyline came completely out of nowhere. And I do think it is the "kiss of death." But, of course, maybe it's not out of nowhere, since we haven't seen him really (i.e. for more than two minutes) in more than a few months (maybe he's had these episodes occasionally over the last few months!)."

Lori said, "With Carly gone, I was worried I would have nothing to watch this week. But I love the new Paul. Great storyline so far, but I do hope the amnesia is real even if he remembers things gradually. I fast forward through all but his scenes and the ones with Rosanna and Craig."

Monique said, "I'm loving every minute of Paul's amnesia--he's like a horny teenager, plus it gives Roger Howarth a chance to show off his humorous talents. Anybody who watched him on OLTL (or Dawson's Creek, for that matter) knows he's capable of being extremely funny."

Finally, are things getting better in Oakdale as some characters around like Meg with Damian and Emily with amnesiac Paul? Have the retreads with Paul and Meg stopped? Wow, Tom was actually doing something this week so will we be seeing his mother soon with Bob getting sick? From the previews, Holden is in trouble and James Stenbeck is back with a new purpose and family secret. Am I looking forward to next week for a change?

That's all I have for now.
Reggie Jackson