I thought that this was part of Sweeps month as major things happened in just this one week: Lucy kidnaps Johnny, the Diamond saga continues with more trouble for Simon and Carly including a new older Sage and Holden and Lily dealing with an older Faith as they resolve a misunderstanding. As soon as I get really fed up with things then they seem to change in a way that we all have to wonder what is going to happen next.

Little Johnny is Gone
Who saw this coming? What a way to get a bunch of characters on to something new. For weeks now since Craig has been back in town, it has been all about how Craig could get Johnny away from Dusty. Dusty was so consumed with rage that he reverted back to his old thuglike persona to the point when he wanted to kill Craig in cold blood. My thought was consistently, if he killed Craig, how would be able to be a father to Johnny like Jennifer wanted him to; that particular plot point was not too well thought out. With the current writers, no one in Oakdale is punished for any of their misdeeds.

I watched this week in disbelief as Dusty who was a prisoner - still calling the shots. Why was he able to see anyone he wanted to and have a private room in order to conduct any of his business? He asked Lucy to help him escape so he could finish killing her father. Did he forget she was the person who was an eyewitness to the first attempt on Craig's life and now he tells her he wants to finish the job. It's no wonder that Lucy took it upon herself to stop both Craig and Dusty.

Craig wasn't any better as he wanted to change this kid's name once again - this poor kid will have such problems if he can remember every name he had. I also have to wonder what he will turn out to be being raised by Lucy. I know she believes that she is doing the best thing for him by taking him away from this custody battle. She also was trying to spare her father's life and Dusty from any more legal trouble. I can't really say I'm sorry that she or Johnny has left Oakdale; this custody battle has been draining to say the least.

Now what will these guys do now that they don't have to fight over the baby? Where will Craig now focus his energy and his money? What will Dusty obsess about now that Johnny is gone and he is not trying to make things work with Lucy? Will he still be charged now that the eyewitness is no longer there? I guess that's why they say - tune in tomorrow.

Simon/Carly/ Katie and the Diamonds
This story needs to be over real soon as it turning Carly, Simon, Katie and Henry into caricatures of their former selves. Then they have added Sage who wasn't walking a month ago and now she is about 7 or 8. This diamond falls into her hands and she uses it for her science project. It is just one thing after another of some situation comedy - a bad sitcom at that. This is really tiresome. Well, there was a real funny moment when Jill's mother got Sage's name wrong and called her Thyme - a real laugh out loud moment for me. By the way, that little girl who plays Jill is a wonderful actress; she had Simon afraid of her. Simon argued with her like she was an adult.

We know that Paul Leyden (Simon) is leaving the show and Maura West (Carly) is going on maternity leave so it should not be much longer. Katie is too obsessed with Simon and Carly because if she truly wanted to move on with Mike she would be concentrating on him and less on Simon.

It does look like Jack and Carly are starting to communicate again so when the actress returns from maternity leave, it should not be long before there is a reunion for Jack and Carly -hopefully. It also depends on what they do with Jack while Carly is away.

Lily and Holden
It was nice of Holden to take dance lessons so he could surprise his wife. I have one question - how many lessons did he take because it seems like he could use a few more before he is really ready.

Also, we have another character being aged so quickly that it makes your head spin. This young lady who is playing the role of Faith is very good. I am really enjoying her performances. I just wonder how old Parker and JJ are going to be the next time we see them.

Will/Gwen/Jade/Adam
I hate the way certain characters are pushed down your throats while others barely get any screen time; case in point, Jade and Adam already have a full-fledged relationship and we saw Dallas for two seconds this week. How can we buy a relationship for a character who has been away a long time (Adam) then automatically is involved with a woman (Jade) that everyone is town has problems with? This is not interesting and it is moving in the wrong direction as Will and Gwen will be the victims once again.

Will and Gwen cannot get a breather for a little bit of happiness as they also have to deal with Iris being back in town. I found something very interesting about Will; he told Iris that he was not going to give her a chance to get back into their lives but he did just that with Jade as he listens to her as she is still manipulating him - what's that about?

How can Iris lie about her sister dying? Couldn't that information be confirmed by Gwen? No one asked any questions and just believed her at face value. How will it be before Iris' sister pops up or tries to get in contact with Gwen? When will they realize that Iris will never change because she is still a con woman?

Before I get to some reader's comments, I have to say that there were some standout performances this week specifically, Elizabeth Hubbard (Lucinda), Jeffrey Meek (Craig) and Spencer Grammar (Lucy).

Here is what some readers have to say about life in Oakdale:

Janet said, "It's about time Meg was allowed some happiness. I think she would have done a lot for Paul -- but Emily, who is a vicious nasty self-centered person, enjoys making people unhappy. How does she stand herself? Perhaps an "accident" can be arranged for her????"

Eve says, "I am disappointed in a lot the show lately. Likable characters on the show are few and far between--I'm fast forwarding more and more. The worst is Jade--she makes even Craig look like a saint. Sorry to see Simon go. Mike got his just desserts--finally he mentions Jennifer but fails to remember he cheated on her too."

Linda says, "I use to love ATWT, but it's gotten more than a little boring. I have never liked the new Lucy...she's as phony as they get, Emily used to be my girl, but now she's just a sorry puppy. Gwen finally gets Will and she's being a weirdo for Adam (BORING), Jade (BORING), Katie, needs to wake up and smell the coffee (boring). Paul looks like a sick droopy puppy (perfect match for the sick Emily), they changed my guy Dusty to a mad man (boring). I WANT MY SOAP BACK. Where's Maddie, Margo, give Henry more play, give Jessica more play. Writers do something, you're losing me."

And finally, a very nice compliment to both Jennifer Biller and myself:

Mike says, "Thanks for a great comments, I read all comments from all current soaps as do many friends of mine who work online, ATWT's Two Scoops are frankly the best in all aspects you guys aren't bias nor do you sugar-coat even a character who is obviously well liked by many viewers, it's evident in certain two scoops comments when they're being bias towards a character because they want to please readers or because they themselves adore that character no matter what horrible deed may have been done. Thanks, great work."

That's all I have for now.
Reggie Jackson