There is a serious problem in Oakdale - I am beginning to get very concerned about the amount of violence in Oakdale right now: arson, people repeatedly getting knocked over the head (without very little or no medical treatment), characters being shot and others being drugged or poisoned. When did a drama about the town of Oakdale turn into Port Charles where there is an explosion every other month? What happened to the drama based on the relationships between the characters? I am concerned what this means if this continues: will we see Nancy Hughes carrying a gun to get revenge on Emily for drugging her grandson? The constant blows to the head remind me of the Three Stooges comedies; this has to stop soon.

Gray Gerard a.k.a Gerald Nevins
Who saw that coming? Gray is actually the brother of the man that raped Margo years ago and Tom killed. I have one pivotal question - why did it take him so long to come back to seek revenge? I guess I am being petty. However, that was one of the first questions that came into my mind. The other question if he was in Oakdale for Margo: why is so involved with Henry and Vienna? This story is a bit unfocused; in addition, he may be involved in the drama with Sam's murder. I believe now that he had something to do with Sam's murder and Kit was telling the truth when she told Carly that Sam was involved with some bad people.

Aside from all of this, we got Matt who is turning into a character to keep around for a while. He has chemistry with Alison and he has been somewhat of a good friend to Casey and likes living with Tom and Margo. It might be good for him to stay in Oakdale after Gray is gone and see where the relationship with Alison goes. It would have been nice if he were really Adam Hughes then he would have been tied to a family in town.

Barbara Confides in Kim
It finally happened - Barbara has been suffering in silence for weeks as she goes for treatments for her Oral Cancer. So far, the only person she has told was Lisa - you know how often we see her. Finally, she sits down at the Lakeview lounge to tell her Aunt Kim what she has been going through. This is the kind of scene that makes us remember what a great soap ATWT can be again. With everyone so compartmentalized lately, Barbara doesn't see Kim and Kim didn't come to the hospital to see Paul when he was in the hospital. I don't even remember seeing Doctor Bob coming by to see Paul either. Nevertheless, I enjoyed this moment between them as Kim asked if she had told her sons what was happening. Barbara does need support from her sons as much as she has always given them support - good or bad. Again, this story could have told in a way that each story (Paul's, Will's and Barbara's) could have told separately as well as part of each other. She should not have had to go through this without some help from her family.

Adoption Drama Continues
Did Sophie have to call Cole for help? I got it for a second that she was worried about her baby and wanted her to get the necessary blood transfusion. Did she even think of Gwen until someone mentioned it to her? Gwen never should have given her back the baby and everyone knows that.

For a brief moment this week, I thought maybe this guy had changed but no - he is still trying to manipulate the situation for his own gain. Why was he trying to kidnap the baby? What would he have gained from that bonehead move? I watched in disbelief as he threatened to toss that innocent baby over the banister if Will did not move out of his way.

I have said this before - Cole or Sophie are not characters that were meant to hang around Oakdale for the long term. For me, neither has ever clicked and need to be written off into the sunset.

Katie's Romantic Dilemma Continues
Can she ever make up her mind? She has feelings for Brad then she spends time with Jack to find he might want her back then Brad almost dies then she wants him. How wishy-washy is this woman? I think Katie belongs with Brad - they have the most chemistry; Jack is her safe choice because of the stand-up type of guy he is. In the long run, she would not be happy with Jack - the habitual problem: Carly.

Carly and Jack will get back together after this saga with Parker. As much as Jack thinks he wants to move on without her, he is continually drawn to her. Carly is a wild card full of excitement and fun for him. She is a good mother and wants to do right but she happens to be impulsive more often than not.

Luke/Noah/Ameera
Have we ever seen a triangle like this before? No, not on daytime television, this is an original situation but not interesting enough. We have a girl who just showed in town a few weeks ago and now she is married to Noah. We have not been given a chance to get to know her before having her thrown in as device to keep Luke and Noah apart.

Luke and Noah have been dating for months now and have not had a real opportunity to explore their relationship. This situation happened too quickly - it was not necessary for Noah and Ameera to marry so soon. As we watch, there is another option for her and it may come to fruition - Casey Hughes. Casey seems to be smitten with Ameera.

Noah is taking his responsibility as a husband too seriously. He tells Luke that he loves him but he is so protective of Ameera. What if someone came into the picture to show an interest in Luke? How would Noah handle that? There are possibilities to make this story work.

I believe that Ameera can take care of herself. Think about it - she was able to get to Oakdale from Iraq by herself. She has in short order come between Luke and Noah and is enticing Casey who shows an interest in her. There is much more to Ameera than meets the eye. Wait until she pays a secret visit to Colonel Mayer to let him know the plan is working perfectly - it's possible, isn't it?

It is always nice to read what is being said about the happenings in Oakdale as fans of the show continue to be frustrated by the overall quality of the show:

Kristy said, "Even with the sharp decline in the quality of ATWT I can't believe TPTB would be so stupid as to let Martha Byrne go. Just the suggestion that Lily will be recast is so ridiculous. Is this some horrible version of 'How low will TPTB go before the plug gets pulled? Perhaps this is why Lily's character was treated so poorly for the last year, just so if Martha didn't accept this new contract the fans might not get so mad when she left? This decision has me wondering why, as a fan, I should even bother watching anymore. It's becoming so obvious that whoever is in charge has got a clue as to why this show is good and is intent on doing away with quality actors and characters and leaving us with Sophie, Cowboy Jack and the endless game of "Who will Katie sleep with next?"

Dee said, "I started watching ATWT when I was 17 and have watched until today at age 65. Gwen gave her baby away? Martha will be gone? I'm done. I have even un-programmed my VCR."

Katie said, "I am DISGUSTED at the way ATWT is handling Hallie's adoption. I am an adoptive mother. My daughter and her birth mother (whom none of us have ever met, including my daughter) do have a bond. So do WE. I am her mother. I have been there for her through everything. She is MY daughter. Why is Gwen being such an idiot over this? If Sophie were stable, I could see Gwen having second thoughts, but Sophie is a whiny, clingy dish rag who can barely care for herself. And what about Will? What a wimp! My husband would NEVER let me make such a huge decision (giving back our child) with out him. The whole thing is pathetically unbelievable and very unkind to us adoptive parents."

Louanne said, "I can't believe this last week's show! The only thing good about the show was seeing more of Henry; too bad he had to get kicked around and knocked over the head so many times though. Okay, what was with Jack being brought back to Oakdale Memorial after being shot in Chicago?? Are there no hospitals in Chicago? How close is Oakdale to Chicago anyway? Poor Jack is lucky he survived the transport back to Oakdale. Can Margo get any dumber on this show? She used to be a very savvy detective now she wouldn't recognize a criminal if he committed his crime right in front of her face!"

Finally, I have loved this show for years and I want to continue to love it. There are changes backstage that need to happen first in the writing and the producing. We can't continue to lose actors like Cady McClain, Scott Bryce, Grayson McCouch, Jennifer Landon, Jesse Soffer and now, Martha Byrne. Soaps are about great stories about characters the viewers care about - not a bunch of newbies whose characters we don't know enough about to care. ATWT needs to get it together more sooner than later before we lose Oakdale for good.

That's all I have for now.
Reggie Jackson