I'm not sure how it could be possible but...the two characters who were once one of the reasons why I watched Days of our Lives, have now become one of the reasons why I do not want to watch the show. Sami and Lucas suck! Why you may ask? Because! They should be enjoying their life together as a family by now; married and living together with Will - maybe even with another baby on the way. That is the payoff that fans have been waiting to see for the past several years. That is why we sat through the first edition of the Sami/Austin/Carrie/Lucas triangle when it happened 10 years ago. Instead of being happy together, Sami and Lucas have thrown away their love like it was yesterday's news and have now focused their energies on snagging each other's siblings. How crazy is that? And in their zeal to hook-up with Austin and Carrie respectively, Sami and Lucas are reverting back to the type of adolescent antics that they should have left behind by now. Sami is back to scheming at every opportunity and Lucas is back to lying and manipulating every time he opens his mouth. And for what? So that they can forge completely superficial relationships with two people who can never make them happy? If you have to pretend to be someone you are not, in order to have a relationship with someone who doesn't even want to be with you in the first place; is that relationship worth having? Could one ever be happy knowing that they had to lie and manipulate in order to win that love? Maybe I'm becoming too analytical about this...LOL :-D
What I'm trying to say is that the current depictions of Sami and Lucas are not the ones that I enjoy. I don't enjoy watching Sami play the part of a loving sister to Carrie, meanwhile knowing that she actually hates her and wants to steal her man. I don't enjoy watching Sami play Austin for a fool, even though it seems fairly easy to do. She has schemed and manipulated and then lied about those same schemes. She flat out denied to Austin that she knew that Carrie was the CEO and kept it from him! No doubt this is just the beginning. Now that she has lied, she will end up having to protect that lie. This, of course, will mean more scheming. Sigh...the writing just gets so predictable. Let's not forget about Lucas, he has done his fair share of lying as well. He knew that Austin was the person behind the takeover and didn't tell either Austin or Carrie - a lie of omission is still a lie. On top of that, he proceeded to twist the knife by constantly referring to Austin as the "big-bad-corporate-raider" ('scuse me while I pee my pants laughing) that took Carrie's life's ambition away. [Note to Carrie: If that company was your "life" maybe Austin did you a favor by taking it away]. I was vividly reminded of why I used to dislike Lucas' character when I saw him use something that he knows isn't true to try to widen the wedge between Carrie and Austin. Even though Sami and Lucas may not have actively done something to drive Carrie and Austin apart this time; they certainly kept important information from them. Information that would have changed the outcome of certain events. As before, when we lived through the first round of this recycled story; I just want the truth to come out! Carrie and Austin should know that both Sami and Lucas have been aware all along that Carrie was the CEO of High Style and that Austin was attempting to takeover the company. How great would that be? I can imagine an explosive scene as both Carrie and Austin freak out on the scheming liars and tell them to get out of their lives for good. See what I mean? Reilly has me all twisted around again; I am starting to dislike the very characters that I have loved for so long now...I guess his plan to make viewers so angry that they throw things at the television, is working!
Hope is still killing me. I think I've gone through a full box of Kleenex on this storyline now. The scene on Monday when she went in to Zach's room was so sad...as was the one when he came running down the stairs in to her arms...even when she asked her family to leave so that she could be alone...all the scenes have been tough and there's probably no way to say that one has been any worse than another. I just can't seem to stop imagining myself going through the same scenarios that Hope has; and it's been hard. I totally sympathize with Hope's anger. The logical side of me knows that giving in to your anger and looking for someone to blame doesn't help you accept the reality of your situation and move on. However, the emotional side of me knows that logic gets thrown out the window when a person is hit with a tragedy such as losing a child and is suffering so greatly. The intensity of that pain would probably drive most people insane, or drive most people to think of vengeance. I think that in some ways, it's a natural reaction to want to hurt the person who caused your pain. I don't know whether or not punishing someone would necessarily alleviate your pain, but I do think that it's a natural reaction. I can imagine that if I was in Hope's shoes; I'd want to physically tear someone apart. To quote Melissa's column last week (welcome Melissa!); it would make me want to "rip someone's head off and kick it down the hall". Kristian Alfonso has been portraying this mixture of intense pain and anger brilliantly. Whenever I see Hope, I can't help but want Billie to rot in prison for the rest of her life too...and I know that she wasn't the person who hit Zach! That's how deeply I have been identifying with Hope...I don't think that I have disagreed with or disliked anything that she's said and done since she found Zach lying in the street.
Bo on the other hand...I'm going to scream if he doesn't tell Hope the truth soon. I empathize with his position but he has to tell the truth and let the chips fall where they may. It has been so annoying to see him repeat the same dialogue with both Chelsea and Billie all week long (oh and Roman as well. Hello Roman! Where ya been?). And how could he even think for 5 seconds that he could let Billie go to jail to protect his juvenile delinquent daughter? Even though the idiot woman is willing! OK, let me clarify my position on Chelsea (boy is she a hated character! I've had A LOT of negative email about her). Yes...it IS bothering me that Chelsea continues to whine about how her life would be over if she had to go to prison; without thinking about the fact that Zach's life IS over. Yes...it bothers me a great deal that she is willing to stand aside and let Billie go to jail for something she did. When Chelsea justified her decision to let Billie to take the blame by saying "if Billie wants to take the blame, she can"; I almost lost it. But...as I mentioned in my last column...two things keep me from outright hating the character. 1 The rumor that it was not Chelsea who ran down Zach; and 2 This character is Reilly's invention and he is writing her as a selfish little twit on purpose, in order to provoke the viewers to hate her. I think the thing that really bothers me about this story is the fact that Billie is taking the blame. This notion of hers that she has to save Chelsea from a lifetime in jail is flat out ridiculous. It was an accident...the courts generally take that under consideration during deliberations. And what happened to parents allowing their children to take responsibility for their actions? How can a child grow to be a well-rounded individual if they never learn from their mistakes? Oh well...I'm getting too deep again...the upside is that we shouldn't have to watch Billie take the blame for much longer; Patrick is hot on the trail and he isn't giving up until he gets to the bottom of the story.
I have to admit that I really enjoyed the scenes of Bonnie forcing Kate to admit the truth of Claire's paternity. If there's any character in Salem that can hold her own against Kate; it's Bonnie. Given the fact that both ladies have the same ultimate goal, we are sure to see more interaction between these two meddling mamas. Bonnie doesn't want the truth to come out because she wants Mimi to stay with Shawn. And Kate is hiding the truth to keep Phil and Belle together. Out of necessity for their mutual cause, Kate and Bonnie will become partners in the deception. Though the good part is that Shawn and Mimi will continue to be together for the immediate future, it does seem as though Kate "wins" again. I wish that weren't so but unfortunately, that's the way it goes right now. Don't worry though, it won't last long, the truth will come out soon - most likely when all parties least expect it. Probably at Shawn and Mimi's wedding. The bright side of Bonnie discovering Kate's secret is that Bonnie is a greedy character and there is a good bet that not only will she blackmail Kate, she'll probably torture her with the truth for a while to come.
I just thought of THE best way to write Nicole Walker off the show. Imagine this scenario...Victor finds out that Nicole was really the person who ran down Zach and because of the pain and suffering that she has caused to himself and his family; Victor orders Nico (remember the bodyguard that disappeared off the map?) to "take care" of Nicole. It would be a perfect solution! It would give Victor the chance to return to the immoral type of character that the viewers love and it would also leave the door open for the character's eventual return (nobody ever stays dead on a soap opera). What do you guys think? I think it would work! The only glitch is Eugenia. I've been reading rumors on the Net that it might have been Eugenia who actually ran over Zach. We know that she was drinking at Sami's New Year's Eve party and we haven't seen her since Zach was killed soooo...it's definitely plausible that it was Eugenia and not Nicole. We'll see. I guess they could also write Nicole off by sending her to L.A. to run High Style.
As suspected all along; it was revealed on Friday that Alex and Lois are plotting together against Marlena!! I KNEW IT! Sheesh! Anyway...at least I'm intrigued again. Not completely and totally because I really feel that this story has been nothing but one big roller coaster ride but; I just have to know what the deal is with Alex and Lois. Why are they interested in hurting Marlena? What is it that they want from her or want her to forget? But I don't hold out much hope that the answers will be satisfying - the writing for this story has proven to be atrocious. What was all that business we were forced to watch with Lois vowing to kill Alex while he was in a coma and him saying (in his mind) that she's a lunatic, yada yada? Why would two people who are plotting together act like that in private? It's like the writers can never make up their minds where they're going next. Anyhow, at least we know for sure that Alex definitely has malicious intentions for Marlena. I can finally see where the "John and Marlena love story" will play in. The truth will somehow come out - hopefully sooner rather than later - at which point John will end up having to help Marlena regain her memory. Give the fact that Wayne Northrup is supposed to be departing sometime in February; we can be assured that however it ends, it will be over soon.
The other news of the week is the hinted-at pairing of Max and Abby. Hmmm... interesting. I'm not sure what I think of them. I didn't really want to believe the rumor when I first heard it - mostly because I thought that Max had better chemistry with Chelsea. However, I changed my mind this week when I saw Max and Abby come together in an effort to make Chelsea admit the truth. Besides, I'm beginning to think that Chelsea deserves to get dumped on her spoiled little butt. She only seems interested in how Max can help her, and doesn't seem to have any 'real' feelings for him. I think it's fairly certain that Reilly plans on having Chelsea inherit the "Bad Girl" crown that currently rests on Sami's head. Cementing that title will naturally mean setting up a situation where Chelsea has to scheme and lie to get the love of her life (as in Sami's early obsession with Austin). You know, the whole stab-your-best-friend-in-the-back-to-get-her-man story. But you know what? I'm fine with that. As long as Reilly allows Sami to grow up and finally realize her dreams of having a happy family with Lucas and Will.
Reader Feedback: Thanks to everyone who wrote in and provided their feedback! I truly look forward to reading your thoughts and opinions so keep them coming!
From Laura:"I was reading your column and when I read about the separation of Bo and Hope my stomach did flip flops. Is their separation going to happen for sure? I've started watching All My Children lately and I can tell you right now that if Bo and Hope separate I will only be taking comfort in one soap every day, and it doesn't air on NBC."
From Vanessa:"I agree totally with just about everyone. What have the writers done to this show? I have watched this show since the early 60's, it's just not the way it used to be. NO one is ever happy these days, always tragedy. I agree bring back Jack, yeah right he's dead, never on a soap! Give Abe his sight, end our misery about Claire, I couldn't care less if the cabbage patch dies and bring the real love back to the show, where's the romance. Ditch the Alex North line, he is VERY creepy. It seems the writers just keep bringing in people to try to get us interested again, NOT working. The Austin/Carrie/Sami etc. storyline is another rerun from years gone by. True fans don't forget what they have ALREADY seen! I agree that we need to see more Horton family scenes; fans want that warm, fuzzy feeling! I don't like Austin or Carrie, god how sweet can one person be? I beat myself up every time I watch the show. Why, why do I do this to myself?? Well at least if the show cancels, then I can be put out of my misery. If the show ends, it's all due to the poor writers, doesn't he read this? Thanks for letting me vent."
From Kerstin:"I just wanted to comment on a few things. First off, I COMPLETELY agree with you about Kristian Alfonso's performance. What a fantastic 2 weeks for her! I have never felt so much emotion for a character as I have for her! I also agree about the rookie cops...they really bugged me too! It's very upsetting to me that they are planning to break up Hope and Bo...can true love ever last?? And the Lois/Alex/Marlena bull??? ARRRGGG, I almost hope that Lois WILL kill Marlena off just to end this crap! Well, keep up the good work!!"
From Danielle:"I too was moved by death of little Zack Brady. I was crying so hard. I have not been watching days because the stories were driving me crazy. But I was home sick last week and thought I should give it one more try. I was so happy to see some real drama. I think we all look for that kind of emotion from soap operas. Ok my thoughts on Belle and Shawn and the whole should they or shouldn't they know the real truth. I guess on some level they can think this... Philip is Shawn's and Zack's uncle so maybe that is why they matched. No one has thought of that yet. But yes they should know. And I wish Kate would get her meddling butt out of the hospital and Victor should just tell them. For heaven's sake! Save us from 3 months of this!".
From Vicki:"I love reading your column it is great! I would just like to say that I find it very hard to like Chelsea after the few scenes I have watched this week. Max was awesome with Chelsea and she continued to be a selfish little witch by letting Billie take the fall for her! For the most part she resents Billie for who she is!! I thought Chelsea was raised by wonderful people. Did she not learn any morals or values from them? You would think that after the accident she would realize what the right thing to do is? It really makes me dislike her more even if it turns out that she really didn't hit Zach. I also would like to comment that I really like the storyline about Zach dying as it is really adding emotion to the show! A lot of it!! Reality is a good thing, refreshing actually. Sad though as it has made me hold my son closer! As for Marlena/Aex/John I agree with you Pamela! Wacky Wacky! They have really messed up Marlena's Character to the point where I find myself fast forwarding the scenes as well! Lastly I am happy to see Carrie return, I just hope they trash the repeat storyline and hook up Lucas and Sami again, this time for good!"
From Alisha:" I have to tell you I record Days everyday, but most days I delete it and maybe watch one show a week just to see where we are and keep praying for some divine intervention in the writing. Well this week I got it, while I know that a lot of people are appalled about the death of Zach, it brought back what soap operas are about! DRAMA! Here was Kristen Alfonso giving the performance of a lifetime and even Peter Reckell showing great emotion and being a torn man between his two children. I think the reason it affected so many people so differently, is this is something real and close to home. Not some of the made up unbelievable stuff we have been made to endure over the last several years with DOOL. Now if we can just get back to more of that kind of writing, (not necessarily kids dying) but drama, like Sami and Lucas, there is a story there if they would just let the characters realize their love and work it out somehow dramatically, maybe Sami having a life or death experience where Lucas would have to realize his love for her, instead of this stupid insulting manner that they choose to handle it. And this story with Marlena and John/Alex/Roman, not even going to touch it. I don't want to see Shawn and Belle together either, Mimi and Shawn have shown so much promise and hope that I cant believe we have to revisit this old story over and over and over. Thanks for letting me be heard, its great to have something to say about days for a change."
From Sarah:"I wouldn't worry too much about poor little Zach. I think that you are giving Reilly way too much credit here. Since when has a little thing like a character being dead, buried, and missing a few organs ever stopped Reilly and Co. before? Soon we will discover that Zach is not really dead. Hope will have "visions" of her son. Bo will think she is crazy, driving him into Billie's open arms. Hope will set off on a search for her child. We will discover that it was all just an elaborate DiMera plot to hurt the Bradys and Lexie was in on the whole thing. Though she will have thought that she was doing the best thing for Zach. And the organs? They will have come from JT or an organ donor list or some such thing. Hope will find Zach, Bo will dump Billie, and that will be the end of it. Oops. I just wrote three years worth of storylines for the show! The other thing that really really bugs me is Lexi's role in Zach's surgery. Since when are physician's allowed to operate on family members? She was Zach's mother for the first year or so of his life for crying out loud! There is no way she could maintain any level of professional objectivity in his care, as proved by her reaction in the OR. It just doesn't make sense."
From Laura:"This storyline with Zach really hits home. My brother was hit by a car in August 04. The driver wasn't drunk; he was just messing with his radio. The thing that bugs me about the storyline is how they say Chelsea will get 20 years, blah blah blah. The driver who hit my brother had his license back the next week. An accident is an accident. Simple as that. I do feel sympathy for Chelsea, because she will have to live with that for the rest of her life, but she needs to be a mature woman, and own up to what she's done. Her letting her own mother take the rap for what she's done is selfish and greedy of her. I hope this storyline gets more sentimental, and like you said, Hope and Bo's family getting more involved. What really is up with that?? And why are Shawn and Bo so unemotional about this all?"
From Kristen:"I would just like to agree with the whole Claire storyline. Being a nurse it frustrates me that you don't have to die to donate a part of your liver!! The liver is the only organ in the human body that regenerates itself meaning if you are a match you an donate a part of it and still continue living a normal healthy life! I wish the writers would have done some research and picked a different organ! I would also like to comment on the Bo & Hope storyline... if it is true that they are splitting up I may have to stop watching DOOL!!! That would be a seriously bad move on the writers part... they are a couple that keep the watchers viewing in."
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