Poor murderous Nick (Soaps.com)
For those of you who haven’t been paying attention to our news room, Days, and their millions of fans got word this month that the show would be picked up for at least for another 18 months. They also celebrated 43 years on television. The happiness turned most fans sour with the news that three major players weren’t going to be on canvas much longer, due to budget cuts. Jay Kenneth Johnson quit and Drake Hogestyn and Deidre Hall were let go. Jay returned. Apparently there was some “misunderstanding”, whatever that means, (not my business!) and Drake and Deidre will not be seen after January. The show will reunite them and send them off canvas, in a move that will either get the show cancelled or make the show what it once was. Good.
Nobody can really argue that the show has been simply existing, day to day…. there are maybe three plots and we can’t figure out where the show is going. As I said in my last blog, when I read Dena Higley’s blog a week ago, I was taken aback, by how she discusses the show, with glowing reports on how things are getting good. It’s as though she is talking about a different show.
Is this firing really about budget or is this about politics? Is there no other way that the show can cut back to keep the most popular characters on the show? Those are all valid questions that I can’t answer. I know that soaps are changing and I know that we have to change with them, or stop watching, but this is truly not good for the show. We know that from experience. Remember how ratings plummeted when Drake Hogestyn was fired last time, and that was something that Ken Corday did on purpose! Ratings are already low. We can’t afford to lose more viewers or the show will be cancelled. We all thought Marlena and John were to be the next Tom and Alice. I’m consoling myself with the fact that they’ll finally…finally be reunited the way fans wanted them to be oh, maybe a year ago. I’m angry that we only have a few short weeks left with them and angrier still that we’ve been waiting patiently for this reunion only to be shown the Sami Brady show, with her 5 year old temper tantrums. There’s something wrong with that. Maybe after they give John and Marlena the boot, they can start writing Sami the way she used to be written.
That’s all I want to say on that. I don’t want to waste time on this, because it only upsets me more. Here’s a new poll. I’m interested in your thoughts – your thoughts are the most important thing. Please vote!
Now then, where are we going with our storylines?
As I’ve said, the show is existing – day to day- week to week, it exists. We have no idea where the show is going and we wonder if the writers know where they’re going with their storylines. It truly does not look as though they do, from where I sit. That’s not an insult. It’s an observation. It’s uncanny. Usually you can tell what’s coming up in the next few weeks to months, by the way things are written, but not in this case. Even the spoilers don’t give us much of a hint. Reminds me of the Y&R spoilers. Are you with me on this? The murder storyline has come to an end, so I wonder what’s next? I’d like to see a good adventure storyline - a hunt, perhaps. Never mind all these stupid triangles. Don’t beat a dead horse.
EJ and Nicole:
They finally had sex. Uninterrupted, and now seem to be moving along with a relationship, which is about time, but I still can’t get into it. I’m trying hard. When Stefano gave EJ an ultimatum. Become a Lawyer for DiMera Shipping, or get your own pad. Uh, EJ could have gotten his own house. Hasn’t he been saving? I imagine he’s gotten accustomed to the maid service and nanny service, so he took the job and already, he had to cancel a romantic weekend with Nicole. Shouldn’t he have talked it over with his new boss, Stefano, before he made the plans? What’s with this trip to Argentina? We’re in the dark, once again with no hints. That doesn’t make me want to tune in. How about you?
Chloe and Lucas and Kate:
Lucas is moving at warp speed by buying a house and wanting to marry Chloe. I prefer when relationships take more time. It’s fun to watch things unfold a bit longer, but the writers seem to like throwing people right into an involved relationship. To me, there is a beauty to watching a relationship progress. A certain sexiness… Oh well. Kate seemed to have taken it in stride, considering that she has realized where her priorities lie. Good for her. Now, how long will she be around, considering her cancer is about to spread? Is she the vet that is being killed off and did the show simply not want to admit to it so they could preserve their storyline? Do you care yet, about this storyline? They still haven’t spent enough time on it for me to care, yet I still love m’ bad girl Kate!
Stephanie and Philip:
Should I stay or should I go? (Soaps.com)
Brady, Nicole and John:
So we’re finally seeing why Nicole and John became friends, so that Nicole could help Brady and John’s relationship, but did the show plan this or was it just a coincidence. That’s what I’m constantly confused about. Nothing seems to be done with any reason. EJ showed that he does care for Nicole, by going to Marlena for advice and by marking his territory with Brady, showing us that he and Brady will not likely be friends. That is promising! I liked the gym scenes with Nic and Brady. Brady gave Nicole his cell phone number and offered her support. This is foreshadowing some good stuff, with Nicole getting major cramps and calling Brady to bring her to the hospital. Uh oh... have you guessed what comes next?
Wrapped up Murder Case:
And it was a good ending. Moving, even. I cried. Did you cry? I know some of you could care less about this case. I understand, but I cried my silly eyes out during the police station scenes with Nick and especially when Maggie showed up. Did you see his eyes in the mug shot? Oh, our poor Nick. Melanie really did a fantastic job in the hotel scenes. She tried hard to be strong, when you could clearly see how shaken up she was by Nick’s attentions and craziness. Then, after all she went through, dimwit Stephanie and her follower, Chelsea, blamed Melanie for Nick’s actions. How utterly ludicrous. Nobody is responsible for Nick’s actions except for him. Hope’s right. Justice has to be served. As much as I like Nick, he has to pay for the crime.
It was really good to see so many characters mingling and working together on solving a crime, yet odd, considering they’re all either related to Nick and Melanie or friends with them. New issue with this storyline was how family kept saying that he hasn’t been the same since Willow died but we haven’t seen that! What are they talking about? He got a DUI and suddenly his behaviour has changed so drastically that nobody recognized him? People make mistakes! Why didn’t they try to help him, if they thought he was on a downward spiral? Why wasn’t this mentioned previously? Why do the writers continue to leave important information out of the shows, forcing viewers to try to figure out the plot on their own? And this was a joke - Hope, finally found out that the autopsy report revealed that the killer would have had to be over six feet in order to stab Trent in the precise angle that he was stabbed in. Like they didn’t get this information a few weeks ago. Melanie’s about as tall as I am! Why would they have bothered to ….I can’t even bother finishing my sentence. Shaking my head.
Steve and Kayla:
We saw these two argue for their entire scenes Friday. Kayla is nervous that she could once again lose Steve, because he’s (trying not to laugh and trying to comprehend why we see these two going backwards instead of forward) got a big case with John Black. Steve’s a Private Investigator, Kayla. He’s going to have dangerous jobs. Didn’t we already go through this? Anyway, isn’t he bound to some confidentiality agreement? Friday’s show has him showing Kayla his notes on this case! Shaking my head.
John and Marlena:
John, the robot, isn’t really a robot. He cares about something. He is driven, by his er... like? of Sami, to finding her killer. Or he is driven by his… like of Blondie. I haven’t a clue. I wish they’d give us a clue. Either way, the killer goes after Marlena, trying to find out where Sami is, so he can finish the job he’s likely paid for. John comes to Marlena’s rescue, which should mean that Sami could return home, if the killer is brought to justice. Or does it?
The five year old and the saint:
Rafe is a saint. I bow to Rafe. I’d like to see him stick around, too, after this storyline is done, but I’m not sure he will. Same old same old with these two.
Here’s a synopsis:
Sami: Rant, rave, repeat lines from last two weeks, cry, whine, name-call, stomp feet, and pout.
Rafe: Beat head against wall and repeat. Beat head against wall and repeat. Beat head against wall and repeat. Beat head against wall and repeat.
The one thing we got from their horrible scenes is that Sami noticed a church nearby. There’s a convent in the church. See where this is going?
Abe, Theo and Lexi:
Yay! Lexi had an epiphany. Does this mean no more whining? She read an article in RedBook and realized that moping around isn’t going ot help her situation! I was really happy to see this and to be moving on from the whining and crying spells. Before anyone jumps on me, I don’t want to hear all of the realities of what happens in this situation in real time, I want to be entertained. Not preached at. I was getting bored of witnessing the same old temper tantrums and overwhelming sadness of Lexi and Abe, and I’m ready for Lexi to move on and deal with the Autism with some fight.
Fave line:
This made me laugh aloud. “Why do your children keep you at arm’s length,” EJ yells. Stefano booms, “Because they’re ingrates!” It just makes me laugh, how completely backwards Stefano is. It’s great!
When I first heard the news that Jarlena would be gone in January, I was, much like my friend John, indifferent, because of what the writers have done to this supercouple. Then, I took a walk down memory lane. A few tissues later and I’m begging the show to remember what these two mean to DOOL.
Fan montage of Jarlena:
Grab more tissues and watch another...
Dry your eyes and be sure to leave your thoughts below and have a fantastic weekend! If you want more thoughts on the show with a different feel, check out Matt's Musings on SOF! See you next Friday with more thoughts!
- Christine Fix
