Days of Our Lives - NEWS ROOM

These are the "DAYS" of my week for May 11-May 15:

Another interesting week went by with a second kidnapping and we know, soon to follow, an exchange. Stefano for Stephanie. Say that three times fast – or better yet, read on!

The ghost of Passions past:

Sometimes I feel as though DOOL is channeling Passions sometimes.

EJ:

Weird. EJ talks to that portrait of Stefano, far too often. Who does this?!

Loonie tunes:
Nicole, if overheard talking to herself, especially at the hospital, would be likely to get some strange looks, but oddly, in soapland, nobody notices things like this! For an extremely insecure person, I found it hard to believe that Nicole wouldn’t ask EJ where he had been all night, the night he spent behind the dumpster, on the pier! I do think Nicole has passed this self-talk trait on to hubby EJ, who can't stop talking to the portrait of Stefano, as if he'll come to life at any moment.

Luis/Rafe:
Dr. Baker was thankful that Rafe saved his life from those goons. At first, I thought Rafe must have hired them, but it turns out, he was in the right place at the right time. Rafe told Doc (Dick?) that he assumed he was in trouble and although very reluctant, Doc tells Rafe he’s got an addiction to gambling. Rafe’s snotty reply? "Am I supposed to feel sorry for you?" Well, no, but didn’t *he* want to know? Doc was just answering his question. Are we summoning dim witted Luis, here? Now, when I see Rafe, I can’t tell the difference between him and Luis.

Another Baby Switch!
You’ve likely noticed, Grace is being played by two new babies. I spoke with a studio rep who told me their names. The newbs are really teensy and look completely different, but this doesn’t hamper my viewing.

Blood Feud:
EJ admits he just wants to be a family, not a target, anymore, but he can’t let Victor take him to his knees. EJ finding the passport and number in the back of Stefano’s portrait was a nice touch. I really wish that the show had a tighter rein on their spoilers, because I was upset to see the spoilers posted for the next few weeks, all over the net. That doesn’t fly with me. It makes for a much better show to be surprised. Sure, some spoilers are great, but weeks and weeks in advance? I love that Y&R has held a few twists, even from the media.

Philip got really belligerent after being drugged by Owen. He and Stephanie had a huge fight and both agreed that they probably shouldn’t get married. I had to close my eyes and count to ten after that scene. Give. It. A. Rest. Why are they marrying, again? I don’t care if he was drugged, why would he say those things to her? Insecurity? Just because drugs mess you up? I suppose it could happen, but it didn’t sit well with me, because of all the past break-ups. Stephanie isn’t shy. Did you see her wandering about the mansion in her pretty nightgown? Melanie was so obviously jealous. I had to laugh. Melanie shouldn’t worry. She’ll have her own man, soon and get over Philly. Steph should have heeded Caroline’s warning…and she should listen to Melanie. Stephanie is always trying to change Philip and she's overlooking the facts that Philip is truly not the man for her, because he's following in Victor's footsteps. If needy Steph knew Philly had Stefano, she'd be gone in a heart beat.

Victor has had some great scenes with EJ and Philip. Vic was so cute, when he taunted EJ, asking him for everything, in return for Stefano, in a sing-song voice, at the mysterious warehouse. (I assume it’s a warehouse.)

Owen the gardener got a lot of notice from fans, even before he made his debut, which showed me how fans are dying for more hotties on the show! He’s the reluctant thug. He has a gentle demeanor which is tested and tainted by evil EJ DiMera. Hey, you might turn evil too, if faced with EJ on a bad day! So Owen’s not exactly evil, but must follow those sick orders. Maybe it's something to do with his father Walter, maybe he feels he owes Stefano a favour... I can’t believe poor Stephanie is going to wake up in a drawer at the morgue. The mental scars will last forever. It’s a great story. I can tell, because I really wanted to look away, and felt sickened and uncomfortable for her, while Owen was wheeling her into the drawer.

Nicole and Dick:
Is Dr. Baker’s name, "Dick" or did Nicole simply call him "Dick," for other reasons? Matt and I were flabbergasted by that! The smart Doc wrote an ‘insurance’ letter, naming Nicole his killer if he’s found dead. To me, that just means this baby switch story will go on. I don’t like baby storylines to begin with but again, back to Passions, this is something that was typical of that show, and we all know Gary Tomlin, the Co-executive Producer used to work for Passions. That doesn’t bode well with me, because it reminds me too much of the storylines from Passions that would drag on way too long. When Ethan and Theresa got together after seven years – finally, most fans lost interest and left the show. Is this Sami and EJ’s future? I worry it’ll take way too long and the fans will grow restless. If it is going to happen, it should happen this year, so we can move on to another storyline.

Safe:
Rafe remembered Grace had a doctor’s appointment the next day after Grace took ill, which caused Sami to go into shock. I understood, considering she has many kids, exes and is jobless, that she could turn potential suitors away, not to mention how whiny, needy and insecure she has become. It’s not easy to watch all these insecure women on the show. This week marked another day of Sami worrying about the possibility of Rafe leaving her. He has to reassure her almost daily that he’s sticking around. I’d like it if this constant concern was rested. Unfortunately, if there is no drama for Sami to panic over (ie. Seeing Doc Baker at University.) then she’s not herself! Rafe should wear a tee with the logo "I won’t leave you, Sami!" printed on it. Not looking forward to next Tuesday, when Rafe again has to reassure Sami.

Flip side - Sami was "on" Friday, when she ripped EJ a new one, after he refused to let her bring Johnny home! At least he’s doing this because he fears for his son’s safety. I’m not sure who is right here. Is the manse really that safe? Is anywhere else?

Will and Mia:
I know that many of the older viewers will not identify with the younger set, but I do and I like their story. Mia’s attempt to use another lie to cover up another, until she became all tangled up was entertaining, and arriving at none other than Maggie’s place for a meeting was priceless! Maggie thought she came by just to chat, while Brady was incensed that she was an addict and didn’t tell Nicole any of this! Brilliant. Let’s see how she squirms her way out of it. More lies or the truth? I think she should go with the truth. Will is a sensitive kid. He’ll be supportive.

I enjoyed Mia and Maggie meeting at the Java Cafe and Maggie talking about her kids. The show is treating us with reminders of the past characters again, which makes me feel warm and fuzzy – even though I didn’t watch during the days Maggie’s kids were on. Maggie was really sweet with Mia, and I wondered if they'd have more scenes.

Daniel/Chloe saga:
Daniel really does love Chloe. It’s obviously excruciating to him to think she’s in any danger of being hurt by Kate. It makes me want her to go running to him, even though I said a few weeks ago that I thought she and Lucas could make a go of it.

Bope:
We didn’t see much of them, did we? We learned he is still having visions and this time, Ciara and her teddy are involved. It could be intriguing. I liked the Hope/Victor interaction at the pub and the Max/Bo/Ciara/Hope interaction as well. It was nice to hear them discuss Chelsea, even though she’s gone…. Or is she?

Live Blogged Nominations:
Amy and I had fun, posting the nominations as they came in, for those who weren’t in Eastern Standard Time, or for those who were on a commute or at work. DOOL came out with eleven nominations! Surprised DOOL won a nomination for best show, considering they’ve been inundated with issues all last year with low ratings, dropping half the cast (vets), storyline issues and producing issues… It’s truly a surprise. I’m happy for those actors who were nominated and you can read more on that, here. Stay tuned next week for a few quotes from the actors themselves!

This is all that sticks out in my mind for the week. If you’ve made it this far and have anything to add, I’ll be happy to read them! Remember, agree or disagree, it’s really all in fun. Speaking of which, I’m off for a much needed long weekend! It’s Victoria Day, here in Canada. Have a lovely one!

- Christine Fix