Bright Eyes

It's hard to be devastated by this, when those emotions from the last cancellation are still so fresh, the 2022 finale was as perfect as you could get to a soap opera finale, and by most accounts, the return series has been very hit and miss.

I've been enjoying this week for the most part, but Kate settling down with milk and cookies was the strangest writing. She would have something 1) more adult and 2) more rich and decadent. Little choices like that, which disregard such simple characterization piss me off.

With this thread being so vast, I forget if Debbi Morgan being wanted for a role is a fact or just speculation, but if it is true, I actually think she might have been wanted for the role of Leslie, the manipulative, narcissistic mother. I think the characters that most interest me are Daphnee Duplaix's straight laced Nicole, the aforementioned Leslie, and that middle Dupree grandchild with the business mind. Plus, I think we can categorically state this show easily has the sexist men in daytime and even in contrast to the soaps across the pond and down under. With every day inching closer, I get more and more excited!

Pretty sure most people admitted that 20 years ago.

It's definitely a shame we lost Madelyn Kientz, because she was a natural and there were a handful of times this new girl looked like she was glitching. I've pinpointed another reason why Abigail Klein is the worst actor on the show ... she comes off as some sort of insipid TVKids host. What does Carlivati have against Melissa? Plenty of past characters are naturally referenced, but for some reason, there's times like today where the dialogue will just blatantly and suspiciously make sure not to mention her. Did Lisa Trusel piss in his cheerios or something? However, for all his many faults, making Julie a true cornerstone of the show again is always a pleasure. Getting to see that flashback of Doug reading her the lyrics she told Doug III about was the perfect end to her scenes today, and the Steve/Kayla flashback was another one I'd never seen as well.

And here's me in 2025, watching 1995 Ricky raw-dogging Bianca and Natalie like it's a sport, desperately wishing I could be the next notch on his bedpost. Simpler times!

I'm pretty sure she guest starred on the show at one point.

It's too early for Johnny, but not that bad considering he'd at least be 18 this year un-SORAS'ed. But like I said before, Steve and Kayla aren't even grandparents yet, and Tate is going to have a baby? No, thank you. Miscarry that child, Sophia, I beg. Then, get Stephanie up the duff with Philip's child, please.

I know times are tough, but It was so depressing to see the urgent meeting for Body and Soul take place at the hospital. But at least that forced mess is finally dead and I'm happy to be rid of Hattie, hopefully once and for all. Goodbye to Seth, too. I hope the new writers break up Justin and Bonnie and she is never heard from again either, but I do adore Judi Evans who always gives her all, today being no exception. We could surmise that Alex will be back at Titan shortly, and Leo probably back at The Spectator (poor Chad!), but I wonder what this means for Doug and his money troubles. The most ecstatic for Kate and Abe being free! She has been just as great as ever when involved with Philip and anything but the bs that is B&S. But is this the worst Carlivati had to offer? How much damage did he do in his last two months? I'm intrigued, yet terrified, but I'm staying tuned regardless.

The most interesting aspect of this episode to me was Jada. I thought her and Belle sparked as scene partners and would very much accept a complex friendship/frenemy-ship/rivalry to be explored. Clashing over EJ, Shawn, and even at work once Jada inevitably gets her job back. They have the bare bones of something special there if they want to mine it. I hope the new HWs see how much of a star Elia Cantu could be and don't fall into typical patterns when it comes to black characters on soaps. If they were going to recast Rachel Blake, the least they could have done is keep her more age appropriate. It's a sin that the actress is younger than Deidre Hall, when she was a counterpart of Stefano's. But DAYS always stays being weird.

I was able to set it to record here in Canada as well. Exciting times!

I pray that it wins.

That and Faith.

At least Sass and Frank are seemingly unscathed. The triplets were fantastic additions. And Frank was incredibly sexy to me. I remember reading about Phoenix here and being utterly disappointed. Honestly, I think fate intervened I stopped watching at the right time because my memories of the show are so solid and wonderful. Joshua's Survivor syndrome and the virus that killed Sarah are two of the best soap opera stories I've had the pleasure of watching live. To this day, I've never been as shocked as when Sarah actually died, being that she was a long termer who seemed like a lifer and who was written very Mary Sue-ish, which of course could be hard to take at times, but man did she get a hell of an exit. Of course, now it seems like they quadrupled down on making sure that's the unfortunate norm.

Anyone that debuted after Esther, I have no clue about, except a brief glimpse at hot as hell Alex Tarrant when he was on the show. These updates are amazing. It seems like a tremendous overflow of breakdowns, and the most dark and depressing plot twists imaginable. Harry being a serial killer is actually insane! Building for a future really isn't something they care to build towards I guess.

I don't feel very positive about Nicole's exit being that she lost her mind and is now imprisoned. That doesn't seem right for her at all. At least they didn't kill her off, or let her vanish into thin air like TK. I saw a brief clip of her saying goodbye to Harper and had assumed they had reunited. I do know they killed off Harper though, which is devastating to hear. She was a firecracker and such a breath of fresh air when she first arrived and when I was watching.

I just saw that Nicole has gone? Is this accurate? Can someone tell me what her exit was? Sally Martin was a great actress and one of the best reactors on a soap. I still remember the face she made when Kylie was told she had chlamydia. Chris, Drew, and Esther are all that are left from when I was a viewer.

Paulina told Arnold today that Shawn wasn't a good choice because his previous time as Comm. was a disaster due to his alcoholism.

Rafe and EJ sharing the same piece of bacon was disturbing. Also, and I realize this is extremely petty of me, but Kristen never having her nails done always bothers me. Though I would argue, small touches like that constantly being missed are a reasonable problem all their own. I hate that the old white bitch is seemingly the real Rachel Blake. EJ is a great bastard though and I genuinely love to hate him.

The short time I watched was wonderful, but I let it go because it got too difficult to keep up with and constantly had to find new places for episodes. I know it's down to three episodes, but I'm currently watching classic EE (in Jan 1995), DAYS, and will be watching Beyond the Gates so that is as much time as I can lend to the soaps, unfortunately. But I'm always happy when you and others post updates and thoughts about the show. I thought the renewal ended Sept. 2025? I always mess that up for some reason. Thx.

Until we know otherwise, 2025 is going to be the year of, will Neighbours/Hollyoaks/Days of our Lives/The Bold and the Beautiful be cancelled? We shall see.

Kudos to Warner Bros. for doing this! https://variety.com/2025/digital/news/warner-bros-free-movies-youtube-streaming-1236298880/

A DS article said it wouldn't be for every episode, just some.

I don't know how many times, but I do know Grant was the first to light up the joint. The legend!

I thought James Reynolds was clearly trying his best to ground the inane Whitley King scenes. That's about the only positive I can come up with for Wednesday's episode. Thursday's was back to actually being entertaining. I've had my issues with Linsey Godfrey before, but I can admit she is a good actress when need be, unlike generic Abigail Klein, who is the white bread of all white bread actors. Of all the characters on the show, she needs to be recast the most. @AbcNbc247 you're right that Xander/Sarah/Philip/Stephanie/Alex/Joy could be really good though. I could even see a Philip/Sarah affair happen at some point. Xander goes too far with the DiMera takeover, Philip's mental health starts to decline again, and Sarah being a doctor would find herself being sympathetic to him... Meanwhile, I would love if somehow Joy starts to play with Alex and Stephanie and when Alex finds out Stephanie knows about the letter, Joy uses the betrayal to seduce him, only to turn around and humiliate both him and Stephanie for revenge. Stephanie's mental state would take a hit again too, leading her back to Philip ... who struggles not only with his own mental health, but his once confident feelings for Stephanie, his doubts that her feelings for him are genuine and the newfound relationship he's forming with Sarah. Of course, I also think it's a perfect time to have Stephanie be pregnant with Philip's baby and have that help make everything even messier. I'm sure it's not the same mattress Tom and Alice died in. That's insane. No one, if they have the means, keeps the same mattress for decades. Most people know to get a new one at least every 10 years.