Bright Eyes

Goodbye to Doug! Wonderful last scenes with Julie. Doug was likable enough, but he could have been more if Peyton Meyer didn't always seem like he just woke up from a long slumber. Plus, it's just unfortunate there wasn't more specificity about his relationships with Dougie and Robert. Also, it's a weird coincidence that he exited in July, the last month we saw his namesake, Doug Williams. Still, those last scenes gave me hope he could turn up again someday, maybe with a new face. I would be happy if we never saw Susan ever again. Today almost made me believe Marlena could have shot EJ, or she realized it was Rachel. Either way, I like that I don't know for sure. I'm excited for whenever the reveal will be. The 'Mackenzie' mention was very well done. I think Xander and Sarah still have loads of chemistry and seem to be the couple to root for with the well rounded writing they're getting, but I think this potential interlude with Brady could be interesting because of Rachel. The only tired aspect is that Brady seemingly has to be a loser in love for the trillionth time.

Until 'The Rock' came along, 'Hulk Hogan' was the most popular wrestler of all time. He had the most charisma and star power of anyone up to that point. That's where my praise ends. If you watch his matches, he's not much of a wrestler at all, and his real life persona, Terry Bollea, was a trash man, husband, and father. He also narced to Vince McMahon when Jesse Ventura tried to unionize, which shows he's also a snake. Okay, I did like Mr. Nanny as a kid. So thanks for the memories Hulk Hogan, but good riddance to bad rubbish, Mr. Bollea.

In one of her scenes with Brady she mentioned having to go back to the hotel for the rest of her things.

Thanks for all your updates.

With DAYS' zero dollar budget, I was quite happy with the (new?) decent court room set today. Much better than the broom closet they used for Philip's trial surrounding the letter.

Was there a preview for next week? I didn't get one at the end of today's episode.

Why does my brain do this to me? Of course!

Someone enlighten me, why the hell would Gwen consider herself a DiMera?

Damn, he was the reason I wanted to see it. Meghann Fahy (Hannah O'Connor, OLTL) got her second Emmy nomination today for Lead Actress in a Limited/Anthology Series or Movie for Siren. Her previous nomination was for Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for The White Lotus.

I also love how the arguments really hit nowadays. The "thought she was an heiress" story notwithstanding. I don't know how you all got through that hot mess. I do think Xander is overreacting about thinking Sarah would abscond with Victoria to parts unknown, but I'm equally on his side about how crazy it is that Sarah thinks it's okay for her to take Victoria on vacation at this time. This story is well done for that reason. I can find myself agreeing and disagreeing with them both. I've been waiting for the kidnapping to happen in the Doug story, but I was happily surprised it was both Holly and Arianna that are in danger. I don't know why that option didn't occur to me. It'll be interesting to see how they get saved. I do hope after all is said and done with the baby story, Sophia will be written out. It will be a shame to lose the actress who plays her mother, but Rachel Boyd is just such a strange presence, even if I did think she did a respectable job in the episode she gave birth. Though she does have brothers if the show cared to keep an Asian family on the canvas.

Martin is so stubborn and insufferable. The countless amount of times he's refused to tell Smitty anything about his situation is infuriating. I hope he does something really stupid and PUBLIC so that it ruins his career and gives us good drama. However, the best part of this storyline is that it has shown us how great Vernon and Clifton Davis could be for the show. Before this, he barely registered for me.

Looking at old posts of mine out of curiosity and one of my first posts refers to JESSICA LANGE! as 'the white chick' from Losing Isaiah. 16 year old me was an embarrassment.

Today, Smitty had that line about a grave which could have been foreshadowing his death, but my money is still on Doug being the first major character to bite it.

I looked up each to see how far along into the series each was. Jim Lowell seems like a respectable amount with it being about a year. Do we know how the character died? I know for Ryan's Hope one of the Ryan sons was supposed to die after just a couple weeks. Just watched clips from the first episode/week Delia had apparently pushed him down the stairs, and was doing her long suffering act right from day one. Did her and Mary ever get on at any point? The Secret Storm killing off the matriarch of the Ames family tragically seems like a big ask for a new audience. I wish we could see it.

I steered clear of most of Carlivati's tenure so I don't have the same animosity for Gwen that others here do. So judging just by her return this week, I'm interested to have a good vixen on the show that isn't tired ass Kristen. I thought Emily O'Brien was at her best when she dropped the theatrics and offered condolences about Doug and asked after Jack. The bitchiness was fun, but I found that she went too overtly campy in some parts. God help me, but I actually liked Alex and Stephanie today. RSW was especially good when he was being heartfelt about Alex's feelings for Stephanie. Still, Steph's mention of Jo just instantly reminds me of how they shouldn't be together in the first place. I hope they continue Rafe being in close contact with Sami. If he's to stay on the canvas, I really don't need him wasting the potential of another female character so tying him to Sami off-screen is a perfect solution for me.

This might be a bit morbid, but the latest episode of Beyond the Gates which implied the show's first death this week without there actually being one, had me contemplating the first death on the other soaps. I know Another World opened with one, but beyond that I can't recall. I know DAYS history more than the rest and the earliest death I can think of is David Martin. Anyone care to enlighten me about the other soaps?

Just in case you haven't seen elsewhere, Jason posted on another site that both William H. Bassett and Barbara Beckley have passed away. Bassett on Feb 9 and Beckley on Jan 26.

I would love for her to have a career revival so Paulina could get gone. Sad to say, but Jackée is abysmal on the show.

Weird to see that Kenny has been in more episodes than some of the recurring characters that have been around since the beginning. And with all the insipid Derek/Ashley relationship drama, Jan was nowhere to be seen all month.

The only scenes I've seen from this show are the edits of Noah Beck guest starring, where his storyline came off a bit premature. ;)

This week made me feel that when Nicole learns the truth about Martin and that everyone, even her parents, kept it from her, her mental health will take a turn for the worse.

Judging by the guest list, I already take back my inquiry since it looks like they interviewing people from all the shows and isn't just CBS focused. Of course, I know nothing.

Since CBS is behind it, wouldn't it be wonderful if this meant Leo was axed?!?

Conner Floyd is certainly easy on the eyes, but I was hoping the excessive recasting of characters would die with the exit of Carlivati. The show should have taken this opportunity to rest Chad and his kids for a few years, while bringing in a Horton offspring we haven't seen in ages. Jeremy certainly would have been a good choice, as Mike Horton would be the first person I'd bring back at any given time. And then, when it's time for Chad to return, you have a few years where he could have gotten up to all sorts, leading to much more avenue for story.