DynamiteKiddo

Jim Reilly! lol. I know he has his fans (seems a fair amount of posters recall his first run fondly here) but I'll never not think of almost his entire body of work as the most simplistic drivel. '93-'95 had some effective gothic mood going on with Maison Blanche, The Possession, and Aremid, but the overly repetitive scenarios and dialogue really detracted from the overall atmosphere. And his earlier complex stuff with J&M's affair and Curtis Reed's murder mystery I largely attribute to riding off Sheri Anderson's coattails. And I'm not saying that he wasn't in on the joke--clearly Laura, Vivian, Sami, Celeste, Susan, etc. were supposed to be wacky . . . but for all the stuff that was supposed to be funny, there was just as much (if not more) "serious" stuff that could be hilariously bad. But come, like, '96, I think he got lazy and was parodying himself, but I bet he was living his best life with the Underground Paris City, 100 ED characters, etc. I sometimes also wonder if he had some kind of contempt for the genre. And then 2003-2006 was a special kind of hell. RC, otoh, misses the mark often and leans way too hard into "camp," but I never get the sense that he's intentionally sabotaging the show (at least on "Days," there were moments on OLTL and GH that made me wonder lol).

Really good example! I’d say she’s by far and large Dena Higley’s greatest success story. That brief renaissance “Days” enjoyed in 2009/10 basically was because of her (and CC/Carly………. lol). Speaking of, Carly, Lawerence, and Vivian Alamain were characters I thought we’d never, ever see again on “Days.”

J&J are my favorite couple on “Days” and while I really, really loved the content AHB and RA & AS gave them, it was problematic and likely would not fly today. I’d NEVER compare them to Cin, but at a certain point, Jenn was crusading all over town forcing Jack on everyone, despite his past. But RA & AS made Jack his own harshest critic and he was very self-destructive and deprecating. Jack not forgiving himself really balanced the writing. But, I’ll call a spade a spade—most of their initial love story was about Jack’s redemption and pain, including Jenn’s own rape by Lawerence. Which is beyond cringe.

I believe it was AHB who had Jenn intern at The Spectator and she wrote the Baby Hannah and Jack/Jenn/Emilio stories… then I think RA & AS started in earlyish 1990 and had Jack kidnap Jenn on the fire truck from her wedding to Emilio and they had the A storyline until Gene Palumbo started in summer 1991. Ya, Nick was a big deal during AHB, but she (maybe it was RA & AS?) moved him away from Eve (it seems like they were pretty popular, though very toxic) in favor of April. Totally bizarre. It feels like AHB really wanted to make the Ramirez family happen much like Dena Higley was obsessed with the Hernandez’s. I love the idea of having a front burner Latino family on “Days,” but both attempts have been pretty unsuccessful. I don’t remember if Carrie & Julio (or Adrienne & Emilio) were under LL or AHB… perhaps both were super invested in carving out a space for the Ramirez’s?

Ya, I think AHB is mostly panned for everything except Jack & Jennifer . . . then RA & AS really catapulted them into the center of the show. As a J&J fan, I'm not complaining lol.

So it looks like the Kiriakis “sitting room” to me redressed. I think Tom Early (the set designer) has done a mostly good job the last few years, even if sets are just being redressed… but this feels so disjointed with the existing foyer/living room set. I am THRILLED we’re getting a dining room set, esp. for the Horton home, but this misses the mark big time for me. I guess I should reserve harsh criticism until I see more than 2 seconds of it lol.

This Bethenny/Tom/Lu scoop is hardly revelatory. It was sooo clear that Bethenny/Bravo had spies and that B, armed with the cameraphone photo, humiliated Lu on-camera and hijacked her big storyline, giving her what would become one of RHoNY's most iconic moments (even though this was LuAnn's storyline and life) and yet another opportunity to hock her $hit. It was so gross and obvious, but it was what it was then and it's hardly news now. However, I do think that some part of B was concerned for Lu, though, after her horrible experience with Jason (couldn't have happened to a more deserving person! lol) . . . but this was completely contrived for the show and it was very cruel. The only genuine thing I think B did for Lu was the intervention because it happened off-camera and probably had a lot to do with her own family's alcoholism and that she'd been [!@#$%^&*]!ng with her for 10 years. But Lu sure burned that bridge! Re. Carole/B . . . I'm glad Cat refreshed our memories about Cassandra Grey, thank you! B felt ignored all summer, even though Carole was helping her grieving friend in LA and then B obviously started passively turning on Carole once filming resumed and it was solidified when B "exposed" Adam's "greed" and implied he was just another Housewives grifter a la Jason & Tom. Carole was protective of Adam and I bet she also felt it was an attack on her intelligence and judgement . . . and she had to fight to legitimize this relationship considering the age difference (which was sexist bullsh!t) and Lu/Nicole. Carole's RHoNY image was largely centered around how chill she was, but she was just as, if not more, sensitive to any criticism directed toward her. Then B started getting ageist with Carole and came for Carole's achilles heel--her career (or that she didn't have one). All the while, Carole "got it" that B was using her (and I do believe they were very real friends) to create a false narrative for a s10 storyline. Carole was always fine playing the game, but she lost her damn mind when she realized that game was being played against her after five seasons of being protected by Bravo. And as much as production liked Carole, they liked Bethenny better. I really felt for Carole . . . she was "show friends" first with Aviva and then with Kristen and Tinsley . . . but I think her friendships with Lu, Dorinda, B, and obviously Heather were super genuine. And I think it was so shocking to her that B threw their friendship under the bus for story and then came for her integrity, which she valued above all else. But then Carole just blew it. Bethenny was wrong through the whole thing, but Carole's overreaction to the whole thing was SO much worse than what B was doing. She gave B the perfect opportunity to legitimately play victim and she obviously took it, with Bravo and Andy backing her 110%. Carole felt completely duped and I think that's where her anger and resentment came from, and she's obviously not over it, which is a bad look for someone who's above Bravo culture. I still love Carole, though. So I can only super speak to NY, NJ, OC, BH, and Atlanta, but of all those, I think Carole is, by far, the most enigmatic hw. There's never been anyone remotely like her, and I doubt there ever will. BH has some very real showbizz legitimacy with 'wives like Yolanda and now Crystal, Kyle always had the Hiltons and Faye, omg that Maloof $$, etc. But on NY, the only super connected 'wife was Kelly Bensimon. But Carole Radziwill had Kennedy ties--Carolyn Bessette was her best friend and she was literally solving the plane crash that night with the coast guard. (Her book is a must-read if you're interested in any of this kind of stuff.) And, completely in her own right, she was an Emmy award winning journalist and NY Times best selling author before HWs. And she was cool af and had better style than any of them (her apartment is still my fav. HWs property . . . Lu's Sag Harbor and Yolanda's Malibu homes are its only rivals, imo). Lol I will always be in awe of Carole. I just wish she didn't come off as sour grapes now.

I thought the reunion was off to a good start. I loved how front and center Garcelle was this installment! Dorit tried, but failed. I think her job is in jeopardy. I thought the Rinna/Garcelle stuff had a lot of meat and they honestly could've delved a lot deeper. Don't come for me, but I finally saw Rinna's p.o.v. in this feud. I loved that Garcelle stayed holding Rinna accountable for Denise last year, but I understood how she thought she couldn't ever catch a break with her. Because she couldn't. Garcelle dropped a bomb with the race allegation, and while I take no issue with her bringing that up . . . that was something worth getting clarification about, before the reunion. She weaponized it to seriously defame Rinna and if she had proof that she said it, she wouldn't and shouldn't have given an inch. What Garcelle should have added to her straight-up saying she doesn't trust Rinna (no one but maybe Erika and Eileen should at this point) is that it's because she threw out her 20-year relationship with Denise to be in the center of some reality tv drama and that she sold her damn soul for this show. (Can they break the fourth wall to that degree??) Rinna knows Garcelle knows this and while Rinna gives zero f*cks, I don't think she's comfortable with other people knowing this. She had to scramble, hence the making up. Was it genuine? Idk . . . but I think they both actually genuinely connected on not recognizing each other anymore and wishing they could go back to how things were pre-HW. I liked the Sutton segment. She's a tragically out of touch and ridiculously privileged Karen, but I really like her and she carried SO much of the weight this season, from start to finish. I'm actually really interested in seeing what, if anything, Crystal will bring. This is make it or break it for her, but her very real Hollywood connections may save her regardless. I could care less about Kyle, unless she's actually, and finally, held accountable for being a two-faced loser. I'm not even stoked about her and Kathy talking about making up because that family keeps everything locked up tight (Kyle would tell all, but can't because she'd permanently lose Kathy and Kim . . . and she'd be selling her soul a la Rinna) . . . this is where the best BH drama has always been, though. Can't wait for Erika. She handled herself well in the opening segment. But I'm hoping she crashes and burns, which the previews indicate she will!

I think the photos are really lovely--I mentioned how amazing the sets look. I haven't read the article yet. I only said the recreated TIME photo was "sacrelig'" because, in my opinion, Cin are literally the worst and their constant and very unwarranted propping (wether its comparing them to B&H, having Marlena be their quasi Fairy Godmother, or staging a photo nodding to one of the show's biggest pop culture moments) is nauseating to me. I'm super glad "Days" and the genre are getting press and a splashy photoshoot that's way more elevated than anything we get as "Days" fans. Perhaps I should have looked at this more macro and focused on the positives than my disdain for this ridiculous couple. And noted that D&J were completely ridiculous considering the Addie/Hope angle . . . but that all happed 10+ years before I was born so I can't comment on wether or not their journey was similar to the 50th anniversary serial killer being exalted as a hero with little to no viable redemption arc while Ciara refuses to acknowledge the pain he inflicted across canvas, including her cousin (the show's then premiere heroine), who he intended to burn to death while absconding with her hours-old newborn.

That recreation is BEYOND sacrelig’, but the Horton Home looks gorgeous photographed there.

This is clever, though not totally original. Hope it’s fun!

I thought this was really weird, too. I get that Ben and maybe a newer audience knows Kate and not Chelsea, but for all the history they're dropping for "Beyond Salem," this made no sense. I'm nostalgic about Greta . . . when I first started watching "Days," the Greta/Eric/Nicole/Lucas quad was front burner and then I really loved Austin & Greta (and Brandon & Sami) together . . . I hated when they moved Brandon and Greta into the J&J story and was super bummed that Peter Brash & Paula Cwikly not only immediately wrote Austin & Greta out, but that they didn't have them leave together (this was when Austin & Nicole were almost a thing, which I never liked until AP's 2005 return).

Between Chad and nuSonny, there was so much booty on today's eppy! 🍑 😍 😝 ZT is such a welcome change . . . for so many reasons, FS was not working, but I thought he was totally fine (good, even) until his 2016 return . . . the tics he came back with only got worse and worse and worse until it was unbearable. I loved seeing Chad and Sonny's bff relationship get so much focus . . . I know Chad started as Will's friend, but even when CD was still playing Chad, he and Sonny were always so much closer. I will say CM left a lot to be desired today, but he was on so briefly. J&M thrive in this kind of mode and it was great seeing Shane. I'm not one of those fans who agree that J&M are the core or even "face" of the show, but I appreciated Dee's voiceover for the opening and didn't think it was offensive to Mac's legacy at all. It was great seeing A&C!!! (Did I miss it or were they left out of the opening credits?!?) I think they are huge missed opportunity . . . there is so much story potential for them and while I think they should be endgame at this point, they're always better apart being angsty and stuff. It's when they're together that tptb can't ever figure out what to do with them . . . S&B are the same situation. Re. Austin Peck: I have a soft spot for him and after 2011/12, I never want PM back--what a unpleasantly surprising disaster. And I actually think Austin is a great character (he's a hero with a very complex back-story and on-screen history), he just gets so dumbed down. I think a little Tony & Anna goes a long way and while I initially would've preferred their spots go to J&J or S&K, I admit they're fitting perfectly here. I hate Cin as much as everyone else and am constantly disgusted by them. You'd think it would plateau at some point but it doesn't, lol. And as someone who watches BH Housewives, LR exceeded my expectations . . . I thought she was just gonna be Rinna playing Rinna, but I saw Billie. (She is one of my fav. characters, btw.) I did think the NOLA scenes were the best produced . . . they dusted off a street set (we haven't had one of those since pre-Tomlin as EP I think) and though I think Sonia Blangiardo is one of the more uninspired "Days" directors, but she put more effort in these scenes than the others. Sadly, the Paulina/Abe/Lani/Eli content was the weak link for me. JH is a delight but all the name dropping and direct reference to a "Kathy Griffin My Life on the D List" episode (where she visited Rosie and Gloria on Star Island) was way too much. I know Paulina is supposed to be extra, but less is more sometimes and that was all really cringey. But whatever sets they redressed/combined/whatever for her mansion was great! Eli & Lani got a really nice character scene talking about parenthood, though. Out of the whole Chabby/WilSon/Gabi/JJ/etc. crowd, I'm glad RC has kept them on his whole tenure . . . this is such a great overall group and while E&L may not light the show on the fire, they are very valuable supporting characters who've been through so much together. Can't wait for tomorrow!

Omfg Nighttime Hope was everything! Lmfao! I remember at the time, some Hope stans on the old SoapCity board were actually genuinely praising that dumpsterfire as vindication for Hope for all the “pain” Bo put her through over the years with Billie and recently-returned Carly. Lolol………..

Dorit is gonna be in the HOT SEAT at reunion! Lol. Last year, I couldn't believe how much she won me over by distancing herself from the Denise gang up, but she has lost all goodwill x 100 this year. Going after Garcelle was such a mistake. And did she think they were gonna edit out her Erika stuff or something?!? Lolol. Kyle is the worst. And even though I've been enjoying Kathy, I can see past the character she and production are cultivating. Someone on here said that if you look past her edit, she's dangerously similar to NY's Ramona . . . and while I loved sneaking a peak at her insane family dynamic with her sisters last week (this is where BH's real drama has always laid), it was evident that Kathy can be an unflinching gaslighter. Not that I ever feel bad for Kyle or anything . . . lol. But I'll never be on Team Kim, either. She is a problematic sociopath and I can't even empathize with her addiction because she's either unwilling or unable to be accountable (forget being held accountable). I'm still on the fence with Crystal. I hated that she tried to irresponsibly label Sutton as some kind of predator, but she proved she could BRING IT in a confrontation at Rinna's pasta party and I like her home scenes. But she's been a big nothingburger since her feud with Sutton cooled down. Rinna obviously hates Garcelle because she holds her accountable and stays holding her accountable . . . she clearly is paranoid about her "rivals" (LVP, Denise, now Garcelle) hijacking her narrative and turning the audience against her. She should have learned from her mistakes. And while I understand that she and Garcelle (and Denise) may have been "Hollywood friends" (© Yolanda), she needs to STOP burning bridges for the sake of this show because it shows such a lack of character. And while I can appreciate she's ride or die for her friend/ally FINALLY, Erika is NOT the hill to die on. Losing Eileen has really hurt her. Erika is trash. I cannot begin to understand her play here . . . she needed to break her contract and dip when this all happened. She is beyond burying herself. I LOVE Garcelle and Sutton! And I do feel horribly that Sutton is being scapegoated by The Coven, but her "reputation" concerns do sound like some Karen bs (and this is a pattern for her) . . . I am NOT defending Erika, but I didn't think that was the way to frame her very valid concerns about this heinous scandal. She is walking that back now, but no one is willing to listen to her. I'm glad production is on her side, because she's been very slow at learning how to navigate this show and I do NOT want to see her steamrolled. And I can't love Garcelle more . . . from her friendship with Sutton, home scenes, genuinely interesting and fabulous life . . . she's amazing and can throw down better than any of these women while retaining her humanity . . . Erika should take notes.

I’m surprised by the format… I guess I was thinking really simplistically and thought Billie would be going one place an episode, so Mon. would be like Shane, Marlena, John, Carrie, Austin, Anna, and Tony in Zurich, Tues. would be Chad, Will, Sonny, and Leo in Phoenix, Wed. would be Ben & Ciara in NOLA, etc. I am SOOO looking forward to this!!!

As a huge Jack fan, this is devastating news. Even though I’ll always prefer Missy Reeves as Jenn, if this is happening because she won’t return full-time, then F that. They should’ve hired Cady McClain long-term and then we could be enjoying the characters on-screen as Horton anchors.

I can't agree more about your Missy vs. Cady assessment! I am a huge Jenn/J&J fan, so I definitely have a dog in this fight . . . I do think she is on par with Marlena and Hope as the lead legacy heroines and I think the familiarity and history Missy provides is pretty irreplaceable. But, like I said, I think Jenn is a really vital lead character, so I'd gladly take Cady full-time over visits or a very reduced schedule from Missy (which I think she had for years). And as such a big Missy as Jennifer fan, I am deeply disappointed by her "personal beliefs" but I can separate actress from character here. Like, just seeing Missy's Jenn in the Horton house and that being her home now . . . just the imagery stirs so much emotion in me . . . Cady's Jenn in the Horton house did not conjure any of those feelings in me. But given time, I'm sure she'd settle in better re. those aspects. But I do hate to think of anyone being uncomfortable on set with Missy. So idk, this is tough.

I also started watching during Langan (2000) . . . looking back on it, I wouldn't say I have rose colored glasses, but I did just accept everything they were feeding me until about Dena Higley 1.0. Greta/Eric/Nicole/Lucas was one of the A stories when I started, so I'll say I have very, very fond memories of that and then I became really invested in Austin & Greta and Brandon & Sami (I hated when TL moved Brandon and Greta to the J&J story). Confession: I look back on Virtual Eden fondly. 🤫 And I loved all things Coronation Massacre. And even though I was there for it at the time, I now object to almost all things teen scene (Last Blasts, Tropical Temptation, etc.). But as far as the late '00 period we're talking about . . . it's wild how hard TL was working to dismantle the establishment couples like J&M, B&H, Abe & Lexie, and Victor & Kate. The J&M/Brady/Belle stuff is esp. insane for all the reasons you guys have well covered. Like, on paper, if TL wanted to take a darker turn for the hero supercouples, that sounds ok . . . but it was so over-the-top destructive. During this time, Bo also had lost complete faith in Hope, who was suffering from PTSD and constant panic post-Gina. And this was right after the fans voted John as JT's father instead of Stefano. This all was also right before TL desecrated J&J. But the production values were never better. As EP AND HW, Tom Langan was living with the set list. Almost everyone had a house with exteriors (like Marlena's penthouse in the video above), there were tons of public spaces, everyone had cars, they were filming at Salem Place and the rest of the lot constantly, etc. The good ol' "Days" lolol. I do think that Peter Brash & Paula Cwikly were mostly great hws for the show, despite things like the Gemini Twins and CopBillie lol. That period was such a high for the show. And re. Reilly 1.0 . . . I've seen a lot of it online and I agree that there is a lot of mood and atmosphere (he excelled at that), but I have noting positive to say about the plotting or characterization. Imo, it was all so unsubtle, simplistic, and repetitive. It also locked the show into J&M, B&H, and J&J keeping the show in a holding pattern until Dena Higley & Chris Whitesell finally successfully transitioned the show out of that stranglehold. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE the vets and J&J are probably my fav. couple, but the show could just never successfully break free of them as the defacto leads and status quo. But anyway, if I have to pick a highpoint for him, it'd be '93/esp. '94 . . . that's before almost the ENTIRE show consisted of hero/heroine/villain triangles with, like, NO nuance lol. I don't remember any backstage stuff about her firing (she was getting huge airtime before Reilly returned), but I do remember Alexis Thorpe would only agree to super limited appearances when they brought everyone back from the dead. Which sucked, I liked Cassie relatively (it helped that I had major issues with most of her contemporaries by this point). Edited to add: I do wish, though, that Rex and Cassie got retconned out of existence . . . like others mentioned, it seemed like this was possible before Kyle Lowder's casting as Rex. But I think Cassie got mentioned on a call with Kate during TomSell or Higley/Griffith. Them turning out to be Roman & Kate's kids with Marlena as surrogate was such a dumpsterfire.

This is so exciting. I'm so looking forward to seeing Austin & Carrie. And I'm so happy about Sonny being recast--I definitely think FS was approached, but I'm so glad he turned them down (he'll likely really regret this later) . . . he was not working as Sonny for a really long time. And I, personally, don't think that because of anything appearance-related . . . he just got . . . so . . . expressive since his 2016 return. Like, I think he thought he was portraying Sonny really earnestly, but he was either SO saccharine (doing big doe eyes) or SO pouty (with serious face scrunching). It was just beyond off, and he wasn't like that from 2011-15. And I'm sooo ready for Billie! She's definitely in my top 5 of fav. characters, but if we're talking a long-term return, I prefer Julie Pinson (not like Rinna would ever return for any meaningful length of time). But considering Housewives, it makes sense for her to lead this . . . Peacock can piggyback off that, but it's a shame RHoBH isn't filming rn because this would be a cool thing to feature, ESP. with Eileen participating. I'm crossing my fingers for higher production values (doubtful lol, esp. since this cast is an investment!) and I really hope it can be current and fresh, not hokey like soaps tend to be.

This Erika situation is such a clusterf. At the dinner at Kyle's house, I don't even think she was being phony. To me, it seemed like she was so overwhelmed that she was stream-of-consciousness-ing her thoughts. which is why it was so all over the place. What it does feel like, though, is that right now, she's using the "Tom was mentally unfit" argument to explain his actions that she's being held accountable for. Even if Tom IS mentally unfit, his actions can't be explained away by that premise--he still stole millions and millions of dollars from his clients, who were victims of horrific disasters. That's purposeful and shows intent. It's not like he accidentally moved funds to the wrong place, because then the $$ would be somewhere and they could pay. He was obviously broke because of their INSANE lifestyle and (unnecessarily) high business costs and stole to keep the ruse going. Who knows how long he's even been doing this. That man is as wicked as they come. Erika should be showing limitless empathy for Tom's victims, but maybe she thinks if she does that, she'd be held more liable when it comes time for the court to decide how they're going to rectify this. I know she needs the Bravo check now, but she really should have broken her contract and quit because she is coming off horribly and this is all going to be used against her. And I don't see how Bravo can do anything other then cut ties with her moving forward. He S11 paycheck better be worth it for her! Re. LuAnn's alcoholism: if addiction is measured by consequences, then LuAnn is an alcoholic. She was in a toxic, alcohol-soaked relationship/marriage that instantly imploded; she had a drunk mishap at the Palm Beach hotel which resulted in her arrest and threatening a police officer; she couldn't stay sober during her probation and made such poor choices that led to her kids suing her and she needed an intervention; etc. She's definitely a binge drinker and during summer 2020, she had a wakeup call that after ALL her consequences, she couldn't drink responsibly and was blacking out in public multiple times and that scared her enough to dry out. It's really difficult for her, because she obviously enjoys being drunk and she's usually ok, but she can't help herself from binge drinking and it scares her . . . it's an internal war and I have a lot of empathy for her and can really relate to her on this issue. I doubt her sobriety will be permanent because she clearly still isn't at the point where she WANTS to stop drinking. And not only was her father an alcoholic but it's been heavily implied that her daughter is, too. And reports say she isn't on good terms with her son. She's very lucky that she has her brother and his twin daughters that she's so close with because her personal life has always been such a mess. LuAnn is a real enigma and she's definitely one of the most interesting hws NY has had, she just can't get out of her own way with her pride and delusions of grandeur.

This sounds like a total waste of $$ for a show on a shoestring budget.

I'm actually shocked that RC "allowed" Chad a pov on Ben last week. (I know, I know. It was ultimately done to drum up sympathy for Ben when Chad was gloating to him about Theo. But that's not the effect it had on me.) RC has obviously had a super hard time reconciling the Ben/Chabby problem, so he's very purposefully separated them (except when Chad let Ben escape last year and when Abby was drugged and CRAZY lol). Maybe this works for some people . . . but all it does for me is illuminate how stupid a concept this Ben as a herovictim thing is. You have all these people who love Abby and go on and on about her, but they're either down for Ben or they just IGNORE the elephant in the room (Ben at Jenn's house for Christmas last year was particularly rich). Honestly, if the character was a black sheep or allowed to teeter on the edge, he might work in a dark, psycho, pariah way . . . but soaps always get this wrong with the leading man who's dark with criminal and/or psychotic tendencies. And that's a fine role--that character CAN have pov, but it's always blundered. Even though I hate Cin are obviously gonna get the Olympic cliffhanger, I can't say I'm not down for the theater of this wedding. I still really wish Kyler Pettis was playing Theo!!! And I hate that Theo always gets cast aside, too. So true. But they have such great comedic, sparring chemistry! Lol. But BD & AZ really excel at that kind of material.

Back in the day, I thought EJ/Nicole/Brady was a way more compelling triangle than EJ/Sami/Rafe, but I'm a big Bricole fan. It was always crazy to me that they fired Lindsay Korman right as EJ & Ariana were heating up; they were WAY better than EJ & Taylor (but I wouldn't have fired Tamara Braun during the 2011 purge leading up to The Reboot). The EJami thing is so curious . . . I've read on this board that Ali Sweeney & James Scott went to TPTB during early TomSell to advocate for EJami, because they were clearly going full steam ahead with a Safe reunion in 2012. IMO, perhaps the best Safe scene ever was when Sami found out that not only was EJ, not Rafe, the father of Nicole's baby but that Carrie knew, too. Sami was SO hurt that Rafe was in cahoots with Nicole and that he told Carrie . . . the line included something like, "the two women I hate most in the world." I HATE EJami for all the reasons everyone's already detailed. I like Ericole--GV and AZ have great chemistry, but like everyone's said, Ari has chemistry with almost everyone she's paired with (I remember Vargas and they were hot together before he was revealed to be a major dirtbag; can't remember the specifics). But I feel like TPTB did such irreparable damage to Ericole in the name of St. Daniel Jonas that I never got totally invested in them again, esp. after Eric's initially great pairing with Jennifer when they were all intoxicated and destructive together. But I will really miss GV, I've been such a fan since his Lucky days on GH. I do like that they've left a return very open-ended and I was happy to hear that TPTB begged him to stay last year.

Today's eppy hasn't aired yet in CA, but yesterday's (7/19) was so good. First of all, I can't remember when we got a climax that slowly unfolded through multiple acts like this . . . Xander busting in, Eric cutting him off, the reveal, Eric not believing him, Nicole denying it, Sami's story, Eric punching Xander, Nicole's confession, and then everyone's reactions. It was old school soap. I mean, John ripping the Nicole mask off Kristen and everyone being shocked is entertaining, but something like this has so much more payoff and is very specific to the genre. And I LOVED that it was a standalone. If there were other stories yesterday, it wouldn't have been nearly as effective.