j swift

A little less Joy in Salem https://www.tvinsider.com/1182342/days-of-our-lives-alexann-hopkins-leaving-joy-wesley/

That was really goodbye to Theresa and Joy? On a random Wednesday. Joy's never going to get a good letter of recommendation if she quits a job on the second day of work. I wonder if they'll re-cast because they can't just ignore the baby?

I was inadvertently amused when Joy told Philip that she brought breakfast because he worked late. Meanwhile, there was a full scene the other day dedicated to Alex, Xander, and Philip closing early. And today, hardworking Philip went to go talk to his Mommy less than an hour after he arrived at the office. The guy's not exactly breaking a sweat over there at Titan Industries.

But, there's enough foreshadowing to expect that is what's next. Like miles away foreshadowing. Like neon signs foreshadowing. Like why-not-just-use subtitles foreshadowing.

To be fair, if you're forever an ingénue Eva la Rue, you expect to be eventually be a reformed-homophobic, with her own history of trauma. I think there are few producers who would cast her as an unrepentant baddie. So, I could see the logic in her wanting to dial it back a bit, so the audience is willing to accept the shift.

Kidnapping is arguably worse than fraud, (even if it was only for a few minutes) so I get why Xander and Alex reacted the way they did, even months later. But which crime actually landed Theresa in jail—was it the kidnapping or the fraud? Because if it was for the kidnapping, the Salem Parole System seriously dropped the ball by not informing Victoria's parents that her kidnapper is out. As for Philip and Joy, I like them, but let's be real—they're such losers. Always the second choice, never the favorite, and definitely not the most interesting siblings. Now they're stuck in this desperate also-ran routine, pretending to co-parent. It’s beyond pathetic and ridiculous to keep the kid a secret from Alex, especially since neither of them even respects him. Plus, they’ve just committed to a non-intimate, awkward arrangement for at least a year.

Devoured the first half of the Texas book as soon as it arrived in the mail today. Just paused to order Sunday supper. First impressions—on the plus side, I appreciate how the author delves deeper into his role as an editor, especially in comparison to the Ryan's Hope book. He adds context and builds a cohesive narrative around the history of the production. My criticism of the RH book was the repetitive nature of having five different people give the same answer to the same question. With this book, he feels in control of the narrative, and he uses the interview to fill in the details. Once again, he highlights those quirky moments where interviewees contradict each other, which I find really engaging. As for the downsides, it makes me wonder how much of the soap’s actual canon is truly necessary. I assume it's tricky to balance addressing the publisher’s notes about the intended audience. It feels like he's trying to cater to both novice soap viewers and hardcore Texas aficionados. He even mentions in the introduction that character and story summaries are available on AWHP, yet a significant portion of the text still covers the soap’s storyline rather than focusing on the production's history. And no matter which NBC oral history you read—whether it’s this one or the SNL book—Brandon Tartikoff doesn’t come across as a great manager or a particularly creative force. In this case, he doomed them in the press by calling it daytime's answer to 'Dallas”. By acknowledging the motive, there was no way every writer was not going to use that quote to mock them. He dug them in deep, even before that shot the first scene. For example, OLTL press tried hard not to mention the Ewings, even though the Buchanan inspiration was easy to see. Lastly, I was amused by the impression of east coast actors as being more prepared for auditions than west coast actors. And money spent on unusual things like a press luncheon were fun details. So, I guess I wanted more about the context of the culture of the early eighties, and how that impacted production, as opposed to the character history of Reena's first husband Kevin. So far, I'm getting too much stuff about the characters, and not enough background on what influenced the writing choices. But on to the next half...

I think this presupposes the need for a lie. However, there wasn’t a need to lie if no one who knew the truth was willing to tell. If Allie had always known Lucas as her father, and Johnny had always been told that EJ was his father, then it’s reasonable to assume that this was normalized enough in their childhood for them to believe it was just the way things were. After EJ died, it likely wasn’t discussed much because families often avoid talking about the dead. And when Allie grew up, she wouldn’t have asked questions because this was Johnny’s issue, not hers. Roman made it perfectly clear that nobody would've been willing to discuss it forever. Unless, EJ did a heinous thing, like bringing back Arnold. The final piece of the puzzle is that everyone silently agreed to keep it a secret. As I saw it, there was no need to verbalize the pact; it was simply understood as being in the family’s best interest. To clarify, I’m praising the cleverness of creating a plausible solution rather than leaving loose threads.

I want to give praise that the scripts worked hard to solve the obvious criticism of why Johnny and Allie had never discuss being twins with separate fathers. Kate and Roman confirmed a pact among the elders that they would never tell Johnny and Allie. So, it seemed as if, even if Johnny or Allie had questions, there was no one to ask. I actually think that's why Kate being the one to tell was so effective. She loves Lucas so much that she's held the information, because those were his wishes. That seemed plausible and in character for Kate. Unlike the random choice of having Melinda traffic stolen goods. - BTW, even if Melinda had a single line that after being kidnapped, and having nobody search for her, left her feeling alone, so she bought the necklace for herself as a gift - I'd have given this cockamamy plot a pass.

I think 'unrecognizable' is a bit of headline hyperbole. Amazing would be more apropos.

I really dislike what they did to Melinda's character by having her involved with the stolen necklace. It makes her so unlikable, after being last seen held captive and forming an alliance with Ava. I think there are creative possibilities in having Melinda be involved in Sophia and Tate's infant adoption. As a favor to EJ to make up for the baby switching. Or even as a sounding board to Kristen, in order to ground that character in a little more reality. But to have her traffic in stolen good seems very out of character, and randomly assigned. Amy needs a weakness to exploit. Make her an online shopping addict, who bid on the necklace on eBay. This affair exposes her addiction, she goes off for help, and the rest of the story writes itself.

There is some amusing irony in the necklace that Alice buried, rather than wore, because she thought it was far too gaudy, being seen on Melinda worn casually for lunch. I mean, Alice threw that thing in a puzzle box and hide in the wall, forgotten. I guess, at least, Melinda appreciates it a bit more. Meanwhile, I don't get why Julie lays claim to Alice's necklace? Marie was her only living child. And Julie has as much right to it as her first cousins like: Jessica, Sandy, Hope, Jennifer, or Mike.

Meanwhile, I'm not reading any follow up on the locker room status...🚿😉🫣

Oh see, here we differ. The reason that old soaps always had courtrooms is that it is just a bunch of tables and a judge's bench, very cheap. A gym needs water, and logos, and equipment.

A gym would sense as a place for Johnny. You know, his wife fattens 'em up, and he helps 'em burn off the calories. He could have bought a Body Connection franchise from Chris Kostachek. But, again, only if it has a locker room. Have I made myself clear on the locker room issue?

Lingering thought from recent discussions. If there were a list of priorities, in terms of necessary sets, I put courtroom above gym. We are told EJ and Belle are great litigators, but they have nowhere to litigate. I far prefer a courtroom over a boardroom, because you get the built-in drama of an opening statements, questioning witnesses, and sidebar objects. And who doesn't love a secret that is forced out during a trial? Then, a gym, but only if it has a locker room, like the one that Jack and Brad went to on Y&R. 🚿

OK, that changes everything! If we are getting Kate versus EJ, that's a fair fight. And I anticipate it will have a ripple effect back to Philip. After all, clam chowder isn't going to fund a fight with the Dimeras... You know....a fascinating reference to Rachel Blake would be if EJ offered to get a baby for Johnny and Chanel. None of this cow toeing to Amy, he could be like Stefano and just find kids to randomly adopt and make into Dimeras, like Peter and Kristen. I would not mind it if EJ went full evil like Stefano. Because he is already damned to never find love (because he is a rapist who has escaped justice), why not just let him become a full-on crime boss?

Did Tate ever pay his boarding school back for the damage from his prank that got him expelled? Because he only worked as a bar back at the Pub twice.

I liked the reveal, and I liked the lead up to the reveal. I just didn't like Johnny's initial response. It was heightened enough to be appropriate for the gravity of the revelation. But, I thought the content of Johnny's dialogue lacked sensitivity. Although, to be fair, Kate was magnanimously sensitive toward Sami, in a moment where she could've really screwed over her former foe. It doesn't help that although biologically Kate is not Johnny's grandmother, I cannot remember a single other scene of them interacting. So, it wasn't grounded in any type of character development.

We'll share notes when I'm done. Just ordered it on Amazon. I'm slightly annoyed it's not on Kindle like the Ryan's Hope book, but I'll donate the book once I'm done reading it.

It is ironic that I am willing to suspend disbelief that Allie and Johnny never questioned their conception because nobody ever mentioned it. Or, because they didn't know who to ask about it. However, nobody in the world would ever verbalize the obvious that they were conceived out of violence, while their twin was conceived out of love. @AbcNbc247 I must disagree that they are being more sensitive because I was really let down today. Johnny should be angry for the trauma that his beloved mother suffered. Instead, it was written as if Johnny is angry that his self-perception has been ruined by knowing about the violence associated with his conception. It was as if he was more upset to be a consequence of rape, than he was upset that Sami had to live with that fact. Hopefully, his secondary response will be more sensitive once he has digested the situation.

I would counter that since it is 2025, there can be resolution without redemption. There has to be some way of writing a reason why they could both co-exist in the same town. While I don't wish for an exit. It is also a given that he'll never find peace or happiness. Except for the brief moments with Sami, he has never felt love since he committed a savage crime. Note: It is not my intention to say that IRL EJ's internal pain would qualify as justice for his heinous actions. I am simply saying that according to soap universe justice, he can never be written as satisfied because of the character's history. And given those rules, there are not a lot of story possibilities for a man who must stay at the brink of misery for the rest of his fictional life. Also, I must give credit to some clever character work that is enabling the eventual fall to be compelling. I really found myself in Johnny's shoes at the end of the episode. It suddenly seemed more realistic why Johnny had never talked to EJ about the animosity between his parents. And to hear Johnny say to Chanel that he was surprised by EJ's remorse is a clever twist before we know that, as Maggie said on Wednesday, 'nothing stay a secret in Salem.' (whereas in real life things stay secret all the time, my parents died never knowing that I dented their mailbox with my car when I was 16, if I grew up in Salem, soap universe justice (SUJ) would have made me wear a prosthetic thumb forever).

The Soapiest Moment of the Day has got to go to Belle and Marlena. Belle has just learned that her 77-year-old mother is going to go put her life in danger, and she responds by whining about not finding the love of her life. I'm mean,,,, maybe let the woman focus on her stuff for a moment? Potentially, if someone allowed Amy to speak for more than 90 seconds at a time, we could finally understand her motives. Is she doing all of this to save face among her church community? Is it to punish Sophia? Is her husband a tyrant? Let's get to know her so that she doesn't just seem like a shrew with excellent timing, I was honestly surprised by EJ's confession today. It made me wonder if his twisted mind has not allowed him to equate what he did to Sami, versus what Arnold did to Sami. But, I would assume Sami has made her feelings about both events quite clear. So, even if EJ's value system was askew at the time of Johnny's conception, he is currently aware of the consequences. It was a good scene, once again ruined a bit by being cut into mini-scenes, rather than just allowing us to watch the entire discussion at once. Yet, I felt the same way as Johnny when he expressed surprise at his father's remorse; which is a tantalizing setup for tomorrow's fall.

Dear Mr. Taylor We have a good news/bad news situation. Unfortunately, due to a mathematical error, we accidentally replaced your normal 32 teeth, with 42 teeth. Bad news, annunciation is bound to be a challenge. Good news, ten extra teeth, no extra charge. Keep chomping ice, Dr. Skip Flossman Flossman/McCavity Cosmetic Dentistry.

Plus, Philip has the support of most of Victor's ex-wives, Kate, Vivian, and Maggie. So, let bygones be bygones. What's a little plagiarism worth between half-brothers? Remember Nixon, it's never the crime, it's the cover-up.