I know this will get all the usual RSW critiques, but my only concern is that I don't know if they've established enough of a Justin and Alex relationship to pull off that final scene, but we'll see...

Wally Kurth is single-handedly carrying daytime dramas on two different networks in 2023, so he may be able to carry it off.

Have we seen this article on Patti Davis being fired from Rituals?  I wonder in hindsight if that set was bit more of a nightmare than reported at the time?  But, given that she was only there for 2 episodes, it makes sense that Marissa disappeared quickly.  I think they spoke more about her than to her in scenes.

President's daughter not fired from soap, her manager says

Picketing is obviously a symbolic action to highlight the bigger cause.  I don't think it is right to criticize where the WGA chooses to protest, given that the message is the same whether a production has one writer or a dozen.

@dc11786 - I admire your collection of memorabilia.  It's like a little mystery box of treasures.  I can't wait to hear what you explore.

I wonder if the writers changed the last name from Butler, because Carter was raised by the Chapin's butler and that would have been too confusing

Also, the Jeff's parentage is intriguing because in the SOD recaps sometimes they reference him as Christina's adopted son, and sometimes as her stepson, so it would make sense if he came from Carter's first marriage.

Rex is this week's dumbest guy in Salem!

He told Phillip, the ex-boyfriend of his fiancée's baby's daddy, that he is the not Victoria's father in the middle of the town square?

I like the Vivian and Phillip dynamic.  I mean, it is odd that she's ignored him for years, and now wants to emphasize that she gestated him.  But, their scene was fun and filled with good energy.

Also, why's Brady offering to reimburse Theresa for the trip to Greece?  Doesn't he already pay all of her bills?  And we're going to need some clarification on Theresa as a single mother.  Because hasn't Brady been visiting regularly in California?  Or, are we supposed to think that he didn't see Tate during his rapid aging period? 

Also, where's @carolineg?  Has she gone off to a European Boarding School for SORASing?

I'm still betting that Theresa fiddled with that letter.

Alexander and Alexandros are easy to tamper, and we've never met Xander's Mom...

5 hours ago, Neil Johnson said:

I thought Mignon and Martin were brother and sister.  Is that incorrect?  And was the General Mignon's father or Rusty Sr's father?  Did any of the Sentells or Tourners ever meet the Kendalls?  Other than Jo and Liza, I mean.   

 

OK, I went back and solved my confusion.

Estelle was Lloyd's ex-wife and her son Steven was fathered by Martin Tourneur.

I think it is Steve Kendall and Steve Kaslow that threw me for a loop.

@AbcNbc247 I don't recall why neither Steve nor Kayla brought Victor's letters back to Salem from Greece?  Maybe they just got caught up in Bo's shooting?  It seems odd that now the letters are missing.

Also, as I mentioned earlier in the week, couldn't this whole trip have been avoided by a phone call to Konstantin?

The “Dancing With the Stars” premiere will more than likely be delayed next week, as talent has begun dropping out of the show amid rising pressures during the WGA strike.

“Veep” actor Matt Walsh, who is part of the Season 32 cast, is “taking a pause” from the ABC dance competition show until an agreement is made with the WGA. Walsh is a member of WGA, SAG-AFTRA and the DGA.

ABC confirmed to Variety that the network is putting plans in place to postpone the “Dancing With the Stars” premiere.

It's an odd story because SAG made a specific statement in support of actors appearing on DWTS, but I assume people don't want to cross the picket line and Walsh is supporting WGA, not SAG by pausing his commitment. 

I bet that Theresa messed with the letter and finally the show will address the issue that Alex Kiriakis and Xander Kiriakis share the same name.

Poor Steve, the only long-lost relatives he ever found was Jack.  Meanwhile, John's dad is Bert the Chimenysweep and he's still rich AF.

Also, I think we also need to credit Ron C for finding the humor in John.  Between his interactions with Rachel and Vivian, the character has grown a ton of charisma since the days when it was difficult to differentiate Robo-John from Real-John.

I'm not an Alex apologist, nor do I think that there's any conspiracy on behalf of the writer toward the character, but Kayla's talk with Stephanie was oddly pro-Alex.  Like, suddenly Stephanie's supposed to have second thoughts about Chad because he is not light-hearted?

Also, I can't help but think that Theresa seeing the letter first means that there will be a twist about the spoiler regarding Alex, in Xander's favor.  Hopefully, the fact that they have the same name will finally be acknowledged.

The physical stuff between Julie and Vivian bothers me.  Not only is it silly, but also they seem so frail to pushing and pulling each other.  Gone are the days of Dynasty when a catfight would cut to an obvious stuntman in a cheap wig.  These ladies are too old to do their own stunts. 

OK, I need a refresher because I'm getting my Sentells and Kendalls mixed up.

So, with the Sentells - the General is Gen 1, then Rusty Sr is Gen 2, and Travis aka Rusty Jr is Gen 3, although Travis was really Martin's son - correct

Then, I think I've confused bitchy ex-wives.  Mignon is Rusty Sr.'s ex-wife, so who was Lloyd Kendall's ex-wife?  And wasn't one of his sons actually fathered by another man?

1 hour ago, skylark said:

Hmmm, I thought Travis' mother Mignon started calling Travis "Rusty" (originally his Father's nickname) after his Father passed away since they both shared the same red hair. I'd have to check and see if that's correct or not.

"Rusty" isn't Rusty Sr.'s real name, either. His is William Barrett Travis Sentell (according to the episode where Mignon reads a letter of his). Lol!

Thank goodness,  that makes more sense because no one on earth has been named Rusty Jr.

TIL, Rusty was their given name and Travis was his nickname?  That's nutty

Gordon Thompson's 1991 SOD profile when he was hired as Mason on SB recycled the old Raymond Burr foreign ex-wife story....

He was just too busy for love.

Today I learned - that Gina Gallego (Santana) has been married since 1983 to Joel Bailey, who played Channing's boyfriend, Lindsay Smith.  Not many couples can say that they both acted as the lover of a dead soap character.

@dc11786 Do you think that this was written to inform the incoming writing staff or for promotional material?

The language is so flowery.  It makes me wonder what, for example, local affiliate PR people or soap journalists were meant to do with this character study?  I cannot imagine modern head writers using such detailed histories to delineate their characters. 

Also, how odd to call Dr. Rose Hamilton an old school feminist, and use her ideology as an impediment to romance.  She was a feminist, not a nun.

It is so bizarre.  When I first read the story, I thought that he just brushed off the issue of inclusivity.  But, then listening to the audio and hearing him double down on the lack of articulation by Joni Mitchel and other female artists, I was dumb struck.

It was both an idiotic answer to the question and an offensive take on the issue.  Mick Jagger and Bruce Springsteen have both admitted to openly cribbing from the style of black R&B performers.  So, to dismiss the influence and legacy of these men and women is appalling.

Yet, it is interesting to see the etymology of why movements like disco and new wave were dismissed by rock audiences, based on the biases of rock journalists.

Thank goodness the price of these are going down to match the demand.  The last listing I saw for one of the AW books was $67 for a used paperback!

Now, could someone remind me, Who's Robin?

Was there a sale at Bartlett's?  Why are Harris, Shawn and Eric wearing the exact same shirt?

The last time that I saw two characters in the same scene wearing the same wardrobe, it was done intentionally for humor (also, bad hair is a DAYS tradition).

The Google search for Charlene Keel is a fascinating rabbit hole.

She had a short career as a rock journalist.  She has a current business as a ghostwriter.  She lists episodes of Days of Our Lives and Fantasy Island among her credits.  Her social media leans politically progressive.  And, she was on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson for her first book about the risqué life of being a flight attendant.  There's some ironic humor in Johnny correcting himself by calling them attendants, but then always referencing them as girls.

I adore that kind of Jacqueline Suzanne, Jackie Collins mildly ribald humor to sell a book.

Forgive me for always wondering about logic when none exists, but why does Blair believe that Martin will marry Lucy if she loses her money?  Wouldn't he be even more inclined to want to continue to receive alimony if Lucy was broke?

While sabotaging Lucy might make Martin sad, it is hardly a solution to stop paying him alimony.

1 hour ago, TEdgeofNight said:

I LOVE Leo! He's very entertaining. Unpopular opinion on here but who cares! Obviously other viewers feel the same way or they wouldn't keep writing for Leo. Loved today's Leo centric episode. I wish they'd use Leo more often but given Days budget, I know they can only use characters so many times per week. 

Variety is the spice of life.  I far prefer someone stating an unpopular opinion over the people who vow once a month that they will never watch the show again.

24 minutes ago, dc11786 said:

Lots of things have been renamed besides Laura. Judd McBroom is now Judd Dwyer. I suspect Randolph Stiles is a renamed Fenton Langley (who, in the pilot, is Priscilla´s fiancee played by Matt Lantazi). Other names will be changed as the show moves away from the original pilot stage into this (brief) unproduced bible.

@dc11786 Are you suggesting that there were multiple pilots filmed, or is this just part of the development process?

It is no wonder that Charlene Keel disavowed the soap, it sounds like none of the people or places from the book found their way onto the screen.  Do we know if the school was called Haddon Hall in her book?  I am going to assume that the production decided to reference it as a college and not a boarding school to avoid the issues with the women's ages when pairing them romantically.

Here's the thing (as has been said before) there's zero tension in the Stefan v EJ war. 

Neither of them ran Dimera Enterprises for a significant amount of time.  Neither has a plan that is being diminished by the presence of the other at the company.  And they're both always going to be rich regardless of their title. 

If anyone dies because of this fight (as I assume will occur), it is a pity, because it is a meaningless rivalry with no stakes involved.

Dramatic Writing 101 - the audience needs to feel the tension in order to commit to the plot.  For example, I am committed to finding out what happened to Victor, because I care about Maggie.  But this EJ v Stefan story is forgettable.