Khan

As a writer, Maggie DePriest was about as misogynistic and depressing as Megan McTavish (who, thank God, never had the chance to work on AW, lol). Yet, for some reason, I found her work on every show she worked on far more watchable, if not entertaining.

I've often wondered whether the old Llanview foyer (the one with the stairs leading off-screen) was ever used on DS. Something about that part of the mansion always looked vaguely familiar to me, lol.

Brenda's choice of attire was CLEARLY foreshadowing the mental illness that ran on her mother's side.

Which is why their budget today is literally someone's SSI benefits, and why their core audience has dwindled down to a group of Omaha housewives who don't trust the Internet. And when it comes to the devil's motivations for wanting the baby, your theory's as good as anyone else's, lol.

Somewhere, Tennessee Williams is popping another pill, swilling another martini and helping himself to another, feckless, young stud. Anything to mask his pain.

All the comments and outpouring of memories and emotions in this thread just prove my point: it's not the storylines we care about; it's the characters, and the actors who play them. They are what sustain us as viewers through good times and bad. If only someone would remind TPTB of that.

You are nowhere NEAR being redundant on this board, @vetsoapfan. I, too, value your knowledge and insights about the early years of these shows. It's the next best thing to having actual footage to watch.

Oh, Will (or any gay man) falling in love with a priest would be a FANTASTIC story to watch. I don't think she is either. But, again, the opportunity for organic conflict is there -- Ciara feels comfortable providing financially for their family, but Ben is determined to provide for them and be an all-around better dad to their kid than Clyde was to him and Jordan -- and Ron Carlivati's ignoring it completely. We should be enthralled with the lengths that Ben would go to to support the family. Instead, we're being forced to watch dumb [!@#$%^&*] about gender reveal parties and the devil laying claim on the baby for reasons we're still not 100% clear about.

Even a real-life gender reveal party ends with someone going to the E.R. "It's DAYS. Just Go With It."

What, you don't believe Ben and Ciara (and their baby) could live on love alone? Ben and Ciara arguing over the disparity in their salaries, with old-fashioned Ben believing he, and not his wife, should be the proverbial breadwinner, would give them genuine conflict and better definition - so, of course, Ron Carlivati is gonna run like hell from it.

Agree. Wait, Ciara (possibly) works for a business conglomerate, while Ben's a grease monkey? Oh, yeah. That marriage is gonna last forever. [/sarcasm]

For as long as I live, I will never give a damn about whatever negative things people have to say about Doug Marland and his work across several shows. He did his best to give us drama that never insulted our intelligence or betrayed our trust.

This is DAYS we're talking about. He's already a grandfather.

I'm laughing at this remark, and I'm not even a gamer.

Well, can you blame them for going in this direction? At this point, ZT can make more of a commitment to the show than CM can. Keeping Sonny tethered to Will will limit him story-wise. Once upon a time, I really would have made a bigger deal out of Ben unable to find work due to his criminal background. Even now, with a baby on the way, we should see Ben struggle to provide for his growing family financially, and the toll that that takes on his and Ciara's marriage. (Especially when the only gig he can land is one at a strip club, trading on his past notoriety as the "Necktie Killer.") But that ship has probably sailed.

From the looks of that cover, all four B&B actors have the same plastic surgeon on speed dial.

On the other hand, think about Leo's reaction to the news that he's now married to a woman. You might as well tell him he's got only six months to live.

With each passing of another longtime soap vet, this genre comes closer to disappearing altogether.

KH made Kim such an indelible part of ATWT. As a viewer, you just lived for those moments when she would level with someone and call them "kiddo." Such a classy, straightforward dame, a vanishing breed in this business. RIP. ATWT was blessed with some truly exceptional talent in front of the camera. That's why it was so hard for me to watch the show in its' final years, b/c I felt (and still feel) that cast deserved better.

Chances are, there'll be some silly mixup at the double wedding, with Gwen accidentally married to Leo, and Xander accidentally married to Craig.

It sounds like something Bette Davis would've said, lol.

In the meantime, though, I would create a situation where Jan manipulates Shawn and Belle into taking her in while she's still pregnant. Jan would constantly use her condition and her closer proximity to Shawn to drive him and Belle further apart; Belle would argue how Jan is using the baby to destroy their marriage, but Shawn would feel his hands are tied ("I know we shouldn't trust Jan, but we have to think about the baby!"); Belle and Shawn would be forced to deliver the baby themselves; Jan would fake postpartum depression as a way to stay with Shawn and Belle even after the baby is born; Belle, feeling helpless against Jan and her devious agenda, would turn more and more to E.J., who's dealing with his own issues regarding Sami's absence; Jan would pick up on E.J. and Belle's closeness and plants seeds of doubt in Shawn's mind about his wife's faithfulness; Shawn would ultimately give into Jan, then learn she lied about E.J. and Belle having an affair; Shawn and Belle would confront Jan and finally throw her out; Jan would track down and notify Sami that her sister and her husband are having an affair (which they're not), causing Sami to make plans (off-screen) to return and confront E.J. and Belle - plans which don't come to fruition because Sami is later presumed dead in a plane crash while en route back to Salem, leaving E.J. devastated; and as Shawn and Belle work on repairing their marriage, Jan would set her sights on seducing John away from Marlena as revenge against Belle.

Yeah, but...I feel like Ron Carlivati needed to put in more work to make that story feel less mechanical than it already does. Belle sleeping with her brother-in-law (and giving Sami good reason to believe she (Sami) was better off giving her away when she had the chance) could have been fantastic to watch, but as it is, it just feels so poorly motivated.

I'm with whoever said Belle should be attempting to prove that Jan is an unfit mother so that she (Belle) and Shawn could raise that child together. However she might feel about Jan, Belle would understand that he/she never asked to be conceived and deserves to be raised by a mother who isn't going to use them as some sort of pawn against their own dad. After all, consider how Belle herself was conceived, lol.

Unfortunately, even Walmart is too expensive now for DAYS' budget. Look, I can't say anything about Shawn/Belle that hasn't been said already. Shawn is the one who was sexually violated. Period. Belle's just looking for an excuse to cheat with E.J. Also period. And thanks to everyone who clarified for me how Jan got pregnant.