teplin

That was so random, I swore he was going to be Connie's next victim.

It sure seems like the Connie story is coming to a head. I don't mind her as much as you all -- and not nearly as much as I did Konstantin -- but it's time. I have not yet warmed to Cherie as Gabi. I'm glad people are skeptical of fake Abigail.

You're going to have to wait a bit longer, I'm afraid. It's not airing until December.

I think he's a better actor than the guy who plays his brother.

The problem with an actor criticizing a past writer, especially with this show, is that they may return to the position one day. I suspect Ron would be even more vindictive than Jim Reilly was.

That was something I thought of and appreciated about today's episode. I'm intrigued by the possibility of Chanel and Alex playing lovers on the soap (no spoilers, I'm just assuming that will happen) and being tempted by each other. I like seeing Johnny and Bonnie have a purpose. But treating almost everything as a joke -- and mocking the audience in the process -- supersedes any potential good stuff.

I don't like her as Jennifer, either, but to be fair, the writing for the role is out of character. There's no way the real Jennifer Horton would leave town when the daughter she thought was dead might be back among the living.

I think Laura Malone looked great and it's a pity that she was replaced. I also think she was a strong and charismatic enough actress to have spun off into new stories once Sandy was gone. I liked Ben, as well, and never could figure out why they got rid of him/didn't bring him back. Carter and Thomasina were appealing, too. AW made some really stupid casting decisions.

It looked like Judi Evans was having fun, and I'm happy for her after many months of barely being there. But this episode felt to me like a sequel to Soapdish conceived by a high school video production class.

Did I misunderstand, or did Leo say that Xander was going to take an acting role in Body & Soul? We haven't seen a hint of that on screen. Guess it's the perils of filming out of order and a poor (or non-existent) continuity supervisor. And it sure seemed like they were laying the ground for Gwen to return in the Leo-Chad scene.

I just want to give props to Ari Zucker and the rest of the cast for continuing to give committed performances while all hell was breaking out backstage.

I am really dreading this Body & Soul plot.

I am beyond impressed that Suzanne Rogers still wears heels like that at 81 years of age.

One of the increasingly few things I liked about his DAYS was that he still gave Susan and Suzanne stuff to do. Not very good stuff, but at least they've been on screen. And you can tell he loves Deidre, though he seems to get a perverse pleasure in using Marlena to prop up characters we could do without.

I'm shocked. at this point, I figured Ron would be there until the show expired. I'm cautiously optimistic about the new team.

Susan said Bill was completely blind at this point, so yes, I think everyone knew his time was growing short. The scene was very sweet and I'm glad they got to end on such a graceful note. I agree with you on the rest of the episode. I don't care about Leo's transformation, Abigail's coffin or Connie's plan. I was intrigued by Bobby/Everett at one point, and I still like Blake Berris' performance, but the story is so convoluted at this point it makes no sense.

Or the Willis recast for that matter. Leon Russom is a wonderful actor, but I didn't buy for a moment that Angie or Alice would be attracted to him. The pairing with Gwen worked, though.

Weirdly, I don't remember Christopher J. Brown as Michael at all, though I recall liking Arianne Bunker's Marianne very much, and being upset when they recast her. I loved Beverly Penberthy, though I don't think the show ever really did her character justice. The family feel of these scenes was great -- that kind of everyday, intergenerational interaction is what I've missed about soaps for the last 30 years or so. I was struck by how different Liz was -- almost a more subdued Auntie Mame rather than the kind of sad, lonely woman she was in later years. (I guess time can do that to you.)

I would love it if there were actually a Horton family reunion as Julie mentioned in today's show. Perhaps a resurrection of the Horton family barbecue? Of course, we'd probably just have the one or two Hortons already on the canvas. I don't mind the new teen crowd, though the new Tate has a completely different spin on the character. (And I much preferred JMM's characterization.) But the dialogue for them is dreadful. Somebody on the writing staff needs to consult an actual young person.

Yes, I loved Beverlee McKinsey's Iris and really wanted the show to succeed for her sake, but I couldn't make it past the first month. Dull, dull, dull. (Though I liked some of the actors.) I dipped back in occasionally until McKinsey left but it really never got any better for me ... until I happened to catch a few episodes in its waning days, and it suddenly seemed to have heart and purpose. Thanks to Pam Long, I suppose. If only Texas had never been and AW convinced McKinsey to stay. Of course, that show was plagued by poor writing at the time, as well.

I can't imagine it won't come into play at some future point. Though I also can't imagine how.

Salem seems to exist in a parallel universe where local newspapers are thriving and magazines fail because of incompetence, not because nobody's reading them anymore.

That would be nice, but I don't know what Maggie has to gain by marrying Konstantin. Unless she's going to pull a Lani and dump him at the altar, but that seems even more out of character for her.

I can't believe it's been that long. I would be embarrassed to admit how often I still think of the show and some of the characters.

Am I missing Robert Scott Wilson and Billy Flynn? Is that Brandon Barash between Suzanne Rogers and Susan Hayes? Who's the guy standing next to Matt Ashford?