Discuss.

The scenes b/w Max and Mimi were awkward, but I guess that's the way that they were written. Just a suggestion for the new dialogue writers--don't give FF/Mimi too many new lines to learn. It just doesn't sound natural for Mimi to give Max such verbose answers to his questions. Actually, I thought the dialogue was long for both characters. Mimi, IMHO, is at her best when she has short, snappy things to say....

Martha M. gave a standout performance on today's episode. I liked how those scenes with Cabot, I mean Claire and Belle slowly played out. We see cute little scenes of Claire grabbing for the fork, Belle taking it away from her and then Belle's conversation on the phone, constantly looking back over her shoulder to make sure Claire is ok. Then, bam, no Claire. Nicely written!!

I liked the continuation of the Godfather theme in the Sami/Lucas/EJ/Kate storyline, with EJ's line "I made her an offer that she couldn't refuse." I liked all of those scenes and all 4 of them looked smashing in their clothes. The colors on their clothes really popped out on screen. Very nice.

I also liked seeing the brief scene b/w Lucas and Victor at the beginning of the show. It's nice to see Victor and his former stepson together. I have a feeling that Lucas is going to let it slip about Spivey going to Toronto though. I wonder if Victor is going to fire Lucas and then Lucas will have to get a job at Mythic Communications with Sami/EJ/Kate. Hmmm....

Mimi, IMHO, is at her best when she has short, snappy things to say....

Agreed. This is why she works best as a supporting character. She can whip out those little comebacks but she loses her way in longer dialogue, she can't really put the thoughts together with any cohesive emotional logic, and she just comes off as wandering.

Martha M. gave a standout performance on today's episode. I liked how those scenes with Cabot, I mean Claire and Belle slowly played out.

I really dug that too, nice simple way to give it some punch.

The colors on their clothes really popped out on screen. Very nice.

But I still wonder why Sami was so dressed up ... showing EJ what he's missing out on? Lumi has been enjoyable but some of the ways that they set up the scenes are a little threadbare (no pun intended).

I also liked seeing the brief scene b/w Lucas and Victor at the beginning of the show.

I really wish that they would kind of give the Roberts/Reed/Kiriakis family unit a little bit more cohesion, so long as they're on the show. Lucas most especially gets stranded (also by the Hortons), I find myself hoping that he gets connected a bit more, and his status as kind of the favored son on one side and the product of a large family scandal on the other side fully utilized.

It was a nice show, I think Sheffer is generally doing better with the non-supercouples; now if he could pick up their storylines I'd be a happy camper.

I really wish that they would kind of give the Roberts/Reed/Kiriakis family unit a little bit more cohesion, so long as they're on the show. Lucas most especially gets stranded (also by the Hortons), I find myself hoping that he gets connected a bit more, and his status as kind of the favored son on one side and the product of a large family scandal on the other side fully utilized.

If for whatever reason, Ali were to leave the show, the execs would probably fire BD, kind of like when Missy left, TPTB fired Matt. Other than a few brief periods, such as Langan/Higley, Lucas has been islanded in stories with Sami. Other than with Maggie occasionally, some Julie/Alice, he doesn't have that many interactions with the Horton side of his family. I was hopeful when Cwikly/Brash brought Lucas back on canvas and had a few scenes with Lucas/Jennifer that a relationship would develop b/w brother and sister. But that didn't happen. Higley made him the head of the Horton Foundation at the hospital but once Reilly came in, those ties were ended, especially when the other Hortons thought that Lucas was the Salem Serial Killer. Lucas wasn't at Jack/Jen's "Bon Voyage" party b/c Will went missing, so someone like myself a Lucas fan, missed out on that interaction. The development of his relationship with the Hortons (other than Maggie) has been shoddy at best....

I mentioned this over 2 years ago, when Lumi first became a couple b/c I was more concerned about it then. I questioned then how they could reach supercouple status if one person (Lucas) is just meant to support the other person (Sami). It has to be an equal partnership. I'm glad that Hogie is throwing Lucas in scenes other than Sami on occasion. I would like to see him develop as an individual rather than just in Lumi scenes. But again, it was a bigger deal for me 2, 4 years ago, when Lumi was less popular than they are now. Ever since Langan's tenure, I've always had it in the back of my mind that TPTB would fire BD. The fear is most likely irrational, but it's hard not to fear it with Lucas' isolation with mostly only 2 characters, Sami and his mother Kate...

That is why I think they need to focus on Lucas at least some. Sami is carrying the load in the couple, and Lucas needs to bring more to the table as a character. There is a lot of potential. B/C did the best job grounding him in his two families, I feel, at least since his early days with his mother.

And I don't think it's unreasonable to say that keeping a character in nothing but a romantic storyline puts the character's future in jeopardy. Look what happened to Frankie this last go-around. I'm with you on that whole post, well put.

That is why I think they need to focus on Lucas at least some. Sami is carrying the load in the couple, and Lucas needs to bring more to the table as a character. There is a lot of potential. B/C did the best job grounding him in his two families, I feel, at least since his early days with his mother.

Eh...Lucas being written as Sami's foil doesn't bother me much. Sami has such a strong personality that she will tend to dominate any storyline you place her in. Although her and Lucas share many of the same character traits, I've always seen him more as the calm, stabilising influence in the relationship. As a result, most of the "issues" in their story will tend to originate from her side.

I'm totally with you on the islanding, though. Given that Hortons are an endangered species in Salem, it's always baffled me why the show haven't grounded him more firmly in that family. Maggie is the only Horton he has ever had more than superficial scenes with. And they made little effort to explore his relationship with Jennifer...which could have been an interesting one given their tortured family history.

I think in a lot of the big couples, one partner brought more "issues" to the story than the other (ie Kim, Steve, Jack), but the other (ie Shane, Kayla, Jennifer) had to be developed enough so you can get that extra umph when you see him/her reacting to the more tumultuous, for lack of a better word, of the pair. You get that extra "Of course they would react that way" click in your head. Lucas' family history is just way whacked, and if they brought it a little more to the forefront it would just make it that much more vivid. And if you ask me it's just a smart idea to eventually use both characters' personalities, for the sake of longevity. People say couples that last a while are bound to get boring, but it doesn't have to be if you're smart about it. You're right that Lucas could function as the stabilizing force, but that can be said of Shane, Kayla and Jennifer too but they were a bit more put together than Lucas as far as depth of characterization goes, at least by the writers who made their pairings really soar, and I think Lumi could only stand to benefit.

I just want them to be smart about Lumi, I really want them to be told well.

I think in a lot of the big couples, one partner brought more "issues" to the story than the other (ie Kim, Steve, Jack), but the other (ie Shane, Kayla, Jennifer) had to be developed enough so you can get that extra umph when you see him/her reacting to the more tumultuous, for lack of a better word, of the pair. You get that extra "Of course they would react that way" click in your head. Lucas' family history is just way whacked, and if they brought it a little more to the forefront it would just make it that much more vivid. And if you ask me it's just a smart idea to eventually use both characters' personalities, for the sake of longevity. People say couples that last a while are bound to get boring, but it doesn't have to be if you're smart about it. You're right that Lucas could function as the stabilizing force, but that can be said of Shane, Kayla and Jennifer too but they were a bit more put together than Lucas as far as depth of characterization goes, at least by the writers who made their pairings really soar, and I think Lumi could only stand to benefit.

I agree completely. By "foil", I definitely don't mean that one half of the couple should remain totally neglected and underdeveloped. I do think this is a problem across the board, though. The Bope story is a particular egregious case of one character's POV receiving 99% of the focus.

Today's show was okay. It was nothing to write home about.

Sami and EJ rock as usual. How gorgeous was Ali today in that black and red number? She looked like royalty. And did anyone spot that cleavage EJ is so in love with Sami it's ridiculous. She has his heart and I'm loving every minute of it. It has so many shades of Stefano and Marlena. EJ/Sami have the potential to be the next big thing.

I agree with ademption about Lucas/Bryan Dattilo. If Ali Sweeney quit the show tomorrow, Bryan Dattilo's release would be announced the next week. Ali is the only thing keeping Bryan on the show. At one point, I wanted Lucas to be focused on. Right now though, I don't really care about the character anymore. I feel that ripping apart and throwing Lucas and Sami together again has made the couple very sloppy. I just don't get excited for them as I once did.

Max and Mimi were pretty boring. Nothing major happened. This is a couple that I feel is being contrived too much. At first, it seemed okay. It was bareable. Now, it seems a little forced. The whole "Love ya" thing from the other day totally ruined any hope for this one.

I didn't see the magic everyone else did with the Belle/Claire scenes today. I don't need to be told that Martha Madison is a stellar actress. I know this already. I've seen her do so much better than today. She didn't really do anything today. I felt that more could've been given. This is a mother that just turned around and her baby is missing. She should be freaking out, hysterical. I didn't get that from her performance.

Did anyone else notice that the waitress at the diner is Patty from Java Cafe (the real one, the one that was outside).

I don't see how Lumi could ever really be a success! Sami accepting EJ's offer is going to cost her a chance at having happiness. Then again, with Lumi, as far as I'm concerned, the intention is to never let it happen, anyways!

I'm sure that Lucas is going to slip-up regarding Spivey aka. Phillip Kiriakis, as well. Not only will that rui Victor's plans for Phillip, but it will cost Phillip his chance at having Claire, as well. I'm prettu sure Victor is not going to get away with the kidnapping he plotted. Call me crazy, but everyone is going to figure out he was behind the incident.

I think Lucas was at his best during the Franco murder/Sami's execution story. He is a complex character, and Bryan is a very capable actor when given the chance. All the writers throughout the years have not fleshed him out the way he should be. He is a Horton, he cares about them, especially Alice and Maggie. His relationship with Kate is ambivalent and somewhat realistic. But he's always stuck in Sami's world, and the world of Lumi. He doesn't share enough scenes with Billie, and didn't share enough with Philip. If any one male character has the potential to be dynamic on his own, it's Lucas.

I really hope Hogan and the redone writing team will bring Lucas into this proposed "Philip goes bad" story. Brother against brother on soaps is always interesting, and they need to use this as much as possible.

I think Lucas was at his best during the Franco murder/Sami's execution story. He is a complex character, and Bryan is a very capable actor when given the chance. All the writers throughout the years have not fleshed him out the way he should be. He is a Horton, he cares about them, especially Alice and Maggie. His relationship with Kate is ambivalent and somewhat realistic. But he's always stuck in Sami's world, and the world of Lumi. He doesn't share enough scenes with Billie, and didn't share enough with Philip. If any one male character has the potential to be dynamic on his own, it's Lucas.

I agree about Lucas being his best in 98-2000? He was a complex character. The key word there is "was." The character has been totally destroyed from the time Dattilo returned to the show in 2002. Ever since he came back from the rehab hospital from his burns, he's done nothing but been a supporting character to Sami. It's a shame really...

I just got through watching today's show.

I yelled at my screen when Bo was rejecting Patrick's deal. How can he continue to get in Shawn D.'s backside about being stubborn when he is worse than his son? Whatever Hope had to do, be grateful, jackass. I'm glad Roman jumped in his stuff for that.

Mimi. I really enjoyed Max's work today.

The show was slow until the last 15 minutes. I would NEVER play poker with Victor. We know he's behind this, but you never could tell by the look on his face. What a bastard........but I love him like that!

Yeah I agree Lucas was at his best back then. I still enjoy him but he seems more like a lapdog now. I really hope they expand more on his involvement with Victor and his family ties.

Today's show was ok.

Loved Sami/EJ. Drew is right on about the shades of Marlena/Stefano. Love it and loved Lucas and Sami dealing with it. Kate's reaction was priceless, as was the Sami/Kate exchange about her lying on her back .

Mimi/Max is way too forced. These two only work as friends and poor Darin had to carry those scenes. They just can't give Farah that much dialogue. She is much more tolerable when she has short, quick lines. I did like the scene where they learned about Philip.

I loved Billie telling Patrick and, to some extent, Hope off today. Pinson is rocking but Hope seemed more in Bo's corner today so that's a good thing. I loved Bo and Hope coming to Belle's aide with Roman. That Billie/Patrick scene at the end had an intriguing feel to it.

Victor/Lucas was a good scene. John Aniston was just rocking today. The scenes with a bandaged Philip touching Claire's picture have a creepy vibe to it. I liked the way Martha played her scenes today. She was more in shock and I liked the subdued acting she did. She seemed to be growing more desperate through the episode and I expect a much more hysterical reaction tomarrow. She wasn't going to go into hysterics right away. She had to look for her first and take action to find her. It's showing us how strong Belle has become and I love it. It seems in the previews that she will be much more hysterical tomarrow and I think Martha played it the right way. Victor was so great at not acting suspicious. The way he talked to the waitress about the guy in the diner and made an effort to make it look like he was helping-loved it. I also appreciated how they had Belle keep looking back at Claire and worry about her being alone even though she was right behind her. Good work there.

Ok show. Now it seems the good stuff begins

I really liked today's show. EJ/Sami is ridiculously awesome. Ali and James play their scenes so well, and I agree with others about how it reminds you so much of Stefano/Marlena. I love it! I found the scene with Patrick and Billie really surprising, and chilling. I hope something comes of that. Honestly, Bo and Hope are annoying the hell out of me. Usually it's from day to day that they're changing feelings all the time, but today it was all during ONE episode! Bo tells Hope to get out of there, and she seems all pissy, and then Bo asks her if he still has their home to go back to. WHAT? So weird, and I dont like it. I'm really lookin forward to tomorrow's show.