DAYS: Friday, March 23

[King]

I am finding the writing for EJ and Well's portrayal to be growing dreadful, exhausting, and increasingly one-note.

[Ridge]

Most of this week was uneventful, unbalanced and boring. As usual. This month has been no different than last and hardly can be considered sweeps worthy, IMO. The problems are still there and the way the veteran characters pop in and out sporadically and VERY briefly is annoying. Bo was not on ONCE this week. Hope is up to what 12 episodes in 2007 so far? That fire should have been a big event for them, other shows make small plot developments like that BIG. Hope wasn't even seen struggling to get out of the house! She could have tripped while trying to get to Ciara.

Aside from that, there are problems with Hogan's current stories, the ones he is shoving down our throats. Aside from Nick and Chelsea none of these stories are moving, there are no plot developments and everything is a mess. For a writer that supposedly tells fast stories he is stagnating.

The "on the run" story has been going on for 3 months now. It makes sense, yeah and it isn't half that bad for nothing happening and introducing new characters but where has Phillip for the last oh, 2+ weeks? Yes, I know that he was on last week with Kate in the church. But, for a character that was hell bent on finding his child and getting her he has all of a sudden stopped caring. Or is that Hogan's convenient way of ignoring his role in all of this, just by leaving him out? He was on over and over again and then all of a sudden now he is gone. What's worst is that Willow gave him reason to believe that Claire is alive and then now he is just not on. LAZY writing. NO development and more dragging of this storyline.

Then there is the VERY front burner Steve and Kayla storyline. Steve has been acting like a loonatic for over 4 months now. He has had one flashback revealing EJ is the one behind this and then we go through the same thing OVER AND OVER again. There is NO development in this storyline at all. It is just more violent Steve, hurt Kayla, Steve and Kayla try to reconnect and then NOTHING. This storyline is bad too because it was done with John already, the deep dark DiMera laden past. Steve has 16 unexplained years. The storyline possibilites are ENDLESS. This storyline should be done like Maison Blanche where John learned about his past. There was deliverance and AFTERmath in that storyline, when they left New Orleans there was months of storyline after that when Kristen learned that John was a priest. And in the 80's where John's past was a way to tie in new characters, like Carly. Remember the locket that Carly had a second piece to and John was sure that she was some way connected to his past? Those episodes weren't ground breaking and all but they progressed this story. Hogan should be giving away bits and pieces while all of this is happening, either from EJ, or from Steve's own memory. That way we can be intrigued as to what will be revealed next while all of this is going on, just like what happened at MB. Right now it seems like the payoff will be lazy and out of the blue because there is no indication that Hogan has a "planned" payoff.

And Sami and Lucas' storyline just goes around and around in circles. Did Sami get her amnio? Were the results switched? Didn't that happen last week? You would think there would be some deliverance with that considering that nothing has really happened with Sami and Lucas's baby except Sami worrying over it and EJ.

The problems aren't only the lack of balance it is the current stories. I don't like Nick, but Chelsea and Nick really have the only half decent, moving SL on this show.

[Days4Life]

Ridge, I agree with everything you said. I've been trying desperately to be optimistic about DOOL, but most of the time it's boring and barely recognizable. The vets are obviously just being thrown onscreen occasionally so it can be said that they are being used, and the stories are going absolutely nowhere. I wasn't familiar with Hogan's work when he took over, but one thing I heard over and over was how fast paced his stories were. We sure aren't seeing that on DAYS! The dialogue is good, yes, but the story execution is terrible. Everything is just going in circles. And I'm so tired of Nick/Chelsea/Sami/Lucas/

Belle/Shawn/Willow, not to mention EJ (who I used to love) being on almost every day and involved with every character. Steve and Kayla's story is such a disappointment, especially since there was so much potential there. Sami's upcoming wedding, which appears to be the big May sweeps event, isn't interesting me at all because she has a wedding every year and so far that story has no movement. I don't know how they are going to drag this out for another five or six weeks, until the wedding itself, when I assume all Sami's lies will be exposed. Maybe Lucas will marry her this time, but I don't even care any more.

Friday's show was okay, but I was still bored with it. Frankly, I'm just tired of all these people right now. EJ found a new person to threaten--although I did enjoy Nick standing up to him. It was stupid on Nick's part--he should have just cited confidentiality and walked away--but it was entertaining. Some parts of Steve and Kayla were good, especially Steve's line "If you wanted to see me naked, all you had to do was ask." Classic Steve. Belle and Shawn need to get off that island, but I suppose they will just drag Gabby back to Salem with them and once more we will be treated to a story of some psycho girl stalking Shawn. I had hoped they would do something new and interesting with this new girl but once again it looks like we will get a recycled storyline. It might not be so bad if they were at least recycling GOOD storylines. (Maison Blanche! Aremid!)

Still hoping for better days to come.