Uh oh! Thaao Penghlis returns to NBC's Days of our Lives as the diabolical Count Tony DiMera on Thursday, May 24.

Viewers last saw Tony in September 2005, soon after he was revealed as the culprit behind the oh-so-convoluted Salem Stalker saga. It should be fun to see Tony interacting with his wicked baby brother, EJ (James Scott). Let's just hope Days' current head writer, Hogan Sheffer, has better plans for Tony than former top scribe James E. Reilly did.

Speaking of Days baddies... Heather Lindell — who played Salem's psycho maneater, Jan Spears — begins a three-episode stint on As the World Turns on Thursday, May 3. The CBS sudser says Lindell's character, Lynn, will cause trouble for Brad and Katie.

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Is Tony on contract? Or will EJ just visit him in prison?

I just pray it's "classic" Tony and not the cartoon version.

I just pray it's "classic" Tony and not the cartoon version.

Me too.

Classic Tony=Cartoon Tony.

Classic Tony=Cartoon Tony.

um...no. Classic Tony disappeared on a pier around 1985 and hasn't been heard from or seen since. JER ruined the character of Tony DiMera.

um...no. Classic Tony disappeared on a pier around 1985 and hasn't been heard from or seen since. JER ruined the character of Tony DiMera.

Exactly although we saw shades of classic Tony early on in JER's run (despite the history destruction) and we saw a little under B&C too.

I can't wait for Tony's return. I hope it's not cartoonish either but Hogan has done a good job redeeming characters and developing them IMO so I think he could salvage Tony.

What the hell could ATWT want with a great diva like Heather Lindell for THREE EPISODES?!!! I mean, YOU HAVE GOT to be kidding me. The girl is incredible.

GIVE HER A CONTRACT, DAMMIT!!!

Classic Tony=Cartoon Tony.

Uh, no. Not even close.

I buy the Classic Tony, not Cartoon Tony....not even related in my view....I'm stubborn LOL.

According to another post, if Tony and Stefano are well received, they will be offered a contract. That sounds reasonable but, will they have accepted those terms? I hope so because it is a shame when former characters are brought on with a contract and it's soon apparent they aren't needed or wanted but being stuck with them for what? 13 weeks anyway. It's good planning if it works out.

If it's 80s Tony, then great! I hope he brings Anna with him!

Tony was a great character in the 80s. I loved him with Renee and then Anna. The problem with soap returns is that half the characters that helped make someone special are gone when the actor returns. It's hard to recreate that. It would be nice if Days could explain why Tony changed and work him back to the person he was before, but these days soaps prefer criminals and "dark" characters over characters who are rootable and have a heart.

Is he Steffy's son or not..wasn't there a re-write that somehow made him an actual DiMera?

Awesome! Can't wait to see the DiMera mansion again. However, this time around, I would like to see the DiMera-Brady war end. Since they'll never be able to make amends, I'd like to see all those DiMera's killed.

Rion... absolutely not. The character of Tony has not been in-character since 1985. Rewrites which I've never accepted have turned him into someone I don't recognize (and I was BORN in 1985). I don't have high hopes some do as far as his characterization this time around, but hopefully it's logical.