Hogan Sheffer, if he had any interest in writing for John whatsoever and any interest in giving John a great swan song if Drake really is leaving the show, could have reconciled both the feud and Stefano's hatred for John by making John Black's true parentage that he was the first DiBrady baby as the secret love child of Colleen and Santo.

There is simply so much soapy goodness that could have come from it.

John would be revealed as Stefano's half-brother adding another wrinkle to their fascinating relationship and if his real mother was killed it would explain how John came to be raised away from his real parents, and it would also explain Stefano's fixation on him and why he would want to use this person (who he probably resented and was jealous of for having their father's one true love for his mother while Stefano had a mother who their father didn't love) as a pawn to carry out his schemes. It would also explain why John has always felt so connected to the Bradys even after he found out he wasn't Roman as it would be revealed he does share their blood. It would also add layers to Stefano's jealousy toward Marlena's feelings for John.

EJ would have to deal with the fact that he shot his uncle and the man who was the love child of his and Sami's lookalike ancestors.

Sami would realize that her mother found the love of her life in a man who has DiMera blood.

Roman would have to deal with the fact that the man who replaced him in Marlena's heart is truly a Brady, too.

Marlena would have to deal with the fact that the love of her life is Stefano's brother.

Viewers would finally get the first DiBrady baby and it wouldn't be a product of rape/sextortion.

And even if John becomes a Brady, Shawn and Belle would still not be blood related so that wouldn't be affected.

This is what should have happened IMO and they really wouldn't have had to change all that much of the story other than maybe having John and Marlena or Bo and Hope or Tony and Anna go on some adventure or search the DiMansion to find a diary and some pictures and a birth certificate that explains this all.

John as the love child of Santo and Colleen, therefore making him the first Dimera/Brady child and Stefano's younger brother!!!???

Brilliance! Pure brilliance!!

I just love JM and having his face on the screen, seeing and hearing him is enough for me. I couldn't care less except that he is there in all his wonderful glory It would be nice to get over this current storyline and see him in a more realistic story where he is enjoying the good life and Marlena becomes a part of it.

John as the love child of Santo and Colleen, therefore making him the first Dimera/Brady child and Stefano's younger brother!!!???

Brilliance! Pure brilliance!!

Glad you liked it, Toups.

If Hogan Sheffer really is reading message boards to get a sense on what he should do for the show like some claim lets hope it's this one, right?

1.) He has layers again.

2.) He isn't a cartoon villain.

3.) His interactions with TP and JS, as well as many other cast members, is superb.

4.) His scenes with Santo was the best acting of his career IMO.

5.) The "Queen of the Night" stuff, while enjoyable, is gone. Marlena should be interacting with him like she did in the 80's but I don't want any of that JER stuff. That was too much.

All in all, 8/10. Could be better but could be worse and Stefano is a realistic character again and that is the bulk of what I wanted when Joe returned so I am satisfied pretty much. My hope is his story will only get better with the recent changes and those upcoming.

As for the John as the Santeen love child idea, love it!! Makes perfect sense. Doubt it will happen though.

5.) The "Queen of the Night" stuff, while enjoyable, is gone. Marlena should be interacting with him like she did in the 80's but I don't want any of that JER stuff. That was too much.

Oh god, no, don't misunderstand. I do NOT want the QOTN story back, I want the relationship between them that began in the 80s and thrived in the 90s. I want his commitment to making Marlena his wife. I'd love for him to threaten to kill John, setting in motion accidents that he barely escapes and force Marlena to marry him to make them stop.

There has been some great stuff from Joe this time around, but his lame interactions (and lack-there-of) with John and Marlena (he had better ones with ROMAN at Doug's Place) is inexcusable. There are about 13 characters currently on canvas who should be most effected by Stefano. Roman, John, Steve, Marlena, Kayla, Celeste, Lexie, Benjy, EJ, Tony, Anna, Bo, Hope. And yet, half of these folks are not given half the material they've earned.

One thing that popped up in my mind....

Has it ever been ever brought up on the show or mentioned that Stefano wants EJ to marry Sami moreso because she is Marlena's daughter? I doubt it, it is just an interesting thought to ponder.

Hogan Sheffer, if he had any interest in writing for John whatsoever and any interest in giving John a great swan song if Drake really is leaving the show, could have reconciled both the feud and Stefano's hatred for John by making John Black's true parentage that he was the first DiBrady baby as the secret love child of Colleen and Santo.

There is simply so much soapy goodness that could have come from it.

John would be revealed as Stefano's half-brother adding another wrinkle to their fascinating relationship and if his real mother was killed it would explain how John came to be raised away from his real parents, and it would also explain Stefano's fixation on him and why he would want to use this person (who he probably resented and was jealous of for having their father's one true love for his mother while Stefano had a mother who their father didn't love) as a pawn to carry out his schemes. It would also explain why John has always felt so connected to the Bradys even after he found out he wasn't Roman as it would be revealed he does share their blood. It would also add layers to Stefano's jealousy toward Marlena's feelings for John.

EJ would have to deal with the fact that he shot his uncle and the man who was the love child of his and Sami's lookalike ancestors.

Sami would realize that her mother found the love of her life in a man who has DiMera blood.

Roman would have to deal with the fact that the man who replaced him in Marlena's heart is truly a Brady, too.

Marlena would have to deal with the fact that the love of her life is Stefano's brother.

Viewers would finally get the first DiBrady baby and it wouldn't be a product of rape/sextortion.

And even if John becomes a Brady, Shawn and Belle would still not be blood related so that wouldn't be affected.

This is what should have happened IMO and they really wouldn't have had to change all that much of the story other than maybe having John and Marlena or Bo and Hope or Tony and Anna go on some adventure or search the DiMansion to find a diary and some pictures and a birth certificate that explains this all.

I heart you Mary! This is a great scenario for the feud. Why can't these supposed brilliant writers come up with good stuff like this. It would make so much more sense to this ridiculous feud than what we have been getting.

From what I've seen of Stefano's return, I have been kinda disappointed. I love the added layers, and the humanity that's been given to Stefano, but during this process, something has been lost. Don't get me wrong, all the above is great, but it doesn't really feel like the Stefano that I know.

This is compounded by the poor writing. For example, Stefano's interaction with Kate. Kate pays Stefano a visit to see how he's doing, because she's concerned. Since when? This isn't the Kate/Stefano relationship of the past years. Kate has never considered him a friend, and has never gone to him for favours (except when she was a call girl). In fact, their interaction during Stefano's previous years was next to none, and now we're meant to believe that she cares about him!? Whatever.

And his treatment of Lexie when she refused to donate a part of her Liver(?) to be tested, felt real, yet unlikely. Stefano dismissed Lexie like yesterday's trash, something that I felt didn't quite fit with their relationship, IMO. He just didn't care.

Hogan Sheffer, if he had any interest in writing for John whatsoever and any interest in giving John a great swan song if Drake really is leaving the show, could have reconciled both the feud and Stefano's hatred for John by making John Black's true parentage that he was the first DiBrady baby as the secret love child of Colleen and Santo.

Now that sounds awesome. I would actually have liked to see this scenario play out, instead of what we're getting now. It's pretty telling when someone who's not really a John fan can come with a plausible, realistic story for the main characters, when the actual writers can't.

One thing that popped up in my mind....

Has it ever been ever brought up on the show or mentioned that Stefano wants EJ to marry Sami moreso because she is Marlena's daughter? I doubt it, it is just an interesting thought to ponder.

No. It has NEVER EVER EVER been brought up that I can recall. And it pisses me off because the idea of Stefano's son and Marlena's daughter truly falling in love is so intriguing to me it is one of the reasons that had me rooting for EJ and Sami to get together in the first place.

The only time I remember any sort of connection being made was in Stefano's first episode back when EJ and Sami meet Stefano and Stefano thinks she's Colleen and EJ says no this is Samantha, Marlena's daughter. And Stefano then makes an icky face like it's a bad thing rather than fondly remembering Marlena. When it happened I didn't think much of it because I had hope that they would explain Stefano's change that he has grown bitter with resignation that Marlena will never be his, but no it's just like his whole Marlena obsession never happened. This irks me.

I don't want to see Marlena kidnapped for the umpteenth time, but I see the fact that they have completely ignored the Stefano-Marlena relationship when Stefano talks to EJ about his relationship with Sami as a HUGE missed opportunity.

His return initially held a lot much promise but it puddled quickly which contributed significantly to the stagnant ratings. He was backburnered, then used peripherally, and when he was finally given material that showcased he was The Phoenix it amounted to a hill of beans.

Definetly dissapointing. They have totaly misused JM.

No. It has NEVER EVER EVER been brought up that I can recall. And it pisses me off because the idea of Stefano's son and Marlena's daughter truly falling in love is so intriguing to me it is one of the reasons that had me rooting for EJ and Sami to get together in the first place.

The only time I remember any sort of connection being made was in Stefano's first episode back when EJ and Sami meet Stefano and Stefano thinks she's Colleen and EJ says no this is Samantha, Marlena's daughter. And Stefano then makes an icky face like it's a bad thing rather than fondly remembering Marlena. When it happened I didn't think much of it because I had hope that they would explain Stefano's change that he has grown bitter with resignation that Marlena will never be his, but no it's just like his whole Marlena obsession never happened. This irks me.

I don't want to see Marlena kidnapped for the umpteenth time, but I see the fact that they have completely ignored the Stefano-Marlena relationship when Stefano talks to EJ about his relationship with Sami as a HUGE missed opportunity.

And the fact is that it was front and center on the show for over half of the 90s years. It'd be one thing if Stefano explained that he was over it, that would just be out of character. But this is just ignorance. And it's such an intriguing relationship.

And the fact is that it was front and center on the show for over half of the 90s years. It'd be one thing if Stefano explained that he was over it, that would just be out of character. But this is just ignorance. And it's such an intriguing relationship.

Right, and it's one of the reasons why I'm not broken up if Marlena ends up separate from John. I find the Marlena-Stefano relationship to be so dramatic and and complex. I can't ever see Marlena becoming romantically interested in him, but Dee and Joseph are good enough actors that Marlena and Stefano's interactions could drive the show in a way. I want Marlena to become an alcoholic and have Stefano to be the one person who saves her from herself!

His return has been okay. I love his scenes with EJ and Sami. Anytime theyr'e together is PRICELESS.

However like others of you have mentioned I'd also like to see him with John and Marlena. Also I don't know if others have mentioned it but HOPE as well. I love KA and I think she deserves more airtime with The Phoenix. Wasn't Hope one of his mistresses back in the day?

Anyways I think its great that we see more emotion from Stefano and that we're able to get closer to him. For me it doesn't erase the mystique surrounding him or make him any less dangerous. In fact it makes him that much more complicated. His interactions with Kate a few weeks ago were also fabulous to watch.

But yeah I'd love to see more of John, Marlena, or Hope with Stefano. And I want John to be revealed to be either Stefano's son or EJ's dad.

Also I KNOW this will never happen but I want John and Hope to get together....lol.

Edited September 10, 200718 yr by LiasonAgent007

Stefano's return has been okay so far, but I'm sure it'll improve with Edward J. Scott's input. Can't wait for November Sweeps cuz Scott knows how to put on a show. I'm more confident that DOOL is here to stay on NBC. Are you?