I loved LOVED Emily's parting shot to Paul yesterday.

James: I bounced. LMAO!

The Babs/Em car window bit was hilarity.

I even liked the Margo/Katie stuff.

I also thought James line was funny. The last two scripts have been nicely written by Kipnow...I know I misspelled that...LOL...

I was fascinated by the Melanie Smith/Andy Kavitovit version of Emily/Paul.

Me too! I loved Emily and Paul's complex relationship back then. Bound together by their love and hate of James and an intense love for each other. I have never gotten over Melanie Smith's departure. I adored her as Emily. This new blonde Emily will never be Emily to me, same with this new Meg. I missed Kavitovit terribly, but grew to appreciate Scott Holroyd's Paul so of course, ATWT recasts the role with Howarth who I think is a dreadful actor. I will never understand why they could not have found another role for Howarth. ATWT is a stupid soap opera now.

Me too! I loved Emily and Paul's complex relationship back then. Bound together by their love and hate of James and an intense love for each other. I have never gotten over Melanie Smith's departure. I adored her as Emily. This new blonde Emily will never be Emily to me, same with this new Meg. I missed Kavitovit terribly, but grew to appreciate Scott Holroyd's Paul so of course, ATWT recasts the role with Howarth who I think is a dreadful actor. I will never understand why they could not have found another role for Howarth. ATWT is a stupid soap opera now.

I feel the same way. Andrew Kavovit is 38 now and Roger Howarth is 41 but Roger looks too old for the part. Andrew still has that baby face at 38. I wish they would bring him back and Melanie Smith.

Terri is already annoying me.

Janet annoys me.

Nice to see Bob and Kim.

Can we just hurl meatballs at Janet and get her to STFU??? Not only is her whining past old, but the way she turned on Teri, the baby sister she supposedly adores, for "looking down her nose at her because she didn't go to college", blah blah blah. Wounded pride my ass. It's clear Janet's a master at sabotaging her own life and blaming it on anyone else in the room.

And Teri, simpering at Craig that way?? It's disturbing, and not only because she's clearly younger than his last conquest Dani, and his DAUGHTER Lucy.

Y'know what ROCKED? Casey bringing up the entire Gwen/Maddie/Adam history and throwing it in Adam's face.

I haven't really appreciated the stories the past couple of days...but what I have appreciated (and what's honestly refreshing) is characters exiting their story bubbles and talking with different groups of people. When's the last time Jack and Brad talked? Last fall when Brad was harrassing Parker like a thug? At least it's a little break from the same tired conversations Oakdale usually has.

Terri is already annoying me.

Janet annoys me.

Nice to see Bob and Kim.

I hate Janet too and Jack...UGH

Loved Bob and Kim today...wish Susan was on too.

The whole Janet fiasco was so not needed and just wasted airtime....

I can't stand Kim and her holier than thou sanctimonious attitude and I HATE when Dr Bob is treated like he's some kind of saint

I can't stand Kim and her holier than thou sanctimonious attitude and I HATE when Dr Bob is treated like he's some kind of saint

I thought Kim was over the top today but understood it was more to due with the Stewart women interfering in their lives. It would have been nice had it been Susan and Kim arguing over Bob's and Allisons situation.

Edited August 13, 200916 yr by Ruxton Hills

ITA with ya, Ron. I think a Susan/Kim altercation would have been better. Hays and Masters have built such a rapport over the years; it would have been so good to see them interacting again, especially over Bob....but under a different pretense this time. I do have to say that KH blew me away with her performance today...between spitting darts at Alison and growling a harsh "Kiddo". Just goes to show why vets are so needed in daytime; they know the trade and they can still shine through!

Casey's hostility towards Riley is understandable. Nice to see that audience members and characters (Casey) alike are both questioning the total 360 that TIIC have done by turning good-hearted Adam into a psycho rapist and back into a good guy.

I have to agree and disagree, Peej. I'm tired of Janet's whining, but I don't think she's taken it all up on herself to trash her life. I understand Janet's anger. Her family not only gave her the boot, but totally shunned her and Liberty, when teenJanet was shmoozed, impregnated, and deserted by her boyfriend teenBrad. Then, they turn around and hand over all sorts of cash and good wishes to pay for Teri's life dreams, while Janet and Liberty bounced around from crap-hole to crap-hole. If I were Janet, I'd be bitter, too. HOWEVER....I don't think TIIC are making me any more sympathetic towards her by making her whine all the good day long about the crappy hand she was dealt in life. She had a pretty sh!tty life, but it's finally turned around; leave the past in the past and get on with life. Be thankful for what you DO have.

Teri/Craig also sickens me. I can see this going two ways. Teri and Craig have a romantic connection....OR....Craig does what he does best...replacing a child with a substitute. He did it for many years after Bryant's death. He took Parker under his wing and treated him as a substitute for Bryant. He did the same thing with Johnny, too. Now that Lucy's betrayed him and fled the country (or wherever the hell she went), I think he feels like Teri might be a mini-Lucy that he can nurture and provide for. But as we all know, Craig's best intentions are always carried out horribly.

But Janet didn't take a moment to think. Why would she assume Teri thought less of her? Teri's been in town less than a NY minute, and Janet automatically thought the worst of her when pushed. I guess we're supposed to feel sorry for her, but all I see is an ungrateful witch who's unhappy with her life, when she should be happier than she's "ever" been.

Re: Craig/Teri---I'm pretty sure it'll just turn out to be a one-sided crush, and a set up for another lady to bare her claws. But to put it kindly, I find it highly unlikely that anyone would fawn over Craig to this degree. And it's super annoying that she's praising Craig for the very same stuff I find cloying and obnoxious in Craig, his determination to worm his way into Carly's kids' lives.

Bibel wrote about the show yesterday:

http://www.fancast.com/blogs/deep-soap/deep-soap-better-and-worse/#more-67564

ITA with ya, Ron. I think a Susan/Kim altercation would have been better. Hays and Masters have built such a rapport over the years; it would have been so good to see them interacting again, especially over Bob....but under a different pretense this time. I do have to say that KH blew me away with her performance today...between spitting darts at Alison and growling a harsh "Kiddo". Just goes to show why vets are so needed in daytime; they know the trade and they can still shine through!

Casey's hostility towards Riley is understandable. Nice to see that audience members and characters (Casey) alike are both questioning the total 360 that TIIC have done by turning good-hearted Adam into a psycho rapist and back into a good guy.

KH always delivers. Today's show is going to be great. I am actually going to tape it. It is a keeper.

Casey being hostile towards Adam was dumb. Yes...he has his concerns because of Adam being a rapist but Casey actions are more of a jealous boyfriend...IMO.

Someone got a wake up call on As The World Turns. As sooner as CBS executive Nina Tassler admitted to the Television Critics Association that the network was considering canceling the show, it became entertaining. Making Henry the long lost son of James Stenbeck is borderline inspired. It creates a host of complications for numerous characters. Suddenly, Henry has a claim to the Stenbeck fortune as well as serious family angst. The increasingly irritating Paul now has a likable, funny foil. Trent Dawson and Roger Howarth will deliver what I am sure will be hilarious scenes of the brothers feuding and bonding. Barbara versus Audrey has the potential to be an epic soap female rivalry. Lynn Herring has served notice that she is more than just stunt casting from her first scene on the show. Her feisty, dysfunctional, cold blooded yet chipper mother is a fascinating piece of work. Though she and General Hospital’s Lisa LoCicero are probably getting together to commiserate over playing the mothers of sons that were born the same decade that they were, her performance sells the relationship.

I am still not so excited about Henry being James son but anything with James in it if done right can be good.

Suddenly, ATWT has snappy dialogue and storylines that seem like they will last more than a week. Emily locking Barbara in a car was a lot of fun. Angry, uncommunicative Faith may be daytime’s most realistic teen. The show is capitalizing on both Paolo Seganti and Noelle Beck’s Lily chemistry and its own history with Damian and Lily’s attraction. Though the mental hospital set bore a suspicious resemblance to a hallway full of dressing rooms, and sure did not look as luxurious as the dialogue claimed it was, it was an effective use of a location. I would much rather see scenes in buildings than people wandering around fields.

The dialogue has been great. I especially liking Kipnow's scripts from this week and last Friday. Having Emily, babs, Lily and Damian involved in the same storyline gives nods to history and the viewers are familiar with their past.

This is not to say that the show is perfect. Casey and Allison are still a chemistry free snore. The promising Luke/Noah/Mason triangle has turned out to be as dull as all of the other Nuke storylines. Meg continues to be the most boring frontburner character in daytime. But it seems like TPTB have awakened from their stupor and realized both that they are in danger of losing their jobs, and that they do have a chance of saving them. The show seems to be veering away from its ill-conceived foray into short term arcs and cliffhanger free storylines. Executive Producer Christopher Goutman is no longer giving interviews claiming that viewers are not interested in watching five days a week. There are two paths available to ATWT: one is the sad fate of its sister show Guiding Light which innovated itself right out of existence. The other is that of Days of Our Lives which, facing the same sort of pressure eventually went back to the storytelling style that worked for the show in the past and saved itself. Let us hope that ATWT is able to pull off a similar death defying feat.

I know Casey and Allison were favs of Toups. I have a feeling the writers are going to put Allison in Adam's orbit. I like new Adam and his acting skills. It doesn't hurt that he is a total hunk.

Nuke has never been written properly. Luke does much better with his family scenes. It's time to send Noah packing. Jake Silbermann is an awful actor who should be fired. He is why Nuke is so dull.

I agree about Meg. She has outlasted her frontburner status. They need to backburn her pronto.

CZP has been raving about Oakdale lately in her Twitter posts. She has been working a lot lately. So a lot of Barbara can only be good for Oakdale.

I've never minded Nuke, at times I have liked them, but I do think they have run their course in terms of storylines. Why Forbes March was hired for a role which involves acting I still don't quite get. Perhaps they should keep Noah and Luke together and just give them stories which don't involve any type of romantic tension, as the show isn't going to be able to show anything anyway, even if Luke got another love interest. Noah I sort of like, I know the canvas wouldn't exactly be shattered if Jake was written, but I'd rather see him work with Dusty than just leave.

I think some of Van's performances have become heavily mannered, to the point of being difficult to watch. Even in the family scenes. Less can be more.

I haven't watched the last few days yet but I'm looking forward to seeing Bob and Kim. It's also great to see so much Barbara, even in this silly story. CZP is a real trouper. I'm still amazed she made it through the horrible character destruction dropped on Barbara at the start of the decade.

Edited August 13, 200916 yr by CarlD2

I've never minded Nuke, at times I have liked them, but I do think they have run their course in terms of storylines. Why Forbes March was hired for a role which involves acting I still don't quite get. Perhaps they should keep Noah and Luke together and just give them stories which don't involve any type of romantic tension, as the show isn't going to be able to show anything anyway, even if Luke got another love interest. Noah I sort of like, I know the canvas wouldn't exactly be shattered if Jake was written, but I'd rather see him work with Dusty than just leave.

I think some of Van's performances have become heavily mannered, to the point of being difficult to watch. Even in the family scenes. Less can be more.

I haven't watched the last few days yet but I'm looking forward to seeing Bob and Kim. It's also great to see so much Barbara, even in this silly story. CZP is a real trouper. I'm still amazed she made it through the horrible character destruction dropped on Barbara at the start of the decade.

It's like they tired and failed miserably with Nuke. I just think that all hoopla with Nuke went to Van's head. His acting opposite less/suckier actors didnt do him any favors. Forbes March is ok. He hasn't had much to do at all.

Bob and Kim are on today. Seeing Babs is always good. Now if we could only get more Lucinda.

Edited August 13, 200916 yr by Ruxton Hills

I'm still trying to figure out why they've made Henry a Stenbeck. I keep thinking we will find out this is all a scam on his mother's part because what is accomplished if Henry is related to James? Can you see James kidnapping Vienna and Henry being the action hero? They could have him take the baby Katie is carrying but that's very been there, done that.

I don't know, I think we'll find out he's not a Stenbeck.

If he is a Stenbeck then maybe they should bring in James's sister Adriel or Ariel or whatever her name was. I'm sure she would know Vienna from the Eurotrash circuit.

Edited August 13, 200916 yr by CarlD2