The article did say that TPTB were felt confident that they could convince Paul Leyden to stay longer than the 3 month stint. I don't know if they are deluding themselves or that Paul is in need of some steady income for a bit. Regardless, the character of Simon was really damaged by that the Pilar debacle. Simon would never do anything like that to Katie. I hope the writers attempt to repair some of the damage that they did to Simon. Simon and Katie loved each other so much, they should always be friends no matter what.

There's a theory going around that maybe it wasn't really Simon that did all that with Pilar. That maybe it was someone Pilar got who she hired to be Simon or something like that.

That theory is such an easy way out, though. Simon clearly never wanted Katie to get hurt...the whole thing with Pilar justified the end for him..getting back Katie. Simon never thought that Pilar was a psycho..and really, how would he have known? I don't think what Simon did is completely unforgivable...I always felt Katie strung him along during the Pilar mess while she was still pining for Mike so she's just as much to blame for their relationship getting so messed up.

I wish Paolo would stay longer than three months. Damian is and was my favorite. Paolo is so Hot. I can't wait til he's back.

No, I love Damian, but I just don't think of him as Luke's dad. I don't want to see this whole Damian vs. Holden thing occur between who's Luke's "real" dad because IMO I see Holden as Luke's dad. I'd love to see Damian return as a permanent fixture if it meant not seeing that problem occur.

I've had the same exact situation happen to me and it's definitely not something cool. Luke's already troubled as it is. Having to decide between two dads isn't fun at all...trust me.

Plus, Damian and Lily did nothing to me. For some reason, I always thought that he could do better. Lol. Plus, seeing another Holden/Lily split would just be wrong.

There's a theory going around that maybe it wasn't really Simon that did all that with Pilar. That maybe it was someone Pilar got who she hired to be Simon or something like that.

then why would fakeSimon be so torn up over him and Katie going their separate ways like they did? They better not pull crap like that!

I always thought the mistake TPTB made with Mike/Katie/Simone was not writing in Terri's pregnancy. Although they had just done a "whose the dad" storyline with Mike, Carly and Jack, if they had made Katie pregnant after her night in the boxcar with Simon, then she wouldn't have known who the father of her baby was also and Simon's return to Oakdale a months later on would have made more sense as he would have been coming back for the birth of the baby and the results of the paternity test. In the meanwhile, Mike would have felt betrayed by Katie choosing Simon and sleeping with him, but the baby would kept him in town and estranged from Katie. TPTB then could have made Mike the father so that Katie couldn't leave with Simon even if she really wanted. At least, in my scenario Simon would still be a good guy.

I think the writers are determined to have neither Katie nor Mike have children, especially Katie who's almost like a teenager.

The whole Pilar mess really screwed up Simon. I absolutely loved Simon, but then they did that storyline and he was pretty much ruined IMO. I wonder what's going to happen. Maybe Simon will come back and he and Katie will leave together. And then Mike...well, he can go follow them...off-camera of course. I wouldn't be crying if Katie and Mike left permanently.

TPTB are not going to write out Katie or Mike. If anything they are desperate to get Paul Leyden to stay. ATWT is a soap who has the 2nd worse soap in that prized women 18 to 49 demographic and the worse soap in girls to 12 to 17 demographic. They are simply not in the position to write out or fire any of their popular younger actors who are under 40, if anything they need more.

TPTB are not going to write out Katie or Mike. If anything they are desperate to get Paul Leyden to stay. ATWT is a soap who has the 2nd worse soap in that prized women 18 to 49 demographic and the worse soap in girls to 12 to 17 demographic. They are simply not in the position to write out or fire any of their popular younger actors who are under 40, if anything they need more.

Then maybe TPTB should start writing the characters better. It's always the same thing with those two: they get together, some guy interferes (whether it's Simon, BJ, or now Nick), they break up, then they get back together. And it's obvious that they're going to create a Mike/Katie/Nick triangle. At this point, I don't think Mike and Katie are ever going to get married and, frankly, I wouldn't care. And if MC winds up leaving, then they're going to have to write off Mike anyway.

ATWT doesn't need any 30-something characters. I think it could use a few characters in their twenties, but IMO there are too many teens and too many characters in their thirties right now.

Then maybe TPTB should start writing the characters better. It's always the same thing with those two: they get together, some guy interferes (whether it's Simon, BJ, or now Nick), they break up, then they get back together.

You have just described the storylines of every long term couple on Soapdom. It never changes other than a medical crisis or a fake death or the occasional amnesia.

ATWT doesn't need any 30-something characters. I think it could use a few characters in their twenties, but IMO there are too many teens and too many characters in their thirties right now.

ATWT has exactly 4 teenagers, just enough to develop a quadrangle. How is that too many? I don't think that they have too many characters in their thirties. However, I do agree that they need at least two more actors in their twenties. Nick needs a female love interest his age. They should maybe recast Nikki Munson or brin in someone new.

You have just described the storylines of every long term couple on Soapdom. It never changes other than a medical crisis or a fake death or the occasional amnesia.

ATWT has exactly 4 teenagers, just enough to develop a quadrangle. How is that too many? I don't think that they have too many characters in their thirties. However, I do agree that they need at least two more actors in their twenties. Nick needs a female love interest his age. They should maybe recast Nikki Munson or brin in someone new.

They have 6 teenagers: Gwen, Will, Luke, Jade, Casey, and Maddie. I guess you can count Kevin too since he's involved in the Luke storyline.

I count 30s as: Carly, Jack, Katie (late-20s maybe), Mike, Jen (late-20s maybe), Emily, Paul, Meg, Dusty, Nick, Lily, Holden, and Henry. Bringing on any more is just too much IMO.

Most of the people who are front-burner are either teens or in their 30s. So, why do they need more??

Oops, you are right about the teens. I forgot about Luke, Kevin, and Jade. I guess, I see them apart from the regular teen set. We just have to disagree. I think that the show is in a good place cast wise. The writing just needs to pick up with more solid storylines.

I count 30s as: Carly, Jack, Katie (late-20s maybe), Mike, Jen (late-20s maybe), Emily, Paul, Meg, Dusty, Nick, Lily, Holden, and Henry. Bringing on any more is just too much IMO.

I would definitely categorize Katie, Mike, Jen, Nick, and Henry as mid-to-late 20s at the oldest. I would even go as far as saying that Holden is in his early 40s.

The show definitely needs a better balance between generations, but it rarely bothers me, because most of the characters who are in their teens/twenties/thirties have strong ties to characters who are in their forties/fifties/sixties(/seventies, even?), and many of them, while young, have been around for quite some time. I'm still shocked that Paul and Dusty have both been around since 1983.

Oops, you are right about the teens. I forgot about Luke, Kevin, and Jade. I guess, I see them apart from the regular teen set. We just have to disagree. I think that the show is in a good place cast wise. The writing just needs to pick up with more solid storylines.

No...I agree. Characters like Katie and Mike would be a whole lot better to me if they were written better. I don't have a problem with the acting, but rather the writing.

And I agree about the lack of balance on the show. It's definitely something that has plagued ATWT for quite some time now.