I know it has been a few weeks since I have been here; I have managed to see every episode of our favorite show. As the world is turning towards its 50th anniversary in about a month, I have been closely watching how things are progressing in Oakdale.
Carly and Nick
First of all, this thing with Carly and Nick is going nowhere fast. To have someone come between Jack and Carly again so soon after the thing with Julia is going in the wrong direction. The show has slowly made Nick a real irritant and in order to salvage the character, they need to send him in another direction other than Carly or Katie. I am finding these close calls with Jack really annoying. Carly is constantly lying. So here comes Katie who has no life until Mike comes back, she and Carly become enemies. Does this mean that Katie is going to get friendly with Jack when he finds out that Carly has been deceiving him once again? Is Carly so desperate to redeem Jack that she has to constantly put herself in danger? I find all of this to be quite boring. It's time to end this and send all of these characters in different directions away from each other.
Jade
Who is this young woman? How amazing to get a letter from your dead mother at the precise moment when your new family seriously doubts who you are? I think she is some sort of con artist sent by Keith. From the moment she arrived, I had a feeling that she was not for real. The first sign is that she is just too good to be true. She has snuggled up to Luke so he can be her ally. As always, Lucinda is right on the case and I agree with her - get a DNA test pronto. I know the writers know what that is because how many were performed on Johnny Rory Billy?
On the topic of Luke, he does need someone his own age to pal around with. Kevin is bad news even if he has been his best friend for years. If I knew that my best friend just got a new kidney, would I continue to try to tempt him with alcohol - not a good friend trait at all. This story is progressing along nicely, it does seem that Luke has always been kept separate from the other teens in town; he used to be friends with Will when he was younger. Why does Holden feel that if he keeps Luke away from Kevin that he will be what he wants him to be?
Paul = Trouble
This guy fakes his own death for a second time and now has decided he wants to be alive again so he pulls the strings to make it happen. Now Jennifer, Dusty and Emily know he is alive and have different reactions. Emily is still in love with him so she wants him to pay for hurting her and kissing Meg. Dusty is being his regular protective self and does not want Jenny to be hurt. Jennifer feels guilt because she thought he killed himself so her guilt is getting the best of her.
I like Paul and Meg together and I am hoping that they do stay together. Meg and Paul seem to bring out some likable qualities in each other. Things sometimes seemed forced with Paul and Emily; she was his rebound relationship after Rosanna. Meg and Dusty will always be good together because of their history - they (these two actors anyway) do have great chemistry.
It looked like Paul regained all of his energy when he started to fight with Dusty; he didn't cough or get fatigued one time - he is cured.
Barbara is scammed
The look on her face when she found out that Casey and Maddie had a tape to clear Gwen then to find out that there was nothing on the tape incriminating was priceless. Barbara never learns, does she? Barbara is her own worst enemy and her tactics usually seem to render her lonely and ready to launch her next scheme.
It was good to see Casey and Will make nice with each other - they were good friends. Now that the four of them are friends, it will be very interesting to see how they manage as friends. By the way, I think Maddie brings out the best in Casey; they make a good couple, much better than the Orange Crate girl.
50th Anniversary Special Moment
I am going to take some space each column until the 50th anniversary to recall some of the highlights that have made me love ATWT so much over the years:
During the Doug Marland years, ATWT was always good. There was an excellent story told early in his reign that was the best, it was the Douglas Cummings story. The episode when Doug was revealed as Kim's secret admirer was one of the most surprising moments in daytime. Doug has been such a nice guy that Frannie had begun to know and he was the last person than anyone suspected so to see his special room with the pictures of Kim and to hear the song, "Someone to Watch Over Me" and then to see Doug Cummings was truly amazing television.
That's all I have for now.
Reggie Jackson
