Last week was kind of rough, post-chemo. Lots of nausea. Little appetite. Mucho fatigue. I didn't work at all after the infusion. I did try, but I either got out-voted by Keith or I showed up and got sent home. I owe my sub big time for all of this.
I'm really excited to be out of the cycle of chemo--drag bricks for three weeks--more chemo! I'm still dragging, but it's nice to know that will definitely be coming to an end. I'm making plans to celebrate. Don't know how for sure, but there will be thrifting and eating and bike riding involved. It won't start until I am able to do all of those things again, but it will probably go on for a while after that. Chemo went on for six months, so I figure celebrating the end of chemo should go on for a while to. I got a lot of regularity to get back to, you know.
Since I was pretty much out of it all last week, I don't have much to ramble about this morning. I did get out to some sales on Saturday. It was a cool, rainy day, so we didn't go to many, but that was probably just my speed. I did find some nice things, so I'll do a post about that this week.
This week may be kind of weird. I have a ton of catching up to do, so I don't know how that's going to go. We'll see. I know I have to get to the booths. They've been pretty busy these past few days. Not enough to make up for the mid-month lull, but a welcome pick-up anyway. I'll let you all know how things go next Monday.
Day by Days: For the record, I wasn't able to catch up with the show until the weekend. Last week started so well, then fizzled. There just should have been more play for Sami's arrest and less of the other stuff. Up until Wednesday, everything was firing, but after that we got back to the woes of Dan and Jen and everything stalled. There were a lot of good moments in the Sami story, including lots of Marlena (who of course disappeared by the end of the week--arrgh!). I just wanted lots more, especially a Justin/Adrienne confrontation and a Sonny/Adrienne blow-up. Everything else could have been pushed until the beginning of this week, for real.
In the meantime, to make up for the lack of content today, please enjoy this video of a young girl taking her llama to the dentist.
Sesame Street was really wacky back in the day, huh?
Showing posts with label Day by Days. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Day by Days. Show all posts
Monday, July 29, 2013
Sunday, July 07, 2013
Day by Days
This was a big week! Sami went before the grand jury! I loved the way they intercut the grand jury scenes with the memorial for the cop she shot. They are plotting this one like they have a destination in mind. I hope they get there.
By the way, if you are coming here from any other place that's been discussing this story, let me make one thing perfectly clear: Abe is not hiding the evidence that would clear Sami. There is a lot of confusion, at least in the discussion on hulu, about this. There was a scene after the shooting when Kayla hands Abe an envelope and says "We found this in the room." We never see the contents of this envelope, but in the next scenes, Abe is with Sami telling her that Bernardi's police badge and id were found in the room. I think the connection is pretty clear. Except that there are people who don't get it and think that Abe (who is like an uncle to Sami) is hiding the razor she says she saw. Proponents of this theory are kind of overlooking the fact that Kayla, who would know that Abe has the razor, is Sami's aunt and certainly would not stay silent while everyone is saying "If only we could find that razor."
A lot of this is due to the habit this writing team has of not spelling out every detail for the audience and trusting us to infer what is going on from the clues they are giving. Unfortunately, some audience members aren't as smart as the writers give them credit for being. Oh well.
Anyway, I can't believe that Sami got acquitted, but this story ain't over yet. Adrienne still has evidence she doesn't know she has. I'm glad they finally revealed that, even if Adrienne hasn't seen it yet. We're in for a week or two of "near misses" probably, before the lid gets blown off this particular pot.
I liked the day at the lake. It's always fun to get a bunch of characters together and see how it finagles the various plots around, even if nothing totally earth-shattering happens.
How exactly does Kristen think she's going to put out a video of her and a drugged Eric doing the deed without everyone knowing she's behind it? That's got to be some awfully good editing she's paying for. I really hate the way this story is going. I don't care for Eric the boring priest, but there has got to be a better way to give him a story. It's pretty obvious that this is just a setup to get him de-frocked so that he and Nicole can get together because the writers have realized that it was a really stupid decision to make him a priest.
The other thing I hate is that we have yet another Kristen revenge plot against Marlena, yet Marlena is nowhere to be seen. I hate it when they make her a bystander in stories that are at least nominally about her!
I can't believe that with all the story potential of three young parents living together with a newborn, they're immediately throwing Will into a "does Sonny really want to be with me?" plot. This is how you use a two time Emmy winner? Stop telling us how tired Gabi is! Show us why she's tired!
Let's see: JJ is annoying. Jennifer is making dumb decisions. Ann really needs to fall down an elevator shaft, except that she's the only thing making Jennifer even sightly interesting right now. That remark Kate made to Nick was beyond crass and definitely beneath her. There was a Vargas (woof!) sighting. And the suspense around EJ and Justin's plan to oust Stefano is killing me. I wish they would pull the trigger already.
Overall, it was kind of a mixed bag of a week. We're at the place where everything is still developing, so we've got to be patient. Still, the groundwork has been laid for some July fireworks. Can't wait until the fuse is lit.
By the way, if you are coming here from any other place that's been discussing this story, let me make one thing perfectly clear: Abe is not hiding the evidence that would clear Sami. There is a lot of confusion, at least in the discussion on hulu, about this. There was a scene after the shooting when Kayla hands Abe an envelope and says "We found this in the room." We never see the contents of this envelope, but in the next scenes, Abe is with Sami telling her that Bernardi's police badge and id were found in the room. I think the connection is pretty clear. Except that there are people who don't get it and think that Abe (who is like an uncle to Sami) is hiding the razor she says she saw. Proponents of this theory are kind of overlooking the fact that Kayla, who would know that Abe has the razor, is Sami's aunt and certainly would not stay silent while everyone is saying "If only we could find that razor."
A lot of this is due to the habit this writing team has of not spelling out every detail for the audience and trusting us to infer what is going on from the clues they are giving. Unfortunately, some audience members aren't as smart as the writers give them credit for being. Oh well.
Anyway, I can't believe that Sami got acquitted, but this story ain't over yet. Adrienne still has evidence she doesn't know she has. I'm glad they finally revealed that, even if Adrienne hasn't seen it yet. We're in for a week or two of "near misses" probably, before the lid gets blown off this particular pot.
I liked the day at the lake. It's always fun to get a bunch of characters together and see how it finagles the various plots around, even if nothing totally earth-shattering happens.
How exactly does Kristen think she's going to put out a video of her and a drugged Eric doing the deed without everyone knowing she's behind it? That's got to be some awfully good editing she's paying for. I really hate the way this story is going. I don't care for Eric the boring priest, but there has got to be a better way to give him a story. It's pretty obvious that this is just a setup to get him de-frocked so that he and Nicole can get together because the writers have realized that it was a really stupid decision to make him a priest.
The other thing I hate is that we have yet another Kristen revenge plot against Marlena, yet Marlena is nowhere to be seen. I hate it when they make her a bystander in stories that are at least nominally about her!
I can't believe that with all the story potential of three young parents living together with a newborn, they're immediately throwing Will into a "does Sonny really want to be with me?" plot. This is how you use a two time Emmy winner? Stop telling us how tired Gabi is! Show us why she's tired!
Let's see: JJ is annoying. Jennifer is making dumb decisions. Ann really needs to fall down an elevator shaft, except that she's the only thing making Jennifer even sightly interesting right now. That remark Kate made to Nick was beyond crass and definitely beneath her. There was a Vargas (woof!) sighting. And the suspense around EJ and Justin's plan to oust Stefano is killing me. I wish they would pull the trigger already.
Overall, it was kind of a mixed bag of a week. We're at the place where everything is still developing, so we've got to be patient. Still, the groundwork has been laid for some July fireworks. Can't wait until the fuse is lit.
Monday, July 01, 2013
Monday Rambles
I'll warn you in advance, this is one of the rambliest rambles I've put down in digital ink in ages. Get ready for a wild ride!
Another chemo week is down the pike and I'm slowly crawling out of the pit. I've figured out that part of the problem during chemo weeks is the extra pills I have to take to accommodate my shots and stuff. The Benadryl beforehand makes me so sleepy I can't stand it, so I end up going home after my shots and going to bed. By the time I wake up, the chills from the shot are setting in, so I have to take more pills. I think all the extra meds contribute to my nausea problems. I know I start feeling better by Sunday, when all of the extra stuff has filtered out of my system. Then I can start dealing with the bricks.
One more to go! One more to go! I'm filled with an equal measure of anticipation and dread. Sometimes, just thinking about going back to the cancer center makes me reflexively retch.
My grandfather passed away Saturday morning. They said he had a really rough couple of days and then passed on. I'm really glad that we went to see him week before last. He was alert and talkative then, and that's a good final memory to have. He was 94, and kind of just gave out. The last few years were pretty rough on him. Besides his own declining health, one of my uncles passed away in 2009 and then Mom died in 2010. I cannot imagine being in your 90's and yet having to bury your kids. No one expects that.
His funeral will be Tuesday, which is going to make for an odd sort of week. The Fourth was already throwing an extra day off in there, and I'm still trying to recover from missing a day of work last week due to chemo. It's going to be a short week, but one with lots of commotion, apparently.
For some reason, my sales decided to pick up over the last week and a half. That was a bright spot during the week of chemo blight. All of a sudden, I started selling large items again and making my sales targets. I finally made rent, and now I'll be getting a (very small) check. But it will be a check. Now I've got to get busy and replenish my stash of larger items. About half my floor stock of small furniture is gone. Luckily, I kind of made up for that with some weekend shopping.
I did get out to one church sale over the weekend. We actually went to two, but the second one wasn't happening until Sunday. What kind of church does that? I mean, besides the Adventists? We did end up going back on Sunday, but it was a bust. We found enough stuff at another Sunday stop to more than make up for that minor irritant. More details on that tomorrow.
Speaking of church stuff, week before last when I was working my booth, there was a woman there seated on the floor in front of my religious wall. She was going through all the pamphlets and booklets very carefully, like she was looking for certain particulars. At one point, she asked me where I found all the older Catholic resources. I kind of gave my usual hem and haw answer (junkers don't reveal their sources easily), so she asked if I was Catholic. My answer to that is always "I'm not, but my father was." She asked if I was raised Catholic. I told her that I was raised Southern Baptist. (The "Southern" part is very important--even all these years later.) I didn't mention my conscious lack of a religious affiliation these days. That seems a bit too personal for a casual conversation with a stranger.
Anyway, in the middle of all this, she says" Well, you know those guys in Rome right now aren't the Catholic Church. It's been nothing but anti-popes since 1958." OMG! I have a real-life sedevacantist on my hands! I knew that Louisville had an SSPX chapel, because I had been to an awesome yard sale there one time, but I had no idea that there was anyone in town who was so anti-Vatican II that they went to the extreme positions. Wow! Now I realize why she was looking through everything so carefully. She was checking for publication dates and imprimaturs!
She told me that she appreciated the stuff I had for sale and that it was a great resource for her and others, then left. Wow! I'm supplying goods for extreme traditionalist Catholics! Who knew? For the record, I find church politics almost as fascinating as church articles.
Day by Days: It was another solid week, for the most part, but not a spectacular one. The show was more about laying groundwork for some of the bigger action to come, as Sami prepares for trial and EJ moves ahead with his plot to take down Stefano. I'm beginning to wonder if Kate wasn't the one who swiped the razor from Rafe's room, to bog down Sami's defense. Judi Evans was excellent this week as Adrienne tried to keep her fears in check and keep from alienating her family. Sonny and Will and the baby are so cute together. Nice little moments with Nick/Will, Gabi/Nick, Kate/Sami (loved how Sami's hand kept hovering over Kate's shoulder, inches away from giving a little comfort, yet totally unable to reach out to her worst enemy), EJ/Chad and Adrienne/Jennifer. JJ continues to annoy me. The Cameron/Abby/Chad triangle looks to be boring as grass growing. Who is the rooting couple supposed to be? Durned if I know. And, we got a Lucas scene! Not enough of those these days.
Kim Thompson died recently. I was going to mention here it last week, but I forgot. He was co-publisher of Fantagraphics, which was one of my favorite comic book companies. Towards the end of my comic book days, most of what I was reading were Fanta titles. He was responsible for, among other things, bringing the works of Lewis Trondheim and Swedish artist Jason into print in English. He brought wonderful things to an impoverished American comics market, and had a tremendous impact on my own reading habits. He will be missed.
Finally a political note. (Those of you who don't really want to read this sort of thing can skip the next two paragraphs. I probably should have said that about my Days paragraph too.)
Like a lot of folks, I am celebrating the Supreme Court decision last week in the DOMA/Prop 8 cases. At the same time, I am only cautiously optimistic about the eventual results of the decision. For one thing, Keith and I still cannot get married under the laws of this state. The decision changed nothing about that. We cannot go to a state where same-sex marriage is legal, get married, and have that marriage recognized here. That part of DOMA was not in the challenge. My parents were married sixteen yers before they split. Keith and I have been together 23. My mother was able to get an increase in her Social Security when my dad died, and they weren't even married then! Me? It's not totally clear yet. That's what I get out of the decision. Not entirely clear yet.
I'm not downing the decision. It was the right one. It was a strong challenge to an unjust law. All I'm saying is that looking at the aftermath and the meaning has to be done with a careful eye. To go further, there is no federal law protecting LGBT folks from discrimination in housing or employment. Unless someone lives in one of the cities or states that offers such protection, then they can be fired or evicted simply for being gay. It's 2013, and this is still reality. It's unconscionable. We won a big deal last week. There's no doubt about that. We also still have a long ways to go.
From chemo to yard sales to soaps to Catholics to comics! From the personal to the political! I've hit the rambling gamut today, haven't I? How about that? About the only thing that didn't make it in was an Emmylou Harris mention. And now you have that.
Despite everything that's gone on this year, I have managed to stay on track with my posting goals. We are halfway through the year, and I am just a little over halfway to my posting goal of 200 posts for 2013. Blogging has helped me cope with the stress of chemo, and I appreciate your reading along with me. This week is already plotted out and pre-published, so keep checking in.
Another chemo week is down the pike and I'm slowly crawling out of the pit. I've figured out that part of the problem during chemo weeks is the extra pills I have to take to accommodate my shots and stuff. The Benadryl beforehand makes me so sleepy I can't stand it, so I end up going home after my shots and going to bed. By the time I wake up, the chills from the shot are setting in, so I have to take more pills. I think all the extra meds contribute to my nausea problems. I know I start feeling better by Sunday, when all of the extra stuff has filtered out of my system. Then I can start dealing with the bricks.
One more to go! One more to go! I'm filled with an equal measure of anticipation and dread. Sometimes, just thinking about going back to the cancer center makes me reflexively retch.
My grandfather passed away Saturday morning. They said he had a really rough couple of days and then passed on. I'm really glad that we went to see him week before last. He was alert and talkative then, and that's a good final memory to have. He was 94, and kind of just gave out. The last few years were pretty rough on him. Besides his own declining health, one of my uncles passed away in 2009 and then Mom died in 2010. I cannot imagine being in your 90's and yet having to bury your kids. No one expects that.
His funeral will be Tuesday, which is going to make for an odd sort of week. The Fourth was already throwing an extra day off in there, and I'm still trying to recover from missing a day of work last week due to chemo. It's going to be a short week, but one with lots of commotion, apparently.
For some reason, my sales decided to pick up over the last week and a half. That was a bright spot during the week of chemo blight. All of a sudden, I started selling large items again and making my sales targets. I finally made rent, and now I'll be getting a (very small) check. But it will be a check. Now I've got to get busy and replenish my stash of larger items. About half my floor stock of small furniture is gone. Luckily, I kind of made up for that with some weekend shopping.
I did get out to one church sale over the weekend. We actually went to two, but the second one wasn't happening until Sunday. What kind of church does that? I mean, besides the Adventists? We did end up going back on Sunday, but it was a bust. We found enough stuff at another Sunday stop to more than make up for that minor irritant. More details on that tomorrow.
Speaking of church stuff, week before last when I was working my booth, there was a woman there seated on the floor in front of my religious wall. She was going through all the pamphlets and booklets very carefully, like she was looking for certain particulars. At one point, she asked me where I found all the older Catholic resources. I kind of gave my usual hem and haw answer (junkers don't reveal their sources easily), so she asked if I was Catholic. My answer to that is always "I'm not, but my father was." She asked if I was raised Catholic. I told her that I was raised Southern Baptist. (The "Southern" part is very important--even all these years later.) I didn't mention my conscious lack of a religious affiliation these days. That seems a bit too personal for a casual conversation with a stranger.
Anyway, in the middle of all this, she says" Well, you know those guys in Rome right now aren't the Catholic Church. It's been nothing but anti-popes since 1958." OMG! I have a real-life sedevacantist on my hands! I knew that Louisville had an SSPX chapel, because I had been to an awesome yard sale there one time, but I had no idea that there was anyone in town who was so anti-Vatican II that they went to the extreme positions. Wow! Now I realize why she was looking through everything so carefully. She was checking for publication dates and imprimaturs!
She told me that she appreciated the stuff I had for sale and that it was a great resource for her and others, then left. Wow! I'm supplying goods for extreme traditionalist Catholics! Who knew? For the record, I find church politics almost as fascinating as church articles.
Day by Days: It was another solid week, for the most part, but not a spectacular one. The show was more about laying groundwork for some of the bigger action to come, as Sami prepares for trial and EJ moves ahead with his plot to take down Stefano. I'm beginning to wonder if Kate wasn't the one who swiped the razor from Rafe's room, to bog down Sami's defense. Judi Evans was excellent this week as Adrienne tried to keep her fears in check and keep from alienating her family. Sonny and Will and the baby are so cute together. Nice little moments with Nick/Will, Gabi/Nick, Kate/Sami (loved how Sami's hand kept hovering over Kate's shoulder, inches away from giving a little comfort, yet totally unable to reach out to her worst enemy), EJ/Chad and Adrienne/Jennifer. JJ continues to annoy me. The Cameron/Abby/Chad triangle looks to be boring as grass growing. Who is the rooting couple supposed to be? Durned if I know. And, we got a Lucas scene! Not enough of those these days.
Kim Thompson died recently. I was going to mention here it last week, but I forgot. He was co-publisher of Fantagraphics, which was one of my favorite comic book companies. Towards the end of my comic book days, most of what I was reading were Fanta titles. He was responsible for, among other things, bringing the works of Lewis Trondheim and Swedish artist Jason into print in English. He brought wonderful things to an impoverished American comics market, and had a tremendous impact on my own reading habits. He will be missed.
Finally a political note. (Those of you who don't really want to read this sort of thing can skip the next two paragraphs. I probably should have said that about my Days paragraph too.)
Like a lot of folks, I am celebrating the Supreme Court decision last week in the DOMA/Prop 8 cases. At the same time, I am only cautiously optimistic about the eventual results of the decision. For one thing, Keith and I still cannot get married under the laws of this state. The decision changed nothing about that. We cannot go to a state where same-sex marriage is legal, get married, and have that marriage recognized here. That part of DOMA was not in the challenge. My parents were married sixteen yers before they split. Keith and I have been together 23. My mother was able to get an increase in her Social Security when my dad died, and they weren't even married then! Me? It's not totally clear yet. That's what I get out of the decision. Not entirely clear yet.
I'm not downing the decision. It was the right one. It was a strong challenge to an unjust law. All I'm saying is that looking at the aftermath and the meaning has to be done with a careful eye. To go further, there is no federal law protecting LGBT folks from discrimination in housing or employment. Unless someone lives in one of the cities or states that offers such protection, then they can be fired or evicted simply for being gay. It's 2013, and this is still reality. It's unconscionable. We won a big deal last week. There's no doubt about that. We also still have a long ways to go.
From chemo to yard sales to soaps to Catholics to comics! From the personal to the political! I've hit the rambling gamut today, haven't I? How about that? About the only thing that didn't make it in was an Emmylou Harris mention. And now you have that.
Despite everything that's gone on this year, I have managed to stay on track with my posting goals. We are halfway through the year, and I am just a little over halfway to my posting goal of 200 posts for 2013. Blogging has helped me cope with the stress of chemo, and I appreciate your reading along with me. This week is already plotted out and pre-published, so keep checking in.
Sunday, June 23, 2013
Day by Days
Thoughts about this past week's Days of Our Lives
First off, how nice to see Marlena loaded for bear, after so many weeks of basically serving as John's doormat and whipping gal. Those scenes with Adrienne were excellent! It's also really nice to see more of Adrienne and Justin this week. I look forward to more of this as some of these stories unfold.
I do hope that part of the unfolding includes someone, say Maggie, sitting down and giving Adrienne a chill pill by reminding her of her own history. She hardly comes from a sterling bunch herself, and she definitely didn't marry into one!
I love a good, out of left field twist that starts a story spinning in a different direction, and the reveal that Chad has video of Sami fighting Bernardi certainly fits that bill! Wow! When he said a little while ago that he had "vintage psycho Sami" on video, I thought he meant that he had filmed her fight with Kate at the coffee shop right before they found out Will had been shot. What he's actually got is a whole different kettle of fish.
What I like most about this twist is the layers it adds to the story. There are others who now know that Sami lied to the police and her lawyer about not knowing the man she shot. It also puts Will's secret back into play. Best of all, it expands the reach of this story, since Abigail is now involved. Well done!
What I really can't wait for is the scene when Adrienne realizes that she has this fight video too. It's pretty obvious (to me at least) that Sonny did not send her a video of the baby. He just thinks he did. The question is how long will it take her to find out?
Brady and Nicole hopping back into bed on the heels of his break-up with Kristen is so totally in character for both of them that I really liked those scenes. Brady is making what Maggie would call "an impulsive, self-destructive decision, typical of an addict," while it's just plain nice to see Nicole do something besides wring her hands over a priest. I don't think this will be the resurrection of them as a couple. There's been way too much water under that bridge! I like their dynamic and chemistry as friends much more, even if they do boff each other from time to time.
Speaking of Kristen, I like watching her unravel. She's so much fun when she's psycho. Eileen Davidson looks like she's having so much fun with the material! I just don't get what her plan is. She drugs Eric so she can sleep with him? Unless she's recording it so she can ruin his standing as a priest, there's no way that's going to have an impact on Marlena. There's no indication she's doing that, however.
I'm more than a little annoyed with the JJ story at this point. I think it's a good thing that I can't stand the character, because that means something is working right. He's a despicable little brat, so he should be disliked. I have always liked the idea of the bad seed offspring from the upstanding, core family. It's worked for 20 years with Sami, and she has become a pillar of the show and a core character. I'm pretty sure that fans really hated her when she first arrived on the scene.
The problem with the JJ story is Jennifer. I've been cutting her some slack on the way she's dealing with her son, because I can understand why she wants to be sensitive, The problem is that she's starting to appear both dumb and in denial. Maybe she'll catch on when he causes her to lose her job. After all, if Anne had found JJ with the scrip pad instead of Daniel, she would not have stopped until Jennifer had been booted out the door.
All in all, it was a good week. There were some nice little moments--Daniel and Jennifer checking on Brady--which I always like to see. The little interaction between Kate and Maggie at the coffee shop was nice too. I don't always get to see my two favorite characters play together. The Sami/Eric sccenes were extra sweet. Plus, Vargas is back! The only onscreen clunkers for the week were the overly-contrived and purely plot-driven hassles that Nicole had trying to reach Eric with his papers.
I do have a bone to pick about what wasn't shown this week. Sami is choked into unconsciousness in her cell, and we don't get to see someone finding her there? Think how much more dramatic it would have been for EJ to discover her like that. How exactly did Sami make bail anyway? I'm extremely annoyed that there were no scenes from her arraignment at all. My only real beef with the current writing team is that they sometimes choose to leave out moments like these, which should be pivotal scenes. It's a decision I don't understand, since it undercuts the drama.
First off, how nice to see Marlena loaded for bear, after so many weeks of basically serving as John's doormat and whipping gal. Those scenes with Adrienne were excellent! It's also really nice to see more of Adrienne and Justin this week. I look forward to more of this as some of these stories unfold.
I do hope that part of the unfolding includes someone, say Maggie, sitting down and giving Adrienne a chill pill by reminding her of her own history. She hardly comes from a sterling bunch herself, and she definitely didn't marry into one!
I love a good, out of left field twist that starts a story spinning in a different direction, and the reveal that Chad has video of Sami fighting Bernardi certainly fits that bill! Wow! When he said a little while ago that he had "vintage psycho Sami" on video, I thought he meant that he had filmed her fight with Kate at the coffee shop right before they found out Will had been shot. What he's actually got is a whole different kettle of fish.
What I like most about this twist is the layers it adds to the story. There are others who now know that Sami lied to the police and her lawyer about not knowing the man she shot. It also puts Will's secret back into play. Best of all, it expands the reach of this story, since Abigail is now involved. Well done!
What I really can't wait for is the scene when Adrienne realizes that she has this fight video too. It's pretty obvious (to me at least) that Sonny did not send her a video of the baby. He just thinks he did. The question is how long will it take her to find out?
Brady and Nicole hopping back into bed on the heels of his break-up with Kristen is so totally in character for both of them that I really liked those scenes. Brady is making what Maggie would call "an impulsive, self-destructive decision, typical of an addict," while it's just plain nice to see Nicole do something besides wring her hands over a priest. I don't think this will be the resurrection of them as a couple. There's been way too much water under that bridge! I like their dynamic and chemistry as friends much more, even if they do boff each other from time to time.
Speaking of Kristen, I like watching her unravel. She's so much fun when she's psycho. Eileen Davidson looks like she's having so much fun with the material! I just don't get what her plan is. She drugs Eric so she can sleep with him? Unless she's recording it so she can ruin his standing as a priest, there's no way that's going to have an impact on Marlena. There's no indication she's doing that, however.
I'm more than a little annoyed with the JJ story at this point. I think it's a good thing that I can't stand the character, because that means something is working right. He's a despicable little brat, so he should be disliked. I have always liked the idea of the bad seed offspring from the upstanding, core family. It's worked for 20 years with Sami, and she has become a pillar of the show and a core character. I'm pretty sure that fans really hated her when she first arrived on the scene.
The problem with the JJ story is Jennifer. I've been cutting her some slack on the way she's dealing with her son, because I can understand why she wants to be sensitive, The problem is that she's starting to appear both dumb and in denial. Maybe she'll catch on when he causes her to lose her job. After all, if Anne had found JJ with the scrip pad instead of Daniel, she would not have stopped until Jennifer had been booted out the door.
All in all, it was a good week. There were some nice little moments--Daniel and Jennifer checking on Brady--which I always like to see. The little interaction between Kate and Maggie at the coffee shop was nice too. I don't always get to see my two favorite characters play together. The Sami/Eric sccenes were extra sweet. Plus, Vargas is back! The only onscreen clunkers for the week were the overly-contrived and purely plot-driven hassles that Nicole had trying to reach Eric with his papers.
I do have a bone to pick about what wasn't shown this week. Sami is choked into unconsciousness in her cell, and we don't get to see someone finding her there? Think how much more dramatic it would have been for EJ to discover her like that. How exactly did Sami make bail anyway? I'm extremely annoyed that there were no scenes from her arraignment at all. My only real beef with the current writing team is that they sometimes choose to leave out moments like these, which should be pivotal scenes. It's a decision I don't understand, since it undercuts the drama.
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
Day by Days
I've recently started watching Days of Our Lives again. It started when I got out of the hospital and looked up the Christmas eps online. Even if I haven't been watching the show regularly, I've kept up through the soap mags and online clips from time to time. The Horton family ornament hanging is something that I never miss!
One of the reasons I haven't been regularly following the show for a while (besides lack of time and a general disinterest in TV overall) is that it hasn't been very good for a long time. It hasn't been awful, mind you. Just kind of mediocre. Bad decisions. Bad writing. Focus on the wrong characters. Just not the kind of compelling every day watching you want from a soap.
Watching the 2012 holiday episodes, I could see that something was different. The dialogue was better. The character interplay and intermingle that I like to see was there. They took time for the little "extra beats" (smiles, side glances, winks and nods) that add so much to a scene. The show's not perfect, but it's much, much better than it was last time I watched it, during the much vaunted "reboot." Thanks to the wonders of hulu and YouTube, I've been a daily watcher again for a couple of weeks and I have been enjoying it immensely.
A couple of recent bits that show how much Days is improving are Chloe's return (which aired last week) and Nick and Gabi's busted wedding (from yesterday). The initial episodes of Chloe's return to Salem played all the soap beats just about right. Daniel opens the door to find her standing there (instead of an expected Jennifer) at the very end of an episode.
The next ep winds through the conversation, intercut with scenes involving Kayla and Caroline, to finally (again at the very end of the episode) spit out the reveal that Daniel really is the father of Chloe's son, Parker. Bringing the Brady women in was a great stroke since, besides being so under-utilized these days, they were key players in the original paternity switch fiasco.
Unfortunately, two episodes do not a whole storyline make, and the way this story is starting out highlights a lot of the weaknesses the show still needs to overcome. Did they really need to bring Chloe back? Days tends not to make the best choices when it comes to character returns. While there is a lot of potential to the story, watching Chloe using her child to play spoiler to Daniel and Jennifer is not the kind of thing that will keep me turning back in. If they play out all of the potential beats to the story, it could end up being really good. If they get lazy, it's going to be a cliched clunker.
A much better example of how good the show can be was the wedding episode. Honestly, the whole Nick-Gabi-Will baby tale fell flat for me a long time ago. But the blow up at the wedding was fantastic. Not only did it pull in just about every character in the show, but it majorly shook up all the relationships in a way that will make it very hard for things to get back to normal. This is the way it's supposed to be done, folks!
Rafe and Sami's reunion is derailed. So is Chad and Abigail's. Families are circling the wagons around their own. There could potentially be Brady-Horton conflict over this. Lucas has been jolted into action in his Dudley Do-Right mode, which is going to result in conflict with both Sami and Will. And at the center of it all, Will and Sonny's budding romance has been shattered. A big reveal should shake up the entire canvas and set things spinning in new directions, and I think this one did that in a big way.
And they didn't skimp on the little beats either, which helped to cement the tale. Billie's line to Kate about being a great-grandmother, Victor's scenes with Sonny and Maggie, the look that passed between Hope and Kate after Kate fired Nick, and that sweet, sweet scene with Caroline and Eric at the end. Those little bits are like little treats that pull the whole thing together. Sure, they don't have to be there, but the show is so much better when they are. So. Much. Better.
The only real clunker to the whole episode was that stupid deal with Doug and Julie showing up late. Really?
I've been fooled before by this show. It's hooked me with a good episode and then lost me a few weeks later. I'm not holding my breath in anticipation of daily must see TV, but I am cautiously optimistic about things and want to see where the show goes from here.
Who knows? If it stays this good, maybe I'll blog more about it.
One of the reasons I haven't been regularly following the show for a while (besides lack of time and a general disinterest in TV overall) is that it hasn't been very good for a long time. It hasn't been awful, mind you. Just kind of mediocre. Bad decisions. Bad writing. Focus on the wrong characters. Just not the kind of compelling every day watching you want from a soap.
Watching the 2012 holiday episodes, I could see that something was different. The dialogue was better. The character interplay and intermingle that I like to see was there. They took time for the little "extra beats" (smiles, side glances, winks and nods) that add so much to a scene. The show's not perfect, but it's much, much better than it was last time I watched it, during the much vaunted "reboot." Thanks to the wonders of hulu and YouTube, I've been a daily watcher again for a couple of weeks and I have been enjoying it immensely.
A couple of recent bits that show how much Days is improving are Chloe's return (which aired last week) and Nick and Gabi's busted wedding (from yesterday). The initial episodes of Chloe's return to Salem played all the soap beats just about right. Daniel opens the door to find her standing there (instead of an expected Jennifer) at the very end of an episode.
The next ep winds through the conversation, intercut with scenes involving Kayla and Caroline, to finally (again at the very end of the episode) spit out the reveal that Daniel really is the father of Chloe's son, Parker. Bringing the Brady women in was a great stroke since, besides being so under-utilized these days, they were key players in the original paternity switch fiasco.
Unfortunately, two episodes do not a whole storyline make, and the way this story is starting out highlights a lot of the weaknesses the show still needs to overcome. Did they really need to bring Chloe back? Days tends not to make the best choices when it comes to character returns. While there is a lot of potential to the story, watching Chloe using her child to play spoiler to Daniel and Jennifer is not the kind of thing that will keep me turning back in. If they play out all of the potential beats to the story, it could end up being really good. If they get lazy, it's going to be a cliched clunker.
A much better example of how good the show can be was the wedding episode. Honestly, the whole Nick-Gabi-Will baby tale fell flat for me a long time ago. But the blow up at the wedding was fantastic. Not only did it pull in just about every character in the show, but it majorly shook up all the relationships in a way that will make it very hard for things to get back to normal. This is the way it's supposed to be done, folks!
Rafe and Sami's reunion is derailed. So is Chad and Abigail's. Families are circling the wagons around their own. There could potentially be Brady-Horton conflict over this. Lucas has been jolted into action in his Dudley Do-Right mode, which is going to result in conflict with both Sami and Will. And at the center of it all, Will and Sonny's budding romance has been shattered. A big reveal should shake up the entire canvas and set things spinning in new directions, and I think this one did that in a big way.
And they didn't skimp on the little beats either, which helped to cement the tale. Billie's line to Kate about being a great-grandmother, Victor's scenes with Sonny and Maggie, the look that passed between Hope and Kate after Kate fired Nick, and that sweet, sweet scene with Caroline and Eric at the end. Those little bits are like little treats that pull the whole thing together. Sure, they don't have to be there, but the show is so much better when they are. So. Much. Better.
The only real clunker to the whole episode was that stupid deal with Doug and Julie showing up late. Really?
I've been fooled before by this show. It's hooked me with a good episode and then lost me a few weeks later. I'm not holding my breath in anticipation of daily must see TV, but I am cautiously optimistic about things and want to see where the show goes from here.
Who knows? If it stays this good, maybe I'll blog more about it.
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