Current Plots Discussion: Actually Today's Episode

[Apprentice79]

Frequent lurker, first-time poster.  Actually, it's my first time posting in these forums, though I suspect it won't be my last now that I actually have an account.  Of all things, it's this current plot with Aiden and Hope that is dragging me out of my lurk-dom.  It's honestly driving me away from the show, because I don't think I can take watching this plot play out to its likely conclusion.  Every day gets a little worse.  It's definitely not the acting.  Daniel Cosgrove in particular is giving a fantastic performance, but that's just making this all the more stomach-turning watching it slowly unfold.  This Aiden-under-the bus storyline feels like a huge mistake to me, and that's partially due to how good Cosgrove is.  There were so many good, soapy ways this could have been written with Bo coming back, and they chose just about the crappiest one thus far.  The simplest one would be not changing Aiden's character in the first place and move forward:  let Hope happily move towards marrying good-guy Aiden (while still evincing some feelings for Bo) while Bo is fighting his way to reach her before the wedding.  That's such a dramatic situation--say that Bo makes it to the wedding, does Hope still go through with it?  If he shows right after the wedding, does it change anything?  A writer could play with that dynamic for a long time, and it sets up a love triangle where both sides are rootable.  If the writers are hell-bent on a Bo-Hope reunion, Hope could still end up choosing Bo, Aiden could stick around for someone else or leave town with a broken heart, etc.

 

However, I realize new writing regimes often want to eliminate the characters created by previous regimes, for financial as well as creative reasons, so let's hypothetically say that they absolutely must get rid of Aiden.  There are some other easy options, even to let Bo have his hero moment.  You could have the Dimeras using a hired killer to kill Hope as the necktie killer to clear Chad's name--you could even have them planning to frame Aiden because of some previous conflict/tension (heck, if they want to toss in the whole taunting Stephano/stealing his checkbook while he was in the hospital as a motive, they could even use that).  Bo could save the day at the last second, and you could have Aiden killed in the crossfire without ever needing him to be a bad guy.  And kind of an idiot, when you think about it.  This whole "debt" business was just so poorly written.  The Dimeras buy up his debt, change the amount he owes arbitrarily to one gazillion dollars, and Aiden thinks his best choice in this situation is to murder Hope for insurance money?  This is how he thinks he is going to save himself and Chase?  I won't even go into all of the other options he had at his disposal, and given that he genuinely seems to love Hope even now, none of this makes any kind of sense.

 

Now we have Caroline and this "Bo is coming home!" and "Marrying Aiden is a huge mistake!" business.  I realize that this is supposed to be some kind of an anvil that Hope is making a mistake, but it's just ridiculous.  We won't go into the fact that Hope has been through this ad infinitum with Caroline in the past (not to mention just about everyone else in her orbit), thereby making this really tedious.  More importantly, Hope's response to this news should basically be "So what?" at this point.  She never thought Bo was dead (for whatever reason, the show never went there that I can recall), so logically he would come home someday whenever his mission/wanderlust/what have you was over.  Presumably she decided it was over when she divorced him, so his presence should be irrelevant to her (I know we're going to get Bo's "explanation" when he shows up, but that's information Hope doesn't have at his point). 

 

As several of you insightful posters have mentioned, this is also just terrible for Hope's character.  Just based on what I'm seeing on the screen, I feel like they're probably going to "wipe away" everything Bo did (even with the retcon, he chose to leave and not tell her his real reasons or what he was actually doing, and he kept that up until whenever he was captured, which is not exactly great behavior).  On the other hand, Hope is going to be punished for the great crime of moving on from Bo.   Greeeat.  She's going to feel so foolish, as will Kayla and everybody else who supported Hope being with Aiden, which is going to disgust me, I know.  I've always liked Hope and rooted for her.  After the whole Chelsea-killing-Zack thing, I liked Bo a whole lot less, and I really didn't need to see them together after that, but I wouldn't mind it if they were if the endgame here for the anniversary if it weren't being done so shoddily.

 

Lastly, I have to say that having Aiden go murderous at the same time Ben is in the throes of the serial killer reveal was not great planning.  In one case, the acting is compelling in spite of the writing.  In the other case, I'm getting bored and feeling nothing.  "Chad made me do it" is coming across to me more like whining than anything. 

 

I apologize for the lengthy post.  I needed somewhere to vent all of these thoughts I have, and you guys seem like a nice welcoming bunch.

Welcome to the board Spooky Kitty!..I love your post and you are among friends and you can vent all you want..We all have at some point on the other because  the show is run by idiots and the biggest of them is Ken Corday...

Edited November 4, 2015 by Apprentice79

[Peanut6711]

I read recap tweets from hour ahead peeps and it's not spoiling anything to say to you: THIS SHIT IS BORING AS HELL.

AGREE!  If this is the best they can produce for a 50th anniversary then maybe it's time to close up shop. Honestly most of it feels like a big FU from Corday to the fans.

 

Has Kayla always been a doctor?  I've been watching on-and-off since the '80's.  I first saw Kayla when she was on the docks with "Patch" and they were doing their little push-pull dance, their courtship, the cigar band engagement ring, her becoming mute, sign language, etc.  So, when I tuned back in at some point during the intervening years, I was surprised to see her as an M.D.

 

Now, a retcon or one-month medical school, I can understand.  This is a soap opera, after all.  But, if she's been a doctor the whole time and I, a fairly dedicated viewer for years, somehow missed it, maybe it's because of the lack of focus on these women and their lives outside their men.

Kayla was a nurse in the 80's. When she returned in 2008(?), whichever year she last came back, she was a doctor then. Apparently she had gone to medical school in the years she was not in Salem while Stefanie was growing up and Steve was believed dead.

[buffynut]

It may not be perfect, especially for the 50th anniversary, but it is still so much better than what we were watching 6 months ago. 

 

Things like that stupid elephant and the diamonds, Nicole's conversations with herself,  the endless Will/Sonny/Paul discussions, the embarassing female cat-fights, Daniel being horrible in every other scene, the Eve/JJ debacle, etc.   

 

But I wish they would give us some flashbacks!!!!

[DisneyBoy]

I wonder...are they not giving us many flashbacks because the actors who appear in that footage would have to be compensated because it's airing on network television? They didn't seem to have a problem editing together footage of the weddings for an online video, but maybe that wouldn't require them to pay residuals...

[buffynut]

 the show is run by idiots and the biggest of them is Ken Corday...

 

Anyone see him in yesterday's show?

https://twitter.com/TVSource/status/661602593014022144

[oceanblue]

If anybody gets to interrupt the wedding and make a scene it's someone who just received an experimental drug and is watching her daughter in law remarry without even investigating what happened to her husband.

 

If this isn't in Emily Post's Etiquette, it should be.

 

Last time Bo rode into Hope's wedding on a motorcyle, she wanted to be rescued.  This time, she doesn't.  I'm wondering if he rides in and she just shrugs and tells him to watch Ciara while she honeymoons.

[LeftPhalange]

Andre really thought Chad would be ok with someone being murdered so he can go free? 

 

How many more damn obstacles are going to prevent Steve and Bo from making it to Salem? This is ridiculous. 

 

Adrienne is just sickening. 

 

Ben isn't going to kill Abifail so this is all so pointless. 

[Rick Kitchen]

If Chad has amnesia, why is he not shocked about Andre appearing all of a sudden? And does Andre really think Chad would go along with having a murder take place just to clear him? The SPD guard doesn't do a very good job if somebody is yelling inside their jailhouse and doesn't come running to see what's going on.

 

Now that sounds like the Ciara we know and love.

 

Ooh, Ben has the same feelings towards Jennifer that a lot of us do.  :)

 

I'm loving Kayla not putting up with Caroline's stuff.

 

No, Hope, Caroline would not want a wedding.  Were you not listening?

[bnichol]

I would support this if it led to Sparkle being sent to prison for statutory rape and off my screen.

 

Speaking of rape, are we supposed to forget that Theresa accused an innocent man of rape and now he's (presumably) in prison? 

I've been thinking about that for a while, and all I can come up with is that everyone, with the possible exception of Brady, "knows" that Theresa is lying, and just doesn't care, because it puts Xander in prison. 

[bobcat1946]

The whitewash of abifail continues.

[boes]

I've been thinking about that for a while, and all I can come up with is that everyone, with the possible exception of Brady, "knows" that Theresa is lying, and just doesn't care, because it puts Xander in prison. 

 

I don't care either.  Xander was an extremely nasty piece of trash - just ask Nicole, Eric or dead whatshername.  Salem PD did their usual bang up job and he was walking free long before Nicole was even recovered.  And poor Eric lost more grip on reality and he had precious little to start with.  So Theresa's lie about Xander and the rape doesn't bother me.  

 

I still wish Show hadn't misused the actor and the character.   But it's good to be reminded, because just this old storyline alone reminds me of how much better things are now than just a short time ago.

[Happytobehere]

1) this anniversary has a Deadbeat Dad theme to it.

2) I personally don't want to see Kayla fall into Steve's arms again just because he brings Bo back. I also don't want to see John get a free pass on several years of being an asshat...

3) Wouldn't it be so much more interesting if Marlena, Hope and Kayla were allowed to have some scenes where they discussed their frustration over being abandoned by their husbands?

4) I'm pretty amazed that these three strong career women didn't find themselves eventually more attracted to equally strong, stable and mature men. All of the male love interests on the show are aged teenage fantasies of the bad boy. If you are getting goosebumps that your 60 year old husband is finally deciding to choose you instead of some wild adventure on motorcycle, you have the definition of a failed marriage.

5) It will be interesting to see how they play out Hope's reaction to Bo's return and whether or not they have her immediately thrilled that he's well and still loves her...

1) I agree about the Anniversary theme. Too many men of questionable character being given a pass.

2) I want to see Steve truly work for and earn Kayla's love, but based on history and the return of a certain character (I'd ID her, but I don't know how to do spoiler tags on my iPad), the story will be more crap heaped on Kayla with her u,timately forgivng Steve as if he isn't the main source of the problems in her life.

3) I have had this very scene playing out in my head for weeks now. Kayla and Hope are commiserating, they have a drink or two and the reflections upon their Bossy, Jackass men, who are beasties because they are exactly alike goes from there. Marlena happens upon them and at first is hands off and very therapist like, but she too gets drawn in. During this conversation, we even get Kayla lamenting the fact that John is no longer her brother (she and DH worked so well together when he was Roman). At some point Adrienne joins the mix, she tries to stay out of it because Steve is her brother, but she too gets drawn in. At some point, sullen Joey breaks up the party as he is mortified to see his drunk mother and in his first show of defense of Kayla, he blames the others for getting his mom drunk. The best part is somehow, the room the ladies are in has a camera and all of the men in question get to hear the damage they have caused and actually try to do right by these long suffering women.

4) If any of these ladies found such men, the fallacy of their unions would be all too clear, and the men we love Steve, John, Bo, Justin, might actually have to change and grow th f..k up.

5) This interests me too, but I think she and Kayla will be too busy being shamed and she will be too gob-smacked by Aiden's betrayal for Hope to think beyond the miracle of Bo's return.

[JBC344]

Frequent lurker, first-time poster.  Actually, it's my first time posting in these forums, though I suspect it won't be my last now that I actually have an account.  Of all things, it's this current plot with Aiden and Hope that is dragging me out of my lurk-dom.  It's honestly driving me away from the show, because I don't think I can take watching this plot play out to its likely conclusion.  Every day gets a little worse.  It's definitely not the acting.  Daniel Cosgrove in particular is giving a fantastic performance, but that's just making this all the more stomach-turning watching it slowly unfold.  This Aiden-under-the bus storyline feels like a huge mistake to me, and that's partially due to how good Cosgrove is.  There were so many good, soapy ways this could have been written with Bo coming back, and they chose just about the crappiest one thus far.  The simplest one would be not changing Aiden's character in the first place and move forward:  let Hope happily move towards marrying good-guy Aiden (while still evincing some feelings for Bo) while Bo is fighting his way to reach her before the wedding.  That's such a dramatic situation--say that Bo makes it to the wedding, does Hope still go through with it?  If he shows right after the wedding, does it change anything?  A writer could play with that dynamic for a long time, and it sets up a love triangle where both sides are rootable.  If the writers are hell-bent on a Bo-Hope reunion, Hope could still end up choosing Bo, Aiden could stick around for someone else or leave town with a broken heart, etc.

 

However, I realize new writing regimes often want to eliminate the characters created by previous regimes, for financial as well as creative reasons, so let's hypothetically say that they absolutely must get rid of Aiden.  There are some other easy options, even to let Bo have his hero moment.  You could have the Dimeras using a hired killer to kill Hope as the necktie killer to clear Chad's name--you could even have them planning to frame Aiden because of some previous conflict/tension (heck, if they want to toss in the whole taunting Stephano/stealing his checkbook while he was in the hospital as a motive, they could even use that).  Bo could save the day at the last second, and you could have Aiden killed in the crossfire without ever needing him to be a bad guy.  And kind of an idiot, when you think about it.  This whole "debt" business was just so poorly written.  The Dimeras buy up his debt, change the amount he owes arbitrarily to one gazillion dollars, and Aiden thinks his best choice in this situation is to murder Hope for insurance money?  This is how he thinks he is going to save himself and Chase?  I won't even go into all of the other options he had at his disposal, and given that he genuinely seems to love Hope even now, none of this makes any kind of sense.

 

Now we have Caroline and this "Bo is coming home!" and "Marrying Aiden is a huge mistake!" business.  I realize that this is supposed to be some kind of an anvil that Hope is making a mistake, but it's just ridiculous.  We won't go into the fact that Hope has been through this ad infinitum with Caroline in the past (not to mention just about everyone else in her orbit), thereby making this really tedious.  More importantly, Hope's response to this news should basically be "So what?" at this point.  She never thought Bo was dead (for whatever reason, the show never went there that I can recall), so logically he would come home someday whenever his mission/wanderlust/what have you was over.  Presumably she decided it was over when she divorced him, so his presence should be irrelevant to her (I know we're going to get Bo's "explanation" when he shows up, but that's information Hope doesn't have at his point). 

 

As several of you insightful posters have mentioned, this is also just terrible for Hope's character.  Just based on what I'm seeing on the screen, I feel like they're probably going to "wipe away" everything Bo did (even with the retcon, he chose to leave and not tell her his real reasons or what he was actually doing, and he kept that up until whenever he was captured, which is not exactly great behavior).  On the other hand, Hope is going to be punished for the great crime of moving on from Bo.   Greeeat.  She's going to feel so foolish, as will Kayla and everybody else who supported Hope being with Aiden, which is going to disgust me, I know.  I've always liked Hope and rooted for her.  After the whole Chelsea-killing-Zack thing, I liked Bo a whole lot less, and I really didn't need to see them together after that, but I wouldn't mind it if they were if the endgame here for the anniversary if it weren't being done so shoddily.

 

Lastly, I have to say that having Aiden go murderous at the same time Ben is in the throes of the serial killer reveal was not great planning.  In one case, the acting is compelling in spite of the writing.  In the other case, I'm getting bored and feeling nothing.  "Chad made me do it" is coming across to me more like whining than anything. 

 

I apologize for the lengthy post.  I needed somewhere to vent all of these thoughts I have, and you guys seem like a nice welcoming bunch.

Welcome Spooky Kitty, glad to have you.  Don't ever apologize for a lengthy post.  They keep the fun conversation going.

 

The problem with this whole Bo/Hope/Aiden storyline is that at the end of the day it is a rather cruel thing to do to the character of Hope.  We know that Peter Reckell is only back for the 50th and isn't staying and they aren't re-casting Bo so Bo is not sticking around anyway.  So whatever he does in the next week will probably be the climax to his short stint. 

 

This would of been a good time to bring back Billie.  She could of come back to town for Will's funeral and decided to stay a couple of weeks to be with Lucas.  Hey writers, remember that Will is named after Billie, would of been nice to have her at his funeral.  They could of ushered off Bo with Billie to London.  Hope would be a happily married newlywed, I'm sure she wouldn't of cared that Bo and Billie were getting back together.

 

We could of really got an honest, mature scene of closure between Bo and Hope, with Hope moving on with a happy life.  Instead we will probably get Hope left to deal with the fact that Bo is leaving Salem again and that she was engaged/briefly married to another psycho.  Yay for Hope.

[Sandman]

Just me but had Hope left under the same circumstances imo Bo would have moved on quicker than Hope did.

 

He did twice with Bille and Carly. He always gets heroines, while Hope always gets psychos...

 

... Well, I'm not sure Billie or Carly were any kind of prize, though I suppose they never put Bo's life in danger that I can recall. 

 

No, silly, that's what Steve is for!

[Happytobehere]

If Chad has amnesia, why is he not shocked about Andre appearing all of a sudden? And does Andre really think Chad would go along with having a murder take place just to clear him? The SPD guard doesn't do a very good job if somebody is yelling inside their jailhouse and doesn't come running to see what's going on.

 

Now that sounds like the Ciara we know and love.

 

Ooh, Ben has the same feelings towards Jennifer that a lot of us do.  :)

 

I'm loving Kayla not putting up with Caroline's stuff.

 

No, Hope, Caroline would not want a wedding.  Were you not listening?

I agree with all of this. As I watched today, all I could think is that the real reveal in the Andre and Chad scenes is that Justin was right, Chad is faking his amnesia.

These Bo and Steve stalls are ridiculous. Why not simply have Steve come to his revelation about Bo a day or two before the wedding. You get the urgency and the Bo and Steve banter without the need for the plane crash and arrest.

A when Jennifer said Abbigail is not rude, I wanted to reach into my television and smack her.

I loved Kayla not putting up with Caroline's nonsense. Roman was set to challenge Kayla until her reveal about the oxygen. At that point he knew Kayla was right and his mother was lying.

When Hope said that, I wondered if her next storyline would be her being diagnosed with some sort of brain tumor because how did she get that from Caroline's 'Bo's alive, don't marry Aiden' histrionics.

[Sandman]

When Hope said that, I wondered if her next storyline would be her being diagnosed with some sort of brain tumor because how did she get that from Caroline's 'Bo's alive, don't marry Aiden' histrionics.

 

Maybe she has the same terminal obliviousness that Julie's exhibited for years? There could be a genetic link in this condition.

[boes]

Well, that was an hour I'll never get back.  It was like watching a dramatic rendition of the hokey pokey. 

 

Steve and Bo in their HIL AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR IOUSSSSSSS roadtrip - funny is done.  They're in over done territory with me.

 

Caroline STOPS THE WEDDING - again.  Ditto.

 

Adrienne in her Who gives two fucks storyline.

 

Etc., etc., etc. as Victor would say.

 

Mildly enjoyable was the Andre/Chad encounter, and almost immensely enjoyable was watching Abigail in peril.  

 

Steve and Bo better not have ONE more obstacle.  

[Artsda]

If the Dimera's have so many cops on payroll, why did they need Aiden to steal the evidence on Chad? Why couldn't they have just gotten the dirty cops to do it? Also if Chad's got amnesia how is not knowing Serena, but remembers everything about Andre being back and who he is? 

 

RSW is killing it as crazy and creepy Ben. The scenes with Abby were so good. KM looks so scare too, they're both doing so good. Ben's texts to Jenn were again badly written and didn't sound like Abby at all, they sounded rude and angry. Which Abby wouldn't be with Jenn and didn't sound like on the phone call to her. 

 

How the hell is GABI sitting front row next to Maggie at Hope's wedding? Do the writers not know anything about how Gabi murdered Nick? Front row? Seriously? She sat closer than people like JJ or other family members. Let's put the Horton killer in the front row at a Horton wedding? 

 

Loved Kayla's disciplining her mother, Caroline's behavior was awful. I get her wanting to do what she could for her son, but still she showed no respect or care for Hope at all. 

Edited November 5, 2015 by Artsda

[blanchowens]

Haven't posted in a bit but must say I am pissed they turned Aiden into an a-hole, and also that they are getting rid of him. He was a welcome breath of fresh air and I thought he and Hope had chemistry. Total waste of a good character and actor.

The character of Will was destroyed by the replacement actor and the writing that when he was murdered I could care less.

And this 60's theme has some of the suckiest outfits/hair-dos ever ...ugh. Caroline's dress being the absolute worst...she should sue.

Bo coming back? Yawn.

[ByaNose]

It is weird that they have video of DAYS in the 60's, actors who worked during that era & Mad Men but hardly anyone looks like they are wearing authentic 60's fashion. The actresses look pretty but they aren't screaming 60's fashions to me. This is an epic fail from the costume and wardrobe department. IMO!!

[DisneyBoy]

And they have so many successes to choose from...

[Originalroux]

Frequent lurker, first-time poster.  Actually, it's my first time posting in these forums, though I suspect it won't be my last now that I actually have an account.  Of all things, it's this current plot with Aiden and Hope that is dragging me out of my lurk-dom.  It's honestly driving me away from the show, because I don't think I can take watching this plot play out to its likely conclusion.  Every day gets a little worse.  It's definitely not the acting.  Daniel Cosgrove in particular is giving a fantastic performance, but that's just making this all the more stomach-turning watching it slowly unfold.  This Aiden-under-the bus storyline feels like a huge mistake to me, and that's partially due to how good Cosgrove is.  There were so many good, soapy ways this could have been written with Bo coming back, and they chose just about the crappiest one thus far.  The simplest one would be not changing Aiden's character in the first place and move forward:  let Hope happily move towards marrying good-guy Aiden (while still evincing some feelings for Bo) while Bo is fighting his way to reach her before the wedding.  That's such a dramatic situation--say that Bo makes it to the wedding, does Hope still go through with it?  If he shows right after the wedding, does it change anything?  A writer could play with that dynamic for a long time, and it sets up a love triangle where both sides are rootable.  If the writers are hell-bent on a Bo-Hope reunion, Hope could still end up choosing Bo, Aiden could stick around for someone else or leave town with a broken heart, etc.

 

However, I realize new writing regimes often want to eliminate the characters created by previous regimes, for financial as well as creative reasons, so let's hypothetically say that they absolutely must get rid of Aiden.  There are some other easy options, even to let Bo have his hero moment.  You could have the Dimeras using a hired killer to kill Hope as the necktie killer to clear Chad's name--you could even have them planning to frame Aiden because of some previous conflict/tension (heck, if they want to toss in the whole taunting Stephano/stealing his checkbook while he was in the hospital as a motive, they could even use that).  Bo could save the day at the last second, and you could have Aiden killed in the crossfire without ever needing him to be a bad guy.  And kind of an idiot, when you think about it.  This whole "debt" business was just so poorly written.  The Dimeras buy up his debt, change the amount he owes arbitrarily to one gazillion dollars, and Aiden thinks his best choice in this situation is to murder Hope for insurance money?  This is how he thinks he is going to save himself and Chase?  I won't even go into all of the other options he had at his disposal, and given that he genuinely seems to love Hope even now, none of this makes any kind of sense.

 

Now we have Caroline and this "Bo is coming home!" and "Marrying Aiden is a huge mistake!" business.  I realize that this is supposed to be some kind of an anvil that Hope is making a mistake, but it's just ridiculous.  We won't go into the fact that Hope has been through this ad infinitum with Caroline in the past (not to mention just about everyone else in her orbit), thereby making this really tedious.  More importantly, Hope's response to this news should basically be "So what?" at this point.  She never thought Bo was dead (for whatever reason, the show never went there that I can recall), so logically he would come home someday whenever his mission/wanderlust/what have you was over.  Presumably she decided it was over when she divorced him, so his presence should be irrelevant to her (I know we're going to get Bo's "explanation" when he shows up, but that's information Hope doesn't have at his point). 

 

As several of you insightful posters have mentioned, this is also just terrible for Hope's character.  Just based on what I'm seeing on the screen, I feel like they're probably going to "wipe away" everything Bo did (even with the retcon, he chose to leave and not tell her his real reasons or what he was actually doing, and he kept that up until whenever he was captured, which is not exactly great behavior).  On the other hand, Hope is going to be punished for the great crime of moving on from Bo.   Greeeat.  She's going to feel so foolish, as will Kayla and everybody else who supported Hope being with Aiden, which is going to disgust me, I know.  I've always liked Hope and rooted for her.  After the whole Chelsea-killing-Zack thing, I liked Bo a whole lot less, and I really didn't need to see them together after that, but I wouldn't mind it if they were if the endgame here for the anniversary if it weren't being done so shoddily.

 

Lastly, I have to say that having Aiden go murderous at the same time Ben is in the throes of the serial killer reveal was not great planning.  In one case, the acting is compelling in spite of the writing.  In the other case, I'm getting bored and feeling nothing.  "Chad made me do it" is coming across to me more like whining than anything. 

 

I apologize for the lengthy post.  I needed somewhere to vent all of these thoughts I have, and you guys seem like a nice welcoming bunch.

Spooky Kitty, for a first time poster your post was spot on. It captured everything I wanted to say about these past few weeks and more, especially my frustration that THIS is what writers think we want from soaps in 2015.

I just want to add my disappointment in the 50th anniversary episodes. Where were the flashbacks? The stories? Between the actresses stuck with those huge rats nests on their heads and the lack of any reason why they were really together i kept thinking "why bother"? This was not the celebration I was hoping for.

[Petunia13]

They should be showing A LOT of flashbacks. They could have the premise that someone was making a documentary or video. It would be nice to see for old viewers and ones like me who missed it all.

[DisneyBoy]

Or they could have stuck with the Caroline has Alzheimer's story and had people reminding her of important Salem events. That would have been much more poignant, true-to-life life and interesting.

[Petunia13]

This show is so damn cheap with the taping schedule and production values you would honk they'd embrace that since it would be altogether hours of premade clips they could mine.

[Dandesun]

The Steve/Bo stall has officially passed ridiculous. It's passed ludicrous and gone to plaid. (Spaceballs TM) I mean, really, it's just a 'get there faster!' situation.

 

But I still enjoyed the party. I will be honest, I didn't pay a hell of a lot of attention to the foreground action because I was really enjoying the dancing in the background. My favorites, by far, were Jennifer and Doug. They were adorable. Justin and Eve were also cute and then there was Daniel and Nicole playing the part of Fonzie and His Chick -- slow dancing when no one else was.

 

The other thing I got a huge kick out of was the couple behind the action when Caroline came in yelling about having spoken to Bo. Here I was wondering why no one else in the room was reacting to this commotion but this couple of extras totally was. The lady was blonde and wore a green and yellow caftan type number which was absolutely, garishly to period but she was so clearly listening in on the whole conversation and kept shooting glances like 'are you clocking this shit? It is AMAZING!' to her partner. MVPs of the party.

 

The Justin/Eve/Adrienne/Lucas thing is one of the more enjoyable things going on right now for me. I actually really liked it when Lucas told Eve he knew exactly how she was feeling that night and they sympathized with each other over the loss of their children. That was a really nice touch. I also liked how all four wished each other a pleasant night to hopefully forget about the tragedy for a brief time. Adrienne pulling out the shocked faces whenever she sees Justin and Eve together is getting a bit... annoying. But I'm just going to enjoy Justin and Eve for as long as I'm able. Let me have this!! 

 

I also really liked Kayla removing her mother from the situation. I think she's doing the right thing regardless of whether or not Bo's coming back. Ultimately, Caroline looks like she's throwing a tantrum because Hope made the decision to move on with her life. At this point, if Hope wants to end her marriage to Aiden upon Bo's return and his explanation of what actually happened... that's up to Hope. Caroline and her stall tactics have nothing to do with it. I really dug Kayla reading her for filth at the hospital. Kayla would love for her brother to come home, that isn't the issue. Hope is her best friend, she's going to support her when Caroline is making all of this far more painful than it should be.

 

You know, if Caroline's clairvoyant super powers were warning her that Aiden was plotting to kill Hope after the wedding that would be one thing. But that's not what's happening. She not doing this to save Hope's life... she's doing it to disrupt and delay so Bo can make his grand entrance... which is obviously not going to happen.

 

And, by the way, what backwoods bullshit cliche did they decide to unearth regarding Cowboy Hat Sheriff denying Bo's right to a fucking phone call? UGH.

[Peanut6711]

I'm really loathing this new Ciera. The Bronx-like accent (or at least I think that's what it is) is horrible along with her use of "man" and the whole tough girl attitude is not appealing.  I keep feeling like she's emulating Jo from the Facts of Life. 

[Peanut6711]

Poor Betty and Ted Corday. They must be rolling over in their graves, shaking their fists, cursing their son, and wishing they'd disowned him after what he's done with their beloved show. 50th years on the air is a big deal but it should be a tribute to the past and set a new legacy for the future. Flashbacks of the greatest moments/most famous stories alongside a respectable story like a real wedding of a real supercouple (if they still had one around), not a wedding that serves as nothing more than a plot device and culminates in a sex scene where Aiden is thinking about killing Hope and Bo arrives just too late to stop his wife from having sex with another man. Bo/Steve's entrance was lack luster/simply non-climatic, and the Hope/Aiden sex scene was simply distributing. 

[Apprentice79]

I have stopped watching the show for many reasons and I enjoy the recaps on this board to keep me inform..I refuse to support that idiot Ken Corday and his egotism...General Hospital's 50th was so much better and I loathe that show now...It became too Sonny centric for me...

[howmanywords]

When Ciara was sitting there crying because she missed her dad I kept wishing it was Lauren Boles still in the role.

 

I'm a huge Bo and Hope fan but for you Aiden fans, you have my sympathy. What a hatchet job they have done.  Going this route was not necessary. 

[Artsda]

Does Cierra have a thing for Rafe? It seemed like today. 

 

Really liked all the party, dancing and cast interaction today. 

[Apprentice79]

When Ciara was sitting there crying because she missed her dad I kept wishing it was Lauren Boles still in the role.

 

I'm a huge Bo and Hope fan but for you Aiden fans, you have my sympathy. What a hatchet job they have done.  Going this route was not necessary. 

They did the same thing to Wilson..It is horrible what was done to Aiden..It was just cruel....There is an undertone of contempt in the new writer's that is really off-putting..So much death and mayhem....That is not how I envisioned the show celebrating their 50th anniversary...I read an interview that Ken Corday did, where he said that he inherited the show from his parents..It was not something that he wanted to do and the writing for the show  for the past 15 years have shown his indifference for his parents' legacy...

Edited November 5, 2015 by Apprentice79

[shesajar]

Caroline generally gets on my nerves, so I liked it when Kayla told her the other day "I'm going to talk to you like an adult" and then continued not taking her shit yesterday. Still, I was hoping that someone onscreen would remember when Alice similarly stopped Bo and Billie's wedding. That was soapy goodness!

[Apprentice79]

What made it so astounding is that Alice was pro Bo and Billie and rooted for them..Once Hope/Gina came back, she was like Billie who...lol I know some Bo/Billie fans who hated Mrs H for that...lol

[blanchowens]

It bums me they SORAS'd Ciara and Chase. Loved the actress that played her, she reminded me of a young Liz Taylor. And she was a great little actress. Why can't we have kids on the show? Next thing they will do the same to Sami and EJ's Johnny who I absolutely adored. Crap show.

Haven't watched today's show yet. Still bummed what they did with Aiden...bastards.

[shesajar]

My pro Bo/Billie sister yelled out "Bitch!" when that happened! Then immediately clapped her hand over her mouth and felt bad for yelling at Alice. Not that we took that shit seriously back then or anything!

[Rick Kitchen]

I missed the last 15 minutes of yesterday's show.  Why are Bo and Steve in jail?

 

Dammit, my local channel broke in for non-breaking news that will probably take up the rest of the show.  Idjits.

[oceanblue]

Bo was speeding.  They won't let him call Roman

[JBC344]

My pro Bo/Billie sister yelled out "Bitch!" when that happened! Then immediately clapped her hand over her mouth and felt bad for yelling at Alice. Not that we took that shit seriously back then or anything!

Lol, the only time that I hated Alice.  She turned on Billie so quick.  It seemed very refreshing and in character for her to embrace Billie and be happy that Bo and Shawn D had found her and made a family.  When Gina showed up, not even Hope, Billie became dead to her.

[Rick Kitchen]

Thanks, oceanblue.  My local channel actually came back after 20 minutes.  Morons.

 

How dare they show photos of Jack, dammit!

 

Oh, good, I'm glad Ciara is still evil.  I wonder why she calls Julie Grandma instead of Aunt, though. It also looks like she has a crush on Rafe. And does Chase have a crush on Ciara? He looked upset when Ciara stood next to Theo. I'm not too sure about Chase's green suit...

 

I really wish they would tune down their crickets.

 

Are they foreshadowing a baby for Nicole?  I hope so.

 

Nice throwback to Julie's shoplifting days, on the first episode of Days that ever aired. And I LOVED the flashback to the first ep with Tom and Alice.

 

What happened to Joey?

 

Ooh, JJ kissed Gabi. And Eric kissed Jennifer?!

[Dale Griffin]

Already setting up a teen triangle, are they?  Ciara kissed Theo, and we could see Chase looking forlorn at that sight in the background.

[Happytobehere]

I actually enjoyed today's show.

1) They showed some flashbacks, too few, but it's better than the nothing we've been getting.

2) We got photos of the great love stories and I liked the nod to Steve and Kayla even in the face of their divorce plus the glimpse of Jennifer when she was likable. Although I still had to fight the urge to reach into my tv and smack her when she conveniently forgot how she crapped all over Jack for Taniel.

3) We were spared the Adrienne stink face.

4) No Abigail

5) Kayla still refusing to be bamboozled by Caroline.

6) Proof that Theo is still autistic.

7) Julie and Doug continuing to be likable.

8) A non-sullen story for Joey on the horizon, not that I want him to be sick. I wonder if this will be used as a catalyst to drawn Steve and Kayla back together. Before he fell out, I thought Joey was hesitating talking about his mom with Theo because he was realizing Theo doesn't have a mom in his life. On a side note, I'd like to see Theo interact with Stefano again. Like the man or not, Stefano loves his grandson and even Abe had to begrudgingly admit that Stefano was good with him.

9) Watching newCiara be so horrible at the fake cry and missing her dad when all I thought about was the fact that the vastly more talented Lauren B, was let go for this. Not enjoyable per se, but it made the cringeworthy performance amusing.

10) Although Caroline has been getting on my nerves with her Bo rants, I was happy that she got to see her son (not looking forward to Kayla and Hope having massive plates of crow shoved down their throats).

[DisneyBoy]

Can someone be so kind as to recap today's show? Missed it due to an emergency...

Edited November 6, 2015 by DisneyBoy

[Rick Kitchen]

OK, let me try to recap what I saw (remember I missed a large swatch)

 

Caroline tried to sneak out of her hospital bed, but Kayla caught her and made her get back in the bed.

 

Bo and Steve were in jail, whining about not getting out and yelling at the deputy.  It was a very stereotypical Western jailhouse scene.  Steve was playing the harmonica (LOUDLY!) and Bo objected, and they got into a fist fight.

 

Aiden and Hope got married, and they went off to have Red Hot Monkey Sex just before Aiden set up his plan to kill her.  As she fell asleep, he began dressing in black, putting on a ski mask, and stretching the red necktie.

 

Ciara and Chase were in the Square, and Ciara offered to steal a leather jacket from a window display for Chase, but he wasn't into that.  Doug and Julie came over and they talked for a while, then they left.  When Ciara offered to steal the jacket again, Doug and Julie came back and overheard it.  Doug took Chase off so Julie and Ciara could have a Talk.  Julie told the story about when she was caught shoplifting a mink stole.  Ciara started crying, and told Julie that the jacket reminded her of her father and she missed him.

 

Nicole and Daniel talked about how she wishes she could have a baby.  I'm thinking they're foreshadowing something.

 

Rafe walked through the Square, and Ciara ran up and hugged him.  He said he was going home and Ciara told him that was lame, and he needed to stick around for the 200th anniversary fireworks.

 

Caroline managed to escape from the hospital, but when she got to the Martin house, all of the wedding guests were gone.  Bo and Steve came charging in, and when Caroline told Bo they were too late to stop the wedding, he got mad.

 

Everybody else was in the park watching the fireworks, and all of the couples started kissing.  JJ kissed Gabi (on the cheek), Eric kissed Jennifer on the mouth.  Ciara kissed Theo, and Chase looked jealous.

Edited November 6, 2015 by Rick Kitchen

[boes]

I love today's show, loved it.

 

 All except Bo and Steve, those scenes I ff'd.  Enough with the adventure by about 3 days ago.  I did stop and watch him seeing Caroline and having a hissy fit.  I thought I'd be thrilled that Bo was back.  So far, not so much.

 

BUT, the rest of the show, very good IMO.

 

Show got through the Abe paternity reveal quickly, which is all to the good.  I think Sal Stowers did a fine job, interacting with her newly found dad.  She balanced her desire to be an adult with the emotions it brought to the surface.  Well done.  

And then to have her be the one to respond to Theo's call for help for Joey, good start on a sibling relationship.  

 

(I know I'm in the minority here, but so far I'm fine with the new young'uns, even the weakest, the new Ciarra.  Lauren Boles is a tough act to follow.  New Theo, new Chase, Joey, they all show promise or at least don't suck on sight).

 

That was a short but nice scene with the Kiriakis men teasing each other.  Nothing heavy, just the way family can be sometimes.

 

Jen, Adrienne and Maggie looking at the old wedding pictures and reminiscing was gold for me.  They all hit the right notes, wistful, warm memories, humor....well done.

 

And Nicole telling Dan - once again, without histrionics - about how she misses her babies every day - again, lovely, sad, lowkey and so heartfelt.  

 

I loved Julie's talk with Ciarra, both about Ciarra's feelings and about Julie's past.  I'm quick to criticize Julie so I damn well better be quick to praise her, too.  Excellent acting, and a good way to start to draw this SORAS into the family storyline.

 

And while I may never say this again, Julie AND Doug were pretty great in their couple scenes today, too. Both in the scenes with Ciarra and Chase, and then back at the fireworks celebration.

 

I watched the Aiden/Hope scenes but I'm not taking them in.  I hate this storyline that much.  And, come to think of it, that's probably the main reason I'm underwhelmed by Bo's return.

 

And as much as I love Caroline, and I do, somebody sedate her.  Heavily.

Edited November 6, 2015 by boes

[Dale Griffin]

Happytobehere, on 05 Nov 2015 - 8:21 PM, said:

10) Although Caroline has been getting on my nerves with her Bo rants, I was happy that she got to see her son (not looking forward to Kayla and Hope having massive plates of crow shoved down their throats).

Why not?  That's the best part -- when those who insist they're right have to eat crow when they learn they're wrong.

[JBC344]

Why not?  That's the best part -- when those who insist they're right have to eat crow when they learn they're wrong.

I think the point is that they aren't wrong.  Bo did leave Hope.  Just because he was kidnapped for part of that time doesn't excuse the fact that he did leave Hope of his own free will.  Also Bo wasn't stopping Aiden the killer, he wanted to stop his ex-wife from remarrying someone she moved on with.

 

Aiden being a psycho doesn't erase Bo's faults.

[boes]

I think the point is that they aren't wrong.  Bo did leave Hope.  Just because he was kidnapped for part of that time doesn't excuse the fact that he did leave Hope of his own free will.  Also Bo wasn't stopping Aiden the killer, he wanted to stop his ex-wife from remarrying someone she moved on with.

 

Aiden being a psycho doesn't erase Bo's faults.

 

Perfect post!  Thanks.  Helps me understand why I'm less than thrilled so far, at least, with his return.

[Dale Griffin]

JBC344, on 06 Nov 2015 - 12:16 AM, said:

I think the point is that they aren't wrong.  Bo did leave Hope.  Just because he was kidnapped for part of that time doesn't excuse the fact that he did leave Hope of his own free will.  Also Bo wasn't stopping Aiden the killer, he wanted to stop his ex-wife from remarrying someone she moved on with.

 

Aiden being a psycho doesn't erase Bo's faults.

That part they are right about.  But they aren't right about Bo not coming back when he very clearly is back.  And he very clearly will confirm that he called Caroline (possibly) and they will have to eat crow that she was right about having heard from him.  That is what I'm looking forward to.

[JBC344]

That part they are right about.  But they aren't right about Bo not coming back when he very clearly is back.  And he very clearly will confirm that he called Caroline (possibly) and they will have to eat crow that she was right about having heard from him.  That is what I'm looking forward to.

See, I don't think that is what the previous poster was referring to.  I think the bone of contention is that Bo and Steve's "issues" are going to be swept underneath the rug and made to look smaller than they are just because Aiden turned out to be bad.  Hope and Kayla will be made to look like the bad guys because they need rescuing from their men, specifically Hope.

 

I agree with you that Kayla and Hope were wrong about Bo calling, but is that really something one would eat crow about?   Bo has made very little contact since he left and Caroline is ill.  Neither one of them while right aren't the most reliable sources.