Assuming you have another job lined up, won the lotto, or a never-heard-of-before aunt died and left you a vast inheritance, have you ever put your two weeks' notice in at a job you've grown to hate, and immediately cartoon birds start chirping and work life seems optimistic again? I have. I so have. There's this all-encompassing feeling of joy that consumes one's body that magical moment one submits their resignation letter.
That joy -- that "I don't give a flip starting, um, now" momentum -- replaces all the anxiety and loathing that you had until that point. Grumpy Cat in accounting gave me the same shady side-eye look they have since I started? Nope. Don't give a flip. Corporate wants you to stay late, but not acquire overtime? Nope. Don't give a flip. I'm outtie. The boss tells a cringe-worthy joke. Don't have to laugh. Nope. Don't. Give. A. Flip. Yeah, that's almost how I feel about DAYS last week, considering we're looking down the barrel of (another) reboot starting Tuesday, September 6.
Sure, a reboot is like starting a new job. There's the potential for things to be as dreadful as your current gig, or *gulp* worse, but I'm going into this with a glass half full of Scotch attitude. And if things fail miserably again, we'll still have a half glass of booze to drown our sorrows in, and if you ask her nicely, Jennifer knows where the pills are stashed. Party on.
DAYS Executive Producer, Ken Corday, gave a fairly candid interview about the state of DAYS. You can read that by clicking here. Uh, later, of course. In the article, he actually confessed that, "I understand when viewers say they were turning it off. I felt the same, but I had to watch every day. It was painful at times." Oh, Kenny, you hit the nail on the head there, sir.
Corday also promised to fix the show for good this time. That's special, but we've kind of heard that before the last several reboots. Let's hope that he stays true to his words this time because when it boils down to it, we all love DAYS. That's why we're here. That's why we come to places like Soap Central as a community to share our experiences. We just want the show to be its best. Will it be again starting next week? We'll have to tune in to find out, but in the meantime, let's talk about last week...
Full disclosure, I had a short attention span, knowing said reboot was happening. I kind of just wanted to fast forward time to the 6th. I mean, yeah, I will miss former writers' storytelling. All of those storyline and character inconstancies, the bleakness, and overwhelming despair, yet somehow I'll have to muster up the strength to move on and look forward to watching DAYS again. And last week was a balance of tying up loose ends and hinting at things to come, which actually has me cautiously hopeful.
Let's begin with the loose ends, or as I like to call them, storylines I'm filing under, "Things I Never Want To Hear About Again." Summer. Just Summer the Bummer. Nope. Never again. Bye, Felicia. Don't let the Salem door hit you in the hourglass on the way out.
Another at the top of that list is Jennifer's custody pursuit of Thomas. It's highlighted and in bold, and I've set an alarm to go off if I hear about it again after next week. The entire thing was just ridiculous and made Jennifer and those encouraging her insufferable. To elaborate...
There are many, many reasons this storyline was horrible, but one of the most frustrating parts of the last few weeks of Jennifer's pursuit was that it took focus away from Melissa Reeves's powerful (and masterfully acted) scenes of Jennifer grieving over Abigail. One minute, she's a justifiable mess because she believes her daughter is dead. The next moment, Jenny Bear opens her mouth and says something so downright delusional about Chad's DNA or that he's a first-time father (not counting Grace, as he never had the chance to raise her) being reason enough to take Thomas away that I can't even take her seriously. That shouldn't happen with Jennifer. That needs to be fixed.
Plus, Jenny and the Gang's attitudes toward Chad were actually disrespectful toward Abigail, too. They've all shared how, amongst other things, Abs was smart and loving. Abigail wanted to be married to Chad and have a family with him. His damn dirty DiMera aside, Abigail saw something in him, and perhaps Jenny and the Gang should have looked for that, too, before claiming him unfit. Then again, Jennifer did eventually admit she respects Chad. Yeah, I laughed, too, but at least this entire sham is coming to an end.
Granted, I'm not sure why Chad just didn't sell off a DiMera castle compound somewhere and hire Mary Freakin' Poppins to take care of Baby T, but that's neither here nor there now. Chad decided that Thomas should stay with Lucas and Adrienne for a while. I don't agree with that, as I think Chad could (and should) look after his own son and hire some experienced help to do so, but at least Jennifer agrees with his decision, and that's what's really important. Ugh. Though it was downright laughable that Jennifer gave her approval of what Chad decided to do with his son in the end. Just ugh, Jennifer. Ugh.
Ultimately, I think Chad and Jennifer should have just waited a few weeks and asked Thomas what he wanted to do, since in Salem time, he'll probably be in med school by October, but I digress...
Eventually, Jennifer admitted that she couldn't care for Thomas, either. You think, Jenny Bear? Considering she has babysitters of her own right now, I think that's rather big of her to admit, especially while she still had cotton mouth from the booze and pill she consumed the night before. Good grief. But thankfully, JvC seems to be over. Lucas and Adrienne are temporary guardians. Chad can visit anytime. Doug and Julie will be there for Jennifer. And Chad is going to focus on rebuilding DiMera Enterprises with Belle at his side. Oh, hell yes, to that last part!
Another "Things I Never Want To Hear About Again" is Steve and Kayla's problems. I'm actually not sure what they are this point. True, I don't think those who wrote them do, either. And trust me, I love me some Steve and Kayla, I always have, but Kayla is sort of being Jennifered right now, and Steve had to letter in Track just to impress Sandy, err, Kayla to prove he can fit in with the socially acceptable crowd at old Rydell High. It's all just convoluted and doesn't make much sense. Let's get this storyline wrapped up, too, and move on to Sweetnessier things.
But enough about the "Things I Never Want To Hear About Again" list because, really, we could go as far back as Will's death, and nobody has time for that much kvetching. The joyous part is that we have new writers with new materials to look forward to. And there are things I'm optimistic about that were hinted at last week. Here's a random list:
Close connections! Be it the always amusing shenanigans of Theresa and Anne, Lucas and Jennifer's sibling bond, Sonny and Gabi's awesomeness, Chad and Belle's blossoming friendship, or the beautiful relationship of Doug and Claire, I'm hopeful after last week the writers will continue to remember that part of what makes DAYS great is the relations between characters. More, please!
More Justin time! There's never anything wrong with that. And him teaming up with Hope and Rafe to bring down Aiden? Um, yes!
Maggie not crying every day.
Viewers not crying every day.
Though I'm sad it will be ending soon, Belle being front and center is such a smart move. The character has connections with so many Salemites, and Martha Madison is doing an amazing job of seamlessly weaving her magic through Salem. In fact, let's start a "#MMM!" hashtag on Twitter, which means "More Martha Madison!"
Chad working with Belle to rebuild DiMera enterprises has promise. You know Andre is going to chime in on that one, and more Andre is never bad, either. Well, he's bad, but you know what I mean.
Sonny has changed, ya'll. He's no longer a Care Bear. He's ready to break out the claws and be a Kiriakis (on his terms). I kind of don't mind this at all. Granted, I will miss Sonny's, well, sunnier disposition as having a character other than Maggie be an optimist was a nice break from the bleak, but it's a believable next step for Sonny, considering all he's been through. I'm eager to see his new swagger in action as he does Kiriakis his way.
And, you know, viewers not crying every day.
LOOSE ENDS:
Last week was all about blaming Victor for Tate's kidnapping which makes me believe he's totally innocent. Even Vic and Deimos are seeing eye to eye that someone is setting them up. Since they've been battling since Deimos came to town, it will be kind of interesting if these two work together to bring down the real kidnapper.
Speaking of kids, Nicole knows that Deimos is the daddy of Chloe's baby, and Deimos knows there is a baby thanks to Kate. I'm not really concerned if Nicole and Deimos break up over this, but I hope that Chloe and Nicole's friendship remains intact. As a wise person pointed out to me, it should be sisters before misters.
Though, when it comes to Chloe and friendships, I'm also enjoying her and Philip. More so, I like the way Nadia Bjorlin and John-Paul Lavoisier work off each other. Though he doesn't always scream "Philip!" to me, John-Paul is also doing a great job of creating the sense that his Philip's always been with his "Last Blast" pals.
So, Eduardo is leaving Salem to save his family from further threats. My first thought: can he please take Dario with him? Aside from wishing for a Dario reboot, the goodbye scenes were touching and well-acted. Camila Banus does heartbreak amazingly well, and that Eduardo/Rafe bro-hug was endearing.
Also endearing were Gabi and Sonny's scenes. I love their friendship. Camila and Freddie have a natural chemistry with one another. And it was nice that Will was remembered, as his death is still a sore spot with many, err, most fans.
Remember when the current Teen Scene had scenes together? Yeah, we need to get back to that. Joey and Theo's bromance was great. Claire and Henry were downright charming. And overall, the gang worked better as, well, a gang. Let's hope the current writers remember these friendships, too.
Hmm. Ciara and Rory. Never thought of that, but I kind of like the idea. He's the right combo of a goofy yet tortured soul who has heart. She's, well, a mess, but there's possible potential there if written well. I'm intrigued.
Kayla mentioned that she wasn't sure why Steve is afraid of therapy. Um, does she remember meeting the guy in the '80s. He was a hot mess with more issues than a newspaper. Granted, Steve could use some head shrinking, no doubt, but that could be said about most of Salem (and its former writers).
NOT
Riddle me this -- why weren't J.J. and Hope at the Horton house to lend their support? Sure, Jennifer and Hope did have words a few weeks ago, but when a loved one needs you, you set aside that kind of stuff, especially if you have the kind of bond that Hope and Jennifer have always had. As for J.J., um, where was he!? I'd say his and Hope's exclusions from those scenes were kind of tacky.
Oh, another "NOT!" for good measure: what ever happened to Hope's vow to Ghost Stefano to look after Chad? As much as I loved Belle being there for Chad, it wouldn't have hurt for Fancy Face to be there, too, thus keeping her promise. Yeah, about that, writers.
LINE OF THE WEEK:
Chloe (to Philip regarding Kate): "She's such a never-ending source of joy."
TRUE 'DAT LINE OF THE WEEK YEAR:
Brady (upon learning Summer has simply vanished): "Probably just as well."
RANDOM THOUGHTS
No one should ever claim Joey doesn't have game. Comparing your girlfriend to the psycho woman you killed is a surefire way to hold onto her heart. Play on, player, play on.
Maybe Jennifer is right about Chad not being fit to raise Thomas. Chad probably doesn't have any emergency pills stashed away in the nursery. See, he's totally not prepared.
There was something sad and yet a wee bit unintentionally funny about former Care Bear Sonny crushing Paul's spirit by telling him not to set himself up to be hurt. Don't give up, Paul. Don't give up.
Holy peas and carrots, Batman! Shawn used the term "our grandfather" when speaking to Brady about Victor.
I'm surprised Jennifer didn't toss those flowers from Ciara since J Ho thinks she's such an incompetent twit.
When Paul said his fame might be a problem given he's a private investigator, all I could think of is the plot of Miss Congeniality 2. Let's hope the new regime steers clear of that one. Sorry, Sandy Bullock.
Kayla's black and white outfit kind of reminded me of something Gwen Stefani wore in the "Wind It Up" video while she was channeling her inner Maria von Trapp.
Brady said to Theresa, "You think Maggie needs cheering up?" Oh, Brady Black. Understatement of the year, man. Of. The. Year.
Of Andre's status in the DiMera family, Julie said, "Oh, nobody counts Andre." Well played, Jules.
You know that saying, "Dumb as a box of rocks"? Yeah, I sometimes suspect somewhere there are boxes of rocks that don't want to be lumped into the same category as Joey. I'm still rooting for him, though.
Another reason I adore Belle -- when Claire brought up Shawn being married to Mimi, Belle replied, "For, like, two seconds." Preach it, Sister Belle. Meems does not need to be brought up again. Ever. Evvv-errr.
Adrienne said Abigail had a heart of gold. I'll bet five bucks and my Kristen DiMera bobble head collection that's exactly what Carrie and/or Sami said, too.
PARTING THOUGHTS
So, friends and fellow DAYS fans, that's Two Scoops for the week of September 5. Laurisa will be back next week to see if this latest reboot sinks or swims. In the meantime, I'm off to make sure Eduardo packed everything for his trip like his socks, undies, and Dario. And, "That's a fact!"
As always, thanks for reading!
Tony
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