Things are changing in Oakdale and I can see that those changes are making the show make sense again. There are actually cliffhangers at the end of each episode now and we are actually seeing the follow through of characters actions without jumping forward hours or days. There have been some slight adjustments to characters like Meg making her more interesting.
Meg and Lily
Years ago when they were teenagers, Meg did not like Lily very much -- more because she was jealous of her and at the time, Meg wanted young Dusty and he was in love with Lily. Fast forward to today; Meg has animosity towards Lily because the current man in Meg's life, Damian wants Lily and not her. Meg has this edge that we have not seen since Marie Wilson has been playing the role. I like seeing this irrational sometimes bitchy part of her personality.
Meg is almost a stalker with Damian; she keeps showing up and he had this look on his face like 'what do you want now'. She bashes Lily whenever she gets a chance and even is scheming some to make things go her way. She still has this neediness about herself however she is making things happen around her. I don't find her as annoying as I did a few months ago.
Is Lily a moron or what? Why is she not challenging Damian about Holden being declared dead? She had no problem telling Maeve that she owned the Lakeview. She won't call one of her lawyers to find out if she has any recourse in this marriage thing with Damian. Why take Damian's word? She can call Tom Hughes at any time for advice -- it's hard to believe that she has any business sense at all.
Liberty's Baby Drama
Staying with Paul and Emily is not working out well for her. I have to admit that I enjoy this story. There is so much going on and so many different people involved besides Paul and Emily; Brad is trying to keep Janet from being so clingy.
Janet is driving her daughter crazy with this desire of hers to raise the baby with Jack. Janet makes everything so much bigger than what it is -- like the SAT; it was like she was taking the test. I know in some ways she is living her life through Liberty's accomplishments.
Liberty is being the rebellious teenager by going to that party -- why did her friends allow her to drink when they know that she is pregnant too? Couldn't one of those teenagers be responsible enough to stop her?
Parker is Growing Up
Parker has his hands in so much right now: he taking care of Liberty by being her confidante and friend and he is holding Rosanna and Craig accountable for cheating while his mother is away. He is being more of a man than the men in Oakdale -- Craig is acting like a teenager with Rosanna every time they are alone, he is all over her. Rosanna can't seem to help herself around Craig -- has she forgotten all the things he did to her in the past? I guess so -- at least the writers have.
Parker is standing up to his father and being responsible by taking the advice that Jack has given him. Parker is being Liberty's friend only without any hidden agenda. Parker is growing up and his mother won't recognize him when she returns.
Henry and Barbara
This has turned into such a fun story to watch. Barbara is aware of what she is doing and it's nice the way they have tied this reckless behavior to her cancer. The scenes with Barbara and Vienna were truly a riot to watch. Barbara has even sort of bonded with Audrey -- Barbara can use a friend.
What about Audrey? Finally this woman shows that she does have some compassion for someone -- her son. When she looked at his picture when he was a kid was such a small moment but it gave the character a heart which I thought she did not have. Its little things like that make the show better.
Jessica's Return
Jessica pops into town to make her daughter see that Dusty is no good for her. She let her know that Dusty still is not over Jennifer's death.
It was great seeing Jessica briefly and it would have been nice if we had seen her more while Bonnie was back in town this time. We get to see her as Bonnie is leaving town once again.
I wonder did Jessica stop by the police station to see Dallas; I know Bonnie has not mentioned or even spent any time with him lately.
The character of Dallas was such a waste from the beginning -- three actors and never a storyline for the character.
Uncle Ralphie
The character is not too interesting -- just one cliché after another. What a waste of Stuart Damon's talent; I can't wait for him to leave town.
Here are some comments from readers:
Jean said, I simply cannot sit back and not remark about Lily -- with her, everything is all about me and what about her children? Who cooks in that house.... has she ever washed a dish... so insipid -- I can hardly look at her anymore. Barbara has become a joke -- amazingly, Emily is the only decent person on the program anymore & Katie."
Teresa said," I love Jon Lindstrom as Craig and was also happy to see Cady McClain return as Rosanna. I even liked these two characters as a couple in previous years. However, I am having a problem with how quickly they have been brought back together as a couple. Craig and Carly didn't just 'fall' into their relationship -- they went though a lot to get there, most especially dealing with her alcoholism. If it was just a fling, Craig would have baled then but, not only did he stand with her, he was a driving force in making her come to terms with the problem and seek help so they could have a real life together. He has also stepped up for her family during her absence. For all his faults, Craig is able to feel things deeply. If the writers insist on this storyline, they could at least have had him experience some real soul searching, gut wrenching moments in determining the direction he would take."
Andy said, "I love ATWT these days. The Hughes family is in the spotlight again. Adam not going to jail completely made sense to me -- he was buried alive -- that would make anyone go crazy. And clearly the character has changed. Forgive and move on. Liberty's pregnancy is a GREAT storyline that has me glued to the set day in and day out. Rosanna is back and getting back together with Craig! Woo Hoo!!! Henry is up to his old antics. Barbara gets to show off her comedic chops."
Finally, David Kreizman has said that we will be seeing the characters the viewers want to see and hope that means we will se Lisa, Lucinda, Susan, Bob, Kim and Nancy more often -- even involved in a story that is not resolved in a day or so. If they are truly trying to save the show, I hope there is major effort put into it. I do see some changes since he joined the writing team; I pray he lives up to his word.
That's all I have for now.
Reggie Jackson
