The thing that amazes me the most about the current ATWT is that they are continually adding new characters when the possible solution to some story issues is just bringing back known characters or actors - that's what I would like to see. I know recently and briefly we have seen Emma, Lisa and Lucinda - we need more of them and less of the murder mysteries of insignificant characters that no one cares about.

Dusty Gets Johnny Back
That poor kid is like this ping pong ball and is being shuffled back and forth between Craig and Dusty. I have to wonder how he will turn out as a teenager or young adult; there is no real stability in this child's life - he lives in a hotel and I don't believe he interacts with other kids either. I don't believe that all Dusty really cares about is winning against Craig; I think he truly loves Johnny and wants the best for his deceased wife's child. I just keep asking where is the movement of the character and not the rehashing of the same stories. So now what? Dusty has Johnny and Craig is cleared of these charges, Craig sets up Dusty so he can get Johnny back, right?

Craig is in jail for a murder he did not commit and I don't think he even met the guy who was killed - so where is the evidence? The Oakdale police under Margo's leadership is really lacking in detective skills. Craig's credibility is always questioned because of recent bad judgment and we can see he has changed since he is spending more time with Carly and her family. I do like to see that Lucy believes in her father and is trying to stay out of the fight with Craig and Dusty.

I have to ask what people think about this smuggling storyline and this murder mystery - is this another case of who cares who murdered this guy? I have tried to refocus as I watch to think less about Craig being charged without proper evidence and more anxious to see how he and Carly work things out as they are getting closer.

Luke and Noah Saved by Damian
I think this story could have played better if we had really gotten to know Zoe and why it was so important for her to have the Grimaldi fortune. This moved along so fast that the emotional beats were missed in the storytelling. I think this story was told in a little over a month and this could have been a story that had twists and turns creating mystery for months -they could have brought Lisa in sooner and had her more involved with Damian finding clues as to who this woman was. These were crucial missed opportunities that these writers are missing that can certainly make the show better.

Regardless of how it played out, when Zoe made her demand of Luke that she wanted him to impregnate her - did she think it would just take the one try? This could have a story similar to the one on One Life to Live with Todd and Margaret. I think the other problem I am having with the show is that they are not taking chances and making shocking story choices. I want to see some new things happen to the characters without always taking the easy way out. I mean as soon as they are rescued, Luke immediately has changed his mind about Damian and asks him to stay - we never saw him contemplating this move or what it would mean to his family: some conversations with other people like Lucinda or Noah or Holden. It is such a case of action then immediate reaction; I want the drama of it all so I can feel closer to the characters like I used to.

We know that having Damian staying in Oakdale is going to cause some problems for Holden as his jealousy is always at an all time high when Damian is around. Lily is definitely drawn to Damian as he is the father of her son. I hope that with Damian hanging around we can see more of him visiting with Lisa and her counseling him on his various moves while in Oakdale.

Emily and the Intruder
It looks like Lucinda may be getting back into the business world by making a move with the Intruder; she decides to take it digital - what a current move where there are a lot of newspapers having circulation problems. It was fun to hear Emily admit that she was not too technical savvy; so now she has a new partner, Hunter, the computer geek. I hope this guy has more layers than these initial anti-social behavioral moves. He reminds me of that guy that was obsessed with Katie from their high school days - his name escapes me right now.

So how is this guy going to fit in: being attracted to Emily or Alison or Jade? Please let it not the most obvious choice of Alison or Emily but Jade who needs a guy to focus on besides Casey even though she has more chemistry with Casey than Alison does.

What happen to Matt? He just disappeared after the last murder mystery was resolved. He could have easily been integrated into this story with him getting involved with Jade making Alison jealous because she realized she did have feelings for him or Casey being overprotective of Jade making Alison jealous.

Let's see how some readers are feeling about the show:

Marilyn said, "It seems like these writers can't find a big picture story; they can only see a few days in advance. I can't figure out if they are just bad or lazy. Half the people on this site come up with better ideas. Also, how would the writers like to read the same book over and over and over again. That's the Paul/Meg story. I have no idea why some of these actors are still employed and why all of these writers are employed."

Kristy said, "I too am worried about ATWT. The writers need to remember what our soap was/is all about - family. You think someone over there would wake up and see that bringing in all the 'new kids' isn't working. Those of us who have watched forever (I'm talking since the beginning) miss the vets (although I must say it was quite a shock to see Lisa, Susan and NANCY in the past week). They made the show what it is and they're relegated to the background."

Alexander said, "They keep bringing in new characters and keep getting rid of them. Mostly by killing them off and that has got to stop! They need to bring characters that would have a good long solid story and they have to think about it good and hard. Because these days it's like ATWT is making these moves without thinking them through. Maybe they should ask Martha Byrne for some help. I've heard that she's been doing good with writing scripts for B&B(a soap that she loves) perhaps she could give a little help with the soap she basically grew up on."

Finally, I did not mention the surrogate baby story as I want it to end as soon as possible; it is not comedy to me. It is obvious that many viewers are as concerned I am about the future of ATWT; I keep waiting to read some breaking news about changes backstage at ATWT. This show needs to continue and all of us who know and love this want the same. I certainly hope there are changes soon; we can't lose ATWT like we are losing GL, it's not time yet for that.

That's all I have for now.
Reggie Jackson