An honor just to be nominated

The Vitali storyline was supposed to be a love storyline for Steve and Kayla, but the producers made the mistake of hiring an actress who managed to make viewers care about the bad guy.

I'd like to start out with a friendly reminder for all of my fellow TV-aholics. Remember to set your TiVos, DVRs, VCRs, or watch live when Alison Sweeney and Bryan Datillo join other daytime greats and announce the Daytime Emmy nominations live, Wednesday April 30th, on The View. Be sure to check it out to see if the academy actually recognizes the good talent on Days for once your favorites made it!

Update: YEAH DAYS!! WHOOO!!!! YES!!!! Congrats to Rachel Melvin (Chelsea), Darrin Brooks (Max), Judi Evans (Bonnie/Adrienne) and Thaao Penghlis (Tony/Andre) for their completely well deserved acting nods. To read more about these four (count them, FOUR!!) Emmy nods, click here and head over to Soap Central's everything Emmy page. Then, join me in a cyber happy dance for our favorite soap!

I know that these awards are for last year, but the academy better go ahead and start paying attention now. That way, next year won't come as such a shocker when Days has enough talent to fill every category. From Chelsea, to Victor, to Ava, Days is capitalizing on their great acting talent. CHELSEA and DANIt's hard to talk about Chelsea without talking about Dan. Not only because she's back in the hospital with inflammation of the abdominal lining, but because her probiotics turn Chelsea into Honest Abe. Her drug induced confession that she wants to be with Dr. Dan makes me wonder about the future of their relationship.

The verdict is still out on Dr. Dan. I want to like him, but something about the dude just isn't "totally cool" with me. So far, I've been convinced that he's using Chelsea's school girl crush on him to feed his own ego. And, I don't like the chain reaction of jerky moves that his ego sets off. First, he brushes off the obvious warnings from Bo and keeps encouraging Chelsea's feelings. Jerk. In turn, Chelsea completely forgets that she hasn't broken up with Nick yet and therefore, by default, still HAS A BOYFRIEND whom she pretty much treats like crap. Jerk.

I want to see Dr Dan struggle a little more with the idea of dating Chelsea. Oh yeah, and I want to see Victor find out about it. Dr Dan may be able to duck under everyone else's radar, but Grandpa Victor won't let Dan get away with a, "Heeeey, it's cool, man. Chiiilllll" But, I'm pretty sure that Dan will have an out. You know how in soaps, love heals everything. (Note to self: Find an HMO that will cover "will to live") Dan might "pretend" to be interested in Chelsea so that she'll fight to get better. He can justify his actions to everyone else (Kate, Victor, Nick, Bo...) as his attempt to save her life. But, it allows him to indulge his ego even more.

SAMI, EJ, and NICOLE Marlena's little vacation is very short, she's already back! No time too early because Sami is in desperate need of a couch session with Dr. Mom.

Sami and EJ engage in another round of "No more Nicole" until Sami blurts out, "You're not going anywhere with your son until you drop Nicole as a client!" Ok, hang on there mama bear. I've never once questioned Sami's love for her kids. But, I really question her self control. She needs to learn how to effectively communicate what she wants. Whipping out the kid card is not cool. It just gives EJ more and more power to do what he wants because Sami proves that she isn't capable of rational thinking. It's a shame that Sami chose to handle herself this way because this time, she is absolutely 100% justified.

She has every right to determine who gets to spend time with her children. Not only has Nicole been instrumental in taking custody of one child away from Sami, but Nicole has already proven that she has no qualms about intruding on personal space. I can't blame Sami for not wanting Nicole around.

Furthermore, I'm a little ticked at how pompous EJ is acting. Why is he under the impression that they discussed Nicole? As I remember, Sami, Mickey, and Maggie all asked EJ not to take Nicole's case, but he did what he wanted anyway. Sorry EJ, that is not discussing. That's being inconsiderate and a little insubordinate. If he really does love Sami so much, why doesn't he see how hurt she is? What happened to the guy who said, "Young lady, you're not going to get very far with me if you tell my wife to zip it."? He needs to resurface fast because EJ needs to sit Nicole down and have a talk with her about not being so disrespectful to Sami and the twins. Luckily I have the perfect suggestion for him.

The next time Nicole makes the tasteless joke about Sami's twins being from two different fathers, EJ needs to jump in and admit that he RAPED Sami, which is why she has a kid from two men. One, it makes everyone start to believe that EJ is at least accountable for his action. Two, it keeps Nicole from rubbing "rape victim" in Sami's face.

Ok, ok, so EJ isn't a real person and I don't expect him to listen to me. But the writers are very real people. I know that it's easy to write a joke for Nicole, and Sami's character provided more than enough material. But, the writers seriously need to stop having Nicole berate Sami for having twins from different fathers. All of the viewers know how Johnny was conceived. Even those who don't like Sami can agree that no rape victim deserves to be called a slut. It's bad enough that they aren't having Sami and EJ deal with the rape, but now they are blatantly making jokes about it?!? Unnecessary, even for a soap opera. BO and (the real) KAYLAGet your bags packed kids, we're movin' out of the Vitali compound! Wooo! The characters no longer have to sit in the same dang rooms. First, Bo manages to overpower Angelo and Eddie and get out of the mansion. (I guess Dr Dan transplanted some ninja skills along with a pancreas.) Next, Ava decides that she is going to keep Kayla's baby (raise your hand if you didn't see that one coming from a mile away). Then, Steve decides to make a deal with the devil and trade his body (technically, his sperm) for Hope, Bo, and Kayla's release. Finally, Abe and Roman are able to get into the compound and arrest Ava.

I don't think this storyline played out the way TBTP intended. The Vitali storyline was supposed to be a love storyline for Steve and Kayla. It was supposed to finally show the viewers who didn't see the first version of "Stayla" what the BFD was about bringing these two characters back on canvas. (For the record, I think the two have been a total snooze fest of storylines.) But as they say, the best laid plans often screw up when the producers hire an actress who can make us care about the bad guy.

Tamara Braun took a character that could have easily been a cookie-cutter nutcase and turned her into someone that viewers genuinely care about. Then, they pair her with several veteran characters and one by one they all seem to be able to separate the real Ava from her craziness disease. First, Hope was alone with Ava sooo many times, yet Detective Fancy Face didn't take down Ava, later Hope listened to Ava and tried to help. Second, Steve went so far as to entertain Ava's physical advancements to prevent Ava from hurting anyone (including herself). Third, trigger temper Bo manages to keep his cool while Ava recollected her past. Finally Kayla (the one woman who should want to rip Ava's head off) showed genuine compassion for Ava and suggested that maybe Ava is a victim of more than just a heart-break break-down (a.k.a brief psychotic disorder).

I think that Ava should stay around for a while. We've spent too much time getting the back story on her character to not let Ava have a shot at a redemption storyline. Am I crazy or can anyone else see Steve, Kayla, Bo, and Hope befriending Ava when this is all over? Her chances will be even higher if Ava is instrumental in rescuing Stephanie. Stephanie got kidnapped by someone working for the Vitalis. Either that, or a member of the fashion police came after her for wearing a tube top one-zie out in broad daylight.

PHILLIP and MORGANPhillip warns Morgan not to let her dad spend too much time with John Black DiMera. Morgan says that she doesn't want to see her dad around JBD either. She also tells Phillip about Chelsea. Phillip offers to take Morgan to the hospital, but Morgan says she has her own car and can drive herself (that's my girl!)

Can I just say that I'm so giddy to have a heading that reads "Phillip and Morgan"?!?!?!! I love these two together. Granted, Jay Kenneth Johnson would have chemistry with a wet mop, so I'm not surprised that these two look and act great together. But Kristen Renton is surprisingly holding her own in the scenes. I'd like to have the chance to see them in a longer scene than just a "we ran into each other in the gym/outside the pub/ somewhere else random"

There is a ton of storyline potential here. Morgan's a very new character and we don't know much about her. If her mom comes from "old money" it's probably a safe bet that all that money comes with a bunch of power too. What are the chances that her rich southern roots haven't, at some point, crossed paths with a Kiriakis?

JOHNWell, I think I see why Marlena needed to leave. She wanted to miss an appearance by John McJackass. He was a pain in the rear at the beginning of the week! He accused Paul Hollingsworth of taking money from the Kiriakises (which Paul wasn't). Then, he threatened to withdraw Paul's PR help. Finally, John decided to take advantage of Victor being preoccupied with Chelsea's illness by making a move on the Kiriakis empire while Victor is at Chelsea's bedside.

But, as soon as Marlena came home (with some nifty new PJ's) John turned back to being less of a prick, sort of. John told Marlena that he has a hot date, just not with her. He had a date with Nicole Walker. Marlena reminded John that they are still married. John retorted with the insinuation that since Marlena isn't sleeping with him, they don't have much of a marriage. At that exact point, there was a high pitch squawk that sounded like a bird being attacked. Ok, it wasn't a bird. It was me screaming, "Whhhaaat??" at my TV. But, my shock was soon eased when John confessed that he was just trying to make Marlena jealous....and it worked.

The whole bit worked for me. First, I loved Marlena confronting Nicole over the "date". The way that Marlena calmly but firmly reprimanded Nicole for her blatant display of disrespect (for herself, the idea of marriage, and/or animal print- take your pick) made me hope that Sami was taking notes. Then John took his shot at Nicole, taking a total of five minutes to out-wit, out-flirt, and basically out Nicole as a spy for Phillip. Nicole left in a huff and Marlena was all kinds of impressed.

Was it a little harsh for John to flaunt his date with Nicole? Probably. But, oh boy, did it work! John and Marlena are so on their way back to being better than ever! These two aren't the swashbuckling heroes that Bo and Hope are, nor are they the fire and ice team of Steve and Kayla. These two kids are the "smart ones". They are the ones who can intimidate any one with just a verbal confrontation- no punches, no guns, and no shouting matches (again, Sami, are you listening?). I'm not sure which character I like better. But, the good news is that as long as they keep going in the direction that they started this week, I won't have to pick between the two.

BRADYNicole and Chloe got kicked out of the House that Victor Built at the same time! They wound up at the Brady Pub together where Nicole confessed that she knows Victor had something to do with Brady's disappearance. A Nicole and Chloe truce would be interesting. Nicole is definitely in the market for a new ally against Victor now that her spy mission was a complete bust. Could it be that Chloe and Nicole actually become friends?

Victor wants to know why Phillip is siding against the family? This is interesting coming from the man who left everything in his will to Phillip. Not Bo, Shawn, Chelsea, Ciara, Claire or Brady. I'd like to know who exactly Victor considers "family".

So, let's gather the facts that we know about the players. Brady disappeared sometime in the middle of the night and no one can find him. Chloe says that she and Brady were fighting and that she was threatened after he disappeared. Nicole has been working in LA running Austin Reed, Co, until recently when something happened to make her leave. Phillip has had zero luck locating Brady, despite all of the Kiriakis resources at his disposal.

Someone more powerful than Phillip has to be throwing up roadblocks. That list pretty much begins and ends with Victor. It's obvious that Victor had something to do with Brady's disappearance. But, we don't know how much Chloe knew or how Nicole found out. Stay tuned. This one could get good.

LOOSE ENDS:Max and Stephanie are still dating. Max and Stephanie are still members of the same family. Max and Stephanie are still not good together.

Sami said that Lucas refuses to see her when she visits the jail. It sounds like another great, holier-than-thou decision by Lucas Roberts Horton. I realize that they can't show Lucas (Bryan Dattilo is on vacation) but, if the writers want to keep Lumi as a viable couple, they might introduce a phone call or letter, rather than mentioning that Lucas is refusing to see Sami. Not smart writers.

As soapcentral.com reports , Dena Higley is officially the new head writer for Days. While she's been at the helm for some time, this announcement means that we can all stop speculating. Higley doesn't have a great track record with fans in the past. But, I'm willing to suspend my judgment for a little while until I see what she has to offer this go 'round. At least we know that she's seen what DOESN'T work. Let's just hope she paid attention.

HOT: I saw the most realistic scene in all of daytime this week. Almost all of the characters were in a gym working out! OF COURSE THEY ARE! How else do all those characters constantly look good in tight dresses and towels? I realize that the whole setting was an excuse to get Jillian Michaels a cameo, but seriously, why aren't there more scenes in the gym? What makes more sense: the characters spend all their time eating fried Brady Pub food or the characters spend a lot of time working out to keep their figures?

NOT: Papa Vitali. When Joe Penny makes his appearance as Ava's dad, I've got a bunch of questions for him. Mainly, why are you keeping your daughter on suicide watch by locking her in a room that has a gun in the night stand drawer? HELLO! SMOKIN': Ok, so I don't have a category for this, but I just wanted to make sure that you are all aware of this amazing message board video! It goes to prove that if Lucas was half as likable as Bryan is, Lucaswould be Mr. Salem. Why they don't tap into this guy's comedic side isbeyond me. It's definitely worth a watch! When you're done, let me know where I can get my "Team Dattilo" button! LINE OF THE WEEK: Steve to Kayla (who is pregnant), Bo (who just has pancreas transplant), and Hope (who was just shot) as they are all sitting tied together, "I'm really sorry about this guys" No kiddin'?!?!

Honorable mention goes to Jillian for her comment to Nicole: "You should consider eating something. Too thin...not hot"

UPDATE: Finally, I managed to talk my husband into watching Days with me on Friday. Head over to my blog to see how it went for me when I "took a friend to Salem".Happy viewing!Laurisa

Need more Two Scoops? Head over to read blogs by Laurisa or Tony for more ranting, raving, and all-out randomness

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