Hope is pregnant

Two thumbs up to the writers for having Steve and Jack reveal themselves to everyone in Salem this past week, instead of dragging the story out for days/weeks/months.

Things seem to have gone a bit wonky in Salem this week and I'm thinking that it is most likely a result of the Head Writer transition. All the storylines are either speeding along at warp speed (i.e. Mimi/Belle's egg harvesting) or slowing down to a crawl (Lexie's attempt to 'out' Sami). I'm not complaining though, things are bound to be a bit disjointed until Hogan Sheffer's storylines come in to full effect and like I said two weeks ago - I'm sticking around to see what will happen next. Though I found the Sami/Lexie storyline a bit redundant and slow this week, it didn't annoy the crap out of me (like it normally would have under JER's helm) so that's a positive in my books. Sad news this week as it has been confirmed that Melissa Reeves will not be renewing her contract with Days. Her final appearance should be some time this month. I have no special insight in to what will happen to the character of Jennifer Deveraux but I am hearing rumors of a re-cast. I think that, personally speaking, the only way I could swallow a recast is if Jack died for real this time and the 'new' Jennifer was paired up with Frankie. I don't think that anyone would buy a re-cast Jennifer with Matt Ashford's Jack. But that's just me...anyone else have any thoughts as to what will happen? Send them to me and I shall post as many as possible.

How much am I lo-o-o-o-o-ving Patch and Kayla's return? Rhetorical question really and I don't want to take up precious space simply repeating how happy I am that these two characters have returned to the show. But I am. Happy that is. I feel like they have been a breath of fresh air to the show and re-invigorated it for many of us who were tired of seeing the same ole characters do the same ole things. It doesn't even matter to me (much) that Steve doesn't remember Kay yet. In fact; it's almost kind of nice. I want to see these two fall in love all over again because no one does it better than them (with the possible exception of Bo and Hope maybe). I was thrilled when Kayla laid that kiss on Steve in an attempt to jog his memory. Whoa Nelly! Down girl! Ha ha, just kidding! It actually made me a little misty ;) So....when will Stephanie Johnson hit town? From what I hear, an actress has been hired and the character should be making her appearance in the next week or so. Kayla mentioned that she's tried to contact her, but hasn't had any luck and is now getting concerned. She also mentioned that she's not happy with Stephanie's career choice. I wonder what that could be...Bounty hunter? Stripper? Hmmm...Oh yes - I remember now; Stephanie is a Race Car driver. Seriously! It's kind of cool really to have a female race car driver but at the same time it's like...another race car driver??? The sport has become very popular all of a sudden! Anyhow; I'm looking forward to her storyline and given that she doesn't know her father and Steve can't even remember her; the building of their relationship should be interesting to watch. I have a feeling that - given how Kayla described her - she will have more of her father's personality traits than mother's. Independent and strong-minded is how Kayla described her. I'm betting that smart-mouthed will also be one of her traits. Rumors are all ready heating up that she will make a big play for Max and give Chelsea a run for her money (That makes sense considering Chelsea has just informed Max that she does not want to be exclusive with him. No big loss if you ask me as I could never understand what he saw in her in the first place). So...if that is what happens - then I hope the storyline will be well written because at this point in time; nothing involving Chelsea sounds all that interesting to me. Unless it's seeing her massive ego take a knock or two.

Two thumbs up to the writers for having Steve and Jack reveal themselves to everyone in Salem instead of dragging it out for days/weeks/months. Yeah...okay so Jennifer and Frankie were married mere moments before Jack showed up at the church but THAT is what made the story so much cooler! Rather than having Jack hide in the shadows and stalk his family from afar (which would have been a typical ploy of the old head writer) we now have a very interesting situation with Jack being alive but still dying and Jennifer married to Frankie. Well...actually; as Frankie pointed out - their marriage is now invalidated. My respect for Frankie jumped up two notches (which is saying a lot considering that I all ready like his character a lot) when he stepped aside to give Jennifer the room she needs to care for and love Jack in his last days of life. Of course it totally sucks for him but he's such a nice guy and he understands what Jennifer is going through and loves her enough to have patience and not put too much pressure on her. I just hope that it pays off for him in the end. I thank the writers - and hope they are reading this to receive their Kudos - for this storyline because I think it is a heck of a lot more interesting than watching Jack hide out and moan about how much he misses his family. I was also happy that Jennifer stepped up and told Frankie that she is his wife and loves him but needs to be there for Jack right now. I'm sure that a lot of people were ticked that she did that - like she's keeping him on a string or something but jeez...I can't imagine for a second how difficult her predicament would be. What would anyone else do? You can't ditch your new husband just because your presumed-dead husband shows up on the day of your wedding. And you can't turf out your dying first husband just because you thought he was dead and went on to marry someone else. Think about that...what would any one of us do? I can't imagine what I would do. It's a tough situation but one that resonates more deeply because of the emotion wrapped up in the story. At least Jack finally stopped insisting that he needed to go die alone somewhere. He needs to concentrate on spending as much time as he can with his family. Namely Abby. I didn't expect this really but...I don't like bratty Abby. I think Chelsea is rubbing off on her - for the worse. She is a nicer person than how she is treating Frankie. He's not the bad guy in the situation - why does she have to be so rude to him? Frankie has been nothing but kind and loving to Jennifer and the kids. He doesn't deserve to have Abby tell him that he's just a replacement for Jack. Nice. I can't be too hard on her though; she's only 18 and no doubt reacting as a typical teen would when faced with such a complicated and emotional situation. I just hope she can get it through her head that Frankie is not trying to take Jack's place - maybe then she would be able to accept him in her family's life.

So...Hope is pregnant. WTF??? Okay, Okay...simmer down...let's see what TPTB intend to do. I read a rumor that - hold on to your hats - the gloved hand pulls another switcheroo and makes it seem as though Patrick is the father. OF COURSE it cannot be Patrick's baby. It has to be Bo's...we all know that! If it is Patrick's baby...well...I can't even think about how awful that would be. I don't want Hope and Patrick to get together just because they share a child. In fact; I don't want to see them get together at all. I'm just not a big fan of this coupling and don't see much chemistry between the two. I realize that I'm biased but...Bo and Hope belong together! I realize that Bo has severely messed up their relationship but his recent actions and words have made me hopeful that the "old" Bo can be salvaged. Except for the fact that he punched Patrick yet again (sigh) I enjoyed his scenes and dialogue with Hope this week. I'm not saying that the baby should be Bo's and then - presto bango - Bo and Hope are back together like nothing ever happened. But I do want the baby to be Bo's. I know that a lot of fans out there are PO'd about Hope's pregnancy because they see it as the writers just trying to make up for the loss of Zach. People are free to see things that way if they want but the idea that a woman would get pregnant so soon after losing a child is not far-fetched to me. Happens all the time. What is far-fetched is the idea that Patrick and Hope did not use any freakin protection when they slept together! Good Christ people! This is the 21st century! Hope has no clue what Patrick's sexual history is! At the very least - one would imagine that she would have asked him to wear a condom for her own protection against AIDS or STDs. Now...okay...it's a Soap Opera and where would the drama be if we didn't have a questionable pregnancy or two once in a while...but this is Hope's second 'who's-the-daddy' drama. Is this really necessary? Once is enough for me. Things I was happy to see? Hope telling Bo that she wanted the baby to be his; the explanation of Hope's menstrual cycle as the reason why she wouldn't have known she was pregnant; and the scheduling of an ultrasound to determine how far along she is in the pregnancy. I've said it many times before but, most of us will put up with crazy twists in the stories as long as there is some degree of reality mixed in. So; back to what I was saying about the gloved hand making it look like Patrick is the father...I don't know if the ultrasound will be changed to make it look as if the child could not be Bo's or if the results of the inevitable DNA test will be changed but I doubt this story will be resolved soon. I'm not overly worried though - having watched ATWT during Sheffer's tenure - I know that he's not big on dragging stuff out forever so we shouldn't end up being tortured with the truth like the Shawn and Claire situation. Or, knowing Sheffer; the story could take a turn that no one expected. I'm rooting for the latter! Fingers crossed!

Okay Billie - you need to get a damn life! I was shocked (though I shouldn't have been) that her first thought upon hearing that Patrick could be the father of Hope's baby was "Good, this could be my chance to get Bo". ARG! For one...Bo is not a piece of meat to be picked up off the floor where someone else dropped him! And two...why the heck is she always settling for second best?? She can be so tedious at (most) times. No wonder she has no freaking girlfriends, job or life of her own - all she is ever able to focus on is keeping Chelsea out of trouble and sniffing after Bo. I don't mind the character normally but she really gets on every last nerve I have when she interacts with Bo and Hope. Please....please....please Mr. Sheffer - give her a life and story apart from Bo and Hope. Pretty please with sugar on top?

You know...I've never really felt all warm and fuzzy about the character of Alexandra Carver; but she sunk the last nail in her coffin with me after her attack on Sami at Jennifer and Frankie's wedding. Take some responsibility for your actions skank. Ha ha! (Sorry...I just like that word) No one forced her to knock boots with Tek all over the damn city! I mean...come on! If you're going to do the nasty with your lover in a damn public park - you deserve to get caught!!! Anyhow; Sami should have warned her that she risked losing her doctor's license for deliberately lying to a patient if she exposed the blackmail scheme. And you know what? All Sami ever wanted was for Lexie to 'make sure' that Carrie did not choose Austin. Lexie came up with the horrible birth defect gene story all on her own. She is no better than Sami...that's for sure. Okay maybe she doesn't run around blackmailing everyone and their brother but she does just as many 'bad' things as Sami. Anyhow - I'm kind of on the fence about the way the story is going down. It was a little irritating and more than a little reminiscent of JER's writing style to watch Lexie's attempts to reveal Sami's latest scheme thwarted at every turn. At least the reasons 'why' she didn't spit it out were semi plausible. I might be in the minority here but I would have liked to see the truth come out. I love Sami and don't want to see her get burned again but personally; I want the Austin/Sami relationship killed. I was never all that excited about it in the first place so I'm eager for it to be over soon. Given JER's penchant for roasting Sami over the fire time and again; I thought for sure that Lexie was going to expose Sami's latest manipulations but...the gloved hand intervened at just the right moment. I'm fairly sure that Stefano is the owner of the mysterious gloved hand. Who else could it be? Who would wreck Lexie's marriage but yet save Sami's neck? Who else could force Lexie not to expose Sami? But why would Stefano want to save Sami? I don't know Scoopers...it's a puzzler for sure. Whoever it is; it is not Kate or Tek. Kate was in the apartment when the gloved-one called Lexie and I'm sure that Tek would not have called Lexie to convince her to cover for Sami. Hmmm...curiouser and curiouser....I've heard many rumors that Kristen DiMera is on her way back to town. She could be the owner of the gloved hand! That would fit a bit better with the hand we are seeing on-screen because I don't know about you guys but...it sure looks like a woman's hand to me! Anyhow; if it is Kristen - why would she switch Belle and Mimi's ova (more on that later)? Why would Stefano for that matter? If the mysterious person in black does turn out to be either Stefano or Kristen; we better get a darn good explanation as to why they are messing with Belle, Philip, Shawn and Mimi. It can't be simply to get back at their parents? Could it? What do you guys think??? Send me your theories and I'll post as many as possible.

Belle/Philip/Shawn/Mimi...I keep scratching my head as to why Mimi is having a hard time with getting enough eggs for in-vitro. Is this part of the infection she had? I thought she just had scarring on her fallopian tubes...did I miss something? And what doctor in their right mind would green light in-vitro for Belle? She and Phil have only been trying for a month or so; why jump right to the 'last resort'? Even with a low sperm count (or whatever Phil's problem is) there are other procedures that doctors can try before going the in-vitro route. I know because I have two friends that had fertility issues and both were able to get pregnant without in-vitro. Never mind the fact that I didn't see Belle get any hormone shots to produce multiple ova for harvesting. Okay so...ignoring all these questions; it looks like the theories about where the storyline is headed are coming true. At the end of Friday's show; we saw the black gloved hand switch the lids on Mimi and Belle's ova containers. I'm pretty sure that the eggs have not been fertilized yet so...that mean that Philip's sperm will fertilize Mimi's egg and Shawn's sperm will fertilize Belle's egg. Interesting...I can see one of two things happening next; either Mimi's egg as fertilized by Philip will be implanted in the wrong mother (Belle) or it will not be viable and therefore not be implanted at all. If the egg is implanted in Belle, she will most likely end up miscarrying what she thinks is her child (and really is Mimi's). I'd also bet that Mimi's baby (which is really Belle and Shawn's) will be born healthy and be a boy; which will then be named after Zack. So...that will mean that Belle and Shawn will have two children that they don't know they share. One (Claire) will be raised by Belle and Philip and the other (soon to be implanted egg) will be raised by Mimi and Shawn. I'm sure that a lot of people will be unhappy with this twist but I like it. I think it's interesting and different and also...it will give Shawn the opportunity to raise at least one of his children. What do you guys think about my theory? Send me your thoughts!

Random

• It was nice to see Roman again; he has been severely underused as of late. I hear that he's supposed to get a new and exciting storyline soon. I can't for the life of me imagine what that would entail...a new love interest perhaps?
• I wish that Lucas would be given a storyline that doesn't entail hounding Sami 24/7 and then turning around and professing his love for Carrie. Booo-Ring!
• Carrie's been feeling unwell for a while...foreshadowing perhaps? Maybe she'll end up miscarrying the baby?
• Where the heck are Doug and Julie? With all that's been going on lately - and now that Hope is pregnant again - it's time to bring these two characters back to Salem and have them interact with the storylines
• If you're looking for John and Marlena - be prepared to wait a while. From what I hear; they've been given the summer off. Expect to see them return some time in August.

Reader Feedback: The change in Head Writer has brought a flood of emails in from excited viewers and for the most part; everyone is enjoying the changes they are seeing and are very hopeful that Mr. Sheffer will be able to turn Days of our Lives around. Thanks to everyone who wrote in and provided their feedback!

From Billie:" Hi, I just wanted to let you know you have given me hope they I might return to watching Days again. For the last 4 months I may have seen one or two at the most shows. I read about it but just got sick of all the horrible storylines and could not stand to watch it. I have watched Days from the first day it was on when I was in grammar school. I have always kept up on it even before VCR's and now TIVO by my mother letting me know what was going on. I still TIVO it for her but she watches it when I am not around, she just can't quit. What can I say she watches Passions also. Thanks for the hope and lets look forward to some new old storylines coming back along with the characters. How long will it be before he starts writing? Thank again."

From Trey D:"Turning on my television this afternoon to one of my favorite shows Days OF Our Lives, I was more than pleasantly pleased and surprised by the outstanding performance of James Reynolds this afternoon June 19th. His intensity and heartbreak was conveyed through his eyes, his reactions and his brilliant acting. After months and months of the how not utilizing this significant actor, he was finally given the chance to show his versatile range. I was so moved and truly felt his pain and betrayal with finding Lexie with "his mentor." Him bringing up Lexie's past of sleeping with his brother and his son hit home for the long time fans of the show. Thank you to James Reynolds for delivering such a moving and powerful performance ."

From Carolyn:"Hi. I have been a Days watcher for 40 years. But I finally had enough of Reilly and gave up the show "for good" when I heard that Zack was going to be killed. I haven't watched the show, nor gone on the internet sites to see what was happening for months. But then I happened to see on the cover of a soap opera magazine while at the grocery story that my all-time favorites, Patch and Kayla, were coming back. So I have been watching the show again these past two weeks. I have to tell you, I'm loving it again (well, not all of it). I'm so glad to read that great things are happening now that Reilly is out of the picture."

From Aggie:"I just wanted to tell you that I am in total agreement when it comes to Kate. I also Hate Kate. I wish she would get hit by a really big bus. She needs to get a life and stay out of her kids lives. Chelsa is just a brat and is just like her Grandma Kate. I was also glad when Lexie and Tek got caught. I have been hitting fast forwarding button every time they come on screen together. They make me sick. But now Sami is going to get the blame for this. But Sami gets the blame for everything anyway. I wish they would let that poor girl be happy just once. Now with the new head writer taking over. I have noticed that the show is already getting better. I was getting ready to stop watching. But now I am going to give the new writer a chance. I think the show will be a lot better."

From Regina:"I am so glad the show is coming back to life. Oh! How I remember the good old days of Patch and Kayla. Love it, love it, love it. think Tek is the one who sent the note to Abe. He knew Lexie was cutting him loose. He knew if Abe found out it would be the end of their marriage and he could have Lexie. The whole Carrie and Lucas storyline bugs me. They are so opposite. They make a horrible couple. They are far from being the exciting, fun, and even refreshing as Sami and Lucas. I can't wait to see what the new head writer has to bring. It can't be any worse than what we had before. Can't wait to see what happens!!!"

From Elisa:"I am with you! I am so glad that Days wised up and ousted Reilly - the minute that I saw he was head writer I groaned and Days has suffered ever since. Passions had such potential and it's been squandered under him, and he almost sunk Days! I started watching back in the days of Steve & Kayla and Jack & Jennifer - and I hated how Reilly always tried to destroy Jack's character every time he had the reins! I've watched on and off but with today - I am back! The fact that Jack busted in at just the right time and Steve and Kayla actually ran into each other! Whoo-hoo!!! Yes. It reminds me of when Jack & Jen first got together. Now, if only they DON'T get Belle and Shawn back together and have Sami finally move on with EJ - that would be cake!!! Triple thumbs up to the writers (that's how enthusiastic I am with the changes that are coming down the pike)!"

And now for something completely different...I received the following poem from a long time viewer and it is SO fantastic that I just had to print it. Thanks for sending it in Linda!!! Enjoy ~P From Linda Wolfe:"Hi, Pamela! I loved reading your article at Soap Central about the changes in Days we can look forward to seeing. There is hope for the first time in a long time! I have been watching Days since 1970, so I've seen a ton of changes over the years. The past few have been rock bottom, though, and it's great to hear they actually know how upset and offended we fans have felt. I am a poet and lyricist, and have written 3 poems for Days. The first was a limerick for getting Tony out of jail. The second was a poem for Deidre and Wayne about their amazing chemistry, which I was able to give to them in person at Dee's fan event last April. (What a thrill that was!) The third one, included below, is my parody of "Casey at the Bat," which described how we fans have felt about the show's struggles and the hope we now feel with Hogan taking over the writing. Feel free to print part or all of it! Thanks, Linda Wolfe Hogan at the Bat (With apologies to Ernest L. Thayer and Drake Hogestyn, who probably knows every word to "Casey at the Bat!") - by Linda Wolfe

The outlook wasn't brilliant for the Salem team that day. The ratings never lower - so much story left to play. With Ashford on the DL, and Northrop off the cliff, The cast and crew were saddened and the audience was miffed.

While Hogey played the hero and Hutzler did the same The audience was reeling from confusion in the game. Some characters were bad, then good, depending on the day. The change-up happened faster than the quickest double-play!

Who was that evil Doctor North and why revenge he sought? He left without an answer and the fans were overwrought! When John and his Marlena from the roster disappeared, Fans wondered who would save the game before the bleachers cleared.

"Fraud!" cried the maddened thousands in the chat rooms on the net. It echoed in the Digest and through every TV set. Faithful fans turned off the show, so mightily displeased. The holes in all the plots were reminiscent of Swiss cheese.

The viewers sent in letters, which had fallen on deaf ears, Expressing how they felt about the show they'd loved for years. They said, "If a new writer could but get a whack at that, We might re-set our TiVo's, now, with Hogan at the bat."

Then, for the stricken multitude, a miracle occurred. Their voices reached the folks upstairs and finally were heard. "We'll hire a new scribe who gives the audience respect, Who writes compelling tales, where all the pieces now connect."

Oh, somewhere there is romance and some couples reunite. The stories don't repeat themselves, and somewhere hearts are light. And somewhere fans are cheering, for they know without a doubt A new head writer likely will prevent a Days strike-out!

What are your thoughts on ? What did you think of this week's Two Scoops? We want to hear from you -- so drop your comments in the Comments section below, tweet about it on Twitter, share it on Facebook, or chat about it on our Message Boards.