I give up!

Our columnist was not able to provide a new column this week, so instead, please enjoy a look back at what was happening in Salem during the week of August 15, 2005.

99% of the people who wrote to me this week have stated that whatever the timing is - they are determined to believe that Belle's baby was fathered by Shawn. Most viewers disagree with me that Shawn couldn't be the father and they keep reminding me of the "burning barn incident." I appreciate the help guys, but...I didn't forget that they slept together in some kind of hypothermic dream state that they don't remember. My point was that: going by "real" time, it wasn't possible for Shawn to be the father because the barn incident happened well over 9 months ago. Belle found out that she was pregnant in July and since they slept together before Christmas; the elapsed time is 8 or 9 months. So - given the time line - and the fact that Belle is only in her first trimester, I was insisting that Shawn could not be the father. However...I received email from a few people who said that, in a recent interview, Reilly pointed out that a day in Salem can last a few weeks in real time SO, viewers should just ignore the timeline. I'm irritated by JER's decision to stretch the timing because any way you slice it - Shawn and Belle slept together in the winter and it is obviously summertime now. Which should make her waaayyy more than 3 months pregnant. BUT I will stop belaboring the point because I am completely in the minority. Everyone else wants this to be Shawn's child and is happy to buy whatever explanation we're being given. Okay then - Belle is 3 months pregnant and the only reason that she thinks that Philip is the father, is because she doesn't remember sleeping with Shawn. Moving on....

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Philip is in complete and utter denial. How can he not notice that Belle and Shawn are always making eye contact or always off in a corner whispering together? Some people are insisting that he knows the score and is ignoring it in order to manipulate Belle in to staying with him. But I don't agree, I think Phil is only seeing what he wants to see because of his need for her. He lost a leg and is feeling needy; I feel bad for him. Plus, I think that he treats Belle better than she deserves. I am now at a point where I feel bad for both Shawn and Phil for ever falling in love with her in the first place! She's so annoying, I can't believe that she can't make a decision and just stick to it. All the bouncing back and forth between her "duty" and her "true love" is exhausting. And the dialogue is always the same "We can't be together Shawn... kiss kiss, smooch, smooch...No, this is wrong, I can't do this to Philip...but I love you...but I'm carrying Phil's child..." arggg! As far as the chemistry between Shawn and Belle that you all keep referring to...I just don't see it. I think Jason Cook could have chemistry with the wall but MM comes across as simply whiny and uptight. I think that there is much more spark between Shawn and Mimi! I loved the fact that they're getting closer and I hope they do end up together. I read a rumor somewhere once that Mimi and Shawn end up sleeping together after a drunken night of commiseration over their lost loves. Now wouldn't it be an interesting twist if Mimi ended up pregnant too?? What do you guys think?

I've received, read and responded to a lot of email this week concerning Sami's vindication (proving to Lucas that Kate set her up) and Kate's subsequent downfall. There are quite a lot of people out there who don't think it's fair that Sami revealed Kate's secrets and lies while her own remain hidden. Many of you believe that Sami's time as Stan should also be revealed to everyone that she cares about. And there are also some people who are mad at me because I'm happy that Kate got caught. I've been told that I have a bias towards Sami and that I'll overlook her antics but not Kate's; even though they are both manipulative liars. Okay, fine; I admit it. I have a bias towards Sami. I know that I should hate the character, considering all the rotten things she's done BUT...she makes me laugh and she's a fireball to watch and without her, Days would be a boring show indeed. Besides...we all know that Sami WILL be caught. There is no way that Reilly will allow his favorite creation to be happy and in love for long. Either...the Stan secret will come out or Lucas will catch Sami in some other lie.

For now, I'm just going to revel in the fact that Sami and Lucas are together again! YAY! They are so cute! I really enjoyed their scenes this week as they kissed, canoodled and basically made up for lost time. They are definitely my favorite couple on the show right now. In a way it was bittersweet though, because ya know it can't last. I'm almost sad because I love seeing Sami so happy - Lucas definitely brings out the best in her - but I fear what will happen to her when Lucas finds out about her 'Stan' secret. I am really not looking forward to seeing her happiness destroyed by Kate. It just figures that Kate would walk out of the apartment building right after Nicole took a header off the fire escape (she had been hiding outside Sami's apartment). Kate put 2+2 together and pumped Nicole for information. Unfortunately, Nicole let it slip that Sami had a secret which - if Lucas knew - would make him dump her in a second. Kate, practically salivating at the news, desperately tried to get more information but Nicole finally staggered off. AZ was hilarious as usual and the scene would have been great if not for the fact that it spelled the beginning of Sami's end. I guess I shouldn't be too upset. I realized that the pay-off of seeing Kate exposed would come at a high price...and that is unfortunate. I just don't want Kate to win and that is exactly what she has now promised to do. Anyway - I really hope that Will comes home from camp before his parents' relationship gets blown out of the water again. Then again...maybe I don't. Poor kid; it will be a miracle if he grows up to be a semi-stable individual.

Darn that John! I knew that he would side with Kate! He's so annoying lately and he's been such a dink since Marlena 'died' and was taken to the island. He used to be an awesome character, full of romance, warmth, compassion and of strong moral fiber. I don't know how in the world he could stand there and defend Kate with a straight face. How can he justify Kate's actions? He told Roman that Kate DID try with Sami but that Sami was hateful to her. That's a totally one-sided version. Even if that were true, how does that justify drugging two people, undressing them and putting them in the same bed so that everyone would think that they slept together? What Kate did is the lowest of the low (although not quite as low as when she framed Sami for Franco's murder...but at least that time she was trying to prevent Lucas from going to jail). Nothing can justify her actions. John raised Sami! He's always claimed to love her like a daughter; I guess he's really proven that now. He's totally in my bad books now. He and Kate deserve each other.

So what do you guys think? Is Ex-Roman (Dr. North) an old flame of Marlena's - from her past, before Roman? If yes, what about Don Craig? She was married to him prior to Roman. There has to be more to the story though, because he's acting much too fishy for this to be a simple 'old love' situation. Why would Marlena remember him and not either of her last two husbands? And is it just me or...is it crazy to allow your wife - who has no memory - to go off to an isolated mountain cabin with a doctor you hardly know? Red flags should be waving in front of John's face. I can't wait to find out what Dr. North meant by "okay Marlena, it's time you knew who you really were." I hope she's not some kind of DiMera plant or trained assassin; like John Black. UNLESS......what if she is Hattie? (The character played by Deirdre Hall's twin sister) What if she was switched with the real Marlena back on the island? Tony could have brainwashed her to think that she was Marlena! So Hattie would have been the one to sleep with Roman; not Marlena! That would be a good twist.

I don't know what to say...Bo called Billie - of all people - for help. Is he dense? Dumb question? Anyway - he had to know that she would go and do something impulsive and reckless. Has she ever done anything else? Cripes! And of course Patrick would insist on going along. I can't believe that he turned on Bo...as you can imagine, I'm hatin' him this week. I have my fingers crossed that he is just trying to buy time with Tony but who can tell with him. He's always so secretive looking. Back to the point of this paragraph: why would Bo call Billie in the first place? Why not John? He has more connections with the ISA than Billie does. For all we know, Billie doesn't work anywhere - let along for the ISA. I know Marlena is in the hospital but I'm sure that John could have taken the 20 minutes to arrange for a supply dump. He's not doing much more than pacing around looking constipated anyway. What about Roman? He's got plenty of ISA contacts too.

The writing for Tony and Bart bounces between funny and sick. Seriously! The scenes of Tony telling Victor and Caroline that he enjoyed watching Billie rape Bo were really in poor taste. What's that about? But the scenes of Bart and his black eye, burnt arm and bruises were quite funny. Especially when Hope finally showed up in the scenes and Bart was wearing protective gear and a face mask. I wish Days would concentrate more on the comedy; they have so many actors that are adept at delivering funny scenes. DOOL has a great history of comedic writing, and it would be nice if the writers could remember that it is a much appreciated break from the "suspension of disbelief" type of stories.

Tek and Lexie - in a word? Yuck! I think the thing that bothers me the most about this story is that the writers have not taken the time to fully explore why Lexie is turning to Tek. I know that she verbalizes it by saying that Abe hasn't touched her or said a loving word to her in a while. But come on, I find it hard to believe that Lexie would act this way and it really bothers me that TPTB are making her look bad. Her husband is in obvious turmoil and needs her help but instead of doing just that; she runs off crying and jumps Tek? It's crazy. Does she not remember the "in good times and bad" part of her vows? And Tek is just plain creepy. The way he's always sliming all over Lexie and telling her that she needs to leave Abe; sheesh, this character is on my last nerve.

Notice how I haven't discussed Chloe and Brady lately? That's because there's nothing new to say. Oh, other than the fact that Brady is planning a quickie wedding (Belle is designing the dress in her spare, spare time) to prove his love to Chloe. These poor actors - who are extremely talented - are just repeating the same dialogue over and over until their release dates come up. I'm looking forward to the wedding and the end of the monotonous "how can you love me with this tiny, minuscule, hardly-even there scar?" garbage.

There's nothing to say about the teen scene except for the fact that, the previews for Monday showed Chelsea declaring that she will give her virginity to Max; with Jennifer possibly hearing the statement. It looked like she heard but you never know with Days. Where could they possibly going here? Another teen pregnancy? A sexually transmitted disease? And how long are we going to have to watch her self-destruct before Billie and Bo figure out that she is really Georgia?

Reader Feedback: Thanks to everyone who wrote in! I love reading your comments and feedback about the show and this column; so keep them coming!

From Ashley Schiavone: "Hey Pamela! I am a regular reader of your column, which I thoroughly enjoy every week! I wanted to let you know that I recently read an issue of soap opera digest where I remember reading an interview with the writers of the show. If I remember correctly, in regards to Belle's pregnancy, the writers mentioned that they anticipate the viewers' skepticism at the timeline surrounding this pregnancy, and they asked for us to remember that days last longer in Salem and for this particular storyline, viewers may need to imagine a slight suspension in time--plainly, we're supposed to just pretend that Belle had sex recently enough for a pregnancy to occur. It also seemed that they were hinting around at the baby being Shawn's since they slept together when they were stranded--but I am not completely sure and I could be wrong. Just wanted to clear this up since you have mentioned your confusion by this storyline. Not surprising that the writers would ask us to believe the unrealistic is it?!!!

From Kim:" I have been a Days fan for a really long time now, and have stopped watching over the past couple months due to sheer frustration of the characters and storylines. I have been "keeping up" via your two scoops, and i am finally interested enough to start watching. Your column has made me set my VCR once again. I have to see what is going to happen to Kate, i have wanted her to get hers for soooo long now. Thanks Pam for the great re-cap and updates. Keep up the great work!"

From Maggie Nickolas:" Hi Pamela, love reading your opinions. I go wwaaayy back in watching Days, when Susan Martin was the good girl and Julie Olsen was the bad girl after Susan's husband, David, before Doug Williams came into the picture, so I know that the bad girls can turn good and I'm looking forward to when Sami turns a new leaf and goes the same route as Julie did years ago. I do like the comedy pairing of Nicole/Sami, what a relief from all of the other inane plots going on. I remember all the comedy pairing of the past like, Eugene/Caliope and Anna/Tony DiMera, even Kristin/Susan and her other characters, etc. Comedy was very much in evidence in the past and I wish, like someone suggested, that Bart/Bonnie would become a duo, I think it's about time Bart had some other storyline other than being Tony's flunky. So much to write about, but I just stick to the few things that I am interested in at present. I hope Dr. Alex North is Roman and Josh Taylor can go back to being Chris, I don't like him with Kate anyway, she acts much too snooty to him and her with her past shouldn't look down her nose to anyone. I've always liked Wayne Northrop and Deidre Hall together. Put John with Kate, they are very contradictive characters, who the writers never seem to know how they want them to act, so they just keep jumbling their actions, one day good, one day bad, one day righteous, one day humble, etc. As for Jack/Jennifer/Frankie, this show can't do without triangles, so if Jack is not going to die, they will probably let him succeed in getting Jennifer and Frankie back together again and then Jack will find out he is not dying after all. I miss the old Mickey, so much and loved him and Maggie together, but at least, they did put these two character back where they belonged. I think with the age of Mickey, and Shawn not pursuing a law career anymore, they should bring in a strong female lawyer and put her with Chris Kosachek. I have stopped watching DOOL on several occasions, through the years, because of work, family, etc, but never because of the boring shows, until now. I keep watching hoping the show will turn around and become good again, but at my age, my patience is wearing thin. Of course, there is plenty more to write about, but we'll see where things go for now and I'll write again some other time. Maggie."

From Sharon:"Just a thought for those fans of Wayne Northrup. If he turns out to be Roman that means Marlena and his family would've twice mistaken their son for someone else. That said, so far the Alex North character is interesting and I'm not one of Wayne's fans. Love the comedic pairing of Sami and Nicole. Disappointed in this week in general though-except for Kate vs. Sami round 5 million or so. Agree that John should not support Kate, way way too out of character. Despite everything she has said and done John loves Sami." From Bethany:" Ever since Shawn and Mimi kissed in Paris, I hoped that they would become a couple. They have so much in common. They were both outsiders in a world of preppy teenagers.I still believed that they could work even after Shawn and Belle professed their love to each other and Mimi got involved with Rex. Day after day, I hoped to tune in and finally see them at least pushed in the right direction toward a relationship with no luck. But now, six years after my yearning began, I see their relationship as not only possible but very likely. I know it sounds awful, but I was happy when Belle married Philip and when Rex left town because this would leave only Mimi and Shawn together in their apartment, both sad at losing their loves. It was only a matter of time before they turned to each other. And now, even Philip is urging Mimi to go after Shawn, and I couldn't agree with him more. If these two really do get involved, I swear I will dance around the house until I can't anymore, with tears of happiness in my eyes then possibly watch the episode where the got together over and over again until I fall asleep. Sorry, just thought I should get that out there. I've been wanting to say that for a loooooong time.

From Cindy:"Yes, there are a lot of things going better FINALLY....Patrick, Mimi, Julie, etc......BUT, BEST OF ALL......WAYNE NORTHRUP with Marlena......there is NO chemistry like there's, on Days of Our Lives, or any other soap.......PLEASE, TPTB.....TAKE NOTE.......you're bringing back loyal viewers, do NOT let us down!!

From Jen: " I agree with you on almost every point you made! I just don't agree that Wayne should really be Roman. I think Josh Taylor is doing an awesome job as Roman! I really liked your thoughts on Belle's baby. They were really creative and original. Too bad Reilly didn't think of it! I hope the baby is Philip's too. I absolutely LOVED the scenes where Roman and Lucas heard the tapes and found out what Kate did. I don't think I've seen a better episode in a long time! It was written perfectly and I loved every second of it. That made me sooo mad when John defended Kate and said that Sami made it really hard on them by blaming them for everything. First of all, John and Kate were not nice to Sami. Kate only tried to be nice during Roman's funeral and then never again. John didn't care about her because the pearls that he gave to Belle that were supposed to be for Sami. There was something else that Sami asked John to do before, but he said he was too sick (on drugs) to help. That would be fine if he didn't turn around and help Belle with something for her! Second of all, even if John and Kate were nice to Sami and all she did was blame them for everything, how is that worth getting drugged and set up so Lucas would think she slept with her ex-husband? Sami was going through a horrible time losing both her parents. John and Kate, her step-parents, should have been there to help her or at least understand what she was going through. John and Kate each lost one person close to them, but Sami lost two, three if you count when Lucas broke up with her! But even if Sami had done something that horrible to Kate, it doesn't mean Kate has to do something horrible back! John is clearly still in love with Kate because in his eyes she can do no wrong! When John told Roman and Kate to talk, you could tell he just wanted them to work things out so Roman would stay away from Marlena. But I think John is the one that won't be able to stay away from Kate! Kate says Roman wants Marlena back. That may be true, but Kate is still in love with John. How can she argue with Roman when what she did was so much worse? Kate intentionally destroyed two people's lives; Roman did not! Another thing, when Marlena gets her memory back, how is she going to feel that John took Kate's side over Marlena's own daughter, Sami, when clearly this time Sami is innocent and Kate did something inexcusable?

From Melissa: Okay, could someone please ask Kate to stop playing the crazy card? Does she really think that her husband is going to understand that while she thought he was dead, she went to great lengths to make his daughter's life miserable? She goes around saying how much she loves her children, doesn't anyone else in Salem love their kids, or is that just exclusive to her? Okay, enough about that. I really believe that Philip knows exactly what is going on, but as long as he gets to keep Belle, he doesn't care if she still loves Shawn. I mean, his parents are Victor and Kate, two of the most manipulative people to hit the show. And Philip isn't stupid, that is why he is trying to pimp Shawn on Mimi. I am really tired of Chloe whining about her face. Even with her "scars" (which you can barely see)she is still better looking than most of the population, she has a man who loves her no matter what and most importantly, she survived a horrific car crash. So, shhhhhhh! And one more thing: What the heck is wrong with John? Look dude, I know that you are bitter because your wife did her ex-husband (under extreme duress, which doesn't seem to be important to anyone, but you raised Sami. And just because she was nasty to you and Kate while her parents were gone does not give Kate the right to deliberately sabotage Sami's wedding. I hope Marlena dumps John when she wakes up so John and Kate can be together. I think they are both hypocrites (anyone remember John & Marlena on the conference room table DURING Roman & Marlena's anniversary party) who are perfect for each other. And please (I know I'm going on here) how many times and how often is Tony going to kidnap people and bring them to some obscure island? Good God, give it a rest!!

From Alyssa:You asked where Cassie was. I recently read on her official website that she is no longer with Days of Our Lives. I guess because her character was going nowhere she decided to pursue other acting opportunities. She said also said that she does keep in touch with other "Days" stars. She is supposed to be in a new National Lampoon movie with Paris Hilton.

Until next time! Take care Scoopers!

Pamela

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