Salem. What a town, I tell ya. The dames are crazy. The eggs are off too. The whole joints as goofy as a Sunday afternoon down at the freak show. Only there were no bearded lady there or even a four horned goat boy, no, they had doppelgangers. Now, it may have been the cheap dime store booze I was swigging, but I swear I was seeing double. From the songbird at the gin mill to the flatfoots down at the clubhouse, everyone seemed familiar. Too familiar. It was a muggy evening when I sat down at the ole' typewriter and started jotting down some thoughts, lemme tell ya about them.
Murder, My Sweet (Nicole and Company)
I'm confident I can make two statements about Nicole's Film Noir fantasy that everyone will agree upon. One, if you turned off the volume, presumably to drown out Sami's shrill voice, and turned on the closed captioning it was well done. Those captioners really know how to spell! Second, you know it's a dream when the Salem P.D. cracks a case in record time! Aside from that, I'm heading into this section knowing that, based on a lot of feedback and message board posts last week, I don't share the popular opinion as I really enjoyed this Olympic induced vignette!
In general, I liked the feeling of being able to sit back, relax and watch an "old movie" and Days at the same time. Talk about a win, win situation, but that's not all! The costumes were amazing and the camera work was definitely a good reflection of the Film Noir genre complete with the old silhouette through the glass bit. We also got to hear Nadia Bjorlin sing! I'm usually not a fan of a randomly belted out tunes to showcase an actor's ability, but it really fit the tone and, let's face it, an old flick without a sultry nightclub singer would be a crime.
Aside from the absence of a certain Ms. Morgan Hollingsworth in the dream, the part I enjoyed the most was that you could simply tell the actors were having a blast! That just radiated off the screen. Bryan Dattilo did a great job narrating in that down and out P.I. way. James Reynolds and Josh Taylor especially seemed to be having a good time in their last minute cameos. And, even though I'm not used to, well, my ears bleeding, Alison Sweeney did a great job as the high-pitched, adulterous spouse stereotype. Sure she was annoying, but it was Nicole's dream and I wouldn't expect it any other way. I'm also sure the actors were thankful to get a break from their normal characters and try something new. Let's hope happy actors equals resigned contracts when it comes time for renewals!
All in all, sure, it was fluffy filler used to "pause" the heavy storylines as the Olympic hoopla wraps up, but it was creative, unique filler. That scored it major points and was certainly much better than seeing tons of flashbacks and monotonous scenes. Laurisa summed it up beautifully in her last Two Scoops when she gave the run down of the repetitive Steve/Kayla cough, cough, pass out, pass out scenes. Not having to deal with all of that again made this black and white daydream a gold medal winner!
Deadly is the Female (Chloe, Nicole, Lexie and Sami)
Here's the thing - I really enjoy Nicole and Chloe's newfound friendship. It's fun to watch them hesitantly extend olive branches and try to move past their slight differences. The thing I don't like is them teaming up to take Sami down. Actually, I think it's a very bad idea, because it could possibly backfire in a big way.
First there's Chloe. Lucas seems pretty into her and they had some great bonding time over the last few weeks - certainly a positive sign for this budding couple. But, I fear if she starts playing dirty to keep him, Mr. Holier-Than-Thou-Horton will tell her to take a hike as he doesn't want to move from one schemester to another. Not that I could blame him in that case, but the writers need to take a few notes from Bo and Hope's relationship - you don't always need a third party to make a couple interesting. These two have potential, but her idea that she needs to push Sami away might end up pushing Lucas away too.
Next there's Nicole. Hmm. The entire fantasy was basically because she saw Sami and E.J. kissing in the stairwell. I love me some Nicole, but she really needs to move on. I totally get some of her justifications as to why she likes him, but she needs to respect herself a little more. A repeated Scooping line - he called out another woman's name while making love to her! Talk about a warning sign! It's like a big flashing red and yellow arrow pointing to a billboard that simply reads, "Stay Away!" Will she? Probably not. Ugh. I repeat, bring back Eric Brady!
Then there's Lexie whose encouragement isn't helping. At all. Has Nicole ever heard some of the "great" choices Dr. Cheating Carver has made in the man department? Wait, her brother was one of those "great" choices! Right, so not the best person to listen to.
Finally, Sami is STILL doing the emotional tug-of-war. Last week her E.J. side was pulling slightly ahead and Lucas is in the doghouse for storming into the mansion demanding his daughter. Now, I know storylines need to be drug out for dramatic effect, but this is one needs to do it or get off the pot.
Again the writers should reference Bo and Hope as "Ejamicuscoleoe" is simply cruising down Annoying Road towards I'm-Over-It-Ville. Am I alone in that thought? Don't get me wrong, I love all the actors, they're doing a great job, and I love the characters too, but this dead horse can't be beaten much more. Sooner or, hopefully not, later one of these couples needs to ride off into the sunset - the fans deserve at least one happy ending!
Touch of Evil (The DiMera Family)
I'm still a bit worried about Tony. He seems off lately. For example, I don't understand his grand desire to clean up the family name. I mean, I get it, but I don't. He's already established his advertising agency and it seems to be pretty popular, he's happily married to the fabulous Anna, so I don't really see where he would gain much by challenging John. You'd think he's seen enough battle and bloodshed. Granted, he's got E.J. in his corner, yet I don't know how much help he'll really be as Elvis seems to get pretty distracted by beautiful blondes. I think Tony should distance himself because, although he might be worried about the family name, it will be his neck on the block when RoboJohn and Big Daddy Stefano start swinging the battle ax.
Also in the DiMera Family Newsletter is Stefano's revenge plot. Thankfully, the hospital standoff is over, but the Phoenix still has tons of tricks left for the good people of Salem. Let's see ... there's his battle with John looming, destroying everyone who has betrayed him and I think he's scheduled for an evil pedicure too. And, of course, there's what he has in store for Baby Joe ...
Detour (Baby Joe and the Johnsons)
Last week Steve worried about Kayla worrying about the baby, but the baby was safely chilling in a laundry cart. I personally think Joe ran away from his parents once they were unconscious. Then, he simply got tired and took a nap in the closest broom closet. I could be wrong.
Ok, seriously folks, I'm not sure what Stefano is up to with Baby J, but it can't be good! No, not at all, especially after Steve and Kayla noticed a small mark on Joe's arm. Unfortunately they only questioned it for a second then moved on. Huh?! Hold the phone Johnson Clan! Let's discuss this ...
Stefano is capably of anything. Isn't he the same man who "marks" all of his pawns with Phoenix tattoos? Isn't he the same man who put a chip in Vivian Alamain's tooth to control her? Isn't he the same man who erased John's memories? Who magically hypnotized Marlena? Who brainwashed Hope? Who, umm, programmed Steve!? Yes, he can do it all, so I'm not sure why they didn't have the spot checked out more thoroughly. I doubt a baby would make much of a mercenary, but, this is Salem after all, so by next week he could be a twenty-year-old "Soldier of Satan." My advice, Steve and Kayla need to rent Rosemary's Baby then read Stefano's rap sheet. A good refresher course might save history from repeating itself.
Out of the Past (Marlena and Samantha and John, John, Santo and Stefano)
Please sit down everyone, I have a shocking confession to make - for the second time in the past few weeks I've actually liked some of the flashbacks! I know, I was shocked myself, but it was pretty fun to see vintage Evans Twins interaction. I was very young when Samantha was on the show, but I remember liking her in that "love to hate her" kinda way so it was a nice blast from the past to see her again.
Anyway, Samantha, the Feisty Ghost, showed up to help her sis do a little soul searching. Before I go on though, I have to ask - did anyone else find it funny that a figment of Marlena's imagination carried a purse? What does she carry in there ... tic tacs, rattling chains and an Amex card, you know, never leave heaven without it? Odd accessory choice on that one, but let's move on and talk about John for a second.
Mr. No Emotions actually showed some last week and it took the appropriate three "ghosts" to partially de-Scrooge him from his current robotic state. First there was Lil' Stefano. He basically still had the same old "Colleen ruined my life" chip on his shoulder. Nothing too new about that concept yet I wished they would have used "Old Stefano's" voice when the boy playing him spoke just for kicks. Ok, maybe I'm the only one who thinks that would have been funny.
Next, John was visited by Santo. "It's me, your papa! With the fake mustache!" he said, well, partially said. It was kind of interesting to see these two interact as John missed out having a relationship with him. They got to clear the air a bit and talk about chicks. Thankfully, Colleen didn't spring up again as I don't know if I could've handled any more faux accents.
Finally, John himself showed up! "Old John" that is! I was shocked for a second time when I found myself excited to see him again. I've always liked him to some degree, but the do-gooder, perfect husband, superhero routine grew tired. When "RoboJohn" came on I thought it was a nice switch. That grew tired too. But, now ... now we seem to be heading for a healthier balance and I'm looking forward to that!
The conclusion, basically both Marlena and RoboJohn's hallucinations had the same theme - they belong together. Samantha thought so. Santo thought so. Old John thought so. I don't think Lil' Stefano cared too much either way, but, most importantly, RoboJohn thought so! Unfortunately when he went to tell Doc, yes he called her Doc, she woke up and ... and ... and asked who he was! Two words - not again! Please, no Alex North, no drawn out amnesia, no sixty year old pregnancies ... please oh please writers make this a dream because it could potentially be a storyline nightmare - again!
Extra Scoops
Hot & Not
Hot: From fantasy to "reality," Lucas impressed me last week! He stood up to Stefano while protecting Chloe in the process which was pretty gutsy and chivalrous! He also helped Steve and Kayla look for Baby J. A few extra nice guy points there. Yet, the major "hot" moment was when he mocked Sami and went on about her wishy-washy decision making abilities, "E.J., Lucas, E.J. Lucas," etc. Hilarious! See writers, keep giving Bryan Dattilo more chances to express his comedic side - it works!
Not: Marlena + Possible Amnesia. Need I say more?
Line of the Week:
"You're wrong John and that's a fact," Old John to RoboJohn. Seriously, what better way to reintroduce the Ole' Blackbird!
Parting Thoughts ...
So friends and Days fans, that's "Two Scoops" for the week of August 25th! Laurisa will be back next week to cover all the post-Olympic chaos! I hope the storylines that have been simmering for the last couple of weeks finally get to boil again and, as Ghostly Ole' John said, "That's a fact!"
As always, thanks for reading!
Tony
Need more Two Scoops? Laurisa and I are always up to something, so make sure to check out our Soap Central Blogs for more ranting, raving and all-out randomness!
