I - like much of you I'm sure - am well aware of modern forensics. I have watched my fair share of true crime shows and read my fair share of true crime books. I consider myself to be well informed on the subject of how forensic evidence is gathered at crime scenes and from suspected criminals. Unfortunately, the Days writing team doesn't seem to consider what their audience knows about real police procedure. Okay, it's a Soap but still...can't we have something that resembles reality? Bo was accused of beating up Patrick and then subsequently arrested. Wouldn't the police have examined Bo's hands? Checked for bruising, scrapes, torn fingernails? Tested his clothing for blood spatter? Wouldn't the police have gathered evidence at the crime scene (Patrick's house)? Dusted for fingerprints? Taken pictures of the scene? Gathered blood/hair/skin samples? I don't think the police even went to Patrick's house. By the next day - when Steve went over to visit Billie - the place was cleaned up and looked normal again. Who did that? Billie? But I digress... Normally, in the real world, the police would have done all of the above and more. Not in Salem however. They just throw you in jail based solely on the word of a disgraced former cop. Regardless of whether or not there is any actual evidence to keep you in jail! There is no proof of Patrick's accusation whatsoever against Bo. No forensic evidence, no eyewitness to the crime, nothing other than the extremely circumstantial evidence that Bo went to Patrick's house (actually Patrick's mommy's house as Bo rightly pointed out) roughly around the time that the beating happened. To me that does not add up to = being arrested + fired from the police force + losing your wife. How could the Salem PD fire Bo for something that is merely an accusation at this point? In the real world, people are innocent until proven guilty. Bo gave Abe a very earnest explanation as to why he went to Patrick's house and what transpired there but Abe refused to consider that Bo was telling the truth. Doesn't Bo's long history as a trustworthy, dependable and good cop count for anything? Not to mention the personal friendship he has had with Abe and their families for decades? It's frankly ridiculous. And don't even get me started on Hope.
Actually...yes, let's get me started on Hope. At first, when stupid Chelsea sent the stupid picture - I felt bad for Hope and seriously irritated with Bo. But that quickly changed when she immediately jumped to the conclusion that Patrick was telling the truth about Bo beating him up. Arg! Even though Shawn went to the hospital and told his mother that he thought that Patrick was lying. And though she read that beautiful and completely sincere letter from Bo (passed on by Shawn). And though Bo spoke to her directly and swore that he didn't beat up Patrick. Even after all that...Hope still decided that she couldn't continue to be with Bo and therefore, their marriage was over. Whaaaat? Sure, Bo flew off the handle a bit when he found out that Patrick had gone to see Hope and he raced out of the house like a bat out of hell and he didn't pick up his cell phone after repeated calls from Hope but sheesh; that only makes him suspicious-looking, it doesn't seal the deal on his guilt. And sure, Bo did hit Patrick in the past, but it was one punch. When was the last time that he beat a man so severely that he had to be hospitalized? Hope knows Bo better than anyone else and they share a very special connection; deep down, she must know that he didn't do it. She also knows that there are a lot more questions about Patrick's character than there are about Bo. A lot of people, people that are her close friends and family, believe that Patrick is a shady person. That's quite the opposite from the well-known, upstanding Bo Brady. Is it just me Scoopers or she is being completely irrational and unreasonable?
Okay yeah, there's the fact of the stupid picture. That could partially explain why the normally intuitive Hope Brady is treating her husband like a stranger. I'll give her that. Bo was a total ass for 'seeking comfort' (as he put it) in Billie's arms. Gag me. I wouldn't be too happy to hear an explanation like that either. However, she did essentially know about the incident beforehand...it's not like he lied. True, he never elaborated that he was half-naked in bed with Billie but seriously...who would tell their spouse that? It would be a hurtful and unnecessary detail. And anyway...the picture was just about rubbing Hope's face in it. Yes, Bo has issues where Billie is concerned and because of that; Hope is probably having a hard time rebuilding her trust in him. I totally get that and would probably feel the same way if my husband jumped his ex every time he and I had problems. The previews for Monday's show worry me though. One clip showed Bo talking to Billie and he said "why can't I keep it in my pants around you? She's lost all faith in me". Is he talking about the stupid incident captured on the stupid picture by stupid Chelsea with her stupid phone? Or does something happen on Monday that Hope will happen to spy? Like Bo thanking Billie for bailing him out? Thanking her with a kiss? I'll puke if that happens. No...let's just hope that Bo has some sort of epiphany where his relationship with Billie is concerned. All I know is that Reilly promised that Bo and Hope would be back together for good by Christmas and that they would also discover the truth about the baby's paternity at that time. I think I may just FF their scenes until then because it's too annoying to watch them fight for no reason. Although...when Bo and Hope finally DO get back together, I hope they get some serious marriage counseling. And not from Marlena mind you. Much as I love her - they need to talk to someone who is not tied to their personal life.
I found Bo's reaction to Chelsea fairly interesting. He didn't quite disown Chelsea, as I was hoping he would, but he did do a lot of speaking through clenched teeth while making a few threatening gestures. I'm not sure if I would have chucked her laptop out the door as he did however...I may have simply confiscated that for myself. :) Billie's reaction was fairly appropriate in terms of everything that she said to Chelsea. The problem was that, as so often happens when Chelsea does something outrageous or hurtful; Billie didn't actually do anything. Chelsea didn't have to suffer any consequences for her actions. And you can't count the laptop because she got another one from Nick. No wonder she continues to be manipulative and lie and cheat and steal. And speaking of that stupid picture...I wasn't surprised that she sent it; she's a spoiled, selfish little demon seed and she behaved completely true to her character. Who's surprised? Billie and Bo, obviously, but not me. And not Kate either. Billie sure picked the wrong person to talk sense in to Chelsea. What was she thinking? Kate was actually proud of Chelsea and called her "determined". Wonderful. Just what she needs; encouragement in her stupid quest to get her parents back together! That Grammy Kate is some kind of role model. Chelsea has now started a blog to talk about herself and whine about how awful her life is. All because Kate told her that she had to be "subtle" in order to get what she wanted. I'm sure that the next step in the master plan will be to 'subtly' drop the information in Billie's lap so that she can check out these poor, sad, videos blogs that her poor, sad, daughter is posting. Billie will tell Bo and then what? Are they supposed to worry about her and feel bad for her or something? Spare me.
What about Nick? Isn't he adorable? I like that he's a bit geeky. We don't often get new characters that are smart, funny, a bit clumsy and somewhat awkward. Usually, new male characters tend to be these studly, male specimens who say and do all the right things. Nick is different and I like that. I think it's cute that he has a crush on Chelsea and that he has a plan to make her fall in love with him. I believe it will happen too. She is all ready at the point where she takes his words to heart and makes an attempt to heed his suggestions. Case in point was the Brady thanksgiving dinner when she attempted to apologize to Hope. Now that Nick has seen Chelsea's 'all-about-me' video blog on the Internet (he must possess some kind of ESP - what else would explain how he found her so quickly?), I wonder if he will use this knowledge to his advantage. Maybe a little manipulating of his own? How fitting it would be if Chelsea could get a taste of her own medicine. Go Nick! I'm rooting for you and your attempt to tame the shrew. (I swear I don't rhyme on purpose...it's a gift ;)
This brings me to Abby...how did I make this sudden leap? (You may be wondering) Because I think that she would also be happy if Chelsea had a taste of her own medicine. Abby must be the only person in Salem that tells it like it is. First she told off Chelsea for sending the stupid picture and reminded her that she's not winning any friends with her behavior. (Why does she have any friends is the question) Then she tried her best to make Nick understand that Chelsea was only using him. After that, she went back to work and proceeded to talk sense in to Max about his crazy quest to help Mimi find Philip. Though I think she definitely has a secret crush on Max herself - she certainly wasn't wrong when she questioned his motives and pointed out that he was leading Mimi on. And she definitely wasn't wrong when she pointed out that his work was backing up and the business was suffering (hallelujah for a little realism). Yep, our little Abby seemed to have everyone's number this week. Good for her.
Note to Willow: If you want Shawn to be your "boyfriend" stop freaking telling him that he has a secret wish to be with Belle. I really, can't stand this character. Now that I've opened that door - let me open it a bit wider; I am not Shawn's biggest fan right now either. Reason? He's stupid. (You may be noticing a certain word theme by now) Where does he get off labeling his family as the "dysfunctional Bradys"? I guess he's done such a bang-up job with his own life that he has the right to sit in judgment? Yeah, that must be it. Why does he continue to let Willow live with him when he knows that it will make Belle mad and possibly hamper his ability to see Claire? Why, after telling Willow that she didn't need to hide anymore, did she have to hold his hand and answer the door with him every time there was a knock? What happened to Shawn saying that he didn't want a girlfriend? The way they've been acting lately - cuddling on the couch, holding hands etc - they are SO boyfriend/girlfriend. Shawn's only redeeming point this week was when he tracked Hope down at the hospital and talked some sense in to her about the Bo/Patrick situation. I was happy to see that he gave his father the benefit of the doubt and that he passionately pleaded Bo's case, convincing Hope to go to the police station and hear Bo's side of the story. Back to Willow...I think it will come out that she's working for Victor in an effort to keep Shawn and Belle apart. That actually sounds like something Victor would do too (or Kate for that matter). Though I've never been Shawn and Belle's biggest fan - I would much rather seen them together (especially with Brandon Beemer in the role) than stupid Willow. Make her go away. Please?
EJ is a nasty little dude eh? He beat the snot out of Patrick, gloated to John, seduced Kate in her office and then ran home to sucker Sami into believing that he was sorry for his treatment of her. Nasty yes...but smooth for sure. No doubt that he's a DiMera. Rumors persist that EJ is little Elvis Junior (son of Susan Banks and Stefano DiMera). Though some people may say that's impossible because Elvis Junior was born a mere 10 'real' years ago; given the soap-opera-rapid-aging-syndrome that can afflict soap children at any time - without notice - it's acceptable. What would be reeeeally cool is if Susan or even better, Kristen, showed up in town to see him. Given that Eileen Davidson has left Y&R, we can only keep their fingers crossed that TPTB at Days will do their best to snap her up. And I definitely have all fingers AND toes crossed.
So I hate to say "I told you so" but I did...didn't I? Yes I did! Sami and Lucas are back together! YEE-HAW! I am the happiest camper on earth! Can I just say that the two of them are so extra-specially-seriously hot together that they almost set my television on fire? They have the word "Supercouple" stamped all over them. The scene last Tuesday where they finally admitted their true feelings to each other more than underlined that fact. It was so beautifully acted, paced, directed and written! The dialogue was wonderful and the emotion so palpable that I couldn't take my eyes off the screen. Though I slammed the writers for the Hope/Bo storyline; I have nothing but praise for Sami and Lucas's storyline. We didn't get to see much of them this week except for the one scene when they started to give in to their passion but pulled back in case Will caught them; and it was great. I'll take crumbs if it means they'll be crumbs of this quality. Thank you Mr. Sheffer, for allowing Sami to mature a little bit and for reuniting her with Lucas.
So, reports have Dr. Alexandra Carver leaving Days. Wassup with that? Will she be kidnapped by the DiMeras or suffer a more dire fate? What about Abe and Theo? Abe's eyes are starting to fail him again, what is he going to do without his wife to help him? It's too bad she's leaving - especially since Hogan Sheffer had said that he had future plans for Abe and Lexie. Maybe it will only be temporary? I wonder what future storyline there could be for Celeste without Lexie?
Speaking Celeste. The Tarot Cards. See; I know a little something, something about Tarot cards. Let me just tell ya...they got it all wrong. I don't want to belabor this because again - it's a soap opera - but this whole notion that the death card is 'missing' is ridiculous. One would never use all of the cards in a reading, so it doesn't make sense to say that a particular card is missing. The other problem is this contention that the Death card means that someone will die. One of the things stressed in Tarot reading is that the Death card does not represent a literal death, as in a loss of life. If the card comes up in a reading, it usually means the death of an ideal; a relationship; a venture; a dream; etc, etc. The placement of the card in the layout and the surrounding cards will determine the interpretation of the death card but more often than not - it simply represents the end of one thing and the beginning of another. No serious Tarot reader would ever predict somebody's death. It's just not done - despite what is shown in the movies. But hey; it's a soap opera and plus, it gives us a reason to see Celeste again. But you know...I just had to bring that up. Why...I don't know but sometimes we feel compelled to impart our knowledge. =)
Spoilers for next week:
John and Marlena get married while in Italy.
More of Steve's memories come back to him this week.
Victor has Claire taken from Belle.
And now I leave you with a whole bunch of rumors on where Days of our Lives is headed in the upcoming months.
Rumors...Rumors... (remember - these are rumors so they may not come to pass)
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 Babs:"Hi Pam, Yes, I am so happy that I am looking forward to watching days instead of saying how fast can I fast forward it today. Sweeps has been good and I hope they continue to move it along. I am soo happy that they are giving Chelsea a person that is NOT a Brady even adopted. I think that is the main reason they dropped her and Max. I also think that is why Steph and Max is dropped. I would love to see Step get a life and not keep on this MOM AND DAD stuff. I also am sick of this race car stuff. I think they should get Sami and Lucas together and keep them tied especially for the HOlidays. I would love to see them ROMANCE and not just fall in the sack. They could show them in the Brady pub and holding hands and going to the Horton Christmas tree decorating, etc. I also wonder how this Nick stuff is going to come around. Anyway, I love the speed and the EJ getting the paint spilled on his head, WHOO HOO that was so cool, but I did not like the look he gave Lucas, like Lucas is dead meat. What is going to happen with that? I don't know. But I will be waiting on the edge of my seat! Thanks, Happy Thanksgiving! babs."
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