It took me about a half a minute to search for ‘SAT dates’ on the internet, and testing is scheduled for November, December, January, March, May, and June.  Liberty’s a high school senior so all she has to do is talk to her counselor and fill out a new form to take the test the next time. She can go ahead and apply to the colleges of her choice, and send them her SAT scores when she takes it the next time. There’s no reason for her to be that upset with Emily. If I could find that information out so easily, why couldn’t the writers?

Maybe it is me. Maybe I’m being too nitpicky (goodness knows I am often that!) about ATWT. Maybe I should just suspend all disbelief completely and sit back and smile at the storylines. The writers obviously expect us to believe whatever they write, no matter if we really know the truth or not. 

Recently Soaptown published an op/ed piece about the reason soaps are fading, and a big reason given was that the viewers complain too much about the writers, storylines, and TPTB. The author encouraged viewers to support their soaps, not tear them down. And I admit, most of my recent articles have touched on or centered around the poor writing on ATWT. 

But I do feel that, if the writing improved, ratings would go up, and more viewers would be attracted to the show. Throughout soap history, there have been compelling storylines that brought new viewers in droves. Writers have pushed the envelope, taken risks, and whipped up some outrageous wildness, and the viewers love it. But even if the writers would take just a little more care in their crafting of a story, IMHO viewers would respond.

Liberty missing her SATs is, perhaps, a minor example. But when the writers don’t give us enough credit for knowing anything about the SATs and their scheduling, it makes me feel like they just don’t respect us as literate, perceptive viewers. 

Another case in point is Dusty Donovan. Dusty has been a pivotal character on the show over the past few years, to the point of sometimes monopolizing airtime. But he has been strangely absent from Oakdale for about 2 months, with no explanation as to why. James Stenbeck died, Meg Snyder became desperate, and Lily Snyder ‘lost’ her husband; all storylines Dusty should have been involved in. Dusty had inherited James’s money the last time Stenbeck ‘died,’ and he has been a lover/white knight to both Lily and Meg. So why wasn’t he around? Did the writers think we viewers wouldn’t know or care about why Dusty wasn’t involved in these storylines, when he had been in the forefront of them in the past? 

I mentioned the third case in point last week; the legality of Damian’s and Lily’s marriage. I asked if anyone could help out with the technicalities of this, and viewer Trish responded, “As far as law is concerned. The marriage ceremony is only part of being married in IL. You have to file the license, which is done by the person performing the ceremony. Since Oakdale isn't a big town, I'm sure that the Judge knows who Holden is and the whole story of his death, so I wouldn't imagine that he would run off and file the license, after witnessing his return. As far as Holden being declared dead, I can't imagine that would be the case, because the KY coroner would have had to file a death certificate and sense they didn't know for sure that the body was Holden's until the DNA test, in spite of what Officer Grady told Meg/Damian, I couldn't imagine he did that.”   Viewer Ellen also wrote, “No license was obtained, and no certificate of marriage was ever filed.  Therefore there WAS no marriage.  Forget that Holden walked into his house as his wife was being pronounced the wife of another.  It was NOT legal, and it’s pathetic that they’re going to somehow deem it is.” So again, the writers don’t seem to respect us as knowledgeable viewers.

A fourth case in point are the veterans of the show. Dr. Bob Hughes suffered a brain tumor over the summer, and his wife Kim had a heart attack. Yet after a bit of time together in the hospital, we never saw them again or heard how they were doing. Lisa Grimaldi has always been close to her nephew Damian, yet she didn’t come to his wedding to Lily. Neither did Jade, Lily’s niece. And even though it was years ago and completely the actor’s decision, viewers still complain about the abrupt disappearance of Dr. John Dixon. Instead, we have watched as actors from other soaps took center stage as new characters in storylines that seem contrived and silly. These actors are in Oakdale on a limited engagement, so we know that they will disappear after a few weeks--why would we really be interested in their stories? How many viewers did Judi Evans, Stuart Damon, or Lynn Herring add to ATWT?

I know I complain a lot in this column, sometimes unjustly and sometimes with good cause. And I also realize that sometimes viewers (and me too) want a storyline so specific that it is never going to happen the way they want. For example, I read a lot of message boards, and many viewers want Janet to shut up. They want John Dixon to return. They want Meg to go away. They want Jack and Carly reunited. Will these things happen? Maybe. But not overnight, and viewers have to be patient and enjoy the drama that will move the stories of these characters along. But the drama will be more compelling, more enjoyable, and more enticing to new viewers if the writers can come up with stories that are not so lame. I hated that Lily’s sister Rose was killed off, but I sure enjoyed the storyline that led up to it. I loved Will and Gwen, and the baby switch story and subsequent reveal of Gwen and Carly being sisters was great. Jack and Carly in the cabin when Sage was born was excellent. So of course interesting stories CAN be crafted.

Right now, viewers who loved GL cannot wait for Tom Pelphrey to arrive in the character of Mick. Tom was extremely popular on GL as Jonathan, and won 2 Emmys in the role. I have seen posts on different message boards proclaiming that viewers are counting the minutes until he arrives in Oakdale, that he is the reason they will watch, or return to watching ATWT, and he will single handedly improve ratings. While I hope he does bring more viewers to the show, I wonder if the writers will be able to create a good story for him.  How many intensely popular actors have come on a soap with much fanfare only to be mired in a crummy storyline? 

So, my 2 cents, for what it’s worth, is that soaps are suffering because writing is not what it needs to be, the leadership (executive producers) is not what it needs to be, and the writers are not the creative geniuses they need to be. Soaps need an Irna Phillips, an Agnes Nixon, a Bill Bell, a Harding LeMay, a Douglas Marland, someone who is attune to writing good daytime drama as a second nature. These are the creators who can make us love a story, or love to hate a story. Yes, we need to be loyal to our shows, support them all the way, but we should also expect the kind of quality that has made soaps great in the past and can make soaps great again.

Last week’s poll asked, should Lily be with Damian or with Holden? Viewer Mary wrote, "I find Holden especially lately a lot more sexy then Damen. I do not know.The guy to me seems plastic and wooden. I  do kind of enjoy the cat fight between Lily and Meg. Right now I am rooting for Meg. I do wonder what the big deal is about the Craig, Rosanna pairing. I just do not think that her character is that into Craig. And since they are thinking of having Jack go after Carly after he accidentally shoots Brad?  Craig and Rosanna could ride off into the sunset together. BTW, I still wonder how Jack is going to walk out on Janet. She is not going to like that (that is putting if mildly). In addition, I have never been that into Carjack….I do not think Carly cares that much about Craig. She refused to see him and ditch him at the altar. I mean really. I think that Craig should be able to move on." 

Well, as Cady McClain has reported on her blog, Rosanna will be leaving Oakdale around December. So Craig will be free, and if Jack and Janet split up, maybe Craig and Janet could get together??

Rob is upset about Cady’s announcement: “Grrr. It is so frustrating that Rosanna keeps coming in and out of the story like this. She's such a great character, and Cady is such a wonderful actress. She's one of the few actors from the show to win an Emmy in recent years, you'd think they'd want to keep her around.  Plus, I  think a Dusty/Rosanna pairing could be very interesting." 

I love Cady, I have met her twice and she is very sweet and charming. Last spring at the fan lunch I asked her to please not leave Oakdale like she did the last time, and she confided that she had been let go by TPTB the last time. I don’t know if they are the reason she’s leaving this time—her contract has not been renewed. ITA that Ro is a great character and Cady’s a gem. I would rather keep her and let Lesli Kay stay in LA.

MJ voted for the "don't know, don't care" in this week's survey because the storyline is LAME. I'm ready to see Damian depart. The story with Holden "dying" was pathetic! Are we really supposed to believe that he was kidnapped by hillbillies, including Judi Evans ("Maeve" with perfectly coiffed hair) and that Lily had to RUSH to remarry Damian? Puh-lease!  We don't need to see Lynn Herring ("Audrey") get a long-term contract….What I want to see are VETERANS interspersed with the storylines...Lisa (more, more), Kim, Bob, Lucinda (more, more), Emma (other than taking vacations or scrubbing counters), Barbara (not w/ Henry), Susan Stewart.” 

ITA that the #1 way to improve ATWT is use the veterans more. Who at CBS does not understand this? I mean, I understand it, it’s not rocket science, it’s common sense.