This is a great idea, thank you Mala! I am behind watching, I just watched Thursday's episode today, and for some reason I always laugh out loud every time I see that ginormous Empire State Building lamp at Paul and Meg's house. I'd hate to be responsible for cleaning that thing, it's so big there's probably a James Stenbeck murder victim or two hidden down in there. And I like how they are so far using Dusty to tie lots of characters together and give people screen time with lots of other actors.

Thanks for this thread Mala. I'm looking forward to discussion Monday's show, what with Kevin being back and all. Should be fun!And that is an ugly lamp, I agree.BTW, whatever happened to Derek? When we last saw him he was locked in the basement at Fairwinds, right? Is he still down there? Was that ever addressed?

I have been wondering that myself? Even though I didn't watch the whole entire James Stenbeck return I did catch some of it. Also I can't wait for tomorrow's episode .

Carly and Bonnie found Derek in the wine cellar and freed him. Carly immediately took off for Maine and that was the last we saw of both Bonnie and Derek. So perhaps they are off someplace together I had really enjoyed seeing more of Bonnie and hope they get her more involved in a story.

Thanks, WT... I know I was watching then (because I remember Carly and Jack's scenes in Maine) but apparently not close enough!Yeah, it would be nice if they did something with Bonnie and Derek. They did have chemistry.... and with Derek's past there has to be plenty of things to come between a stormy romance between them.

Just finished watching Friday's show, and I have a petty, nit picky minor rant: If WOAK wants Katie to try her hand at some hard news, then why did the toy factory scandal go immediately to Brad and Spencer? I hope Spencer doesn't turn into the next Oakdale temporary psycho, but I'm afraid she might....I like Nell Mooney and wouldn't mind her being around Oakdale longer than her 13 week contract she won through the Inturn program.How many arguments has Dusty started in a weeks time?Margo and EmilySusan and EmilySusan and AlisonPaul and MegLily and HoldenLily and LucindaLucinda and HoldenMargo and LucindaAre there more?

Today's episode was awesome. I loved how they focused on 2 storylines today but they intergrated them amazingly together. I'm just soo speechless right now but I'll post more later.

WOW...I am really impressed with today's episode...great writing, character interaction and Luke and Noah finally lasting longer then the first 3 minutes.

love today's show. Luke and Noah Kick the show off and i love it. love how there was so much history even with Noah and Dusty history about Noah staying in town and fighting for Luke. love the Lucinda and Margo scene. love how Lily got Dusty to help out Lucinda.

I did enjoy most of today's show (I'll give a full critique later), but the thing I loved the most was Noah telling Luke that it was Dusty who convinced him to stay in town and fight to be with him. It was a piece of history I thought the show had forgotten and it helped Luke to understand why Noah wants to be Dusty's friend.... Luke needed to hear that.And what was with all that father/son talk between Dusty and Noah? Uh oh......

We can add Luke and Noah to LuthersCorners' list of people Dusty has started arguments between! LOL! Boy, the guy really hasn't wasted any time, has he?It was a fun episode. Lots of historical callbacks, some GREAT stuff with Margo and Lucinda (Lucinda in general is made of awesome), and I liked that they're fleshing out the college storyline. It feels so much more organic when you have people of a particular age group doing what they're supposed to be doing, talking about school and raising the issue of what Kevin and that high school friendship/conflict might still mean for Luke.

Yes, the Lucinda/Margo scenes were fun. Loved the banter about the horse. And I also liked how Margo told Dusty (and reminded the viewers) that she and Dusty do have their own ties and bonds and connections. It's about time they mentioned that.

It was one of the best episodes in a very long time. Loved all the characters that were on today. The show was really well-written.Loved the Noah/Dusty scenes. I'm glad the writers remembered that. I was so glad that Noah told Luke that Dusty was the one who helped him when Luke was pushing him away. Maybe Luke can get over his dislike for Dusty now. The scenes at Al's were great. Loved the awkwardness in the Nuke/Kevin scenes. And I agree Mala. It's great to see these college kids as... college kids. Loved that Nuke/Reg scene. ("Yay for the Gays" ).But the rest of the episode was great too. Margo/Lucinda were great. Loved seeing Lucinda with her feet on the table in the interrogation room. All of it was connected to each other. And some history too! John Dixon! I miss him.

Hey that's right, we CAN add Luke and Noah to the list, good catch! Although there's always something on ATWT I can enjoy each day, this is the first entire episode that has really drawn me in, all the way through, in several months. The hour went by really fast for me. The Luke and Noah new story premiere was awesome, I'm looking very forward to the next installment of it. And AnthonyL, about the horse, did you hear Lucinda say she thought the horse's name was "Can't Catch Me" as if to say "haha you can't catch me" to Margo? That was funny. I liked all the nods to history too, that was great. The Noah and Dusty talk - Noah saying to Dusty "My father's dead" and Dusty saying to Noah "I'll do whatever it takes to find my son" - foreshadowing? I always got the impression before Grayson McCouch left earlier this year, that the show was setting up a possible Noah and Dusty discovery that they were family...but those type scenes stopped when Dusty's exit became known. Wonder if they might be setting up a possible something there?

I was thinking the same thing, LC. Or what if Craig turns out to be Noah's real father? Stuff to think about. I love it!

Just watched Andy's videos (thanks Andy!). Loved, loved, loved every Luke/Noah scene. My favorite was when Reg came up to Luke and Noah, asked Noah how it was going and Noah put his arm around Luke and said "Good, how about you?" And that look he gave Reg was "Keep your eyes off my guy". As for Kevin, same troll he always was so I'm glad the writers aren't going to try to redeem that lowlife. Loved Noah being so protective of Luke where Kevin was concerned. Loved Noah standing up to Luke. Loved Luke standing up to Brian (I really don't like that guy now) and glad to see Brian and Lucinda may be moving out of Nuke's orbit. Loved Dusty and Noah's conversation. Noah always chokes up when he talks about his "dad" and Jake played it well. I'm sure they are setting up Noah to be Dusty's son. Poor Java Jeff was hardly seen and that's sad because he is 10 times more attractive than Kevin or Reg. If today was an indication of Luke and Noah's "juicy" storyline to come, there may be hope that the writers are finally going to get it right. I hope so for the diehard Nuke fans who have waited a long long time.

It was a great episode today. For once, Luke and Noah got to appear in more than just 2 scenes. For once, they got to interact with a bunch of different characters...some of which were their age! For the first time in months, Noah was featured throughout the ENTIRE episode. History was actually brought. That little weasle Kevin was written perfectly in character which means the writers, for once actually payed attention to history. If only all episodes were always this good. Other than waiting for Luke and Noah to FINALLY consumate their relationship, the big thing we have to get to next is seeing them more than just one episode a week. An advantage to watching a soap is that there are 5 episodes broadcast a week...which means you *SHOULDN'T* have to wait an entire week to find out what happens next with your favorite story. The guys will never catch up to the screen time hogs like Jack, Carly, Paul and Meg but a second episode a week SHOULDN'T be too much to ask for.

I thought there was a thread for complaining about airtime?

Of all the things I enjoyed in today's show, what I enjoyed most of all was when Luke and Noah were in Al's, Reg walked up and greeted Noah as if he were actually glad to see him. Noah slung his arm around Luke and gave Reg the 'back off' look. It was a simple thing, but it's time like that I find Noah totally lovable.

It's kind of early to decide how Kevin is going to be this time around. Like many things, it's too early to know anything. On a show where people shoot guys in the back, kidnap them and they later fall madly in love, anybody is redeemable. And to be frank, I've never understood the hate for Kevin. What he did to Luke was mild compared to the actions of others.

And I hope that Lucinda and Brian don't move out of Luke and Noah's orbit. Why would we want that? They should interact with as many characters as possible and given Luke's ties with both of them, their lives should naturally intertwine.

It's good to see them getting into the college stuff. Their first year of school was practically ignored. There's a pic out there of the boys with Casey, so the more the better. And I loved when Casey interacted with the guys before.

The episode today reminded me of the breakup episode - so well written, well acted, characters actually acting in-character, and many references to history. Imagine where ATWT would be if the Luke and Noah story had been this well written for the last year.

Today's Luke/Noah scenes were EXCELLENT! I have watched Noah putting his arm around Luke in front of Reg 10 times and laugh out loud every time I see it. The look Noah gives Reg is priceless. And I loved that all the characters were trashing Kevin today (Reg calling him a meathead, Noah calling his hands clammy, and Luke saying he wants to see Kevin cry like a little girl). If all of Kevin's other appearances are like today portraying him as the tool he is, I could get on board with him being brought back. But please writers, don't rewrite Kevin's history just to create angst between Luke and Noah. He's a jerk, always has been and was long before he called Luke the F word.

I called the comment line today (even though I only watched your videos Andy) and told them I loved today's show. They said they had gotten ALOT of positive feedback today.

As I've stated before, airtime issues should be kept separate from the episode discussion thread. Thanks.As for the boys, you can definitely look for both Casey and Ali to become embroiled in their storyline. The more people involved, the better! I liked seeing Reg and Kevin fleshing out the dynamic and adding layers.

I don't think that having Kevin not turn out to be a jerk or a homophobe would be rewriting anything. And it would be boring if that's all he was. The show hinted way back when that there was more to Kevin that what he appeared to be. The writers just never chose to tap into that. Again, I've never understood the hate for Kevin. I just don't get it. Noah's done some pretty awful things to Luke too, worse even, IMO. And I've forgiven him (mostly anyway!).

And I'm glad to hear Casey and Ali will be part of the story. That will be awesome. But, what about Aaron? He's Luke's brother (though I guess he probably wouldn't want to watch Casey and Ali dating) .... or is the poor guy headed for the backburner?

Maybe Aaron can hook up with Kevin? LOL!

I liked today's show. The boys' Story is starting out good. They could certainly go in a few directions. I like that it's about college and sounds like they are going to have even more young characters involved (Casey and Alison). Loved Noah today and how he acted around Kevin and Reg. Those Dusty and Noah scenes, are they hinting something? Makes me wonder.

By the way, I do have a fun little interview with Van about this storyline hitting stands this week.

Oh thanks! Can't wait to read it!

Great, thanks for the heads up, looking forward to your article ! - and SarahC, thanks for letting us know your news from the comment line, that they have gotten lots of positive calls today. That's good to know.

More good news, about Casey and Ali being embroiled in their story, it sounds great. On an unrelated note, I recall reading a few weeks ago that the show is planning a special episode in honor of Helen Wagner's 90th birthday, I hope that is still planned.

Hey, I didn't say what Casey and Alison would be doing. For all you know, they could be...singing ABBA!

Aaargggghh...."Knowing Me, Knowing You", they very well could at that. hehe

And did you hear Elvis Costello has invited ABBA to get back together, to be opening act for his comeback tour? Look out for "ABBA and Costello" in your town today.

ROTFLMAO. THAT is just terrible, LC!

Why thank you nice compliment. ha ha

Trust me, he's got a million of them!

Great episode all around!I loved all of the character interaction! Good performances by all actors involved too. A few quick minor things I noticed -I still have no idea what Brian's deal is. I wonder if relations between him and Luke will get more strained as time goes on?Is the show going to make Dusty Noah's father? I wonder!I loved how some of the dialogue mirrored (intentionally or unintentionally) stuff that has gone on behind the scenes at this show. That was a nice shout out from the writers, even if it was unintentional.Overall, this was a wonderful way to spend 60 mins.

I love it that Casey and Alison will be involved in this story. I really enjoyed their Guitar Hero scenes the other dayl.And I'm looking forward to the interview with Van.

Is that good or bad? hehe

I'm happy to hear that Casey and Alison will become involved in this story. I really enjoyed their Guitar Hero scenes and find it much more fun to see the younger cast doing things more appropriate for their age than worrying about babies. They're young so let them have some fun! And heaven knows the show could use it.I'm happy they didn't bring back Kevin as gay now. I think by having someone with a history with Luke as his opponent in this adds a lot to the story that we wouldn't get if it were some random character we had never seen. As it plays out he could get a better understanding of Luke and why this is important to him. Heck Kevin could even end up winning the election and being the one to vote to continue the funding because Luke has made him understand why he should vote for it. In the end I think that could turn out even more interesting. There could be long term story for Luke and Kevin just as friends without having to change Kevin and make him gay now. We need more friends in Oakdale.I also don't want them to make Dusty Noah's father. That's too far fetched to me and we know too much about Noah's father already. Instead I would rather they draw on history. Dusty just mentioned that both Burke Donovan and John Dixon were his father and not Gunnar who was his biological father. I would rather Dusty remember what John did for him after losing his parents and be a friend and mentor to Noah because of that. They could still have a father/son type of relationship without ever having a blood time and I think it could be an interesting story. Again it could be another friendship.I'm glad it seems we are now moving beyond how Dusty faked his death even though it did bring about some great conversations and scenes. LOL one thing that had me puzzled was Dusty saying it was the guy at the funeral home that gave him the antidote. That must be some designer drug that he could appear dead for days before the antidote was administered. And um wouldn't the autopsy be done before a body is released to the funeral home lol?

I like your ideas about the Luke/Kevin story, WT. It would be nice to see Luke have some friends and it would be great if Kevin and Luke could renew that, especially since they grew up together and were once very close.I don't think they'll make Dusty (or anyone else) Noah's father. I think the show likes have the continuing and on going threat of Col. Mayer in Luke and Noah's lives. He's not dead of course and he'll be back. It wouldn't be as effective if he weren't Noah's father.The thing that drives me nuts about the Dusty return is that Evan Walsh is dead for a crime that never happened. The show seems to not mention that.

Quote:IThe thing that drives me nuts about the Dusty return is that Evan Walsh is dead for a crime that never happened. ......Or is he? heh heh heh

I agree with you--WT's idea of Kevin winning the election (after Luke presumably does something underhanded so as to deserve to lose) and then deciding to maintain the funding because Luke has changed his mind would be a great story. Much better to watch Kevin stop being a homohobe, I think, than to watch him come out of the closet, which a lot of viewers just wouldn't accept.As for Evan Walsh, didn't Dusty say the only reason he survived Evan's attack is that unlike Margo, he was one step ahead? So Evan died for attempted murder...which would have been an actual murder if Dusty hadn't known what was up. And Dusty was only the last in a series of victims, including the guy Dusty hired to analyze Bob's coffee cup. So...Evan had it coming.

But Evan did try to kill Dusty and if Dusty hadn't switched what was in the syringe, Dusty in fact would still be dead. So Evan did commit a crime of attempted murder.

Argh. I forgot to hit submit so this was just sitting there forever. In hindsight basically I'm agreeing with Richard lol.

Evan did kill Dusty's PI you Holden and Lilly found in the car trunk

I just watched Monday's show this morning since it was pre-emptied for me. I agree that it was a great show. It's nice to see Reg and Kevin back. I'm looking forward to this student election storyline and seeing Luke take charge. And thanks Mala for the scoop about Casey & Alison being involved - I always like to see characters who don't normally interact with each other become involved the same storyline.As for today's show, I also liked it too. I'm sure Carjack fans were disappointed, but as a Jacket fan, I was relived that Janet interrupted them. I loved the Jacket scene at the end with the apple pie. It's good to see that they're getting back on track (hopefully).And the Janet/Henry/Vienna scenes were lighthearted and enjoyable. The Janet/Henry kiss and Vienna's reaction to it had me laughing.As for Bratie storyline, I think Spencer is up to something, and I'm not surprised that Brad is so obvious to it - he's not the brightest person. Kim was awesome when she gave Spencer a gentle warning about letting Bratie take care of matters.

Today was kind of like the good, the bad, and the ugly.The good: The Carjack chemistry is undeniable. And now we now Jack and Carly still love each other and want to be together. What we have though is a gigantic failure to communicate. Carly thinks Jack wants Janet and Jack thinks Carly doesn't want him so they are both trying to move on. We've seen this before but not for a long time. Lately it's just been Carly wanting Jack and Jack pushing her away. We know from history though when they both want each other, no matter how big the obstacle they overcome it and reunite. So I'm convinced that is coming no matter how long it takes. Too bad Janet is surely going to get hurt along the way.The bad: Henry and Vienna. Has Henry forgotten he is a partner with Carly? He wouldn't be in Metro if not for her. This was way too plot driven. It's back to when Henry and Vienna were cheerleaders for Katie during the Kack mess. Hated it then and hate it now.The ugly: The CarJackers are convinced now they are the latest victims of scene deletion lol. SID said Carly and Jack make love and another spoiler talked about them basking in the afterglow. Today's scene didn't make sense. When the doorbell rang Carly was fully clothed as was Jack. When Carly is coming down the stairs she is shown tieing her robe. Why would she put a robe on over her clothes? And when she goes back upstairs, Jack has his shirt off now. If there was no scene deleted that was horrendous editing and why did some say in spoilers they make love? Needless to say the natives are furious.The whole Katie/Brad/Spencer story seems like a waste of time to me. It worked the first time because it gave us Henry but this time there is no Henry to make the story work.

I did think it was funny how Jack was chillin' up in Carly's bedroom without a shirt on when Carly came back up.

I do remember the "basking in the afterglow" spoiler, but I think that was a summary of the SID/SOW/SOD spoilers from the [censored] board so I think the wording there is off. And in the SID article, it says that Jack admits to being the one in Carly's bedroom - not sleeping with her. Although, it doesn't help that the CBS episode video player says, "Jack and Carly make love" for today's episode. In general though, when I read CBS.com's recaps, some of the wording is a little off sometimes from what I actually see in the ep.

I think Carly is slowly realizing that she wants to be with Jack, but I'm not so sure about Jack. A few weeks ago, he did say that he wanted to be with Carly, but today was his chance and he didn't take it. Why didn't he go downstairs to tell Janet about him and Carly?

Dude, you know Jack was making himself all comfy, hoping he'd get lucky when she came back upstairs. That was hilarious...and then depressing for him because no, he did NOT get lucky. Someone should write that deleted scene.Good catch with Carly's robe, WorldTurner. As far as I know (which may or may not amount to a hill of beans in this world), there was no sex deletion, but they very well may have deleted more serious groping and fumbling before Janet rang the doorbell. The two shots they kept could have been from different takes, etc.But in teasing the story in last week's issue and in talking to Michael Park, I was always operating under the idea that they got interrupted before going all the way.

I have the SID article and it states specifically that they make love. It's later in the article that says he admits to being the one in her bedroom.Jack asked as he was leaving if this was what they really wanted. He showed his doubts right there. Having watched the push and pull of this couple for 11 years, it's easy to see when they are denying their feelings. Jack was not happy when he went to see Janet. You could see the sadness. And Jack has a history of turning to other women when he is denying his feelings for Carly. It's played out many times before. Julia, Katie and now Janet.

Quote:Dude, you know Jack was making himself all comfy, hoping he'd get lucky when she came back upstairs. That was hilarious...and then depressing for him because no, he did NOT get lucky. Someone should write that deleted scene..... LOL - I don't feel one bit sorry for Jack because he has been kinda stringing along both Janet and Carly.And thanks for the clarification Mala about whether Carjack did or didn't. And WorldTurner, I did read the SID article again, and it does seem like they hinted that Carjack went all the way. I remember being confused before because it seemed like the SOD and SOW articles indicated that Janet interrupted them before anything could happen. I think we'll get further clarification with the Jack/Janet/Carly scenes later this week.

LOL there was no hinting in SID. It was said straight out. "Furious, Jack follows Carly home, and their anger turns passionate as the couple make love." They also said the reunion appeared to be coming soon.Spoilers were very confusing between the various sources and the show today was extremely choppy. I don't get why there was such confusion and different statements unless there were rewrites. It was nothing like we have been seeing the last few weeks. It felt like if scenes weren't cut there was a major rewrite today. It was shades of last April when things changed dramatically on a dime. Some people were just coming back after that and feel played again and sadly it's the last straw.I like Jack because I'm a fan of Michael but he's already taking a major beating with many viewers today because of his actions. And he still hasn't recovered from amnesia Jack! People were just starting to get past his continual threats last year to take Carly's kids. Hopefully there's something coming soon that we don't know about but right now there's a lot of trouble in river city.

Quote:I agree with you--WT's idea of Kevin winning the election (after Luke presumably does something underhanded so as to deserve to lose) and then deciding to maintain the funding because Luke has changed his mind would be a great story. Much better to watch Kevin stop being a homohobe, I think, than to watch him come out of the closet, which a lot of viewers just wouldn't accept.I suspect that it's going to play out pretty much like WT has said with Luke losing the election thanks to his own bad behavior, but Kevin will see he's been wrong too.... and in the end, Luke and Kevin will renew their friendship. Jean P. said that the election story will run a few weeks, but Kevin will be back depending on how the fans react to him. I don't think the show would be thinking of bringing him back if he were raging homophobe.