The pick of the popular columns by Rose14


A SPECIAL NEW SALEM FILES!!

I know Salem Files is retired, but being home some this week, and watching Days, there are a few things that I just plain don't get!!
For instance:
1. WHY is Austin so obsessed with standing by Sami, given her past history?
2. WHY can't Austin see the obvious "stuff" going on between Carrie and Mike?
3. WHEN are Craig and Nancy gonna get a life of their own and stop meddling in everyone else's?
4. DID Ali ever watch the movie "Fatal Attraction"? If not, I think she should!!
5. WHY is Marlena not at EVERY trial date of her own flesh and blood, Sami?
6. WHY does Stefano have to resort to marriage and mood altering devices to get what he wants? I remember a time when he used to just show up and take what he wanted!
7. WHY is Victor coming back only for a few shows when Salem and especially Kate need him around full time?
8. DOES Kate really think Roman is buying her feminine charms? Finally some glimpse of the REAL Roman...doing anything to protect his family!
9. WHY is Lucas listening to everyone else but himself? He knows the right thing to do, down deep Lucas is a good citizen of Salem, he shot Franco to save his mother. Self defense. Let's hope he does the right thing soon.
10. John is WAY too young to be Greta's daddy, but it sure looks like that is where this thing is headed! YUCK!
11. WHY is John, John? He has Roman's wife, his friends, still acts like Roman more and more everyday...and we all know the REAL Roman would never take Stefano's blood, something has to surface from that one day to show us maybe John is Roman after all.
12. HOW long can this Gina stuff go on? Enough is enough already, Hope is Hope! Get her on with her life and back with Bo!
13. Characters mis-paired up. Nicole belongs with Lucas and Greta belongs with Eric.
14. WHY is Billie still in Salem?
15. WHY is Austin all over his wife, Carrie for her testimony? I thought you were supposed to support your better half! Carrie spoke it like it is! Bravo to her!
16. WHERE are Abe and Lexi?
17. WHEN are John and Marlena gonna make this thing official and get married?
18. Doesn't This Roman feel any guilt over sleeping with his Brother's wife? Another sign that this in not who we think this is????
19. If John is rediscovering his family so to speak and protective of his "Aunt" Viv, why doesn't he change his name back to his legal name, Forrest Alamain?
20. WHY am I STILL watching this show????

Take care Days of our Lives Fans and Happy Holidays to you all!
TheShadow
Roman Brady 4 EVER!

FINAL SALEM FILES :(

As Salem Files goes off with Santa into the sunset for good, I cannot go QUIETLY into that good night, there are some things Santa needs to bring to some Salem residents and these are my suggestions and parting shots!
Thanks again to everyone! It's been GREAT!

HERE COMES SANTA TO SALEM

For this version of Roman Brady, Santa PLEASE bring him some BRAINS! He has forgotten who he once was! He was once MORAL, UPRIGHT, MODEL citizen, would do anything for his family and always come down on the side of justice and morality. Now he is lusting after his BROTHER'S wife and has become so gullible it amazes me. He cannot see the forest for the trees in just about any situation. John and Marlena RIGHT in front of his eyes, missed it for MONTHS! He THANKS Stefano for saving his life? The REAL Roman would have rather DIED and darn sure would not have said Thank you to his sworn enemy....well not he is John's enemy...go figure that one! He holds a secret with Kristen, vows to stand behind Billie when HOPE helped save his life. He has forgotten how to do his job, gives Laura's medicine bottle to Marlena, picks up evidence with his bare hands and if he cannot tell Kate and Sami are taking him down the road about Franco he is in BIG trouble. All the rest of Salem seem to have bonded together as a group. Bo, Hope, Greta, John, Marlena. But Roman is never around. This is HIS family, his relatives, but he never is around them anymore. Too busy chasing Franco's killer which is right under his nose and acting like a dog in heat for BOTH Kate and Billie if you ask me. So Santa, Roman Brady needs BRAINS MORE than the Scarecrow in the Wizard of Oz, so please make that his gift and save us all from this stupidity! There is only one thing left to say, WAYNE NORTHROP is probably shaking his head and the rest of us are PLEADING for his return.....

To Greta, Santa bring self confidence. Beauty comes from the INSIDE. Who cares if she has scars on her face. TOO much emphasis is placed on outer beauty these days. Greta has an honest, caring, loving spirit and should stand up tall and proud. She will break free from Stefano and help John and Hope with their memory problems. She should go out into the world again with pride! All she needs is some self -confidence and that is my wish for her this Christmas.

To Sami, Ali, Kate, Craig and Nancy please bring HONESTY. They should form a law firm called "Manipulations are us". Sami has gone most of her life scheming to get what she wants instead of relying on her own inner gifts which are many. Ali cannot rely on her background, experience and education, she has to jump in the sack with Mike for that head nurse job. Kate, I'd give a nickel if someone would knock that smug look off her face. She acts like she is the greatest thing since sliced cheese, when her daughter is in a mess, and her son has committed murder and her other son is being taken down that rosy path AGAIN by Sami. Gullible! Nancy and Craig have the "we have no life" thing going so all they can do is mess around with others. And, what a pair they are, have they looked in the mirror lately? Remember when you point the finger at others there are 3 fingers pointing back at you! Santa needs to spread a little honesty to all these folks. They all think THEY or situations are what they are not. Especially Kate, man she irritates me! So smug! Arrgh!

To Lexie and Abe, Santa deliver them a sweet bundle of joy. No two deserve a baby more than they do. They will make good parents. I just wish we saw more of them!

To Carrie and Mike deliver some GUTS! Guts to stand up and announce to all of Salem, YES we love each other and if you all don't like it, we have two words for you.....any wrestling fans out there? Austin will get over it, he is a big boy now, I just do not understand why they tinker around him, walk on eggshells afraid he might find out. Down deep, Austin still has a thing for Sami, just will not admit it. I WILL be on Medicare before Mike and Carrie get together, no doubt in my mind. But if Santa does give them some guts, some backbone, maybe they will say enough is enough and let's get on with our lives.

To Lucas, Santa deliver healing and recovery. Make him walk again, straighten out his life, take over Titan, get custody of Will and settle down with Taylor. Lucas is the darkhorse character on Days, right on the edge of being a John type main character. The character now needs recovery from alcoholism, step forward about his part in Franco's death like an adult and put the pieces of his life together. A STRONG Lucas is great for Salem and great for the viewers.

To Billie, Austin, Vivian, Ivan, and Nicole. Santa deliver one way tickets OUT of Salem. They have done all they can do and it is time for them to hop on your sleigh and give the viewers and residents of Salem a BREAK! They are getting almost too painful to watch.

To Celeste and Kimberly, Santa please deliver them both a STORYLINE so we see more of them!!

To Victor, Santa bring a speedy recovery, PERMANENT residence in Salem and back to his old butt-kicking days. No one was a match for the Victor of the 80's not even Stefano. We all would benefit from the TRUE Victor returning for good and soon!

To Eric, deliver a solid career and stable love life. Let him follow in Roman's footsteps and go be a cop. Lord knows the Salem PD sure could use some young blood and someone who can do the job effectively! Nicole is no good for him, now GRETA on the other hand...

Bring back Chris Kositchek, so Roman can finally either rest in peace or return to his RIGHTFUL ways. I recall the storyline from the 80's when Chris became a lawyer and defended successfully Kimberly from killing Emma Marshall. He could return NOW and take on Sami's case and then go on to find other things to get into and other women to pursue.

Finally, Santa bring back these beloved Salemites: Patch Johnson, Kayla Johnson, Jack and Jennifer Devereaux, Shane Donovan, Eugene and Calliope, Pete and Melissa, Wayne Northrop, Isabella Toscano, Diana Coleville, Bill Horton and Anna DiMera.

One more thing, if John and Marlena are going to stay together, bring them happiness and wedded bliss, but ONLY after Chris K. comes back and John finds out he is really ROMAN after all!

For all of you, I hope Santa brings health, happiness, peace and joy this holiday season.

It has been an incredible ride. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Salem Files now boards Santa's sleigh and heads off into the night..
Merry Christmas to all and to ALL a good night....

Be safe Days Fans.
TheShadow
Roman Brady 4 EVER!

The GOOD, The BAD and The UGLY
Currently on Days, there is the Good, the BAD and the Ugly going on, so without further ado.......


The GOOD:
1. GRETA and Julianne Morris. What a breath of fresh air Julianne has been to Days of our Lives. The character of Greta has added interest, intrigue and mystery to Days of our Lives in one whack! Greta is all at once connected to Bo, Billie, Gina, Hope, Stefano and John. No other character now on Days can boast of having so much influence on so many lives at one time. Julianne Morris is a very beautiful lady, full of charisma, talent and charm. I have read of her devout Christianity and desire to help teenagers stay away from all the temptations that hit them. Not only is Greta a treat to watch but so is Julianne in the role, fantastic casting job by Days and Greta is the main reason I watch Days right now!

2. Franco's murder. Also has added interest to the show as it will be very interesting to see Sami plead innocent and if Lucas ever remembers the truth of what really happened, and we all know that NOONE ever really dies on soap operas, so look for Franco to turn up very much alive very soon. Also, how long can ate keep things under wraps before she slips up or is found out?

3. Mike and CARRIE. This is a classic Days couple in the making. The next Marlena and John. If Days handles this thing right, is careful with how the story plays out, they have a goldmine on their hands. Mickey is gonna find out that Carrie and Austin's marriage was invalid and then we will have the two get paired up. As to when that might happen, hopefully before I go on Medicare!!

4. John Black's Past. Credit Days for keeping a now 12 year old storyline going!! We know very little more about John than we did when he first showed up as the Pawn back in 1986. This story has had it's dull moments, but still is keeping fan interest as to who he REALLY is. Greta will shed light on this and clear it all up, I have faith in her!

5. Bo and HOPE. "Reunited and it feels so good.." Whoops! Sorry bout that, but I slipped back into the 70's for a minute, I am okay now!! Anyway, Billie needs to take the next bus out of Salem and in the meantime wake up an realize she cannot stand a chance against Hope. This is how it should be, Bo and Hope together and all is right with the world..., ahh not quite, but it is a start.

6. Kristian Alfonso. Another class act, great to watch, pleasant on the eyes and a whole lot of acting talent. She may portray 3 characters like Eileen Davidson did so well, that too is GOOD for Days, innovative and Kristian will pull it off without a hitch.

7. Marlena and John. I can say this cuz in my tiny little mind, John is still Roman Brady, always was and always will be! They are good for Days, that is..if they had a storyline!

8. Celeste is Good for Days, Abe and Lexie are Good for Days.....if we only saw more of them!

9. Victor Kiriakis. Enough said.

THE BAD:
1. Chris Kotchi....er I mean "Roman Brady". Let me see now, Roman is running around "playing" cop with NO badge instead of being by Sami's side day and night, is playing suckface with Billie, his brother's wife, has no more loyalty to Hope than a man on the moon and she was the one last I saw risking her neck in BFE to save Roman's life! YEP, sure sounds like the REAL, CLASSIC Roman Brady I remember!

2. Billie Reed. LISA RINNA WHERE ARE YOU?

3. Eric and Nicole. Could have been GOOD, but Days blew it again, with their love triangles! Now they are just boring to watch.

4. Vivian and Ivan. Without Lawrence Alamain around these two are just sidekicks running around blindly with no direction in sight!

5. Jack and Jennifer HAD a storyline ya know!

THE UGLY:
1. See #1 above under "BAD", this "Roman" gets honorable mention in both categories. If the shoe fits...

2. Kate. A grown woman blackmailed by a kid, covered up murder by another son, another son with a son that really is not his, a daughter on and off drugs, seems like she spent too much time focused on career and not enough on being a good mother. Any good Mom would love their kids no matter what, but make them stand up and take responsibility for their actions. Lucas should do the same. Prostitution was the only way she could support her kids? Seems like there are less hazardous ways to do that out there. Also on the acting front, Deborah Adair, where are you???

3. Austin Reed. I also very much admire Austin Peck for his stance and new found faith in his life. However, this is a CHARACTER that without Carrie, has no purpose in Salem and it still is painful at times for me to watch Peck recite his lines. Nothing that a little polish wouldn't fix!

4. Mr. and Mrs. Craig Wesley. Someone Please PUNCH Craig out, pack up Mrs. Wesley's stuff and send them both back where they came from. Humility and respect these two could use a HUGE dose of. I guess they have nothing else in their lives to do except meddle in Mike and Carrie's affairs.

5. Stefano DiMera. Remember the old PHOENIX? That lurked in the background NEVER seen, until HE chose to be and always leaving mass destruction in everything he did? He could mess up Roman Brady's life so fast and so thoroughly that everyone would be standing around wondering what just hit them! Now we have a cartoon character on our hands. Rudolfo. Planting mood altering devices. If the OLD Stefano did not get what he wanted out of Vivian, he would have taken care of her HIS way if you know what I mean! He would have saved Roman's life BEHIND the scenes ONLY for the pure pleasure of EXTENDING THE GAME! Only later much later would it be found out that he donated the blood, to enfuriate Roman so much to begin tracking him down for another chess battle! If he REALLY wanted his daughter around him 24/7, Lexie would be GONE, POOF! In Salem no more and with Stefano, it was that easy for the CLASSIC Phoenix! If he did not want Hope prying into her past, rest assured or should I say rest in peace, she would not find one BLINKIN clue! This Stefano is just plain UGLY. If you have seen the CLASSIC Stefano in action, you know what I mean! Roman was HIS enemy, period. His only pleasure was destroying Roman's life for the pure pleasure of the game. Now we have Roman and Stefano running around Salem bumping into each other in every day life. UGLY is all that can be said!

6. Lugano, Empress Express. Enough already. Cut to the chase and have Stefano in pure EVIL fashion unleash the diabolic Gina on Salem. He never toyed around, just got down to business. We do not need to go overseas for this to play out, and we all know the REAL Stefano would want to see the looks on all the Salemites faces when he played his trump card in all of this!

7. Billy Bob Thornton or whatever the heck "Roman's" alias was in Lugano.....I am still laughing my head off at that piece of work!

8. The Salem Police Department. Real life version of the Los Angeles Police Department in the OJ case. Remember the Killing Pool? Roman handing over evidence to Marlena, picking up a letter opener with NO gloves on, crime scene not secured, John Black investigation the scene without a badge, John Black picks up a button off a coat WITHOUT gloves, not good for someone who used to be Commander of the PD, and now recently we have Roman again investigating Franco's death WITHOUT a badge. He sees Sami trying to suffocate Lucas, does nothing about it. If I ever get arrested, I want to do it in Salem, USA!!

9. Laura Horton. I am not the biggest Laura or Jamie Lyn Bauer fan in the world, but it was UGLIEEEEEEE how they did her. Reminded me of how John Aniston (Victor) was done. For some of the most loyal actors that Days has had, they sure have treated them like...like...well.....trash! It was WEAK to send Jack and Jenn off to Africa when they still had much to do in Salem, but at least they got a wrap to their storyline. Laura I guess is just hanging around basically doing nothing. We don't see her at work, don't see her at home, so what has she been up to? If Days has no intention of doing anything with Laura, they at least ought to go about this in a dignififed manner and give the character a proper good-bye, Jamie Lyn Bauer deserves that much respect and so does the character. UGLY for sure!!

10. Lucas Roberts. Man, is it UGLY what they have done to this once proud character. We had Lucas, making an honest turnaround, since finding out he was Will's real father. Got his life together, stopped scheming with Sami, and worked his way up in business and was ready for a great future at Titan. What happens next. Ugliness in it's purest form. He becomes a drunk, shows his jealousy of Franco over Sami, supposedly kills Franco, kidnaps Will, drives drunk, crashes car, in intensive care, almost dies, and is facing charges once he recovers. What COULD have happened? Lucas SUES Sami for custody, WINS, hooks up with Greta, they settle down, he runs Titan, she is found out to be a TRUE Princess, inherits great wealth, they have more kids, marry and live out happily ever after. Sami gets insanely jealous, becomes a drunk...

I am sure there are many more GOOD, BAD and UGLY parts to Days of our Lives, but these are just a few that come to my mind. We can only hope that the GOOD outweighs the BAD, and that this show gets better writing and things improve overall. But that is not hope, that is just plain DREAMING!!

BILLIE REED vs. HOPE BRADY

A discussion now going on at Peeeepers Days of our Lives Megasite has prompted this latest edition of Salem Files. Someone has taken the stance, anonymously, that Billie Reed is THE WOMAN on Days of our Lives right now. That up against Hope Brady, she buries the competition.

Well, I kinda have strong feelings about Hope Brady, so I ask anyone who wants to jump into the fracas to go to Peeeepers MEGASITE! and on the grid click on "Days Message Board" and join this debate. Billie Reed cannot even tie Hope Brady's shoestrings in my book, to compare the two, is an insult to the character of Hope, is like comparing apples to oranges and anyone with half a mind can see that Hope wins this with no effort whatsoever. But, let's look at the facts:

BILLIE REED- On drugs, off drugs, on drugs, off drugs again, see a pattern there? Has baby, baby dies, buries baby, hides all of this from baby's father. Has NO redeeming qualities whatsoever, cannot rely on her own genuineness, honesty, morals to hold Bo, but has to SCHEME and MANIPULATE to keep him. Got her job because of her mother got if for her, not because she earned it herself. Got pregnant to play on Bo's guilt to stay with her, NOT because she really wanted a child, then blamed the baby's death on Hope. Did she not learn that as ADULTS, you make your own bed and pay the piper for your faults? Nope. So like a CHILD let's blame others for our mistakes. LIES to make herself look good and dresses in a way that leaves NOTHING to the imagination!

HOPE BRADY- Former Police Officer. Earned her job, performed well in it. Endearing mother and wife. It is her honesty, devotion to family and inner and outer beauty that kept Bo, NOT schemes and manipulations. She puts others' needs above her own time and time again, witness her recent trek through the jungle to help save Roman Brady. While she was doing that, Billie was thinking of new ways to trick Bo into staying with her. She dresses like a woman with CLASS would and conducts her self in the same fashion. She will NEVER align herself with EVIL no matter what the cause and if she is not accepted for who she is, then people can take a hike! In the past she has helped Roman find missing Treasury Bonds and was presumed dead after an explosion over a vat of acid. The love she has for her family brought her through all of that. She wants to find resolution to her past for her son's sake more than her own, so that she and Bo and face a future together HONESTLY, which is something Billie has no clue about. She has let Bo GO because he seemed to not have genuine feelings for her any longer, and did NOT manipulate things to keep him.

So, you decide. These are the facts. Conclude for yourself. Join thedebate if you want to! Hope Fans stand up!! The REAL regret I have right now is that this "Roman Brady" is getting sucked in LITERALLY if you catch my drift, by Billie and cannot seem to see her for what she truly is and his loyalty to Hope, who played a HUGE part in the fact that he is still alive is all but gone.

Enough to make the REAL Roman turn in his grave!

Salem Files will continue...
I'll be posting The Best of.. Daily!