Diva Picks - 8/24 to 8/28

I’ll be honest with you, Constant Readers. This week sucked. It was hard for me to come up with any decent picks because it was five long days of mediocrity in Salem.

WINNER OF THE WEEK - RAFE HERNANDEZ. Before you all die of cardiac arrest from this choice, let me explain. No, he’s not my favorite character, but at least he’s adding two and two together. Thanks to him, this neverending Sami/EJ/Nicole baby mess is on the road to getting resolved.

LOSER OF THE WEEK – MIA MCKORMICK. This chick’s stupid enough to get herself knocked up her first time at bat. Stupid enough to give her baby away to Nicole and then keep whining about the choice she willingly made. And this week, in order to get away from Chad, she nearly got into a car with wasted Kinsey. And predictably, two seconds later, the car crashed. It’s a shame Mia didn’t make it to the car in time. Some characters are just too stupid to live.

MOST DISAPPOINTING BUILD-UP OF THE WEEK - So we’re following Bo and Hope into the cabin, having heard gunshots, ready to find their kidnapped daughter. The tension is building. Hope pulls back the blanket on the bed…to find a completely silent Ciara with a blank expression, even after Hope takes the blindfold and earplugs off. Jeez, how hard would it have been for the director to ask the kid to at least cry out Mommy or Daddy or something? To smile or cry or show any emotion at all? Come on, I don’t ask for much out of child performers, but can you imagine how a little Andrea Barber or Christie Clark (ex-Carrie Bradys) would have rocked that scene? And before anyone accuses me of trying to ruin little Lauren Bole’s self-esteem for life, let me just say that I don’t blame her but the director for being so sloppy as to let that moment slide.

SCENE OF THE WEEK - Although they were disturbing, I appreciated the hospital scene showing Bo and Hope’s concern that Ciara might have been molested. I particularly liked the moment where Bo talked with Roman, questioning himself on what he would have done if Ciara had been assaulted. Yes, I’ve read the stuff on the message boards from people saying that they don’t want to hear about stuff like this on the soaps, that we watch for escape from reality and all that. But most of us know that when a child is kidnapped, that sort of thing is a serious threat. I actually give kudos to DAYS to addressing it and not just ignoring the possibility. Also, the week was so lackluster that I was hard pressed to find a Scene of the Week at all.

PERFORMER OF THE WEEK – Sorry, folks. There ain’t none. I didn’t see one stand-out performance that impressed me. I was so looking forward to Kevin Spirtas’ return, but even he seemed to be flat. Since she’s only done one episode so far, I will give Lindsay Hartley honorable mention. Already, she is playing Arianna with the self-confidence and moxie that the character lacked when played by Felisha Terrell. I never lowered myself to watch Reilly’s dreckfest of PASSIONS so I can’t say if she’s doing “Theresa 2.0” or not. But she’s off to a good start. I’ll give her that much.

LINE OF THE WEEK – EJ to Sami: “Samantha, you don’t need any help from me when it comes to alienating men.”