This is great news--hopefully they will finally let Dusty know that he, and not Paul, is the true Stenbeck heir.

I have a soft-spot in my heart for all the characters who were so important when I started watching in the late 80's.

Now BRING BACK JOHN DIXON!

Are they saying for sure that Grayson is returning "as Dusty"? I mean, this is a soap, and maybe...just for once....they will allow a dead character to stay dead.  I would be delighted to see Dr. Morgan Winthrop come to Oakdale Memorial, McCouch's Another World character.  Morgan was a sweetie, the sort of heroic doctor that Chris Hughes OUGHT to be, rather than the slimy liar we have right now.  Morgan's brother, Cass Winthrop, as well as a half-dozen AW characters have appeared on ATWT over the years, so the two soaps exist in the same "universe" and it would be interesting to see how everyone would react to a kinder, gentler (and clearly-enunciating) version of "Dusty".

 

...as fabulolus and flaming as a toaster oven soaring across the night sky....:-)

AFAIK, it is Dusty as we remember him.   Chris Goutman said when GMC left that if he wanted to come back, they'd find a way to bring him back.  I never much cared for the character/actor, but he was incredibly popular so having him and AH back might help those sagging ratings, which is clearly the intent.

My guess is that James somehow faked Dusty's death (even though we saw Dusty die, lie on the floor for days and there was an autopsy) and has been keeping him all this time.  As Dusty is the true Stenbeck heir, maybe it's somehow tied into that.

Since the show is ending the Holden/Carly mess and Holden and Lily are going to get back together sooner rather than later, my guess is that they'll reunite, or be close to it, just as Dusty comes back from the dead and throws their relationship in crisis yet again.

And I'd bet that this new character, James Wheatley, is also tied into this.  He probably is working for James and is using the money from Luke's foundation for some nefarious purpose.

Despite the silliness of explaining how Dusty is alive, this has the potential to be a nice umbrella storyline involving lots of characters (Lily, Holden, Dusty, Luke, Noah, Lucinda, Brian, James, Paul, Meg, Babs, Em and Casey), something sorely missed on this show.  It would be a nice balance while the other half of the show monitors Parker and Liberty's sex lives.

I wonder though that with these huge (and expensive) returns if we're going to see a few more lesser actors/characters being shown the door to save money.

 

James Stenbeck is my all-time favorite character.  He chews scenery as voraciously as William Shatner, but is even more awesome while doing it.  His presence will make any other shortcomings of the show bearable.

James is also why I became able to watch ATWT despite all the goofy illogical stuff (teleporters, for example).  The first couple of times he came back from the dead I was nonplussed.  "NO, they CAN'T do that!" I'd say.  Then about the third time I was just so happy to have him back that I just went with it, and that allowed me to go with the other goofiness, almost as if I was in an alternate universe where the normal logic of life didn't apply.  So when people nitpick things that don't make sense I just grin knowingly....

Welcome back, James!  Please stay for awhile.

Getting rid of the actor who played Dusty was one of the few things ATWT did correctly recently. He was, by far, the worst actor I have seen in a very long time. I talking Andie McDowell bad. Why bring him back and fire Jon Prescott?

www.thebittersuite.blogspot.com

but I do feel your pain if you think his portrayer is hot and/or a good actor. I Dusty is a central character to the canvas with family and connections everywhere. It's like bringing back Bonnie when who we really want to see is her mother. The same applies to Vienna and even my beloved Henry, but they are such pros that they would be worth the effort if the writers figured out how to integrate them.

Talent is a relative term and I totally see how Dusty's portrayer is not every one's cup of ...... His attire and his demeanor became quite monosyllabic with time, but I think that he's good as his fire with two Lucy's ago brought out this tenderness as did his devilish ways with Lucinda. The whole turning him into Batman did him or the audience any favors.

BTW, I love the Andy McDowell bad snark ;-) So true. I loved her best in St. Elmo's Fire as she had nothing to say and just look like a video vixen version of a doctor as Emilio Estevez just projected all these qualities on her.

Guillermo's Media Guillotine: Entertainment, journalism, politics, and popular culture.

http://springintoaction.typepad.com

I really thought that the storyline before Dusty was killed was leaning towards Dusty being Noah's real father since he (Dusty) had a past with Noah's mother. Did anyone else think this or am I WAY over-projecting?

I thought that storyline would explain (in a soap universe sort of way) the Colonel's psychosis - being cuckolded by Dusty.

...did anybody catch Monday's episode? Casey invited Emily and his parents to lunch together, and it went as well as expected. (Sweet boy, but not the brightest bulb in the tanning bed).

When Emily tells her mom about it, Susan shoots back, "He's been a baaaad boy. You should spank him! Maybe you already have."

loved that. Not as funny as "Robbing the womb", but still a reminder that Susan is underused on the show. It's wasn't just the line, but the way she delivered it.

The acrtress who plays Susan is master at making the pain in the ass "mother" more than just a nag as she peppers her nag/overprotection with an acerbic delivery that rocks. If the writers ever want great delivery of even the most tame of lines, she's the sure thing. I wish that Susan had walked into that lunch from hell and gave Margo a piece of her mind as the nag turns into a pit-bull if anyone messes with her trampy daughters. The way things are going, I'd rather see a ladies fight club with Susan, Babs, Lucinda, and Kim trampling on all of Oakdale's men as they are so weak.

I can't wait until Susan gets another line about Casey/Emily as the hopsital is so ripe for it. Here's my original contribution for today......

Emily: Hi mother

Susan: Why are you here? What did you do now?

Emily: Nice to see you too mom. I just came to have lunch with my favorite mother.

Susan: Yeah right. Did you lose Casey again? Try the maternity ward. Take Ali with you as all those newborns look alike and the last thing we need is another baby switch around here.

Guillermo's Media Guillotine: Entertainment, journalism, politics, and popular culture.

http://springintoaction.typepad.com

So, they Fired Brian Bloom, who originated the role, and hired Grayson McCouch to replace him, only to rehire Brian Bloom and after he was doing well fire him so they could rehire Grayson McCouch. It seems like the hirings and firings are more of a soap opera than the actual show..

 

I'm so happy to hear that James is coming back! He is by far one of the best soap villians and Dusty's coming home! Yea!!!!

... about James return is more work for Colleen Zenk Pinter (Babs).  And there better be some James and Lucinda scenes.  But who knows with this show.  Does anyone realize that since the Holden/Carly reveal, there hasn't been a scene between Holden and Jack about his affair with Carly?   Jack and Holden used to talk about EVERYTHING.  Holden was the person Jack confided in when he suspected Luke might be gay.  They wouldn't talk about this?  Sloppy, ATWT, sloppy.

The characters on this show (and most soaps today) are written in isolation from the others.  Stories exist with four or five main players, and there's no overlapping of the stories even when it would make so much sense (and...drama!) to have people reacting to one another's problems/stories.  That was how you filled up time in the old days--have some big story development, then spend several days watching as the whole town tells each other and reacts. Now, it's like characters exist in their own bubbles and won't leave them.  These events could be happening in separate TOWNS and it would hardly impact the overall tone.

Besides the Jack/Holden chats, I miss the Kim/Barbara interactions; Aaron's with Holden; and Katie/Margo.  Katie might as well be dis-owned, given how isolated she has become from her family.  It would also be nice to see a few cast-wide events, where the Snyders, Ryans, Hugheses, and Stewarts could mingle once again.  But of course that would be expensive, and money trumps everything these days.

 

 

 

 

...as fabulolus and flaming as a toaster oven soaring across the night sky....:-)

I'm so psyched for James to return.  I was thinking that all the mind control items had to be related to some Stenbeck, somewhere.  I love this mystery, even though it's very DOOL, and also they are making it go so quickly.  I just don't like the constant music a la Who Wants To Be A Millionaire.  I still remember the day that James returned from the dead dressed as a monk - chilling!