Miss...Eric and Nicole's not-so-model romance on Days

Nicole and Eric are failing the chemistry test.

There's a lot right with Days Of Our Lives these days--the repercussions of Franco's murder, the compelling Austin/Carrie/Mike triangle, the antics of Dr. and Mrs. Craig Wesley. That's why what is wrong with the show has become so painfully obvious: Eric and Nicole.

After months of trying to become engaged by, or at the least mildly interested in, this new love pairing, I've given up. The story is just not working.First, I don't care enough about Nicole to care about her tainted past, or the mystery man in it. The expansion of her family--the introduction of her sister Taylor--falls into the same category. Then there's the fact that Arianne Zuker appears older and too sophisticated to play opposite the youthfully appealing JENSEN ACKLES. Worst of all, there's absolutely no chemistry between the two actors. Their scenes come off as very scripted and forced.

What makes this pairing most disappointing is that ACKLES really shone during his brief scenes with LeAnn Rimes, when she guested as teenage runaway Madison. Their chemistry was fresh and natural. ACKLES, Days' first younger leading man Daytime Emmy nomination in a decade, is being wasted in a story not worthy of his considerable talent.

I suggest that the Days writers cut their losses now and stop investing time in this going-nowhere pair. Perhaps Eric's past in Colorado, which had been touched upon when his old school chum visited Salem some months ago, could be delved into. And Nicole's modeling career might take her in a direction that teams her with an older leading man. The switch would serve both actors and Days fans quite well.

By Janet Di Lauro in Soap Opera Weekly