If I were a fan of the Bardwell Baldwin Fisher Fenmore faction, then this week I would have been in smelly hog heaven. Unfortunately for me, as many of you well know, I most definitely am not such a fan. And as much as I hate to be the fan with a complaint ever upon her lips, I have to admit these people and their wretched self righteousness have worn my very last nerve nearly to its breaking point. I agree completely with the fans this week about being sick and tired of being sick and tired of Gloria and her sidekicks. Michael's tired of Jack torturing his family? Well, I'm tired of being tortured by their presence every day, every week. What about all the torturing Gloria has done to others? Fisher Baldwin Bardwell act as if Gloria is really this innocent injured party who has never done a dirty deed to those who would think it was too soon if they ever had to lay eyes on that bug-eyed broad again. How like tunnel-visioned Gloria to believe that John might be haunting her because she kissed Jeffrey. Apparently the thought that John could be angry about what she did to the cream, his company and his kids never once entered her wickedly warped mind. Proving that in her skewed way of viewing life, she really does feel she did nothing wrong.
I don't know about any other fan, but I feel cheated. All the joy I derived over the past couple of weeks finally seeing Gloria get at least a little of what I feel she deserves has drained away with the disappointing direction in which this storyline has gone. Because as usual, once again, Bardwell and Company have been portrayed as so much smarter than the average, apparently imbecilic Genoa Citian. Lauren just happens to be on hand to spot Jack's name on the Caller ID? Michael just happens to be in position to catch Jeff updating Jack at Restless Style. Gloria coincidentally appears just in time to follow Sharon back to the AC. And, of course, while most people couldn't get into a hotel room with a credit card to save their soul, Kevin just happens to be a pro at breaking and entering. Call me callous, but when Lauren tumbled head over heels down those stairs, I laughed myself silly each time I rewound my tape and watched her tumble again. The only thing I would have added to that scene if it had been my choice would have been to have her felonious family members lined up ahead of her so that the fall could have had a domino effect with all of them tangled together in a heap at the bottom of the stairs.
What fun is there watching Gloria win yet again? How intriguing will it be to watch another witless man look at Gloria and see the woman he's always dreamed of finding? Just my opinion, but very little fun at all. We already know that if it has anything to do with Gloria, she will win and her opponent will lose. Speaking of that, I'm guessing Jack will finally cut his ever-mounting losses and just let Gloria have the house. While he's at it, maybe he should just hand her and Michael a razor so they can slit his throat and take his life from him too. Then maybe if Gloria is finally given everything in Genoa City she feels belongs to her, we can move her scarred up skillet to a back burner and give other characters much more balanced and far more interesting a chance to have a storyline worth investing in.
Thankfully, while too many helpings of Gloria left a sour sensation in my stomach, the sweetness of the Danny and Daniel reconciliation soon chased it away. Was that not a whole string of Awww moments or what? It was nice to see Danny again, even with the rock star singing stuff thrown in and I'm glad the two were able to make up and part in peace.
Okay, thinking of Daniel makes my mind wander to Amber. And that outfit. Was that really a lavender tank top with a red fur bottom? For some reason that red fur put me in mind of an ostrich. And the what looked like silver or clear glass bead jewelry and silver shoes as accessories really didn't help the outfit. I know she's supposed to represent cutting new age or edgy or something, but I thought her outfit was hilarious. Would anyone actually pay to put that on? Likewise the purple sheath with the on the outside zipper. But, I have to give Amber kudos for convincing Daniel to let bygones with bio Daddy be bygones.
I have to agree with Katherine. Maybe she ought to rethink that whole retirement decision. All that blubbering over her book of past drunken deeds. When it comes to who did the worst, I think she may have Jill beat by more than a few rotten deeds. So what Jill hired Rex Sterling to romance Katherine? As it turned out, she did her mother a favor since next to Phillip, Rex wound up being the second biggest love of Katherine's life. And since Rex was Danny and Gina's father, he also came with a ready made family for her to love and be loved by. Katherine, on the other hand, killed the father of Jill's baby, then sold the baby for a gaudy ring. Not to mention all she did to wrest the fake Phillip away from Jill back in the days when we had no idea the real Phillip has been bartered away. If anyone's face will be red with embarrassment should this book actually make it to the bestseller list, I would think it would be Katherine's more so than Jill's. By the way, do you think Kay's memoirs will include her drunken romps with the stable boys?
I know many fans have exactly been looking forward to a possible relationship between Victor and Sabrina. And at first I was one of the sceptics. All I could think of was Victor coming on to a woman his own daughter's age. And had Victor been the one panting after Sabrina, that ick feeling might have stuck. But it does make a small difference with Sabrina the one making most of the moves. And when it comes right down to it, these days when it happens in real life, which it so frequently does, no one so much as bats a disapproving eye. And it's not as if Victor is some horrendous looking dirty old man. On the contrary, he still cuts quite a fine figure of a man. Few Genoa City man look better than he in a suit and tie and I actually think he's only grown more striking as he ages. Remember that moustache of his much younger men. Every time I see a flashback, I find myself waiting for him to utter: curses, foiled again. Or hear him sing: You must pay the rent while twirling his moustache, while the half-swooning blonde maiden cries, I can't pay the rent. Why wouldn't a worldly woman such as Sabrina supposedly is be drawn to the power and prestige of a man like Victor Newman? And the fact that Victor has pulled back the veil and showed her a rare hint of vulnerability would only further intrigue her.
I was rather proud of Victor this week. Perhaps actually taking Sabrina's advice, he showed up at the Restless Style party and tried to support his suspicious son, not that Nick didn't have good reason for his suspicion given Victor's previous behaviour. Nick, Jack and Nikki wasted no time rushing to Victor's side to toss their sharp accusations. But Victor simply shrugged them all off, without once showing that any of their remarks drew so much as a drop of blood. Hopefully this means Victor won't carefully place any more roadblocks in his son's path and will let him and his mag sink or float without any help or hindrance from his end.
The other Newman sibling, however, probably won't find her path nearly so obstacle free. Adam is determined to prove Victoria's more focused on baby than business. As for Victoria, she seems bent on poo-pooing then gleefully torpedoing every idea Adam comes up with. Too bad she wasn't as hard on Brad as she's been on Adam. How quickly she handed Brad a free pass for hacking into the Newman mainframe when she had been so ready to throw Adam to the slavering wolves without a spec of evidence, openly accusing him of doing something he had no earthly reason to do. Had he wanted the information, all he would likely have had to do was simply request it from Neil or Victor. And shame on Nikki for her apparent readiness to run with the information so obviously questionably obtained. What would Victor have done, she had the nerve to query. Well, I doubt he would have had to hack into someone's computer to ensure his company was competitive. Of course, I wasn't really surprised at how easily Nikki would have been willing to use Brad's illegally gotten information. After all, she proved during that disastrous campaign run that she'd step on the daughter she claims to love so deeply in a heartbeat if it was going to benefit her. So what BON is her daughter's corporate baby? For Nikki, it's all about making a success of Jabot, no matter what.
In more ways than just this one, Brad is proving he is striving for the title of GC's most dastardly. Already tired of watching David use his relationship with his lover/CEO to keep Brad in his proper subservient place, Brad has decided it's time to use his competitor's Achilles heel to knock him out of the ring. Or off the poker stable, I should say. It certainly seems that David's remaining days in Genoa City or at least in Nikki's life and bed could be dwindling should he find the siren call of the cards more alluring than Nikki's on the pillow whispers. And I agree with your, fan Shannon. I too think Nikki felt a tiny nip from the green-eyed one over Victor and Sabrina's date. And I have a feeling it won't be the last one, especially if David is shoved by Brad right off the wagon.
The pre-launch party a resounding success, all Restless Style ad pages have reportedly been spoken for and the mag will presumably soon be on its way to its first online and on stand printing. But what exactly will be in the pages between ads featuring Forrester Creations and Amber's ostrich dress and costume jewelry. Oh that's right, some stiff words from Lauren's primly pressed lips. Of course, I don't know when she'd possibly have time to write a puff piece. She's much too busy living live vicariously through Gloria. Maybe the subject of her first article should be how to succeed in the cosmetic business in spite of killing off its customers. By the way, I couldn't help but notice that there are apparently some social situations where Nick does indeed do ties.
Though there are more voices advising caution and restraint and just plain old common sense, the only voice making any sense to Lily is Chloe's shrill commands to forgo food for fashion. Lily already likely weighing in at a huge and ungainly 100 pounds wringing wet and wearing galoshes, Chloe has apparently convinced Lily that number is on the very verge of obesity. Taunting her until Lily has become too intimidated to even think about eating; now Chloe is urging her to compound the coming disaster by popping a pill or a handful. Should Lily finally give in, probably in a weakened state brought about by extreme malnutrition, the upside is that if Lily's no longer able to be a Faces model, that will mean no more Chloe. I don't know about any of you, but I certainly won't miss that nagging hag.
And finally, enough with the pursuit of Phyllis, Adam. Maybe I'm the only one who thinks so, but this coupling seems extremely forced and his infatuation with Phyllis is not the least believable to me. How long before Nick or Victoria finally pick up on Adam's obsession?
Well, that's pretty much all I'm going to say about the week. Here's what you all thought.
ANNA - I would love to see the character of John Abbott return. Why can't he just have amnesia, and a mistaken identity at the prison, or he awoke after being thought dead, but couldn't remember who he was?
ANNE MARIE - All I can say is thank goodness I record Y&R and can fast forward. That way I don't have to sit through the debacle known as Alistair. That is just too painful to watch Jerry Douglas' bad attempt at a Scottish accent, not to mention his orange skin! Gloria does deserve to be tortured. I wonder if Jeffrey has really fallen for her. I think they're kind of cute together. I've always liked Ted Shackelford. Is anyone else sick of J.T. hanging around the halls of Newman? Doesn't he have work to do? Chloe has got to go. What a pain - such overkill.
JOANNE - Okay, so Gloria knows Jeff and Jack are working together to trick her - big surprise! Of course, now she can get even more revenge and win even more! When are the writers going to shape up and let her storyline end with her being caught - with all her lies coming out into the open and a fair and just retribution be given to her - hopefully by the hand of Jack who she has hurt the most. Maybe the real ghost of John can come out and scare her and then she will get the heck out of the mansion. I cannot take this stupidity anymore. Also, what is up with the other storylines? Can't they come up with something different? Every character seems uncomfortable with what they are being asked to portray (with the exception of Gloria - who is becoming more Norma Desmond-like every day - or is it Cruella Deville - her hair sure looks the same!) The only couple I can bear to watch are Jack and Sharon - the rest seem very ill at ease with each other and unsuited - even the Brad/Angelina of the Y&R - Nick and Phyllis don't seem good together anymore (not that I liked that pairing at all though).
JEANNIE - I haven't checked out the boards but I wanted to put in my two cents in favor of the actor playing Adam. He's holding his own against Victoria and Nick and developing a quirky personality that really does make you really wonder if his character is good or bad. I hope they keep this guy. I think there is good chemistry between him and his half siblings.
BEATRICE - I don't get where all these Nick is so juvenile comments are coming from. I've always seen him wear wife beaters at home, use slang like dude especially around his son and with certain people at the office; this is nothing new or Phyllis-inflicted. This is one of the reasons I love the dork. He's cheesy at times and doesn't care. Seems no one had a problem with it when he was with Sharon. Odd.
CINDY - What's with Lily's dress? Did someone forget to tell her to take that black bra off?
HOLLY - I have to agree I am sick of Glo getting all the breaks & men. I'm still in shock at a judge letting them move into the Abbott home. I do like how this whole scenario has brought Jack & Sharon closer though. I hope to see Victoria punch Adam right between the eyes. Vicky should be the one to knock that chip off his shoulder because of how he's been stepping over her to get his way. You can definitely tell he's Victor's son. He and Heather could make a good uptight couple don't you think?
SHANNON - Is it just me or did Nikki's dress look rather cheap for the Restless Style party? I was impressed with everybody but her. When is Sabrina leaving? If she's not, could someone call her travel agent to cancel her plans because if I hear her say I'm going to LA/New York without so much as a single packed bag one more time, I'm going to scream! Did anyone smell the jealousy running out of Nikki when she saw her ex-hubby enjoying Sabrina's company? Way to bring John back - not! Although it's funny, it's just too much. So now what? Gloria will fall for a John look-a-like once she discovers the Jack/Jeff plan?
JEANNIE - I am sick of Gloria. She is a reason to stop watching Y&R. Enough is enough.
HELEN - I really have had enough of the whole Fisher clan. While I've enjoyed the John Abbott ghost look-alike storyline, that was because for once Gloria was getting what was coming to her. So now it's Friday and guess what? The sanctimonious Michael is on to Jack's scheme. Michael says he's had enough of Jack Abbott torturing his family. Are you kidding me? Wasn't it Gloria who: tainted the cream, killed a woman, cost Jack his position, took half the house, testified against him in his Senate hearing, etc? Who's torturing whom? I didn't even feel bad when Lauren fell. She shouldn't have been snooping in Jack's house! When will Gloria pay for her crimes? Until then, I am going back to AMC.
JAMIE - I was surprised Katherine barely spoke to Daniel when she was married to his grandfather, and about a week later there was a flashback of her talking about this same character.
SHARON - Thanks for Daniel's Daddy coming back for a visit. It's good to see some of the old Alma Mata back. I think Victor and Sabrina should have a go at it. Victor should not be alone. I have been watching since Victor locked the lady in the cellar. I haven't been disappointed yet.
Thanks for your comments everyone! Have a great week.
