As the week began, Dru continued running down her reasons for wanting to keep Devon clasped closely to the family breast. Unfortunately, however, her plaintive pleas simply entered one of Neil's wax-filled ears and exited out the other without making any inroads in his made up mind. While I doubt any fan feels Dru did the right thing in trying to foist foster fatherhood on her balking bedmate, the consensus seems to be split right down the middle as to what Neil should do about it. It seems half agree Devon should be bounced from the family nest while the rest don't. I happen to weigh in with the latter group. Just my opinion, but if every foster child was as well-mannered and eager to please as Devon has given every indication he is, more families could probably be convinced to open their homes and their hearts. And I just didn't buy Neil's bag of bunk that Devon's slight shadow blots out Lily's sun in the parental orbit, since history has shown neither pays her much mind until she does something foolish. Neither was I impressed with his endlessly repeated "raging hormones" excuse. He should be glad to have Devon around to help keep Lily from her next unthinking step into stupidity. But I suspect Neil isn't going to open his closed cranium and reverse his decision to take back Devon's door key, so I already have my Puffs ready. Because even though Devon will likely take this latest rejection like a trooper and won't break down and bawl, I probably will.
Well, I am quite disgusted with the turn Arthur's tale has taken. From the beginning many have murmured that Arthur seemed much too good to be true. And now it appears his estranged stepson has confirmed those suspicions. According to Harry, who has turned up on Kay's doorstep, the ceaselessly cheerful Judge Hendricks is alleged to be a murderer and a man who lives loosely off the accumulated wealth of rich widowed women. Even though I should have known better, I'd crossed my fingers that the scribes were actually going to gift someone of Kay's advanced age with a lasting love. But it certainly appears that is now not to be. Do they think no one would be interested in smilingly enjoying such a pairing? I know I wasn't the only fan who quite liked Kay and Rex together, shed copious tears at his untimely termination and kept my fingers crossed that Kay might find love again. So what will we discover next? That Arthur has been in cahoots with Elliott? While one robs her personally, the other plunders her professionally? With Arthur cuddling Kay and Elliott jollying Jill, when the truth comes out, it promises to be a double disaster. And while I lament the loss of a good love story, I must admit if done right this one could be very interesting. Kay and Jill, each formidable alone, could prove to be much more than the con men can handle. It should be an interesting fall.
Instead of a slowly evolving, mature love story, mismatched Bobby and his empty brained bride-to-be are the romantic fare we are forced to repeatedly swallow. Yes, I concede that even with Britt's shiny scar, both are easy on the eyes. It's just that I think they have as much sizzle as wet charcoal. Maybe it's just me, but watching them together makes me as uncomfortable as Bobby appears to be with her. Am I the only one who thinks they look like they're trying too hard and not quite pulling it off? It was all I could do to get through that whole baseball thing without pressing the FF button for immediate relief. The only thing I enjoy less than the Bobby-Brittany hour is watching men obsess sillily over Sharon. Okay, I confess, watching her and Nick prepare for or engage in one of their sex fests is right up there with the obsessing thing. Speaking of men slavering over Sharon's soft curves, someone please swear to me she is not about to be drawn like a moth toward the hot lights bathing Marsino's strippers' stage.
How old is Kevin Fisher again? Ten? Fifteen? Obviously all those hours spent hunkered in fear in a dark and stuffy coat closet stunted his mental maturity, making him often act younger than the teens he so recently detested. Although at the moment, his Superman cape is spot-free, Michael has already correctly detected his brother and Daniel's smudged fingerprints on the edges of the rescue plan. And if it were any city other than this one, Detective Weber's recent inquiry into the date drug debacle might make one think the long arm of the law was close to clamping itself around Kevin's guilty neck. But we are, of course, talking about Genoa City's Weber, whose track record indicates he has yet to successfully singlehandedly solve a case. There's no real reason to believe he's going to start now. And needless to say, if we were holding our collective breath waiting for Paul to pick up the obvious clues, we might as well let it all whoosh out. He's too busy getting cozily settled in with his new office mates.
Apparently weary of waiting for a quiet time to confide her fears and unburden her heart to her finally attentive husband, in the end Nikki skipped any long buildup and just irritatingly blurted out her long-suppressed secret. While Victor was appropriately appalled that his Nikki had been carrying such a heavy burden on her slender shoulders, there was little he could do to lighten her load. Nikki still hopes to make things all better by tracking down Joshua's kin and confessing her crime, and many suspect that though she doesn't know it, her search may already be over. Because many fans believe Bobby is that baby brother who doesn't seem to have any memory of an older sibling. But if that's true, that's for down the line. For now, there's a strip club to be saved. With the regular dancers strutting their near naked stuff on some other stage, the night could be less lucrative than Bobby would like. And some have wondered if Nikki will go all the way to the stage to keep Bobby's grand opening from fizzling. Brittany retaking the stage is also a possibility. Guess we'll just have to wait and see.
Without minimizing the magnitude of Damon's past pain, I confess I still suffer more than a twinge of irritation the moment his melancholy mug fills my screen. Hunched over like some predatory beast about to pounce on smaller weaker prey, he again inserted himself between bickering mother and son. I know I'm repeating myself, but I say again, "the boy is not your son." Swelling himself up like some huge avenging angel, just what did he have in mind should Daniel have been unwise enough to call him Dude a second time? Was he going to open the cage and let his monster come roaring out? Daniel could have put it a little more politely, but at the moment, in the absence of a ring on Phyllis' finger or any other verbal commitment between them, Damon is in fact just the dude his mom is doing. You know what they say ... if the shoe fits ... I guess it's just me, but good intentions or not, in my opinion, for the moment Damon should just stay out of the family fray. It's not as if Phyllis is some helpless woman incapable of holding her own against her smart aleck son. Just as Phyllis hasn't glimpsed the monster that lies just beneath Damon's not nearly as placid as before surface, Damon has no idea of the treacherous deeds that blacken her soul.
Having said that, though, as tough as Phyllis thinks she is, up to this point, she's only wreaked her havoc on semi-civilized citizens, who wouldn't think of stooping to the low and muddy depths Phyllis will willingly crawl through to accomplish her evil ends. I'm guessing she will find that Alex will not only be willing to meet her in the muck, but sink a step or two deeper. And Daniel, while he dons a tough guy suit every morning, doesn't even scare me, and is likely to discover that Alex is nothing like his rich Swiss pals, whose idea of walking on the wild side is probably throwing a party in their parents' empty mansion and lowering all the levels of the bottles in the unlocked liquor cabinet. These two may soon find themselves surrounded by savage, circling urban sharks. And who is likely to ride to their rescue? Why, Damon, of course, who else? At least that's what he can do if he's not fighting his own battles. We already know what Damon would want to do should he come face to face with his son's killer. And from the cell phone call Phyllis intercepted, we can assume said killer is likely on his way back to the streets. A rational mind would assume he would be returning to the same streets on which he committed his crime, but while in prison, he probably heard all about the idyllic life one can have in Genoa City, and is probably already on his way there instead.
Grist from the rumor mill: The search is allegedly on. For Victoria Newman. While I'd love to see Heather Tom resume the role, that's probably not going to happen. Even though a new Victoria would take a lot of getting used to, I'm ready to see the prodigal daughter return and toss those bickering broads out of her office. And it's definitely been confirmed. Look for Genoa's City's thought-dead shutterbug to rise from his supposed watery grave early next month. There should be plenty for him to do to occupy his time. Like photographing the pageant perhaps. If Damon becomes preoccupied with payback, I'm sure it won't be long before Phyllis is running to her old pal with her woes. And I'm sure no one has forgotten, least of all Malcolm (unless he returns an amnesiac) there's still some unfinished business between the Winters boys.
And now, let's see what's been left in the Viewer's Voice Box:
KATHI - "The viewer feedback is a nice touch! I don't have time to peruse the chat rooms, so this is great. My Y&R comment: Can the writers not do better for Lily? Her damsel in distress SL's are so wearisome and I have never found the character likeable at all (much like her mother - how does Neil tolerate these 2?). I usually find myself FF them on the VCR - w/5 children I have enough whining in my day! Give the girl some backbone and COMMON SENSE."
Lkassarjian - "I have to vent on the Bobby and Brittney relationship. Where are the writer's minds on this one? They look ridiculous together. The baseball party at the Athletic Club was just plain stupid. It seems this storyline will be going on for awhile and I can say that this story is the worst of the lot."
KYM - "I am writing in to mention the characters of both Kevin Fisher and Michael Baldwin. I think the storyline between them is really great. I do wish, though, that they would delve into the reasons Kevin is the way he is. I think it is important to understand about the abuse Kevin went through. I hope they don't go through too much more of this 'hero' business."
CAROLYN - "Ever since Keith Hamilton Cobb joined Y&R as Damon, I hadn't been impressed with his acting ... until this past Friday. I was brought to tears after witnessing such heartfelt scenes as those displayed by Damon in talking to Phyllis about the death of his son. An excellent portrayal of a heartbroken and vengeful father was displayed. I pity the day that the shooter of Damon's son is released from prison. Kudos to KHC. I now have a very different perspective in regards to my liking Damon. He's okay. I also want to give kudos to Jill for putting the 'once upon a time pool boy now turned exec' Bratley in his place. I am getting real tired of Brad walking around Jabot as if he earned his position and has the right to look down his nose at everyone else. Brad's attitude towards Jill and Jack make it hard for me to sympathize with him feeling that he is going to lose Abby to Victor. Jill, you go girl!"
YZZY - "Here's an idea: now that we know Malcolm is coming back, how about making him Devon's "daddy." He could teach the boy all about photography and then, Silly Lily could be bitten by the I-want-to-be-a-model bug."
SANDI - "I can't believe Victor "picked up on Neil's problem" by just talking business, when he can't seem to know what is going on with his own wife and the way she was acting for weeks and weeks. And Detective Weber being "so on top of the 'Lilly matter' when he can't seem to find his way out of a paper bag. Now, why is Detective Weber not more interested in the skeleton found than Lilly who makes bad choices? And now Arthur is going to be a bad guy; that stepson looks like he is over or under medicated to me."
BARB - "I am tired of Victor imposing into almost every plotline. Isn't it time he was relegated to the part-time as is John Abbott? He certainly is old enough!"
Once again all, thanks for taking the time to write. Keep those comments coming!
