December 29, 2008
So, now B&B's Steffy and Rick are making out because what? She's totally over the fact that he broke her sister's heart by hooking up with their mom? And she doesn't care that he has feuded with her father and displaced him at Forrester? The moral outrage of a week or so ago is gone? And, uh, I thought she was in love with Marcus. I'm sorry, but her stock just totally plummeted in my book.

December 22, 2008
Is it me? Or are the scenes of Y&R's Heather and Adam a snooze? They aren't total newbies anymore, but they still come off like strangers; every time they are on screen together, I find my mind wandering. Today after another one of Heather and Adam's blah-blah-blah scenes, the action jumped to the prison and Victor snapped at Nikki, "What the hell are you babbling about now?" Well, he certainly said that to the wrong person, he should be asking that question to Heather and Adam. But there is a much newer newbie who never bores me: I'm crazy about Billy Miller as Billy. Now that's one character who had me at hello.

December 15, 2008
Henry and Vienna's role-playing games on ATWT are so fab! It takes me back to the days of PASSIONS's Julian and Rebecca. (Not to mention that one wild time with Tabitha when Jules was dressed up like Tarzan....) Good times. I find it so much more entertaining to watch adult soap characters have a playful attitude about sex, as opposed to some of the heavy breathing, earnest declarations and eye-rolling rose petal displays. But make no mistake, I'm still reeling in horror from the sushi business that Brooke and Ridge were doing on B&B a couple of weeks ago. I guess, I just don't, ahem, roll that way.

December 8, 2008
I always loved Roger Howarth as the original Todd on OLTL. Nowadays, I flip back and forth at 2 o'clock so that I can see him as ATWT's Paul, but still keep up with OLTL's Llanview. It gave me a little thrill today when Marty was searching the web for news stories on her rape trial and the item she found included a shot of Todd — with his old face. Obviously, since Todd's new look is attributed to plastic surgery it would have been silly to do anything else, but I like that the soap took the extra step to show what he looked like back then since OLTL could have easily just had her read text without an image. Would it be greedy to hope for plenty of Howarth flashbacks as Marty's memory improves?

December 2, 2008
Y&R's Neil and Devon are all broken up about saying good-bye to that little songbird, Ana. Here's an exchange from yesterday:

Devon: Take this watch, okay? And I want you to check it every hour. And every hour, I want you to sing.
Ana: I don't wanna sing alone, though.
Devon: You won't be singing alone. You'll be singing with me. No matter where we are. Okay?

May I just say: Are you KIDDING me?

November 26, 2008
So instead of the usual litany of complaints, I'm going to list some of the things that I'm giving thanks for on daytime:

AMC: Vincent Irizarry is back to play town menace, David.
ATWT: My beloved Greg Nelson, I mean, Laurence Lau is on my teevee as Brian.
B&B: Someone is finally standing up to Ridge, so bully for Rick.
DAYS: Nick tapped into his dark side and nearly killed Melanie. Some would see this as a victimless crime....
GH: Spinelli and Maxie: daytime’s most imaginative duo.
GL: Phillip Spaulding is coming back!
OLTL: Marty finally learned the truth and now she and everyone else in Llanview is poised to take Todd down.
Y&R: Phyllis has been roused from a stupor and I predict a scorched-earth strategy to hold on to Nick.

November 18, 2008
With all my kvetching about why Thorne isn't on B&B, I was quite happy to see him in the mix this week. I don't know how long it's going to the last, but at least the show remembers that he's a Forrester. Funny how he was in Ridge's shadow for so long and now Rick is top dog. I'd like to see some real resentment there, but I'm not going to be greedy. I'm just glad he's on at all. I also started to wonder if Owen was going to disappear into the black hole where so many characters have vanished, but since he's on this week, that's another complaint to scratch off my list. And after months of squirming over the OLTL Todd/Marty storyline, the payoff has been totally worth it for me. Todd deserves to be returned to his rightful place as Llanview's No. 1 pariah. I'm just waiting for someone to take him out, if you know what I mean. I was tossing around scenarios with Weekly's online editor Stacy China the other day and we came up with a pretty good storyline wherein David Vickers, the four-legged one, is the culprit. Ludicrous, yes, but you have to admit that it has a lot of bite.

November 5, 2008
What?! No Daytime Emmy Awards on TV in 2009? How sad that CBS has decided not to televise the show in 2009. While there are currently no plans to do so, I hope another network steps in to fill the gap. Daytime gets such scant attention — and that's usually just mocking (some of it warranted, mind you) — that I think it's valuable for the fans and industry to have that one night where soap operas are not treated like the proverbial red headed stepchild. Truth be told, I don't find award shows very interesting. I'm just all about the glitz and glam on the red carpet. What bothers me most is this feeling that those of us involved in the ailing world of daytime are just shuffling deck chairs on the Titanic and this latest development gives me a ... sinking feeling.