April 22, 2009
I'm just not feeling the "Kevin fights the chipmunk" storyline on YOUNG AND RESTLESS. The start of Kevin's breakdown was compelling; Clint kidnapped and drugged him, locked the claustrophobic Kevin in a closet, made him think Clint was his late "daddy," and brainwashed Kevin into robbing banks (while wearing a chipmunk mask). However, watching poor Kevin being terrified by visions of a giant chipmunk isn't riveting; it's just plain silly. The chipmunk itself isn't really the problem — in fact, it brings to mind the movie Donnie Darko, where a troubled teen saw a giant bunny. However, the chipmunk is just not scary. It speaks in a high-pitched voice and keeps making bad puns ("You're nuts!") and hasn't done anything remotely threatening to Kevin, other than well, stand there and make jokes. I'm all for showing how messed up Kevin's mind is, but I think there were plenty of other ways to do this. He could've seen visions of Clint or of Terrible Tom, or even of his loved ones getting hurt by his own hand. As of now, Kevin's "nemesis" is just making me roll my eyes, which is not the effect the story is supposed to be having.

April 8, 2009
On a personal note, this week (April 9) my husband and I are celebrating our 9th wedding anniversary. That said, I've been intrigued by the ways in which the various marriages are being portrayed on YOUNG AND RESTLESS. It seems like begging is the thing to do, even in unions that are completely falling apart. Cases in point: Phyllis is desperate for Nick to stay with her, even though he keeps going to see his ex-wife Sharon. Meanwhile, Jack keeps asking Sharon for a second chance, even though she's clearly in love with Nick and wants a divorce from Abbott. Then there's Karen, who wants to work on her marriage to Neil, even though he's obviously into Tyra. Finally, Chloe and Billy just tied the knot; though she's in love with him, he's still not over Mac. I realize that these are soaps and dramatic stories are expected, but having so many messed up unions on one show is getting to be rather depressing. Thankfully, a newly-engaged Kay and Murphy seem to be in a mutually loving relationship ... but it would be nice if we could have some other happy romances — at least for a little while.

March 25, 2009
I've been a fan of YOUNG AND RESTLESS's Cane and his talented portrayer, Daniel Goddard, since the character came to Genoa City in 2006. Lately, however, Cane is trying so hard to be the good guy that he's in danger of crossing over into becoming a jerk. I get that he's upset about Chloe lying to him about being Cordelia's father and then tricking him into marriage, and I get that he's reluctant to have her and his brother/rival Billy serve as the baby's parents. But him wanting to take Delia away from them is going over the line. Like it or not, the baby is Chloe and Billy's biological child. So far, neither Chloe or Billy has done anything to put the little girl in jeopardy; she's well-clothed, fed and loved. Plus, it's not like Cane has had a lot of time to bond with the baby, as she's only a few weeks old. It would be a different story if he'd raised her for a few years before learning the truth. If anyone should understand how it feels for a child to be snatched away from her parents, it's Cane, who's Jill's son, but ended up being raised in Australia after Kay switched him with another baby at birth. Taking Delia away from her parents wouldn't be heroic in this case; it would be cruel.

March 12, 2009
I'm having a difficult time watching Kevin on YOUNG AND RESTLESS — but I mean that in the best possible way. The scenes where Clint trapped a claustrophobic Kevin in a car trunk were disturbing enough. However, Kevin's portrayer Greg Rikaart has just been doing such a convincing job when it comes to playing Kevin's fear, that the scenes have become that much more intense. I'm not claustrophobic, but while watching him shriek in terror, I suddenly felt as if my office's walls were closing in on me. It takes a great talent to make one's feelings so understood, and I applaud Rikaart for his work.

March 4, 2009
I really liked the scenes that Chloe and Amber shared on YOUNG AND RESTLESS. After the truth about Chloe's baby came out — that Cordelia's father is Billy and not Cane — Chloe was feeling like the town pariah. That said, she was grateful when her sort-of friend Amber came by and offered her full support as Chloe explained that she just wanted to have the best father around for her child. Though they've only shared a few scenes in the past, their bonding worked because Amber's been there. On B&B, she, too was caught between two possible fathers (Rick and Raymond) when she was pregnant and really wanted Rick to be the daddy ... and she, too, tricked Cane into marrying her when she first came to Genoa City. Later, when Chloe let Amber hold Delia, Amber's eyes misted over and she explained how she'd had a baby who'd died. By including Amber in these scenes, it was a subtle way of reminding us of her past on the other show — but at the same time, it provided a nice foundation for understanding some of Chloe's actions.

February 25, 2009
I'm enjoying the way Jack has been on hand to support Billy and Sharon on YOUNG AND RESTLESS. Over the past year, Jack's done some terrible things — like hiring someone to forge Victor's diary — so it's nice getting to see Abbott show some humanity once again. Though he's always had a shady side (especially when it comes to dealing with Victor), one of Jack's redeeming traits is that he's loyal to his family. He's such a complex character, especially in portrayer Peter Bergman's very capable hands, and I'm pleased that Y&R is recognizing this.

February 11, 2009
On YOUNG AND RESTLESS, I was pleased to see Phyllis confiding in Michael about Nick cheating with Sharon. It's been a while since we've had an emotional scene between Michelle Stafford (Phyllis) and Christian J. LeBlanc (Michael) and I think they have great friendship chemistry. That said, it'll be interesting to see how their characters deal with Nick's mandate that Noah and Eden not see each other. Often on soaps, parents want their kids apart because of rivalries within the families. I like the twist where the Baldwins are friends with Phyllis and Nick.

February 4, 2009
Okay, this is why I'm loving YOUNG AND RESTLESS. In today's show, there was a long, seemingly-useless scene where Victoria went around the hospital looking for the clothes that Noah had been brought there in. When she took Noah's clothes out, however, Noah remarked that the gloves weren't his and Victoria replied that they looked like a pair she and Abby had purchased for Brad. It was then that Noah recalled Brad being the one who'd pulled him out of the icy water. Dun-dun-dun! Meanwhile, everyone else wondered where a missing Brad was. I really liked how Y&R used a simple, realistic scene to pull everything together and to move the storyline along.

January 28, 2009
I loved seeing the flashbacks of YOUNG AND RESTLESS's Brad and Traci from about 20 years ago. How cute did Don Diamont (Brad) look with his mile-high curls? The scenes in the present where he told ex-wife Traci that she was the one who got away were really nice, as well, though a bit bittersweet since, as we've reported, February 5 is Diamont's last day. Still, I'm glad we got to enjoy some family moments with Brad, Traci and Colleen — and got a little reminder of just how integral these characters are to Y&R's history.

January 21, 2009
I loved the scenes this week between Esther and Jill when a glowing Esther introduced her new beau, Roger (who unbeknownst to them is in cahoots with evil Clint). "Kill me now," Jill muttered as Esther and Roger made googly-eyes at each other. Later, Jill continued to mock Esther as Esther painted her finger and toenails — and spoke on the phone to Roger. Props must be given to Esther's portrayer, Kate Linder, for managing to do all of these things at once — and having her character give it right back to Jill. While I want Kay to come home soon, "frenemies" Jill and Esther are keeping me entertained in her absence.

January 14, 2009
I'm really enjoying Robin and Patrick's storyline on GH and how they're coping with being new parents. On soaps, new babies are often paraded out only when it's convenient, but their storyline is much more realistic. Instead of having the new folks simply coo over the baby, Little Emma sometimes won't quit crying and poor Robin's looking increasingly disheveled and becoming more and more moody. Making such a big life change can be jarring so kudos to GH for capturing all the beats.

January 7, 2009
On YOUNG AND RESTLESS, I really liked how Jill confided in Michael about her angst over Katherine's "look-alike" Marge returning (it really is an alive Kay, but Jill doesn't believe it yet). Of course, Michael would understand what she's going through — after all, his wife Lauren's nemesis, Sheila, made herself over to look exactly like Michael's best friend, Phyllis.

On another note, what's the deal with Restless Style featuring local people on its cover? First Victoria was a model and now Phyllis asked her son Daniel to pose for a cover. Granted, both Vicky and Daniel are extremely attractive, but neither is a model (unless you count the nude spread Victoria did as a teen). Yes, getting celebrities is probably difficult for a new magazine, but surely there's a model agency in a cosmopolitan place like Genoa City? There must be hundreds of budding models who'd be willing to do a cover shot. Then again, using good-looking friends and family members could be a good way to save money, especially during these hard times, so maybe Phyllis is on to something.