August 13, 2008
After receiving Chloe's paternity test and learning that Cane could be a genetic match for Chloe's unborn child, a devastated Lily immediately told her fiancé to marry Chloe instead for the baby's sake. Yes, having a two-parent home is considered to be the ideal, but how would it help a child to be living with two parents who don't love each other and only wed out of obligation? There are all different types of families out there. Cane could continue to be a father to the child, regardless of who he was actually married to.

August 6, 2008
I know that Ethan is supposed to be the show's hero, but sometimes I just don't get this character. After months of thinking that Theresa was dead (when she was parading around as "Gertrude" right under his nose), he was thrilled to find out that she was alive. However, when she accused Gwen of lying to him and blackmailing Theresa's family, rather than give his alleged "true love" the benefit of the doubt, he went right back to doing what he'd always done: doubt Theresa's word. Then when she revealed that Little Ethan is his son, again, rather than be happy about it, the first thing that he thought about was how Theresa had lied to him. To be fair, he finally listened to Theresa and realized that everything she'd been saying about Gwen was correct and that she had a good reason for keeping Little E's paternity secret. Still, it's difficult to root for someone when he can be so dense and such a jerk.

July 30, 2008
It's nice to see so much humor lately on GENERAL HOSPITAL. Sure, Jax and Carly are having marital problems, but some comedy was thrown into their storyline when she handcuffed herself to him (to prove she wanted to be with him) and then realized she'd misplaced the key. Meantime, Anna proved she still has what it takes to be a sexy spy when Robin arranged for Max and Milo to confront Eli at his concert; Diane was then on hand to comfort Max when he revealed that he "had his butt kicked by a granny." GH has always succeeded in providing dramatic storylines, but having some humor gives them a nice balance.

July 23, 2008
On PASSIONS, I found it somewhat surprising when Sheridan fainted over seeing Antonio back from the dead. This is a woman who's returned from the dead herself a few times and has witnessed the resurrection of nearly all of her family members. You'd think she be used to it by now!

That said, I don't think I can get on board with the idea of Antonio being Sheridan's "true love," even though the show keeps bringing it up. Luis told her that she had "true love" with Antonio earlier this week; Antonio then echoed this sentiment to her. Yes, she and Antonio were together for quite awhile, but at first it was because she had amnesia, and she then stayed with him basically out of pity because she thought he was dying. Not exactly a recipe for romance. PASSIONS can throw around the term "true love" but merely stating that something is so can't rewrite history.

July 17, 2008
It was great seeing Jessica back on PASSIONS yesterday, when she returned to wish her sister Kay well on her wedding. It was also nice getting little updates on several no-longer-on-screen characters, including Reese (who's dating Jessica), and Simone, Whitney and T.C. (who are living in New Orleans). However, I didn't appreciate hearing the clumsy dialogue that was used in the scene. "Simone's still in New Orleans with T.C. and Whitney after Vincent murdered her lesbian lover Rae?" Tabitha helpfully exposited. It sounded so forced and really wasn't necessary at this point. PASSIONS is about to go off the air. It's probably not getting new viewers and everyone who's watching most likely knows who these people are. Hopefully, we'll get some more updates on the out-of-towners. But PASSIONS, please treat your audience with respect!

July 9 2008
I know I've mocked Vincent and Viki's murder schemes (and Vincent's cardboard cut-outs of doom), but I have to hand it to them: they really achieved their goals when they added inedible mushrooms to the dinner being served at the rehearsal for the multiple weddings. In one fell swoop, they managed to poison nearly every character in town, including Ethan, Pilar, Luis, Fancy, Julian, Eve and Sheridan — and laughed about it! The final tableau in today's episode, which featured everyone's lifeless bodies strewn about the church floor was bone-chilling. Though I definitely don't condone mass murder, I have to give a hand to the directors and actors for effectively pulling off such a creepy sequence.

June 25, 2008
Wow, what a surprise it was when Sheridan ripped off Pretty's scar and revealed that Pretty has been faking her disfigurement. Pretty is obviously quite screwed up and I wish we'd seen more of her relationship with Fancy besides them fighting over Luis. Speaking of Luis, he's supposed to be this great catch, yet Pretty and Sheridan were positive that he'd leave Fancy if Pretty splashed her face with acid and she were no longer attractive. Who'd even want a guy like that? I hope this reveal means that Luis will have one less woman chasing after him. Being in a triangle with Fancy and Sheridan is complicated enough, but having three blondes fighting for him was a bit much. Yeah, Luis is hot, but so are most of the guys in Harmony!

June 18, 2008
Gloria's job troubles have been a hoot on Y&R. Of course, nearly killing Jeffrey by adding hot sauce to his coffee at Crimson Lights was terrible, as was the fact that she nearly burned down Lauren's boutique when she left on an iron. Still, portrayer Judith Chapman always manages to find the humor in these absurd situations and makes me laugh — like in today's fantasy where Glo was a homeless woman selling plastic flowers. It's always nice to have some fun scenes in daytime and Chapman excels at comedy. Hopefully, Gloria will continue to be punished for having "bad karma" as Jana puts it, and Chapman will keep me entertained in the process.

June 11, 2008
It's no secret that many of the characters on PASSIONS are — how shall I say this politely — dense, but you'd think that if Juanita is as dangerous as Pilar says, they'd leave town sooner rather than later. Granted, her family members are planning to take a trip around the world, but instead of leaving, say, immediately, they're busy planning a hasty quadruple wedding for Kay and Miguel, Luis and Fancy, Noah and Paloma and Ethan and Gwen. With everything going on, why would they even want to get married in Harmony? It's not like Europe is lacking for beautiful churches.

On that note, why is everyone in this town so obsessed with having multiple ceremonies? You don't get the attention you'd get having the day to yourself. It's difficult enough planning one wedding, let alone coordinating four! Plus, none have worked out so far (The Sheridan/Luis and Ethan/Theresa nuptials in 2001 were a bust, as were the Noah/Paloma and Fancy/Luis ceremonies in 2007). For a town so hung up on "signs" and premonitions, you'd think that this horrible track record would be a deterrent. Here's hoping that none of the brides end up wearing the same dress — though with everything they've been through, we'll forgive any of them for being a "bridezilla."

June 4, 2008
On PASSIONS, Pilar didn't want to tell her sons, Miguel and Luis, the truth about why they all needed to leave Harmony: because Juanita was coming to kill them. Instead, she enlisted the help of their fiancées, Kay and Fancy. The ladies then proceeded to use sex as a weapon, threatening to withhold it unless the guys agreed to go away with them. Eventually the guys demanded to know what was really going on and they were filled in, but it's a very sad statement about these relationships that they feel sex is the only thing going for them. Meantime, what does that say about Pilar that she doesn't even feel she can trust her children? Granted, characters in Harmony tend to not use simple communication as a means of getting anything done, but this was just degrading and ridiculous.

May 28, 2008
This is hardly a new revelation, but I'll say it again: Sam Bennett wins the prize of being the most clueless cop ever! During his brief visit to the hospital (to question Sheridan about being pushed over a waterfall by Vincent), Alistair was shot and killed, Viki stabbed Ivy with a syringe, and Vincent (whom Sheridan revealed is alive) was right there in the hospital in Valerie mode. Meanwhile, when Sam questioned Eve and Julian about them knowing if Vincent was alive, they pretended they had no idea. Sam didn't quite believe them, but rather than making them take a say, lie detector test, he simply had them make their statements into a tape recorder. Nor did it ever occur to him to check the hospital's security camera to see if there was any footage of Alistair's murder. Later, he and the gang followed a trail of blood and found Ivy's body stuffed into a closet. Sam was understandably upset over seeing his girlfriend like that but again, did he bother to have anyone follow the blood back to its origin or take a DNA sample in order to catch the culprit? No! I suppose Sam deserves some credit for actually bothering to go to work when most of Harmony's residents sit around and plot over how they'll win over their various love interests. However, it would be nice to see the town's police chief show some intelligence before the show goes off the air.

May 21, 2008
Now that Alistair has been shot on PASSIONS, I hope he's really and truly dead this time. Not just because he was an awful and sick person who went out of his way to cause pain for his "loved ones," but because PASSIONS has seriously overused the whole "back from the dead" plot. That said, I had a laugh when a corpse — affected by the "evil" Tabitha keeps predicting is coming to Harmony — suddenly sat up on his gurney and chatted with an alarmed Tabitha and Kay at the hospital ... about food, no less. This was a fun inside jab at how often characters do turn up alive on the show, and if we see more talkative zombies, perhaps this is a cliché I'd be able to get behind.

May 14, 2008
Though I'm rooting for Theresa and Ethan to eventually reunite, I was appalled by the scenes in which Theresa drugged Ethan and Gwen and then proceeded to have sex with a dazed Ethan. Yes, Theresa was desperate since she's had to pretend to be dead (to hide from Juanita), and yes, if he knew she were alive, I'm pretty sure Ethan would've willingly slept with her. Still, that doesn't negate the fact that she took advantage of a man who did not know what was going on and therefore could not make the act consensual.

Even worse is the way the show staged the scene with soft lighting and sexy music. The production cues all indicated that this was supposed to be romantic and loving, but there was just nothing romantic about this particular scenario.

I'd like to see some love scenes between the pair — but REAL love scenes, not one where one-half of the pair is too strung out to even know if he's awake!

May 7, 2008
Yesterday I had the pleasure of speaking with Eric Martsolf (Ethan) for a couple of upcoming items (to appear in the magazine). A consummate professional, Martsolf is always willing to chat about PASSIONS, despite being busy with auditions for other projects, not to mention his life as a father and husband. He's funny (something you didn't get to see too often on the show), candid and just an all-around nice guy.

That said, Martsolf gave me all the time I needed as we discussed his possible upcoming projects ("I've gotten some positive feedback and will keep you posted," he promised.) as well as things he wish he'd gotten to do as Ethan on PASSIONS ("Well, I wish he'd had more backbone," he joked). He also had much praise for the fans, many of whom keep in touch with him through his Web site (www.ericmartsolf.com). "Their support means the world to me," he said.

I'm disappointed that PASSIONS will be ending this summer, but I'm looking forward to what Martsolf and his former co-stars will be doing next.

April 30, 2008
I'm getting a little sick of the whole "Theresa is disguised as Gertrude" storyline. It's getting more and more difficult to believe that even Ethan could be that clueless that he wouldn't catch on to the fact the nanny is an alive Theresa. Also, it doesn't make any sense that Theresa staying dead is what's keeping Juanita from pursuing Pilar's family. Juanita has said over and over again that she wants Pilar's entire family dead. That said, wouldn't it stand to reason that even with Theresa out of the way, everyone else would be in danger? Still, I did enjoy seeing Pilar and Theresa's reunion in the Crane mansion when Pilar realized who Gertrude was. It was nice to see the Lopez-Fitzgerald women genuinely happy ... if only for a little while.

April 23, 2008
As I stated earlier on this site, I'm not quite sure how to react to the whole Julian storyline involving the mishaps with his manhood on PASSIONS. That said, I'm impressed with Phillip Jeanmarie (Vincent), Erin Cardillo (Esme), Tracey Ross (Eve) and Ben Masters (Julian) for how well they're handling such a bizarre and probably embarrassing tale. I'm amazed that they're able to get through their lines with straight faces; they're also all going full throttle with their roles and are making me giggle — even though it's a pretty disgusting subject matter. These actors truly are professionals and I applaud them for standing tall (or upside-down and backwards, as the case may be) in the face of what's arguably one of daytime's most out-there stories.

April 9, 2008
I'm not sure how I'm supposed to react to the scenes surrounding Julian's castration on PASSIONS. On the one hand, Rebecca got plenty of memorable lines upon discovering that a drunken Eve had botched Julian's reattachment surgery: "It's a toothpick and a topsy-turvy one at that!" However, the storyline itself is extremely perverse and difficult to watch, especially since it's tied to the already-disturbing tale of Vincent being pregnant with Julian's child.

That said, I feel compelled to watch in a train-wreck sort of way — but I'm making sure not to watch these episodes while I'm eating my lunch!

April 4, 2008
What's with everyone donning kinky sex costumes all of a sudden? First, on PASSIONS, Esme and Julian had sex in a crypt and dressed in appropriate skeleton and mummy costumes (Esme chose to be the mummy so Julian could "unwrap" her). Then on B&B, Donna tried to seduce Eric while wearing a cat outfit (complete with little, pointy ears). While it's always enjoyable to see steamy or funny scenes on soaps, this is going into TMI territory.

March 26, 2008
I really appreciated the conversation Ivy had with Sam where she lamented the kind of mother she'd been. She admitted to sending a scarred Pretty away to boarding school so she wouldn't have an "imperfect" daughter around and concluded that Pretty's true scar was an emotional one. She also recognized that while Julian was an indifferent father, she actively hurt her children in the way she raised them. Given how little screen time portrayers James Hyde and Kim Johnston Ulrich have had over the past few months, it was nice to see them sharing this simple, but heartfelt scene. It was also a welcome break to see a woman making some wise observations on a show where, let's face it, many of the characters are, well, clueless.

March 20, 2008
While I wish the "Viki is a serial killer" storyline would pick up some momentum on PASSIONS (seriously, is Sam the worst cop ever or what?), I am enjoying the budding romance between Julian and Esme. The boozy cad and vixen are a perfect match and their recent Jane and Tarzan-romp, though cringeworthy, was fun to watch. I'm not sure how portrayers Erin Cardillo and Ben Masters managed to get through those scenes where she hung from a ceiling swing with straight faces, but they pulled it off. Underneath the silliness, there's a sweetness between the characters as they yearn to find fulfilling relationships. I also appreciate having a lighthearted plot on the show (minus the serial killer stuff, of course). With so many characters grieving over Theresa and others plotting deaths of their rivals, it's nice to at least have some love in the afternoon.