Cliffhanger Friday AND a “Robbin’ the Cradle” Examination

Gloria, who usually can go from delusional to insane in 60 seconds, said the most rational thing today: Why aren’t you (Bardwell) looking for Jenna? I have been wondering this all week. Now that her dad’s dead, who knows what’s happened to her, and I think anyone could call a mistrial if they didn’t even try to find her.

Why is Colleen unable to breathe on her own AND in a coma when Kevin, who put the wet shirt over her mouth to help her, walks away almost unscathed? Does this make any sense?

I thought we were going to find out (per rumors) that Korbel was some kind of secret agent, but it seems he’s just a professor who likes ‘em young. Oh, well.

Speaking of which, I have wondered a long time about the age differences between the characters on the show. There seem to be so many weird matches in the past year, that I thought I’d review some of them here, and base the age difference on the actual age of the actor portraying said character. (All my info was from the IMDB, and I used the actor that most recently played the part for the birth year.) Let’s take a look:

Lauren Fenmore was previously married to Paul, but is now married to Michael. Paul is now in a relationship with Maggie.

Lauren: 1963 (age 44)
Michael: 1958 (age 49)
Paul: 1954 (age 53)
Maggie: 1968 (age 39)

Nothing too interesting there. Let’s check out Brad’s relationship tree (at least, those that are most noteable:

Brad: 1962 (age 45)
Traci: 1958 (age 49)
Ashley: 1959 (age 48)
Nikki: 1956 (age 51)
Sharon: 1971 (age 36)
Victoria: 1973 (age 34)

Well, it looks as though Brad went from being the “robbed” to the “robber” of the cradle. Nice.

One of the weirder matches, in my opinion, is the Nick and Phyllis union:

Nick: 1975 (age 32)
Sharon: 1971 (age 36)
Phyllis: 1965 (age 42)

Wow, a ten year age difference. Looking at the actors ages, which I know don’t mean much when they started playing the role when the characters were “teenagers”, Sharon would have been a senior in high school when Nick was a freshman.

Finally, the controversial Adrian-Colleen-JT triangle, with Victoria:

Colleen: 1986 (age 21)
Adrian: 1975 (age 32)
JT: 1975 (age 32)
Victoria: 1973 (age 34)

So, Colleen likes those 30-somethings, huh? I know her character is supposed to be 18 or 19 years old, and we have no idea how old Adrian and JT are supposed to be, but here it doesn’t seem to make a difference: they’re the SAME AGE.

It really makes me wonder about how the writers keep things straight, as some characters start out as children, are shipped to Europe, and come back as teenagers. A year later, they are running the friggin’ company and are at least 25. Soap opera time is so interesting! They can make a day last a week, and have 10 years pass in 12 months time. Amazing!

For many years now I’ve wanted to create a Y&R Family tree, including all the actors that have played the roles. I know this seems like a daunting task, but I’m thinking I need to get started on it. I may periodically ask for some help out there, keeping it accurate and updated. Stay tuned!

Kevin: still a dufus.

Kevin may have become a less vengeful person, but he’s still a huge dork. Why do I say this? Who else, while dying of smoke inhalation because of their stupid girlfriend, would ask the person next to him, who is also gasping for air, (and who he once attempted to kill in just this manner) to make sure they create a shrine to him at his coffeehouse if he dies. I’m sorry, but I don’t think that’s how it works. You don’t ask someone to do something like that, especially under these circumstances. While he’s at it, he should request that the Queen of England knights him, and that we all have a national day of mourning. The guy has no sense of reality.

I’m assuming Colleen will wake up any day now and say that Kevin is innocent, blah blah blah… I think we’ve all seen that before, speaking of Cassie.  I’ll be glad when this whole cheesy affair is put to rest.

I was thinking yesterday about how much the show has changed in the last 12 months. It’s really hard to believe that it’s the same show. They’ve gotten rid of so many of the ol’ timers, the ones who’ve been there forever, and added so many new people. With all the new pairings going on, you’d think the writers had put everyone’s name in a hat and picked who their new partners would be: Nick and Phyllis! Sharon and Jack! Lauren and Michael! Speaking of Micheal Baldwin, I remember when he was a ruthless lawyer/harasser of Cricket (Christine) and felon. Now he’s all reformed and moralistic and married to Lauren, whom I never would have paired him with in a million years. Of course, I never would have paired Nick and Phyllis either.

I’ll be sorry to see Dru go, as she was always a treat to watch. I agree with those folks out there who think the Carmen storyline was cut short somehow to get her off the show, as her departure seems forced. At least they aren’t killing her off, so she can return to the show later, if she wants.

Sweeps are almost over, kids!

Cliffhanger Friday: Return of Jana

Could you believe today’s episode? That Jana is a real snake!

I remember when she first appeared on the show, and I thought she might be the one who stole Victoria’s portfolio, since she was the one who “found” Victoria’s missing stuff. I guess my suspicions were right after all. That little sneak. I can’t wait for Captain Adrian of the Mounted Police to ride in and save Colleen, though after her stupid confession to Jana, I don’t think she deserves i. Seriously, that girl has the biggest mouth in town!

Monday’s show should be really interesting, with all the pieces flying together. I guess Carmen’s murder was all a part of this whole Nazi art thing after all…or is it? Will Jana tell Kevin the truth about her past? Will Jill find Cane before he marries Amber in a shotgun wedding? Will Brad have to open another can of whoop-ass on more Nazis? These answers (maybe) and more on the next episode…

Here’s the scene from the other day when Colleen finds the stuff in Adrian’s apartment. Enjoy!

January 15, 2007: Back to Business

Was it just me, or was the majority of yesterday’s episode pointless? The whole thing just snoozed along until the last scene, when Colleen found Carmen’s drivers license and the pink hair (assumably from Jana). I feel sorry for anyone who gave up on the ep too soon.

***Warning! There might be some spoilers in this post, though I tried to be vague.

Darlene Conley

I just found out that Darlene Conley, who played Rose Deville on Y&R in the 80’s, died on January 14th of stomach cancer. She was best known as Sally Spectra on The Bold and the Beautiful. Here’s a bit from SoapCentral.com:

In November 2006, soapcentral.com first reported that during a routine examination Conley was diagnosed with cancer. The actress underwent immediate surgery and began chemotherapy and radiation treatments to combat the disease. At the time, a spokesperson stated that the actress was “doing quite well [with] a good prognosis for a full recovery.”
Sadly, the actress lost her valiant battle on January 14th, 2007. She was 72.

I had recently started watching Y&R around the time that she was on, when she was selling Nina’s baby. It is a testament to her talent that, after playing a role so infrequently and so long ago, that I can still remember her.

Here’s her prolific IMDB profile.

TGI Cliffhanger Friday

Not much of a cliffhanger today, as they surprised us with ending a storyline…or HAVE they? (dum-dum-dum)

Thank the Soap Gods that Sheila is apparently dead, and that Lauren turns out to be a pretty good shot. She really lucked out that she shot the right one, don’tcha think? I wonder how this is all gonna shake down, as Maggie doesn’t seem like the lying type to me. Speaking of Maggie, I can’t believe Paul blamed himself for her finding Sheila. At least she admitted it was her fault for being snoopy, but Paul is obviously blinded by love. Sheesh.

Now that Jana is almost officially missing, I wonder if it’s just a red herring. I doubt Corbell had anything to do with it, but that’s what they’re trying to imply. I’m not sure where this one is going.

Since we are nearing the half-way point in Sweeps, I’m hoping at least one other storyline will get some closure. I’m voting for the whole reliquary thing, as I am really sick of everyone accusing Corbell. Even if he did do it, (which I’m sure he’s not, or they wouldn’t make a point of accusing him all the time) it’s getting really old.

I guess we’ll just have to see what Monday brings…

Thursday, Feb 8: Things I just don’t understand…

1. Coincidence: Kane moves to Genoa City and starts looking for his mum at the same time that Katherine and Jill are looking for “him”. (Though they don’t know it yet.) What are the odds???

2. Why Sheila took Phyllis with her if she’s only planning on disposing of her later. Isn’t Phyllis just excess baggage at the least, and a danger to her plan at the most? Also, why doesn’t Phyllis just scream like a banshee? I’d rather go down fighting than die a wussy-pants.

3. If Paul is so regretful for not calling the cops, why doesn’t he confess about the walkie-talkie? Michael ain’t the boss of him. He needs to grow a pair, for gosh sakes.

4. Are we EVER going to find out who killed Carmen? It was getting interesting last year, and now it has been completely replaced by this crappy Sheila storyline. It’s like when you have a really good pizza, put it in the fridge and forget about it. One day you clean out the fridge and find it, but it’s covered in mold. Like the Carmen story. Even the rediculous Brad storyline. To quote the agent in A Mighty Wind, “Wha’ Happen’?”

5. Noah- did he dye his hair? I don’t remember it being that brown. I guess Nikki took him to her colorist in Chicago while they were “protecting him” from the truth. Poor Noah, his life is a lie. They don’t tell him his mom was kidnapped or that his half-sister has been kidnapped…

It’s hard to believe that it’s only been one day since the kidnapping. It feels like a week, maybe because it HAS been.

I just have to keep repeating to myself that it’s only a soap.

Here’s a little treat from You Tube: Paul and Cindy, from a few years before I started watching the show:

Monday Madness! (A Rambling Rant)

I cannot friggin’ believe this Sheila storyline. Thank God it’s almost over. Hopefully.

What is up with the hideous grey wig? That landlady would have to be a complete moron to not be suspicious of a woman with that hair. Seriously fake. Besides, no one has a kid who is their exact twin. That landlady is either nieve, stupid, blind, or all three. Why, after having to qualms shooting Maggie in the gut did Sheila keep both Lauren and Phyllis alive and bring Phyl along? Come ON! I’d think the Amber Alert would tip anyone off. How many people would fit THAT description? Plus, did Sheila really have anything to do with Jana’s disappearance, and why the heck was she at the coffeehouse? When did she find the time to grab a coffee? I’d think the McDonald’s drive thru would have been more convenient. Finally, the big question, the elephant in the room, is how did Sheila build that cage and furnish it in secret, and where did she get the money? This is so lame!!!!!

I can’t believe that Michael stood there with the cops and let Paul lie like that. It made me sick, though I know he’d be further incriminating himself by confessing.

Devon’s trial postponed? Heck, that whole storyline has been postponed. This is the slowest darn thing I’ve ever seen. Also, proving Drucilla is crazy won’t be hard if she keeps wearing weird hats like today’s chapeau.

In movies or TV, whenever a baby has been kidnapped or dies, they always show a relative hugging a teddy bear. This show was no exception: Gloria. I don’t really have any comment on this, I just thought it was interesting, and maybe a bit clichéd.

Paul’s voice has sounded like he’s had a cold for the past week.

If I hear one more person say “I should have called the police on Sheila”, I’m going to barf.

Phyllis used to be such a ball-breaker. I guess motherhood has softened her up.

One thing I didn’t realize is how many characters this whole kidnapping storyline now affects: The Newmans, Michael Baldwin’s family, Jack Abbot, and The Winters, besides Paul and Maggie.

More later…