Amber is ticked! (Soaps.com)
The highlight of the week was Kevin and Jana's wedding, and is it just me, or was the rest of this week a bit of a yawn? There's an underlying feeling that the show has down shifted into a lower gear. If that's true, hopefully it means things will be revving up again soon!
Jana and Kevin's Wedding: I loved this! The whole Ashram and hippie vibe was perfect for Kevin and Jana, the theme of the pot brownies running through each storyline was brilliant, not to mention hilarious, and the acting surrounding Michael and Gloria's shocking discovery of his missing father was sublime!
Michael/River: Michael's feelings were amazingly portrayed by the fab-u-lous actor Christian LeBlanc. Michael's confusion, anger, pain, and pride could all be clearly observed battling within him. We were given a glimpse of the small abandoned boy still inside the man. Bravo! I was oddly disappointed by Lowell/River - he unexpectedly came across as dull and dry. Hope this changes if he comes around again!
Daniel/Amber/Colleen: I HATE that Colleen and Daniel did 'it' outside on the ground at the Ashram! First of all, this was right out of left field, as only hours before he was gazing into Amber's eyes, not to mention that he and Colleen had established that they weren't ready to even date - let alone do the nasty! But my biggest complaint is that the Daniel we know (the one who didn't cheat for a whole rock tour), would never have been this careless knowing that Amber could stumble onto them! I also can't believe that we are supposed to accept that Colleen would date, never mind sleep with, her best friend's ex-husband! On a more positive note, how cute is Amber trying to make Daniel jealous?! My favorite scene on Friday was when Amber was setting up a date with Liam in front of Daniel and her cell phone rang while she was talking on it! Hilarious!
Restless Style Gang: I love that Phyllis and Nick are trying to give Jack a taste of his own medicine, and I'm anxiously awaiting the fallout from the article they have sneaked into the next issue of Restless Style. Sharon and Phyllis's newfound hatred for one another is still grating on me though - it seems too contrived after having them get along for such a long period of time. Bottom line - at this point, I don't think any of them have what it takes to run a magazine, except maybe Jack, who will likely bail to go back to Jabot.
Nikki/Paul/Victor: I don't know if it's wishful thinking, or if something is truly brewing between Paul and Nikki, but I would rather she didn't go back to Victor when all is said and done. With Victor presumed dead (and Eric Braeden presumably on vacation) looks like we'll have to wait awhile to find out what is next for the Newmans. Oh, and who else found the dangerous Mexican adventure to be a total snore?!
Where's Brad?: Are the writers listening at all? We want Brad. It's plain. It's simple. He's hot, smart, complicated, and single. Get it? Got it? Good!
Victoria/Adam: Wow, was Little Miss Mustache on the warpath this week! Taking over the company and booting Adam off of a business trip and out of the Ranch as well! It's been a rough five days in the sandbox for the Newman kids! After about the 10th time they warned one another to 'wait until Dad gets back', I was ready to give them a big 'time-out'!
More Brad Please! (Soaps.com)
Chloe/Cane/Lily/Jill: I no longer recognize Jill. Instead of defending her son, and giving him the kind of advice Katherine did, she is encouraging him to ruin his life by marrying Chloe - a gold digger (who doesn't even bother to deny that that's what she is), and to add insult to injury; she decides to throw them a huge public engagement party! But that's not the worst of it! She's actually encouraging Cane to stop being hostile toward Chloe too! Yeesh! Give him a week or so to be angry! And how about that little snip Chloe anyway? Still want to slap her? Thank Elizabeth Hendrickson, who is doing a bang-up job of playing this love-to-hate-her role!
Ana/Tyra: Well, the truth came out about Yolanda being Ana's mother and the resulting scenes were…well, let's just say I won't be crying when this kid leaves for art school! I have to admit the scenes with her and Devon bonding over being sister and brother were cute, but on the whole, this story is fast-forward material. The reason? We're not invested in these new characters, Tyra and Ana. Also, Devon's too prickly, Lily's too whiny, Neil's too self-righteous, and Karen's too unsure of what she wants. Help! Give us a reason to care what happens to this family - like we did when Dru was around!
Gloria/Jack: Seems like a deal with the devil. But which one is the devil?! I love that the writers have come up with this scenario, because I relish seeing Peter Bergman acting alongside Judith Chapman and Ted Shackleford. I can't wait to see this storyline develop, and I cast my vote right here and now for them to takeover Jabot! Interesting too, that Gloria and Jeffrey still appear to be scheming behind each other's back! Too funny!
Noah: Funny line of the week? When Nick caught Noah with the beer and he told his father he had no intention of drinking it. Nick snarks, "Oh, so you're just holding the can because you needed to cool your hand down?" I laughed out loud. So typical of a parent and teen exchange. Anyway, older Noah is doing fine, but I'm not sure how he fits into the canvas - it was odd seeing him follow Daniel around, but we'll wait and see…
Soaps.com readers, the theme for this week is 'waiting to see what develops'. With the exception of the wedding, things were rather dull this week, and there were some characters I felt I didn't recognize. There was an intangible difference, or shift, almost as though there had been a change in the direction for these scripts. In spite of that, there are definitely some intriguing story lines developing, and the comedy is right on, as ever! Oh, and join me in congratulating the writers, because Kevin and Jana's wedding was perfectly done - 'nuff said!
Be sure to leave your comments, or your own rant, whether you agree with me or not. It's all in fun! See you next week, right here!
Candace Young
Y&R Writer
Soaps.com
