Has your week been bold and beautiful? Did you jump ship like you were ditching the Titanic? Did rustic retreats make you randy? Did you lose more than your luggage on your honeymoon? These and more situations faced the Forresters et al this week!
Where did this week go? Mike here again with you, ready with my trusty Scoop to scoop the Scoop. Although, I have to say, nothing that happened in four of five episodes could mask the fact that we were really still talking about Leffy/Lope. A year ago at this time, we were all stuck on the gondola. The more things change... I can't wait to see if Brad Bell holds true to his promise to shake up the canvas. This week didn't show much proof of that, as we'll soon explore.
But first, I'd like to rectify a couple of boo-boos on my part! First, our faithful editor informed me that, on Y&R, there was mention made of the anti-rejection drugs for Victor's heart, after I said there hadn't been. My bad -- I admit I haven't actively watched Y&R in years. (Two Scoops reader Karen V. also made the same point. Thanks, Karen!)
Secondly, Two Scoops reader Kristen took issue with my calling Katie's "ongoing heart saga" realistic and refreshing. "Maybe she didn't jump out of bed, but within maybe less than an hour of having a heart attack and a C-section she was entertaining a room full of visitors, and then she's out of the hospital in a day, sitting up on the couch, not in any obvious pain, with just a nurse checking her blood pressure once in a while? Come on, that is not... refreshing and realistic... !"
I'll definitely concede that point, Kristen... in the sense that Katie's recovery was instantaneous, as was her recovery from last year's heart attack. I suppose what I meant by "realistic and refreshing" is that at least we're still seeing Katie struggling with this issue four years on, unlike most soap ailments that get swept under the rug after they've outlived their storyline usefulness. Kristen went on to say that Brad Bell was insulting our intelligence with Katie's insta-recovery, and I agree.
Perhaps all of you will agree when I say that I was really glad to see Katie still taking Bill to task this week -- how many times has Katie instantly forgiven Bill for his shenanigans? What I find fault with, though, is the relentless repetition of sentiments and exposition. Yeah, we know Bill got Deacon out of jail; yeah, we know you're concerned about Bill's influence on the new baby Spencer. It's just bad form to cover the same ground so many times in so few episodes.
It's no wonder Donna overheard it. It was dumb for Katie to blab so openly, when even Bill was warning her they weren't alone. And when Donna demanded answers, Katie was awfully quick to reveal Bill's schemes, just like Deacon was a few weeks ago. As pissed as Katie was, it seemed inappropriate for her to basically out Bill right in front of him. Did Katie do it to punish him? Not that he didn't deserve it, but still.
Oh! Speaking of "Still," it has also been brought to my attention that it's rather icky for Bill and Katie to be now living in Taylor's house, where Bill and Steffy almost made love. Viewers have identified baby Will's room as the site of the interrupted assignation! That is kind of creepy... and I don't know what the point was of having Bill and Taylor switch houses so suddenly. There's no great plot significance there. SMDH... (That's Webspeak for "shaking my damn head.")
Even though Bill faced the firing squad of the Logan sisters, it was hard to argue some of his spot-on logic. "You want your niece to be with a man who loves another woman?" Bill asked, incredulous. "I want her to be with a man who doesn't keep secrets from her," Katie insisted. Oh, really? Liam only ever 'fessed up about sniffing around Steffy because he got caught, and even now only Brooke knows about the torn-up annulment papers. Why Katie would hail Liam as honest is beyond me. Liam's a lot closer to being the "weasel" that Bill used to refer to him as.
In fact, the less said about Liam, the better. He goes to Hope and proposes, begging for a reconciliation, and when Hope says no, Liam sexes Steffy the same day? How many times is he going to do this? Bell tries to write him as a misguided soul who doesn't know his own heart, but Liam just comes off like a total ass. Stopping there: one paragraph is already too much to waste on a completely ruined character whose actions can't be taken seriously. How can Scott Clifton play him and not gag?
Steffy, on the other hand, was written as a free spirit that Jacqueline MacInnes Wood obviously had fun playing. But the contrivances and out-of-character foolishness flowed like Brooke's fountain. Ridge would never teach Steffy to play poker. Oh, Steffy loves nature? Since when? And don't get me started on this previously unmentioned cabin on Brooke's property that Steffy has stolen away to since childhood. Steffy took Liam to a secret hideaway that adjoins the house where Hope lives. Seriously?
The only thing I liked about it was Steffy reminiscing about how she played with Phoebe and Thomas on the property, and acknowledging the history of her being raised by Brooke "when my Mom was away." Accurate soap history can always improve a scene. Otherwise, it was just an excuse to film in this location, in line with Brad Bell promising more outdoor scenes. The sprinkler sequence might have been fun if Liam's relationship with Steffy wasn't as ruined as his relationship with Hope.
Naturally, it was all a ploy to get Liam and Steffy in bed together (without the bed), and for Donna to see it. Why didn't Donna just call Hope's cell instead of roaming around Brooke's property, calling for her? I think Donna stood watching the Liam/Steffy liaison just a little bit too long. Not that Donna has gotten any love herself this year. It's nice seeing Donna in the thick of things again, but her presence is wispy without mentioning why Nick, who she was dating, is suddenly missing in action.
However, Donna may go down in history as being the first Logan to be anti-Liam. Donna must have grown some wisdom teeth, because her strikingly sage chat with Hope was a joy to see. I loved Donna telling Hope that there was more to life than men (quite the shift for Miss Honey herself!), and that it was simply time for Hope to move on. Naturally, Donna has an arsenal of info influencing her words, but even without that, she was certainly speaking my mind.
Donna even agreed when Bill said Liam loved Hope but was in love with Steffy. She decided to call off the dogs on Bill, instead telling him to keep apologizing until Katie could hear him. Jennifer Gareis really radiated in all these scenes. But somehow I don't think Katie is going to give Bill that free pass this time. At least we're getting to see them struggle through their issues now, instead resolutions happening off-screen like before. See how much more satisfying that is?
Rick weighed in on the festivities, too, as Hope wavered on her decision to dump Liam, proving she's been hanging around him too long. Was Othello lying about Liam and Steffy's pre-wedding encounter? she wondered. Of course, that's when Othello walks in. I'm so sure! Hope was conveniently shipped off to Shipping as Othello suddenly developed a conscience and wanted to tell Hope the truth. The scene would have been a big fat nothing if Othello hadn't pointed out that Rick's manipulations made him no better than Bill. I believe the proper word is "touché"!
It's sad that every B&B character is still invested in who Liam ends up with. If this were put to a vote (an apt concept right about now), one could say that, from the Two Scoops readers that expressed an opinion about it, Hope is the clear winner with 63% while Steffy trails with 37%. All but one reader wants the triangle to end one way or the other. Personally, I don't care who Liam ends up with. Just get him out of my face. Not that Brad Bell reads my opinions. Obviously!
Rick did factor into one other story: the sudden mention of an interim CEO being announced by an absentee Ridge. It's kind of hard to believe that Ridge would communicate such a huge decision over an email. The one thing I do agree with is that Rick has way more experience than Thomas. Yeah... with women, too. Caroline sure was picking up on Rick's swag, because she was flirting like crazy, despite her dating Thomas. Not that "Tharoline" was ever developed enough to the point we would care!
After watching Donna function as a grounding force all week, it was a real letdown to see her scrap with Pam over notes and who was going to serve Eric what kind of water. Which there must have been something in, since Stephanie asked Eric to mentor whoever was chosen as CEO. Really? Ordinarily, Stephanie would be very vocal about who should and shouldn't be chosen. Perhaps she was feeling Zen due to her clean mammogram... although I thought her cancer was in her lungs, but what do I know.
How refreshing was it to actually see some business being conducted, though! Business: remember that? B&B should have taken a lesson from Ugly Betty, a show that also revolved around the fashion industry but found the balance to not let us forget that. For now, we did see the taffeta fly when Ridge named Thomas to sit in the CEO chair. "Are you freaking kidding me?" Rick raged. Yes, Rick was incredibly cocky thinking he was a shoo-in, but Rick's right: Thomas has zero business skills.
I keep saying it, but Jacob Young again showed shades of his All My Children character, JR, as he shot daggers at Thomas. Give the guy something to do, and he can run with it. But you know who really surprised me? Adam Gregory! This was the first time I've seen any fire in him, and wow was he channeling Ridge at his most arrogant! "You understand, Shorty?" The idea of Thomas and Rick butting heads always sounded like a yawnfest, but suddenly the prospect seems most tasty.
The position of CEO has always been a powder keg because everybody's somebody's son, and how can you really be fair about it? I do think Thorne is the natural choice, despite the laughable contention that Thorne is happier in Shipping. Sure he is. But I rather liked Rick and Thomas showing each other their true feelings, and I wasn't surprised the altercation led to a shoving match. Rick going through the famed "F" window? That's kind of up there with, I don't know... burning down the Newman ranch.
Wasn't it odd that no one at the meeting asked about Brooke? Did they just assume she was still with Ridge in Europe? Guess they couldn't have known she was at Katie's, getting a lengthy out-of-body-experience recap. Audiences didn't want to hear that. What we all wanted to hear was, why did Brooke come back without Ridge, who suddenly seems to want extended time to himself? Apparently, whatever went down was enough to have Brooke hyperventilating: fade to black, there's your cliffhanger.
I don't envy Brad Bell's position, having to write out a main character with no real time to build up to a justifiable plot twist. Still, all I've got to say is: this had better be good. After all the hype, after all the talk of going on without Ridge, and now with Brooke practically passing out trying to talk about it... it had better be worth it. I'm hearing rumblings it may not be. We shall soon see!
In the meantime, there was a flood of comments from Soap Central readers this week, and I say keep 'em comin'! Why do you think Ridge ditched Brooke? Who do you think should be CEO? Or maybe you've got something else on your mind. Introduce your fingers to your keyboard, and maybe your comments might end up in a future column. Like these!
• "Love your column! I think that Liam needs to fall for a young maid working in one of the various mansions. It would give ole Bill something else to think about other than his angst with Hope and uber-control about Liam and Steffy..." -- Sue
• "I love this show and think that it should be an hour long. I mean after all of the commercials we really only get to see 17 minutes..." -- Tiffany
• "They should have [cancelled] this show instead of As the World Turns. I am so tired of the same drawn out story lines over and over..." - Eva
• "The full truth [about Bill] needs to be revealed and Liam needs to go away for a while to make a decision that isn't based on emotions of the moment. The way the story is being written symbolizes disrespect of women and the women are [portrayed] as having low self-esteem..." -- CB
• "Personally I have enjoyed the triangle storyline between Steffy, Liam and Hope..." -- Shirlee
• "[Katie's] baby was premature but required no NICU assistance, Katie had a C-section (as I did with all of mine) and a heart attack and BOTH came home same day or next day...really?? They never let C-section patients go home any earlier than 2 days and preemies don't come home that early either..." -- Bambie
Yes, that's just one of several Points to Ponder:
"I guess Taylor wanted a smaller place now that her kids are grown," Katie surmised. Reasonable, except it would have carried more weight had we seen Taylor make that decision for herself on-screen... Interesting that now Rick has a sense of humor about Amber's cross-dressing scam... Those are Caroline's "hot" designs? The dresses were okay, but not very fashion-forward -- it looked like Wardrobe picked them up at Wal-Mart!
"I'm just supposed to go along with it?" Katie complained to Bill. Why not? You did all those times before. Hearing Katie admit that would have shown some growth on her part... Donna has a habit of inadvertently witnessing important confrontations: last time it was Jackie hurtling over Stephanie's balcony after an argument... Hope came tripping down the stairs after Donna returned from seeing Liam and Steffy's sexcapade: you mean Hope was there the whole time and didn't hear Donna yelling all over the house for her?
"Steffy's been the problem since the beginning," Donna asserted. Not quite: Amber was causing trouble for Liam and Hope while Steffy was off chasing Bill... Three separate songs for Liam and Steffy's "romance"? Guess we really are watching One Tree Hill... "I didn't know this place existed," Liam said of the cabin. Yeah, neither did we. "It's good to get away," Steffy sighed. If that's so, then why did Steffy go to Aspen instead of that cabin, and why has everyone headed to Big Bear if there's been a cabin on Brooke's property since she moved there in the '90s? Sloppy!
So, will Thomas return to his car-explosion ways? And what would possess Ridge, who has forgiven Brooke a multitude of much-talked-about sins, to let Brooke come back to Los Angeles alone? Keep watching, be alert, and most of all, be bold! See you again next week here at soapcentral.com!
