This week's Best and Worst features two CBS soaps -- soaps run by the same company and with the same history.
A good soap episode does not happen by mistake. I decided to look at Friday's episodes to see which soap followed the rules and which decided there were no rules. The Young and the Restless' Friday show had all the elements.
Of course Victor was Victor -- offering brutal assessments of everyone in and out of the room and then giving his "I love my family, and no one is going to hurt them" speech. Proving she is Victor's daughter, Abby was cracking mean jokes and claiming it was meant to help.
Noah got to defend his mother but realized that her switching the DNA tests was unforgivable. Noah took Phyllis to task in front of Summer. Summer and Noah have always been best friends. Each snarked about the other's mother then they hugged and refused to let their parents get in the way of their friendship. Speaking of parents, it seems Noah is the parent in every situation.
It was so Phyllis when she tricked Ashley and the ever-caring Traci so she could track Jack. And Jack... I really love this character -- but sometimes he can be a Jack Ass. His "I did it all for love, oops, I changed my mind" has been an ongoing theme for decades. A good soap plotter knows that, as in real life, as much as we try to change, we always go back to old habits. So for how many minutes will Jack and Phyllis be happy? Hope you have your egg timer set.
The next must-soap element: A viewer knowing that a character's happy moment is about to be crushed. Poor Kelly still thinks she has a chance with Jack. The audience knows different. Whenever Jack gets into a romantic entanglement, I want to say, "Danger, Will Robinson."
When Jack showed up at the club to tell Kelly he was going marry Phyllis, there was a great unspoken moment. Kelly went in for the romantic kill, and Jack stopped her. That brings us to the next soap opera element.
What will Kelly do when she learns Jack has kicked her to the curb? Perhaps Kelly has a bit of her off-kilter mother in her. Maybe she will sulk then move on. The former would be more interesting. Jack's "love" took away some of her bitterness; if it returns, good luck to everyone who has to deal with Kelly.
And, of course, there is the "I knew it" moment. You had to know when Nick showed up at the creepy cabin he was going to run into Adam -- sorry, Gabriel for now. It was great that the dog that looks like a wolf greeted Nick. Later on, the same dog growled when he saw who was supposed to be his former master Gabriel.
Most important of all is what is going to happen. Friday's show was brimming with that. What was the real Gabriel like? Is Adam really giving up evil for good? How is Kelly going to react to Jack's announcement? How will Nick and "Gabriel" interact? Is Austin going to remain perfect Austin or return to some murderous traits because he thinks Summer may still want to be with Kyle?
I also loved the theme of the show: "What if I gave a party and nobody stayed?" Everyone left Victor's "I want to help Nick (even if Nick is not here)" party.
Phyllis' last-minute "ha, ha, I am going to marry your brother Jack, and there is nothing you can do about" soiree even had the hostess leave. I can hardly wait for Thanksgiving -- you know, the holiday where all the relatives get together once a year and realize why it is only once a year.
A special thank you to the Y&R hair and makeup department. For over a year, I could hardly tell which blonde was which. There was Summer, Abby, and Courtney. On Friday, Summer's hair color went in the direction of her mom's red hair. Thank you for making my soap-watching life easier.
A great cliffhanger would have been Rick telling Caroline he wanted to talk to her. An interested fan would have to wait until Monday. Not this week. Rick offered his heartfelt apology -- with tears. Earlier, when Caroline suggested it was as if the families had gone full circle, I yelled, "I know. They are back on the never-ending carousel of love." With Hope on her way out, does this mean we have to deal with a Katie, Ridge, Rick, and Maya quadrangle? Say it ain't so.
Never good when what appears to be the next long-term storyline has you screaming, "Oh, dear God. Not this again."
When everyone told Rick he should be happy because the new fashion line was going to make the Forresters rich, my head snapped. The family has mansions, private airplanes, posh cars, beautiful clothes, lush getaways -- in my not-so-rich pocketbook, that is rich. Maybe they are shooting for Richie Rich rich. You know, like Raj's family in Big Bang Theory.
The one line I wanted to hear was cut short. Rick said, "Dad," as if he wanted to apologize. Eric would not listen. There went the chance for some dad and son bonding. Eric just went on like a scold. Eric was right when he said it was "just a kiss." That points out the flimsiness of the central plot for the past few month. I kept saying, "It was only a kiss. Why are everyone's panties in a twist?" I wish there were a few more twists in this story.
Last week's results
General Hospital 30%
The Young and the Restless 28%
Days of our Lives 25%
The Bold and the Beautiful 16%
