Click here to read Boone's take on 2014 in part one of The Young and the Restless: The Year-In-Review
Happy New Year to all you fan addicts out there who have to be as thrilled as I am about the direction our soap is taking, which is hot, hot, and hotter! What a boom boom start to the New Year in Genoa City! I admit that I was blown away when it was revealed that Victor was working with Joe Clark and was the big wheel behind the waterfront renovation plan. I never in a million years thought that he would betray Dylan like that, but he did, and I suspect that it is going to make a terrific storyline that involves many characters and has just as many ramifications. Boom, boom, boom, boom! Let the fireworks explode!
I had forgotten what a snake Victor can be. I'm sure he's doing the project because he's in financial trouble and is trying to save Chancellor, but I suspect that, once again, Victor's machinations will cause his whole family to turn against him. It looks like Jack, Ashley, and Gabriel will holding out on one flank while Jill, Colin, and Cane attack on the other. If those six cannot bring Victor down, then they might as well stop trying and just bow down to his magnificence, the dark prince. Even if they do get Victor, he won't stay down long. I'm sure his kids can spare a few mil from that half bil they won off him a few years back -- that is if they haven't squandered it all by now -- to keep him out of the poorhouse. But won't it be delicious to see the mighty Victor fall?
Recently, my horoscope told me to admit that I was wrong about something. I thought, "Wrong? I'm never wrong!" Then I realized how wrong I had been about Kelly. I thought that she was going to be an eggshell to Phyllis' hammer, but she's not. Kelly is delusional and possibly psycho, but not a wimp. I love the way Cady McClain has eased us into Kelly's psychosis. She's like the old, old Phyllis, who started out as a psycho, but we liked her so much that she was redeemed. In this storyline, we might actually feel sorry for Phyllis if Kelly did, indeed, drain the gas tank and deliberately wear the same dress on New Year's Eve, as Phyllis insists that Kelly did.
Does that make Phyllis the old, old Lauren if Kelly gaslights Phyllis? Will Kelly eventually kidnap Phyllis, hold her prisoner, don a Phyllis mask, and then take Phyllis' place with Jack, who won't be able to tell the difference between the two women in bed? I don't imagine Summer or a myriad of friends and acquaintances will be able to tell the difference either. Boom, boom, boom boom!!
Listening to Jack hem and haw with Phyllis, Kelly, and Gadam (Gabriel/Adam), I wondered how Jack could still be walking upright after that spinalectomy he must have had. No wonder he can never beat Victor. He didn't do a very good job of standing up to Gadam or of dealing effectively with two very strong-willed women. Although Jack has a long history with Phyllis, I question whether Phyllis really loves Jack or if she sees him as a trophy in her conflict with Kelly, whom Phyllis seems to be deliberately baiting and antagonizing.
I'm not so sure that Phyllis and Nick are done, either. I think Phyllis would go after Nick in a hot minute if she thought that Sharon might get him back or even if Nick starts making moves on Sage. Phyllis and Nick do share a daughter, albeit a spoiled and whiny one, so they have history.
Not only do I think the new Adam and the new Phyllis are excellent, but I am over the moon about Sage, Kelly Sullivan. She was great on General Hospital. She is a terrific actress with a wonderful voice who can play any part. I hope she sticks around for a while, and what a twist it is to have her married to Gabriel! Not only will it throw a big wrench into Adam's plans, but it will also slow Nick's potentially amorous advances. Nick is going to want to reconnect with his old boarding school buddy, Gabriel. I wonder if Nick will learn to like Gadam before figuring out the truth? Boom, boom boom boom!!
Meanwhile, Sage is going to have the whip hand over Gadam's money. It will be interesting to see how Adam handles not being in charge. Adam does not like to surrender control, so his relationship with Sage should chafe, but Adam will do whatever it takes to get back to Chelsea and Connor, even if it means turning himself in. Boom, boom, boom, boom!!
At first, I thought Jack should have been loyal to Billy by picking up the phone and turning Adam in as soon as Gadam revealed himself, but after reading my friend Bessie's take on the situation, I'm not so sure. "What I don't understand is that after what Adam did for Jack when he was on pills and that girl died in his house, how can he even be questioning helping him in return now? Where is his loyalty to their friendship after all that Adam did for him during that time? Jackie Boy needs to get his priorities in line and not be such a butt head when it comes to doing what is right for Adam. He does owe him big time, in my opinion."
I'm pretty sure that Billy will not understand why Jack kept Gadam's confidence and will feel betrayed by his brother. Surely if Gadam turned Billy in for attempted murder, he would have to surrender himself also. I wonder who would get the longer sentence, Adam, who ran down a child and left the scene of the accident and pretended to be dead, or Billy, the grieving father, who tried to find justice for his dead daughter? Seems to me that Billy is more likely to get community service, while Adam would get the slammer. Must be the pain from that spinalectomy clouding Jack's bobblehead brain, which is the reason he did not call Gadam's bluff.
Nick finally came to the correct conclusion about Faith, only to have Sharon's lawyer wreck it. Nick showed his true colors when neither he nor the lawyer would let Sharon interrupt and explain. I've lost a whole lot of respect for Nick, and I won't get it back until Nick admits that he's forgiven a bunch of people who have done far worse than Sharon -- and those people were not off their meds like Sharon was.
Bessie also weighed in on Nick, but we agreed about him, so I'm guessing that most of you agree with us also. Here's what she had to say, and I can't say it any better myself! "And Nick, is he not a piece of work? I used to like him, but now he is sounding just like Victor, like nothing he has ever done could compare to what Sharon did. He started the whole thing by lying in the beginning, give me a break. He took no part of the responsibility at all, what a jerk! I just hope she wins in mediation. He is being so unfair to Faith, and won't admit that HE is the one hurting her the most. And then trying to tell Sharon that she is telling Faith it is his fault on top of all that, please."
As we all knew, Neil is about to regain his sight. The only question in my mind is if he will see Hilary and Devon in an embrace or if he will catch a text message on an unattended phone. No wonder soap phones are always running out of charge. My phone goes to sleep after one minute idle, so the text message goes off the screen, and then you need a password or fingerprint to wake it. It takes a lot of juice to keep the phone awake all the time, which is what you have to do if you want any Phyllis, Neil, or Victor to read your private messages. Maybe Hilary, et al, should go to their phone provider and learn to turn off the "always on" feature and let their phones sleep.
I am so glad Camryn Grimes is on contract. She is terrific as Mariah and a great fit with Kevin. I like them even better together than I liked Chloe and Kevin together. How will Mariah react when she finds out that Kevin is actually her idol, "Plato Sphere?" I'm looking forward to that as much as I am to their coming couplehood. If the cast ever has to be reduced by one daughter, I hope it's silly Summer and not spunky Mariah. Boom, boom, boom, boom!
I sure hope Michael starts those cancer treatments soon. Y&R is not GH where people come back from the dead. Enough said. "Get thee to chemo or radiation, Michael! Better bald than dead!"
Detective Harding has been MIA recently but was back in action with Abby on New Year's Eve. That was quite a smooch, which I hope leads to something for Miss Abby-Knows-Best so she can get her nose out of everyone else's business. (She should know, though, that Detective Harding has been moonlighting on another network with a nightime blonde. I guess that relationship didn't last because he's back on daytime.) Boom, boom, boom, boom!
I don't know how long it will be before Billy and Victoria find their way back to each other, but I'm guessing Valentine's Day, if the way they make goo-goo eyes at Katie and each other is a clue. Besides, it would give Victor fits, which he deserves for trying to steal from Ashley and Abby as well as destroying Dylan's business. As I said before, Victor is a low-down dirty rapscallion. And he can't even use the excuse that he's off his meds. Hmm -- what kind of chill pills would a doctor prescribe for megalomania? Ego-gone? Or maybe Victor could get a referral to Narcissists Anonymous, where instead of sitting in chairs and sharing, they peer into mirrors and groom. Or maybe Victor could have an ego-ectomy. Boom, boom, boom, boom!
I do not think Nikki will win her battle with the bottle. I know she is trying, but as long as she keeps hiding her slip-ups and not being truthful, she will not conquer it. It takes a lot of work to get off alcohol. I've watched a few friends go through it, and some succeeded. The ones who didn't are mostly gone or in poor health.
25 years ago, I finally quit smoking cigarettes -- that was after quitting two times previously -- once I quit for two years and then thought I could smoke just one a day -- I couldn't. Third time was the charm for me. It is even harder to give up alcohol, so I think Nikki is in for an uphill battle, and it is not going to help when she finds out that Victor is the power behind Joe Clark.
I like every single storyline that is going on right now, and I couldn't say that two years ago, when I didn't like any. There has been tremendous improvement in the writing and the cast since then. For now, the ship is righted. It remains to be seen if Y&R will sustain its momentum, but I suspect it will, just like my beloved Seattle Seahawks, which I expect to report in my next column, will be playing in the NFC Championship game. Go Hawks and the Legion of Boom, boom, boom, boom!
About the only fault I can still find with the show is hair and wardrobe, but that's just picky, picky me. My 20-year-old niece assures me that the hair and clothes are very fashionable. Since she wears her lovely wavy hair like a straight limp dishrag with split ends, as Kelly does, and her clothes have geometric cuts like Avery's do, she must know what she's talking about.
I've certainly never been accused of having any fashion sense. I'm still wearing blouses and socks that I bought from Lane Bryant in the 80s when they made their stuff from material that never wrinkled and never wore out. I can't understand why we went back to cotton and fabrics that wrinkle.
Whenever I accidentally buy anything that needs to be ironed, I wear it until it needs to be washed, then I wash it and give it to Goodwill. My stepmother gave me an iron a few years ago, but I gave that to Goodwill too. Now I shop at Wal-Mart, where my niece introduced me to "jeggings." I love them! Comfort and warmth in the same pair of pants. I bought six pairs. On the seventh day, I wear sweats. I also bought some sparkly tee shirts just in case I'm ever invited to a formal event.
My resolution for the New Year is to figure out something new about the Internet, so I signed up for Twitter and pushed the button to follow Teddi's tweets, and I encourage all of you to do the same. I'm still figuring out how to use Facebook. And by the way, thank you David in Paris for finding me and "friending" me.
In closing, I wish all my friends, real and imaginary, a happy and prosperous New Year! May the villains get whacked and true lovers find their way back to each other, not only in Genoa City, but also in all the cities, in all the towns, and in all the villages in all the world. Boom, boom, boom, boom!
Click here to read Boone's take on 2014 in part one of The Young and the Restless: The Year-In-Review
What are your thoughts on The Young and the Restless? What did you think of this week's Two Scoops? We want to hear from you -- and there are many ways you can share your thoughts. You can leave your comments below in the comments section, you can click here to submit Feedback, or you can call our 24/7 caller feedback hotline at 267.341.7627 and voice your thoughts.
