SOD Pic of Shelia/Phyllis

[BadZoe]

When Sheila last came back to Genoa City she could have been kept on as a long term viable character. B&B had just revealed that Taylor wasn't dead afterall so therefore there wasn't a murder, at least according to the law, as there was no evidence for the Shrink and the Bee Killing. Her crimes in GC had long past the statute of limitations. Unfortunately they decided to go with the stupid cardboard villian consipirator for that waste of space Tom Fisher and write in a vendetta against Lauren that was totally over the top and out of character for Bill Bell's Sheila. Last time Lauren and Sheila went at it on B&B it was Lauren who was the one plotting to drive Sheila further insane. Y&R though unfortunately is still ruled by the stupid writing despite the fact that Jack Ass was booted out the door. What these soaps fail to realize is that the best villians are those who have motives rooted in reality. Sheila has so many fans because under Bill Bell the character had a sense of vulnerability underneath and would only strike out when threatened. Good writers study the history of a show and allow the characters to drive the story while bad writers re-write characters to fit their storyline, it's obvious which side LML is falling on!!

PS. It looks like in addition to miracle plastic surgery, Sheila has also managed to turn herself into a natural red head. Or is Paul buying her red hair dye while holding her captive? I saw the preview and there is not an inch of Brown hair from her roots!!

[DruRocks]

I think fans would actually boycott the show if Sheila ever became a permanent fixture. I KNOW there will be MANY pissed off fans. Because many cannot stand Sheila/KB. She is not a revolutionary character at all. Bring back MAMIE, DIANE (played by Alex Donnelly), NINA, DINA.... not that cartoon.

[DruRocks]

Thanks to OceanView at N/P site.

Michael Uncovers Paul's Secret on Y&R

This week, Michael - who has been following Paul - finally uncovers the P.I.'s secret that he's been keeping Sheila (who now looks like Phyllis) as his prisoner.

"While Paul is visiting Lauren, Michael puts a tracking device on Paul's car so Paul doesn't know he's being followed," explains Doug Davidson. "Michael is suspicious of Paul's behaviour regarding the Carmen case," adds Michelle Stafford (Phyllis/Sheila). "So Michael walks into this and he's in shock."

A situation that Sheila takes advantage of. Sets up MS, "She goes, 'Michael, it's me, Phyllis, please help me.' But Paul is there and convinces Michael otherwise. He calls Phyllis and is able to get her on the phone."

"Michael is really upset about it," notes MS. "Paul is keeping his cool because he's on par with Sheila and they have been playing this mental tennis match, but Michael is really emotional about it, so that's her ace in the hole. Emotional people usually screw up, so she's feeling really good about that. Sheila always zeros in on other peoples' weaknesses and now, she's found Michael's."

Could it be that Michael also fears Paul still has a romantic interest in ex-wife Lauren? "No," insists Doug D. "He doesn't have those kinds of feelings for her, at least not overtly. Remember, too, he wasn't intending to tell them about this. He was never planning to take any credit. He was just doing what he felt was the right thing to do, to keep anyone out of danger. He accepts that Michael is Lauren's husband and has no intentions of breaking up anyone. Even though Paul doesn't get along with him that well, Paul knows Michael is an important cog in the relationship with Lauren. So Paul looks at it that Michael needs protection, too."

"I think it's a great story, not only with Sheila looking like Phyllis, but for the characters involved," he praises. "It's not who you'd necessarily expect to see involved in a storyline together."

[BadZoe]

Well she does have roots afterall but her voice is nothing like Kimberlin's and a lot like Phyllis whispering.

[Chris B]

Y&R already did a similar storyline with Katherine when she had an exact double named Marge. Like I said before, Y&R has always been just as soapy as the other soaps so I don't understand why people act like it's so conservative. When it was launched it turned daytime upside it's head with it's taboo stories and young cast (yes Y&R started the young pretty people trend).

Phyllis is Michael's best friend and the only person who is allowed near the baby. When they found out Sheila had plastic surgery they wouldn't allow Gloria around because Sheila knew Gloria. Nikki, Sharon or Christine wouldn't make any sense. And Lauren would be extremely difficult to pull off and obvious since they knew Sheila had the surgery.

Peter Bergman sounds nothing like Terry Lester...

[BadZoe]

-->

Peter Bergman sounds nothing like Terry Lester...

Of course not, but Sheila has not been recast, she's impostering Phyllis. I could accept a different actress playing Sheila than to have an established actress pretending to be something she isn't. The way Sheila has managed to totally transformed herself they should have gone with the Alias DNA morphing technique rather than the plastic surgery route. Not only did she get a perfect face transplant, she also had her eyes replaced and her vocal cords.

[Chris B]

This is still a recast, IMO. Just like on Dynasty when Steven's face was burned and he was a new person. Or on DAYS right now when Phillip is getting plastic surgery which will ultimately make him look like the original. I haven't seen one comment asking if he will look or sound anything like Kyle Brandt. I just think with this Sheila story anything that can be picked at will be.

[bellcurve]

I enjoyed B&B, GL, GH, and MyNetworkTV over 2006. But, that certainly doesn't keep me from being a critic and it certainly doesn't keep me from expecting MORE from my soaps.

My statement is still the same: daytime refuses to raise the bar. Why NOT go against the grain and lean into a more realistic direction? All 9 soaps are doing the same damn thing so far. I don't see why a soap can't be driven my character motivations and realism. It's not too late for a soap like AMC, OLTL, or the PGP Soaps to get back on track.

You must forgive me, SteveFrame, but your post makes you seem so passive about the industry.

This is what I've inferred:

"*Sigh* Daytime will never change. Take it lying down. Better to have this than none at all."

I'm not the most "active" daytime viewer ever(i.e. calling and writing in, expressing displeasure to network executives, etc.), but I look at that as though I would any other medium of art. It has to be judged upon its merits and what it CAN achieve.

Even with the budget cuts, the reduction of vets, etc. daytime could still deliver to the portion of the audience that expects high-quality drama, at least in terms of writing and acting.

I'm not saying EVERY soap has to follow that rule. How boring would the industry be if everything was like the first five years of RYAN'S HOPE?!

And I'm not necessarily saying that I haven't suspended my disbelief on things before. But daytime shouldn't be about complacency. Why not do something "inside" the box instead of going out of it like everyone else has since the turn of the century.

[DruRocks]

Is it just me or should the show have tried to get back the wonderful Sandra Nelson as the Sheila substitute? That would have freaking rocked. And we KNOW Sandra Nelson can rock as the villain. Oh well.

[Soapsuds]

Please no! I couldnt stand her as Phyliss.

[DruRocks]

^I loved her Phyllis. The chemistry she shared with CLB was off the charts!

[crc]

You mean S&M Phyllis. LOL!

[DruRocks]

Ohhhhh yeah! :lol: Those pictures are hot crc! I remember how shocked I was when those scenes aired. That was before Michael had his messed up family, and Phyllis was much more fun. Sandra Nelson could have definitely pulled off the Sheila twist.

[SteveFrame]

Bellcurve, I'm not passive about the industry anymore just let down by the soap opera industry - Because of 2 things that happened this year. They have changed how I view daytime anymore.

First thing was the undoing of Erica's abortion on AMC. When that sci-fi convoluted stuff hits AMC which has always been or seemed to have been above that.

2nd when HOgan Sheffer came on and the first thing he talks about and does is to raise Stefano from the dead once again.

I still had high hopes that daytime could still be saved from the unrealistic stuff, and could like you said shoot to be more realistic and shoot to be better. But I don't anymore.

So yes I do look at daytime different. I'm not passive about it, but I am disappointed in the current crop of writers that write for daytime now.

Sure I would love to see them change but I just don't see it happening. Even Latham is going that same route now with this story.

I have been preached too all over this board all year long that this is what the daytime fans want. They want Stefano back from the dead again. They want the unrealistic. I had just hoped for better from him. He really let me down.

I just have learned to lower my expectations. Because as long as the fans holler for this type of stuff or enough of them do then it is going to continue to happen.

So I just try to learn to enjoy it when it is well done and get what I can out of the story. I feel like this (as bad as it souonds) will be good because of Michelle Stafford. The Stefano thing (as bad as I hated it) might have been good with Mascolo but as it was it was terrible and a travesty. IMO It was almost joke like. JMO

The whole point of my post was not to be passive or that we should just take what they give us but was to basically say is that the same people who are saying we should suspend reality in things like Stefano rising from the dead for the 1000th time are the ones that I am reading here or on other boards that this type of plastic surgery is wrong and can't be done. I don't see the difference. If you can suspend reality for one thing, then why not for another. I think alot of it has to do with reality is suspended in one case for a favorite performers possible return (i.e. Joe Mascolo) and here reality has to be suspended not in favor of a favorite performer (i.e. Kimberlin Brown). And I think that is where the true problem lies.

One is okay but the other one isn't. Sorry I just don't see it.

[JamesF]

Yeah I know about the Marge story but I find that less offensive. Sure it's extremely contrived coincidence but at least it's possible. I remember Latham doing the double story in that way on Knots Landing with Cathy/Ciji. Plastic surgery of this nature just isn't possible and that's what really bugs me. Y&R isn't a fantasy show, it supposedly exists within the real world and furthermore the Sheila story presumably isn't going to be played for laughs. Well I can't take it seriously when I'm being expected to swallow something that just cannot happen.

You can't use a plot device that is in the domain of fantasy, use it to create a serious dramatic story and then expect people to buy it. It wouldn't fly on primetime so why the hell should it on daytime unless the show has a pre-existing fantasy element? Hell, DOOL gets some slack but at least when they tried this story with Hattie/Marlena, it was clear there was some prior physical resemblance! I was a huge fan of Latham's tenure on Knots and I'm still enjoying what she's doing on Y&R but I'm disappointed in the cliched nature of this story. Stafford and Brown both deserve better.

As for the young pretty people thing, that's true but Snapper, Lori, Leslie, Greg, Jill etc could all act. Unfortunately that's a prerequisite that's no longer required on some shows.