Y&R: Week of April 27, 2009

[AllAboutAngst]

I take back what I said about Stacy Haiduk previously, I've enjoyed her lately (can't wait for her to turn full on psycho). My opinion on Ford remains however.

I too am very much over the Fisher/Baldwin clan. I'd much prefer that they give Michael and Lauren stories that DO NOT involve Kevin or Gloria, give them a break from each other. I was very much enjoying the break from both Gloria and Jeffrey.

Sigh, Heather, Heather, Heather, she just can't help herself. I think it's becoming increasingly apparent that Adam is faking his blindness.

Good to see Olivia today, I'm happy that they're using her in this story.

[DRW50]

My problem with Gloria isn't that she does not atone for her actions, because Victor doesn't atone for his actions, and the show always presents him as being right and just. Her relationships with her children at least have more complexity than the parent/child relationships with most of the other characters in her age range. I just don't know what story is left for Gloria. I'm sure they have some temptation to make her Kay's daughter, but I think this would be a horrible decision.

Whatever they do I think they need to write Jeffrey out immediately.

[JSROCKS]

I've been a fan of Glo's from the beginning, but , feel that TIIC have turned her into a one note cartoon while painting her into a corner by over exposing her.

Sinister people never apologize for their actions especially when they do what they do just because. They feel that they are the SMART ones while EVERYBODY else is stupid and therefore deserve what they get.

Jeff is the only one who gets Glo so if he is written out, there would have to be another foil written in for her(if she's going to remain on the canvas). How about NOT making Glo Kay's daugther( as some speculate) BUT making her Jill's sister. Think about it --if Jill's not Kays' daugther -- then she(Jill) has no siblings. Enter Glo and let the games begin.

[DRW50]

The sister idea has potential, as long as they don't fight over Jeffrey.

I just think her relationship with Jeffrey has been exhausted after all the times they've tried to screw each other over. I wouldn't mind seeing someone from totally out of her world try to cope with her, someone like what John Silva used to be to Jill (or the lawyer before John Silva), but if they can come up with the writing, then maybe Jeffrey would work.

[Heyou]

I think it signifies his inner psyche, his mental status. You should understand it better once you see today's episode.

The look on Jill's face when she finds out that Gloria is her sister... priceless! That is, if they ever decided to do that.

[lmfan]

Michael and Lauren need a story separate fron the rest of the family since their only story for three years has been them fixing the problems of the family or Phyllis. As a Likey fan I am sick of it, but I also think most fans are sick of it.

But instead Maria will probably have Michael get Kevin out of legal trouble and Gloria will start scheming again, Jana will likely have something going on with her headaches and once again Michael and Lauren will have little to do until another family member or Phyllis gets in trouble or needs a shoulder to lean on.

They never deal with conflicts in their marriage. They share little romance, raise their son off screen and Lauren seems to run Fenmore's at home since the only time they mention she owns stores is if the store is needed to be used to prop others like Gloria (when she worked there for two shows and set the stockroom on fire) or like now when they need Lauren to be the pawn in the latest Phyllis/Sharon story.

I know many have said they have no problem with the way Michael and Lauren are written, but I just find it a waste and just so repetitive. Maria Bell has told both actors she likes them as a couple, yet refuses to do anything with them as a couple. They exist to prop the F-B family, Phyllis and on occassion Michael's clients.

And I know Tracey is recurring, but other recurring actors get story.

[typoprone]

Nah. How about NOT making Gloria, Kay, or Jill related to each other? Jill and Gloria already hate each other; it's not necessary to make them sisters. And to be long-lost sisters? UGH. Enough with this crap.

[Y&RWorldTurner]

Word.

The Baldwin-Fishers are already a cancer, no need to connect them to actual core characters and actual core families.

[Cashton]

More mention of Jack's 5 ex-wives today by Jack and MJ. I love this s/l. I truly wish LML had left Sheila alone, cause we probably would've gotten a damn good Sheila s/l with MAB.

I wish it were Vic-Boria doing the gaslighting of Ashley. It would give her something to do. They're really making it look like it was Adam, with him using his laptop and having his window open, with the possible assist of Estella. Estella really hates Ashley, but i don't see why. Ashley just asked Estella to ask the staff about that damn egg. She didn't accuse anyone of stealing it. there should have been a scene of Ashley telling Estella the egg WAS stolen - by Sharon. i wonder if Rafe will end up defending his Aunt for Ashley's mess.

As for Glo's confession, it just reeked of "We the writers planned to do more with this but we've decided to go in another direction, so here's a mea cupla from Gloria".

[MarkH]

Surely you jest? CANCER? The most interesting, innovative new family? They were well-linked to the Abbotts, and we need more of those kinds of linkages to ensure their place on this show.

Yes, the five wives is interesting. It certainly seems to be supporting the "Patty" hypothesis.

I disagree with you about Gloria, though. This episode felt VERY MUCH to me like the end of the The Wizard of Oz. Remember, Uncle Henry, Auntie Em and the three farm hands, rung around Dorothy, welcoming her home.

And then, "The End" title card flashes after she says "There's no place like home".

I felt like the whole Fisher-Baldwin part was about clearing out this storyline...all aspects of the involvement in Kay's last few months...and when we see them next, we'll be embarking on their next story. It felt very much like that.

I can't say whether it was "planned" or not, but I very much liked the feeling of there being a period on the end of this sentence.

I am continuously struck by how they're not involving Eden in any of this. While that makes sense, having her on the sidelines in all of this would have helped cement the character. The failure to do so makes me think there is really not much commitment to this Eden in the long term.

[Y&RWorldTurner]

They are a cancer family that's shown just how much over the years that they serve no purpose and while other characters get caught and pay to an extent for their crimes, no one in this criminal family ever does. I need balance, and the Baldwin-Fishers are too one-note and cartoon-like for me. Everything they touch is unwatchable. Michael Baldwin was never a strong enough character to build a whole family around him. Well-linked to the Abbots? Jack and Ashley never could stand Gloria, and John wasn't alive to be married to her very long, thankfully. I'd hardly call that a strong link, at least not in the way Jill was linked to the Abbots (and still is through Billy) when she was married to John.

But I sense a bit of irony in your post, so for now, you're on my good side.

[Cashton]

^I hear you Mark. I like Gloria and the F-B's. I'm not one of those who wants them all to die or go. The big "confession" just seemed to come out of nowhere. Linking her manipulating Kevin to rig Kay's vehicle to make her think she was crazy...to his ensuing guilt over it all....to him helping Kay...to him getting hurt by Clint and all the rest was just so far-fetched. Kevin was guilty because of that money he took from her the night she "died". Sure there's a bit of truth to it all, but I distincly remeber Kevin telling Gloria off when she was in prison, telling her he wouldn't do anything else for her.

So, the big confession just didn't ring true for me. I'll watch it again tho with your "Oz" image and see if I change my mind. Oh and a big WTF?? to Eden not being involved in any of this. PErhaps with everyone being there they couldn't afford another player to be in the room. I don't know but it doesn't bode well for her character.

Also, where did Abby go??? i just realized she's no longer there! Somebody fill me in.

[MarkH]

Yes, a hint of irony. BUT, honestly, it is fine with me if they never pay. They are a funny, delightful, close-knit-in-their-way, trying-though-failing group. Michael and Kevin have genuine goodness (even if they have to fight sometimes to show it), and Gloria...well...she's the bona fide cancer. But she serves a function as a catalyst. Her recklessness drives story.

I take the example of The Sopranos. Those people never seemed to pay. Why is that important? Here I am not being ironic. Why must they pay? You're not alone in asserting the need for this, but I don't understand why "paying" is dramatically necessary.

Like, now, Gloria is isolated and will earn the ire of almost everyone in Genoa City. Isn't that "paying"?

[Y&RWorldTurner]

That would be understandable if each and every one of them didn't pretend they're the ones being wronged, when they subject others to horrible treatment. The whole hoiler than thou smugness is off-putting, if they were more cut-throat and did things for the sake of being bad alone, I might understand them better.

As for Gloria, I always thought she should've been more like what Nadine Cooper was on GL during the late 80's/early 90's. A woman with a heart that made terrible decisions in life, but she always aspired to be better and had a heart, but in trying to be a better person, she made horrible mistakes.

[Khan]

At least, Vanessa Prentiss had the decency to toss herself off that balcony when she got too annoying. But Gloria, like the Energizer bunny, just keeps on goin'.