- Vile, vile Gloria couldn't even say THANK YOU to Michael (FOR TOTALLY VIOLATING PROFESSIONAL ETHICS)??

Those scenes were all very off. Gloria being selfish and stupid isn't funny. It's even less funny when they repeat this a million times. They used to try to explain why the Fisher-Baldwins stuck together, even when they shouldn't, but when you have Gloria being so callous and dragging this dead weight around with her everywhere, it doesn't work.

Lauren is a CEO of a major international department store chain (think Macy's), but she's still working in the bloody little local boutique, and she's personally hiring shopgirls for these stores? Moreover, retail is in CRISIS around the world...but Lauren is having no financial ills?

Why do you think Lauren is hanging around the store? She's probably working the registers all by herself.

Lauren is no longer a character, and has not been in some time now.

She is an extension of Michael and a prop for his family of bandits.

sad given she has ties to the business world and the abbott family. not to mention smoking hot chem with Thad.

So, I mostly found Tuesday's episode pretty dismal. What I disliked:

- Lauren is a CEO of a major international department store chain (think Macy's), but she's still working in the bloody little local boutique, and she's personally hiring shopgirls for these stores? Moreover, retail is in CRISIS around the world...but Lauren is having no financial ills?

I think we were supposed to see them acknowledge this when Lauren told Amber jackets aren't selling

- Mac. What WAS that? All dour (with no love or sadness) in her Billy scenes. Just pure judgement, until she does the maternal head-pat at the end. Really?

It would seem that CF has learned the underwhelming threshold of Mac's happy excitement but she needs to work on how to handle expressing Mac's controlled but still deep disappointmnet better. Though the script had her mad at him but making excuses for him all at the same time, it was very in-between the lines.

- The Cayman bank thing was a Victor move, not a NE move. NE would not be liable to make reparations to Gloria...Victor would.

You know I thought so but I kept wondering if they had made this very clear. Did Newman had capital there or was that Victor's own funds?

Saving graces:

- Sharon, and Sharon/Adam. I loved her incredulity when Nick tried to dictate her friends to her, and I did enjoy that she didn't tolerate Billy's Restless Style behavior. I really like the evolving friendship between Adam-Sharon. I want it to be real and deep...so that they payoff (when his babyswitch is discovered) is much richer

Real for which of the character's? I mean I understand your excitement for this storyline as you have stated many times over you love baby switches. You have even theorized on the complex to be developed between these two. But I don't understand how after everything they had the character of Adam do, can one expect a total whitewash. how can, after all his schemes and the fact that he is still using Sharon, expect a real connection from Adam beyond predator to prey? We should all never get our hopes up about a good payoff when it comes to this team, how manytims now have they fell short?

* I am increasingly thinking those flashbacks we saw were not random. Remember Neil's flashback, telling Victor that Nick was not fit to lead? And here we are...Nick has none of the usual supports (Neil, Victoria). Adam could be helpful, but Nick is arrogantly discarding him.

Nick's going down in flames, just like he did -- literally -- when his plane crashed (and Logan found him in the woods). Could be fun... While Phyllis still be attracted to him when he's a failure?

Good observation, I will say one thing MAB has gotten right, she does seem to connect her stories EVENTUALLY. I do think it is very obvious this going to be retribution for douchebag Nick, what's going to be interesting is all the components that will lead to it. They need to incorporate everything somehow from his bad parenting to his disrespect many times over of both women he claim to love, to his lack of brains, lack of knowledge of his own incompetency etcetc. Only thing I will hate is his crash is a score for Adam

It makes me wonder though if Ashley is deliberately isolating herself from Jabot because she has some sabotage scheme up her sleeve to destroy Newman Enterprises that she is keeping under wraps.

This could/would be completely believable if ---

• she hadn't fell and had a mis-carriage but dosen't know or remember anything about it;
• she hadn't allowed herself to be seen by a Dr. she didn't know or had seen before. Where was her regular OB/GYN??
• she hadn't gone through the whole hysterical pregnancy thingy AND
• she didn't believe that she'd actually given birth to said baby.

If she is planning some form of revenge, it will have to be as unbelievable as the whole baby thing.

So, I mostly found Tuesday's episode pretty dismal. What I disliked:

- Devon insta-reunited with his girlfriend (off screen). Really? What was the whole f*cking point of Tyra then? Devon's coffin is finished, so now it's Roxy's turn to be dumbed down and destroyed.

- Vile, vile Gloria couldn't even say THANK YOU to Michael (FOR TOTALLY VIOLATING PROFESSIONAL ETHICS)?? At least she's consistent.

Mac. What WAS that? All dour (with no love or sadness) in her Billy scenes. Just pure judgement, until she does the maternal head-pat at the end. Really? It's about time for Mac to have a Dafur PTSD episode. All the signs seem to be there waiting below the surface.

I think we were supposed to see them acknowledge this when Lauren told Amber jackets aren't selling

This is a multinational corporation. Lauren would be worried about a lot more than Amber's bloody jackets. LOL...I wish they'd let Amber use some of her financial rescue skills...like take Lauren's company onto QVC.

It would seem that CF has learned the underwhelming threshold of Mac's happy excitement but she needs to work on how to handle expressing Mac's controlled but still deep disappointmnet better. Though the script had her mad at him but making excuses for him all at the same time, it was very in-between the lines.

Yes, the writing is there...but the actress really isn't.

You know I thought so but I kept wondering if they had made this very clear. Did Newman had capital there or was that Victor's own funds?

You're right, there is enough ambiguity that it is hard to tell. But vile Gloria doesn't deserve a penny (yes, this is me talking).

Real for which of the character's? I mean I understand your excitement for this storyline as you have stated many times over you love baby switches. You have even theorized on the complex to be developed between these two. But I don't understand how after everything they had the character of Adam do, can one expect a total whitewash. how can, after all his schemes and the fact that he is still using Sharon, expect a real connection from Adam beyond predator to prey? We should all never get our hopes up about a good payoff when it comes to this team, how manytims now have they fell short?

I know I keep saying this (and so does alphanguy), but Victor never saw a SECOND'S worth of punishment for imprisoning Michael Scott and feeding him rats. Also, on that trumped up/stupid "commercial bribery" case, he never saw any real punishment beyond being allowed to build the Rec Center. (He saw jail for Walter Palin...but that was just stupid).

This has never really harmed Victor's viability. If we accept that Ashley's miscarriage was accidental (he meant to scare her, not kill the baby), then he only has to atone for stealing Sharon's baby and bringing that molester to town . I know this is preposterous, but I'm able to sort of close my eyes to some of the bad Adam did, and I'm liking his interactions with the other characters.

Good observation, I will say one thing MAB has gotten right, she does seem to connect her stories EVENTUALLY. I do think it is very obvious this going to be retribution for douchebag Nick, what's going to be interesting is all the components that will lead to it. They need to incorporate everything somehow from his bad parenting to his disrespect many times over of both women he claim to love, to his lack of brains, lack of knowledge of his own incompetency etcetc. Only thing I will hate is his crash is a score for Adam

This is why I think it will eventually be revealed that Cliff Wilson abused Adam "under Hope's eyes"...we'll get some explanation that helps to redeem Adam. And yes, I agree with most of you, I wish they had never taken Adam down this dark path.

This could/would be completely believable if ---

• she hadn't fell and had a mis-carriage but dosen't know or remember anything about it;
• she hadn't allowed herself to be seen by a Dr. she didn't know or had seen before. Where was her regular OB/GYN??
• she hadn't gone through the whole hysterical pregnancy thingy AND
• she didn't believe that she'd actually given birth to said baby.

If she is planning some form of revenge, it will have to be as unbelievable as the whole baby thing.

Well, unless we accept that Ashley has "snapped out of it". In other words, she still doesn't remember the PAST, but she's fine in the present. That is actually vaguely plausible. Of course, her repressed memories will eat away at her insides, and eventually it will explode. That could actually be interesting to watch. Indeed, her latent anger about all of this--which she doesn't totally consciously recognize--could already be driving her more vengeful, fierce behavior.

I agree with you about Darfur. They really need to play up Mac's PTSD, because that would explain a lot. I'm beginning to question whether this actress has the emotional range to do it justice, though.

Funny how Ashley is meant to be Da Crazy and yet she really is one of the few speaking sense at the moment.

I do think she subconciously guesses that Faith isn't her baby and is in deep denial.

They brought Mac back without any real plans other than making her one of Billy's pets, and this lack of development and lack of purpose for this core character since she's been brought back shows that. Then again, clearly, character writing and defined female characters isn't something this writing regime cares about.

Mac was always a crappy character.

They brought Mac back without any real plans other than making her one of Billy's pets, and this lack of development and lack of purpose for this core character since she's been brought back shows that. Then again, clearly, character writing and defined female characters isn't something this writing regime cares about.

True, oh so true. She's just a device, a robot saying lines without much emotion (both the actress and the character) and she's just propping Billy.

I feel as if so many living characters died and are only being used as lifelike zombies being controlled by some unknown force.

True, oh so true. She's just a device, a robot saying lines without much emotion (both the actress and the character) and she's just propping Billy.

I feel as if so many living characters died and are only being used as lifelike zombies being controlled by some unknown force.

That would be a fix! A James Reilly protege could pen the repair storyline. A chemical can turn off the zombie force, and all the characters can return to their essence :-). And sometimes, even to their original casting...

That would be a fix! A James Reilly protege could pen the repair storyline. A chemical can turn off the zombie force, and all the characters can return to their essence :-)

Maria must be preparing to rip this off and it will be on the show 4 months from now! (sad thing is, you know she and her band of hacks gravitate towards the stupid stuff on message boards).

And sometimes, even to their original casting...

Well, this part we can count on not happening...

Maria must be preparing to rip this off and it will be on the show 4 months from now! (sad thing is, you know she and her band of hacks gravitate towards the stupid stuff on message boards).

Well, this part we can count on not happening...

Stupid? stupid?

Just our luck - the one time they decide to read our opinion and they end up taking out the worst stuff.

But not to get way too OT, and don't throw anything at me, but I like Dr. Emily Peterson. I still hate the fact that it's doppelganger story #100, but I do like that we're keeping Haiduk. Then again, it would have been easier not to turn Patty into a plot device for shock and awe purposes.

And does it look like Chance is finally getting a personality?

But not to get way too OT, and don't throw anything at me, but I like Dr. Emily Peterson. I still hate the fact that it's doppelganger story #100, but I do like that we're keeping Haiduk. Then again, it would have been easier not to turn Patty into a plot device for shock and awe purposes.

Agreed on all counts.

*Peeks head out*

i liked Phillip today.

*runs back into lurking before the flamethrowers come out*