Continuing my celebration of all things Y&R, I'll begin with Sharon Collins Newman Abbott Newman. I like this character, or at least I continually try to, but she makes such dunderheaded decisions sometimes, it's hard to raise my pom poms more than waist high on her behalf. Sharon, or Sharin', as she's disdainfully dubbed on various message boards, has lost a lot of fan favor in recent years because of the men she's chosen to let into her life. During her long stay in Genoa City, some of her less than illustrious actions involved a dalliance with Diego, an unreciprocated lip press with Victor, a beat down from Cameron, a couple of lusty trysts with Brad, and a who's the daddy drama, containing brothers Billy and Jack, and ex-mate, Nick. Just to name a handful.
Sharon has always had her detractors, but things really got ugly when Nick and Phyllis began their affair. Fervent Phick fans stood toe to toe with equally zealous Shick fans, verbally duking it out over which union brought more sexual sizzle to the small screen. Sharon's too needy and always needs a man to prop her up, foes accused with plenty of exclamation points. Sharon supporters fired right back, their attacks aimed at Phyllis and her laundry list of dirty deeds and manipulative mentality.
Nick was the bouncing ball that kept the fan base bickering, as he rolled into first one woman's yard, then the other. And then, along came Adam, and the Sharon hatred shot to unprecedented levels. Fans were outraged to see this mother fall in love with her baby's kidnapper, and many of her once staunchest supporters abandoned her in droves. They felt Sharon chose Adam over Faith, and clearly Nick agreed, as he legally parted mother from daughter. In the end, Sharon's love for Adam cost her everything that ever meant anything to her. Her family, her friends, and finally, her freedom.
So, needless to say, based on a few snippets of derogatory board comments about what was referred to as the Sharon show of July Fourth, I wasn't sure what to expect when I sat down to view the episode. I absolutely loved it and wound up watching it three times! Kudos to our scribes for a job very well done. They managed to pick most, if not all, of Nick and Sharon's most powerful and poignant moments together. In fact, I bawled like a big baby, just as I did the first time I saw it, when the green lines on Cassie's monitor went flat, and Nick and Sharon heartbreakingly reacted. Whew! Goosebumps material. It was great fun watching Nick and Sharon's journey, and reminded me how long I've been invested in this show, because I remembered each and every one of those scenes. I couldn't help but giggle, though, at the omission of Diego, Brad, and Grace from this meander down memory lane.
When it comes to Sam, however, I'm still straddling the fence on thumbs up or down. Although what you see appears to be exactly what he is -- a decent guy just looking for someone to love -- am I the only fan who thinks he pulls out and plays the pity card a bit too often? Every time Sharon seemed hesitant about something, he always had a card to whip out and gain her sympathy and, usually, her reluctant agreement. Still, although I have nothing derogatory to say about nice, somewhat needy, Sam, I'm not feeling much for these two as a cooing twosome. Their lovemaking was okay, but Sharon seemed to be looking at Sam through eyes filled more with gratitude than love. It wasn't until their dance moments before her arrest that I even felt like she cared about him.
Speaking of Sharon's arrest, I'm glad it happened so we can finally move on. I'm not quite sure exactly what the scribes hoped I'd feel from those months on the farm and in the barn, but I don't think they were shooting for a massive sigh of relief that it's over at last. One thing I am relatively sure of: another one of Sharon's fairy tales is about to turn into a nightmare. Because I'm guessing that when Sharon's family and only friend, Adam, learn she's alive, whatever initial elation they feel will quickly turn to anger and instant alienation.
Not that my opinion counts for one red cent, but had I been the scribe typing up the storyline, I would have shown Sharon pitifully pining away for her loved ones more often. And I definitely would have refrained from tossing her in the sack with Sam. I hope she has more feeling for Sam than she's shown, though, because I suspect he's going to be the sole soul standing beside her when the others desert her like rats fleeing a sinking ship.
Well, it's back to the desktop I see, for Nick and Phyllis. Useless Pile (yes, I loved Adam's name for the Restless rag that has predominately been Phyllis' personal poison pen periodical) has returned to Nick's hands, and the two haters wasted no time digging through their files for an unflattering pic of Adam to feature prominently on the Pile's next cover. For the record, I adore Nick for the most part. After all, it's hard not to enjoy all that male yumminess, but in my worthless opinion, he's not at his best when paired with Phyllis. She's such a strong personality, by contrast he often comes across as weak and ineffectual, and many times is left looking at her with somewhat of a doe in the headlights expression. But, be that as it may, with Diane out of the picture (I guess knowledge of their short sexual sojourn is to remain unrevealed), Nick has to have someone to romp with. It would be nice to see Nick one day use Restless Style for something other than a hammer to beat Adam and Sharon over the head with, but I won't bother to hold my breath for that unlikely day.
I'm actually enjoying Noah these days. I suspect next week will have me changing my mind, but for now, I'm liking a Noah with concerns outside of the antics of his dysfunctional family. I like this new Eden much better than the previous portrayer and am curious about what caused their fairy tale to fracture. I also prefer the amicable interaction between Eden and Abby to their prior sniping, and can see them becoming friends even if Eden and Noah don't reconcile. Abby is certainly going to need a friend after being shot down by Daniel. Didn't you just want to cry for her when he told her he didn't feel her in his heart anymore?
Speaking of Daniel, although he hasn't been a fave of mine for a while, he was quite impressive with the mature and loving way he tried to deal with the situation with his daughter. I had assumed he and Abby would get back together when the dust settled, but now I wonder whether Cupid might have his arrow winging its way to Lily's heart. The only problem is Lily's twins. Daniel went to great lengths to keep his life tot-free, first divorcing Amber, and then giving his own daughter away, so it's hard to imagine a scenario where he is suddenly okay with raising kids. I guess time will tell.
Cane continues to sound like an old LP album with the needle stuck in the same groove. He just keeps talking about protecting Lily and the babies from his dastardly dad and half-maniacal mother. I found myself screeching at the screen like some demented banshee every time he sung that same tired tune. How? How does he plan to protect them? His parents and everyone else they sent on their behalf was easily able to make mincemeat of him. He has been completely ineffective at body-guarding, able only to pile one lie atop another. Which proved to be a rather inadequate barrier of defense. No wonder Devon was yelling at Cane like a crazed man. Cane has made me crazy too.
I do have to say, though, that fan Kim, below, gave me a different perspective on Cane and that blank look he wears when someone is chewing him out. She made some good points. I just hope the scribes can come up with an interesting way to give poor emasculated Cane back his manhood so he can be reunited with Lily and help her raise their twins.
In Part 1 of this column, I asked what fans liked and didn't about the people populating their favorite soap. Here's what some of you said. More will appear in my next column. Until then, keep watching. I certainly plan to. And keep sharing your emails with me.
