John McCook’s Emmy win for Outstanding Lead Actor (after four nominations and 47 years in daytime) is a good reminder that “seasoned” characters can still drive entertaining and important story. Old people rule!
His character, Eric Forrester, has been in a scandalous love triangle with his wife, Quinn (with whom he has been unable to have sex), and his ex-wife Donna (with whom he has nothing but sex) on B&B.
Eric (to Donna): “This is not the man I want to be, a man who cheats on his wife. Quinn deserves the truth.”
Cut to Quinn getting an alert indicating Eric’s heart rate was up.
Quinn: “Do you know what pickleball court my husband is on?”
Club worker: “The pickleball courts are closed.”
What? Quinn nosed her way over to Bungalow 24, a.k.a. Eric’s love nest, and discovered that “pickle” and “ball” actually applied. Eric finally came clean and confessed that everything is “easier” with Donna (you can say that again) and he can trust her.
Eric: “We have to let go of our love story.”
Quinn: “I’m going to keep the big diamond, okay?”
That was fast. Breaking up Eric and Quinn makes for delicious awkwardness at Forrester Creations, where they both work. More importantly, it reboots the hot romance of Quinn and Carter (who also works there), which I hope results in an age-appropriate tale like Carter wants kids and Quinn doesn’t, or her fear of breaking a hip (ha, ha).
Over on DAYS, Victor Kiriakis remains a sarcastic rascal well into his 80s. Bonnie and Nancy popped over to play pinochle, which was random but it led to some A+ snark from the man of the house.
Bonnie: “We can play in the conservatory.”
Victor: “Has anybody seen my lead pipe?”
Talk turned to Nancy’s daughter’s affairs with Victor’s son and grandson.
Nancy: “Chloe misses Philip terribly.”
Victor: “It’s a good thing she can expunge her grief in Brady’s bed.”
Nancy: “What is that supposed to mean?”
Maggie: “It means Victor is doing his best to make everybody wildly uncomfortable.”
And succeeding.
Every show needs characters who entertain no matter what’s going on, and Victor has been filling that bill for over three decades. His ex-wife Kate is another one who jazzes up the action, especially with her kids (the ones on screen, anyway).
Lucas: “As soon as I marry Sami, the stress will be gone. Well, there will be stress but it will be a different kind of stress.”
Kate: “You know better than to pin your emotional well-being on Sami Brady.”
But he’ll keep doing it and Kate will keep judging it and that’s the fun of fraught parent-child relationships.
Being a parent on a soap doesn’t make a character “old”, because of the way kids are rapidly aged, but the layers of grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc. sticking their noses into their “kids’ ” antics can add to the drama. I mean, Kate is a great-grandmother (Arianna via her grandson Will) but her version of being a “blue hair” means sporting a blue streak in her dark brown locks with a feather earring. Rock on!
Victor Newman is still rocking on Y&R, most recently sabotaging Ashland’s new business.
Victor: “I approached the investors.”
Nick: “That’s pretty cutthroat.”
That’s pretty Mustache. I also enjoyed Gloria’s return to “help” her daughter-in-law Chloe.
Gloria: “You’re getting so ramped up for your bold new adventure! Tension is high. You need a spiritual guru. You must be so happy to see me.”
Not quite. Meanwhile, Jack needs a lesson in “mature” love based on his recent diss to Phyllis.
Jack: “Whoever you’re with, however long you’re with them, it’s never enough.”
He’s had six spouses (Patty, Lindsey, Nikki, Luan, Phyllis, Sharon) plus affairs with both of his stepmothers (Jill and Gloria) compared to Phyllis’s three husbands (Danny, Jack, Nick), so pipe down, Jackie boy.
Edward and Lila Quartermaine were the gold standard on GH (sniff!) but the show has done a pretty good job with what’s left of the Qs, dragging out the fight for ELQ with Ned meeting Valentin surreptitiously while struggling with his vote. The windup? Ned backed the successful Cassadine over his whiny cousin Michael and the shockwaves reverberated immediately.
Valentin: “The merger between Aurora and ELQ is not happening.”
Ripples included Willow fainting (turned out she was prego), friction between Ned and Olivia, and Carly losing her money after her Aurora stock tanked, which also meant losing her half of The Metro Court. Carly can’t depend on Drew, Sonny or Michael (who proves himself every day to be half Q, half Corinthos and all jerk) which leaves her down and out. That’s my favorite Carly!
You’d never call Portia, Curtis and Taggert “old”, but watching them grill Trina about getting busted for investigating Esme was a master class in “What the hell?” parenting.
Trina: “Some creep manhandled Joss but the bouncer took care of it.”
Portia (sarcastic): “The bouncer took care of the man who accosted Josslyn at the biker bar where y’all were playing Nancy Drew?”
Trina successfully argued that she was on top of “The Mystery Of Sonny’s Cabin” and they all moved on to clearing her name.
Victor Cassadine’s trying to clear his name, too.
Obrecht: “My relationship with Scott is a new experience. He’s very different from Cesar and Victor.”
Nina: “Because he’s not deranged?”
Don’t bet against Victor. He puts down Scotty as a “courtroom clown” while smoothly trying to court Obrecht. He’s shaping up to be a proper villain, especially when in cahoots with his equally dark son, Valentin. I don’t know why older bad guys are better, but they are — and never cross the ones named Victor!
Hey. It’s only my opinion.
