Why are stories enriched when they’re told with characters we know? Check out what Digest columnist Carolyn Hinsey has to say about what’s happening across the daytime dial.
As we cruise up on the holidays, soaps are centering stories around people we know — and that’s cause for celebration.
Look what GH is doing with their A-list vets! Laura returned from helping her mother relocate after a fire (a.k.a. Genie Francis’s annual summer vacation) and landed smack in the middle of the P.C. action. She rescued Charlotte from Victor, brought Valentin home, vowed to exonerate Anna, and saved Scorpio’s job as DA.
Scorpio: “You can’t force me to resign. You’re not the mayor.”
Deputy Mayor: “No, but I will run things my way until Mayor Collins decides to grace this city with her presence again.”
Laura (entering): “Here I am gracing you.”
Robert got in trouble for trying to exonerate Anna for Lucy’s “murder”, which he confided to Laura and Holly in a story so full of OGs I could almost hear “General Hospi-tale” playing on the radio. They cleverly gave Holly rooting value while she scrounged for dirt because Victor was clearly blackmailing her.
Holly (after Robert kissed her): “That was unexpected.”
Robert: “Some things never change.”
Best of all, the players get to be smart as the stories play out.
Laura (to Robert): “Is it possible Holly isn’t telling you everything?”
Duh. And if that isn’t enough, the diamond necklace Britt found in Peter’s belongings was made from the Ice Princess — and Mac and Felicia are involved!
I’m less sold on Liz having repressed memories of knocking someone down the stairs 25 years ago when she’s been involved in, like, 10 crimes involving staircases and never remembered that before. This “revelation” turned out to be Liz hurting Finn’s late wife, Reiko, because she found Reiko in bed with her father. Sorry, Finn! That makes you 55-60 years old (since he was already through med school and residency when he was practicing medicine in the Mariana Islands) and dumb that you never put together that Liz Webber was related to Dr. Jeff Webber, who you worked with back then.
Bright side? At least we know and love Liz.
We also know Brooke and Bill, who I’m shipping on B&B because they’re the only couple being honest with each other.
Bill (to Brooke): “It’s going to be okay. Your daughter is not going to be sucked in by The Dressmaker’s crackpot kid.”
But The Dressmaker was sucked in by his crackpot kid and his fake phone message. If Ridge can annul his marriage to Brooke without even telling her why, I wish him a lifetime of sappy toasts to “Being a family again!” with nuTaylor (who acts nothing like old Taylor) and his pathological kids as he stares wistfully at Brooke’s photo.
Having the original actor in the role adds to the warm feeling of “coming home” during a vet-centric story. DAYS showcased John, Marlena, Patch and Kayla recently, along with our favorite politician, Abe Carver, who ran for mayor as his wife gunned for governor.
Paulina: “I’m a nervous wreck.”
Abe: “You ran an excellent campaign.”
But not an excellent cover-up (sorry Chanel!). It was clever to gather our faves in Horton Square on Election Day, where the Queen of Salem was urging people to vote.
Julie: “Go now while the lines are short, darling.”
Shawn: “I need to look in your bag. You’ve been accused of shoplifting.”
Julie: “That’s a tad insulting but I know you’re just doing your job. Doug, show him the receipt.”
Doug: “I thought you paid for it?”
Oops! What a perfect opportunity for a vintage flashback of Julie having shoplifted a similar mink stole (“real back then, sad to say,” she explained) on what turned out to have been Election Day, 1965. They straightened out the misunderstanding and headed home, where Julie lovingly surveyed the family photos on the mantel until Doug called to her.
Doug: “Happy Anniversary!”
Yup — he got her a cake to celebrate the 57th anniversary of her “life of crime” in a clever nod to DAYS’s 57th anniversary. If there’s a cuter couple on daytime, please show them to me.
Flashbacks rule the day when telling a story based in the past. Y&R’s Devon and Lily are struggling with how to take the family business forward in the wake of Nate’s betrayal and his accusation that they’re not honoring the late Neil’s wishes for the company. Cue beautiful scenes of Neil advising Lily on her wedding day, praising Devon for providing the capital for Hamilton-Winters, and more.
Lily: “He always supported us and gave us room to make our own decisions.”
Devon: “God, I miss him. Neil’s memory is always going to have a hold on us. I don’t want to let that go.”
Me, neither. Showing people mourning in real time adds weight to their relationships and makes us care about this business tale. Sure, Jill drops in to criticize and Billy pops by to change his clothes in between ministering to Chelsea but the heart of this story is a brother and sister struggling to carry on without their dad — and that’s universal.
On the downside, if Devon really loved Amanda, and Abby really loved Chance, Devon and Abby would not have had sudden sex on that couch. More to the point, Abby Newman ruins every man who comes near her (Tyler, Austin, Stitch, Arturo, Nate, Chance, now Devon), and she’s much more interested in her restaurant than in her baby or family. Her parents are Ashley and Victor, who are as OG as you get, but Abby never sees them — she’s too busy complaining about her wildly privileged life.
Abby: “Maybe we just aren’t compatible.”
Devon: “Can you pinpoint what you want from Chance that he’s not giving you?”
How about an actor in the role longer than a year?
Hey. It’s only my opinion.
