The smoking gun

The smoking gun
The smoking gun

There are plenty of people who have a reason to shoot Stephanie, but having Pam return during this storyline was a real curve ball.

So the gun was found in Stephen's jacket, huh? Fresh from the dry cleaners? Now why would he leave it in the most obvious place? Duh. No, he didn't do it. There are plenty of people with motive to want Stephanie gone but having Pam come back during this story was a real curve ball. Don't get me wrong...I like that we have the crazy sister coming back with as much motive as anyone else but I felt like someone had thrown her into the suspect pool at the last minute. No one would suspect her and with all her 'Any-hoo's' and obsessive baking, she'd have to outright confess before someone would look at her as the shooter. But...maybe that is what Brad is counting on, huh?

And she did look CRAZY all week, too! Not at all the mousy little wallflower that left LA months ago. Gosh, she harbours enough repressed resentment to fill the remaining time slots on Dr. Phil for the season. But there should have been some kind of build up of all this. She mentioned how much she hated having to take care of Mom all these years and never having a man or life of her own but she never looked evil while saying it. The hospital scene was cool, though, as she has shown that she could have easily been the shooter. Did she? I don't know. Brad may not even know at this point as the rumour mills have speculated a few different people. I read it could be Beth, Brooke, Katie, Storm, etc. I'm not sold on any of them really.

If it's Storm, how do they explain that in the slow-motion analysis of the tape the hand is obviously a woman's? Unless Storm is leading a double life as a chick, I find this very unlikely.

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Beth Logan is an intriguing option. She would have motive to frame Stephen for all he has done to the family and she hates Stephanie even more than Brooke does. But she has not even been talked about and when these shows are ramping up to a murder (or attempted murder), the suspects are usually front and center or at least talked about A LOT in the weeks leading up to and following the shooting. No one has mentioned her name and though it would be a great twist, I'm not convinced. The writers of this show simply aren't that creative.

Brooke having temporary amnesia about shooting Stephanie could work (and would have been another unimaginative attempt to script a good story) as it did with Rick shooting Grant but again, if she did the writers can't have Brooke go to jail for attempted murder. This show would suffer more than it already has in the ratings if she were off the canvas. I may be no fan of her character much of time but she is part of the foundation of this show no matter what. They would be hard-pressed to have her be the shooter and not suffer some consequence for it...unless Stephanie did not press charges as it would be payback for her part in Brooke's rape. I guess that would be the wimpy way out, right?

Here is my biggest fear, however...that Katie is revealed to be the shooter. NO NO NO!!! I loved her character, I love the acting ability of Heather Tom, and I love having a Logan you can cheer for. But, as I said last week, last in...first out. That seems to be the fuel that powers the revolving cast door at B&B. She could be the good sister-gone bad and cracks under the pressure to defend Brooke. I think that would be a cheap way to end the story and one of the more unbelievable endings as well. She is the moral compass of this family (along with Storm) and to have her go to jail and have a skank like Donna be allowed to stick around would be a travesty.

Yes, I said it. The shooter SHOULD be Donna! She gets on my last common nerve and I would love nothing better than to see her, arguably the most obvious suspect, get carted off the big house. She's annoying and her May-December romance with Eric is just too creepy for words. She's by far the most conniving Logan and much of the time makes Brooke look like Mother Theresa. She can go and I wouldn't miss her for a second. But she is not being set-up as the 'perp' so we are stuck with her for now.

Meanwhile, at Chez Marone, with Taylor conspicuously absent, Brooke was busy making Bridget, Nick and everyone else on the planet believe she is Mother of the Year by railing on Taylor. Boy that takes real nerve. I'm glad Bridget was hard on her for being so ridiculous about Jack not snacking properly at Taylor's breast. Kids CAN survive on formula but to watch Brooke react like she did you would think they were going to give Jack rat poison in his bottle. Come on lady...where were you for ANY of your kids anyway? This blatant jealousy has more to do with Nick than she is willing to admit. She is not in love with Ridge (just didn't want to have any other woman have him) and now that Nick has committed to Taylor, she can't stand that either. Brooke is only happy when all the men in LA are sitting around lonely and pining away for her. Now this poor kid is stuck in the middle. Taylor is the mom...she carried him and nurtured him, pure and simple. Brooke needs to back off and concentrate on her own kids at home! Remember them?

Anyone out there worried about the writers strike? Me, too. 'Nuff said.

Well, everyone that emailed in last week on who they think the shooter should be were near unanimous....Aunt Crazy Eyes!! She is clearly the most entertaining choice with everyone saying they loved her scenes last week and her psycho monologue at Stephanie's bedside was downright chilling to watch. I agree...good acting and a nice touch with the thong-eating Doberman, too!

This week's question: Do you think the writer's strike will hurt the already declining ratings of all soaps or will they bounce back once an agreement is reached?

Get ready everyone as I am doing something a little different this year with my "End of the Year" best-of columns. Instead of coming up with it myself, I will be soliciting you, the viewers, for your picks for Best and Worst of 2007. Put on your thinking caps everyone and watch in the next 2 weeks for your chance to weigh in!

The Soap Box

Marcie laments: 'I watched B&B from the beginning, but I just cannot watch it any more. I have gotten so sick and disgusted the past couple of years with the storylines of Brooke and Ridge and Brooke and Nick and Brooke and Ridge and so on and on....I have finally quit. Please, find another writer for this show before it is lost forever.'

Jeanette says: 'Pam should be the shooter! She has motive (she wants Eric) and opportunity since no one seems to know she was there. She easily got rid of the gunpowder residue and could get away with it. She looked like she was going to finish the job with the pillow she brought with her too!'

Cheryl writes: 'I would like Stephanie's shooter to be one of her own children. If I were writing the script, I would have Ridge shoot then have a complete bout of amnesia. God knows that she has manipulated, lied, schemed, and humiliated the women in his life (with the exception of Ashley Abbott) so many times that maybe he got fed up and snapped. After all, a person can only stand so much of Stephanie's machinations.'Have a great week!!!

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