To grandmother's house we go

A year after the passing of Stephanie Forrester, her home was the site of Hope's attempt to unite the extended Forrester-Logan-Spencer clan for Thanksgiving. Would the guests play nice as they journeyed 'over the river and through the woods?' Or was putting sharp objects in front of this crowd a bad idea? It's time to talk turkey with Two Scoops' Mike!

Has your week been bold and beautiful? Did your effort to justify yourself make you look like a jive turkey? Was your seating plan a kick in the seat? Did you pay homage to a queen a year after her passing? These and more situations faced the Forresters et al this week!

Happy Turkey, Scoopers! It's Mike, back with a cornucopia of festive fall factoids. First off, Aly Forrester. You know, I always get nervous when a newbie assumes the form of a SORASed kid, but so far, Ashlyn Pearce shows none of the stilted, I-can't-act dreariness I've seen way too much of in these recasts. Aly seems sincere and grounded, and, in just a few episodes, I find myself liking her. She definitely seems like Thorne Forrester and Darla Einstein's daughter to me. Which is kind of a shame!

The last I remembered of Aly, she was a kindergartener who was bucking to be one crayon short of a box when she blacked out Taylor's photos and shredded her wedding dress, of course on the heels of finding out from the just-as-young Hope that Taylor had run over her Mommy on her birthday! I was kind of looking forward to Aly coming back with a psychotic gleam in her eye! It's great dramatic potential: losing her mother so traumatically at such a young age could easily inform everything Aly does.

Then I heard she was studying law, and I was like, "Of course! She feels Taylor wasn't brought to justice, so she's channeling that into her career choice." Better yet: Hope was only the messenger, but baby Aly would always associate Hope with the news, and, as an adult, would want to destroy her. How about by stealing Liam? And no child can process extenuating circumstances: all Aly knows is that her mother is dead because of Taylor. I really wanted to see Aly plot some Taylor-made revenge!

I mean, do we really know that Taylor is in Paris? Her sudden disappearance could have been because Aly arranged for her to be kidnapped Oh, the possibilities...possibilities B&B really could use. But I guess, for now, it seems Aly has gotten over all that, and she's most definitely likeable, so I'll settle for it, even if it means her "shadowing" Hope and checking out Hope's two men. At least we're getting more of Thorne in the bargain. But if Aly ever cocks an eyebrow Sheila-style, you can color me happy!

One of Aly's crushes, Wyatt, was busy telling daddy Bill to back off about Hope. You couldn't argue with Wyatt -- Bill played the same game, going after Brooke while married to Katie. But talk about the definition of ironic: Bill supporting Liam and Hope after the way he pushed Steffy on them! That support even provoked Quinn into jabbing Bill with his sword necklace (more irony, since he stabbed himself to "punk" Liam earlier this year). "Does she have all the tools in the tool box?" Bill asked Wyatt. Indeed!

There is kind of a loose cannon quality about Quinn, and I'm not sure I want her near Eric! ("All you walked away with was a scratch," Wyatt told Bill. What do we not know about Quinn?) Not that Wyatt's being any less...determined, shall we say. After trying to steam up the steam room with Hope, Wyatt beamed about "our first Thanksgiving together" as if they were a couple. Pushing much, Wyatt? And then he slaps the Bell-Tree Diamond on her. Wouldn't that thing be locked up after an attempted robbery?

Speaking of pushing, Brooke went to Katie with Donna in tow to talk more about forgiveness. Look, Brooke, points to you for one-upping Bill, switching his contract, and then telling him "Leaf me alone." Katie's not unmindful of what you did for her. But damn, girl, your sister asked for space, so get out of her face! Katie may well come around to forgiving Brooke on her own if Brooke can stay anti-Brill. At least Brooke said it was all her fault, and it's about time Donna got real about her part in the mess.

Bill, however, decided Brill was endgame and laid out the charm like a Thanksgiving buffet. He was sorry, Brooke made him a better man, blah blah blah. Gee, Bill, you just told Wyatt that Katie made you a better man! And, film at 11, Dollah: better men don't cheat on their wives with the wives' sisters, then pretend to take their wives back to regain power over their companies and their sons! Bill left "better man" behind soon after marrying Katie, the way he immediately drooled over Steffy. Don't even trip!

Now, I did see something this week that I've never seen before: Brooke Logan pushing a man away. And meaning it! Sure, she was tempted by his Stallion studliness (the way that man fills out a shirt should be illegal), but Brooke did stay strong. For now, anyway. Bill swore he'd win Brooke back...let's see if he's still so confident when Ridge swaggers back into town. And Bill predicting Katie would "make an incredible marriage partner for someone someday"? Does anybody smell Kridge? Kridge, anyone?

But then we left the soapy drama behind to welcome back a guest star that hasn't been on in ages: the Forrester mansion! That set is the heart and soul of the show; it was like being reunited with an old friend. Now that Thorne is moving back in with Aly, I'm wondering why he didn't do that years ago! The Forrester estate was his home in the late '80s and early '90s, and with Stephanie gone, Eric shouldn't be there alone. I hope this is just the beginning of a long line of appearances by the missed manor.

Aw, Hope. Your heart was in the right place, trying to put everyone in one room and have them say nice things about each other. But it didn't quite work for me, largely because of the seating chart. Sitting Bill next to Qunn and Katie? Really? Conversely, how hard was it going to be for Quinn to compliment Wyatt, or for Rick to compliment Caroline? I was just hoping for more challenging combinations. How about Caroline next to Maya, or Liam next to Wyatt? Make 'em dig, Hope!

I also found it bizarre that Pam would declare Donna her best friend. And Donna loved it! I don't know about you, but my best friend never slathered me in honey and tried to feed me to a bear. I also thought that some of these admissions got overly personal, considering the public forum. Donna gushed about Eric, Brooke made thinly veiled pleas for forgiveness, and Rick sang Caroline's praises in front of Maya, the woman he loved just a few months ago. Is that triangle over? Maya seemed happily settled in with Carter, with not even one longing look out of her!

On the plus side, I liked Brooke's reflections on growing up Logan and Caroline thinking of Brooke as her "West Coast mom," and Wyatt's admission that Hope affects people was strangely touching. But the real stars of this Thanksgiving thank-a-thon? Pam and Charlie. They got together awfully fast (like everyone else on B&B), but if there's a more perfect couple, I haven't seen them. Pam needed someone as quirky as she is, and Charlie is more devoted to her than Stephen could ever be. Go Pharlie! Or Cham?

Of course, Hope's dinner guests are about to become wedding guests, as Rick and Caroline pull a ceremony out of Pam and Charlie's turkey. Miss Caroline I've-got-to-Tweet-to-my-followers Spencer must have fallen off the balcony again, because she'd never be okay having a wedding that wasn't webcast with her talking about "who" she's wearing between the vows. And can Carter officiate a wedding on the fly like that? Isn't there paperwork to be prepared? To say nothing of not being able to file it on a holiday.

Finally, if you've paid any attention to the calendar, you'll know that November 26 marked one year since the passing of B&B's one and only Queen, Stephanie Forrester. (Eric said "almost a year," but we'll chock that up to the soap filming episodes weeks in advance.) It was only appropriate that everyone would gather for Thanksgiving in the sight of Stephanie's portrait, in the house she called her home her entire time on the show. "She's the reason we're all a part of this family," Eric told Dayzee. Amen!

One can only imagine what Stephanie would have thought of her family's escapades this past year, particularly Eric moving on with Taylor, and Brooke betraying "Kate" with Bill after promising to be a good girl. B&B has survived without La Forrester (despite a very wonky year), but it's not quite the same without her. Though I preferred the old school elegant Stephanie to the bitch-slapping "gangsta granny" Stephanie, there was no one like her, and I'm thankful B&B gave her the shout-out.

What about the past week made you thankful? What would you be extra specially thankful to see down the line? Talk about it on the Soap Central message boards or the comments section. Send e-mail or leave a voicemail! Or sound your "horn of plenty" on Facebook below. Your comments could end up in a future column. Like these!

• "Wyatt's heist stunt was stupid not only because he is bound to be found out, but because planting evidence and lying to the police are, I'm pretty sure, illegal. Why would the writers have Wyatt behave so out of character? Guess they...think we don't have brains." -- Pam

• "I am sure Katie is pregnant after that one night with Bill. I can't wait for Thorsten Kaye to show up. I'm an AMC fan and I love him." -- Elaine

• "I thought your column was hilarious! I am so proud of Brooke for backing her sister up [by switching Bill's contract with leaves]. She needed to after all she has done to Katie...KARMA is a B-itch, Bill...that was an epic moment to end the week. Kudos to the writers!" -- Kandi

• "Now that Brill and Batie are over, do you think that there is a chance for Bill and Steffy. They were so hot together." -- Tracy

• "I am so sick of Hope being so judgmental of Liam when she is doing exactly the same thing [Liam did to her and Steffy]... Can't wait for Ridge to return and shake things up. The show's [storylines have] gone downhill since Stephanie died for sure. Been watching since 1987, but I am losing interest in this show quickly. Need better writers for sure, and stop being lazy with the storylines and all the flashbacks. I hope Steffy and Taylor never come back." -- Marjorie

• "I am SO over Hope. Heck, she can pick Quinn for all I care! I see that the whitewashing of Brooke has begun yet again. In the end, Katie will be thanking Brooke for her support. In real life, Brooke dumping Bill would not erase [the] pain and betrayal of Brill's relationship...Katie needs to forgive for herself but there's no way Brooke should have a place in her life. I STILL don't understand how Bridget seems to have a normal relationship with her mother. I think Bell dropped the ball by not including Bridget in [Brill's] storyline." -- Shantryce

Now it's time to serve the pumpkin pie and put some Cool Whip on my Points to Ponder:

Katie booted Alison from Spencer because she was loyal to Bill. Makes sense...but is Justin still there? He screwed Katie over way worse and is more loyal to Bill than anyone... Bill tried to chase Wyatt off Hope, insisting, "She's with Liam!" Nice try, but Hope technically isn't in a relationship with Liam right now... It was a nice touch that Bill still had Quinn's scratch as he talked to Brooke. Details like that often slip through the cracks on this show!

Loved Rick's comment, "We can always put Uncle Bill in the corner with a TV tray." I'd have paid to see that! But Caroline's blanket statement that Thanksgiving in New York is done at hoity-toity restaurants was way off. Maybe that's how you did it, Miss High Society... Thorne just couldn't get used to seeing Aly "around here all the time." Dude, I know you haven't had a story in forever, but your daughter's only been at Forrester one soap day...

Katie's "I'm going to pass" and Bill's "Now I know how the turkey feels" responses to Hope's truth-before-turkey requirement were priceless... Hope said Bill had to be invited because she was Caroline's only family. What about Liam and Wyatt? They're Caroline's cousins, and she's not really any closer to Bill than she is to them... Hope also told Brooke and Katie that they might as well face Bill and get it over with. What nerve! What if someone had told you that a year ago, Hope? I guess golf clubbing his window gave her a new point of view...

There was a second, different portrait of Stephanie in the Forrester dining area. Is there a picture of her in every room? Does she stare down at people while they're on the toilet?... Interesting that Marcus is still in South Africa... That electronic rendition of "Ode to Joy" really got annoying after a while... I shouldn't have been surprised that Eric told Quinn to consider herself part of the family, not after he declared Taylor the new Forrester matriarch after one boink...

The sexy "suspense" bit between Pam, Charlie, and the cranberries was actually funny, and of course Charlie would ask about guarding the house. "We have terrific security," Eric reported. Maybe you do now, but given how easily Sheila and Morgan got in, they probably had different opinions!

Let me express some thankalicious gratitude to all of you who read my columns here on Soap Central. Without your interest and support, I might have been "recast" a long time ago! Can you believe it's been almost four years already? I'm very glad to still be here popping off about B&B, and I appreciate all y'alls. Really and truly. Thank you!

When next I Scoop for you December 16, there will only be one word: Ridge. Until then, Tracy will back next week to pave the way for all the upcoming Ridgeness. In the meantime? Say it with me: keep watching, be alert, and most of all, be bold!

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