King of the hill

Remember that childhood game where one kid stood atop a mini-mound of grass or dirt, taking on anyone brave enough to climb up, the goal to send any takers careening back the way they had come until only one was left standing?

Almost. Remember that childhood game where one kid stood atop a mini-mound of grass or dirt, taking on anyone brave enough to climb up, the goal to send any takers careening back the way they had come until only one was left standing - the King of the Hill? Well, watching Adam at work brings that long ago game to mind. Partly due to Adam's allegedly undermining efforts, and partly due to her own insecurities and jealousy, the second Newman sibling has abandoned the company barge. Though Victoria blathered bitterly about the unfairness of Victor taking away her BON rattle and giving it to Adam to shake, when Daddy suddenly reversed himself and tried to put it back in her playpen, Victoria poutingly decided she didn't want it anymore. In fact, she further decided, since Daddy was bent on paying more attention to his sarcastic second son than he was to her, his devoted daughter, not only didn't she want to work on BON, she didn't want to work at Newman at all. So, like her other brother, the one she doesn't dislike, she declared it was time she too separated herself from Daddy's foreboding shadow and stomping her little foot, bid daddy adieu.

Unlike her brother, however, though Victoria wanted to spread her wings and soar away from her domineering Daddy, she didn't really want to fly solo. Lucky for her, there was another Newman in town (at least she's a Newman for now) with the power to hire and fire. And Nikki wasted no time doing exactly that by adding the third and presumably final former Newman employee to the executive roster at Jabot. Jill, squawked and squeaked a bit about it, but beyond one tart-tongued sarcastic retort, realized there wasn't much she could do about Nikki's decision, so had to content herself with a few seconds of bad-tempered grousing that everyone ignored. Poor Jill, there's apparently so few squeaky wheels for her to oil at Chancellor, she's reduced to futilely micro-managing Nikki's every other Jabot move. How far the mighty Jill has fallen. I imagine she will soon be taking her complaints about Nikki to Katherine. Which will probably prove to be a total waste of time, because most of the time when given the choice of backing Jill or someone else, Katherine almost always pledges her allegiance to the someone else. They may be mother and daughter, but I often wonder if Kay has ever forgiven Jill for stealing Phillip away from her.

Anyway, Victoria stepped on the premises chock full of ideas, determined that the newly formed Team Mother-Daughter will leave the Daddy-Son Duo coughing and choking on their dust. I guess we will see.

Now that Victoria has tossed in the white towel, Adam is momentarily without an opponent, but I doubt he'll be rushing to hang up his gloves and exit the ring. His Newman siblings might not be interested in bickering and battling with him, but that doesn't matter because he's already closing in on his next victim. Balanced on the top of the hill, Adam's critical gaze is already focused on Sabrina. And Victor, in hopes of growing closer to his newfound son by inviting him into his home, has perhaps made it way too easy for Adam to land some painful jabs in Sabrina's soft skin. According to Adam, Sabrina's nothing but a gold-digger who has hitched her little red wagon to Victor's bank account and is using him to boost her up multiple rungs of the career ladder. Which may or may not be true, I guess time will tell. But what I find funny about Adam's accusation is that in a way, the same could be said about him. Sure, Vic's his father, but that doesn't change the fact that without Victor, Adam definitely wouldn't be around to make life miserable for his new family and Genoa City acquaintances.

What is Adam's goal anyway? He jabbed at Victoria every chance he got, but when she'd finally had enough and left the whole Newman playground to him, he didn't seem happy to have her gone. Now he's started in on Sabrina. Is he trying to cut everyone Victor cares about out of his life so he can have his father to himself, or does he want Victor standing alone so that he can abandon him too? Sort of as payback for turning away from Hope and by extension, Adam. I sure hope Sabrina can hold her own against him, though, because I'm really starting to enjoy Victor and Sabrina together. I have to agree with fan Eve below. There isn't a single woman in the City other than Sabrina that I could imagine Victor infatuated with. Sure Sabrina is young, but she's seems more sophisticated and settled than the GC women nearly twice her age. Jill is so sour and bitter these days, who would want to romance her. Katherine? Not a chance. Gloria? No way. Nikki and Victor have long been my favorite when it comes to compatible couples, but I'm enjoying him with Sabrina.

I can't say the same, however, about Nikki and David. I like David much better than I used to, now that there's a bit more to him than just being Nikki's run and go get it guy. Unfortunately for Nikki, though, with all his gambling-related lies, he's every bit the loser Victor calls him. As for Nikki, who could feel sorry for a woman who sort of suspects her man could be a liar and a continuing addict, yet is still determined to be his bride anyway? You get what you pay for, Nikki. And besides that, until Nikki went to Victor and extended the olive branch of a cease-fire to their hostilities, she had annoyed me no end with her sanctimonious lectures about how Victor had treated the children. First of all, the aforesaid children have children of their own and have repeatedly insisted they are adults who want no part of Daddy's interference. Both have also shown they have a taste for infidelity and will love whom they please regardless of who gets hurt, yet have the nerve to frown up their faces and look down their long snouts over Daddy's choices. At the same time, they see no wrong in Nikki finding love and happiness, but apparently Daddy's doesn't deserve the same happy fate.

Was I the only fan feeling sorry for Colleen as her Professor chewed her up into bite sized pieces then spewed her out all over the room? Yes, I got that Adrian was upset that Colleen gave Brad a copy of his book, but was all that name calling really necessary? Maybe it was just me, but I didn't really see how Colleen was so immature simply because she didn't want her family's secrets revealed for the whole world to read about. Of course, it would have been better had she thought of that before. But no, she was mad at Daddy back then and wanted to make him pay for trying to keep her from Adrian. It's a good thing she didn't know about the two men Daddy dispatched or Jana wouldn't be the only one facing possible prosecution. Just the same, I thought Adrian was overly rough with her. Sure sounds like the end of this pairing. And I can't help but wonder whether Colleen will look a little different when she returns from her time away. Rumor has it that her character may be up for yet another face and form replacement and many fans hope one of the previous portrayers will reclaim the role.

It certainly seems as if the magazine may soon be living up to its Restless name. It sure appears that all that couple togetherness is beginning to wear paper thin. It wasn't so long ago that Phyllis was urging Sharon to tell Jack she wanted nothing to do with his charitable foundation so she could make it a foursome working for Restless. But that certainly isn't the case now. These days, if Sharon says something is red, Phyllis immediately insists the color is actually blue. And while Sharon still manages to keep a serene smile affixed even while disagreeing with Phyllis, Phyllis is clearly having a much harder time holding tight to her temper and her sarcastic tongue. You would think Phyllis was threatened by Sharon, but why. Nick is as much in love with her as he's always been, so why is she suddenly so against Sharon? And if the rumors are true, soon it won't be just the women at odds with one another. The two bulls, Nick and Jack may also start pawing the ground while snorting suspiciously at each other. Since I always thought it highly unnatural and unlikely that the jilted lovers could co-exist peacefully with their exes, I don't mind admitting that I can't wait to see what happens next.

Well, that's all the thoughts from my mixed up mind. While there's always more that could be said, all the graduation activities for my high school senior has me far, far behind schedule. So I not only apologize to you fans for my extreme tardiness, but also my brevity. I'll make up for it next week. In the meantime, here's what you thought.

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LORRI

- I have been watching Y&R since I was 2. Thanks to my Aunt who took care of me while my mother was at work. So needless to say I know some things about the show. Victoria had to know the relationship with Sabrina and her father was coming. I mean come on now its Victor! He made a blind woman see ... how suave he is. Did she think he was going to pine over Nikki? He escorts Sabrina to events and asked that she stay at his home. Ding Ding Ding! I think Michael and Lauren are the realest couple ever on daytime and I love it. Please don't separate these two. And stupid, meddlesome Neil. He gets a life and ruins it all in one swoop. I like Karen and at this point think she is too good from him. Oh and what about Devon, he needs a girlfriend. What happened to the girl from Deal or No Deal?

KEVIN - As much as I don't like Victoria's whining, even worse is Adam's disgusting behavior. Whenever he shows off his nasty little self with that smug smile, I want to punch him in the face. Even worse is his friend Skye. Talk about two snooty people. They think because they graduated from Harvard somehow they are better than everyone else. What kills me is Victor. Whatever Adam says, Victor is all behind it. He's become a yes man to anything Adam. On to Cane. I loved his performance. It was a breath of fresh air to see a man truly upset at the loss of his unborn baby. It was touching how he was worried about Lily and trying to hold back his own pain. Way to go Y&R. With Lynn Marie Latham gone, things are looking good.

MAGGIE - I noticed in last week's column a woman named Janette mentioned she had just been diagnosed with a brain tumor. My heart goes out to her - I also have a brain tumor; I was diagnosed in June of '06. I know how shocking it is to receive such bad news and would like to contact her to offer my emotional support. Would you mind giving her my email address so she may contact me if she wants? Or, would you prefer giving me her email address so I may write to her? Like her, I also wanted to contact Michelle Stafford because I knew she had a brain tumor when she was only 18. I wrote to her at CBS almost two years ago but unfortunately never heard back from her. If you can't share email addresses with either of us, please let her know she is in my thoughts and prayers. Thank you.

MARY - Obviously Victor has very vague memories of his time in Kansas. His comment that Adam grew up on a farm in Kansas so he can't be expected to have social skills is pure junk. Having lived in Kansas for 13 years, I can tell you that Kansans, as is the case with most mid-westerners, are among the nicest, most hospitable people in the world. Adam's behavior is distinctly un-Kansas-like. Also, has anyone noticed Adam's grammar faux pas? I don't know if it's just bad writing or if it's a clue that he doesn't really have a Harvard education. During Monday's show when he slipped up I thought that I saw a reaction from Sabrina, so I'm thinking it's deliberate. We'll see!

YOLANDA - I am really digging Adam. Yes, he can be crude and rather obnoxious but it is sooo funny to me! I love his relationship with Skye and the easy way they communicate with one another. I hope she sticks around and they continue their friends with bennies thing while wreaking havoc in the city! I like Sabrina and Victor together, people should lighten up on them, she makes him feel good and vice versa, big deal. Loving Jack and Sharon, hope things remain good for them. Glad Jill's getting a storyline, she and Kay are underused.

ZJANETTE - I didn't know the show was about incest. Victor's new girlfriend is young enough to be his great-grand-daughter. Two words: Euww and Yuck!

CAROL - I am just adding my two cents or so. I really can't see Victor and Sabrina together. He is sooooo old and it just doesn't work for me.

KELLY - Maybe it was just me but I was ROTFL on christening day when Vikki was gushing about what a great mother Nikki was. OMG, did she lose brain cells when she was in a coma? Nikki would treat road kill better than her own kids.

PATRICIA - I am so glad they finally gave Victor a real lady in Sabrina. They are wonderful together. I was so tired of Nikki taking Victor for granted. He gave her everything she asked for over and over, yet it was never enough for her. Victor accepted Phyllis into his family and treated her good. Nick's trust fund comes from Victor's money. Victoria was cheating on Brad with J.T. during her pregnancy and after her miscarriage. Now she's upset that Victor has some joy in his life after Nikki rubs David in his face on his property and in his home. Sabrina is the best thing to happen to Victor since Hope. Victor deserves to be happy at last with a beautiful decent woman who is posh, educated, and honest instead of a tramp like Nikki. Nikki cannot hold a candle to Sabrina. Victor and Sabrina are made for each other. I am glad Y&R has paired them together. Please don't let that tramp Nikki spoil Victor's life any more. Sabrina is Victor's only equal!

PEGGY - I have not been a fan of Victoria's; think she's too much a daddy's girl. However, it would seem a little fishy and sudden and unthinkable that my long time friend would suddenly take up with my dad and move in with him. As for Adam, I think she objects because she had to work her way up, and here he is practically running the company.

CAROLE - I wrote before that I thought the relationship between Sabrina and Victor is disgusting. Now I can add, I think they are incredibly boring!

EVE - Okay, I have a high tolerance for the ick factor, and the Victor/Sabrina pairing doesn't really bother me that much. After all, the mantra on soaps is happy is boring (not that Victor and Nikki have ever been that happy for that long), so they had to break up, and then the scribes had to do something with the Great One. So who was he supposed to hook up with? Kay Chancellor? And as for it being his daughter's best friend - well, my best friend (30 years ago) once expressed an interest in my father (a very fit 65 year old), and I didn't kill her. I told her she was crazy. No, what bothers me is Victor's overwhelming obsession with Adam, who, as you said, Nita, is being written as the most robotic, charmless, obnoxious young man on the planet. And this seems to be a pattern. Remember when they brought Billy back? Well, Billy and Adam were written exactly alike. And Heather Williams was cut out of the same cloth, too. Do the writers have a vendetta against the Millennial Generation or what? And the real Victor, the Victor I know and love, who would indeed pick Sabrina up and carry her to the bedroom and marry her in a heartbeat, both because she's gorgeous and available and to make Nikki jealous (that story is by no means dead; sadly), but my Victor would never put up with a cold little changeling like the kid he's just brought into the ranch. Speaking of the ranch, did all the rest of you spray coffee all over your couch the way I did when Adam met the housekeeper who proceeded to list the staff, none of whom - except Miguel - we have ever met? Anyway, I, too, am beginning to enjoy the Gloria/Jeff shenanigans. At least they have chemistry, which is more than some of the duos have. Thank God the Professor and Colleen are breaking up. And I am kind of dreading the Victor/Nikki shenanigans. I hate to say it, but in the real world, there's a point at which the ship has sailed and is never coming back into harbor. And I think these exes have met it.

CAROL - I feel sorry for Sabrina that she has to kiss that old Victor. He is old enough to be her grandfather. I can't stand watching those two. Couldn't they have picked someone who was at least 40? That still would have been young for Victor. Yet again, Sabrina does look quite a bit older than Victoria.

GENE - I think the show is still too boring and the new head writer is not impressing me. Don't get me wrong, it is better than that horrible LML term, but the show is still boring me to tears. Why do I care about some of these characters if they are not written to make me understand or care about them in the first place. I feel the show needs to pick up the pace and get rid of some characters and actors that are just not working. Vincent Irazzy, who I like, is ill defined and he and Nikki do not work well together. Nikki is some things, but stupid is not one of them. She is not a blind little girl to just get married to a man without knowing all about him. I feel the writers are making her look dumb to fit a plot point and it is not working. It would have been better if she would have gotten all the facts on him and then married him or got the upper hand, but not be blind and get married to him without knowing his agenda. Or the writers could have paired her with Jeff and made Gloria jealous and started a rivalry between them. It would have made a lot of sense and could have given Gloria her payback for all the rotten things she did. Victor and Sa-boring are not working for me and the fans and this relationship needs to be kaput ASAP. There is no chemistry and it is sleazy. Victor and Jill could have commiserated and Nikki and Jill could have rehashed an old rivalry between them. The Jill they've written is dull and boring and I think the writers missed the boat by not getting her scheming again. I hope the show gets Victoria Rowell back and brings back the rivalry between Phyllis and her. I hate this milquetoast Phyllis and Dru is the only that can get the old girl back to scheming and manipulating. After they explain Dru's supposed death, the writers should have Dru sue Phyllis with emotional distress for the fall and with money and a part of Phyllis' stock in Restless Style Dru could take over the company and make some changes that Sharon and Jack love but Nick and Phyllis hate. It could be WWIII at Restless Style and more entertaining than what's playing right now. I hope the new head writers are heeding the fans and critics that the show still needs more work instead of this bore fest that is going on right now.

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As always, I appreciate everyone's comments! See ya in the City.