Whitewash on the way?

It might be time to cover up some of Sharon's misdeeds with a fresh coat of paint.

Phyllis got hers. Chloe and Ashley and Jana did too. Even the always-scheming Gloria got splashed with a stain-covering coat or two. Now it could be Sharon's turn. Although, in my opinion, Sharon's bad deeds don't really compare to those of the aforementioned ladies, her sometimes loose behaviour has certainly smudged her once proper persona. Now, before any fan pulls up their e-mail screen to fire off their dissenting opinion, hear me, or should I say, read me, out.

Yes, Sharon has been a little too liberal in sharing her party favors with the gentlemen of Genoa City. I was none too pleased with her when she was panting and yearning after Diego when she already had an equally handsome and somewhat doting hubby on her arm. And yes, again, having a two-night stand with your brother-in law ranks right up there near the top of the list of tacky, tawdry behavior. And, of course, pressing a closed-mouth lip lock on your flabbergasted father-in-law is not something most women would think to do. Even if he was the great and powerful Victor Newman. Finally, we have the "which of you three musketeers fathered my baby" scenario. While it's not a position any women would want to find themselves in, what Sharon's done is all pretty much standard stuff in soap opera land. And, judging by the scores of similar stories on Springer and Maury, not unheard of in real life either. I tend to giver her a pass for her alleged abandonment of her family and the whole Cameron Kirsten garbage, on the grounds that all that was just a story scribes scraped from the bottom of their idea barrel, to cover the yawning hole her contract impasse created. The other stuff, like the blackouts and klepto behaviour, hmmm, pretty tame.

It would take way too long to do a comparison of Sharon against the other GC ladies of the night. But, just off the top of my head, hmmm, mother and daughter both having done their duty with Brad and Cole, well, tacky and tawdry in my book. Victoria not knowing if Daddy was Brad or J.T.. Tacky, tawdry. Phyllis: Daddy Jack or Daddy Nick. Tacky, tawdry. Chloe climbing naked or nearly so on a stripped to briefs Cane. Again. Tacky. Tawdry. Oh yeah, and I can't leave out Ashley stealing Victor's swimmers. Real tacky and extremely tawdry. I think you get my drift. To borrow some words from some comedian I once heard, but said in Sharon's voice: "Don't act like I'm the only one."

Just my opinion, but unlike a few other soap vixens, Sharon has harmed mostly only herself with her choices. For instance, I don't recall her going off on any rage or jealousy- fueled jaunts intent on taking the life of one of her rivals. I also can't remember her naming some man Daddy just so she could wrest him away from the woman he really loved. And although she met and married men of great means, when it all unravelled, I don't remember Sharon trying to walk away with the family home or a chunk of their fortune. And wrack my pea brain though I might, I just can't quite think of a single time she faked or forged, or coerced, blackmailed or threatened someone else, to fake or forge a DNA test.

Besides, it's not as if Sharon hasn't paid a pretty hefty price for whatever she's done, both those things I've mentioned, and some I've left out. Yes, Phyllis lost Daniel for a time, but that was a direct result of her own scheming, and in the end she got him back with no discernible damage to their relationship. What did Chloe get for all her lies and bad deeds? A beautiful daughter, complete acceptance by her family and Billy's, and a handsome, virginal gentlemen vying for her affection. Sharon? A husband who left her for his pregnant mistress, a man who picked a chance at a chunk of the Newman pie over her, then changed his mind and wanted her after all. Oh, and three dead daughters.

So yes, I think it's time for a whitewash. If whitewash can cover Phyllis' multitudes of sins against her fellow Genoa City men and women, erase nasty Ashley's sperm theft, well, it should certainly be able to camouflage all the sleeping around Sharon has done.

Which brings me to this damnable baby theft. I refuse to ever refer to it as a switch because that implies each woman walked away with something, which we know is not the case. Unless you count Sharon's heartache as her reward for her drug-free labor pains. Like just about every other fan, I continue to hate this storyline with every cell in my mother's body. But, what an opportunity it's given Sharon Case! I am absolutely loving those glimpses of her pain and agony over losing Faith. I'm snatching up the Puffs and dabbing at my eyes right along with her. Besides that, this storyline is giving many of the fans what they have insisted for years they wanted. Sharon needs to stand on her own two feet, many have said on message boards across cyberspace. She needs to stop leaning on some Genoa City man, e-mail others. Which is kinda funny to me, because what young and beautiful Genoa City woman has ever really done that? Other than Jill and Kay and poor Esther, that is. So why should Sharon be held to higher standards?

But, be that as it may, the bottom line is, Sharon's doing it. Home of her own. At the moment, not making goo goo eyes of devotion at some Genoa City fellow. Trying to repair her battered relationship with her son. And leaving Phyllis' husband alone. The only thing missing is a woman friend to confide in. With all the cutbacks, though, it doesn't seem likely Dru will be returning to retake that role, and poor Doris rarely gets written in. I guess there's always Ashley, which I think would really rankle the fans at first, but it would have one big plus. It would put Sharon with Faith and the bonding could begin. For this fan, at least, that would go a very long way toward mollifying me until the truth came out.

Instead, though, for now the scribes have only given her Adam. Curses! On the one hand, we can only hope as he grows closer to Sharon, so would his remorse, but we're talking about Adam. His remorse only goes as far as it needs to in order to cover his own diabolical tracks. Confession might be good for his soul, but it would put an end to his Genoa City existence. Because no matter what she might feel for him at the time, if Adam revealed what he's done, Sharon would hate him. Nick would hate him more than he already does, if that's possible. As would Ashley, Victor, Nikki, Jack, well, to save time, let me just say, all of Genoa City would band together and run him out of town on a rail. After they tarred and feathered him.

Okay, enough about Mz. Sharon. Moving on to that Ashley woman. Was I the only fan ready to toss some hard object directly at her likeness on the television screen every time she prattled piously on about her "girls"? Like a teacher's fingernails accidentally scraping against the chalkboard, it made me want to scream until my head exploded. Watching her stare off to the side of the person she's speaking to, as if she was addressing some being only she could see, and using that superior sounding, sanctimonious voice that is incredibly annoying, just made my blood boil. You've given me my girls, she mewled to Victor. I'll always be grateful. Given!? No, b-word, you stole one of the girls. And Adam stole the other. Victor ain't gave you squat. Yeah, in my anger, I forget everything I've ever learned about proper English. And another thing. I'm sane now. As soon as I had my baby, I crawled around and found all my missing marbles and poured them back into my empty skull. Oh yeah, Ashley, you're sane, honey. Yet, you haven't noticed a few very crucial and telling things about what your body is not doing and hasn't done since you gave birth to your test tube baby. My opinion, she needs to be in pounding on the wall proximity to Miss Patty Williams. Okay, vent over. I think it's clear I'm not at all enamoured of Ashley Abbott Newman right now. Blackmail or no, Dr. Taylor needs to take down his charlatan's shingle and retire from his doctoring duties.

Speaking of doctors, umm, isn't Dr. Emily just a wee bit unprofessional? I thought getting a word from them about their patient's confidences would normally be like pulling teeth from a hen's mouth. And considering that hens don't have teeth, well, that would mean it's usually impossible. Yet Dr. Emily is chewing Jack out over what Patty has shared about him. I know Jack has been a cad, and still for the most part continues to be, but we're talking, what 20-30 years ago. He cheated on her. He lied. He didn't treat her very nicely. But I think she got her revenge when she shot him 3 times. Bottom line, it's possible Patty wasn't wrapped very tightly long before she crossed Smilin' Jack's path. And given her probable mental issues, who's to say all she told Dr. Em was the truth and nothing but?

Well, for those who harboured the hope that Colleen's heart might improve Victor's disposition and make him a kinder, gentler gazillionnaire, well, those hopes were soon dashed to dust. Not that he didn't deserve every bit of it and much, much more, but Victor was brutal to Adam. Don't think I wasted any of my limited sympathy on Adam for Victor's treatment, though, because I definitely did not. I say, for Adam, bring it to him Victor. Hurry up and come back from Belgium so you can give him more. And while Vic's away and Nick is the big cheese in the chair, I'm counting on him to make every minute of Adam's business life pure and unadulterated misery. Long gone are my futile hopes that Adam would one day be fully accepted into the dysfunctional Newman family circle or that any of Hope's character had been bred into him. Because, clearly, it has not. Forget the whitewash and a legion of mind-fixing medical men in the white coats, the only thing likely to fix this monster in human form is a brain and complete personality trait transplant. It's hard to imagine how a fan could hate this man more, but if the scribes put him with Sharon in anything resembling a romantic manner, it just might be possible.

Between aging warriors, Jack and Victor, the little ground gained during the contemplation of the gift of Colleen's heart was lost as both renewed their vow to torment each other until one or both has taken their very last breath. On top of that, Billy has escalated the Newman-Abbott feud to a whole 'nother level, using the newly acquired Restless Style to paint two members of the Newman clan with his tarry brush. Unfortunately, it seems Billy might have also inherited the Abbott family gene Jack carries, which ensures that most, if not all, of his schemes will likely boomerang back and bite him hard in his behind. Like his brother, Billy has already shown he will tromp all over anyone to get back at Victor. Including his own sister, whose loaned money enabled him to attack her child's father. Maybe he didn't get that e-mail once circling cyberspace that talked about learning from other people's (Jack's) mistakes, so you didn't have to make them all yourself.

Well, there's always a lot more that could be said, but I guess that about all I'm gong to try and cover of the past week's Genoa City goings on. On behalf of scores of fans, welcome back Victor Newman. Just as I thought, I didn't have to say my sad so long. See ya when you get back from Belgium. I'm sure you'll be giving certain Genoa City people hell immediately upon your return.

Until the next time I return to this space, here's a little of what your fellow fans thought about Genoa City things. And like always, they did not bite their tongues. Enjoy!

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K. C. - After almost 30 years of watching this show, I've had enough. The character of Adam is beyond sickening and I cannot believe Y&R has written such a cruel and twisted storyline for two characters who've already suffered so much loss, Ashley and Sharon. Watching these women being tormented and victimized time and time again is not entertaining in the least, but utterly offensive! I will not only stop watching this show, but will boycott Sony products and many products of the show's major sponsors. I cannot and will not support this kind of misogyny being directed towards two decent characters who do not deserve this kind of sadistic storytelling. Sharon deserves to get her baby back, not in a few months or years, but now! Maria Bell has turned Bill Bell's legacy into a horror show and she and the entire writing team and producers should hang their heads in shame! What a disgrace this show has become!

Becky - I can't believe how horrible this show has become. I've watched it from the very beginning and been loyal. When they chose to have Sharon and Nick lose yet another child I refused to watch anymore. Do you not care about your viewers? How can Ashley be completely incompetent one minute and lucid mother of the year the next? Cancellation of soaps are happening quickly, maybe Y&R should watch their viewers reactions and take some consideration of what we want.

Eve - I guess I missed the episode where Dr. Taylor removed half of Ashley's brain. The Adam story is way too over the top to be believable. Are we supposed to believe everyone else on the show is too dumb to figure it out?

Fran - The fans of Y&R should write for the show, not the writers who think they can write. These writers should go and take the out of touch buffoons at CBS with them. They clearly do not respect what the public wants. CBS soaps were always my favorites. I stopped watching more than a year ago. I read soapcentral.com. CBS has become so intolerable I would rather scrub the toilet or have root canal.

Margie - What are you thinking? Adam and Sharon? How could you think any viewer is interested in this dram? I have watched Y&R for years but, if this happens, I will never watch this program again as I have heard other viewers express also. As for Ashley, how could you think that your viewers are stupid! Every woman on the face of the earth that has had a baby knows when she has had a baby! You need to get this straightened out and now. Get rid of Adam and let Sharon know Faith is her daughter. Do not wait years to bring this out or you will be missing a lot of viewers.

Kathy - I have watched Y&R from the beginning, and I am sickened about the storylines and how unbelievable they have become. Never before have I ever said while watching Y&R, "this is only a soap opera" because they always had realistic writing and even between the deceit and cheating, the storylines has always been believable. They need to get a grip real soon before we all leave because of these dark diabolical storylines!

Francis - I have watched the show everyday from the first episode, and I can't believe what it has become! I've seen people just disappear from the town without a word, and too many deaths to count. Some get away with murder, and others pay dearly for their transgressions, but what we are being given from the so called writers these days makes me want to hurl! I don't think I will watch the show much longer, especially while Adam, Ashley, and the other katzemjammer kids populate Genoa City. I cringed when Adam went after Rafe, but to deliver Ashley's baby, and have her believe it, in a hospital with no one catching on, this is just stupid! I used to really enjoy the show but now I feel insulted every time I watch.

Leslie - I think the person controlling Deacon is Sheila Carter. Sheila has hated Lauren since the 80's and therefore Michael, too. Lauren had to shoot one of the two Phyllis's and had trouble deciding which one was the real Phyllis. It's my bet Lauren shot the real Phyllis and Sheila just took over her life. After all, Sheila really wanted a baby, so I guess she just settled for Summer. And let's face it, Nick is such a dummy, he would never notice the wife swap! Remember when he mistook Grace Turner for his wife Sharon in bed?

Karrow - I too am utterly disappointed with the storyline involving Adumb and all his misdeeds going unpunished. I have been a loyal and die hard fan of Y&R for many years. But, given the nature of the show I have found myself with no desire to watch. Adumb needs to be caught and punished for all the manipulation and wrong he's done to others. On another note, I am so glad Eric Braden will remain on the show. I too was one of many fans irate at the thought of him leaving. Kudos to all involved that made it possible for him to stay. He's the only reason right now that I still even care about the soap. Oh, so glad Lily and Cane are back on the road to recovery. As far as the rest of the nonsense going on, get it over with already and please return Y&R to its former glory.

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