Zeros and heroes

If it's true that revenge is indeed a dish best served cold, then Victor Newman should be licking his chops and rubbing his belly in sublime satisfaction.

Surprise! Victor the Zero beats Jack again. Wow! None of us fans saw that coming, huh? Heavy sarcasm here. If it's true that revenge is indeed a dish best served cold, then Victor Newman should be licking his chops and rubbing his belly in sublime satisfaction.

When it comes to Genoa City doings, I confess my sympathies were all over the place last week. In fact, I wore myself plumb out, running from one side to the other to shake my pom poms in support.

While I certainly understand why Victor is so set on raining on every one of Jack's parades - payback for his part in hatching the forged diary plot, among many other Jack- engineered misdeeds - I still wound up on Jack's side in the Jabot bid sleight of hand.

There's a few reasons this one left me cold and unsympathetic toward Victor. First, how disappointing that Victor had to cheat to win Jabot. With all his money, he could have saved himself the trouble and simply named an amount so ridiculously inflated Jack couldn't possibly have beaten it. Two, after all the trouble the scribes went to in order to show us how smart Tucker was in tricking Kay out of Chancellor Industries, now we're supposed to buy he's so gullible he'd effortlessly be bested by Victor and his half-blind misbegotten boy. Not only did he swallow without suspicion the Newmans' performance, he wasted no time letting Adam into his inner circle of trust. Have you ever tried to open a sealed envelope, with a letter opener no less, and no one be the wiser? Yet Tucker hadn't a clue his sealed bids had been tampered with. And, finally, I hate that Victor is so vindictive, not even the Abbott heart beating in his chest is enough for him to let the Abbots have what rightfully belongs to them. What a hateful, horrid man he can be!

Of course, I wouldn't be serving any sympathy at a tea for Tucker either. Because it certainly wasn't a lose-lose situation for him that Victor successfully snatched Jabot from Jack's prematurely overconfident grasp. Tucker never wanted Jabot in the first place, so selling it to the highest bidder, especially a bidder willing to part with a sizable slice of his pocket change to deny Jack something he desperately desired, was no skin off Tucker's revenge-seeking snout.

Poor little Cinderella Jabot. Suddenly everyone wants to stick the Jabot jewel in the center of their crown. Once thought by this fan that Jabot was a nice sized company, it seems it's but a tiny cog in the big wheels of giant conglomerates like Chancellor and Newman. Though both of these enterprises could apparently buy and sell Jabot many times over, and need it like I need an extra eye glaring from the back of my head, neither could rest until they owned it.

But how does Victor buying Jabot help Kay regain control of Chancellor Industries? Maybe I'm missing something stinking right under my nose, but I can't see that it does. Instead, it just seemed like an opportunity for Victor to use his willing minions to quench his insatiable thirst for revenge against Jack. Like I said, I understand why Victor wants to keep his foot on Jack's neck. And now that she's no longer his "beautiful Ashley" bride, Victor could care less that Jabot also belongs to Ashley. And he certainly has no love for Billy, despite his recent use of him for his own ends, given what Billy has revealed about his family in the pages of Restless Style.

I really feel for Jack and his siblings here. Maybe I'm the only one who thinks so, but enough with the back and forth. It's time the Abbots got Jabot back. Why do they always have to be the family subservient to all others? Why can't Jack once and for all get his family's company back so he can finally take his place on the dance floor with the other family companies? Instead of always being the nerdy kids all the bigger bullies pick on whenever they don't have anything better to do, it would be nice to see Jack, Ashley and Billy working together holding their own against the powerful titans of Genoa City. The Abbott gang together have always played off each other very well and are sometimes better together than each, with the exception of Billy, comes across individually.

I guess the bottom line is I'm simply sick of the eternal tussle for Jabot. All the blood, sweat and tears, and of course, millions, Jack has squandered trying to get his company back, he could have started three family companies. Since someone other than an Abbott has been calling the shots at this company for so long, it ceased to be an Abbott endeavor many, many moons ago. Victor won. He now will presumably own Jabot. So let him have his hollow victory while the Abbotts move on. If they can't have Jabot, let them start a brand new Abbott company. And just to really get Victor's goat, Ashley ought to change the locks then move all the Abbotts right under Victor's ranch roof.

Even as Adam tries to remain in his father's good graces by helping snatch Chancellor back from Tucker, all his skeletons are beginning to creep out of the closet where he had them hidden. Pretty soon their bones will be rattling so loudly, he won't be able to hear himself scheme. I love that some of the lights in Ashley's memory bank are finally starting to come on, and I thoroughly enjoyed watching the little cockroach try to wriggle free of her accusations. Of course, we are talking about Adam. He never seems to get stuck for long between that rock and a hard place. But it's still fun watching him squirm, even though his discomfort is usually only momentary.

Unfortunately for him, though, Ashley isn't the only one now eyeing him with suspicion. While he may temporarily be able to convince Ashley she's still not quite sane, and keep Sharon blinded by love to the rot in his character, he's not likely to have the same success with Neil and Phyllis. Currently unemployed, Phyllis has little else save Summer to occupy her time, and is like a pit bull when it comes to keeping her teeth sunk in a chunk of flesh. All that digging, however, is probably going to come back and bite her. It will be interesting to see what she will do if she stumbles onto the truth about Faith. As a mother herself, it's hard to believe she would be able to keep the truth hidden, no matter that it could mean the end of her marriage. She might want to watch her back though, lest Adam try to shove her in front of a car too.Speaking of Phyllis, was I the only fan laughing myself off the couch when Sharon called Phyllis the "B" word? It came out of nowhere and didn't even sound right. Sharon made it sound nothing like the insult that term is usually meant to convey.

If I was hosting the party, both tea and sympathy would be served to Jill. Whatever she might have justly been accused of in the past, this time she is relatively blameless. No, obviously it wasn't her wisest move to pretend not to know Tucker before her official introduction to him by Kay. And I grant you that she stumbled again when she decided to climb back into his bed once she knew his real identity. Now Tucker has dumped her, Kay has turned her back on her, and even Cane, who should be the last person passing judgment on anyone, least of all the woman who continued to treat him as a son even after all his lies had come to light, is turning up his nose at her. So she slept with Tucker. Look at all Cane did to the people he claimed to love, yet all have taken him back with open arms despite all his deceit and litany of lies.

I was jumping up and down with approval and applause for my hero, Noah Newman. Like his grown up fellow nice guy, Chance, Noah gets props this week for his quick willingness to defend his maiden's honor. Too bad he's off to Paris to provide in-person support and won't be around to help blow Daisy out of the water. It appears it will be left to Jana to dig up the truth about Ryder and Daisy. Daisy is clearly unredeemable, but Ryder is likely a different story. The easily led boy is a pawn for the murderous women who pull his strings. Obviously he's no match for the emotionless Daisy, who hasn't even hit 18, so he wouldn't stand a chance against the likes of a seasoned sociopath like Sheila or her former lover, Sugar.

Great moments between Nick, Sharon, and Faith. Glimpses like that of what should have or could have been with the former Nick Newmans go a long way toward giving me appetite-whetting samples to keep me going until the main course is brought to the table.

I smell a secret coming and her name is Malcolm's fianc. How odd that Malcolm keeps mentioning his fianc but is strangely unforthcoming about her. You would think he'd have something else to say about her, like what kind of woman she is, at least her name ... something. Which makes this fan extremely suspicious as to who she might be and why he's so closemouthed about her.

So much more to be talked about, but I'm going to call it quits right here. Until next time, from the e-bag, here is some of what your fellow fans had to say.

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Poppycock - I am anxiously waiting for some stories to move along. First being the Adam/Sharon/Nick/Ashley debacle! Let's get it on already and really make this creep, Adam, sweat! I want him found out and backed into a corner with only Tucker's Chancellor Industries to run to! Nothing better than watching a predator fight for his life! Love the business intrigue, rivalry of Nick & Adam for Sharon & Daddy's affections. Y&R, things are most definitely looking up! I am already loving the new Tucker! Calculating, smooth, successful all those things wrapped up into a nice sultry, dark and brooding package! YUM!

Jerald - I don't know why I am intrigued by the Tucker thing, but I am. I liked the old Tucker, but I have to say that I also like the new Tucker. I'm interested to know what the real reason for the chip on his shoulder is and hope the writers do well with this story.

AJ - It appears that Adam has gone undercover for Victor. But alas, with the baby switch hanging over his head, there is no redemption for this character unless he develops a brain tumor like Jana.

Kallie - I must be crazy but I actually like Adam and wish there was some way he could get out of the huge mess he is in. I love that Victor and Adam are working together against Tucker.

George - Why are fans so full of hate for Adam? Phyllis forgets when she tried to kill Christine with a car, and ran over Paul (irony that his sister almost killed Summer). Phyllis is no better than Sheila, Patty, or Adam. Sort of an interesting twist, Adam is asked to be on the outs with Victor, and work as a spy against Tucker. The Lauren and Sheila storyline is not much fun unless there is a Sheila. This slow simmering storyline needs to boil over very soon. How soon are we going to get this Patty storyline over with? We all know where this story is heading: Patty escapes from the mental hospital, and exchanges places with the doctor. What is the interesting twist that we have never seen before? Jack will not end up with the doctor, because he will end up with Phyllis once Nick and Sharon are reunited.

Abby - If this were the real world, I don't think a smart tycoon would have gotten where he is without great instinct and intuition - the timing on this blow up is too convenient. So I think Tucker will figure it out and let them think he's not aware of their plot. I still wish Y&R would allow the baby switch to come out and Adam to be found out for all his ghastly deeds - who knows Victor might really give a tell-all interview when he finds out everything. I also can't wait for the Ryder/Daisy storyline to be finished. In years past, Y&R was such a good show, but in the past few years, they've really lowered their standards. In the days of long-time soaps being cancelled, you would think they would be more careful about their storylines, especially when viewers are complaining about them.

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