Newman family values

As Victor Newman might growl, this was one hell of a week on The Young and the Restless.

As Victor Newman might growl, this was one hell of a week on The Young and the Restless. Of course, for him, each day brought a different emotional upheaval. It was like he chose an emotion first thing in the morning while putting on a clean pair of jockey shorts -- anger, regret, sadness, lust, joy, etc.

It was like Victor was having a series of nervous breakdowns. Think about it; he went from saving Sharon's butt with the D.A., to hating Neil for interfering in the arbitration, then he was crying over his kids' betrayal, which led to him rejecting Diane's birthday surprise and using Nikki for a romp in the stables. Soon after, he was kvetching to Kay about his company being destroyed, bossing around Michael, and finally charming and cajoling Diane into eloping with him ... all in one week! I'm exhausted just writing about it. Doesn't it seem like there's something neurotic about this scattershot behavior?

Victor is in need of an intervention, or perhaps another Christmas Carol visitation from the ghosts of people he's hurt. The man is out of control. He tried to win the arbitration by cheating, and failed. It hadn't been a well-thought-out plan to begin with -- counting on Adam's lies to stand up to scrutiny -- and Victor is usually more diabolical.

Even if Neil had not stepped forward to prove that Adam was a liar, a forensics specialist would have figured out that Adam's claim that he'd forged the trust documents was bull. And while it's all well and good that Adam is going to be indicted for perjury, what about Michael and Victor's role in the fraud? Michael should be brought up on charges by the bar association for suborning perjury. And Victor perpetrated fraud. Charges could and should be brought against him for obstruction of justice.

But don't expect either Michael or Victor to be brought to task. It's more likely that Lauren will wonder why her husband is never home, or Nikki will chew out Victor for rushing into a marriage with Diane. Nikki has a damn good reason to be ticked off. Victor and Nikki had made love just a day before. Oh yes, it's true that the morning after, both Nikki and Victor spoke and agreed that their roll in the hay was "just one of those things," but Nikki was hoping for more. If I were Nikki, when I heard that Victor had eloped with Diane, I'd have felt used. That should have been Nikki's Las Vegas wedding!

And yet, wasn't Nikki just as duplicitous as her ex-husband? After all, she was supposedly involved with Deacon at the time. So was it cool that she had Athletic Club afternoon delight with Deacon, then visited the stables for a romp in the hay with Old Vic? Is that normal? Who does that? Maybe sex is a replacement for a vodka and tonic in Nikki-world?

Is it any wonder that Newman Family Values are questionable at best? What have Victoria and Nick learned by watching their parents in action? Nick seems to be a straight shooter, but he does have his father's autocratic ways. He can't forgive Diane or Sharon or Phyllis or any other woman who crosses him. Have each of those women lied or cheated or deceived him? Oh yes, but Nick's hardly a saint. Here's what I wish for Nick -- a new lady who's not named Sharon, Diane, or Phyllis!

Victoria, on the other hand, has embraced the happy home life with Billy. He's been a great husband, kowtowing to her every whim and striving to make her happy. But you know that's not going to save him from her wrath when Victoria finds out that Lucy was bought, and she's actually Daisy and Daniel's baby. And you know that Billy is going to flip out when he finds out that she's trying to take over Jabot, which will screw the Abbotts out of the family business yet again.

By the way, will Jack ever get over losing John Abbott's company all those years ago? I loved the flashback they showed, where Jack threw the office chair out of the window of the skyscraper when Victor said he was going to take the CEO's seat from him. How over-the-top was that? Do you think there was anybody on the sidewalk below when the chair landed? Talk about a lawsuit! "Yes, judge, Mr. Abbott threw a chair out of a window and it landed on my head. I'm suing for $100 million."

I predict that the next pawn in the war between Victor and Jack will be Kyle. It's already setting up as a tug-of-war for that kid's soul. Victor is going to "adopt: Kyle and teach him the ways of Newman. Since Victor has disowned Nick, Abby, and Victoria, he'll need a new heir. Kyle will be in the right place at the right time...and Victor will do it for a multitude of reasons. First, he'll want a new acolyte. Second, Diane will be egging him on. Third, it's a new way for Victor to stick it to Jack. That's a trifecta for Victor; he won't be able to resist.

We may be coming to the end of Deacon Sharpe in GC. Didn't you just know that Deacon's double-cross of Meggie would fail? He came up with an escape plan way too easily, and he really didn't cover his ass too well, did he? Considering how clever he'd been with the art con when he first came to town, how come he left the door open for Meggie to get back at him? Just think, if he had gone to Nikki first, he could have painted Meggie as a lunatic. Nikki is gullible so she'd have probably believed him. Instead, Deacon gave Meggie all the power. Now that Nikki bought Meggie's story -- which is the truth -- Deacon doesn't have a chance of getting Nikki back.

Did you notice that Kay, Michael, and Phyllis were basically observers last week? When those characters are not involved in the action, they're like a Greek chorus, making comments and carrying information from one character to another. It's very useful for us viewers, but surely there are storylines coming up for these three, aren't there?

They were still more interesting than Sharon. What a mope! Give it up, girlfriend, you got your heart broken. Your New Orleans' haze is over. But Sharon is just too dumb to let it go. She's going to throw caution to the wind to get Adam back and do something as self-destructive as shoplifting a diamond bracelet. Oh wait, she's done that before.

Speaking of Adam, how on earth did he find Koa? I mean, really, is it that simple? It reminded me of Bogey in Casablanca when he says to Ingrid Bergman, "Of all the gin joints, in all the world..." Yes, Adam just stumbled into a bar and there was Koa drinking a beer. And exactly how did Adam find the cash to fly to Thailand?

He may have taken out a large amount of money from the bank before leaving Genoa City, but where did the money come from? He was broke when he left Skye, remember? And for a man who's blind and needs a driver to get around, how is he traveling with such ease?

There are times when Maria Arena Bell just wants us to forget these facts about Adam, you know? But think about it, even if Adam had 20/20 vision, how did he find Koa when nobody even knows Koa's last name! Nobody knew where he'd gone. Of course, if it turns out that Adam was in cahoots with Koa, well then, that might make a good story.

Finally, there's Tucker. I like the way he's openly playing Victoria and Jack against each other. Ashley may not have the stomach for big business, but it's good storytelling. Tucker's ambition makes him interesting, and equal to Jack or Victor when it comes to corporate chicanery. Here are some recent notes from the mailbox:

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