Resident whipping girl (as usual)

Although she gets plenty of screen time, Sharon Newman's storylines are often the pits! For the writers, it may be a labor of love, but the fans don't seem to be feeling the same. Do the writers love Sharon or do they just love to give her a hard time?

Please, writers, I'm begging here ... will you please unplug the bash Sharon Newman merry-go-round and retire it from the Genoa City carnival? I am sick to death of looking at the sneering, judgmental faces of the supercilious, self-righteous Newmans every time the ride goes 'round. I have grown hoarse from contemptuously screaming at my television screen as, together and apart, they wave their flag of entitlement at poor, lowly, you-are-not-as good-as-us Sharon.

First, let me admit I am not a Sharon hater. But neither is she my favorite Genoa City lass. I guess if I have to be pigeonholed somewhere, squeeze me in the middle. The place where at times you'll see me shaking my head in perplexed exasperation, at something Sharon has said or done, and at others, enthusiastically nodding in complete agreement.

For fans who hate Sharon, I already know you will not agree with me. I fully expect to receive an e-tort or three (no, e-tort is not a word, I just made it up) telling me how Sharon is a low life for abandoning her children way back in the Stone Age, and for choosing Adam over Faith more recently. "What kind of a woman can love a man who snatches their child, blah, blah, blah", others will rightfully ask. Some will pile on even more ridiculing remarks, like, rocks for brains, gold digger, and manipulative, man-starved bimbo. While others will insist she is a temptress with so much power, she can apparently turn a reasonably intelligent man's head 360 degrees and entice him to do her bidding with little more than a helpless shrug of her shapely shoulders.

Although the women of Genoa City seem to want to place 100% of the blame on Sharon for the choices men make, I choose to give the men credit for a little bit more brain than that. Fans and Genoa Citians condemn Sharon because certain men of her acquaintance have been known to ride to her rescue a time or two. Yet, I rarely, if ever, can recall a time when Sharon asked any of them to do all that rescuing.

Maybe I'm the sole fan who thinks so, but I really hate the way the scribes have blackened this character. Fans seem to measure her against a different yardstick than they do her peers. For example, even though few Genoa City women go more than two minutes without a man, fans frequently demand that Sharon should have to. For many soap fans, nothing Sharon does seems good enough. If she's silent while others attack, she's called a witless woman with no backbone. If she stands up for herself, like she did recently with Nick, she's practically burned in effigy.

Yet others are instantly forgiven for shrieking like a demon-possessed harpy at every opportunity. Phyllis is often a hateful, spiteful, mean-as-hell female mongrel, but all she gets from Nick is a carefully worded, timid response like, "well, I guess we'll have to agree to disagree." Ugh! Who the hell is Nick Newman that he constantly stands in judgment of Sharon, yet is afraid to even raise his voice to the likes of Phyllis? He treated Faith like a yo-yo on a string, playing her out and yanking her back whenever Sharon didn't perform to his exact specifications, and I confess I was glad, glad, glad to hear the judge turn the tables on him. I don't even care that Victor played a part in it, because I recall Nick running to the same father for assistance when he wanted to snatch Faith from Sharon.

Yes, I know. Nick's just being a good father, putting his daughter's welfare first, so explain many fans. I understand that. Nick hates Adam, and with good reason. We all hate what Adam did, but why are fans so quick to condemn him for that, yet refuse to give him even a cent's worth of credit for saving both Faith and Noah's lives? But, like Sharon, Adam, too, gets measured by a different yardstick than the others.

Anyway, I say there are all kinds of ways to harm a child. For instance, prolonged exposure to a woman who openly hates and repeatedly humiliates her mother can't possibly be in Faith's long-term best interests. According to the Children in the Middle experts, one of the first things they pound into the brains of divorcing parents is the importance of refraining from trash talk against the other parent. Apparently, the child identifies with both of his or her parents and feels any parental hatred is also directed against that part of the parent within themselves. But hey, what do I know? It's just my opinion.

Speaking of Phyllis, am I the only fan who wishes she would get over this tiresome obsession with Sharon? Newsflash, journalistic hack Nick no longer wants to rescue Sharon, nor love her. She is at the top of his least-liked list, on the same line as Adam. With her fixation on Sharon, Phyllis really has turned Restless Style into a useless pile of trash magazine pages. And I doubt that the addition of Ricky, another betrayer of family, will make the Style any classier. Let it go, Phyllis. You've won the battle, the war, and the horn dog man. Here's hoping 2012 will eventually see Phyllis writing about something else for a change. Heck, she still has a sister whose reputation she can gleefully ruin. Why doesn't she have at that?

Victoria and Nikki were so nasty to Sharon during the week; they caused me to almost rejoice in their suffering. The way they ganged up on Sharon showed me the side of their Newman selves that I most despise. Nikki, the town drunk and former stripper, has no room to point a finger of scorn at Sharon. With Victoria, Nikki, Nick, and Phyllis all issuing their self-righteous opinions, the only hater missing was Doris.

But finally, Sharon has had enough of them all, and I was cheering to beat the band when she gave Nick a piece of her mind. And yes, she still had some left. For a girl from the poor end of town, Sharon often shows more class than the moneyed Genoa Citians who think themselves superior. I was surprisingly proud of her for her nonchalant reception to Phyllis' childish Gimme Gimmee Restless Style article. Funny how everyone is so outraged that Sharon would want to fight to have access to her child. Wouldn't each of them do the exact same thing if they were the people being kept from their child?

So the rumors were accurate. Sharon is to be the next Mrs. Newman. Obviously, it's not a love match, and as long as Victor is in jail, it should remain a marriage in name only. Thank goodness. Because I really couldn't champion anything else. Unfortunately, it's only going to add wood to the fire that has already half-consumed this scribe-damaged character. But it returned Faith to Sharon, so for the moment, I can stomach this pairing.

It was almost worth the potential ewww-factor of Sharon and Victor to witness the slap in the face the news must have delivered to Miss Snooty-tooty Nikki. Seriously, though, this latest turn of events is a little too similar to Brooke's antics on that other soap for my liking. If I wanted to see that tawdry behavior, I'd simply wait a half hour and watch Brooke go at it. Thank goodness there are no more Newmans, else the scribes would likely write Sharon into a relationship with them as well.

But why did Victor really want to marry Sharon? It must be part of this mysterious plan he has to destroy Adam. At the moment, though, I don't really care. Adam keeps saying how much he loves Sharon. If he really means that, though, he should force himself to walk away from her. Because he has to know his presence would likely result in Sharon losing custody of Faith all over again. If he truly loves her, he shouldn't force her yet again to choose between him and Faith. Maybe Adam and Sharon can one day find their way back to each other somehow, but unfortunately for Adam, now is not the time.

Speaking of Victor, while I don't like the way he manipulated Billy in the Myanmar mess, I had to admit he made some valid points to Victoria. As much as I love Billy, he did indeed make a mess of things. If he had been home with Victoria, instead of throwing booze down his throat, grafter Chelsea would never have gotten her greedy talons hooked in his hide or drugs into his drink. I tell you, these Genoa City men are quite the specimens. Even drugged and practically comatose, they are still capable of rising to the occasion of baby making. Despite Victoria's claim to forever stand by her man, I'm not so sure they will survive this latest attack on their happiness. Unless Chelsea agrees to hand over the supposed Abbott child-to-be in exchange for a Billy-financed life of luxury and privilege.

Conveniently timed breakups have seemingly laid the groundwork for a Nick-Phyllis reunion. After weeks of hot and heavy sex-a-thons between Avery and Nick, and Phyllis and Ronan, the plug was abruptly pulled, and their respective partners released them gently from the sweat-dampened sheets. Instead of body-slamming Nick to the carpet, or desk, or sofa, Phyllis is holding back for the moment. I presume it's so Nick can ardently pursue her, proving once and for all that she's the ultimate love of his life. At this point, I can't say I care. Put them back together and be done with it. Hopefully, with Sharon out of the picture, Nick and Phyllis can move on to something new and different. If Nick returns to Phyllis, he will be raising the child Phyllis snatched from his sister. Maybe the scribes can pen a twisted tale about that.

Or, since Nick is so disappointed in Daddy, he shouldn't want to have a thing to do with Daddy's company. Billy is apparently in a hiring mood. Perhaps Phyllis can talk to Billy about giving Nick a Restless Style job too.

Solve that darn murder case already. Did Patty do it? Did Deacon? Is there a fan out there that still cares? And come on, scribes, write Jack Abbott some common sense please. Does nothing make this man suspicious? The disappearing cat; a drug-induced Patty dream; the veiled Myrna who runs away at the sound or sight of him. None of that sets off even a faint warning bell in his Genevieve-besotted brain? Unbelievable!

I know I couldn't have been the only fan who practically laughed myself off the couch at the sight of the woman clad in head-to-toe black in the middle of brightly lit Gloworm. Drugging drinks in the middle of the place, and no one spares her a single suspicious glance? Ridiculous. Enough with Patty and her obsession with Jack. It's a new year now. It's been fun, but can we please wrap this one up and put it and the murder away for good?

And lastly, bring Kevin home and get rid of Angelo once and for all!

Well, the fans are not at all happy these days. The e-box is filled with mail like the samples below that pretty much echo the sentiments expressed on many message boards. Here's hoping things improve as 2012 unfolds.

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You guys are beginning to make the B&B and Y&R truly unreal storylines that are making your viewers bored or disgusted. The cliffhangers last too long and would never happen in real life. Why not let some of the characters be happy instead of marriage, cheating, and divorce? You are teaching the virgin teenager that if you don't give up your virginity, you will lose the love of your life. You are teaching them that you have to be an evil, conniving, lying "b" to get your life-long partner. Come on get some values writers. - Ursula

As a 74-yr old retiree I would say this year has had the worst writing I have ever seen in any soap opera and I have watched/listened to on radio; many of them. I was also a big fan of ATWT and watched it until it was cancelled. Now I fear I am about to lose this show as well. Why can't the Bells find a decent soap writer? - Anne