I absolutely LOVE this show!

Not so long ago, some storylines were so predictable and boring, fans were easily guessing what would happen weeks, even months into the future, and were clearly not impressed.

Short week or long, I've been loving the heck out of my soap lately.

There have been times in the past when I've had to comb my hair a certain way to hide the bald patches in my scalp that resulted from yanking out clumps of hair over some ridiculous, nonsensical storyline. Okay, you're right. That's a complete fabrication, but I'm sure I haven't been the only fan who felt like doing exactly that when the scribes tried to spoon-feed me some storyline garbage.

The spotlight sometimes used to focus for weeks at a time on one or three favored few, while the others baked in storyline deserts, or worse, were forced to act as stiff and mostly silent support posts in other people's less-than-riveting dramas. Our show is filled to the brim with extremely talented stars, and many of them were being wasted.

Not so long ago, some storylines were so predictable and boring, fans were easily guessing what would happen weeks, even months into the future, and were clearly not impressed. Many fans claimed they were watching the hour-long show in minutes, after speeding through the many parts they couldn't stomach. Well, while I didn't fast-forward, many times I definitely wanted to, but instead confined myself to heavy sighs of disgust and a whole lot of exaggerated eye-rolling.

But that was then, and this is now. Now, my finger hovers nowhere near that speed-through button and I don't dare roll my eyes to the ceiling because I might miss something. And forget wasting my time guessing what will happen next. Because in most storylines, I confess I haven't a clue. But I can't tear myself away.

Take for instance, Victor Newman and family. Arbitration over at last, each brat waltzed away with a 500 million dollar reward, but collecting it will clearly be a whole 'nother story. I'm sure he'll delay that as long as possible, but that won't be enough for Victor. I'm sure he has much more in mind to repay his offspring for standing up to him and demanding their due.

Obviously Diane is one weapon Victor plans to use to wound his adversaries. He literally snatched the money-grubbing, self-preservationist right out of Nick's arms, putting that particular plan in motion even before Nick aligned himself with his sisters. And Diane and Kyle will also be used to draw blood from the man who guided Abby's designer shoes onto the lawsuit path in the first place. It's said you usually reap what you sow, so Jack probably has a particularly bitter harvest to look forward to.

Not that Victor is going to wind up with an insect-free crop himself. Because you know the former lovers are going to eventually discover their romance wasn't as secret as they thought. And that could be the day they renew their relationship, behind Victor's back, of course.

By the way, kudos to Victor for his generous admission of praise for Jack's contribution to Nick's upbringing. It was an unexpected remark, and proves that despite his many faults, Victor can also be a class act if he so chooses.

So what payback punishment might Victor have in store for the ladies in the lawsuit? Since he has to pay them all that money, disowning his daughters and cutting them out of his life isn't likely to discernibly diminish his rage. For Victoria, obviously Daddy will do all he can to keep her from getting her mitts on Beauty of Nature. And if he somehow gets a whiff of the stench surrounding Lucy's entrance into her life, I'm sure he wouldn't be above using that information to further cut her down to a manageable size. As for the more soft-hearted Abby, for now he might just be content with withholding his love from her and leaving her to fend for herself should her Naked Heiress antics get her into a little hot water.

Poor Nikki. Once again she's been duped by a deceitful dude. Like so many other Genoa Citians, Nikki never seems to retain a single painful lesson learned from her unfortunate past, but at least no one had to die this time. So it's back to the bottle for her. Only this time, no one is tricking her; she's willingly flung herself down the neck of a vodka bottle. Forgive me for not really feeling much sympathy for her. I get that she's been devastated by both Deacon, and Victor's quickie Vegas marriage to Diane, but she sure turned to that bottle awful quickly. Couldn't she have at least fought the urge for a day or two? Nevertheless, Nikki does do drunk very well, and I'd much rather see her sliding down a slippery slope of alcoholism in a story of her own instead of simply being used as a soft and comforting shoulder for her children to cry on.

You go, Kay, get that boy of yours! Kay was magnificent in her rage against Tucker, and I can't wait to see what she has in store for him. So many times Kay's dire threats have turned out to have no teeth, but my fingers are crossed that this time will be different. I always thought she let Tucker off much too lightly for the way he treated her in the past and think he's due a little parental paddling to teach him he can't always get away with walking all over people in the name of business. Besides, it's time Tucker's carpet was lifted so his dirt can be gawked at by his fellow Genoa Citians. So far, he's suffered no repercussions for treating Jill so callously. He got away with sleeping with Ashley while she was involved with Neil, and he was never outed for his quickie with Diane behind Ashley's back. I'm so ready for Tucker's smackdown, and I hope Kay is the one to deliver it.

Okay, I know I've often said how much I like Billy and Victoria, but lately, is she getting on any other fan's last nerve the way she's trouncing on mine? Enough with the whining and moping. The woman just won 500 million. And still she finds things to complain about. She boo'd and hoo'd about the baby she'd never have. So her doting Billy went out and bought her one. Did that make her happy? Yeah, for all of about two seconds. Now, she barely even looks at Lucy and is hardly ever spotted cuddling her wee one. She seems content to just watch placidly while Billy performs all the parental functions. And though she hasn't done a lick of work in what seems like a year, she had to have a nanny to do what she should have plenty of time for. I am so not impressed with Victoria right now and might not feel her pain a bit when she loses Lucy after Jana learns the little lass might be the key that unlocks the padlock on Kevin's heart.

In many ways, Nick is growing up to be as much his father's son as Victoria is her daddy's daughter. No, he'll likely never quite match his father's capacity for vengeance and hatefulness and probably won't wind up the subject of a ruthless tell-all book. But Nick definitely has that Newman tendency to try to dictate how women he was once involved with should lead their lives, while retaining the right to live his as he pleases. In Nick's defense, though, when it comes to Sharon, I believe he's simply looking out for Faith's welfare, and I certainly can't fault him for that. All things considered, I'm thoroughly enjoying this side of Nick, who had been somewhat spoiled for me after all his wishy-washy, flip-flopping between Sharon and Phyllis. And I am eagerly looking forward to the coming skirmishes between Nick and Victor.

Okay, charge it to my twisted sense of humor, but I cackled like a crazed hyena when Nick asked Faith if she was going to grow up and drive the men crazy. Oh my, I hope not, Nick, since everything I've read indicates little Faith's portrayer is actually a boy. Only Y&R scribes, whose minds are apparently as twisted and warped as mine, could come up with tongue-in-cheek humor like that.

While it's true Adam has been a terrible and conniving scoundrel, I continue to give him props for his dedication to Sharon. He's determined to clear his lady's name and is apparently willing to travel to the ends of the earth if that's what it will take to do it. I know, to many fans, Adam will forever be beyond redemption, but I've already listed his name in my second chance book. By the way, apparently Phyllis has an equal amount of love for Sharon, too, since she just can't seem to stay out of Sharon's business. One thing that is probably still predictable -- Phyllis is going to be at least one of the super-sleuths to solve this mystery and save the day for our resident eternal damsel in deep doodoo, I mean, distress, Sharon.

Speaking of second chances, will Chance be granted another turn on the merry-go-round? Wow. Angelo and the mob tied to the dirty cops saga. Now there's an interesting twist I definitely didn't see coming 'round the bend. Hopefully this means we can kill two birds, or in this case, two bottom-of-the-barrel storylines, with one really big rock. Enough with Jeffrey and his Angelo-inflicted injuries and threats to maim innocent bystanders over a pretty paltry sum of owed cash. Just my opinion, but it's been neither amusing nor interesting. Put us all out of our misery and wrap this one up sooner rather than later. Oh, and bring Ronan back and have him explain he left because of mob threats to his loved ones' lives, not because he was playing everyone for a chunk of Chance's liver.

So, like I said, I'm loving this show right now. And this short week was only half of what we have to look forward to. Still out there is Lily, slowly being driven insane, or at least made to appear unfit to be a mother, by, I'm presuming, Colin. Because it's almost certain Cane has not been leaving his final resting place to come back and draw hearts in the condensation on the glass. If Cane really wanted to give Lily a message, he'd undoubtedly whisper the whereabouts of that tell-all note he allegedly left her.

Then there's the rest of the Winters family. Devon has apparently disappeared temporarily, but it looks like Neil has finally been given a story of his own. Just please tell me Sofia won't wind up pregnant by one of two brothers -- been there, always do that -- scribes, please wrack your brains and come up with something better, preferably involving Leslie.

Lastly, Jana. Whether we like it or not, Daisy and Ryder are probably in our immediate future. The baby finder's woman is already having severe attacks of conscience, so it's likely only a matter of time before she reaches out to Jana. But will Jana go to Ryder or Kevin with whatever she discovers?

Anyway, I don't know about all of you, but I just can't wait to see what happens next! Sorry, no fan comments this week. My e-mail is acting up today and for some odd reason, won't let me access my mail. See you in a week.

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