The Genoa City shuffle

You have to hand it to Victor Newman. The man has his hands in a dozen pies and seems to be as powerful and all-knowing as the Wizard of Oz.

You have to hand it to Victor Newman. The man has his hands in a dozen pies and seems to be as powerful and all-knowing as the Wizard of Oz. However, like that fictional character, Victor the great has some outages in his power grid. He's not really as brilliant as he thinks he is, you know what I mean? If Victor is so all-powerful and smart as to be able to find Billy when nobody else could, why did he screw up so badly when he brought Patty Williams to town? That faux pas cost him his heart -- really! He had to have a transplant, remember? There is a disconnect here when it comes to who's really the most "interesting" man in Genoa City. Victor would seem to fill the bill, but he makes mistakes that are too big to ignore. No Dos Equis for him!

My question about the Billy situation is this: since Paul is a genius at tracking people down, why didn't anybody ask him to go find Billy? Jack flew halfway around the world on a tip. Are you kidding me? Did Kay know her Jabot CEO was out of pocket for three days on a wild goose chase? Anyway, back to Paul, if he was able to find Devon -- Tucker's son -- in less than three months, after Tucker had gotten nowhere after years of searching -- wouldn't you give him the assignment? The same holds for Ashley asking Tucker to find Billy. Come on, Ash, that's not what Tucker does well!

Then there's the whole question of what the hell did Billy do in Burma? Seriously, what was so horrible that Victoria would never forgive him, as Victor suggested? Was he caught in a sex orgy with members of the Burmese underground? Did he gamble away the deed to the Father Knows Best house?

Unless there was a dead body involved, I can't imagine Billy doing anything that unforgivable. It's not like he was ever a Boy Scout! He was always prone to trouble. To me, because they're not saying what he actually did, I have this vision of the scene from The Godfather Part 2 where the senator was caught in a brothel with a dead hooker bleeding all over the bed! Could Billy have done something that sordid? Is there a dead body out there with Billy's fingerprints all over it?

I'm disappointed about Tristan Rogers leaving the show, but that would explain this new storyline about Genevieve's safe and the secret ledger with all his bank accounts. It sort of came out of nowhere, however. Why was there a hidden gambling parlor in the basement of Genevieve's house? And when did Genevieve find out about it and decide to use the wall safe? Gloria was the realtor, and she didn't know about it -- who told Genevieve?

Also, and more to the point, why did she leave Colin in the exact place where she knew he'd find the hidden room and the secret safe? Why not take the ledger with her -- or better yet, convert the data to a digital file and destroy the ledger! This is the 21st century after all -- that data could be on a data stick and she could carry it on her key ring! Instead, she left the evidence and gave him a note bragging about what she was doing? That makes no sense! She would tell him after she cleaned out the bank accounts!

So it looks like they're going to find the evidence to get Colin, and that means bye-bye Tristan. Too bad; I liked him with Jill. She's usually had such lame men in her life -- users and losers -- but this guy was classy and cool. And it wasn't just because I had loved him as Robert Scorpio! No, I think they could have turned Colin into another Genoa City power player. Although it seems everyone in town is a zillionaire -- Victor, Jack, Kay, Tucker... Oh, don't forget the half-a billionaire Newman kids. And Lauren's not in the poorhouse either...or Jill. There are far less paupers in town than ever before.

Rich or poor, there are a few characters in desperate need of a whooping! Let's start with Abby Newman! Have you ever seen such a one-note character? Lately, the object of her disaffection is Tucker. Why? Because he cheated on Ashley before they were married? That's hardly worth running him down with a Mini-Cooper, but Abby tried to do it. And Tucker forgave her...but that's not good enough for Miss Newman. No, she's so convinced that Tucker killed Diane that she agreed to wear a wire for the cops. Is she insane?

Would you run to the cops to do such a dangerous thing without talking to your father -- or his favorite lawyer, Michael? Idiot Abby didn't meet with Victor until after screwing up the tape recording by having Ashley incriminate herself in the murder. And she also blew the alibis for Nick, Phyllis, and Tucker. How do you think big brother Nick is going to feel about Abby's actions, hmm? No doubt about it, Abby made a huge mistake -- and for what reason? The only suspicious thing about Tucker was the poison oak, which he may or may not have gotten from Diane's crime scene!

Of course, Nick and Phyllis have pretty much forgotten about the murder. They're onto other matters. And Deacon's disappeared, too -- but Daisy's back! Hey, Maria Arena Bell -- do you know which characters matter anymore? She has too many people coming and going without any rhyme or reason. For example, we still don't know Ronan's backstory. Why did he steal a chunk Chance's liver and then hit the road without a thank you? What about Devon being Tucker's son? After Paul's threat last week to Kay that he was going to tell both Tucker and Devon, he did nothing. What? Really? Instead, we had drunken Jill dropping hints to Tucker to send him straight to Katherine...but Tucker didn't follow through. Not yet anyway. So, instead of something happening with the Tucker-Devon situation, Paul just had coffee and tried to get his estranged children, Ricky and Heather, to be friends.

Speaking of Heather, that's another oddity. Why did they bring her back if they only planned to let actress Eden Riegel go? I wish they'd found a good storyline for her. She's a damn good actress, but you'd never know it by her time as Heather. And now, presumably, Ricky won't be around for long because why introduce him if you're cleaning house with other characters.

Speaking of characters on the move, there'll be a new Malcolm soon. I was never thrilled with Darius McCrary in the part. He had big shoes to fill, and he just never wowed me. So you can imagine that the next time we see Sofia, she'll be ready to give birth, it'll be Neil's, and Malcolm will leave the show...again.

I'm not sure exactly what I'm looking forward to happening in Genoa City, which may be why it's time to focus the storylines back on the main characters. Nikki's coming back -- by November -- and presumably the Diane murder will be wrapped up by then. Delia will have recovered by then -- just you watch -- but will Victoria and Billy be reunited? I still thought my idea that Victoria was pregnant from that last encounter with Billy before he flew to the Orient was a good one. It could still happen. I don't really buy that good-guy Sam has anyplace to go but back to New Mexico. Once Sharon is free, she'll be drawn back to Nick. Adam will grind his teeth and plot revenge...and Sam will be left out in the cold.

With all these comings and goings, it's easy to get lost on the maze of who's really related to whom. Last week, out of nowhere really, Daisy reared her redhead to stir up trouble for Sharon and Phyllis. That fight in the prison was a fake if ever you saw it. Daisy's just playing an angle and dumb-dumb Sharon fell for it. Of course, Daisy is going to bring grief to Phyllis, but if ever a character asked for bad karma, it's Phyllis. She's been horrible. Avery has been trying to be nice, but Phyllis won't give her an inch. Why did Phyllis treat Avery like she had cooties when her sister wanted to touch baby Lucy? Can you imagine treating your sister like that?

And while we're on the subject of Lucy, Ms. Arena-Bell should have given Billy a few lines to utter about the child, especially since it was well established that Victoria and Billy broke up because they lost Lucy to Phyllis! I think she might have been on his mind when he returned to Genoa City. Just like Victoria should be curious about the child. I don't think it's realistic that Victoria has really, really put Lucy out of her mind. Sorry, Maria, that's unrealistic. As long as Lucy is in town, Victoria should/would be drawn back to see her...she loves that child.

Hmm...maybe it's time for a good, old-fashioned feud between Jack and Victor. That's always a ratings winner. Perhaps Genevieve is the woman to get in the middle of those two?

Finally, I'm getting the sneaking suspicion that Tucker's brain malfunction is a thing of the past. The way he finagled those Jabot workers to turn on the company, then consulted with his attorney to go after Kay, I think he's ready to put the hammer to Mrs. Chancellor and get control of Jabot again. So much for therapy and cognitive mental troubles... He's all better now.

That's it for now. I'm anxious to hear more from you all -- your theories are dynamite. And tell me about which characters you'd like to talk about in the Two Scoops! Write me! If you're not sure how to write to me, click the Feedback option at the top of the page, the Email link at the footer of the column, or just click here. Till then, let's take a look at some letters from the mailbox:

• So very happy to hear that Eden Riegel is out as Heather - I never liked her. She may have won awards on other soaps but on Y&R she [plays] such a wimpy, whiny character. I keep expecting her to start bawling because someone might look at her! What's up with Chloe? She keeps saying that she doesn't want to be a bitch but she is nothing but BITCH. She has been telling Cane about what a good father he is in spite of everything that he has done, but Billy loses a daughter and hits rock bottom and she just keeps kicking him while he is down. Who does she think she is -- the reincarnation of Mother Theresa?? I have asked this before and I will ask again -- is the budget so low that they cannot buy Victoria a hairbrush? - Joan
• What the hell is wrong with Victor? I am not liking him right now. It is so ugly, the plan he has put in place regarding Vicki, Billy, Delia and Billy. Please let everyone find out what he is doing and please let Vicki be pregnant and please let Vicki and Billy get back together and stay together. Abby is a little bitch. She is always messing up other people's lives. Something needs to be done about her and Victor. -- Donna

Best,Allison