The times, they are a-changin'

The times are changing, even if Phyllis and Nick aren't. In a battle against his son, will Victor be able to admire Adam for his underhanded tactics? In her fight against cancer, can Sharon survive the surgery and her fear of not being around for her loved ones? Plus, Kyle and Theo bickered over Dina. It's time to dish in the latest Y&R Two Scoops commentary.

Just recently on American Idol, I watched Dillon sing the Bob Dylan song "The Times, They Are A-Changin'," and because the episode was taped, there was no way he or anyone else on the show knew just how true that would be. What was once known as normal would soon change forever, and nothing could prevent that from happening. It's like someone who is trying to rekindle a relationship with a person who cheated in the past, but the love between them can never really be same again. Hey, Nick and Phyllis should know that better than anyone, since they have tried again and again -- and again -- yet they always seem to fail.

I can say this, for sure: Phyllis and Nick can have hot sex together, which they proved day after day last week. But they also have hurt each other over and over in the past, so much so that not even their own daughter, Summer, wanted them to reunite. I fear it will be more of the same old, same old with them, and I'm okay with them being friends with benefits for a little while, but I'd like to see them both paired up with someone new. Phyllis has been trying to evolve, as she showed when she sympathized with long-time rival Sharon over Sharon's cancer diagnosis. Phyllis and Nick would be great as actual friends without benefits, since sex without trust has tripped them up time and time again. While it may not be very soap-like, they could start with a genuine, solid friendship of respect and trust and be healthy co-parents to their daughter who still needs them.

I have met Michelle Stafford several times, and she is a gifted actress. As Phyllis she can be brash and sassy (sorry, Victoria!), but the real-life Ms. Stafford has a heart of gold, and she truly appreciates her fans -- not the least bit selfish or self-centered like Phyllis. I mean, Phyllis is always going to be Phyllis, but it would be nice to see her be Phyllis who grew and learned from her mistakes. Any story with her and Nick always seems to be about sex. While he wanted to define their relationship, Phyllis wanted to keep it vague and fun. She even dashed out to avoid the subject with Nick, since the seriousness of Sharon's health conflicted with Phyllis' desire to keep things footloose and fancy free. Phyllis really needed to put her feet on the ground when it came to Abby, though.

Abby's motto must be to keep her friends close and her enemies closer, since she's spent most of her waking moments at the Grand Phoenix, tormenting the redhead. Abby's main goal in life seems to be sticking it to Phyllis, and she wasted no time rubbing the noise of the construction of her "monolithic monstrosity" in Phyllis' face. Abby sure despises Phyllis. Sometimes she appeared to want Chance more because Phyllis had once wanted him than for any real desire for the Boy Scout. Abby wants to beat Phyllis at her own game, and Chance is one of the prizes she won along the way. Abby had only desired owning the Grand Phoenix -- or even heard of it -- because it was Phyllis' dream. Abby loves playing the game, and money is certainly no object for her.

Even if Abby doesn't like to play by the rules against Phyllis, she should have when it came to construction. Phyllis found it quite easy to sic a code enforcement officer on her, and he told Abby that she was lacking work permits to build. Abby should have seen that one coming! If she's going to continue to confront Phyllis at every turn, Abby had better make sure that she's well protected in every way possible. By neglecting to have all the proper paperwork in place and not ensuring that her workers towed the line, Abby got her just deserts, as Phyllis lapped up the sweetness of victory. And Phyllis put a cherry on top once Abby learned Phyllis was back with Nick. Seriously, Abby isn't as much like Victor as she thinks, since she seems to lose against Phyllis more often than she wins. It kind of reminds me of some of the old Victor and Jack battles.

One positive result in today's topsy-turvy, anxiety-riddled world has been the rise in the ratings for all four soaps, which the fans have been wanting for years. And the intriguing storyline of Victor and Adam has the punch to keep drawing the viewers back for more. Yes, they have battled each other before, but Adam has been the only one who's ever been able to give Victor a real run for his money. Victor loves a good challenge, which he was never able to get from Jack, and his youngest son can provide that. Even if Victor truly believes that Adam has sunk as low as he can go to get Newman Enterprises, deep down, he has to be proud of his son, too. After all, Adam did to his father just what Victor might, at one time, have done to Jack. As Adam pointed out, he learned from the best.

So, Victor handed the keys of the kingdom, Newman Enterprises, over to Adam, which may not have been the worst move he could make for the sake of the company. After all, Nikki is still worried over Victoria's mental health. I mean, Victoria seems to have bounced back a little too quickly, but I also realize that healing can come in record time on soaps. Yet, Victoria may not be ready to take charge of the cutthroat corporate world again. And Nick was too busy having his hot sex with Phyllis on any given workday, which was obviously distracting him from making big business deals. Shoot, Nick and Phyllis remind me of their daughter, Summer, who, along with Kyle, couldn't be bothered to take the time away from their sexual escapades to do any work at the office, either.

Victor declared that Adam was in charge, but you know that won't last long. Victor has something up his sleeve to reclaim his company, and he said as much to Victoria. Victor is angry at Adam for what he considers Adam's betrayal, so it looks like it will be another love/hate thing between father and son, which is a shame. It would be interesting to see Adam and Victor battle each other with Victor secretly admiring his son for his less-than-honorable tactics. Adam desires his father's respect more than anything else, but the underhandedness that he deploys against his dad always works against him. And that's why Adam always falls short.

Adam forgot to let Alyssa know that he no longer had an interest in publishing her expos, and she is spitting mad. Oops! It must have slipped his mind to tell her that he actually wanted her article to use as blackmail against his father in exchange for Newman Enterprises. His bad. But Adam sure isn't going to allow some unimportant peon to stop him from getting what he wants. I'm sure he'll just swat Alyssa down like a pesky gnat. However, Victoria has other ideas and intends on using the reporter for her own gain. Between Victor and Billy, Victoria has had just about enough of the two men who were once so important in her life.

But Victoria has nothing to fear as far as her father's feelings go. As long as Adam continues to play dirty, she will continue to have Victor's loyalty. She should have stuck it out to learn if her father had played a part in A.J.'s death. Victor asked Victoria to "cool [her] jets," and he offered her a good way to spin Adam taking over -- that she needed more time to recover from her injury. But Victoria was overly emotional and refused to give her father the time he needed, and she moved out of her parents' house. Victoria will do her father more harm than good if she is unable to stay rational.

Sheesh, even though she's known him all her life, Victoria really has no faith at all in Victor's ability to fight against Adam. She honestly believes that her father played right into her brother's hands. What?! Has she met Victor Newman? Oh, I guess she probably has. But come on, Victoria, this is the same Victor who had Billy arrested on your wedding day. Her mental health must be in a bad state if she has forgotten all her father's dirty dealings. Only a bad case of amnesia could totally wipe out all of Victor's controlling and manipulating antics.

Adam's partner in crime, Chelsea, worked with Chloe to get her fashion line going again, and I hope it's successful. I miss the days when Newman Enterprises and Jabot were duking it out over getting the best fashion and cosmetics. Even Lauren and Fenmore's haven't been much of a factor lately. Hopefully, Chelsea won't let Adam's blackmailing Victor with the supposed murder get in the way of her career, especially since she helped to instigate Adam, even when he appeared, at times, to want to back down. Even if Adam believes that his father had killed the diabolical dude, he thought it was well deserved, since Victor had only done the deed to protect Hope and Adam.

Nick was right when he said that Chelsea acts differently around Adam, who seems to bring the con back out of her. Chelsea may need her street smarts, though, to get her fashion business back on track. And she also needs a new name for her company that is not Chelsea 3.0, 4.0, or 100.0, especially since villainous Ian Ward is no longer around to write her a brand-new ditty for her company. I still remember his original tune: "Chelsea 2.0, be careful what you sew, misery and woe. You are my puppet show." The wicked look of glee on his face as Ian sang the words was such a joy to behold.

While it seems that Amanda is pointed in either Nate or Devon's direction, I would have been interested in seeing if any more sparks flew between Hilary's double and Billy. They are both flawed people, who understood each other and were willing to give each other the space that they craved. However, a beautifully dressed Amanda decided to date Nate, so, alas, it looks like she and Billy may never be an item. But did Amanda have an ulterior motive for letting Devon know about her evening? And did Devon's gaze linger just a little too long on the lovely vixen as she left? If Amanda is the legal eagle for the new clinic, she will be working closely with Devon, so Elena should definitely be on the lookout.

I love the idea of Traci working with Billy and Lily with the serialized online fiction at Chancellor Communications. It's an ideal job that she would love, plus it would keep her mind occupied, so she wouldn't worry so much about her mother. And Traci would have the chance to spend more time with Billy, who could probably stand to be around his levelheaded sister's heart and soul. Plus, she would also team up with Lily, who was once a fictional character in her murder mystery novel that starred Cane. Hopefully, Traci will accept the offer.

Sharon's cancer storyline has been compelling. Sharon Case is constantly knocking it out of the park, showing Sharon's roller-coaster emotions as she battles her breast cancer. She has tried to stay strong for her children while, inside, she is afraid that she won't be around for them. Her biggest strength and support also provide the most fear, since she doesn't want to leave her loved ones. When Sharon learned that she would need another biopsy to determine if her cancer had spread, her fear grew. She is thankful that Faith and Mariah have helped her through it all, and even Summer wants to do whatever she can; however, it must have been difficult for Sharon to watch them do a normal act by going to a movie while Sharon dealt with her new "normal."

Even if she isn't aware of it, Dina's family continues to be by her side as she seems to slip further and further away from them. Marla Adams has been showcasing her acting chops as Dina in this inspirational story. The tears in her viewers' eyes have said it all. As much as I love Dina and want to have her around forever, it would not do her story justice if a miracle cure were suddenly found for her Alzheimer's, since it wouldn't be realistic or true. So, in the meantime, I will just enjoy her remarkable performances, and I will continue to shed a few tears.

Kyle has been the one who has constantly been giving Theo grief, yet Theo has been the one who always gets called out on it. Kyle is so jealous, he won't even allow Theo to spend a few minutes with Dina, even though she seems to enjoy being with him. Hey, she even smiled at one point. Kyle has become a total jerk since he decided to spend his life with Summer, and he doesn't seem to care if he hurts anyone (well, except Summer, of course). Kyle went from being a sort of prince chasing after his own version of Cinderella in Lola to turning back into the selfish clod he was before. It's not a good look on him. No wonder Jack is tired of the feuding between Kyle and Theo -- he really needs to put the brakes on his son. Kyle's behavior is beyond ridiculous.

Jack challenged Kyle and Theo to come up with a plan for rebranding the company, and it's about time. It's rather crazy that the leader of a major corporation would be decided only on bloodline. (Oh, the days of the Abbott nonblood clause. Yikes!) Even if the CEO was a family member, he or she should, at least, be qualified to be in charge of a major company. Jack's challenge will finally have the guys working to prove they're worthy, rather than the old way of just handing the high-level position to a relative. Apparently, that way hasn't worked very well in recent years. While Kyle has Summer and the family history backing him, Theo has Lola and a fresh, new vision in his favor. If Kyle thinks he's so good, why does he feel so threatened by Theo? Let the games begin!

Now that they're showing some classic episodes, I was wondering which episode (or two) of Y&R I would love to see again. I think it would be the final confrontation between Michael Muhney's Adam Newman and Billy Miller's Billy Abbott that had caused the car crash when Billy became enraged after learning that Adam had caused Delia's death. And when I say final, I mean that the crash led to the exits of these two remarkable actors. They were phenomenal. The scenes were charged with anger and bitterness, and I would love to witness the energy from these two awesome actors as these terrific characters one more time.

Mariah zipped out to join Tessa on tour but then immediately had to return home because Faith needed her. I get that. But then, suddenly, Tessa's tour was over? Why on earth did Mariah join Tessa on tour in the first place, if it was almost over, anyway? It's just mind-boggling.

When Jill heard of Colin's arrest, it was obvious that she still had feelings for him. This would have had more of an impact if Tristan Rogers were around as Colin; however, he's been keeping busy on General Hospital as Robert Scorpio these days. But Jill has always loved her bad boys, and as much as she wants to erase him from her life, Colin is obviously still scribbled in at the top of her list.

Friday's stroll down memory lane took us to Antiqua for Neil and Drucilla's honeymoon, which was filled with laughter, romance, and fun. Today's soaps should include more scenes that are upbeat and positive. Neil was so young then, and he's still horribly missed. Even as John's spiritual presence can always be felt by the entire Abbott family today, John advised and comforted Jack and later learned from his wife, Jill, that baby Billy was on the way. John and Jill had no way of knowing then that their son would consider himself to be a major screwup down the road. And Victor and Jack prepared to battle over Nikki after she miscarried Jack's child. Oh, yes, the more things change, the more they stay the same.

Until next time, please stay tuned.Teddi

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