BC - Mon-Tue, 12/15-16/08

All right -- I'm starting to get pissed off about Taylor STILL being in the hospital. She's using it like it's a hotel or something! What about sick and injured people who actually NEED a hospital bed and the attention of doctors and nurses? Given how strong she is (and always WAS) and the fact that she's getting around with a walker, she probably wouldn't even need an assistant except for someone to drop in maybe once a day. It also TOTALLY goes against everything we've come to know about Taylor's personality that she's still just basically lying around in between PT sessions.

Why would Ryan go to Greenlee for help in sewing a costume? Greenlee is not even remotely domestic. He should have gone to Bianca for advice -- at least Bianca would have some experience in the area of costuming little girls. I suppose Greenlee could recommend a tailor or seamstress/ster in town, but that's about IT.

Are we supposed to believe a world-reknowned, mega-rich cardiologist not only leaves a key on the front stoop of his (literal) castle, but leaves one in plain sight on the ground? Maybe he deliberately left it there for Krystal. (I could have missed it if they showed it)

Robin "they didn't even bother with a Welcome Mat (or in David's case, a 'Fuck-Off Mat'" Coutellier

BC - Fri, 12/12/08

As usual, Fusion is being its professional best by having a photo shoot of their model in their crappy office. I'm amazed they aren't just using Amanda's cellphone camera in between calls and text messages. Half the photos the guy took didn't even have the white screen behind Randi, so the ad campaign will apparently show her wearing red lingerie in the office. Or is that a dress? I can't tell. Whatever it is, it easily fits both Randi and Amanda. As short as it is on Randi, it probably doesn't even cover Amanda's ass (hence Jake's comments about her looking like a hooker). That, BTW, was WAAAAY out of character for Jake to be insulting her like that. He's a nicer guy than that. Yeah, he was spoiling for a fight after being rejected by Taylor, but he could have found a better way to pick on JAR than by belittling Amanda, with whom he had an amicable breakup.

When the woman saw Aidan leaving Annie's room and demanded to know who he was, I half expected her to pull an Obi Wan Kenobi and tell her to ignore him and let him pass -- he's not the suspicious man she's looking for. :-)

Did you catch the mouth on the extra behind Jake and JAR when JAR punched him out? JAR punches him and the extra's jaw drops in surprise and horror. Okay, I can buy that. But she just stands there holding the pose. It was very short, anyway, but VERY obviously too long held that way. I was wondering if a dentist was suddenly going to appear to inspect her teeth because I can't think of any other reason for her to stand there with her mouth so unnaturally gaping. I can just hear her now talking to the director. Director: "Sweetie, I need you to hold your mouth open in surprise." Extra: "But NO ONE would actually DO that for more than a split second! How long am I supposed to stand there with my mouth gaping open? What if I start to drool?" "Director: "You do it until I say cut! This is *ALL* *MY* *CHILDREN*. You're an E-X-T-R-A. Do you part as written or you're out! There are a thousand other women out there to take your place in a heartbeat. The extra's jaw obediently drops and stays that way.

What kind of idiot honcho at a mental institution would allow someone who bribes him to have carte blanche access to the patients without having the slightest idea WHY the guy wants to be there? I mean, what if Aidan is a rapist fixated on Annie? The guy obviously has no idea who Aidan IS, just that he has money. This could come back to bite him in a major way, so you'd think he would do at least a tiny bit of homework on Aidan before letting him roam the halls. For all he knows Aidan is working for some investigative agency that's investigating the running of Oakhaven and the guy could easily lose his job or even go to prison for letting Aidan do whatever he wants.

Robin "since Aidan routinely talks gibberish, though, he DOES fit in" Coutellier

BC - Thu, 12/11/08

Poor Emma is going to have SUCH low self-esteem by the time she grows up! Not only has she gone through all kinds of traumas, especially with the adults in her life, but now her MOMMY doesn't know who she is. Uh, didn't her DADDY forget who she was not so long ago? And her first Daddy was a bad man who also disappeared, because Mommy knew he liked other little girls better (I doubt Emma knows that part, though). And her best friend lost not only her Daddy, but her first Mommy, her second Mommy AND her third Mommy! Emma's going to grow up thinking she's invisible and desperately throwing herself at every man (or woman) she meets in an attempt to make someone love her enough to not only stay with her (shades of MOMMY!), but to remember her from one day to the next!

I noticed that in David's shrine to Babe there is a photo of her wearing a black baseball cap with her name on it in glitter. Didn't she get that hat from Wes (aka Richie)? You'd think she wouldn't want a photo of her around to remind her of her lapse in judgment (as if ANY of her judgments were ever any good -- I suppose a good one could be considered as a lapse). Not that she's around to be bothered by it anymore, but I would think she would have gotten rid of it once the whole Richie fiasco ended.

Why isn't Spike wearing his Cochlear implant device? At least it look like he's not wearing it.

Hey, it's WINIFRED! It's nice to see her again, especially out of uniform. She certainly looks much prettier and more relaxed than she did at the Chandler's. She moved in with Babe and Krystal when they first left Adam. Does she live there now? If so, why didn't Krystal call her for help?

Did anyone else think that Angie thanking Rebecca for giving Jesse back to her (just before Angie was about to pull the plug on Rebecca's life support) was just rubbing it in? I mean, if I loved a man THAT much, but nobly gave him up to make so he could be happy with a woman he loves so much MORE, I don't think I'd like that fact being rubbed in my face in the last moments just before my death. Nothing like being told you're a real TROUPER for accepting that you're just not good enough right up until your very last breath.

Robin "even if it IS an artificial breath" Coutellier

BC - Wed, 12/10/08

Tad tells Joe about the situation with Jamie and Jeff who are off in the Congo, overdue, there's guerrilla activity, etc. They are not really considered to be in danger at the moment, but David has arranged for Tad to be told that they are. Tad, of course, is going to go over there to rescue them, single-handedly. Joe says he'll fill in Ruth and Opal about the situation. That's nice. What about Brooke? What do you mean "Brooke who?" You know, Jamie's MOTHER???

Greenlee calls Ryan to tell him that Annie is being moved to Oakhaven today and is not taking it very well. Ryan says he'll be right there, and he is ... with EMMA in tow. WTF? Why on earth would he bring a little child where she might see her homicidal, deeply disturbed mother who is currently hysterical about being treated like a crazy person?

Tad tells Krystal about the situation with Jamie and Jeff and how he has to go and she says he can't go (because if he's not there, she will probably have sex with David -- as if she's not going to do that anyway, even if Tad IS there). She doesn't express the slightest concern for Jamie or Jeff, though; she only whines briefly about being left alone with the kids for so long. She relents, realizing he has to go. What IS it with this woman? She spends the first year or more of her marriage trying desperately not to give in and have sex with Adam and now she's desperately trying not to give in and have sex with David. And she's depressed (rightly so). Can't that woman make ANY decisions without consulting her CROTCH first?

Then Krystal has an anxiety attack. Does she call 911? No. Does she call her best friend who also happens to be a doctor? No. Does she call a neighbor to stay with the kids until help arrives? No. Does she call Joe or Ruth, her in-laws who love her? No. She calls ... wait for it ... David. She's acting like she's in withdrawal, though, especially with the nervous arm rubbing and the comment about hoping that warm milk would help, but it didn't (the warm milk she made didn't, anyway). He's getting her addicted to something. It's drug-based, but he's going to convince her that it's him she's addicted to.

Robin "will she start singing with backup boys mindlessly shuffling behind her and looking bored and pouty?" Coutellier

BC - Mon-Tue, 12/8-9/08

Why don't we ever hear them page Angie, Frankie, Jake, David or Dr. Joe? Actually, I HAVE heard them page Joe on (very) rare occasions. They must not be in very popular demand -- the only people who contact them are the main characters on the show, who call them directly (they're too immature and impatient to wait for a page -- that's for the "little people").

Is Rebecca Buddig (Greenlee) depressed? The former spitfire hasn't seemed to be able to muster a spark of anything since she returned to the show. No matter what happens, she almost robotically responds (to it when she responds at ALL). They should just let her out of her contract now, because even when she's there, she's not there.

So what is David putting in the milk, and what is he doing with Krystal while she is under the influence of it? Is he brainwashing her? Oh, silly me! Krystal will become convinced (probably on her own with some help from the "milk") that Gabrielle is really baby Babe. Gabrielle is, what, about 6 weeks old or so? She's waaaay overdue to be kidnapped, by Pine Valley standards.

So David is going to allow Bianca to drink the milk intended for Krystal, even though Bianca is breastfeeding. Oh NOW she's giving the baby a bottle. Didn't she confirm to someone just a few days ago that she's nursing?

Robin "David is SUCH a PIG!" Coutellier

BC - Fri, 12/5/08

Why would they bring Annie into a room with Greenlee as part of deciding on her course of treatment? I mean, I can only imagine how Annie is going to be in therapy -- she's going to be like Goldie Hawn's character in the movie Death Becomes Her who, while in treatment, never shuts up about how her arch-nemesis ruined her life. None of the other patients can stand her because of it. They must have some inkling at this point that Greenlee is more than a little bit of a sore point for Annie. And if they need all the recent players in the latest fiascos in that meeting, why isn't Aidan there? How about Annie's father and an interpreter? Of course, after I write that Annie confuses one of the doctors with her father. Greenlee just sits there like a stump, so why IS she there?

David says he would never turn Little Adam into a Chandler clone the way Adam and JAR would. Then he daydreams about (a very BIG) Little Adam being accepted into Stanford and telling Babe's grave that he's going to be a cardiologist just like his grandfather. No, he's not going to turn him into a Chandler clone -- he's going to turn him into a Hayward clone.

David tells Amanda that she knows how important it is to have someone who will protect a child from a damaged parent -- isn't that what Trevor did for her? Uh, not really. He knew JaNut was damaged, but he married her, anyway, thus putting Amanda right back into JaNut's clutches. According to Amanda when she returned to the show as an adult (a VERY different person from the sweet little Amanda we all remembered and loved), she said her father was away a lot and ignored her, spending all his time placating and/or continuing his love affair with JaNut. It doesn't sound to me like Amanda was protected from JaNut's influence.

Why would rich people allow their tots to open mysterious packages that arrive at the house? Especially tots that have been kidnapped not once, not twice, not thrice, but at LEAST four times and the kid is only 3-4 years old? AND said tot is the child of a man who has also been kidnapped over and over and over again, literally since birth and right up until this last year! AND virtually EVERYONE in that man's family has been kidnapped at least once, but usually multiple times. AND there are the tunnels, which, despite having hidden kidnappers, murderers, rapists, thieves, lunatics, ex-wives, ex-husbands, jealous lovers, blackmailers and (worst of all, *ADAM*) over the years are still wide open for anyone and everyone to just waltz into (those tunnels are a terrorist's DREAM). Is JAR BRAIN-damaged? Actually, considering how many times he's gone off balconies and been punched, not to mention all the drugs and alcohol he's had (and let's not forget, unlike the show's writers, his lethal peanut allergy), that is a possibility.

Are those white sleeves on Amanda's top supposed to look Santa-like? I can't imagine that it's a new fashion (then again, I should never be surprised by what is considered fashionable). They look downright clownlike.

I still think the shrink (Dr. Richards?) bears a strong resemblance to Dave Foley. Compare these two videos. The first one is a short clip of the doctor from the 12/3/08 episode. The second one is a longer clip of Dave Foley on the Craig Ferguson show. Note his "commitment to women's issues" near the end of the segment, which is an example of why I keep expecting the doctor to say something similar about Annie

Okay, did anyone here NOT expect Krystal to end up in David's arms when she ran out of the house? Is that the sound of chirping crickets I hear?

Ryan laments that he didn't even get a tree for Emma. Uh, it's only December 5 -- I think he has a little time for that.

JAR insisted that he be the one to put the tinsel on the tree (racing Little Adam to it). So why wasn't there any tinsel on the tree when they were done?

Jack says he and Carmen "are doing fine". They ARE? Then why haven't we seen her? The last time we saw her, I could have sworn that she broke up with Jack because he clearly still wanted Erica.

Robin "is that the same Christmas Angel that gave Natalie her sight back?" Coutellier

BC - Thu, 12/4/08

That Christmas music at the beginning of the show was really annoying. It was downright frenetic and they kept playing the same notes over and over and over as if a needle was stuck on an old vinyl record.

Jesus, that is a MAMMOTH ring Greenlee is wearing! It looks more like a saucer than a piece of jewelry!

Is there something wrong with Greenlee's hearing? She should have heard Ryan walking right behind her in the room.

Are they brushing Kendall's teeth, along with putting on lipstick (and makeup), plucking her eyebrows and washing and styling her hair? She's probably getting various body parts waxed, too. I'm kind of surprised she's not wearing dangly earrings and spaghetti-strapped tops. If they pull the blanket down, will we see her wearing stiletto heels? I'd love to see Kendall wake up to discover not only that her sister has given birth to her husband's baby, but that, while she was in a coma, someone had pierced her eyebrows, nose and chin, albeit with semi-precious stones and gold hoops.

Since none of the syrupy sweet-talking and babying is waking Kendall up, maybe they should go the route of Poltergeist and have someone sternly tell her to pay attention and WAKE UP - NOW! No sooner did I type that than Bianca tells Zach that Erica is telling Kendall to "Snap to!". Of course, that's not what Erica is doing.

LOD:
Erica to Greenlee: "Well, you DO tend to live in an 'All Greenlee, All The Time Universe ...'"
It's true, but talk about the Pot calling the Kettle black!

Why are Randi and Frankie doing their pre- and post-ice skating stuff in the boathouse? That is supposed to be done in the PUMPhouse. Now that I think of it, though, perhaps the boathouse and the pumphouse should share their duties AND their name -- the boathouse certainly has seen more pumping action than a Saudi oil well.

Robin "Is Aidan going to do his New Years Eve dip off the dock of the boathouse again this year? " Coutellier

BC - Wed, 12/3/08

I don't buy Krystal needing sex or passionate kisses from David as part of her OWN grief therapy. What I buy is that she wants to cheat on Tad -- she wants the excitement that she's just not getting with him and is using her grief as an excuse to justify it to herself when it inevitably happens.

Ryan says that Annie is the way she is because of HIM. What an EGO on that, that ... pompous JERK! Yeah, he is so fantastic that he literally drives women crazy. Uh, I don't think so! I mean, I can see him driving a woman crazy enough to, say, go after him with a hatchet when she has had all she can take from him, but to truly go around the bend -- uh, uh. She had to have already been deeply disturbed for many, many years to have a psychotic break like that (assuming she's not still faking it in an attempt to get an insanity plea). That wouldn't fly in the real world, of course, because she did know right from wrong or she wouldn't have hidden all her actions so consistently and faked being kidnapped.

What's the point of locking people up in the loony bin if they let anyone and everyone stop by and visit at any time of the day or night with no supervision?

Did the psych doctor remind anyone else of Dave Foley? I could not take him seriously because I kept expecting the doctor to say something totally outrageous the way DF does when he's a guest on Craig Ferguson's show in the capacity of one kind of expert or another For instance, when the doctor said: "It appears Annie suffers from severe emotional abandonment issues", I half expected him to follow that up with "... which is SOOOO HOT! I mean crazy chicks are WILD in the sack! We'll DEFINITELY be exploring THAT in 'therapy'!"

Robin "will Kendall awakening from her coma be (one of) the Father Clarence Christmas miracle this year?" Coutellier

BC - Tue,12/2/08

Tidbit: The Info on my Tivo for today's episode starts out with "Bianco protects Erica at Fusion." Either it's a typo or someone who is dead sure that there is no such name as "Bianca" and took it upon themselves to change it. I had that happen once when someone deliberately changed my address on a form that *I* had filled out, changing my city name from "San Jose" to "San Hose" (and it was a change of address form for my paycheck).

Why is Taylor counting her situps out loud? Unless you're in a group situation where someone is keeping count for everyone, is that really necessary? Of course, then WE wouldn't know how many she had done, but really, it's a waste of precious air under stress.

Again, WHY is Taylor in the hospital? She is obviously quite strong and competent and mobile enough with the wheelchair and is not otherwise sick or impaired in any way other than her occasionally obnoxious personality and grating voice. She could easily manage somewhere other than the hospital. She could come in for PT or even have someone come to her home to do that and assist her in other ways. She was fine at the party and is now wheeling her way through a park to the boathouse. I call BOGUS on her continuing hospital stay.

The doctor told Zach to take Kendall home. He took that to mean home to die. Zach, as it turns out, is not accepting that, but once Ryan finds out that that is why Kendall was sent home, how long will it be before he claims full custody of Spike? From the time he finds out, it will most likely be five ... four ... three ...

Okay, NOW Krystal is looking like someone in mourning. Very little makeup on someone who normally trowels it on can make someone look somewhat blah and bedraggled.

Why is Greenlee watching Emma? She is the one person Annie hates with a passion, yet SHE is the one watching Emma. Given that all Emma has been put through, you'd think Ryan would make it a priority to spend a lot of time with her to reassure her that everything is all right, instead of pawning her off on Greenlee, who hardly knows her and takes her to work.

Well, we all knew it was only a matter of time before Krystal got up close and personal with David as part of he grief therapy. It doesn't matter if she's giving or receiving. It would be ironic if she got pregnant by him, considering she got pregnant by Tad while married to Adam because she was trying to cheer Tad up when Tad thought he had lost all hope of finding Kate/Kathy.

Is it my imagination or does that Red Wings shirt look like it's intended to fit a teenage girl? It's not particularly big and the wings look kind of capped. Oh wait, there are red sleeves, but it's mounted on a red background, so it gives the illusion that only the white part is the shirt. Someone should have thought of that before mounting it in that frame. It's still on the small side for a pro athlete, though.

I just told my son, a 2-time Iraqi vet about the guy playing Brot, and he says: "Hats off to AMC!"

Robin "It's a good thing" Coutellier

BC - Mon, 12/1/08

How do they ever avoid conflicts of interest at PVH? Erica is being brought in with stab wounds. Jake tells them to notify his father. Erica's relationships with the hospital (off the top of my head) are:

1. Joe is her former father-in-law.


2. She was married to Joe's son, Jeff Martin, who used to work there. She treated him badly and aborted their child without his knowledge.


3. She was engaged to Charlie Brent, Tara's son.


4. Joe was almost her grandpa-in-law when she was engaged to Charlie Brent.


5. Jake is Jeff Martin's brother and Joe's son.


6. The baby that was not really aborted is now Josh, who used to work at PVH and is Jeff's son, Joe's grandson and Jake's nephew.


7. Erica kidnapped the newborn baby of their former colleague, Maria.


8. Adam has been on the board of PVH for many years and JAR continues the tradition. They blow and and cold over Erica at any given moment.


9. David Hayward is her former lover.


10. The staff at the hospital has treated not one, but TWO stab-wound victims of Erica (Dimitri and Zach).

I know the doctors at PVH are fine and noble people, but you'd think there might be a teensy-weensy bit of prejudice toward her there.

Erica has been stabbed AND needs surgery. THAT's going to put some holes in her-- Paging Dr. Fascionella, STAT!

Robin "surely she has him on retainer" Coutellier