BC - Wed, 8/26/09

TAN/OT: Well, I'm FINALLY done with the move! Well, me and my stuff are here (about 2/3 of which is now in storage), it's not "done" by a long shot. Today is more about staring off into space with exhaustion, hobbling around (only when necessary) and marveling at the fact that we did NOT actually drop dead (or even faint) due to heat stroke because moving day happened to be on THE HOTTEST F**KING DAY OF THE YEAR!!! On the plus side, the Comcast tech comes out on Monday with a cable box for me, and then I'll get SoapNet!

Angie wants to admit JAR to run some tests. "What KIND of tests?" he asks. Angie: "Exploratory." Uh, yeah, isn't that pretty much the DEFINITION of a test when it comes to medical procedures? I was pleased that he asked her to be more specific. I've never had a doctor tell me that he/she needs to run some tests, but not tell me what the tests ARE or, at the very least, what they are FOR.

Randi dances and coos over baby Trevor. I wonder how big her smile will be when her adorably rips her dangling, dancing earrings right out of their holes.

Now David has a roaring fire in HIS fireplace. In August. These people are INSANE! I'm doing what I can to avoid bursting into flames or melting into an unrecognizable puddle of goo and they're setting fires in their living rooms in order to sit in front of said fires for the purpose of romance or coziness.

Tidbit: Zach and Kendall's address is: 33 Treeline Circle.

Robin "how big is their circle?" Coutellier

BC - Tue, 8/25/09

Is this Spike one of the seldom-used triplets? At least today his hair doesn't look nearly as Hitler-like as it usually does.

Since she's on house arrest, does Annie have someone come to the manor to give her Collagen injections in her lips, or does that qualify as a medical necessity?

Did you notice Annie's bangs while she was testifying? They poofed out from her forehead and she was CONSTANTLY shaking her head back and forth and up and down as part of her sincerity act. Every time she did that, her bangs would bounce wildly side to side (shaking her head) or up and out (nodding her head), to the point that I watched the rest of her hair to see if someone had a fan on her (they didn't). At one point, it occurred to me that her bangs almost looked like a slinky in motion :-) Then a famous line from "Some Like It Hot" occurred to me: "It's like Jello ... on springs!"

Liza tells Tad that she has feelings for Zach. How can anyone tell? She's like an iceberg. Everything she says comes out as a combination of bored with attempted sultriness, and her facial expression (singular) rarely changes. I say ATTEMPTED sultriness because that seems to be what she's TRYING to convey, but she leaves ME cold.

What the hell did Kendall hit Liza with? It looks like a photo album or some other relatively soft (compared to a brick, for instance) thing. Naturally Liza is knocked out cold. How is it that people in Pine Valley lose consciousness at the slightest bump when they are just standing on a floor somewhere, but manage to jump or fall off high rises and cliffs with little or no damage?

As for Kendall, she's practically BEGGING to be exposed and put into prison where she's supposed to be in the first place.

OT/TAN: Three more days to pack for the move Saturday. Will I make it in time? Stay tuned ...

Robin "I can't believe I'm finally caught up on my AMC episodes!" Coutellier

BC - Mon, 8/24/09

Annie KNOWS how to behave herself. Her nickname used to be BLANDIE, after all. She was a typical soccer mom type when she first came onto the show, so why is she now acting like such a spoiled BRAT? And right when I say enough is enough, she flat out admits she's behaving badly, so either it's by design or AMC got a little TOO much flak from the fans about her.

Why does JESSE have to escort Annie to the hearing? Isn't that a job for a deputy?

Robin "Jesse has turned into a glorified go-fer" Coutellier

BC - Fri, 8/21/09

At the beginning of the show Erica wakes up in response to Krystal's entreaties. Erica sees the scorpion on Krystal's chest and she said: "Oh my God!", followed by what sounded like squeals. The closed-captioning, however, said:

"Oh my God!" [Gas]

Okay, now THAT is funny! If the CC is to be believed, Erica was initially so frightened that the scorpion might sting Krystal that she actually farted (or at least that's what the script called for). A fart in response to that stupid scorpion bit is actually a pretty astute commentary in and of itself.

Angie tells Jesse that a lie is a lie, unless it's saving the person you love. Uh, no, it's STILL a lie -- it just means you've rationalized it.

Why isn't Erica's makeup instantly melting off of her face in the African heat? Doesn't she even sweat? Not even a teeny-tiny bit?

Kendall said that, for so long, she thought she belonged in prison, but she doesn't feel that way anymore. For "so long"? Has it even been a month since she even realized that she probably killed Stuart?

Robin "Kendall has the attention span of a flea" Coutellier

BC - Thu, 8/20/09

Why would Adam conduct legal business at ConFusion? Confusion is not HIS style at ALL. And Liza takes her BABY there to conduct the business? WTF? Who takes a baby to a BAR? She should have either gone to Adam's house or had him come to the Yacht Club or even BJ's, but not a BAR! Then Liza says she's got a bottle in the fridge for little Stuart. So she not only takes the baby to a bar, but she imposes on the bar to handle her baby supplies. Where did she change the baby? Do you know of any bars that have changing tables in the bathrooms? Condom and sanitary supply dispensers, yes, but a changing table?

Does little Stuart really belong on the TV show "Heroes"? I ask because for some reason his caretakers seem to be able to feed and change him within mere SECONDS (in this case, it took approximately 43 seconds, with me just counting 1,001, 1,002, etc.) for Liza to walk away and return after changing him). Colby did something similar with him earlier. Now THAT is a superpower. The kid apparently has the ability to either be self-cleaning, like an oven, or to speed up time whenever he feels like it. That is one low-maintenance baby! Hiro on Heroes refers to baby Matt Parker as Baby Touch-And-Go because the baby can make all kinds of things stop or start, depending on his mood (and you'd better hope his mood is GOOD or not much will get done). What's little Stuart's superhero name?

Can attorney/client privilege still apply in a busy bar? I mean, the privilege applies to the attorney, but if anyone else is there it could considered a waiver of that privilege for THAT person. That's another reason for a lawyer to meet with clients in an office or an otherwise private location, and not in a f**king BAR. That said, Ryan was NOT a part of that meeting. However, anything he might have overheard is too damn bad for the lawyer and the client because they did not take even REMOTELY reasonable steps to ensure privacy.

Where and when did Randi get a bright orange shirt and exceptionally loud plaid pants for little Trevor? Oh yeah, he'll blend.

Well, it looks like Jackson is fleeing the coop and probably not going to California when AMC moves its production facilities. Of course, he's on so seldom, he might still come back for short visits, much like Barry Shire, who only shows up on rare occasions. Besides, now they have Liza to be the town lawyer, and Livia is still lurking around with a briefcase somewhere in between Crestor commercials and stints on crime dramas.

Why do both Krystal and Erica need to do their respective "work" out loud? Are they incapable of doing anything in their heads? I'm reminded of an early episode of "Married ... With Children" wherein Bud says something along the lines that he can tell when Kelly is trying to read because her butt cheeks move as she tries (in vain) to sound out the words.

Robin "did anyone NOT guess what the second word was before Krystal found it?" Coutellier

BC - Wed, 8/19/09

Wow, it's about time Colby had a decent hairdo. This is the first time I've seen her that she actually looks like she might be a grownup.

The nighttime shot of the exterior of PVH shows a man jumping off the ledge again. What were the odds of that?

How come Liza's baby is SOOO much smaller and younger looking than Amanda's? It looks like it's only about a month old whereas baby Trevor looks like he's about three months old.

Why can't Opal use her clairvoyance to find out where the baby is? All she really needs to do is deal some cards to at least get a clue as to his fate, right? Or she could read Amanda's palm

Robin "Or she could do what no one else will and call the police to report a missing baby" Coutellier

BC - Tue, 8/18/09

OT/TAN: I'm only just now watching Tuesday's show. Moving is exhausting and time-consuming! The big move happens on 8/29, so things should settle down after that. I'll even have access to SoapNet!

Okay, I have to say it -- that hairstyle is MUCH too young-looking for Angie. It's hard to take her seriously when she looks like that. She looks like she's on her way to the airport to welcome the Beatles to the States.

So Randi took the baby. That's such a trite storyline. Woman loses baby, woman steals baby. At least she doesn't seem to be so deluded that she thinks the baby is hers, although she does seem to think that finders-keepers applies. The poor baby must be stinky, diaper-rash-plagued and starving by NOW.

It's the second half of August -- why is there a fire in the Slater fireplace? And why are there lit candles all over the place? It's not even nighttime. The romance of fire kind of loses its sizzle in the daytime, especially in the dog days of summer. The romance will fizzle out even quicker if Spike wakes up and wanders into the living room to take a closer look at the pretty flaming candles.

Uh, don't vaccinations have to be done at least 48 hours before any exposure to a virus? Erica won't have any time to build up immunity if she's leaving for Africa in a few hours.

Natalia's reaction to finding out that Randi "found" the baby is pretty underwhelming. She's acting like Randi found a pair of shoes, was wearing them and Natalia's saying: "Girl, you canNOT wear THOSE shoes with THOSE pants." Except she says it with less concern than she would if there really WERE clashing shoes involved.

Whoever filmed and/or edited the NYC scenes should be FIRED. They couldn't keep anything in focus for more than a half a second and everything was sped up and wildly swinging from one shot to the next. Yeah, I know it's supposed to be artsy and light-hearted, but it's making me dizzy. And they keep shifting from day to night to day and back to night again. A good ending to the scene would have been for the guy pedaling the cart that was hauling them around to have let loose a REALLY loud and pungent fart. Honestly, those shots were worthy of an Ed Wood movie.

If Randi believes that she lost her baby because she did bad things in the past, what does she think will happen to THIS baby now that she's picked it up?

Oh great -- here comes another romance novel from Kendall.

My sister, Sharlene, said:
"OMG ... Ryan just kissed Erica ... that would be like me making out with my son-in-law ... EEWWWWWW!!! Aside from the yuck factor, Ryan and Erica scenes around New York doing fun stuff is a bit sad, considering they are moving the show to California. Once again I have to say that Kendall is too dumb to live ... Damn, she's such an impulsive IDIOT!!!!! Time for another coma ... PLEASE!" I agree with my sister on all counts!

Erica said she's wondering if she'll be different somehow when she gets back. Was that supposed to be a veiled allusion to the big move to California? Is Susan Lucci staying in NY? Will Erica be different when she returns from Africa because someone ELSE will be playing Erica?

Here's a possible scenario. Perhaps what will happen is that she'll be riding an elephant for a publicity shot, but the elephant goes rogue and thunders off before anyone can stop it, with Erica clinging to whatever one clings while on top of a rogue African elephant. Months later she will finally be rescued from a group of chimpanzees that allowed her to stay amongst them for the duration. The female champanzees will be wearing grass skirts and halter-tops made from vines and leaves. They'll have blossoms in their head hair and will have learned to eat with their pinkies stuck up in the air. A few of them will have learned to make stiletto heels with twigs, leaves and vines and can be seen gamely trying to figure out how to walk on them using their feet AND hands. When the males come sniffing around, the females all start to act coy and begin doing simian simper-dips. The males just roll around in the dirt, bonk themselves on the head, leer at the females and yank them around, and puff out their chests, pounding on them and each other, which is kind of what the males in PV do on a daily basis, anyway.

Erica, in the meantime, will have learned to climb trees without breaking her nails and become an excellent groomer. She never WAS one to eat much, so she willingly gave away the nits, fleas, lice and assorted vermin that she finds in their fur, which was an excellent way to form bonds of friendship and curry (so to speak) favor with desired allies -- this also helped to keep her from being beaten to a bloody pulp. She was already well-versed in the art of throwing hissy fits and flinging things around when she was mad. Her close association with Ryan and his chimpanzee mannerisms had laid the groundwork for her to look speculatively at the alpha male of the troupe. In the meantime, she tried to sabotage the alpha female in whatever ways she could, mostly by trying to get the other females to turn against the alpha female by telling lies about her as she groomed the others and gave them little tiny braids. Getting rid of bodily wastes was not an issue for Erica, and it never was -- in all her life she's only used bathrooms for taking baths, catfights and getting stabbed, after all. Oh, she still had catfights and got stabbed, but bathing didn't happen as often. She will also be sporting some bitemarks, a torn ear and some bald patches, which would lead the way for plastic surgery so that when they put another actress in the role, we'll be EXPECTING her to look different. Dr. Fashionella, alas, is not available to restore her face to exactly the way it was before her sojourn with the chimps, having met a similar fate in the rain forests of Brazil.

I'd say Erica would just be dragged off by lions, but lions like a little MEAT on bones, and I'm pretty sure lions would HATE eating silicone even if they DID bother with her as a snack. I can just hear them now: "PTUI! Ugh! I KNEW I shouldn't have tried this appetizer! I can't BELIEVE the things they put into the food supply these days! I'm telling you, Ralph, do NOT eat that part! Convenience foods can taste so plastic-y sometimes!"

Robin "channeling Gary Larson" Coutellier

BC - Mon, 8/17/09

It's been pointed out to me on RATSA that there actually WAS a separate ledge that Ryan was hanging off off to do his chin-ups/pull-ups. Upon closer inspection of the beam post on the right, I can now see that, so my bad. Still, I think I like MY version better Besides, he was STILL only just BARELY using his fingertips to pull himself up, and he DID look like a fly or a lizard clinging to a wall.

When Zach went into the safe room, he looked at the tray of food and I swear to God he said: "You touched your poop!" Excuse me? I backed up and heard the same thing, although the closed-captioning said "You haven't touched your food!" Well, that certainly makes more sense, although since she's locked in a small room, then MY interpretation COULD apply, I suppose. Anyway, I backed it up several times and that's what I heard EVERY time unless I actually read his lips. He kind of slurred quickly through the line, I think. Oh well, it's more fun when I hear something slightly different than what they actually said I can almost HEAR Crow T Robot exclaiming in consternation: "YOU TOUCHED YOUR POOP??? Do we REALLY need to know THAT level of detail?"

Why does Annie keep wearing clothes that make her look boxy?

Adam says he's not going to lend Zach money if it's intended to help with Kendall's appeals. I thought appeals were not on the table if a person pleads guilty unless some new information comes to light (like proof that someone ELSE did it). For instance, Dennis Radar, the BTK killer basically said, okay, guys, you GOT me! Then he stood up in court, allocuted (told them what happened, in detail) and proceeded to give a thank you speech to law enforcement that worthy of the Oscars. HE cannot appeal. Appeals are basically procedural issues based on things such as Ineffective Assistance Of Counsel (I'm surprised EVERY conviction in PV isn't overturned on that basis alone), not filing something by a certain deadline, not filing certain motions, deliberately hiding relevant evidence, improper testing or storage of evidence, etc. It's basically paperwork. An appeal is not so much deciding someone if someone is guilty/not guilty as it is deciding whether or not they should have ANOTHER trial. If a conviction is overturned on appeal and the District Attorney decides not to do a retrial, then I think the defendant walks free. Otherwise, the defendant can probably get out on bail until the retrial.

Why are Jake and Amanda still keeping quiet about the baby? WHY? The baby has been TAKEN! Granted, they LEFT the baby and set it up that way, but it backfired. It doesn't MATTER if David finds out at this point, nor does it matter that they will probably end up standing before a judge for hiding the baby in the first place; what MATTERS is finding the baby! There won't be ANY fighting with David (other than vendettas and legalities) if no baby can be produced. Surely SOMEONE has at least taken photos of the baby that can be put on the news and given to police. Time is of the essence and they're all running around on wild goose chases or twiddling them thumbs.

Annie should really consider throwing her little hissy fits and making of faces in another room. She apparently keeps forgetting that Adam has the room under 24-hour surveillance. Then again, so does Adam.

A) Why are Zach and Kendall constantly caught off guard when people keep knocking on their door? B) Why does Kendall keep coming out of the "safe" room blithely thinking that no one will ever see her? I'm sure she IS going stir crazy in there, but them's the breaks if she wants to stay out of prison illegally.

Robin "are they still curtainless at the Slater house?" Coutellier

BC - Fri, 8/14/09

What the hell was Ryan holding onto when he did his pull-ups? From what I saw, it looked like he was simply digging his fingernails into the wood, like a cat, or maybe just sticking to it like a fly. He wasn't even gripping any handles of any kind. I call B-O-G-U-S. Not that I mind seeing a buff guy shirtless (well, I mind it if it's so that Erica can see him and get all ... tingly), but couldn't they at least have him put his fingers over the TOP of the wooden beam?

Why did Jesse call Madison a "frigid, clueless skank"? I can see the clueless part, but we've seen no evidence that she's frigid or a skank. She obviously didn't have much going on in the sex dept with her husband, but come on -- she's either frigid or she's a skank, she can't be BOTH. Besides, "skank", aside from being sexually promiscuous, generally implies a certain level of low-class unkemptness, and Madison is nothing if not neat, clean, well-groomed, expertly coiffed and well-dressed, despite her alcohol and gambling addictions. But more to the point, why is Jesse attacking her sexuality, whatever it may be? Oh wait, did he know about her hitting on Frankie? Whatever. I can see him calling her a blackmailing BITCH, a lush, a black widow, and a golddigger (among other things) quite easily but frigid and skank are just ... lame.

Gary (the guy from Lacey's) told Ryan that his reputation as a businessman was impeccable. I guess the guy didn't know about IncredibleDreams.com or Ryan's early days as a con-man.

Gary was THRILLED to see Erica in the flesh. He was probably even MORE thrilled when he realized she has such shiny new implants. I was wondering if he'd compliment her on how well she wears them. While it's true that some men act like idiots around beautiful women, and especially celebrities, that guy was just plain pathetic. To have him flip-flop from cutting back on an order to DOUBLING it just because Erica danced with him and flattered him was even MORE pathetic.

If Ryan were such an accomplished business man, he wouldn't be grinning ear-to-ear and openly admiring how Erica is so obviously playing Gary like a fiddle. LATER he can do that, of course, or he can simply look the other way and grin, but to stand there and just stare at them while it's going on obvious and stupid.

Why would Jesse and Angie meet up at ConFusion to talk about whether or not he MURDERED someone or if he knows that their daughter-in-law MURDERED someone? Isn't this a conversation best left at HOME?

How is it that Amanda (or any other person off the street) can walk around in the area of the hospital nursery? I used to go see the babies sometimes when visiting people in the hospital, but thought that newborns were locked up pretty tight nowadays to prevent kidnapping. I suppose I can cut her some slack in that her husband works there. However, I know that if my baby was missing, I'd be DOING something about it, not hanging around the hospital staring at OTHER babies.

Whoa, they might want to rethink that artsy shot of the video screen above the bar showing Erica and Ryan dancing -- it makes BOTH of them look ... WIDE.

Robin "which makes tiny Erica look SQUAT, & NO one wants to look SQUAT" Coutellier

BC - Thu, 8/13/09

Why would Angie be looking into the autopsy report of Henry North? Why was the autopsy even done in Pine Valley when he died in Washington DC or a suburb of it?

Wow, little Trevor has grown a LOT recently.

Taylor tells Tad that he doesn't have to stick around now that the baby's going. Uh, WHERE is the baby going? I know Amanda and Jake are planning to "adopt" him, but the way Taylor is talking, it sounds like the baby is leaving within the next 24 hours.

Oh, so NOW Amanda explains the next braindead plan for the baby (well after Taylor indicates the baby is about to be gone): he will be dropped off on a charity doorstep where Opal will "find" him and call Child Protective Services, and Tad will somehow magically arrange for Opal to be the foster mother. What if CPS decides Opal doesn't qualify to be a foster parent, or that there is simply someone else or another couple that has been waiting and is already pre-qualified? For that matter, what makes Amanda think that she and Jake will zoom to the top of the list of parents waiting to adopt? What if someone finds the baby before Opal does? There are SOOO many holes in this plan.

Has the Wildwind mausoleum set been recycled into a church/charity building?

I don't know what the weather is like in Pine Valley right now, but it's the middle of August and it is BAKING hot here in California. Why would Angie choose to go with a really long weave in such hot weather?

Why would Joe forcibly drag Opal off to get tested and examined when she so CLEARLY has to be somewhere else in a hurry and she just happened to be in the hallway when he walked by? Joe wouldn't do that! The way they made him act I had to wonder if they were going with some sort of mental deficiency storyline for him. So now the baby is gone and Opal is not the one who took him.

Robin "Gee, didn't see THAT coming" Coutellier

BC - Tue, 7/11/09

Is it my imagination, or did eBabe get her hair colored while she was in the hospital?

What is Annie drinking? Is it Sangria -- during a THERAPY session? Or maybe it's Fusion V-8 or perhaps red Kool-Aid, although the more appropriate drink for her would probably be Hawaiian Punch.

Since people keep breaking into Ryan's penthouse, perhaps he should consider moving to a more secure abode. He should also get some sort of scanner to find out if there are any unauthorized cellphones in the place -- I'm assuming there ARE such things, although it might get confused by other cellphones in the building. Does the balcony run all around the penthouse? If not, maybe he should move Emma's room to one that does not have balcony access. For that matter, a child's room should not have direct access to a balcony in ANY case. What's to keep her from getting up in the night and accidentally going over the edge of it?

So what did Annie actually DO to finesse a passing grade in the evaluation?

Oh, this Kendall in hiding storyline is RIDICULOUS! It does explain why he abruptly dismissed Rachel, though. And helping Zach to pull this off is SOOOOO not in character for Jesse! Not at ALL. Helping Randi was one thing, because there were family ties, but helping an unrelated prisoner that he doesn't even know that well to escape, and going along with a look-alike taking Kendall's place in prison is absolutely LUDICROUS!

Wow, both Ryan AND Erica actually said "GOOD NIGHT" on the phone before hanging up. That's practically UNHEARD of on a soap!

I can see Erica watching a romantic old movie, but Ryan? Come ON! With all the channels available to him he's watching a sappy movie with a lot of dancing in it? I realize there was a Dancing With The Stars tie-in with both characters, but you would normally have to chain a guy down to watch a movie like that.

Was I the only one who thought the closeup of the overflowing champagne bottle and the way Adam was holding it looked incredibly phallic?

Robin "just me?" Coutellier

BC - Mon, 8/10/09

Annie asks Ryan if he knows how to fix an air-conditioner. Actually, I recall him working on the air-conditioner at Holidays (formerly the tacky roadhouse out in boonies (run by Billy The Bartender), which was bought by Hayley and Mateo, renovated and moved into and out of the PV Mall on occasion. It was one of the occasions of Ryan helping out by fixing things where Mateo got very jealous (and viscious) regarding Hayley.
I'm glad to see that Erica, at least, has some sense as far as Rachel goes.

That was an intimate gesture on Scott's part to put his hand on Annie's shoulder and arm as Ryan left. It was supposed to be caring and protective, but it creeped me out -- that was NOT a "friend" kind of pat/caress.

So what's Adam's "small problem"? I'm guessing it's erectile dysfunction. Looks like I guessed right, too Although, with his heart problems, he may not be a candidate for the little blue pill.

Why is everyone so worried about Zach isolating himself and his isolation affecting the children? Kendall has been in jail less than 24 hours -- Jesus, give him a LITTLE time to adjust! I still strongly disagree with him firing Rachel, but I don't think everyone should start freaking out over his behavior in such a short time.

They did a pretty good makeup (or perhaps LACK of makeup) job on eBabe -- she definitely looks wan and like she's recuperating from recent surgery.

I was also a little creeped out by Scott saying good guys finish last and girls always go for the bad guys. I'm not creeped out by the way he said it or anything like that -- I'm creeped out because last night I watched some videos on YouTube about George Sodini, the guy who shot into a gymnasium last week , killing several people before killing himself. There are a couple of videos he made as part of his dating workshop on how to get younger women to like him:

• George Hides From Emotions
• George's Home in Pittsburgh

From there I ended up at a site by a vampy woman named Carly who had some video links and some interesting insights into the videos Sodini made, comments left on his videos and a book on his coffee table. She was particularly interested in the connection between Sodini and Don Steele, who runs the Dating Workshop Sodini attended:

• Carly's comments on George's videos
• One of Steele's Right Attitude videos

During that a Right Attitude workshop video (on older men attracting younger women), Steele asserts that nice guys finish last and girls like bad boys.

David advises eBabe to look at JAR's history and not to fall into the traps that he's made and that Babe fell into time and time again. Uh, Pot, Kettle. All she has to do is look at DAVID'S track record and traps, only a small FRACTION of which would make the average person run away shrieking in fear, loathing or, at the very least, extreme annoyance and distaste. David goes on to say JAR is WAY too messed up for anyone to fix. Again, Pot, Kettle.

I'm assuming Kendall is daydreaming about reunited with Zach. Of course, given that this is AMC, it's also possible that some sort of arrangement WAS made.

Robin "PV justice is swift, both in the imposition AND the disposition" Coutellier

BC - Fri, 8/7/09

Well, I guess Marian dusted off the gun she used to kill Zach Grayson with (she did a couple of years at Statesville for THAT one).

Why did Taylor risk bringing the baby to Tad's place just because the baby hadn't pooped since yesterday? Way to keep a low profile! Besides, anyone who has ever had a baby knows what a monumental pain it is to take it anywhere -- you're laden down like a camel!

Damn, they sure are mopping up FAST after the shooting! Where are the people with the measuring tapes and cameras and sample swabs? No WAY would a crime scene be cleaned up that quickly in real life! How much times has gone by, 10-15 minutes, if that? And why does the blood still look like ketchup, especially after being dunked in a bucket of water?

JAR admits to having been immature and spoiled at points in his life. At POINTS in his life? Puh-Leeze! He's been immature and spoiled ALL of his life! He was much LESS so when he was a kid; usually it's the other way around.

Then JAR sneers to Annie that at least he's not a self-absorbed, money-sucking, mentally unstable waste like HER. Uh, actually, he's been ALL of those things at MANY points in his adult life. Pot, Kettle.

Now we see eBabe JUST NOW being wheeled into the PVPD Emergency Dept. Excuse me? So they mopped up the crime scene even before she got to the hospital that everyone in town can get to in the blink of an eye! What did they do, stop at the Dairy Queen on the way for some soft cones and fries, or perhaps stop and text their friends, check their email, play a few video games and update their FaceBook status?

Considering that Rach has practically RAISED the two boys, that was a pretty abrupt dismissal of her by Zach. What about the children? They are losing their mother AND their mother-substitute on the SAME DAY! He just rushed her out the door. You'd think she would at least have some personal effects there. It was a pretty crappy thing for Zach to do both to Rachel AND to the children!

One or more of the children playing Spike is unquestionably developmentally disabled in my opinion. The triplets that play Spike are three years old now, yet one or more of them often babbles complete nonsense, like baby Ian. They should either replace the boys who portray him or write this into the storyline, because it gets harder every day to watch everyone completely ignore something that is becoming so obvious. Most 3-yr-olds chatter away all day long, asking question after question after question, usually in relatively complete sentences. The older the child actors get, the more glaringly obvious it will become. The 18-month-old who lives upstairs from me demonstrates verbal skills that are nearly the same as "Spike's", but more animated and intelligible (and the toddler's verbal skills improve at a rapid rate from one week to the next). He also demonstrates some rapidly improving tantrum-throwing skills, along with rapidly increasing lung capacity, but I digress

Robin "what was that weird shoe-creaking-like noise at the end of the show?" Coutellier

BC - Thu, 8/6/09

THAT'S Lucretia? I think this is the first time we've ever seen her (with confirmation) in all these years! I pictured her as being quite a bit older and stouter than that. She must have been quite an accomplished YOUNG chef because I'm pretty sure Lucretia has been working for Adam since he moved to Pine Valley in 1984.

Marian came into the courtroom and announced that SHE will NEVER forgive Kendall. The next thing I know, ABC interrupts with the news about Judge Sotomayor's appointment. When AMC returned, Marian was on the stand and was saying: "You all keep talking about the INTENDED victim and how we should take pity on Kendall ..." The interruption started DURING a commercial, and only about 5 minutes were missed, so it could have been mostly commercials. What did I miss in between?

I hate to think we'll never see Marian again She turned in quite a performance!

Why is Angie looking so stricken at seeing Randi and Madison, the DA's wife, talking? Angie DIDN'T SEE them talking, she was rummaging in her purse and looked up after Madison walked away.

Robin "of course, we don't know WHY she looks stricken (yet)" Coutellier

BC - Wed, 8/5/09

JAR gets snarky at Scott at ConFusion. He says, what, about 3-4 lines to Scott? Then JAR gets dizzy and hot outside and eBabe suggests that he's exhausted from ripping into Scott. Oh puh-leeze! If THAT'S all it takes to exhaust JAR, he really DOES belong in the hospital. My guess is that the hepatitis came back or David drugged him.

Will Randi start hooking again as a fallback to bad habits during a time of stress?

My sister, niece, nephew-in-law and I were having dinner the other night and my niece told her mother to play the ringtone she had set for when I call her -- it was the jazzy theme song to AMC

Robin "they know me SO well" Coutellier

BC - Tue, 8/4/09

It looks like Adam was triple-dosed with the tanning shower!

Liza swings her briefcase in anger, not realizing that David was right behind her. Her briefcase hits him HARD on the arm and shoulder. So why was he checking his nose to see if it was bleeding? Was his finger in it when he got hit?

JAR complains that Annie is a good student (with Adam as the teacher), learning how to be manipulative, coercive and saying whatever to get whatever she wants (minor nitpick: she was ALREADY that way before she even MET Adam). JAR says he learned everything he knows from Adam, but it turns out that he's just not as good at working people. He likes to think that it's because he has a little thing called "morals". BWAHAHAHAHAAAAAAA!!!!

Jake gets snotty with Tad over "loose lips sink ships" because Tad said something about getting back to the baby. Hello? Jake and Amanda talked about the baby and their big, SECRET plan to fool David for MONTHS anywhere and everywhere they went!

How is Annie managing to even WALK in that dress, let alone dance in circles? She and Adam are stepping all OVER the hem. He's probably the only thing holding her up.

Kendall is such a twit.

Robin "OFGS!" Coutellier

BC - Mon, 8/3/09

I see Taylor still isn't locking her DOOR, either. Tad just walked on in. I'll cut them a little slack today and choose to think that Tad has his own key, which WOULD make sense in the current scenario. Then I kept watching and Amanda (who also would have a reason to have a key) just walked on in (without using a key). So we're back to Taylor not locking her door. Idiot.

Why doesn't anyone on a soap ever worry about wrecking the blinds by suddenly yanking them apart to peer out as if the blinds were made out of rubberbands? They do that all the time. Most of the time they are "peeking" out to spy on people or see if they are in danger. I've had blinds in my abode off and on -- you can easily slide ONE slat slightly out of place and see out without damaging anything -- you don't need to suddenly bend and spread a bunch of slats so that you have 6" of open space to see through. In this case, Kendall was doing it in the interrogation room (again with inappropriate/weapons-potential items in an interrogation room), so she wouldn't necessarily care about wrecking them, but I know she'd do it at home, too.

Does Liza plan to cross-examine Emma? They can't just spring a witness without giving the other side time to prepare. No one likes to cross-examine a child or a mother -- they are usually biased and it is VERY easy to look like you are beating up on someone who is very vulnerable. Many mothers of serial killers will tell you that their son is a good boy or brag about their various skills which, by themselves might, indeed, be admirable ("my son is an EXCELLENT carpenter and he's VERY good with computers!"), but they might also be of interest as far as M.O.s go (he built a very high-quality guillotine, along with an spiffy soundproofed underground bunker which he monitors 24 hours a day with a webcam, microphones and motion-sensing equipment, and he archives every second of every day in the bunker on high-capacity, solid-state hard drives).

If Emma has been discharged, why isn't Ryan with her? Oh, and she was NOT catatonic for several days, as Liza asserted. She refused to talk, but the key word there is REFUSED. She was perfectly alert, cognizant of her surroundings and willing to talk when it suited her.

They managed to seat a DEATH-qualified jury within the space of about 10 minutes? You can't even get a shoplifting-qualified jury selected in less than at LEAST a couple of hours, if not half a day (possibly longer if you are Winona Rider). Jury selection for the average murder trial takes several days and maybe even longer if it's a big case.

Oh puh-leeze! Why would a courthouse have a bathroom with an easily-opened window, especially considering a) how often prisoners escape, and b) the fact that most people have to go through a metal detector to get into a courthouse?

That is one sneezy little baby. He sneezed in a scene last week, too. Maybe he's allergic to unsecured homes -- he's in for a VERY sneezy future, if that's the case.

Going on the run with a child who wears a Cochlear Implant will make it a little harder to go incognito. I can just see it now: Be on the lookout for an exceptionally skinny, big-eyed woman wearing scanty clothing that reveals a heart transplant scar. She may be accompanied by a toddler (male) and a 3-yr-old (male) -- the 3-yr-old may have an auditory assistance device attached to his left ear and he often babbles like an incoherent toddler.

Did you notice Ryan scratching his head near the end of the show? He did it so vigorously that it made me wonder if he had head-lice. It also IMMEDIATELY reminded me of his occasional chimpanzee mannerisms

Robin "Quick! Douse him in kerosene! What? No, he doesn't have head-lice; why do you ask?" Coutellier

BC - Thu & Fri, 7-30 & 7-31-09

O-M-G -- WHY is Emma still taking up space in the HOSPITAL? Does she need IV fluids? Does she need her heart and/or blood pressure monitored? Does she have an open wound (an ax in the head, perhaps) that needs stitching up? No, she's just lying down and refusing to talk to anyone except when it suits her. She's not even in the pediatrics ward! I would think it would be even MORE traumatizing for her to be in a busy hospital where most people (including her father) are IGNORING her and everyone else keeps walking in and interrogating her.

I'm glad to see that at least ERICA managed to make a space for an actual OFFICE instead of sitting in the middle of the tacky office. Not that being surrounded by photos of herself isn't tacky, of course.

According to Adam, Natalia is still a cadet. So why did SHE deliver the news of the death of the D.A. to the D.A.'s wife? Why was she even AT the investigation at a MURDER scene? Why is she doing anything at ALL as part of the PVPD other than desk duty and some ride-alongs?

Robin "talk about nepotism" Coutellier