Seeing Visions

And seeing through lies

Jana Hawkes Fisher is missing.  She was snatched out of a movie theatre, presumably by Daisy, Ryder, and whatever whacko they’re working with (presumably Sheila.)  Kevin is out of his mind with worry…Michael and Lauren are searching the town for some clue…and Amber and Chloe are…what???  Consulting a children’s toy.  Yes, the Ouiji board has made another unwelcome appearance on Y&R.

Let me put this as bluntly as possible: Ouiji boards are crap.  They weren’t even that much fun at slumber parties when I was ten.  I certainly would never recommend them for adults looking to divine important information.  I cannot fathom why these writers have such a fascination with something that to most people is a joke, and to some people is part of the Occult…and why they would put so much credence in something so ridiculous.  Along those same lines, rumor has it TPTB are letting that charlatan Sylvia Browne guest again on the show (the last time was in 2006.) Browne, in particular, repulses me, as she has made millions preying on the pain of others, taking money while giving families and friends complete fabrications in the guise of “seeing visions.”  Let me tell you a few things about this swindler who claims to be a “psychic.”                                   

North Texas…1999…a 6 year-old girl named Opal Jennings disappeared from her home.  In an appearance on The Montel Williams Show, Browne told the girl’s desperate grandmother that little Opal was alive…sold into “white slavery” and sent to a city in Japan.  Well…the city Browne named doesn’t even exist.  And a few years after Browne’s brilliant insights, Little Opal’s broken, decayed body was found…still in Texas.  A local man confessed to killing her.

Browne learned from her mistakes…and, realizing the likelihood of finding a missing child alive after long periods of time, Browne took to playing the odds and “predicting” missing children were dead.  Her fraudulent strategy backfired in a truly spectacular fashion when it came to a Midwest family…

Richwood, Missouri…October 6, 2002…11 year-old Shawn Hornbeck disappeared while riding his bike to a friend’s house.  Four months after he vanished, Shawn’s despairing mother and step-father turned to Browne (again, on The Montel Williams Show.)  Browne confidently delivered the news that Shawn was “no longer with us,” and that they would find his body in a wooded area.  She was very specific, saying the boy was laying 20 miles southwest of Richwood, near two large jagged boulders that would seem out of place for the area.

She went even farther with her lies, claiming Shawn’s bicycle was dumped in another state…that Shawn had been snatched by a “dark-skinned man, he wasn’t black…more like Hispanic,” he was really tall, and that the perpetrator had long black hair, styled in dreadlocks.

Browne continued spewing fantasy, saying the man drove an older model blue sedan…a car from the 50s or 60s with tail fins…and that the man had simply picked Shawn up.  And before the abduction, Shawn had spoken to a young man named Keith.                                      

Unfortunately for Browne, Shawn Hornbeck was found very much alive January 12, 2007.  He had been taken by a medium-sized, stocky, white man with short brown hair…a man who had been (and was still) driving a white pick-up truck.  Shawn was 50 miles Northeast of Richwood…and spoke to no one before being hit by Michael Devlin and stuffed in the truck…taken to endure more than four years of Hell at the hands of a pedophile.

In essence, Browne pretty much got EVERY PERTINENT DETAIL WRONG.  All that money she’s made on these horrible lies she tells…all in the name of her non-existent “paranormal ability.”  Not only was she cruel in the way she told these parents their son was dead, she’s been arrogant now that it is apparent she just made the whole thing up.  She’s refused to answer any questions about her “visions” regarding Shawn Hornbeck.

Yet CBS chooses to squander part of their limited, dwindling budget employing this low, despicable imposter…while at the same time, cutting the pay of worthy actors and actresses.  It’s disgusting.

The Revolving Door

Who’s living at The Ranch this week?  People move in and out of there as frequently as people come and go at The Genoa City Athletic Club Hotel and Spa.  In the last year, Adam has moved in and out of The Ranch repeatedly.  He moved in from prison, out with Sharon, then back again with Sharon, and now out…to the GCAC.  Ashley moved in a year and a half ago…her husband Victor moved out last fall…and is now going to move back in, once Ashley moves out.  Noah has been in and out I don’t know how many times.  Sometimes Abby is there, and she may or may not leave with Ashley.  And, of course, people just wander in at will without bothering to knock.  Just because a door is unlocked, or even opened, doesn’t mean you should just walk into someone else’s house.  Victor, Phyllis, Nick…I’m talking to you.  And having a key to the door is no excuse, Nikki.  If you don’t live there, you knock and wait for someone to answer.  If they don’t answer, you LEAVE…not stroll in and help yourself.

Quick Shots and Random Thoughts

It seems odd that in Patty’s time of need, only Paul and (occasionally) Todd are there with her.  Where is the rest of her very overprotective family?

Wouldn’t it be funny if Patty was revealed when she, for some reason, goes over to Paul’s place?  She sees Kitty Kitty and breaks into a huge smile.  Game over.                                       

Even Emily and Patty’s blood types match.  What are the odds?

Patty hates Victor, and wants to see Jack beat Victor.  Wouldn’t it be hilarious if Crazy Patty was instrumental in getting Jabot back to the Abbotts?  And even funnier…if Jack discovers he loves this version of Patty.

What’s with the hospital telling Patty over the phone how Emily is doing?  Patty wouldn’t know what number to call to appear to be a doctor, and on a regular line the hospital wouldn’t know it was a doctor calling. HIPAA laws…ignored on every daytime show.

Wouldn’t Adam wonder why Emily would talk to him about a PATIENT?

So Sharon believes Adam…leading me to ask, which one of them is really blind.  And Sharon is all about the truth…until it comes to telling the current husband that she had already been to that island with the last husband.

Phyllis working to expose Adam is foolish…because once he’s been exposed, Sharon will come running to Nick again.  Since the writers insist on letting Adam function as a sighted person, they need to stop having people stress his visual impairment.                                             

By the way, there’s a report floating around the Michael Muhney was told to cut back on the “blind thing.”  Yeah…because the audience is too stupid to notice, right?  Either make him un-blind, or play him as having no sight…but STOP INSULTING THE VIEWERS.

How ‘bout that magic piece of purple cloth…which has gotten larger since last summer.  And now it looks more like a fabric swatch than a piece torn from clothing.

Here’s something perplexing…Ashley has suddenly decided that Adam is guilty of having tried to drive her insane…and everyone has jumped on the bandwagon, because it just makes perfect sense that a Harvard business grad would be behind the nefarious scheme.  There is no proof at all, and Ashley was crazy as a bedbug all last summer…but everybody is convinced by her mere suspicions.                 

Incidentally, revisiting the “Ashley goes crazy after being gaslighted by Adam” garbage only serves to highlight how completely pointless the story was.  Adam had no true motivation to drive Ashley crazy…especially since it didn’t harm Victor in any way.  The only REAL way to have hurt Victor was to let his and Ashley’s baby die…which Adam achieved, but chose to cover up in the most idiotic and unbelievable way possible.

Will Ashley apologize to Estella?  And will Victor help get Estella’s criminal record expunged?  Will Sharon enjoy eating her words after accusing Phyllis of lying about Adam?  These questions and many others…are likely to be left unanswered, because it isn’t convenient for the writing staff to address those pesky details.

Ashley claims she “always had nagging doubts” about Victor.  It makes no sense, then, that she chose to marry and procreate with him…twice.

Victor needs to fire his private detectives.  They supposedly “thoroughly investigated” Dr. Taylor, but found nothing questionable in his background.  Yet Phyllis talked to a handful of people and learned every one of the Doctor’s deep, dark secrets.  Perhaps Phyllis should go to work for Paul.

Victor thinks all of his ex-wives should pine for him forever, not move on.  His son JerkNick has the same misconception. 

What’s the deal with Victor saying he needs to be concerned about who his ex-wife is dating because of the influence they might have on his children.  First, he has no idea whom Ashley might have been seeing when she wasn’t IN Genoa City, and second, he was insulting Neil and Neil’s qualifications to raise kids.  Neil is a far better parent than Victor will ever be, as demonstrated by Neil’s exchange with Abby.  His conversation with Abby, although a bit saccharine, was still effective and sweet.                                                       

On the flip side of that, look how Victor treats the rest of his children.  He put Victoria right in the firing line of the SEC again…and then was confused by her lack of desire to risk her business reputation and possibly her freedom.  And Adam was ignored for a few decades, and then used and abused until he became as cracked as Victor himself.  Hope would be sickened by what Victor has done to their son.

The scene with Jack exposing Victor’s dirty deeds in front of Tucker was intriguing.  Tucker was carefully observing the dynamics, and seemed to be contemplating how best to exploit the animosity for his own gain.  I would love to see him get the best of both Jack and Victor.

Katherine’s loss of her company has become all about other people getting it back for her.  And what I’d rather see…Katherine working on getting to know Tucker…is an afterthought.

Camryn Grimes will be appearing in a dream sequence as Cassie.  Do her parents ever wonder during their dreams and visions why their daughter always appears progressively older than she was when she died?  When I dream about people who have died, they aren’t older than when they passed away.

I wish Daisy had been a foot farther back when she flung herself on the floor…so she could have hit her head on the edge of the counter, and put herself out of our misery.  She lurks two feet from where Michael and Lauren are talking to the Dean, and no one notices her or sees her faking injuries.  It’s tiresome.                                                     

Lauren…it’s February in Wisconsin.  Get dressed.  Or maybe her inability to cover up is a symptom of whatever is afflicting her.  Regardless, Lauren has had a major personality shift.  Most people would get a full medical work-up at that point…including in-depth toxicology and a cat scan.

Lily is now the most glamorous, healthy-looking cancer patient ever.   Man…how did the writers manage to make cancer boring?                                       

Lily said to Malcolm, “Are you and my father fighting again?” Malcolm responded, “No. We coo.”  I don’t know why in the world they would be imitating pigeons, but that’s what it sounded like.              

Victoria was thrilled when her half-brother Adam was bashed in print, but was all offended when it happened to her.  Hypocrisy, thy name is Newman.

Neil and Ashley…Paul and Nina.  What a refreshing change of pace…people actually dating instead of just falling into bed.   I much prefer these moments of normalcy to the endless, unfinished, insanity tales that comprise 80% of the rest of the show.                              

What’s with the old-fashioned projector sounds at the theatre?  You don’t hear those sounds anymore, even for old movies.  There were other people at the theatre before Jana got there.  Where did they go?  For that matter, where did the brilliant and dangerous version of Jana go?  She’s gone from a shark who could read both people and situations to an easily led, meek little lamb…and a victim.  I want Smart Jana back.                                          

Oh…one last thing…brace yourselves.  I hear the Cattle Mafia is about to ride into town.