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Thursday, November 24, 2016

CBS Daytime: Thanksgiving in Soapland 2016

Below are my thoughts about this year's Thanksgiving themed episodes of "The Bold and the Beautiful" and "The Young and the Restless". B&B had one day of celebration (November 23), while Y&R had two days (November 22 and 23). 

The B&B Thanksgiving took place in the Forrester Mansion. There were no special out of town guests and most of the characters were in attendance. Julius and Vivienne weren't there due to illness and Sasha wasn't invited (especially since she had sex with Zende again). Thomas, Caroline, and baby Thomas were missing, which was rather glaring, but perhaps they didn't want another stress-filled situation. Pam and Charlie cooked, and Katie and Brooke came in due to tradition. Little Will and baby Lizzie were at the party. Like other years, everyone sat around the table. Steffy sat at one head, while Eric was at the other. Steffy made everyone say something nice about the person next to them. She has to talk about Rick for example, which was harder to do than Rick speaking about his wife Maya. Wyatt also had to speak positively about his brother Liam, which wasn't exactly easy. The only surprising and story-pushing one was Pam comparing Katie to Stephanie, which of course Quinn didn't like. RJ spoke about Ivy teaching him about cricket, which due to her Australian roots makes sense. Zende still wanted to marry Nicole, but thankfully he didn't mention that at the table. Bill wants Brooke to be with him again, while Ridge thinks that he'll get his former wife to reunite. This was a very traditional family Thanksgiving, without any violence or malice. Sometimes simple does make the heart feel good.

Y&R's Thanksgiving episodes were more spread out as the cast is much larger. Crimson Lights had a temporary soup kitchen, and it aired as a story on GC Buzz. Mariah got footage of a homeless reformed addict named JJ, who lost her family. Hillary introduced the package, and then had $500 delivered anonymously to the woman. (Of course, this would have been the perfect time to mention Devon's biological mother who at one point was both homeless and an addict.) For a touch of humor, Jill and Esther argued, as Esther wanted Jill to wear a hairnet. Jill refused unless Esther would pass out Brash and Sassy aprons to advertise the cosmetic brand. Both Billy and Phyllis showed up, but they aren't getting back together. Billy went to see Jack at the cabin, while Jill attacked Phyllis. Summer and Abby spent part of their holiday with Jack, and the rest with the Newmans. (If they hadn't have come, Jack would have been alone as his sisters couldn't make it, and the rest of the family was out of town.) At the cabin, Jack had no idea how to make a decent turkey that was frozen. Then the bright idea of deep frying was tried, which if you watch online videos you know doesn't work and could case serious harm. While no one was hurt, they didn't have any poultry to enjoy. Instead the three chowed down on the pies meant to go to the Newman house. Jack was thrilled when he ate Victor's favorite pie as that was an act of revenge. Once the girls left, he had a flashback to bad times and then Billy arrived. They watched some football, and ate some catered food until Jack had enough and sent him away.

Cane, Lily, and the twins welcomed Neil and Moses to Thanksgiving. Cane was in pain due to knee surgery, and stuck on the sofa. After watching the GCBuzz footage, Cane was left alone, and he contemplated using pain pills. Jill was glad to see her grandkids, as they are friendly faces.

Chelsea's apartment had a lot of activity at Thanksgiving, though Chelsea and Connor left to go to the Newman Ranch. Originally Chelsea and Chloe would have hosted the event together with their kids. Nick and Christian came to pick them up, leaving the house full of guests. Kevin, Michael, Lauren, Paul, Christine, Sharon, Dylan, Sharon, and Mariah were all in attendance. Of course, there was an awkward moment as Nick came and went with Christian. Dylan had been invited to the ranch by his mother Nikki, but felt that would be awkward, so he went to this event to spend the day with his father. Sharon dropped the bomb that she wanted to try for visitation with Christian, without consulting Dylan first.

The Newman dinner had Victor, Nikki, Nick, Chelsea, Victoria, Travis, Abby, and Summer along with the following kids Johnny, Katie, Connor, Christian, and Faith. Victor gave a speech with Connor and Christian on his lap though only he and Chelsea know the truth that they are half-brothers and not cousins biologically. Victoria told Travis that she will marry him at the dining room table, though Victor wondered why he wasn't consulted before the proposal.

With the new writing regime coming in under two weeks, it is uncertain how much of what we've seen at Thanksgiving will be going on at Christmas. I hope that the sense of family interaction continues and even gets stronger in the next few months.

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