Likes & Yikes 2018

Likes and Yikes are my year in review in US daytime. This has taken me so long to write that this will be about all four of the soaps: "The Bold and the Beautiful", "Days of Our Lives", "General Hospital", and "The Young and the Restless".

Likes/Yikes: I don't know what it says about daytime in 2018 that some of the most entertaining couples involve serial killers. I don't get why problematic things are popular, but they are. I'm a bit confused by all of it. Maybe this is the new definition of guilty pleasure. So while I like Ben and Ciara on Days, and Ryan (making believe he is Kevin) and Ava on GH, I wonder when it will all end or if there will be other copycats.

Yikes: On Days, people can forgive Abby for her crimes due to mental illness, but not Ben. Seriously this does not make sense.

Likes/Yikes: Y&R wrote off some characters (like Hillary and Ashley) and actors left, and now Mal Young is out. Will this fix anything? I doubt it, as I doubt Hillary is coming back from the dead or Ashley back from Paris.

Yikes: The end of Rick and Maya on B&B. Maya comes back to LA, we're told their marriage is over, but we didn't see them break up or any of that. The same thing happened with Thomas and Sally, though they weren't married. At least Zende and Nicole are happy off screen as both actors left the program though not at the same time.

Likes: At least Jordan and Curtis are getting more airtime on GH. It is surprising, but they are, and all it took was a recast. (Ironic and a bit annoying.)

Likes/Yikes: The Mike story on GH, I appreciate Max Gail, and I like him as Mike. I just think having him commit crimes due to his mental issues is a bit much. And the fact that Y&R did the same thing with Dina previously is even weirder. Really Alzheimer's makes you set fires or hit people.

Likes: Genie Francis being back on GH as Laura. I can say that without a reservation, but I hope they don't screw that up again.

Yikes: So Jack came back, but due to a contract issue, Patch is gone, so again we don't have these two brothers on screen at Days at the same time. The last time, was when Patch had amnesia, which makes it even funnier.

Likes: I did like the story on Days about Marlena being shot, during the wedding, and then replaced. And when Marlena and John got married their family hadn't left town yet, so they actually got to attend. It was nice to see more than 10 people in a scene for a change.

Yikes: Jack's paternity issue, which was resolved as he was always John's son anyway. At least that happened, but it was a long story, which was a bit of a waste on Y&R.

So that's just a sample of things I enjoyed or not in 2018 in US daytime.