The Best & Worst of 2005 - Part 2

December 2, 2005
by Michael Kelly

Biggest Flop: Sheila's Return

Y&R head writer and executive producer Jackass Smith obviously wasn't paying attention when sister show B&B failed to revive viewer interest in the psychotic Ms. Carter two years ago. Smith foolishly believed hauling The Mistress of the Mundane out of mothballs was the cure for what ailed Y&R.

To say that he was seriously mistaken is a vast understatement.

Sure, the first day Sheila (decked out in a Grim Reaper get-up) finally confronted her poisoned and disoriented nemesis Lauren on the roof of that apartment building was campy fun. Unfortunately, by the third day of the rooftop reunion the bloom was off the rose.

Everything else about the story line was either dreadfully dull (those tedious Toronto scenes of Sheila and Scott blathering on about their blasted book) or just plain stupid (Sheila's dorky disguises and her habit of talking to mirrors). Don't even get me started on that damn poisoned necklace and the fact nearly everyone in town was obsessed with it for what seemed like an eternity.

Perhaps it's too soon for me to be panning this story since it's not over yet. Michael and Lauren's wedding is still to come and rumor has it Sheila's latest stroke of genius involves kidnapping Lauren and holding her for ransom. Doesn't matter. I've scene enough.

The story is a dud and I sincerely hope Sheila is soon drawn and quartered to prevent both Y&R and B&B from inflicting this played out cartoon character on viewers ever again. How unfortunate my memory of Sheila's intriguing past (keep in mind I'm talking about the Sheila of 15 years ago) has been permanently tainted by dragging her into the present where she sadly and obviously doesn't belong.

Best New Character: Tom Fisher

Forget the fact his story line bites. Forget the fact that Tom's fascinating history and future plot potential with the son he abused was all but ignored infavor of a lot of foolishness with his wacky co-conspirator Sheila. Forget that Tom's presence in Genoa City should have caused a still traumatized Kevin to go running back to his psychiatrist or perhaps to regress so drastically psychologically as to revert to his old ways.

Despite the story's many failures, Roscoe Born's (Tom) creepy but undeniably charismatic performance turned what could have been a one-dimensional Ralph Hunnicutt (Mac's lowlife step-father) clone into a considerably flawed but strangely sympathetic and sometimes charming heel.

One thing the writers did right is have Tom fall in love with Ashley. When Tom overheard Ashley admit to her family that he makes her skin crawl, Fisher was devastated and drowned his sorrow in booze.

This reporter felt really bad for the guy but I was already rooting for the character to come out on top from the time Ashley and Michael framed him for possessing the makings of meth.

The fact that Born has amazing chemistry with his co-stars certainly helped matters. I particularly enjoyed the scenes in which Tom pretended to be Mr. Nice Guy.

His benign way of uttering, "Hello Kevin. This is your Dad" when he called Kevin from the town gulag in an attempt to convince his son to post his bail made me howl with laughter. I was also quite impressed with the way his voice dripped with honey when he cooed at Abby, "A little bird told me it was your birthday" before handing the child a gift.

Rumor has it Tom's days are numbered and if so, that's unfortunate. Born plays to perfection one of the few strong male characters Y&R has.

Worst New Character: Yolanda Hamilton

All I know about Yolanda is that she's an addict as well as Devon's mother. That's not enough to piqué my interest and she's too poorly portrayed by Chene Lawson for me to even bother paying attention when she's onscreen.

Biggest Sad Sack: Devon Hamilton

Talk about a downer! I sincerely hoped he'd be eaten alive when the little ingrate jumped into the lion's den because Dru and Kneel forgot his birthday. For a kid who spent years in a group home, you'd think he'd have a thicker skin in addition to thanking his lucky stars for living in a deluxe apartment in the sky. (Forgive me. I had a Jeffersons moment).

Most Annoying and Overexposed Character: Lily Winters

Before Lily was sent away to boarding school in September, that whiny, self-centered, eyeball rolling, back-talking vapid Valley Girl delinquent was shoved down viewer's throats nearly every day.

It didn't matter if she flirted with her Uncle who is really her biological father, defied the law and her parents by pulling every conceivable hare-brained stunt imaginable to be close to her fugitive sweetie pie Daniel or that she spread her legs for her favorite forbidden skinny white boy in their shabby little love shack.

Every attempt the writers made to transform that little twit into America's Sweetheart was a miserable failure. I sincerely hope Christel Khalil (ex-Lily) has a productive post-Y&R career ahead of her and that the casting directors take their sweet time finding a replacement for the little twit.