ALL MY HEADACHES....

Have you ever wanted to scream at your television set?  I mean, REALLY truly scream?  I feel your frustration.  I haven't given up on ALL MY KIDS ...yet, but, gosh, I've come close more than a few times.  What the heck is wrong with The Powers That Be at ABC Daytime?  Why, oh why do they never listen to the fans?  And I mean REAL fans!  The ones who have been around for twenty years, or more!  The ones who remember how spectacular Daytime Television could be.  The ones who lived through some of the most gut-wrenching storylines Daytime TV had to offer.

*shakes head*

It's sad, really.  Let's analyze a few things, shall we?  Kendall, Kendall, Kendall.. Nah, I'll save that for later!  With the return of Dixie Cooney Chandler-Martin-Something-Martin-Martin..Where was I going with this??? Oh yes, a whole wealth of opportunities opened up - for MANY characters.  Not
the least of which is the deliciously evil and unapologetic Doctor David Hayward.  A man, I might add, in desperate need of a storyline worthy of his immense talent.  After the Babe/Mira-Bess/Bianca debacle, where they wrote him so far out of character, he was virtually unrecognizable, he sorely needs to be brought back into character.  What better way to showcase his talents than by letting HIM be the one to help Dixie find Baby Kate?  (Who has to be at LEAST three by now, so we ought not call her "baby" anymore!)

Whatever this deep-dark secret torment that Dixie is hiding, she HAS to know that David is the ONLY person in Pine Valley who would not judge her - whatever it is she has done, or believes she has done.  So, she doesn't want to tap into two vastly wealthy assets to help her in her search (Palmer and Chandler Jr. or Sr.).  They would, of course, help, given that Kate is JR's sister and Palmer's grand-niece, but they would also offer recriminations along the way.  David would not.  He would simply dive in, head first, and do what needed to be done to help her find and retrieve her daughter.  And he'd have FUN doing it.  We would have fun WATCHING him.

But what do they do?  They turn David Hayward into a love-sick, blackmailing puppy dog, begging for scraps!  Exactly what DID Vincent Irizarry DO to piss off the writers that they have chosen to degrade him even further?  Anyone? Anyone?  Bueller?  Look at the position he's in:  He's Greg Maddens' cardiologist, for crying out loud!!  Aside from Josh, and possibly Hazel, who has clearer access to the man who obviously stole Kate?  Who has a vast array of potions designed to elicit truth, loose-lips and any number of other things, right at their disposal?  Just Dave.  So who is better equipped to play down and dirty with Dr. Madman than Dr. Dave?  No one.

Don't get me wrong, I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Zach.  I love his anti-heroness.  But this is a storyline that calls for David Hayward to be front and center, and I don't mean as a lap-dog.  Do I want Zach to save Kendall from Dr. Madman (and herself)?  You betcha!  Save Kendall, not Dixie.  Oh yes, and leave Ryan out of it.  Please.  Between David on one side and Zach on the other?  Dr. Madman doesn't stand a snowballs chance in hell of emerging victorious. Kendall saved, Dixie saved (?)  Kate returned to the loving, if hypocritical, arms of her family.  Speaking of which, isn't Karma a beyotch? Was it only last year that Tad helped Babe and Jamie abscond with young JamAce III?  Now he is about to learn that his own baby was stolen from her parents.  Ouch.  THAT'S gotta sting.  How will he handle it?  Will he blame Dixie?  Dr. Madman?  Actually, he'll probably blame Dr. Dave, the man from whence all evil floweth.

*insert eye-roll here*

Now we come to Kendall.  Like Vince Irizarry, what did Alicia Minshew do to deserve her storyline?  Why, why why do they never allow Kendall to grow? Or even to behave as the strong, confident woman she so clearly IS when she is in lioness-protecting-her-sister-or-Greenlee-mode?  She has demonstrated fits and starts of such strength and grace and, rather than build a storyline on that, they turn her back into a pathetic, wimpy, weepy, whiny, can't-do-anything-without-a-man-in-my-life shadow of a woman.  With everything that Kendall has endured over the years, she should be strong, not prickly.   I never agree with Ryan, but he said something recently that I had to reluctantly agree with.  (I say reluctantly only because it came from Ryan's mouth.)    When he asked Kendall if she ever just got tired (exhausted) from coming out swinging ALL THE TIME.  Well, I know *I* get tired from watching her do that.

 I see where Kendall's frustration is coming from though.  She is scared. Out of her mind, scared.  She is afraid she doesn't love her spawn.  She feels as though she has NO maternal feelings toward the spawn at all.  The very fact that she is concerned about this is proof that she DOES, in fact, love and care in every way about the critter.  She's too scared and flipped out to realize it though.  With Ryan around who WOULDN'T be?  She has a right to be scared.  She also has a right to BREATHE without worrying about Ryan breathing down her neck every five seconds!  Why TIIC have painted someone like Ryan Lavery as the second coming, I will never understand.  He is not a hero.  He is not even a nice guy.  He is a liar, and a coward.  He's even more hypocritical than the whole Martin clan put together.

Know what I would LOVE to see?  I would love for someone like.. Aidan to come along, see the pressure that Ryan puts on Kendall and step in to tell Ryan AND his siblings to bugger-off and leave Kendall alone.  That would also add some much needed spice to the relationship between Aidan and Erin.  When is Aidan going to teach Erin that it's okay for people NOT to forgive Jonathan and think he's peachy.  Yeah, sure, he had a brain tumor.  It doesn't change what he did to his surviving victims.  It's okay for Kendall to cringe at the sight of him and for her to want to keep as much distance between them as possible.  It's especially okay for her to NOT want Jonathan anywhere near her little spawn.  She's entitled.  A little vinegar, in the form of Aidan protecting Kendall from her ass-hat brother, might give Erin some much-needed perspective.  Maybe Ryan, too.

I could go on and on and on...but I'll just leave it at that for now..


By Cindy


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