The Soapbox: Papa Loves Mambo

So how adorable are Kay and Murph? They got engaged yesterday -- Murphy gave her the smallest ring in soaps history! (and probably Katherine's most modest on record, yet she loved it) -- and right after, they danced their butts off to "Papa Loves Mambo." Which just might be the cutest thing ever.

Then today we get the "Empress Katherine" photo shoot for Restless Style -- I was loving it! And it was appropriate because older actresses like Jeanne Cooper (she's 80!) are the queens of daytime television. And in my book she has one of the best gigs of any actress out there, of any age, at any time of day.

That's one thing I've always loved about soaps -- the willingness of TPTB to center entire shows around older female actresses. And give them storylines of substance, at that. Katherine is an enjoyable reminder of that practice, especially within this particular storyline.

There were some fun lines today:

Murphy: "I know I'm not the sort of guy she usually goes for."
Nikki: "And thank God for that!"

Chloe: "I know you'll make an honest woman out of me."
Billy: "I don't think that's possible."

Ashley (after being fired by Jill): "I loathe her."
Victor: "I do not blame you."

And starting Monday, the countdown to Mac begins!

Vernal Equinox Half & Half Musings

Today is the Vernal Equinox, one of two days a year when the center of the Sun lines up over the celestial equator, causing day and night to be of roughly equal durations. For those of us in the northern climes, it also marks a significant transition in the gradual move from majority darkness to majority daylight. Finally. Spring is on its way.

Something silly that people like to do on the equinox is balance eggs on their ends. This practice, however, according to Snopes, is based on a myth. Eggs will balance on their ends any day of the year, if you try hard enough; but it's only on the equinoxes that people actually do it.

The equinoxes have historically been celebrated by cultures throughout the world. Today, President Obama addressed the Iranian people by wishing them a happy Nowruz, which is their New Year as well as an equinox holiday. I have to admit, I'd never heard of Nowruz before this morning. So I hope Obama's goodwill message taught Americans a thing or two as well.

America often feels somewhat devoid of nature-oriented holidays. What we do have is usually an ancient kernel of paganism disguised and watered down via Christianity... Easter eggs, for example. Or trees at Christmastime. But I dig the idea of bringing those old holidays back as themselves, for their own sakes. Celebrate Easter, if you want, but celebrate the equinox too -- because heavenly bodies are in motion. And that's freaking cool.

As it is, I didn't plan anything special (though we have done winter solstice parties before), but my husband found his old George Winston Winter into Spring album, so we've been drifting in and out of that all evening. Really, the perfect thing.

The Soapbox: Yep, Mac is Back

After my last post concerning Katherine's DNA, I was thinking I would stay patient and let myself be surprised by what was around the bend... and then March Madness preempted two full days of the show, evoking much madness in me. Grrrr. (This happens every year, yet for some reason I'm always surprised by it.)

And since soaps are on five freaking days a week all year long, I don't usually feel the need to go looking for spoilers or casting news. But because of the preemption, I couldn't help myself -- I went on a quest for spoilage. And I found it.

It's true. Mac is coming back. After three years working for a relief organization in Darfur, something brings her back to Genoa City. I wonder what that could be... la la la...

Amazing news. I didn't quite realize how much I adored this character until I considered her return. But I'm also a little nervous. See, I was a big fan of the original Mac, Ashley Bashioum (there were two others in there as well), but the role has now been recast with Clementine Ford (Cybill Shepherd's daughter). Although she's been on The L Word, my only knowledge of Ford goes back to her stint as Miss Golden Globe in 1998. And that's about all I know.

Still, I'm willing to keep an open mind. Billy was recast, after all, and that seems to be working out fine. Uh, yeah! Just fine. I actually think he's the best Billy they've ever had. And I can certainly understand the need to reevaluate the Mac-Billy chemistry under these circumstances.

One of the most fascinating questions: could Mac be the new girl for Cane & Billy to fight over? (While Chloe & Lily raise Delia?) Please, please, please. Let it be true.

According to the word on the Internet, Mac returns April 1st.

The Soapbox: DNA Tests Never Prove Anything edition

So, Katherine's second DNA test came back a big whopping negative today on Y&R... and, just like that, holy crap people!!! I don't believe she's Marge, so can it be possible that she and Jill are NOT mother & daughter after all? Could that original DNA test from 6 years ago be the one that was wrong? Though, come to think of it, I can't recall if they did a DNA test at all back then. Hmmmm.

Can you imagine the sheer entertainment value lurking in the tragedy of Jill losing her mother (to supposed death), only to find out she's still alive (despite Jill's perpetual doubt and scorn on the matter), only to discover Katherine's not her mother after all... and then basically losing her all over again?

Have to say, I'm not hating the idea. Jill & Katherine have always been better adversaries than friends, even when they thought they were related. So breaking that biological connection probably wouldn't change much on a basic level... they would still share the house (Jill had half ownership before anyway... sorry, Esther), most likely continue to work together (Jill originally had Jabot privileges because of John Abbott, not Katherine), and still possess lives hopelessly enmeshed and entangled in each other's. They would still drive each other bonkers and maybe Jill would even try to steal that sweet guy Murphy away. This all sounds like fundamental Jill-Katherine stuff... stuff that's going to happen whether or not they're actually mother & daughter.

But... there could be some other, more interesting side effects here. Both Billy & Cane would no longer be Katherine's biological grandchildren. And Delia would be exclusively an Abbott and not technically a Chancellor at all (though maybe still something of an adopted Chancellor because of Esther... sorry, Jill).

And yet, here comes the most intriguing possibility of all... Mac could come back! Squeeeeeee! She and Billy would no longer be, ahem, cousins, and Billy could piece back together the sanity that once was his. Come on, I think that's all they need to know.

Today's recap here.

The Soapbox: Y&R

Nauseating as it is to dwell on, Nice Cane was back today and was very, very nice to Lily, complete with red bed sheets and flowery harp music followed by an instrumental 80s-style power ballad. Unlike me, she seemed to dig that sort of thing, but luckily I was eating my favorite seasonal treat, Cadbury Mini Eggs, which I find impossible to vomit.

Why does Billy keep beating himself up over falling in love with cousin Mac so many years ago? He doesn't actually talk about it much, but anyone who knows the story knows it's the real reason he's so broken and adorable. Every time he talks about screwing things up, you know that's what he's referring to. But we all know it wasn't his fault!

Jack, in the scene with Chloe, reminds me of another empty nest-er -- Nora Walker from Brothers & Sisters. She's always taking in strays and troubled cast-offs (and I don't mean animals) that are marginally related to her family, and really, so does Jack Abbott. As happens in these cases, it's usually just as one tangential relation is going that another is coming (e.g. Ryan Lafferty), and so based on Colleen's sudden exodus I wouldn't be that surprised if Chloe were to take Jack up on his housing offer right away... by Friday, even.

Is Ashley's best chiding advice to Billy really based on an argument of stability? Isn't she the mother who carted Abby from Paris to L.A. to London to Paris to Genoa City, and from Rick Forrester to Ridge Forrester to Rick again and finally to shattered Victor, with an end result of placing herself squarely in the middle of the same bloody Jack-Victor feud she had sought refuge from in the first place? And then she starts freaking out over some (fairly) mild bickering?

And who is this mystery woman with the bandaged head already? A new Victor protege? Sheila, back from the dead (again!), played by a new actress with a new face (again?)? Well, one can dream...

And for anyone who might be missing Professor Adrian Korbel, my hubby tells me you can currently catch actor Eyal Podell on the FOX show 24. Who knew?