Ok gang, here it is � my first View for the new year, and as promised, it is The Worst of 2000. I have to say that I am a little disappointed that I did not get any responses from you, so these picks are entirely my own. Don't be upset if I put something in that you disagree with!

Worst Actor: Rodney Van Johnson gets the nod this time around, mostly because he was not given enough material to work with, and we hardly saw him that much. There are a few secrets that TC Russell is keeping from his family, and yet the writers chose not to divulge any of them. They practically left his character hanging in the breeze for most of the year. The last we saw of TC, he was going into the shed in his backyard, and then all of a sudden � nothing. Let's hope that 2002 brings Rodney better luck and more airtime with his character, and lets a few of his skeletons out of his closet.

Worst Actress: Unfortunately, I would have to say that Dana Sparks was the worst this past year. Although she does have some strong moments now and again, I felt that she was not up-to-par as she usually is. Maybe it's because she was not given the writing that she had in previous years, but I felt that the entire storyline involving Sam and Ivy and Grace was not what it could have been.

Worst Character: Whitney Russell, for constantly harping on her friend Theresa to tell Ethan the truth. Now I know this sounds crazy, and I'm not saying that what she did was wrong, but Whitney needed to get her own life last year. All she did was constantly tell Theresa that the things she was doing were wrong, and she shouldn't do them. Whitney didn't have that much of a storyline of her own, so she had to tag along on Theresa's escapades all year. How many times did we hear her tell Theresa to tell Ethan the truth? Probably about 100 times, and it was 90 times to many, she should have just gone about doing her own thing. Maybe she would have Chad as her boyfriend instead of her tennis racket.

Worst Couple: Miguel and Charity. Although they do look cute together, they were simply too boring for my taste. This kids do nothing except sit on the couch and make goo-goo eyes at each other, that is when they are not saving Charity from the demons of hell, or pulling her out of a frozen lake, or something else that had befallen her. How can two people be in love when they don't do anything together, like go to the movies, or out on any kind of a date whatsoever.

Worst Love Triangle: This time around, it goes to Sam/Ivy/Grace/David (I know, that's a quad-angle). Just when we thought we had finally gotten over the scandal of Ivy and Sam once having a romantic relationship more than 20 years ago, in walks her first husband David. Normally, I would like this kind of storyline, however, with David not really being Grace's first husband, and Ivy sitting in the background pulling all of the strings, this is going to get boring really quickly.

Worst Secret: Sheridan's not really dead � AGAIN! How many times are they going to kill this girl off, just to have her not be dead. I'm not saying that I was Sheridan killed for real, but come on � there's got to be other tricks in that little bag to do other things with. And every time that Sheridan is supposed to be dead, they keep her and Luis apart for an incredible amount of time. So she's not really dead, and she has amnesia too (where have we seen this before?)

Worst Story: Sheridan's not really dead � AGAIN! See Worst Secret.

Worst Villain: This one is hard to pick because there are a few folks in Harmony that could be the very worst. There's Julian Crane, who killed his own sister, just to keep her and her fianc� Luis apart so that Luis would not find out any of the Crane secrets. Then there is Ivy Crane, who is plotting to destroy Sam and Grace's marriage all so that she can win Sam back for herself. Don't forget that she also plotted to break up Ethan and Theresa, because she blames Theresa for leaking her secret about Ethan's true paternity. Then we have Rebecca Hotchkiss, who blackmailed Julian into marrying her, and who really did send the email to the tabloid about Ethan's true paternity. And finally, Tabitha Lenox, who has been working constantly to bring sorrow and destruction to the town of Harmony, all the while trying to break up all of our happy little couples. So this one is your call, whomever you wish to put in this category is fine.

ISSUE #39: The Best of 2001!
January 30, 2001

So here we are, at the 2001 Best Of column. I will apologize first for taking a bit of time with this; unfortunately, I have been doing my civic duty, serving on Jury Duty this past week. Nothing outrageous like a murder trial, just you're typical car crash involving some unfortunate folks. Anyway, without further delay, here we go...

Best Actor: For the second year in a row, it goes to Ben Masters (Julian Crane). He is the only person on the show right now who can deliver both comedy and drama. He, along with Lindsay Koran, masterfully pulled of those scenes in Bermuda when they were drunk and getting married. His character is hated by everyone in Harmony, and he makes it seem so effortless when he portrays the loathing and despicable Julian, it's truly a shame that they have killed him off the show (for now anyway). Harmony is not the same without him and I hope he returns very soon to bring us more of his wonderful and disgusting antics.

Best Actress: Lindsay Korman, (Theresa Lopez-Fitzgerald). By far, Lindsay has grown a lot this past year. Although she did more than her fair share of crying over Ethan and the though of loosing him, she was given the opportunity to spread her wings and try some new twists to her character. She showed that she can hold her own with the best of them (Ben Masters, Kim Johnston Ulrich) and make the viewer believe that what she is portraying, she is actually feeling for real, that it is not all make believe.

Best Character: Although she wasn't on the show for more than a couple of months, it is being given to Hecuba, played by the illustrious Robin Strasser. Her portrayal of Hecuba was absolutely fabulous, and gave the show a much-needed boost in the witchcraft department. I only wish that she could have remained on the show, it would have been a blast to see what other crazy things she could have done to the folks in Harmony, with a little help from Tabitha. Ms. Strasser, if you're reading this, we'd love for you to come back to Harmony, maybe you could play the younger sister of Alistair Crane, and you could be just as bitchy as Alistair is. It's a thought.

Best Couple: Without a doubt, Sheridan and Luis. We all have our favorite couple, either Sheridan and Luis, or Ethan and Theresa. But this past year, it was all about Shuis! Their romance heated up to a fever pitch and we were given some of the most romantic scenes in daytime history with these two hotties! The more we see them on screen, the more we believe they are truly an item, their chemistry together is unparalleled. I just wish they would be reunited sometime soon, because I would hate to have them on next years Worst Of list.

Best Love Triangle: There really wasn't that many triangles to choose from this past year, so I am giving the honor to Sam / Ivy / Grace. Although it did get to be annoying at times, it finally brought to the forefront that Sam and Ivy were once lovers, and that they had a child together, a child that Sam didn't even know they had. Having this secret leaked to the tabloids, and exposed on the night of Ethan and Theresa's engagement party was great, because it triggered a multitude of events that would carry the storyline for several months. We all know that Ivy has not given up on her quest to snag Sam, so for those of you who are die-hard Sam/Ivy fans, hang on because I'm sure this year things are definitely going to shift into high gear.

Best/Most Improved Actor: Without a doubt, it goes to Donn Swaby (Chad Harris). We all know that he is a wonderful actor, but we never really got the chance to see him flex his muscle during 2000. Thanks to the writers of the show, they made Chad become a little more soft, just around the edges, enough to give the viewers a peek into a new level of his character. Chad wasn't has hard-nosed this past year as he originally portrayed, and his friendship with Ethan really proved that, along with his budding romance with Whitney. Let's hope that he continues to evolve his character and show us yet another dimension to Chad this year.

Best Secret: Brian is really Antonio! We all suspected that Brian might be the long missing elder brother of Luis, but this was one secret that the show's producers kept under wraps right up until the very end. Having Antonio come on the show now is definitely doing to make things much more sticky in Harmony, and I congratulate everyone behind the scenes at Passions for keep a tight lid on this one, it was definitely worth it.

Best Story: The Double Wedding (that never happened). Yes, I am upset that the marriages of Ethan and Theresa and Luis and Sheridan never took place, however, who would have thought to disrupt a wedding the way Ivy Crane did! Crashing her car into the church was hysterical, and I'm glad that if a wedding was to be disrupted that it was done in such an ingenious way. Let's hope that the next time someone is ready to say 'I Do', that they actually get to say it.

ISSUE #40: Some Friend You Are!
March 7, 2002

There is so much going on in Harmony right now it's hard to just pick one thing to talk about, but I'm going to give it the old college try.

Is it just me, or is Hank Bennett really a pain in the ass? Come on, how much longer are we going to listen to this guy tell Luis to move on with his life and forget all about Sheridan? How insensitive can one person be?

All this guy ever talks about is how Luis is acting like a fool wishing for Sheridan to come back to him. I'm sorry, I don't think that anyone who lost a true love, whether it be parental, spousal, child or any other kind of love should be forced to move on with their lives only 2 or 3 months after they have died. There are a lot of emotions and feelings that need to be worked through and sometimes it takes a lot longer than just a few months to get over someone's death (believe me, I know first hand). Luis is trying to do the best he can, and his best friend in the whole wide world is forcing him to forget all about the love of his life and start a new relationship with is former girlfriend Beth. I think that is really pathetic and sick on Hank's part. Day in and day out whenever Hank is on the show, all he ever does it harp on Luis for feeling the way he does about Sheridan. Let the guy deal with his grief the way he feels. Granted, Luis did see an image of Sheridan thinking she was still alive (and WE all know she is) so I can understand that Hank thinks Luis is starting to loose his marbles over the woman he loved, but still, back off and give the guy some room to breathe.

Oh, and did I forget to mention the time that he set up Luis and Beth on a "date" pretending that it was all innocent and friendly? Stop it! Hank should be ashamed of himself for even thinking that Luis would get back together with Beth after all these years. It's not like Luis dumped her to be with Sheridan, they were broken up long before Sheridan came to town. What Hank is doing to Luis is not friendship in my book and the writers on this show need to stop what they are doing and back off. Yeah, I'm sure there is a bigger plan in the works for Sheridan/Luis/Brian/Beth, and they are trying to work in a love quadrangle with them, but still � enough is enough with the preaching that is going on with this show. Let's give Hank his own storyline for a change so he can stay out of Luis and Sheridan's.

ISSUE #41: Too Close For Comfort!
April 5, 2002

Well, for months I've been steaming over this upcoming Brian/Sheridan pairing. Not that Brian will take Sheridan away from Luis once she remembers her past and they finally get reunited, but because from the minute that Brian laid eyes on Sheridan, he fell head-over-heels in love with her. He knew from that moment on, that he would spend the rest of his life with her, or at least spend the rest of his life trying to be with her. PA-LEASE!!

Sheridan has said time and time again that she wants to remember her past, where she comes from and who she really is. Brian continues to tell her to not get her hopes up and to stop living in the past. Easy for him to say, he knows his past and where he comes from, and doesn't want anything to do with it. Sheridan is heartbroken over her supposed dead lover and wants to remember everything about him, and there's Brian, always standing right next to her telling her to stop dreaming of her past and look towards her future � with him.

He says he's not pushing himself on her, but in his next breath he tells her that he loves her and wants her to love him back. Is this guy a little off his rocker? What kind of decent man would do that to a woman whose heart is still aching for her past? And then to top it all off, he does these things in front of Liz, who he must know is still in love with him. Every time Sheridan remembers something or has a "feeling" about her lost love, Brian squashes it in a flash and makes Sheridan feel stupid for even thinking the way she does. I hate the way the writers have portrayed him when it comes to Sheridan, even though we know that Luis and Sheridan will probably be reunited within the next couple of weeks in Bermuda. And by that time, Sheridan will be torn between the man she loved, and the man she might love, both of whom are brothers.

This is going to drag out even longer than anyone has anticipated and it's just not right. The fans have waited 3 long years for Sheridan and Luis to finally be happy together and get married. They killed Sheridan twice and both times we watched as Luis was devastated at the loss. Now Brian, the long lost older brother of Luis is in the picture and I'm sure that Sheridan and Luis will not be happy together anytime soon.

ISSUE #42: Let's Go - Move It Already!
April 26, 2002

As I've said in the past, I am a definite Sheridan and Luis fan and want them to be together. However, these incidents of late have really got me riled up. How many times can we sit and watch the two of them almost reunite without any payoffs? I'm sick of it already!

Ever since Sheridan and Luis have been on the island of Bermuda, it's been one close call after another. They are in the rooms right next to one another yet they never manage to meet. The hotel bellhop recognizes Sheridan as the woman Luis was in love with on their last visit, yet he never tells either of them that the other is there in the hotel. And when they finally manage to meet, they are wearing masks on their faces so they don't recognize each other, and Sheridan has a really bad head cold, making it ridiculous that she can't hear anything that anyone says to her so she doesn't recognize Luis' voice. Enough is enough already, get these two people back together and stop with the dancing around.

I'm also getting tired of the Zombie Charity now, because Tabitha and Timmy have been relegated to third string players and Timmy's actions of late are just plain stupid. Tabitha should be given some of her powers back and the Zombie, although has been entertaining in the past, needs to move on and bring the real Charity back for a while. Miguel needs to realize that everything is not what it seems to be and maybe develop some real feelings for Kay. Once the real Charity is de-iced, there could be some real depth to these characters for a change.

I'm also sick of Grace Bennett. She blatantly fawns over Jessica, Charity and now John, while constantly turning her back on Kay. Here is a woman who was devastated when she found out that Sam had a son from a previous relationship (granted he didn't know about it either) and made Sam and Ethan to feel like outsiders in her life for a while, yet she embraces John with open arms and heart when she is told that he is her son from her previous relationship. How two-faced can one person be? After only talking with John for a few days and getting to know him a little bit, she insists that he is her son. One of the biggest complaints I have is about David Hastings. When we first laid eyes on him, he was on a photojournalist assignment in some far away place. He opens a magazine he receives in the mail and come upon a picture of Grace Bennett crying over her house that burnt down. He looks at it and mumbles something, making the audience believe that he knows her. Cut to this past winter and we find out that Ivy Crane hired David to pretend to be Grace's long lost husband. If he was in fact hired by Ivy, how is it that he recognized her picture in the magazine and made a beeline to come to Harmony? Just another loose string in this storyline. I had almost forgotten about this little tidbit until I read it in a magazine this past week.

Sam has done nothing to work on the Julian Crane murder and it's been over 2 months already. All he's done is preliminary questions of all those who had motive to kill Julian, yet we will haven't seen anything really worthy of an investigation. They killed Julian, and with that Ben Masters � who was always a pleasure to watch every day. This show needs to get moving on these storylines once and for all because they are loosing viewers each week and I'm started to get a real bad taste in my mouth for the show.

The only saving grace on the show right now is Theresa and her claim to be the true Mrs. Julian Crane. At least with this story we know there will be something worth watching, as Theresa gets further along in her pregnancy while Ivy and Rebecca try to destroy her and her baby. And don't forget Alistair, he's been out of the picture for a while but is now back with a vengeance. He's already got something brewing in the pot to destroy Theresa and we just have to sit and watch as it all unfolds.

ISSUE #43: Mass Exodus!
June 20, 2002

OK, what the hell is going on here? We've got a handful of cast members that have decided to leave the show, all coming within weeks of each other.

First, there was Travis Schuldt (Ethan), who decided that after 3 years on the show, he wanted to concentrate more of his time to his theater group, The Lone Star Ensemble. So after much deliberation, he informed his fans that he was vacating the role of Ethan to pursue other interests. That came as a shock to me, because before this show, I had never heard of him before. He got his first big acting break with Passions, and I personally think he did a wonderful job with the character. As any newbie, he was rusty at first, but soon turned the character of Ethan into his own and molded him into a loveable, yet gullible, person. I'm not bashing him for deciding to leave the show, it just came as quite a shock. There was never any negative press about him that would normally make someone want to leave a show. So, Travis moves on with his life, and Eric Martsolf moves in.

Now I just getting over the shock of Travis' departure, when Donn Swaby (Chad) also decides that he is leaving the show to pursue a career in film and theater. Donn also started with the show 3 years ago and made Chad a unique character. He took this person from being a foul-mouthed, street-wise young man and turned him into an upstanding, honest and brave guy right before out eyes. All the while, igniting some sparks with his on-screen love interest Whitney Russell. This, too, was a sad moment when Donn decided to leave the show. Soap fans hate it when one of their favorites leaves, even it is to pursue other acting opportunities. So we were dealt another blow by this bit of news. We will get over it.

Cut to today, it is announced that Natalie Zea (Gwen) is also not renewing her contract with the show. Natalie had some big shoes to fill when she took over the role of Gwen Hotchkiss from Liza Huber last year. After less than 1 � years, she has decided to leave the show also. Natalie had the toughest job of them all taking over this role because Gwen was dumped by Ethan and she became extremely bitter and wanted revenge on Theresa. She somehow managed to turn it around and become a compassionate person, going against her mother and Ivy in her pursuit of Ethan. That was not an easy task and she pulled it off beautifully.

So, how much more of this can we fans take? We've already had 5 contract players be recast since the show debuted back in 1999. Now in the scope of 1 � 2 months, 3 more players have decided to leave the show. Ratings are still down after 3 years and it doesn't seem like things are going to change for the better anytime soon. Granted, these characters will definitely be recast (the new Ethan begins airing the first week of July), but what is to become of this show? With all of these charges taking place, will the show still be around a year from now? Storylines are dragging on and on with no end in sight. How much more do we have to put up with to get a payoff of some kind? The only payoff we have received is that Julian really isn't dead (thank God) but this entire storyline with his murder felt like a big let down. And you've been wondering why I haven't written a column since April � there's been nothing worth writing about, and a person can only complain about something for so long. Looks like it's going to be another long, hot summer in Harmony.

ISSUE #44: A Very Special Good-Bye!
August 6th, 2002

As I sit here writing this column, I still can't believe that Josh Ryan Evans has passed away. This came as an unbelievable shock to me, and still it somehow doesn't seem real. Josh was an amazing person that was taken away from all too soon. I never met Josh, but like you, I felt that I knew him because of his remarkable gift for acting.

Although he was stricken with an unfortunate growth disorder, he never let that stop him from doing what he loved to do. He took life into his own hands and made things happen, rather then letting life dictate to him how he should be. From the time he was a young boy, he knew that he wanted to be an actor, and immediately set out to make that dream come true. He refused to let his physical stature determine how he was to be viewed by others, instead he used his remarkable talent to make people see how large of a person he really was. The acting community, and particularly the world as a whole, has lost a very special human being.

I saw this poem on a message board and I wanted to post it here for everyone to read. It was written by Shirleyione, and although I have not contacted her to obtain her permission to post it, I hope she doesn't mind that I did. It is absolutely beautiful.

Josh Ryan, you were our delight, a wonderful, bubbly cheerful sight.
On darkest days you brought the sun, and you enchanted everyone.
Your handsome face and ready smile, you warmed our hearts, yet all the while,
Your own was wrestling with your fate, it had to rush, it couldn't wait.
Until we could enjoy you more, it took you up to Heaven's door.
It is too soon, you're way too young, you had more to do, more to be sung.
The song of your life ran out of notes, before there were sufficient quotes,
To fully express what you have meant, to all of us, you were heaven sent.
I guess that's why you had to go, because God missed his angel so.
But he won't miss you like we do, we who really needed you,
To light the darkness of our days, and make us laugh at Timmy's ways.
And Tabby will not have her lad, to chide her when she's acting bad.
How do we face the future without you? We will miss everything about you.

My deepest condolences are extended to the Evans' family and my prayers are with them during this most terrible time. You can be sure that Josh will never be forgotten.

ISSUE #45: TITLE!
DATE 2002