Another November Sweeps that should have been swept under the rug. Head Writer, Ron Carlivati, promised the viewers thrills, chills and world travel, and all they got were a bag of nuts and a coke. He took them from London, to Seattle, to Detroit, to Napa and back to Dear old Llanview. I have to give it to Carlivati, his bags of nuts, though stale, were filled with variety.
The two lead stories were the return of Mitch Laurence and Todd’s revelation that he had a daughter with Tea. Included among the mixed nuts were Dorian’s symbolic marriage to a woman, Kyle and Oliver’s reunion, Rex finding out who his father really is, Jared being killed and Matthew getting his operation.
Let’s start with Mitch’s return from the dead “yet again’! I saw his face, and I heard his voice, and I was as enthralled as I was the first time Mitch appeared. This man is the ultimate “evil”, and just having him on the canvas gives Ron Carlivati to just have a free for all. There is nothing that Mitch will not do. Nothing is sacrosanct, to him accept loyalty. During Mitch’s previous tenure in town, his reign of terror was ended when his daughter, Jessica, killed him, and to make sure he was really, really dead her uncle, Todd poured poison down his throat and cremated him. So, here Mitch is, very much alive and well, physically any way, and once again he is terrorizing two of his last victims, his daughter Jessica and her twin sister, Natalie, who also happens to be Mitch’s ex-wife. Mitch orchestrated a very eerie reunion in Napa Valley at Jessica’s dead husband’s vineyard; chief among the guest was Jessica’s dead husband, Nash. Yes, Mitchell Laurence is THAT evil. Also present were Jessica, Natalie and Natalie’s husband Jared, who was being framed by Mitch. Super cop John Mc Bain and his new side-kick, Brody (who happens to be the lover of Jessica) arrived just in the nick of time, but that did not stop Mitch from shooting Jared, who later died of his injuries.
Jared’s death involved several key players since he is married to Natalie, whose mother is non-other than Victoria Lord Riley Buchanan Carpenter Davis Banks, who happens to be married to Jared’s father, Charlie Banks.
Todd and Tea Have an Insta-Kid.
In May, Tea whispered to Blair that she had a “BIG secret”, one she had never told to another living sole, and ever since then viewers have been speculating about what the “BIG secret” was. Immediately, they came up with a secret child, and voila, Todd and Tea have a child that she has kept a secret from him and everybody else for some seven or fifteen years. Tea’s seven lost years were played up from the time she first came to Llanview a year ago. Those seven years were played up when Blair had Rex investigate Tea’s lost years. Rex came up empty the first time he looked, revealing that it was as if Tea had disappeared during that seven year time period after she left the island with Ross, the man Todd hired to kidnap his two children, Starr and Jack. SEVEN years were suddenly turned into fifteen years when it was finally revealed that Todd and Tea had a fourteen year old daughter with Todd. Yes, a fourteen year old daughter who was conceived seven years ago. She is actually older than her half-brother, Jack who was to be kidnapped, thus leading to Todd, Tea and Ross being stranded on an Island, Somewhere in the South Pacific. This “BIG” secret became more convoluted every day, as the writing continued to change when plausibility did not fit Tea’s motive for hiding her child away from the father who raised her for fourteen years, and the father who is oblivious to the fact that he has a fourteen year old daughter. Here is where all plausibility breaks down. Tea left her husband of fifteen years to defend her ex-husband who had been charged once again for raping a woman whom he had raped when they were in college. So, Ron had/has the awesome task of showing the viewers that Ross is the most violent man on the planet, next to Mitch Laurence. [Wow! How to do that?] Well, let’s start by having Ross threaten to rape Blair and have Todd, the rapist rescue her. [Not enough?] Then let’s have Ross choke the shit out of Tea when she tells him that “their” daughter is not “their” daughter, but she is “her” daughter with Todd and let Todd, the man who tried on several occasions to kill a woman who was pregnant with his child rescue her. [Still not convinced?] Well, you will just have to wait to see what magic tricks Ron has up his sleeve concerning Ross Rayburn and his evil ways.
In May, Tea whispered to Blair that she had a “BIG secret”, one she had never told to another living sole, and ever since then viewers have been speculating about what the “BIG secret” was. Immediately, they came up with a secret child, and voila, Todd and Tea have a child that she has kept a secret from him and everybody else for some seven or fifteen years. Tea’s seven lost years were played up from the time she first came to Llanview a year ago. Those seven years were played up when Blair had Rex investigate Tea’s lost years. Rex came up empty the first time he looked, revealing that it was as if Tea had disappeared during that seven year time period after she left the island with Ross, the man Todd hired to kidnap his two children, Starr and Jack. SEVEN years were suddenly turned into fifteen years when it was finally revealed that Todd and Tea had a fourteen year old daughter with Todd. Yes, a fourteen year old daughter who was conceived seven years ago. She is actually older than her half-brother, Jack who was to be kidnapped, thus leading to Todd, Tea and Ross being stranded on an Island, Somewhere in the South Pacific. This “BIG” secret became more convoluted every day, as the writing continued to change when plausibility did not fit Tea’s motive for hiding her child away from the father who raised her for fourteen years, and the father who is oblivious to the fact that he has a fourteen year old daughter. Here is where all plausibility breaks down. Tea left her husband of fifteen years to defend her ex-husband who had been charged once again for raping a woman whom he had raped when they were in college. So, Ron had/has the awesome task of showing the viewers that Ross is the most violent man on the planet, next to Mitch Laurence. [Wow! How to do that?] Well, let’s start by having Ross threaten to rape Blair and have Todd, the rapist rescue her. [Not enough?] Then let’s have Ross choke the shit out of Tea when she tells him that “their” daughter is not “their” daughter, but she is “her” daughter with Todd and let Todd, the man who tried on several occasions to kill a woman who was pregnant with his child rescue her. [Still not convinced?] Well, you will just have to wait to see what magic tricks Ron has up his sleeve concerning Ross Rayburn and his evil ways.
Todd comes face to face with his bratty, obnoxious daughter. He has a few choice words for her brattyness and she has a few choice words for his arrogance, such as “jerk” and “pervert”. Through continued questioning, Todd discovered that Tea has a daughter and when the wheels finally get into gear, he figures out that she is also his daughter. Later, questioning Tea, he says, “She is mine, right?” and after the drama of having rescued Tea from near death, seeing his daughter rush into the arms of her father, Ross Rayburn and upon being arrested, Tea sticks the DNA test results into Todd’s pocket and says, “Congratulations! It’s a girl!” [personal note: I would have given anything to have seen those scenes played out by Roger Howarth.]
Matthew Gets His Operation
After months of fighting his parents, Matthew got his operation, but not without a few detours, one of which took him to a private school in London where he met Danielle Rayburn, the fourteen year old daughter of Tea and Todd. Matthew’s parents tricked him into thinking that they had accepted his decision to have the sensitive spinal cord operation, telling him that they were taking him to Seattle Washington. Instead, he was dropped off at the Warrick School in London. Matthew instantly bonded with Todd and Tea’s Insta-Kid and they plotted and made their getta-way with the help of Matthew’s devoted friend, Destiny. When Matthew and Danielle arrived at the hospital, the surgeon said he had some free time on his hands, and he set up the procedure. The doctor was unable to complete the procedure due to complications, so Dr. Evans was flown in. He completed the surgery, which was a success. Matthew felt sensation in his legs and moved his toes on Thanksgiving Day.
I’m not sure of the success of this November Sweeps. Those things are usually measured in numbers, how many viewers watched, what percentage of what demographic tuned in. As a long time viewer, I have mixed feelings. I can so easily accept the return of Mitch Laurence, who is pure “evil” , from the dead than I can accept the convoluted, daily spin of why Tea kept her child a deep dark secret and the bizarre out of birth order, sorasing of the TNT Kid. Ron Carlivati believes that he can tell the audience anything that he wants to tell them and they will accept it. Ron is right and after a few months, faithful viewers won’t remember that Danielle should be younger than her brother, Jack and new viewers won’t care at all. For me, I condemn Ron’s constant re-writes and his distortions of characters and history in order to foist Todd and Tea’s story on the viewers, but I give Ron credit for the way in which he is able to bring so many characters together on one canvas.
