Y&R's Adam is Caught!
Last week, Ashley fell down the stairs and lost her baby. However, Ashley, who has a long history of mental breakdowns, doesn't realize that she lost her baby, and even claims she feels the baby moving. The truth is being masked by Adam, who has blackmailed a doctor to tend to Ashley and support her hysterical pregnancy. But Adam's skull-duggery is about to be exposed...
When Victor learns that Dr. Taylor is Ashley's new physician, he wants to give him the once over. "This guy is treating Ashley and the baby, so you can't blame Victor for wanting to check him out," says Eric Braeden. "He and Ashley arrange to meet Dr. Taylor at the Genoa City Athletic Club."
Ashley has already been tricked into believing that the shady doc has her best interests at heart. "She likes him alot," affirms Eileen Davidson. "First of all, he's not calling her crazy, so that right there gets her vote. He seems to be a very nice man and has a sweet bedside manner."
Dr. Taylor is understandably nervous during Victor's questioning, but the heat rises when Olivia unexpectedly arrives and recognizes him! "Olivia knows Dr. Taylor by his reputation and she says that he has a stellar one," explains Davidson. "She's actually a big fan of his, so Dr. Taylor is very relieved that nothing goes wrong at this point."
With Olivia's stamp of approval, Victor makes his decision. "He goes ahead and gives his okay for Dr. Taylor to be Ashley's doctor," says Braeden. "John Rubinstein is the actor playing him. He and I worked together in a movie with Suzanne Somers. This is the first time I've seen him in over 30 years, so it was nice to work with him again."
Ashley's mood brightens when she realizes that she can rely on someone other than Olivia for medical care. "Olivia thinks Ashley needs psychiatric help and that's making her mad," sighs Davidson. "Ashley is doubting her own sanity, but at the same time she gets upset whenever somebody else does. She wants everyone to support her to help her feel stronger, and yet these awful things keep happening at the ranch. She has no explanation except for pointing her finger at Estella and now that's not an option anymore because she's out of the picture."
After Dr. Taylor leaves, Victor and Ashley are so delighted that the pregnancy is progressing normally and they begin discussing baby names. Then Victor learns that Nick has left Phyllis for Sharon and taken up temporary residence at the GCAC. Ashley heads home and Victor confronts his son for what he's doing to his family. "Victor is thinking about the effect divorce has on children and it can be devastating," points out Braeden. "Even though Victor is very fond of Sharon, he's thinking about Nick's daughter and how this will hurt her."
A defiant Nick insists that he belongs with Sharon, so Victor returns home to Ashley. Meanwhile, Adam is listening to his edited version of Sabrina's voice on his computer when the recording gets stuck and plays over and over. Ashley and Victor hear it. "They're the same words that Ashley heard on the phone call of Sabrina's voice talking about death," explains Davidson. "So Victor and Ashley are hearing what Adam had spliced together."
Victor and Ashley rush into Adam's bedroom and demand to know what is going on. "Victor is furious," huffs Braeden. "He's like, 'What the hell is this?!'"
Both Ashley and Victor come to the conclusion that Adam has been the one behind all the strange happening at the ranch. "Ashley starts freaking out," says Davidson. "She's also thinking to herself, 'Oh my God, if it's been Adam this whole time, then maybe I didn't dream that I lost my baby!'"
Adam immediately denies any wrongdoing. "He starts kissing Ashley's butt and says he's her friend," says Davidson. "But she seriously doubts him and he gets panicky because he realizes that he's losing her. She's been his strongest ally, so he needs her."
Adam continues playing innocent, but Victor isn't buying it. "Victor says he's not going to be conned by his son anymore," growls Braeden. "Then Adam brings up that Estella was at the ranch, so she must've set him up."
Victor and Ashley have no choice but to give Adam the benefit of the doubt -- for the time being. "Ashley's attitude has definitely changed towards Adam," says Davidson. "She doesn't know what to think now."
Later, Victor has to deal with Ashley as her fear of living at the ranch begins to spiral out of control. "I know a lot of viewers think she should just get out of there, but as much as she wants to leave the ranch, she doesn't want to because she's afraid people will think she's crazy," points out Davidson. "That place is super creepy, but she doesn't want anyone to think that she's vulnerable and can't handle it. It's very gothic, like Jane Eyre."
Adam may be safe for now, but Victor assures Ashley that if his son turns out to be her tormentor, there isn't a place on earth he will be able to hide. Teases Davidson, "There's going to be a great twist that brings up the question: Could Adam have really done all this on his own?"
Eileen Davidson and Eric Braeden on Engen's Exit
With Chris Engen's final airdate as Adam fast approaching (June 24), Braeden and Davidson weigh in on their co-star's sudden departure. "I'm very upset that Chris is gone," declares Braeden. "I don't know what went through his head to leave, but it's his decision. I tried to talk him out of leaving, but he couldn't be talked out of it. He was somewhat disturbed by the fact that he was playing this evil. character. I said, 'Listen, I remember Victor feeding rats to people!' I told him to embrace it because he had the most riveting storyline around, period. He was already depressed about playing this conspiring person. He expressed his disappointment and I told him, 'Are you kidding me? Do you want to play one of those boring guys?'"
Davidson also knew that Engen was having a tough time. "I really like Chris, but I knew he was having problems with playing Adam," Davidson admits. "I told him that I've always basically been the heroine on the show and I would love to have the kind of stuff that he's been playing to sink my teeth into. But on the other hand, I left other shows because I was burnt out and I have no regrets about doing that -- of course, my contract was up when I did it. The other thing I told Chris is that 'You're playing this horrible person, but you're still likable.' There's something very wonderful about that."
Braeden and Davidson have already taped scenes with Engen's replacement, Michael Muhney, who was plopped into heavy storyline with lots of dialogue. "That's a difficult thing to do," notes Braeden. "The guy has handed it very professionally. I have great respect for what he has done."
Concurs Davidson. "Michael is wonderful! I asked him toward the end of his first day, after he had just been thrown into so much going on, how he's doing and if he's freaking out. He said, 'I'm not one of those actors who gets nervous. I just go with it.' I told him, 'You're doing an awesome job.' He's a terrific actor. He's bring a different quality, of course, but he's playing a lot of different levels very quickly. There's something a little bit more menacing about Adam in an interesting way, but Michael's a very warm person and he seems to be relishing the lunacy of his character."