Phyllis is returning to 'The Young and the Restless'... Good, and bad

                       Gina Tognoni

With Gina Tognoni's debut as Phyllis Summers just weeks away, I thought I'd make a list of all the good things that will happen now that she's returning, and all the bad. I have loved to hate Phyllis for years, but even I must admit, things are out of order when she's drooling in a hospital bed in Georgia.

First off, she will slap some sense into her naive daughter, Summer (Hunter King), who just married Austin (Matthew Atkinson), who is about to stand trial for attempted murder. She claimed she fell in love with him and that she will stand by him through his trial (for shooting Paul Williams) as he was grieving the loss of his mother when he shot him. Summer also said she didn't have anyone who understood her after Jack moved on from Phyllis with Kelly (Cady McClain). So, with mommy dearest returning, Summer will breathe a sigh of relief. Hopefully...

Speaking of Kelly, that is also another good thing that will go down after Phyllis returns... Kelly, who had started off her run in Genoa City by sleeping with Billy (then Billy Miller, now Burgess Jenkins), later took up a relationship with Billy's big brother Jack, who hadn't moved on from Phyllis. Kelly's character has become very annoying, and honestly, I'd very much enjoy a bitchy catfight between her and Phyllis.

One of the many bad things, most of which I won't get into, that will come about with Phyllis' return is her feud with Sharon (Sharon Case). Sharon was the last person to see Phyllis before she fell down the stairs that night last summer, right after Phyllis overheard her confessing to having switched Summer's paternity test results. Of course, Sharon is not innocent. But she was off her bipolar medication and was not in the right frame of mind when (and even IF) she switched the results. But, now that Phyllis is returning, the peace will be ruptured. Even then, she's already become a topic of conversation between Sharon and Nick (Joshua Morrow). 

Besides, Phyllis has committed so many more crimes then Sharon, when she was IN her right mind! Let's see, she tried to kill Cricket (Lauralee Bell) and Paul (Doug Davidson) with her car years back when she thought Danny (Michael Damian) was falling for her again. Sharon hasn't killed anyone. Yes, she's messed with people's lives so to say, but again, SHE WAS ILL. Phyllis wasn't ill. She was just insecure and insane. Not to mention Phyllis lead Danny to believe Daniel (Michael Graziadei) was his son when all along he was fathered by some other man she slept with. Let's not even get into the crap she pulled when she worked for Restless Style, posting stories about the people in her town that weren't even true. Like I said, Sharon isn't innocent. But the woman has a legitimate illness, shouldn't a judge or whoever take that into consideration? What does Phyllis have? Nothing. What does the Great Victor Newman have? Nothing, yet he can still have people beaten up and gaslight people and no one even takes a second look. They just sigh and basically say, "Well, that's Victor for you." But no. Sharon must pay. Someone please point out the logic in that for me.

I guess you could say that there are fewer good thing than bad things that will happen when Phyllis returns. But I'm none the less looking forward to it, because it makes for great drama. Gina Tognoni is scheduled to debut as Phyllis on August 10. Watch The Young and the Restless weekdays on CBS.

Rosie O'Donnell returns to 'The View'... Elisabeth Hasselbeck still immature as ever

Today, news broke that Rosie O'Donnell will be returning as a moderator on season eighteen of The View, alongside Whoopi Goldberg. O'Donnell previously appeared on the morning talk show's panel for one season from 2006 to 2007 as moderator, replacing Meredith Vieira, during which she and fellow panelist Elisabeth Hasselbeck engaged in an infamous argument over the war in Iraq (the split screen view of the two women is seen above). Days after, O'Donnell announced that she'd decided to leave The View prematurely (after previously confirming she wouldn't be back for a second season) due to the argument, which garnered significant media attention.

Hasselbeck, who was always vocal about how she was the bigger person in the infamous onscreen debate, decided to leave The View last year after ten years on the panel. However, rumors circulated that she was asked to leave and was told she could announce she was leaving on her own. She joined FOX news shortly after. Now, that both Sherri Shepherd and Jenny McCarthy have confirmed their exits from the ABC talk show, the network has announced that Rosie will return in the fall as moderator.

In a guest appearance on the show in February 2014, O'Donnell joked, "Hasselbeck isn't here, is she?", but the jokes are all too real. After the announcement of Rosie's return, Hasselbeck spoke out in a call-in on Fox and Friends, stating:

         "Talk about not securing the border. Here in comes to The View the very woman who’s spit in the face of our military, spit in the face of her own network, and, really spit in the face of a person who stood by her and had civilized debates for the time that she was there – coming back with a bunch of control, ready to regain The View with a seat at that table. Not surprising, I do believe this has been in the works for a long, long time. "

Talk about not securing the border? Talk about becoming the definition of immaturity, Ms. Hasselbeck. Very professional. I always say that in situations like these the best thing you can do is keep your mouth shut. But no, you saw the need to speak out on Rosie returning to The View. Never mind that you caused so much controversy in your ten years on the panel, the incident with O'Donnell being no different. Entertainment Tonight tweeted a story about Hasselbeck's reaction, to which Rosie replied, "Shocker." Why should she care about what Hasselbeck has to say about her return? She's gone, for whatever reason or whatever story, no one really cares. Maybe she's just jealous that she's no longer on the panel, and Rosie is back. Well honey, that's just how the wind blows. Deal with it like a professional adult. Not like an attention-seeking loser. Catch The View weekdays on ABC.

MTV's 'Finding Carter' delivers smashing series premiere!

MTV's latest drama, Finding Carter, gave a great and promising two-hour series premiere last night. Kathryn Prescott stars as Carter, a 16-year-old girl who lives with her young mother Laura. After being arrested for breaking into an amusement park with some friends, the police find out that Carter isn't who she thinks she is; the mother she loves is really the woman who kidnapped her. Her real name is Lynden, and her real parents have been looking for her for years. She has a twin sister, and a younger brother. Cynthia Watros (Guiding Light, Lost, The Young and the Restless) stars as Carter's real mom, a cop who struggles to reconnect with the daughter she lost.

Her abductor mother, whom she believes to be her real mother, is now on the run from the law. I found the show's premise to be very interesting and fresh. Much like the infamous Girl on the Milk Carton children's novel, it seems as though the people running Finding Carter have a firm grasp on what this must be like for a girl to have a bombshell like this dropped on her, in this day and age. Kathryn Prescott was the perfect pick for Carter; she nails the character's ruthless, wacky and fun persona in every way. 

Navigating through this bombshell and trying to keep her life in one piece, Carter tries to be a normal teenager while still wondering where her abductor mother is. I'm very excited for what's to come this summer for Finding Carter! Catch it Tuesdays at 10/9c on MTV.