Hit/Miss: Holiday Hijinks on Passions

Soap Opera Weekly, January 25, 2005

Passions packed a lot into its holiday episodes, but some of it was a gift fans may wish they could return.

On the bright side, Eve and Julian’s Rodeo Drive romp was a little gem. The remote rewarded “Evian’s” long-suffering fans. Ben Masters and Tracey Ross beautifully showcased the romantic yet spicy chemistry between their characters as they wandered among the million-dollar trinkets. Ross, in particular, dazzled as she modeled Eve’s gifts from Julian. Passions deserves kudos for spending precious cash on a location shoot for a couple old enough to actually drink. And vote!

Unfortunately, there was also a cheesy, contrived conflict going on back in Harmony, when it was suddenly revealed that Sheridan lighting the town tree with her mother had been a “long-standing tradition” – one the community carried on by having a new resident flip the switch with her mom. Huh? The show rewrote history to create a tradition that had never been referenced in the show’s five previous Christmas holidays. Paloma was picked to light the tree, so clearly the event was manufactured so that she would cause a commotion by choosing her de facto mom, “Mrs. Wheeler,” over Pilar.

So, in fact, viewers were treated to a fabulous shopping spree and then tricked when the show’s history was dismissed in the same episode. Santa giveth – and Santa taketh away. – RS