Soap Opera Uncensored — Issue 17 Read online

SOAP SALE

  AMC, ONE LIFE Wardrobe Available For Purchase!

  Wanna sport Ryan Lavery's G-string? Or adorn Tea's fierce business suits? Well, if you do, starting on Friday, February 24, It's A Wrap! Production Wardrobe Sales will be hosting the sale of items from the clothing departments of the canceled ABC soaps at both their Burbank and Beverly Hills, CA, stores and on www.itsawrap.com. The first celebrity host will be AMC's Rebecca Budig. Fans of the daytime dramas and fashion hunters alike will be able to purchase clothing and accessories by top designers like Calvin Klein, Prada, Chloe and Georgio Armani, and the racks will feature pieces worn by the men, women and children of AMC and ONE LIFE. Um, shouldn't Prospect Park be first in line to buy these clothes since they are "trying" to save these shows

  COVER STORY

  SEXIEST COUPLE ALIVE 2012:

  Y&R's Sharon Case and Michael Muhney

  "And in that moment, everything I knew to be true about myself up until then was gone. I was acting like another woman, yet I was more myself than ever before."

  -Meryl Streep in Bridges of Madison County

  "This kind of certainty comes but once in a lifetime."

  -Clint Eastwood in Bridges of Madison County

  They're controversial. They're intense. They're sexy as all hell.

  And I'll probably be shot dead for naming Shadam Sexiest Couple Alive. But whatevs.

  Whether you like them or hate them, whenever Sharon and Adam Newman are in each other orbits, no one can deny they're explosive.

  Add the fact that Adam and Sharon are one of the few couples on daytime actually having passionate sex on our screens, and this irreverent choice just makes all the more sense.

  But not everyone's happy with this honour being given to one of the most polarizing couples in Y&R history.

  Their perplexed co-star Joshua Morrow (Sexiest Dude Alive 2007) tells UNCENSORED: "Sexiest couple alive huh? Well Sharon Case could couple with a mannequin from Walmart and make it hot....so Michael Muhney should get down on his knees and thank sweet baby Jesus that he got partnered up with a dime piece like Sharon Case."

  Muhney and Case are in esteemed company, too. Previous Sexiest Couples Alive honorees include AS THE WORLD TURNS' Austin Peck and Terri Conn, GUIDING LIGHT's Crystal Chappell and Jessica Leccia, and VENICE's Chappell and Leccia; THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL's Katherine Kelly Lang and Adam Gregory.

  Below we spoke to the talented and sexy duo about their risky pairing and what makes Sharon and Adam tick.

  Y&R ratings took a scary dive when Adam and Sharon were kept apart for six months last year. Since Shadam's hot and heavy again, they're dramatically on the rise. Coinkydink? We don't think so.

  Sharon Case: I am thrilled about the numbers. In fact, I am reveling in them. [Laughs] But I would never be so presumptuous to think it was all us!

  Is Shadam sexy?

  Case: They're super sexy!

  Michael Muhney: If you're a watercooler couple like Shadam, it's a good thing because daytime needs all the buzz it can get. Sharon and Adam create buzz. There are two schools that fight each other like that epic battle scene in BRAVEHEART. No one wants to budge. Our chemistry and electricity is what makes really good TV.

  Case: A side of Sharon that we never see comes out when she's with Adam. And maybe that's a good thing because she needs to find out who she really is. When she's with Adam, she breaks out of her shell. The love she feels for Adam is coming from that real place within herself. It's a real, true love.

  I like the fact that Sharon and Adam make love and have sex like real adults.

  Muhney: That's a good point. Yes, they have emotional love that makes them better people. They share a connection and they're like-minded in many ways. Sharon makes Adam want to be a better person, and Sharon inspires Adam and reminds him of his mother, Hope. Adam encourages Sharon to become stronger - and she's a stronger personality when she's around him. And when they have sex, you see that primal connection between them. Before we film these physical scenes, Sharon and I discuss in detail how we're going to shoot them. When they're having sex, they become one and give each other pleasure. If there are fireworks in the bedroom, you hear Madonna's theme song in your head, "Like A Virgin" on a loop: Touched for the very first time. When Shadam's together, their pasts are erased in that moment and everything is happening for the first time.

  Sharon, what I like about Adam is that he's not a sexual player. He doesn't date or even want a sexual or romantic relationship with any one other than Sharon. He's pretty loyal. After Nick's countless infidelities, how sexy is that to Sharon?

  Case: That's a great point. He's not obsessed with sex. He's not running around and cheating on Sharon like Nick did constantly. That does make a man sexier - when they don't let sex control them. When Shadam do have sex, it means more. Sharon's very fragile because of Nick's constant cheating and back-and-forth with Phyllis. Also, when Sharon was with Nick it was always so stressful because Nikki disapproved of Sharon. In those confines, Sharon was a Stepford Wife. Instead of being herself in that world, she allowed that world to define her identity. But now, especially with Adam, Sharon is living her authentic life - and Adam fits into that life naturally.

  I like that when Sharon and Adam are in a scene together, no one else matters. Other than Adam's hair of course!

  Case: [Laughs] Adam's hair is very, very sexy! It's a bonus!

  Muhney: [Laughs]

  I also like to joke that Adam's equipment makes Sharon feel like a virgin all over again given her storied sexual life!

  Case: [Laughs] Yeah!

  Muhney: Touched for the very first time....

  Do you think Shadam will ever live down the baby switch? Sharon and Adam didn't know each other back then, and it's not like Adam physically harmed her or raped her. Other romantic characters like Paul (who raped his wife, Christine) or Phyllis (who murdered someone) always seem to get a free pass for their behaviors. And Nick cheated on Sharon while she was grieving her daughter's death!

  Case: Sharon's basically forgiven Adam about the baby switch. She's not carrying-on about that anymore. You're right - he never harmed anyone physically in the baby switch. When Adam switched the babies, he wasn't trying to hurt Sharon because he didn't even know her. He was trying to help Ashley. Phyllis actually killed someone in the chemistry lab she blew up. And she ran down Paul. A lot of our characters have done far worse than Adam, so yes, it's funny how the audience refuses to forgive Adam for his actions. Maybe that's because there is a lot of attention on Michael. He's an amazing actor and Adam's an amazing character. Adam always captures people's attentions - whether they like him or not. And that's a really good thing for our show. We need that buzz - and Adam provides it.

  Muhney: I take it as a compliment. What that means is that a huge amount attention is being paid to Adam. For example, when Adam walks into a room, everything he does, from the way he walks to what he says, his inflection, somehow means more than anyone or anything else in the room collectively. These other folks can kidnap, murder and lie?. Listen, every single contract Y&R actor deserves to be behind bars, with the exception of Traci and Esther.

  Case: [Laughs]

  Muhney: Even Katherine Chancellor should be incarcerated! Everyone on our show should be thrown in jail for 80 years, so for the sake of story, let's even out the playing field. If Adam needs to pay for his crimes, then everyone else does, too.

  Well, if every one in Genoa City paid for their crimes, and I can assure you Adam would be the first one out of jail. I mean, Nikki's killed three people!

  Muhney: Yes. But you can't have a functioning show if everyone is in jail. Truth be told, you have to have a town whipping boy - and Adam's that guy. He takes a lot of flack for a lot of things, but as an actor, I see that as a huge opportunity because Adam is a catalytic character who has a lot of story, mileage and potential for growth.

  But to answer your question: Will they ever live it down? I don't know. It's up to the writers. I think
once the town peanut gallery stops shouting from the rooftops that Adam is the most hated man in the world, then maybe the audience will simmer down, too.

  I buy how Adam and Sharon test each other because I think their love scares them since they have been abandoned a lot.

  Case: Yeah, you make a good point. Nick was her first love but she was treated so horribly. With Adam, her first real love in her adult life, she is testing him because she has been hurt in the past. You don't ever want to go back to that dark place. How much does Adam really love me? Will he still love her during the bad times? There's a lot of love between Shadam, but there is some fear, too.

  I hope Shadam never become too happy or fall into that traditional model of soap couples. They should always be one step closer to being together or one step further away from never seeing each other again.

  Case: They're very passionate. When you deeply, passionately love someone, you also fight a lot. They have an exciting relationship, for sure, and those can work out, too.

  I love how when a crisis arose - Patty throwing toxic plant food in Adam's eyes - all of Shadam's problems disappeared and Sharon helped Adam instinctually. It was also sweet to hear and admit Adam say he was scared. I don't think I've ever heard him say he's scared before. Are they going