I had quit railing at the soap gods and achieved a resigned state of zen over OLTL’s Ford invasion — my Nov. 5 post highlighted that — but, this week, when Bobby was revealed to have a connection to Joey’s fiancée Aubrey, my ire returned in full force. Is it too much to ask to have one or two stories on OLTL that don’t involve the Fords? Please?

One of the arguments for jettisoning Kyle and Fish earlier this year was that they weren’t tied to core families. Well, the Fords aren’t a core family, are they? And having them on five days a week will not magically Make It So. They’re all still newbies! And when you tell me that newbie Bobby and newbie Aubrey have a past…why am I supposed to care? Reconciling that Joey has returned with a globe-trotting girlfriend he met five seconds ago is tough enough. He’s always been earnest, but this level of naiveté is pretty hard to take! And Kelly scrambling to cover her tracks with him and Aubrey has been pretty excruciating. Poor gal! The story didn’t need the added complication of Bobby knowing Aubrey…especially as he is still very present in the teen story, with Langston, the Jessica baby daddy quagmire, and, of course, his own family’s front burner drama. Why shoehorn Bobby into another plot? Joey’s return arc doesn’t need a “Ford Seal of Approval.” Joey is a legacy character, for crying out loud! I guess I should count myself lucky that they haven’t found a way to involve a Ford with Echo, Charlie and Viki…yet.

Look, I get it. The Fords are not going anywhere. Every SOAPnet promo about the show features them. The boys are dating three young female leads, the parents are tormenting Bo and Nora. It’s a done deal. But does that mean they have to be involved in every aspect of the show? I’ve been watching OLTL since Megan was starring on FRATERNITY ROW, and I don’t know that I’ve seen a brand-new family eat up airtime like this since the Rappaports and the Santis! And we all know how those stories went…

originally posted at soapoperaweekly.com