It is one of
the many failings of Y&R that they simply cannot portray a realistic
child. Noah Newman is a perfect example.
Noah exists solely for one purpose: to further the plot in Nick and
Sharon's storyline. He is a catalyst rather than a character. For this
reason, at any given moment, his behavior reflects children of varying
ages. Sometimes he seems to be about four or five years old, sometimes
he's 12.
Last week, Sharon arrived at Newman Enterprises with Noah in tow. Noah
broke away from Sharon's grasp to race through the corridors, desperately
looking for his daddy. Upon finding Nicholas, Noah was seen to throw
himself at the man's legs and grasp for dear life. A viewer new to this
program might well assume the poor child had either not seen his father in
years and feared never seeing him again, or else that the child was under
the impression that Nicholas was about to die.
In fact, neither was the case. The writers, in their ham-fisted way, as
subtle as a ton of bricks, were emphasizing the torn decision that faced
Sharon - should she divorce her husband, and thus deprive Noah of the
family so important to him? See how important Nicholas is to Noah?
Whatever should Sharon do?
Moments later Noah was stationed in the break room, replete with portable
DVD player and movies to watch, about to be left to his own devices. As
Nicholas turned to exit the room, Noah cried out in anguish "You're coming
back aren't you?!" for all the world as though Noah had every reason to
believe his father was on the brink of abandoning him forever, at any
given moment, leaving him to live out the rest of his life alone, in the
Newman Suites coffee room.
Later still, as Nicholas and Sharon tried once again to hash out their
issues for the umpteenth time, Noah was heard to be screaming in distress
for his father yet again. This time, it seemed, the child had suffered a
nightmare, and upon waking was given to hollering for his daddy as though
he were three years old. Again, the point of this scene was to illustrate
the close bond the son and father shared.
Surely I'm not alone in cringing at these scenes. They would almost be
humorous if they weren't so very pathetic. From his appearance Noah would
seem to be approximately nine years old. I shudder to think of the
humiliation this young actor would suffer at the hands of his peers should
they be watching this program and witnessing his babyish behavior.
Ironically, a few days later, after Sharon had decided to admit Nicholas
back into the marital bed, Noah came rushing into the room and at once
deduced that his parents had resumed sexual relations, much to his delight
and relief. I give up - how old is this kid supposed to be? So young he
clings to his father like the skin of a peach, or mature enough to
understand that mother and father sharing a bed means something a little
bit more than nap time?
