I was never much of a Dynasty or Dallas watcher, but I do know that each show had more then their share of powerful, self-centered – and sometimes plain evil – characters. And struggling against all that badness were the “good” characters trying to survive in the backstabbing worlds they inhabited. Dynasty had Krystal and Blake Carrington and Dallas had Bobby and Pam. To my mind they’re what keep the viewers coming back. Love or hate the bad guys, you still need something or someone to root for. Which brings me to Ms. Bird’s latest. There’s almost no rooting value here. Nobody acts heroically, and any inherent goodness we’re told the hero and heroine have is lost in the immature and selfish choices they make.

Callie Burke is an art conservationist in need of a job. The only offer she has is from billionaire Jack Walker, and though he offers to put her up in his mansion and pay her fabulous money, she hesitates to take the job. You see she’s wildly attracted to him, attracted like she’s never been before (part of why she’s still a virgin!) but he reminds her of her wealthy, cheating father. Callie’s mother was the longtime mistress of a wealthy man and Callie spent her entire life knowing she and her mother were second best to her father’s “real” family. Now both of her parents are deceased, but Callie still has major issues.

Callie’s baggage aside, Jack’s not exactly the most available bachelor in the world. He’s a hard-charging venture capitalist who has his own issues with his parents. When introduced, Jack’s having an erotic dream about a mysterious redhead while he’s in bed with his fiancée. The redhead is Callie and he hires her at the urging of his friend Grace (An Unforgettable Lady). No sooner does Jack have Callie installed in his Boston home then the two are lusting after each other and trying – though not very hard – to keep their hands off one another.

So we have engaged Jack macking on a woman in his employ and Callie returning the interest – and then some – of the engaged man who’s also her boss. I get that attraction is pretty much an involuntary response, but acting on that attraction is not. And though the initial obstacle to this relationship was a bit off-putting, I was still on the fence. Jack and Callie are trying (though not very well) to act honorably. The problem is that their behavior continues to be immature even as new situations arise. Perhaps it could be called realism to have both wrapped up in what they each want, but it isn’t very heroic. Added to that is the fact that Jack treats his mother like crap, and I’ll admit she sort of deserves it, and Callie can’t seem to grow up. I realized I just didn’t like these people and I didn’t believe in them as a couple either.

Now to bring this back to those nighttime soaps. Another facet of the popularity of Krystal and Blake and Pam and Bobby was that the viewer knew no matter what separated them or challenged them they’d find their way back to each other. Jack and Callie may be together at book’s end, whether they’d still be together five years later didn’t seem possible.

If you’re wondering what kept this from a straight pan was the fact that these people were drawn pretty well, unlikable as they were. Oh, and I liked the dog.