will81

How odd. Janice was in the musical Applause prior to Y&R and did other musical theatre. I have spoken to her about this on the FB group. She also sings briefly in the first episode "The Look of Love". She has stated she performed a song almost once a week in the first couple of years, but I guess it was instrumental. Maybe she felt a bit rusty by Feb 75 and wanted to brush up. One of the reasons I dislike Y&R once John F. Smith returned and began taking over. I think this was also the time that Ashley was cancer ridden and Olivia and Brad were having an affair. Within about six months of this we got Kay and Jill as mother/daughter and Sharon making a move on Victor which was the beginning of the end of her. I totally blame Jack Smith for all of this, he came back as co-headwriter in June 2002 and all this began happening in late 2002 and into 2003. I am sure Kay Alden without Bill Bell (whom I believe was too ill) and Ed Scott (who had left the show, though would return in a supervising capacity later) was being pushed aside. Jack Smith became co-exec producer in 2003 then David Shaugnessy was gone, Bell's Senior Exec title was stripped and he and Smith were sharing the Exec Producer title by Jan 2004. I doubt Bell had much to do with the show by 2002, which explains why Y&R and B&B fell from grace around that time.

Nice, yeah she seems like a nice person and someone who would be great to sit and have a chat with. I am amazed she can keep all the details of all the shows in her head and respond so effortlessly to questions, even if they were possibly given to her ahead of time.

@amybrickwallace Thanks for that video. Lynda is great, but I am shocked she was still watching all the shows pretty much by herself. I have never been able to figure out if her recaps are straight Mon - Fri. Pretty sure up to 1984 they were not, which is why I gave two different possible dates for her soap recaps on the blog. I also tried contacting her to see if she had any daily soap notes and synopsis in her archives that she would be willing to share, but never heard back. Not that I expected a response

It is interesting to read JMR in Daily TV Serials. He does seem to be one of the first to really take the medium seriously, but yes, as you say with a bit of bite. Though I feel his scarcasm developed more over the course of the column and wasn't as present in the magazine. His attitude is part journalist, part fan. Lynda is pretty similar to her Soap Bubble Magazine days (the few issues I have read). I also wish Bryna Laub had started a syndicated column when DSN folded in 1978. It is amazing how many soap mags popped up in the 70's and how many collapsed by the end of the decade. I really wish we hadn't lost JMR. It would have been great to read his thoughts on 90's (and beyond) soaps, especially JER's DOOL and Passions. Nancy M. Reichardt is great but seems all business, which is fine, but I kinda miss JMR's more invested tone. He is both adoring and frustrated by soaps, which is what we all often are with our shows.

He was credited right up to late May 1986 and Nancy M. Reichardt took over the next week.

Lynda hirsch's column from Jan 84 also lists Arlen Dean Snyder as starting in the role soon.

@j swift Thanks for the heads up. Not sure what happened there, but I have broken up the long column into parts and it is clear now. Same with the Days in New Orleans column

@YRfan23 Thank you so much for this. You have given us practically all of 1991. I think we have over 200 episodes from that year. So awesome

It happens in late 1986 and there are not enough end credits unfortunately. I have been wondering myself when the change happened. Kenney is still credited in Sep 86 but Bell is the sole EP by Dec 19, 1986. So sometime between there I guess. In terms of when Bell became Senior Exec Prod and Ed Scott EP, again not enough end credits to know. Probably is by Oct/Nov 87. ETA: All the papers report Kenney's departure in Nov/Dec 1986 and it is mentioned Kenney is taking over GH by Jan 87. ETA: Doug Davidson mentions in a May 87 interview that Ed Scott is running things (but using the Kenney model) Bell checks in from B&B on occassion. By October 87 Ed Scott is being referred to as a line producer, replacing Kenney (in an interview with MTS)

Hey so glad you created this thread @j swift I have gone back to school this week. So it may be a bit slow while I readjust, but will be getting July up in the next few hours.

@Franko Thanks for that. I kept meaning to go around to all the soap threads and tell everyone about it. @titan1978 I have collected all the Jon Michael Reed and Lynda Hirsch columns and recaps. I started with 1982 but the main goal was to pick up from Mar 83 where the other blog of soap recaps had stopped. I do have access to JMR's and LH's columns and recaps from when they both started in 1976 onwards, and will get to that eventually.

Y&R under Bell was rigid with line readings though. From small bits I have picked up from actors, Bell was demanding when it came to performing the script as written, in terms of lines. So I understand why they were needed on Y&R. I am convinced if someone said "well my dear" instead of "So my dear" Bell would have asked why the change occurred. I cut some slack to Jeanne due to her addiction probably effecting her memory. Plus as you get older it gets harder In terms of the Y&R set - Bill Bell was very much Irna Phillips protege. I have no doubt despite the respect he commanded there was also a lot of fear as well. His one concern was the show and nothing more. Though he was loathe to replace actors, I get the feeling he saw them as his little puppets to do what he needed (hence his refusal to allow line changes) though I do believe he gave actors freedom of interpretation (to a certain extent). Brenda ran amok only until Bell moved to LA and got more control of the show. Within six or so months of his move, she got the chop, which probably cost the show a fair price since she most likely got fired while still within her contract period. I am sure everyone on the show got that message loud and clear. Eric and Peter were also threatened with the chop too after their bust up and quickly fell into line. Now I doubt any producers or writers have that much power and control. They have favourites and actors they are too afraid to lose. Creates a very different environment.

I partly agree. I don't think Bell gave Jill (with Brenda) enough chance to vent John's poor treatment of her during their marriage. If you were married and your husband was stepping out with his ex, assumed you purposely caused a miscarriage and spent months deciding if he even wanted to stay married to you, how would that make you feel? He rarely seemed to back her up or support her and saw her insecurities about Dina (who with Kay was actively working to ruin Jill's marriage) as childish Bell should have made more of this. Jill does say she felt like a trophy wife and undervalued and it was motivating her drive to take him to the cleaners, but this was one scene once. John wasn't the greatest husband and Jill went into survival mode as a result. Her diva act would have made more sense and John would not have seemed like such an innocent fool.

@FrenchFan Thank you so much. Great effort and much appreciated. I do hope you tallied up the appearances and ignored my totals. As while I have the appearances correct, as you can see from previous posts I have been adding them up poorly, haha.

Lol, okay that was bad. I actually double checked to make sure he was in those episodes I marked him down in and he was. So he has 4 as noted, not the 1 in the total. My eyes must have been really off that day. Thanks again

@YRfan23 Thank you so much for these. We have been spoiled with uploads, it's great @j swift Yeah that is very interesting. I wonder what the demos were back then. In 1994 Y&R was often #1 in the crucial 18-49 demo and this was prior to Nick/Sharon etc coming in (which makes me wonder even more why they felt the need to do this) Arguably the cast was about the same age range in 93/94 as they were in 83/84, techinically the show skewed a bit older as we had characters still there ten years later. Yet they were either #1, #2 or #3 in that demographic and #1 overall. Oddly enough, though I am uploading this stuff, I rarely get enough time to read through it. I might just leave it as is so I can get it re-uploaded. Thanks again

Thanks for that. My eyes must have fallen to the line below or moved above and counted the wrong line. I have fixed it up and I will re-upload. So the totals were incorrect and I + 1 those three and moved them accordingly. I colour each square as I am watching so I know that is correct, it is just counting them can get tricky when there are so many all together and my eye loses track. Thanks again for letting me know ETA: Before I re-upload. What would people prefer. Add the sub player to the contract cast and total the appearances together or keep them separate. i.e should I add Brett Porter and Terry Lester together and place Jack at the top with 17. Or keep them split? I added Brenda and Deborah together for the Nov 86 eps but wasn't sure what people prefer or if there is a preference.

I know it sounds a bit odd, but watching that scene, they seem to show everything but his face, except a brief and darkly lit side shot that is a split second. I could be wrong though. Yeah I can't imagine Parros would be left out like that. Leo was always shown, even if his appearances were brief

@yrfan1983 I am just finishing up the cast charts. You mentioned Peter Parros might be in the Sep 2, 1987 ep. How convinced are you? The guy looks like he has a beard and you barely he see his face, which makes me think he was a sub and they didn't want to confuse people so they basically had most shots of his back. Leo always got a face shot whenever he was around and I am convinced they would have cut to Leo talking to Phillip if it was Parros. Dec 24, 1987 must be his last appearance. Though this guys face looks more square and thinner, I guess Parros, whose face seemed rounder to me, could have been working out. Looks too much like him in every other way. Reminds of Brenda D's face change. If you told me she had a twin that took over around 86 or 87, I'd believe it ETA: I have put the cast charts up. I decided it wasn't Parros in the Sep 2 ep (though you really can't see the guys face, so who knows) I did put him in the Dec 24 ep. The whole year is there now. I will do Jan 88 when I get the chance. Also for those following the blog, I have added Oct and Nov and will be doing Dec 83 and Jan 84. Doing two months at a time to catch up a bit. Will go back to one month a day again soon

Lol, I thought so. Thanks for confirming

Does anyone else notice Y&R and B&B had a similar trajectory. Classic until about 94ish or 95 Okay until 02/03 Watchable but not great until 05ish. Although we never discuss it, I think Bell's illness started hitting him in the mid 90's. I think B&B following a similar path confirms my hunch that Bell was very much involved in B&B even after he stepped down in 1993. 2002 was definitely the turning point for both soaps and I wonder if Bell was just too sick by that point that he had little to no input. The fact Bell's Y&R Senior Exec title was stripped from him before his death says a lot. As for the show. For me it was the destruction of Brooke. Bell spent years highlighting the fact that despite Brooke's faults, she was a good mother. Even Stephanie said it multiple times. Then the affair with Deacon just threw all that away. It wasn't just the story, it was the trashy nature of it all as well. She was now the whore of the valley. Though the character was never the same to me when she hooked up with Thorne. Hated that, degraded Brooke's entire character arc of feeling she was meant for Ridge, even when she was with Eric she never talked of him the way she did Ridge, and she even cheated on Eric with Ridge. Suddenly now Thorne is the love of her life and the only man she was meant for. They should have either had Brooke marry Ridge and Taylor marry Thorne and kept Thomas' paternity a secret (to come out at a much later date) or moved her on. To me, Ridge and Taylor were so boring. Brooke caused trouble and made things exciting. Imagine her spending years worrying about Ridge finding out Thomas was his son, and the fireworks when it finally came out. I also gotta say at the time I cared little for Macy's dad and sister (Kimberley????) the blonde who was infatuated with Rick. Also thought Taylor and the hypnotist were boring too, I barely remember it to be honest. 1999 was when I started dipping in and out. Then there was Susan Flannery. She gave up at some point. She left that show emotionally long before she did physically. A poorly written Brooke and Susan not caring and Ridge and Taylor married made me tune out fairly often. Not related but I had this strange memory of the show. Does anyone else remember when Sheila got out of jail or the mental institution and was living in that house and everyone kept turning up at her door to tell her to stay away from them, haha. Don't know why it popped in my head. Must have been 95 or 96. SHEILA: Stephanie, what are you doing here? STEPHANIE: I came here to tell you to stay away from me and my family SHEILA: I haven't even left the house STEPHANIE: And I will see to it you never will

There is actually data that shows the number of women entering the workforce dipped slightly at certain points in the 90's and early 00's. Not drastically, but there was a decline at certan points. Many women chose to stay home, more likely because the US economy under Clinton was more stable. Cable tv subscriptions started dropping for a period after the OJ Simpson trial as well. In fact the 93/94 period when soaps had regained audience, cable tv subscriptions were peaking. Also many soaps (including DOOL) saw increases after the trial, though they didn't recapture all of their previous 1993/94 audience numbers, they should have been able to maintain what was left. Y&R managed to pull itself back up slightly in 95/96. Then from 1996 onwards almost nothing but sagging ratings for all soaps, and as the new millennium approached ratings began to tank. You can only blame external factors so much before you have to take a long hard look at your show. Whenever there has been a jump the shark style thread, I notice many point to the late 90's as a poor period of their fave show, even if they feel there was a rebounding of some sort later on.

Just to add to this. When Jessica and Jill are having lunch in the Feb 10 (Feb 3) episode, they mention Cricket's birthday and Jessica says "Yes it's less than two weeks away, the 15th" I doubt she would say this if it was the 10th unless as you say there were pre-emptions, which I know there were not Also thankyou for the more clips and eps from anon angel. Much appreciated

In terms of cast charts I have completed 1987 and just need to do a few bits of cleaning up. Unfortunately we don't have many end credits from Aug - Dec 1987. In fact there is only one cast list for that time and it is from the Nov 25 ep. This means I have no idea when Michael Corbett, Kate Linder or Quinn Redeker moved to contract status and I had to guess. For Michael I moved him after two 13 week cycles from his first 1987 appearance in Feb, so he moves on in Aug. For Quinn and Kate I chose October. Pretty sure they both went on the week of Sep 28 - Oct 2, just a strong hunch. I assume Kate is permanently on contract. At least she is still there in Sep 1988. Catherine McNeal (Janet#2) was also on contract but I don't think Maureen McConnell ever was. The change over occurred Oct 7 Frank Bernard and Barbara Crampton I assume were on contract from their first appearances. It is obvious Beth Maitland and Scott Palmer were also on contract when they returned, since they both appeared Nov 24, 1987 and the cast list is from the next episode. The only other major change was the departure of Sally Sussman. She was in the Nov 25 credits but not the Dec 11 credits. So she left the show sometime between there. Since there were barely any credits I didn't bother doing any writer director lists from Aug onwards. This also means the only non-contract players listed are those I know. Also I will do January 1988 since we have those episodes and that will complete everything I also have done the top 10 appearance counts for 1987 as follows Thom Bierdz (Phillip Chancellor III) 156 Eileen Davidson (Ashley Abbott) 156 Eric Braeden (Victor Newman) 148 Lauralee Bell (Cricket Blair) 146 Jeanne Cooper (Katherine Chancellor) 142 Melody Thomas-Scott (Nikki Reed Newman) 142 Terry Lester (Jack Abbott) 131 Tracey E. Bregman (Lauren Fenmore) 122 Tricia Cast (Nina Webster) 118 Don Diamont (Brad Carlton) 114 Even with Brett Porter's 9 appearances as Jack, Terry would not have moved. I also did Brenda and Jess' totals 73 for Jess and 67 for Brenda making 140. However I believe if Brenda had stayed she would have scored higher, but probs not too much more. I didn't realise Lauralee was already besting Terry Lester in 1987. So I am very curious now about 88 and 89. The second half of 87 or the 87/88 season, was definitely dominated by the Cricket/Phillip/Nina/Danny quad. Jill has become more of a supporting character to that story and has little else but the Rex and Skip stories holding her up. It is interesting how Brenda seemed like a star player and Jess seems more an ensemble, but I guess Bell was adjusting to the recast? Not sure. Again if we ever get full runs from 88 onwards, would be interesting to see.

@ltm1997 @Bundy1965 Thanks, glad you are enjoying them. I will be able to post again either tonight or tomorrow. So new stuff coming very soon