DramatistDreamer

P&G is a business. P&G was never about artistic integrity. They just happened to have had the grit and tenacity of Irna Phillips building these shows and attracting considerable talent over decades. Marland was winning Emmys for a show that had been a permanent underdog in the preceding years. They had no interest in the physical or mental health of their headwriters or their talent. They simply wanted to keep the machine churning. Giving talented headwriters or actors time off was not generally part of the plan, it's one of the reasons why so many young popular actors left at the height of their characters' success. When ATWT/P&G found the person who they believed wielded the 'Golden Pen', I doubt they were ever going to rotate him out. They'd rather let him drop dead of exhaustion first. Anyone who has ever worked in television knows this. It is a grim reality of the business, especially network television, especially a long running show that ran very much like a machine. A man in his early 50's who had worked as a writer in daytime and had become used to the security was unlikely to make waves at that point and stay put rather than try to strike out in an uncertain creative landscape. Perhaps had Marland kept one foot in the theater, he might have been able to segue in that direction with some confidence that it would work out if he made the leap. But yeah, if you think that P&G cared that much about Marland or any of their headwriters, you definitely don't know the business of television. After all, Irna Phillips didn't toss herself out of the company and she created those shows! If you had watched the grim, morbid storylines that Marland had written in his final years with a writer's discernment, you'd realize that this was the work of a man who likely knew he was not going to go on for much longer that way.

It was my theory and my contention that Marland was likely burned out and needed some time off and also likely a co-headwriter. If the actors talked about the exhausting pace of playing out those scripts, think about how much went into conceiving and writing those scripts, making tweaks and changes on the fly. I wouldn't be surprised if going at the pace, almost non-stop for consecutive years led to his deteriorating health.

Speaking of the Defund talking point, Meghan tried it with Sen. Harris and well, suffice it to say, she should've known better. Sunni had to step in to save her.

Double entendre aside, if it were a choice between her and M.O. on the show, I'd dump M.O. for V.B. in a heartbeat.

Vail Bloom was such an intriguing actress in appearance and sound. Too bad she was wasted on the show (take that any way you please). She could have easily fit the role of a vixen or a heroine or a vixen turned heroine or vice versa. She could have become a P.I. working alongside her father using her brains, guts and wiles to help solve cases. There were many ways that her character could've gone if the writing had been there. I got the sense that the writers never really knew what to do with the character, regardless of who was playing her.

@BetterForgotten And his portrayer seems like he's trying to worm his way back into the daytime universe. I have noticed that his scheduled appearance on The Locher Room was postponed. Too bad it is only temporary.

I loved that scene that took place in Lucinda's living room, it was quite spicy! When Craig starts to walk away, then Lucinda has to take one final jab which send him right back into her living to curse her out, LOL. Sierra watching the entire thing and then breaking down after Craig leaves and confessing that she still loves him and had to hurt his feelings to keep him out of her life to protect him from Tonio. Then Lily, who enters and guesses what's been going on and tries to encourage Sierra to go after Craig, only to be met by the dead-eyed expression of Sierra who basically reminds Lily that she's a married woman. Then Lucinda chides Lily for what she perceives as Lily's immaturity, only for Lily to verbally jab Lucinda and storm out. There was a lot going on in that scene! It's sad how soaps no longer have this much action going on in a scene unless characters are physically fighting.

Soaps don't know how to write for characters independently of being tied to another character, and it is especially rare for women characters to be introduced or sustained without being tied to a man. It's really sad and I think that was what happened to Juliet, they never tried to extricate her from Cane. You can't sustain a character as solely an appendage to another character.

Al Freeman is one of what, three black actors who've won a Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Actor in A Leading Role? CBS has never had a Black actor who has won an award in this category? The whole entire network! Why are they not embarrassed about this? Wasn't the first black actor to appear on a televised daytime soap on CBS??

Andy (to Lien): Are you okay...did he hurt you? Lien: (too busy choking to answer)...

Black people tried to "go high" and take a knee in silent protest until y'all put your knees on our necks.

From what I've seen, it seems as if Moon had previously been a sort of the "go-to" Asian stock character in the P&G universe, having made appearances on at least two P&G soaps prior to Y&R. His role on Guiding Light seemed to be a complete stereotype and he was on As The World Turns for seemingly a short time before another actor, Russell Wong, stepped into the role.

Just saw the episode where Traci and Brad get re-married and enjoyed it. MTS was earnest in her portrayal of a woman struggling and you could see the degrees of PB's Jack becoming more and more exasperated and Nikki's belligerence when Jack orders her to go home. Today's Y&R would have made Nikki a stumbling, bumbling fool absorbing all the attention. And the frosty undercurrent between Traci and Ashley, with Jill trying to suss out Dina's intentions toward John. All this subtext of personal intrigue and slights just under the surface of polite idle chatter, which is something that Y&R used to do quite well.

People forget that E.R. existed. It's a shame that there were hardly any South Asian characters, particularly on one hour dramas in the wake of that show but my guess is that there was no will behind the scenes to see South Asians as more than stereotypes. By the way, that's not just true of South Asians but of most immigrant groups of color on U.S. television and movies, including Black immigrants. It's pretty darn pathetic. Like I said, probably one of the many reasons, soaps have failed to grow their viewing audience over decades. To be honest, that could be a good reason for the drop off of viewers in primetime broadcast television as well. Why waste time with The Last Man Standing when you can go to Netflix and watch Narcos, House of Flowers, Kim's Convenience or watch sexy Dev Patel on Amazon Video or Korean dramas on Hulu? There's a whole diverse world out there and U.S. T.V. is pretty much missing it.

So did I! I thought that Shenaz Treasurywala would've been perfect to play an older sister. I had her whole entrance story set in my mind. It's too bad they gave up so easily. I know some people found Ravi boring but how many boring characters have the show allowed to remain on canvas for several years before dumping them? I honestly think that with the addition of even one sibling would've brightened Ravi's prospects storywise and created a lot more complexity for the characters around him, even Ashley. I saw the Nia Long appreciation tweets earlier. I don't know how it got started but I think it's cool.

On at least one occasion she played doubles with Gimelstob. I don't know about the Bryan brothers. Gimelstob is boorish and thuggish but I don't know where he stands in terms of race. He has partnered with Chanda, Venus and Alexandra Stevenson. Not that this means he can't be racist but I've never heard him saying racist things, virulently sexist yes.

Rubin also seemed to suggest that an ATP player had done the same.

That part! There was a study done about 5 or 6 years ago that illustrated that television entertainment like movies and television show (as well as companies) that were diverse, tended to make more money at the box office, had higher ratings and were more successful in general. Could there be a correlation to soaps in terms of the lack of diversity, in front of and especially behind the cameras? I think so. Even as ratings fell, soaps held onto their ways of doing things, even though those ways had become largely anachronistic.

Okay, I just got a chance to see the Cooper reunion and it was fun (I wished Justin's mic's volume was up higher), the conversation moved at a good clip and it seemed like everyone said what they wanted to say. I did miss Jean Carol's presence though. It was nice to hear that Melina and Frank still keep in touch, their story didn't always service their characters but they had genuine onscreen chemistry.

Or someone else, because the burden shouldn't only be on her but yes, that I would like to see! Ellen Holly, Tonya Pinkins, Tonya Lee Williams, Eddie Earl Hatch, Stephanie E. Williams and so many others would have loads of insight I'd bet!

It wouldn't surprise me if the way the show treated her in her last years left a bad taste in her mouth. She's done livestreams with other organizations and panels over the past two months or so, she doesn't seem to have an issue with the platform. Nothing would surprise me. Daytime doesn't have that great of a track record with black actors.

I noticed that someone in the chat asked Alan why he hasn't had any black actors on yet. I wonder if Alan is afraid of what some might say. Which is why yesterday, I posted that he should seek to get Tamara Tunie on sooner rather than later as it's becoming quite noticeable.

One thing that has become really clear to me as I re-view some of these classic episodes of various soaps: there is a world of difference in levels of autonomy between a headwriter who is also the creator of his and her own show and a headwriter who is the latest in a line of headwriters that came before him or her. Even with a headwriter who is particularly talented and excellent, he or she might have a bit more leeway but there are still definite limits and most will have a mandate when entering the writer's room.