Broderick

1 hour ago, kalbir said:

Would you say that the 1970s were the peak of soaps in terms of impact to the genre and the 1980s were the peak of soaps in terms of impact in pop culture?

Many of us feel that soaps never really recovered from the aftermath of OJ but could the decline have started nearly a decade earlier w/ Summer 1987 Iran-Contra pre-emptions and 1988 Writer's Strike?

I'd say the "lack of ironclad rules", the creativity, and the willingness to "push the envelope" made the 1970s a golden period for the unpredictability of the genre, really encouraging more and more people to watch.  By the early 1980s, the pop culture aspect was fully evident.  

As for the decline, it began (for my generation) with the advent of MTV in 1981.  In the very early years of MTV, a lot of homes still didn't have cable or dish TV, so MTV wasn't as much of a diversion.  Also, MTV was more "niche" in its early years, playing mostly rock and metal, with very little dance music or rhythm & blues.  By about 1983-1985, with the increasing popularity of Prince and Michael Jackson, MTV had to change their programming in order to maintain any sort of relevance.  MTV gradually evolved into a channel resembling the type of music we were all listening to on the radio, and "dorm viewership" (for lack of a better term) of MTV began increasing among adolescents at a surprising rate, meaning that soap viewership in dorms began declining in a corresponding manner. 

With the "discovery" of MTV among my generation, there was also an increase in viewership of the two cable "pioneer superstations" -- TBS out of Atlanta and WGN out of Chicagoland.  Not to mention ESPN and CNN Headline News. 

By about 1987, I really noticed much more time was being spent on MTV, TBS, WGN, ESPN, and CNN than on the three traditional networks, at least among my own friends.  

I believe the Iran Contra scandal in 1987 -- which preempted the soaps (for days or weeks) -- definitely exacerbated the trend away from network viewership during daytime hours among Generation X viewers. 

The generation older than mine (Boomers) likely still watched the three networks in greater numbers than my own generation (Gen X), and the OJ preemptions were kind of the "last straw" for them, leading them to embrace cable in the manner my own generation had done a decade earlier.        

It was a different time.  Soaps were more mainstream.  Most Americans tended to watch TV when they congregated in a house, or when they were home alone.  There were pretty much 3 networks to choose from.  

If a kid -- or a group of kids -- sat down in the living room during the daytime on summer break, Christmas break, or spring break, your viewing choice was a soap opera, a soap opera, or a soap opera.  lol.  

As a result, they became an integral part of the 1970s/1980s American culture.  

Some people hated them, some people were connoisseurs of them, and others (probably the majority) had a passing knowledge of them in a casual manner.  You might not know who Laura Webber's parents were, or why Amy Vining lived in the house with them, but you probably knew that Luke had raped Laura in a disco, and now they were on some exciting adventure.  You might not know exactly why Mrs. Chancellor hated Jill so much, but you knew that if they crossed paths, it was going to be messy.   

You could turn on the radio in the early 1980s (or go to a dance), and a song would play called "General Hospi-tale" about the storylines on General Hospital.  That's just how mainstream the entire experience was. 

Most of us who were alive then probably thought the cultural significance of soaps would continue far into the future.  That wasn't the case.   

Even though I'd seen her as Diana on the show, I could've easily bought her as a New Betsy.  

This promo highlights exactly why they need new material.  

6 minutes ago, Paul Raven said:

In terms of a recast who would you suggest for Billy? I dislike Jason Thompson in the role.

I think he's a horrible excuse for Billy.  Not saying he's a bad actor -- he's good -- but he ain't Billy.  

In my opinion, the Billy character is due for a rest.  A lot of folks don't like a certain actor with a cheshire cat grin who once played Billy, I believe but he embodied the character as an adult better than anyone else has.  

3 minutes ago, Vee said:

You guys roast this poor man relentlessly, lol. This is why I can't watch much of his Q&As anymore.

Sometimes he does better than others.  But you can always count on some platitude like, "E. Cavalier from Eugene, Oregon says, 'Thank you for coming into my house every day for the past 40 years.  You're like a part of my family.'  Wow!  I love that!  That says SO MUCH!  I really love that."   

They touched on some interesting things -- Wes Kenney's arrival in her driveway to pursue her for the "summertime role of Lauren", although she was really auditioning for Patty Williams which she didn't get, and Bill Bell creating Lauren since she didn't get Patty (and all of that was fairly confusing, but Locher didn't ask for any clarification at all), bringing the baby to work and Jeanne Cooper giving him the bottle, the rabid fans of Cane & Lily, her 40-year friendship with Beth Maitland.  But there were a million things that might've been interesting that weren't asked -- Jim Storm, Colleen Casey, Steven Ford, and Jon St. Elwood, to name a few ... Instead, we got that long harangue about "pot roast makes cracklings, and cracklings are used in candy -- isn't that right?" while poor Alan just sat there blinking his eyes with his customary dunce-like expression on his bewildered face.  

2 hours ago, DramatistDreamer said:

Wished Locher would have asked her about working with Jim Storm and even Terry Lester when asking her about the male costars.

He was too busy saying, "I love that.  Wow.  I love that", which is what he's recently substituted for, "Crazy.  Wow.  That's crazy."  

On 1/28/2023 at 8:42 AM, Sapounopera said:

 

Y&R really tried it with the new families in the early 80s, but only the Abbotts sticked around. Was the Williams family a success? Steve left really soon, Patty stayed for a few years, Todd never showed up and Carl vanished. 

The Williams family kinda "morphed" into the Detective Agency Family.  

In one of his reviews during the 1980s, John Kelly Genovese remarked (wisely) that Y&R had basically three structural components -- the Jabot/Abbott storyline, the Victor/Nikki/Kevin/Kay storyline, and the Young Detectives storyline (which was comprised of Paul, Andy, Amy, Jazz, and Kong).  Paul Williams still had parents of course, and he still had a sister until about 1984, but his storyline was most often centered around his "work crew" with Andy, Amy, Jazz, Tyrone, and Nathan.  

Guess Doug Davidson got tied-up in traffic that day.  lol.  

1 hour ago, j swift said:

in hindsight the earnest presentation of musical interludes was very campy.

It is just a funny heritage, that despite its reputation as one of the most reality-based soaps (few people return from dead and there's no spies) there is also this goofy integration of music that has always defined Y&R for me.

 

 

28 minutes ago, Paul Raven said:

 Anytime the show tried to be hip and current it came off as super lame and we loved it.

The most *awful* example of this I remember was circa 1975.  Brock Reynolds was working at the Allegro.  He hopped up from his table to entertain the crowd with a pop song.  But after the first few notes, he whispered to the pianist to play a hymn instead. 

The pianist launched into "I Know Jesus is My Redeemer" or something, and Brock belted it out with absolute sincerity, accompanied by mood lighting, bell bottoms, an open-neck shirt, and a gold chain.  

When the hymn was complete, the diners rose in unison and gave Brock a resounding ovation, clapping like it was the final performance of Luciano Pavarotti. 

Based on the reaction of the crowd, Brock decided he should become a full-time evangelist and gospel performer.   

"I just felt the Power of the Holy Spirit in an incredible way.  It was a really heavy moment," Brock sincerely explained to us.  

I was sitting there wondering, Where is Mister Bell going with THIS?!

About that time, Lorie Brooks came slinking in, without a bra on, having just been dumped by Mark Henderson, and asked Brock to pork her please.  Naturally, he couldn't oblige, as the Holy Spirit had just laid something really heavy on him.  

Then it became clear -- in Bill Bell's world, Lorie needed to be rejected TWICE -- first by Mark Henderson, and then by Brock Reynolds.  The whole *musical interlude* was a device to get Brock on a "spiritual plane" so that he would reject Lorie's breathless sighs and jiggling headlights. 

That was Bill Bell for you!   

I've always wondered -- was that guy Ken supposed to be "cool"?  He always came across as so DORKY, even in the 1980s.  "Super HOT, guys!  Really HOT, Danny.  Sounding GREAT, Lauren.  Wow!  HOT!"  Clearly, he was zonked out of his head on drugs, but still ... 

Lauren's facial expression during the announcement was pretty muted -- possibly from Botox.  Michael seemed to know all about Trey, though, and had been looking forward to meeting him.  Looked as though they hadn't shared the news with Gloria.  

Someone wrote on Doug Davidson's Twitter account -- "You're an interval part of the show!!"  I guess they meant "integral", but they accidently got the correct word exactly right.  lol.  

46 minutes ago, Gray Bunny said:

Lauren always sounded congested the first 2 decades she was on. 

I always figured it was swollen adenoids that she eventually got fixed.  

As cheesy as the music video is, just think how it'd look if they shot it in 2023.  

They'd have to film it in the empty lobby of the Grimy Phallus, and the preview screening would be in Crimson Lights.  The director would be mute, so they wouldn't have to pay him for speaking.  

I felt like not mentioning her relationship with Brad Carlton was a pretty serious oversight (especially since they highlighted her taking control of her daddy's stores after his death).   

6 hours ago, Paul Raven said:

 

It would have been so nice to see Joanna there. I'm sure Susan would have been willing.

So Fen is now gay? What? Zach must be wondering why he is the go to gay  on Sony soaps. Is there any point to it?

Very much doubt Y&R are interesting in bringing back gay Fen.

Unless it's the always present Budget Crisis, I'm not sure why Mrs. Manning didn't pop in.  Gloria was there, so instant dramatic possibilities would have ensued.  

Fen quietly "turned gay" off-screen, without a shred of conflict, so we'll probably never see him again.  

12 hours ago, j swift said:

One of the weirdest things about soap operas is that sometimes it seems as if nobody has a phone.  Fen has always been important to Lauren, yet they appear to have never talked since he left town a few years ago.  I get the dramatic purpose, but what man in his 30s comes out to his mother, in front of his grandmother, in the lobby of a hotel?

I got the impression Lauren & Michael knew all about Fen's beau, but simply hadn't met him in person yet, just by phone.  Didn't Michael say something like, "Trey!  We're so happy to finally meet you in person!"  

"Can you feel me tremble when we touch? Screech --- squawk!" 

Fen missed that one, obviously, when he was filing his glowing report about her performances.  

Just now, Taoboi said:

Yay! Thank you. 

 

Can't wait until tomorrow.

Lauren & Mrs. Manning are both being terribly selfish and immature in their conversation.  With Lauren, it's understandable, as she's just a self-absorbed 19 or 20 year-old girl.   But Joanna -- Lord, she was just awful sometimes.   She acts like Lauren should love her to death, even though she'd announced when she left Neil Fenmore that she wished she'd aborted Lauren.  

Fen blew something (else) today -- his credibility.  "I've seen videos of your concerts!  Mom!  You were seriously GOOD!"   He must not have seen her Sergio Mendes numbers.  

They probably couldn't afford Susan Seaforth-Hays for the day;  they'd given too many lines to Fen's boyfriend.  Killed the budget.  lol.  

3 minutes ago, Soapsuds said:

Is there any mention of Joanna? Clips?

Yes, there's a decent clip of Lauren and Joanna.  It's centered around what made Lauren such a "mean girl" (abandoned by her mother, spoiled by her father).  

1 minute ago, sheilaforever said:

For more than a year, I don’t recall even that line until he suddenly „died“.

Right I don't think anyone specifically "said" he was at the office; they just didn't mention him at all, until his "tragic death."  But for those of us who occasionally wondered where he was, I believe we were to assume he was "at the office".  Of course we assumed Carl Williams was "at the office" for 7 or 8 years, and lo and behold, he was presumed dead, had been adequately grieved by his loved ones, and was living in Norfolk.  

1 minute ago, kalbir said:

@sheilaforever @Broderick I wonder if Bill Bell casting James Storm at B&B was a make good for the ending at Y&R. 

Probably.  Bill Bell seemed to like the actor, but the Gina/Neil/Joanna storyline wasn't very riveting, and it was mainly about Lauren.  Bell probably figured Neil Fenmore had outlived his usefulness and dropped him to recurring, with no offense to Jim Storm.