Broderick

I can't speak for everyone of course, but I was a big fan of Jeanne Cooper, and I enjoyed the Kay/Marge storyline because it gave Miss Cooper something to play. (For several years prior, she'd been merely a mother figure to Nikki, a sparring partner for Jill, and the "protector" of Phillip III.) It was a fairly stupid storyline, but it showcased Jeanne Cooper's versatility in a new way -- she got to portray Kay Chancellor as a captive, Marge as a waitress, Marge masquerading as Kay Chancellor, and even Kay Chancellor masquerading as Marge masquerading as Kay. Most of Miss Cooper's work during the storyline, in my opinion, was spot-on. That was Ty's *big story*. He came on the show as Jazz Jackson's younger brother from law school, and immediately he was involved with (the beautiful) Amy Lewis. He was soon masquerading as "Leon Monroe", a Cool Pimp Bro who was the polar opposite of Tyrone (and totally unbelievable), then as the straight-laced white man Robert Tyrone (as unbelievable as Leon Monroe, just in a different way.) Once the *disguises* came to an end, Ty was soon gone. It was a waste of a decent and fairly handsome actor, but it was the times we lived in.

The "whiteface" storyline didn't seem so offensive (or absurd) at the time, because soaps were telling such weird "sci-fi" type storylines. Between 1980 and 1985, we'd seen shows telling stories about controlling the world's weather, searching for Aztec treasure, sending subliminal messages through video discos, and all types of nonsense. That's about the time Dynasty even gave us a flashing UFO with space aliens. Y&R was clearly on the wrong track with the whiteface man versus the mobsters tale, but somehow it seemed more "reality-based" than what some of the other shows (specifically ABC) were offering. I remember laughing at Tyrone's rather nerdy and ineffective disguise, but compared with some of the fare we were getting from the competition, it all seemed fairly benign. Politically correct? Nope. The least bit believable? Nope. But not as weird as little green Martians abducting Fallon, probably.

Yes. My recollection is they scripted a lot of different false scenarios, filmed a few of them, and staged photos of others. Some tabloid (National Enquirer?) was digging through the trash outside Lorimar studios for scraps of scripts, planting "spies" inside the studio and so forth, in order to get the "scoop" on Patrick Duffy's return. Anticipating this, Katzman (or whoever was producer at the time) threw the tabloids off-track by leading them to believe Duffy would be playing an imposter, a never-before-heard-of brother, and a mangled Bobby who'd been in a coma. These were all red herrings to feed the media, though, because they'd always intended to bring him back as Plain Ole Bobby, as that's the only way long-time fans would've been satisfied.

I never figured out the point of SORASing Charlie & Mattie. They never had any teen stories at all. Then they went away to school and have rarely been mentioned since. Moses and Faith had a few vague conversations about college and vanished. All four of them could've been random strangers, for all they contributed to the fabric of the show.

The entire writing staff was still credited in the gala scenes. I've said it before -- most of them seemed lazy and mechanical. Sorry the breakdown writers lost their jobs, but they weren't exactly knocking it out of the park. The gala scenes highlight that.

Plus she went on a long diatribe in the GCAC about, "And, YOU, Diane -- you let your son believe you were DEAD!! What kind of mother does THAT to her children?! I could never, never do that to Dan-yell or Summer." But then she did.

In addition to the "social relevance" of his rape stories, Bill Bell seemed to find rape a convenient way to pop the cherry of a virginal heroine. In Cricket's case, Daddy wanted the character to be sexually active (Danny and then Paul), but likely didn't want to write a scene where Princess willingly gave it up and enjoyed it.

Not to mention, Melody Thomas made some phenomenal Miss Piggy faces during Phyllis's rant.

About time! It ain't an anniversary without Shimmy.

I agree about the font. Never cared for those tiny names with no capital letters.

Sure has been nice the past few days to see a show that resembles Y&R. And yes, it'll be jarring to go back to the desolate, tumbleweed version of Genoa City.

Seems like the idea was that Tucker had somehow improperly gotten the will altered to ensure Devon inherited the *billions*. But really Colin was playing a trick to get the will switched so Cane would inherit the *billions*. Devon thought Tucker had engaged in some trickery and signed over the *billions*, and then Colin left with the money, laundered it (?) and then redeposited it in Devon's account -- or something like that. It was too stupid for words.

I agree about Jack. They keep him in the heart of the story, but I think his usefulness as a leading man is (long) over. To be honest, all of those old high-priced actors from the 1970s and 1980s (Nikki, Victor, Paul, and Jack) should still be seen sporadically in recurring capacity, while a new generation should've been groomed (years ago) to drive the storylines. It's a case of running on the fumes of past glories, I guess.

Yeah, I doubt there was an malice toward him. He was playing a somewhat peripheral character, and he was a highly-paid veteran from the Big Salary Era. They couldn't keep him on contract; that was obvious. The writing had been on the wall for a while. They didn't KILL HIM OFF the way they did Don Diamont's character. They basically said, "We can't afford you right now, and we don't really *need* you right now. We're going to put you aside. When we have a scene for you, and when we can afford you, we'll give you an episode." That's about the best they could do. He should be out living the good life -- doing other things, such as stage work or nighttime guest work -- and when his schedule allows, and when TPTB can afford him, they'd be more than happy to work him in for a day or two. No reason at all to be bitter or to feel slighted. If the show lasts a few more years, we'll undoubtedly see the same thing happen to other, more ingrained veterans (such as Nikki, Jack, and Victor).

My sentiments exactly. I don't believe anyone in the audience hates Paul or even especially dislikes Paul. Most of us have been his fans at one time or another. A positive attitude on his part -- even if it's fake -- would create more anticipation for his return and more nostalgia for the role he played so well for 40 years.

Oh yes. Kids in my class used to call her "that bitch Lauren". It was practically her proper name. Whenever Traci would appear happy for a day or two, viewers would start saying, "I wonder when That Bitch Lauren is going to slap her back down." Bill Bell realized pretty quickly that she could play vulnerable as well as haughty, so he started mixing it up with her. She'd be utterly hateful one minute, and the next minute she would realize her mother never loved her, she'd cry, she'd yell at whoever was around her, and then she'd run call Traci a fat girl. It was only when Shawn came onto the scene that she became "pitiful" -- but even then, you couldn't help noticing that she "used" Shawn to gain herself publicity and fame. She became a sort of "unintentional victim", and that sort of turned the tide for her in a more positive direction.

Yes, I believe Christian LeBlanc is recurring, although he's still featured in the credits with the contract cast. CLB often has only one appearance per month. But he doesn't seem especially bothered by it. He still participates in show activities, he posts positive things about the show on his social media accounts, and he seems free to do what he likes (such as appearing in the off-Broadway production of "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof". During his diminished airtime, he's remained a team player, and TPTB seem to want to include him. Intentionally or not, Doug went in the opposite direction, retweeting negative things that fans passed along to him, complaining about not being appreciated, sharing tweets that make him appear critical of the show. He also adopted a sense of "finality" -- I guess they don't want me anymore, I guess I'm finished here, I know where I'm not wanted. This probably reinforces SONY's position that he's better off excluded.

I would agree with that. Suzanne graced our screens strictly to make us feel sorry for Kay Chancellor, just as Shawn Garrett popped-up a few years later strictly to make us feel sorry for the bitchy, smirking Lauren Fenmore.

Vanessa was more of a plot point than a character. Bell wanted to "redeem" Lorie to a certain extent -- she'd been pretty awful in her earlier years -- and the best thing he could come up with was a Wicked Mother-in-Law who would manipulate Lorie, making Lorie come across a Hapless Victim for a change. I always thought the Vanessa Prentiss role was an utter waste of KT Stevens.

I never watched Texas, but EON was ahead of Guiding Light. When EON debuted its "faces" in June of 1980, Guiding Light was still using the "sunshine through the leaves".

On the Wings of Idiots was definitely one of Traci's epics, because that's about the most patronizing title I've ever heard of. We used to laugh about it on the old Mediadomain boards, that Traci was flying high, "on the wings of idiots". About the same time, Francesco Quinn's character was publishing Master of the Dust and The Secret Flower. Nina Webster was working on A Cry in Thin Air. Cole had one too -- Hope in a Bottle (?) They were ALL writing best-sellers for a while there.

My recollection is Naked At Dawn was first, and it was written under the pseudonym "S.M. Brand". It was loosely based on her collegiate experiences in Europe, and it annoyed Stuart Brooks. The next one was In My Sister's Shadow and was a hatchet job on Leslie, which led to more contention between Lorie and Leslie.

He wasn't "fired". He was dropped to recurring status. The show could use him as often (or as rarely) as they wanted to. He created a situation on Twitter which made TPTB less inclined to use him.

I'm sure the most difficult part of writing the episodes is the financial part. ("I'd like to use Leanna Love here, but we're already paying Jill and Mamie, so we've only got $13.49 left in the budget!")

So now Paul is retired. I keep waiting for them to say, "Back when Paul was still living ..."