DeeeDee

Which wasn't totally about Jill & was eventually fixed. Not true. Billy did feel abandoned but a lot of that was very in character for Jill. She wasn't initially happy letting Billy go (prior to SORAS) but it was very believable she wasn't there for him growing up (since she acted the same way with Phillip). Billy Miller's Billy definitely but not David's Billy. David's Billy had a complex relationship with Jill (one that can't be reduced to good guy/bad guy). John willingly (if not always happily) worked with Jill to parent Billy & he didn't approve of Billy's behavior & attitude toward Jill or Jill's attitude & interference in Billy's life fairly often. In fact John was more strict with Billy than Jill & he also dealt with Billy's anger on several occasions. She doesn't need Cane even without a "good" son. Jill & the character Billy had a classic Y&R parent/child relationship which has been ruined due to writing & agendas (much like Jack & Ashley's, Victoria & Nick's, Drucilla & Liv's, etc). However Jill as a character (like every other character) has been a victim of bad writing too (sleeping with bartenders, being used & dumped by Tucker, total absence from business related stories). There is no comparison of the current Jill & the well written Jill of the past. Same with Jill & Billy's relationship.

That's the thing. She did develop. Mackenzie wasn't like Lily who has pretty much (other than Davetta's tenure) been exactly the same since she was SORAS'ed. By the time Ash Bash left (initially) she had grown from a kid that (understandably) ran from conflict to a strong, responsible young adult. But it was an earned downbeat like Nina's cynicism or Traci's low self esteem. And she even grew out of that (to an extent) as she matured. Why not? Jill treated Billy almost exactly like she treated Phillip. And it was usually things Jill did that made Billy angry with her. What does he represent other than a flawed character who is the child of an equally (if not more) flawed character? But that's the thing. They weren't popular because they were an insta-couple like Luke/Noah or Kim/Michael or Ford/Jessica where the show & other characters were sacrificed to make them work. They were popular because Y&R wrote them well & the characters (and actors) had real chemistry. And gain Jill wasn't a cardboard villain like (Tom/Meggie/Carmen) or a vet made to act OOC (like Lily Walsh or poor Rae Woodard),

Not really. The character didn't become useless until Kruger played her. Everything that happened prior to Kruger was character driven & fairly complex. Jill wasn't a two dimensional villain, Billy wasn't a generic good guy & Mackenzie (while definitely a heroine) wasn't perfect. He didn't treat her any worse than she treated him.

Exactly. Bashioum's Mackenzie had levels. Kruger's Mackenzie was a glorified Felicity extra.

Diego was single when he & Sharon slept together.

The stories themselves were fairly solid. It was the casting & recasting that hurt most of them. Yep.

Unfortunately Alexia didn't have Angell's star power (nor much chemistry with Kristoff & Shemar) To be fair Liv's dislike of Alex really was about her issues with Malcolm. Malcolm's death wasn't the problem. It was the forced love triangle (just like with Neil/Sofia/Malcolm). Add that to losing Vicki/Shemar, Neil being relatively underwritten (despite Kristoff's good performances) & Liv being almost destroyed & it's easy to see why ratings fell so much.

Nope. Siena had been recast by that point. The Trey stuff wasn't bad (it was a typical soap story). It was Liv (and everyone else) going under the bus for Malcolm that hurt the story. Liv/Malcolm weren't bad but their relationship pretty much was used as a placeholder Shemar (that conveniently kept him away from the white actresses) Yep. Actually it didn't. Neil/Alex/Malcolm didn't happen until the middle/end of the next year. No. Liv never slept with Neil (at that point). But Malcolm THOUGHT they slept together which he used as an excuse to cheat with Callie. Serena was to have a longer run which ended early cause Y&R was happy to have Vicki back.

Alex as a character had potential but the timing was terrible & she was a bad fit (both with Shemar/Kristoff & in general). Alexia is a solid actress but she wasn't able to make the character her own. Serena was around for about 6 months.

She didn't. By the time Siena was recast Callie had stopped singing. Losing Michelle was sad. She was an awesome actress, had good chemistry with Shemar & was a promising young star. Tatyana reminds me more of Tika Sumpter. So much wasted potential.

Michelle knew she was terminally sick. She stopped treatment cause she wanted to have children. But Carl is right had she lived she definitely would have become a Y&R star.

It was ok (despite Liv being thrown way under the bus). Michelle Thomas was great. Siena was a solid actress but no Michelle Thomas. No. Michelle got really sick & was no longer able to act. So Y&R had to recast.

He & Y&R (beyond a few rare instances) had moved on.

To be fair he also doesn't feel there is any potential in Kristen or Felicia either. Both of whom (along with Thorne) have much more potential than boring Ridge.

She did. Jess & Terry were ok (they didn't have as much sexual chemistry as Brenda & Terry). Plus Jess had yet to become really comfortable as Jill which also didn't help matters.

It was BS.

No.

He's small but he definitely looks his age.

He looks 11 or 12 when he should be about 8 (at most).

Or Mad Libs.

Chuckie.

Barbara Crampton :wub:

Yep. In terms of characterization EVERYONE in that story (Victor, Paul, Ryan, Tricia, Victoria, Larry, Sharon, Nikki & Nick) all got a ton of good stuff to work with. But that was back when Y&R writers took time to actually tell stories instead of depending on stunt casts, insta pairings & retcons to tell stories. They were indeed & they were hot then too (but she was too busy at that point with Ryan & Cole to deal with Brad too). But she & Diamont were even better together once Heather matured.

He was cute & very sweet. Over his last year or two on Y&R (especially once Colleen & Lily arrived) he slowly began to get more to do (including date Victoria). They had decent chemistry (not supercouple chemistry but decent enough). Kind of though the whole thing was a mess (though Bernard was hot). It wasn't working. He & Eileen were fun together but had no chemistry. Unsurprisingly he had a TON of chemistry with Heather but before they could really move beyond flirting Bernard left.

Some which were ditched once Brody left for DOOL. It was pretty good (especially in terms of characterization). Ricky & Heather had good chemistry but the climax was underwhelming due to Gary's motivation being weak.