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@YRfan23 Thank you for the episode. Hopefully more from that era surfaces.

@Soaplovers Yeah come to think of it, 1980s Jill was Bill Bell's version of Abby Cunningham. I've read comparisons of 1980s Jill to Alexis mainly due to Brenda Dickson's acting style but you're on point in that 1980s Jill was written more like Abby. So who would be Bill Bell's version of Angela Channing? I guess the closest would be Stephanie, but I always thought Bill Bell wrote her as a Jennifer/Katherine/Vanessa hybrid. Also primetime soaps weren't that big a deal by 1987 compared to 1980-1983, so there was no need for CBS to cash in on primetime soaps at that point.

@Legacy So little of Vanessa's storyline is online, that's why it was such a treat to see her in the 1981 classic episode. Vanessa stole the show from Victor, and that is no small feat. I'm also hoping any Vanessa/Katherine scenes and Vanessa/Victor scenes surface. One has to wonder though, if Bill Bell kept Vanessa and evolved her during the 1980s, would he have reused elements of Vanessa for Stephanie? Of the big four primetime soap antagonists, Bill Bell had his versions of JR Ewing (Victor) and Alexis Carrington Colby (Dina), but as far as I could tell he didn't have his own versions of Angela Channing or Abby Cunningham.

@Legacy I'm trying to imagine what storylines Bill Bell would've written for Vanessa past her original run. Could you see Vanessa becoming more involved with Prentiss Industries and Bill Bell turning her into his version of Angela Channing?

@BoldRestless Thank you so much 🤗

@FrenchFan Thank you for posting the June 1976 summaries. Can't wait to read more about Vanessa Prentiss. She was on almost 5 1/2 years (June 1976 to November 1981), that's a good arc for a villainess.

Today's passing of Alex Trebek has me thinking of other game show hosts from the peak years of game shows. Since the CBS Daytime game show block was my introduction to game shows, I listed hosts from game shows that premiered on CBS Daytime from 1972-now. Hosts still with us: Bob Barker (The Price is Right), Wink Martindale (Gambit, Tic-Tac-Dough), Adam Wade (Musical Chairs), Bob Eubanks (Card Sharks), Bob Goen (Blackout, Wheel of Fortune), Chuck Henry (Now You See It), Drew Carey (The Price is Right), Wayne Brady (Let's Make a Deal). Hosts no longer with us: Jack Barry (The Joker's Wild), Dick Clark ($10,000 Pyramid; $25,000 Pyramid), Geoff Edwards (Hollywood's Talking), Gene Rayburn (Match Game), Bert Convy (Tattletales), Jack Narz (Now You See It), Jim Lange (Spin-Off, Give-n-Take), Alex Trebek (Double Dare), Bill Cullen (Pass the Buck, Child's Play), Tom Kennedy (Whew!, Body Language), Monty Hall (Beat the Clock), Peter Tomarken (Press Your Luck), Ray Combs (Family Feud). It's sad to think this, but I feel the next big game show death is going to be Bob Barker.

January 20, 2021 cannot come soon enough 🥳

@Faulkner I don't consider Danny and Cricket a supercouple. Remember Cricket's first pairing was with Phillip, not to mention Phillip, Danny, Chase, Scott all pursued her in the late 1980s.

@ironlion I would say Victor and Nikki are Y&R's supercouple, even though I think Bill Bell did not intend for them to be one. Of the big 1980s trends, Y&R didn't really jump on the supercouple bandwagon as they did for Dallas/Dynasty influence (which Y&R got right as it set in motion Y&R as we know it today) and action/adventure (which doesn't really suit Y&R) . General Hospital started the whole action/adventure/supercouple craze in the early 1980s and Days took those elements to a whole other level from 1983-1990.

I break down Y&R eras as follows. Surviving Years 1973-1982: Cast changes, 1 hour expansion, early 1980s ratings drop in the face of increased competition from the huge rise of ABC. Thriving Years 1983-1998: Thriving for the most part, save for Cricket eating the show (Summer 1986-end of 1989), Nick and Sharon eating the show (Fall 1994-Spring 1996), the lull (Fall 1996-Summer 1997). Rise to #1 by toppling the ABC big three one-by-one and holding it's own against time slot competitor supercouple-era Days. Ratings dominance from the end of the 1988 writer's strike to the start of OJ, but the dominance would be threatened in the aftermath of OJ by the huge rise of time slot competitor Reilly's sci-fi Days. Tanking Years 1999-2005: Writer changes from Kay Alden to Jack Smith. Storylines that caused long term damage, ie. Jill's parentage, Cassie's death. Not Classic Years 2006-: LML, MAB, JFP, Mal Young, etc. John Abbott's death marked the end of an era.

Ariana Grande is the 16th female solo artist to reach 5 #1s on the Billboard Hot 100. The female solo artists with 5 or more #1s on the Billboard Hot 100 are Mariah Carey (19), Rihanna (14), Madonna (12), Whitney Houston (11), Janet Jackson (10), Katy Perry (9), Beyoncé (7), Diana Ross (6), Paula Abdul (6), Taylor Swift (6), Barbara Streisand (5), Olivia Newton-John (5), Britney Spears (5), Christina Aguilera (5), Lady Gaga (5), Ariana Grande (5). When all artists are counted (male solo, female solo, duo/group), Ariana Grande is the 43rd artist to reach 5 #1s on the Billboard Hot 100.

Both were born on screen, Scotty in March 1991 and Colleen in February 1992. Y&R did not do a good job in building the next generation. I think inconsistent SORASing played a big part in that.

I think sometime between 1993 and 1996 Beth Maitland had her daughter. I don't think Beth was pregnant in real life when Traci was pregnant with Colleen.

@BoldRestless Jeanne Cooper's birth date is October 25, 1928 so she was 45 when she started on Y&R in late 1973 and 55 when she had the facelift in early 1984. Compare how Jeanne looked in that age range to current female cast members in that age range, ie. Amelia Heinle (47), Sharon Case (49), Lauralee Bell (52 in December), Michelle Stafford (55), and holy difference. Same goes for the males. Eric Braeden (born April 3, 1941) was 38 when he started on Y&R in February 1980 and was 48 at the end of the 1980s. Compare how Eric looked in the 1980s to current male cast members in that age range, ie. Jordi Vilasuso (39), Donny Boaz (40 in December), Greg Rikaart (43), Jason Thompson (44 in November), Joshua Morrow (46), and once again holy difference. 1970s/1980s styling I think played a big part in why those in 40s and 50s looked so much older than what we're used to seeing those in their 40s and 50s look like in 2020.

I've finished the 1980s clips and I'm having withdrawals 😂 Is it wrong that I skipped all the Cricket scenes 🤣 From the 1988 clips/full episodes, Nikki's pregnancy with Nicholas must have been the longest pregnancy on daytime. Nikki becomes pregnant in January and learns about it in May. Victor notices Nikki's weight gain in June and finds out about the pregnancy shortly after. Nikki leaves town in November and returns with baby Nicholas in January 1989.

You were spared 2006 onward which are not classics.

Wow, Italy was airing 1981 episodes in 1985. It's possible that Italy's run began with the 1 hour episodes.

It seems like alot of countries that air Y&R started with 1986 episodes. Besides Canada, Australia, and maybe New Zealand, did any other countries get Y&R episodes from earlier than 1986?

So Israel started w/ Fall 1988 episodes then? What year was Y&R first broadcast in Israel? The 1988 clips were January-March. The pivotal moment in that clip set is Victor's devastation over Ashley's marriage to Steven which leads to Victor getting drunk and turning to Nikki, resulting in Nikki becoming pregnant with Nicholas. The main non-Cricket 1988 stories I remember were Katherine and Rex's marriage, Chance's birth, Ruthless publication, Paul becomes involved with Cassandra, Victor and Nikki divorce, Steven's death, Brad in a cage, Nicholas's birth. Also the second of the big three late 1980s recasts when Eileen Davidson left and was replaced with Brenda Epperson.

Whomever that person is, they should be knighted by the Queen.

@Broderick @yrfan1983 @titan1978 Had Bill Bell kept Amy, we might not have gotten Dru and Olivia.

Besides Cricket eating the show, there was Ashley's breakdown after aborting Victor's baby, Nikki's recovery from her illness that she hid from Victor, Katherine and Jill's custody battle over Phillip, Nina becomes pregnant with Chance, Paul and Lauren divorce, Lauren becomes involved with Brad, Jill hires Rex to woo Katherine; I think that covers the main non-Cricket 1987 stories. November 1986 had the EP change from H. Wesley Kenney to Ed Scott and June 1987 was the first of the big three late 1980s recasts when Brenda Dickson was fired and replaced with Jess Walton. There was also what seems to be a slight cast purge during the second half of 1986 to through 1987, with the departures of Marla Adams, Colleen Casey, Alex Donnelly, Steven Ford, Lauren Koslow, Julianna McCarthy, Phil Morris, Robert Parucha, Jon St. Elwood, James Storm, Stephanie Williams. I wonder how much of it was Bill Bell running out of story for the characters and how much of it was Ed Scott doing some house cleaning.

@BroderickAlso Lauren Koslow and Nick Schillace. They are still together AFAIK.

Ed Scott took over as EP in November 1986 and it wasn't long after that all the reported BTS drama w/ BD began. One has to wonder how much of it was BD and how much of it was ES. Remember the early years of ES as EP (1986-1989) also had Cricket eating the show and the departures of ED and TL. Yes, I know Y&R reached #1 during ES's run but IMO he got all the credit for the groundwork that was laid by H. Wesley Kenney.