Paul Raven

@FrenchFan Thank you. Two things I never knew. Julie fell pregnant a second time and that George had amnesia. Extra details that have never been mentioned in summaries.

Perhaps Stephanie was approached and refused, similar to Tonya. Maybe she didn't want to leave St Louis for a few day work in LA?

Wasn't it after LML that they had the newspaper headline 'Genoa City Crime Rate drops to all time low' or words to that affect? Ironic in terms of what was to come.

I guess re David they had two actors in the role and didn't want to have to focus on one only in flashbacks. That would have been the perfect time to bring back Scott Banning and build a relationship b/w him and his half brother Eli.

There comes a point where dyed hair just doesn't work any more, particularly on men. I can't believe Maurice is required to dye it, especially when some claim he can dictate story etc (but not his hair color?)

By 85 Blaine was one of the longest running characters on the show, which could be attributed to Laura Malone's portrayal. Marrying her off to Sandy wasn't the best choice storywise and once she was recast, the character was over. Maybe kill off Sandy, leaving a hole in Mac's life, and keep Blaine on (played by Laura)?

i'm certain there are actors with connections to MVJ who are supportive and wouldn't say no to a gig on BTG. I wonder if there will be a lot of short term roles on the show, or the focus will be strictly on contract cast? It all comes down to budget I guess. I'd hate to see a Y&R situation where we hear about a lot of stuff but don't see it b/c extra sets and actors are too expensive.

I wasn't watching when Yolanda first came on and she didn't make any impression in the 50th Anni episodes. So what did posters think of the actress/ character in her original run?

The edit situation is particularly crucial with the Hoppers and Cast List threads. Perhaps it was done so inappropriate comments could not be edited from past posts and those posters not be held accountable?

When Hope was aged up and played by Robin Mattson, her intro story was the affair with the college professor Alex McDaniel,played by Keith Charles. Mike put a stop to it which set up a Hope v Mike conflict. That was 1976.

Was he referring to recasts or roles in general? Because I can't think of any. It's fairly common for lighter skinned actors to be cast across the industry, especially back then. Although Darius was darker complected than Shemar. But that was just a wierd recast on so many levels.

Ouch poor Danny! Was that Jack Smith? Seemed a bit harsh. But now we have 60 plus Danny still rockin' the world and packing the arenas. In today's Y&R everybody is super successful. Much more believable that Danny might be on the nostalgia circuit or now just playing small venues, like many real life artists from the 80's.

Phyllis in a skimpy dress outside at night this time of year in Wisconsin ?

It looks like once Mascolo agreed to return they hurriedly dropped Tom Hallick. The first of the rewrites making Megan a Di Mera. Jed Allan was offered recurring but he refused so that was it for Don. If he and Bill and Susan had stayed on, I wonder how things would have developed? They might have been marginalized but they would still have been onscreen and maybe end up being used more at some point.

Keeping a character like Phyllis viable for decades requires some finesse/nuance in the characterization, but the writing and Staffords' interpretation has been sledgehammer for years.

It'a lot of everything!

The Michael Cole associated with all the Royal projects is a British journalist not the American actor.

Hopefully he'll have a word to her about toning down her schtick...

Absolutely not. It's great we can exchange ideas respectfully. I agree that Tom and others weren't clearly defined but of course with right actor and writing that can be addressed. I just think Duncan's return could be the source of a lot of conflict and drama. He might have children of his own, siblings,an ex wife etc. Maybe he discovers his true parentage while his mother is still living and torn about not wanting to hurt her. Or later discovers she knew about it all along. So many possibilities. How would the show explain that Bud was missing from his family all those years? He was an infant when last mentioned. At what point was he forgotten? Was he still around but not really seen into the mid 60's when Janet was dropped? When she came back in 71 Gary and Liza were established as her children. On the subject of the Kendalls, was Estelle supposed to be the mother of all those children? She must have been continually pregnant! And at one point did she desert them all, including a blind son?

Yes to a return to Jabot. And ditch Marchetti and any other companies associated. Stories revolving around new products, influencers, sustainable products etc . Billy, Kyle, Audra, Sally etc all working at Jabot and balancing personal/professional interests. Pull back on the billionaire aspects. Have Victor scale down Newman and semi retire.

And the rest is history!! Jason, did you ever go back and watch episodes from previous years?

And Ruth Warrick was popular with younger viewers also. They liked to see those manipulative older characters interfering in the lives of younger characters. On the flip side benevolent older characters like Alice Horton and Kate Martin were popular because they represented something a lot of viewers didn't have-an accepting wise grandparent who was always there for them. It's so frustrating to see 80 yr old Victor up to the same tricks as 30 years ago and everyone around being manipulated despite the fact that it's happened countless times before. And the likes of Victoria Newman falling in love and marrying for the 6th time with no self reflection or personal growth.

Thanks for the feedback. I am loving your ideas and just posting some alternatives to discuss. I guess for me the Kendalls suffered at the hands of various changing regimes. There were 3 Lloyd recasts, then Michael, Steve, Chase, Alec , Adair and TR I think. Some of them never interacted and it seemed like new members were added and dynamics changed to the point that it seemed a bit of a lost cause. Yes, there was some stuff to be explored but they hadn't done much of a job up till then and I would be more inclined to start with a clean slate. As for the Sentells, Travis, Renata, Mignon were dead, Lee was gone for years. So that's why I would drop Martin also. And Travis BFTD ...I guess SFT hadn't used that trope much. And Travis and Liza were so identified with Sherry Mathis. I can't seem to convince you re Duncan's return. How about Bruce, Jo's ward and daughter Tory, who could be aged to a teen? I just think a reset back to the families around Jo and Stu would anchor things.

Being a good stage actor or movie star didn't mean you would shine on soaps. Learning a new script with little rehearsal is a totally different skill set. Some adapted, some did not.

Looks like the directors have just gotten into a rut. Having talking head scenes means that everything can be done quickly. Whereas actors moving and choosing interesting camera shots takes more time. Time = money. I think they are now doing 5 shows in 4 days.