Paul Raven

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.

I think the ship had sailed with Maree Cheatham. Bringing back Andrea would probably be enough re a woman in that age group. Wendy, Brian etc were connected to Stepahnie so with her gone that's it for them. Same with bringing back Travis-after the initial reveal where is there to go? Bud Gardner had really been forgotten and I'd leave him there. With the Whitings back and Gary/Laine etc there's plenty to work with going forward. I think more mileage to be gained by the return of Jo's son Duncan as the result of a baby switch. So many different directions to go in with that reveal. So the Sentells, Kendalls and McCleary's would be gone by the end of 87 with the focus now on Jo, Duncan and the Whitings, Stu and his offspring. Tom is a must return. Sunny, Laine and possibly Ted.

I'm encouraged by posters' enthusiasm for Ed Scott and hope that his arrival does make a difference. God knows, the show needs help. Now just what Ed can achieve with the budget restrictions.. 1. Sets. A major issue. There need to be more. If Josh insists on writing business stories then we need to see offices instead of characters discussing takeovers, mergers and hires in bars and restaurants. Most characters do not have homes. The set dressing is pretty awful. Cheap ceramics and artwork that look like chain store buys. And Crimson Lights needs to be upgraded. Millionaires discussing mergers in front of a robot that looks like a kid's art project. 2. Costuming. Most of the female characters wear the same sort of clothes. Often not very flattering. The men's clothing looks cheap and generic in a lot of cases. 3. Extras. A lot of scenes taking place in empty spaces. More under fives and day players needed. eg staff for Newmans Abbotts etc Unfortunately successive writers lumbered characters with kids. So we need to see them 4. Direction. A lot of scenes are pretty static talking heads. Let's bring back those arty shots and angles from BITD. 5. Music. Ditch the bland background music for something more atmospheric. Have I missed anything? Don't know how far Ed Scott can go with any of this.

Yes it seemed a very calculated attempt to create the next super couple of the reformed bad guy, still with a dark side , saved by the woman he loved. Days pushed it and I think the mags went along but there was obviously not that visceral reaction that Roman/Marlena, Bo/Hope, Steve/Kayla and Shane/Kimberley received.

Did they? It was never backed up by any evidence. Just cryptic comments. They seemed more interested in grabbing attention and putting down other posters. Back to Mr Scott. As Toups stated the announcement makes one think there is more to it, but upon reflection, I'm starting to think it is just some backstage shuffling and Scott's experience is needed to get the production side of things working more smoothly. At 80 yo he might be at the point where he just wants a low profile gig. Hope I'm wrong but...

@dc11786 as always some interesting ideas. Thanks for sharing. Would you have any interest in returning Janet, Gary, Danny and Laine or Ted Adamson? I know that you have to consider the number of characters/stories in a 30 min format. Maybe Search should have bitten the bullet at some point and expanded to 60 mins.

If DeeeDee were still around the response would be backstage drama and agendas.

This article about Dicopoulos mentions the Will Jeffries role.