I like her, but I do wish she'd give Jill, Katherine, and other vets some more screentime. I'm happy about the Gloria/Jack story and Dru's story. But I don't like that after the previous writer chose to end the Sheila story with a cliffhanger (and I loved that story), then Lynn chose not to continue it.

I'm enjoying the show immensely these days. I was thrilled when they finally divulged Brad's mysterious past rather than focus on dedicating more time to the borish newbie Carmen.

My only qualm with the current state of Y&R is the lack of storyline for Jill, but then again, she hasn't had a major story for years, so I don't simply blame Latham for this oversight. Of course, I don't commend her for this either, but I find the balance of the show fairly equal these days. There are a bunch of storylines going on right now, so there's always something to garner my attention:

Jack/Ashley/Gloria/Michael (Lauren/Kevin)

Victoria/Brad/Sharon/Phyllis

Victor/Nikki/everyone else

Dru/Neil/Carmen

Daniel/Lily (Dru/Neil)

I'm looking forward to the fall, when both Lauren and Phyllis give birth. I expect this to be the major focus for November sweeps, probably with one of the babies not making it. And I'm definitely expecting Sharon to be stuck with Phyllis in a secluded location and having to deliver Phyllis' baby.

I am enjoying the show right now. Sure it's not perfect but it is 100% better than Jack-Ass's tenure. I like seing the characters interacting with eachtoher rather than segregated as they had been in the past. Since most these people work for either NE or Jabot it makes sense for their storylines to overlap.

And I'm definitely expecting Sharon to be stuck with Phyllis in a secluded location and having to deliver Phyllis' baby.

Me too, I actually mentioned this last month... something along the lines of the Erica/Sonya/Maddie/Maria saga on AMC years ago.

Daniel/Lily barely have a storyline, LML dropped the ball with them and Alex. What should have been focused on them with the lies and defeating Alex... became yet another storyline for Gloria and Kevin (I'm upset that even Jana had a role in getting rid of Alex), getting away with something. At least Daniel "lost" Lily; Kevin ended up gained a woman, while Gloria "perfected" her scheming skills.

But at least Alex was revisited at ALL! That was a long buried storyline that resurfaced realistically. And I get the feeling Jana isn't who she says she is...

I will give them props for the Alex thing...which appeared to only be a plot point to break up Lily and Daniel. The story lacked something...why? Mostly because Lily never MET Alex again? The shock and surprise of her seeing her would have made the story worthwhile...all the story did was show us that Kevin can be a man...or hold his own against another man...when that man is drugged and weak, of course.

How could they have the storyline without Lily actually talking to or seeing Alex...I mean really?

I will say it over and over again...Y&R is still the best soap out there BUT some of the writing leaves a lot to be desired. It's like LML can only concentrate on one storyline at a time.

As for Jana, unless she's some teen girl's older sister who has come back to revenge the sister that Kevin manipulated, sexed up and gave an STD to...I don't care about who she is really.

How could they have the storyline without Lily actually talking to or seeing Alex...I mean really?

As for Jana, unless she's some teen girl's older sister who has come back to revenge the sister that Kevin manipulated, sexed up and gave an STD to...I don't care about who she is really.

That's what makes the Alex storyline really lacking for me, I can't believe that there was no real interaction between Alex and Lily. She was almost raped by this guy, I would love for her Dru side to come out and put the smackdown on him. Her facing him would have gone a long way to help explain, outside of the fact that she still loves him, the quick reunion that Daniel and Lily are having.

As for Jana, that's my hope... and I want her to torture his pathetic ass.

I get the feeling that's gonna be Jana's story.

One thing I've always liked about Y&R is that it doesn't wrap up ever plotline in a nice little package. I always felt like that made the show much more realistic. For example when Nina's baby was stolen and she never did get him back or when Phyllis got away with running over Chris and Paul. People do get away with things in life and it made the show so much less predictable, imo.

LML is a mixed bag of eggs...some good, some bad. Her ideas start off good, then they go in a different direction, but I haven't seen any of her conclusions yet. Y&R DID need change...and you better believe it LML will NOT be the last Head Writer, in the end Mr. Bradley Bell will be HW.

LML is a mixed bag of eggs...some good, some bad. Her ideas start off good, then they go in a different direction, but I haven't seen any of her conclusions yet. Y&R DID need change...and you better believe it LML will NOT be the last Head Writer, in the end Mr. Bradley Bell will be HW.

DruRocks, why did you even put that frightening thought into the cosmos.

I've been trying to figure out how to verbalize what I find wrong with LML's storytelling. There are a number of things that I have enjoyed during her tenure and what's going on with the show right now. The show is much more exciting. I like that she's been mixing the characters up more. She hasn't been cramming a bunch of new characters down our throats. So far, she's been respectful of the show's history. I also feel like she's a definite improvement from Jack-ass Smith and his storyline pimping. I swear he'd have a different pet story per season. I can go on with the positives, but there's something that just bugs me about the show right now.

I feel like the show has never been as plot-driven as it has become with LML at the helm. I think she's one of those writers that pay relatively more attention to plot then character. It's not that she ignores character development, but... I don't know. Just look at Pod People we have running around Genoa City: Phyllis, Victor, Dru, Jack, Neil, Kay, Jill, etc. So many characters are close to becoming cartoony, one-note, or too black and white. Or they're twisted in a way to fit a story or coupling (Phyllis in the whole Nick/Phyllis relationship).

The whole Nazi crap kind of worries me because you could tell it's something she was passionate about via interviews and magazine articles and it was 100% completely hers. Yet, it's a perfect example of plot over character. It was boring, had far too many holes in it to count, and left me wondering what was the point. Yes, it gave Brad a backstory and I think discovering that he had been hiding his Jewish roots can be very interesting. But, everything else about the story was like WTF! Did anyone think Sharon was going to be killed? The reliquary plot was stupid (If I hear the word one more time...). Watch Victoria show her out of nowhere skill at creating a fake reliquary in a matter of minutes with a few arts and crafts supplies. Watch Brad and Nick go all Dumb and Dumber looking for Sharon and JT. Watch Brad kill a man with his thighs of steel. LOL! And as we come to the conclusion of this story, where basically back to where we were before it began. Nick and Phyllis are still together. Victoria is still clueless and with Brad. Sharon's alive and still pining after Brad. Where's the pay-off?

I also feel that she skips so many of the beats that many long-time viewers are used to and enjoyed seeing. I enjoy the faster pace as much as the next person, but not at the expense of pivotal moments that we no longer get to see. The character defining, insightful moments.

She's not perfect, and I'm not expecting her to be. Nobody's perfect. For instance, one of the things that always bugged me about Bill Bell was that he'd have all of his stories isolated from one another, with very little interaction between them. At the end of the day, I'm still watching and enjoying the show, despite my constant complaining. LOL! It is what it is, ya know. But that's not going to keep me from expecting the best from the #1 show, the show that sets the standard in daytime.

You, Dru and others summed it up great, but I'd also like to add that the elements of balance, continuity and character driven stories have fallen by the wayside. LML has favored certain characters at the expene of others but all have suffered from the personality transplants.

One singular story dominate for a sweeps period and then the next big plot reverberates the canvas. I.E. Phyllis/Nick's tawdry affair, John's death, etc. The stories should be in juxtaposition--not in competition for screen time. More to the point, she needs to make a resolution to scale back between her plot points. Angelina Jolie adopts kids at a slower rate.

Furthermore, I'm no prude, but all this panty dropping is for what purpose? Is Victoria's Secret forcing blatant product placement? The oldest ploy in the book should not be blatantly used to jumpstart a story. In particular stagnant ones with no resolution. I.E. Dru/Lily/Neil. This should have been a major story but instead it faded into the background.

You, Dru and others summed it up great, but I'd also like to add that the elements of balance, continuity and character driven stories have fallen by the wayside. LML has favored certain characters at the expene of others but all have suffered from the personality transplants.

One singular story dominate for a sweeps period and then the next big plot reverberates the canvas. I.E. Phyllis/Nick's tawdry affair, John's death, etc. The stories should be in juxtaposition--not in competition for screen time. More to the point, she needs to make a resolution to scale back between her plot points. Angelina Jolie adopts kids at a slower rate.

Furthermore, I'm no prude, but all this panty dropping is for what purpose? Is Victoria's Secret forcing blatant product placement? The oldest ploy in the book should not be blatantly used to jumpstart a story. In particular stagnant ones with no resolution. I.E. Dru/Lily/Neil. This should have been a major story but instead it faded into the bakground.

And right on!

I think the pacing of the show has been brilliant all summer.

Literally you can't miss a show. New things might happen at any time.

And I love how some characters are highlighted heavily but then others will be highlighted later.

Great stuff and not traditionaly soap opera.

Here's a "Logan Riff" from Michael Logan in the newest issue of TV Guide:

Watching CBS try to revamp The Young and the Restless makes me crazy because some of it's so good, yet much of it's so bad. The highly hyped plots about Victor's epilepsy and Brad's secret Jewish past are mind-numbingly awful, as are Michael's stilted oratories on the Katrina-ravaged South. (This is a fun, trashy soap, folks, not Anderson Cooper 360!) On the upside, Victoria Rowell (Drucilla) has made a scorching return (How can this gal not have an Emmy?), and the decision to kill off patriarch John Abbott was ingenious. The ensuing battle over John's estate between his son Jack and widow Gloria is a dynamite story marred only by Judith Chapman's eye-bulging, old-Hollywood acting style. Tone it down, dear. You're Gloria Abbott, not Gloria Swanson.