It's taken me a while to write all my thoughts down on the state of the The Young And The Restless over the last year because I thought Lynn Marie Latham would have opened her eyes to Y&R's strengths and build on it. But I feel that she has lost the show's vision and is turning it into a General Hospital type show that is continually airing shock-value storylines.

The Young And The Restless is about character-driven stories! The first time I watched The Young And The Restless was in 1988. I watched from an on again- off again basis since I was only in elementary school, but in the Summer of 2005 I was hooked and tried to never miss an episode. From then until now I can regergitate A LOT of Y&R history. Even the small stuff. I dare anybody to test my knowledge because I consider myself one of Y&R's biggest fans!

Getting back to my point though, the show's soul is gone. It's not the Y&R that I remember. I simply don't care anymore and I feel I'm not the only one. Core characters such as Jack Abbott are butalized to redeem villan such as Gloria, which by the way is one of the most insulting characters the show has. One today's episode, I almost puked in my mouth when Gloria was reading the riot act to Jack. This is an example of one of my big problems with the show. Villans being the good guys reminds be of General Hospital! Think Sonny and Jason! But remember this is not that show! This show is supposed to be above that. It's about telling stories about character's we care about.

LML take note: This is how we fix The Young And The Restless:

Get rid of:

Amber Moore: She serves no purpose to the show except for LML enjoyed her on B&B. She is an annoying character and her scenes are way too hard to watch.

Gloria Fisher: One of the most vile characters in Y&R history. She is two-faced and hypocritical. Unfortuntely, the writers keep writing her as a victim instead of making her pay for all her misdeeds. She is not an Abbott and I wish either Ashley or Jack eventully get revenge on her.

Kevin Fisher: Also serves no more purpose on the show. Boring since his storyline with Lily when he first came on the show. Also getting really sick of him getting away with everything from corporate espionage to attempted murder right alongside his mother.

Jana: Dead weight

JT Heldstrom: Boring and repetitive since Brittany was on the show.

Brad Carlton: Involved in one of the worst storylines in a long, long time! Also, somehow always comes out on top when he shouldn't.

Victoria Newman: Ruined because of this current storyline. This is not the character who was strong and independent.

Devon Hamilton: Annoying character that hopefully killed Carmen so he can leave the show.

Bring back:

Ashley Abbott: She's been gone like one day and already her presence is missed. She is a core character on Y&R that can only be played by Eileen Davidson. The Abbotts are the most important family on Y&R.

Nina Webster: One of the best character's in the show's history. Definitely could be used in the Katherine/Jill storyline. There is a lot of potential here.

Casey Reid: They should bring back Nikki's sister to be the show's doctor and also become a potential love interest for Jack.

Tricia Dennison: She can come back to wreak havok on the Newman family.

Billy Abbott: Bring him back to restore the Abbott and Chancellor families.

Mackenzie Browning: Needed to fill the void in Katherine's family.

Olivia Winters: Dru needs her sister. They need to address Lil Nate.

Nate Hastings: Needed to replace Devon and also to find out that Malcolm is alive.

Malcolm Winters: They need to have a Nate/Malcolm reunion.

I would like Latham to go back to writing more intelligent stories that take longer than a week to develop!

No more disease of the week!

Learn the history of the show!

Do not let Victor always win! It's not original or interesting!

Write for current viewers and not to grab new ones (Look at ABC Daytime)

Get Michael away for his mother and brother. Both Latham and Smith turned Michael Baldwin into the stupidest character on the show!

Bring back the Abbott family to the forefront.

Give Nikki a real storyline and stop her from following Victor around like Zappato does.

Wrap up the Carmen storyline now! A really bad murder mystery.

Break up Phyllis and Nick and give Phyllis her brain back.

While you're giving Phyllis her brain back, give Sharon's self-respect back as well.

Finish the reliquery storyline and let Don Diamont and Amelia Heinle go!

Bring back Eileen Davidson and give her the storyline of the year.

Explain where Paul's son has been for the last three years.

Give Peter Bergman better material than this. He is clearly the best actor on the show and deserves better than always losing to Victor and Gloria!

Jack Smith may have ruined the show, but not this badly! If changes aren't made I will be gone and so will thousands of other viewers! Bill Bell created the Best Soap in History here and slowly it will be just that, HISTORY!

Jibbs, as one fellow longtime Y&R fan to another, I salute your post. I feel the exact same way. No need for me to regurgitate my opinions because you have expressed them perfectly. The way the show is turning is quite frankly making me sad. The show is soulless and a complete reversal of all that it was. And Yes, LML is turning the show into General Hospital, with its propped up, untouchable favorites, and "bad guys" that leave you wondering how they deserve that title over the good. Its just a shame. This is not what Bill Bell wanted.

You know, there might have been one or two issues that I quibbled over at any given time when Jack Smith or Kay Alden were writing the show, but with LML, I have a whole freaking lgrocery list and she's only been with the show a fraction of the time. No longer do we get carefully paced, character-driven story-telling that hit all of the right beats, with characters we recognize, but this half-baked, fast food crap that just leaves a bad taste in my mouth and gives me a bad case of heatburn, nausea, indigestion, upset stomach, and diarrhea! Yes, I just quoted a Pepto-Bismol commercial. LOL!

You know, there might have been one or two issues that I quibbled over at any given time when Jack Smith or Kay Alden were writing the show, but with LML, I have a whole freaking lgrocery list and she's only been with the show a fraction of the time. No longer do we get carefully paced, character-driven story-telling that hit all of the right beats, with characters we recognize, but this half-baked, fast food crap that just leaves a bad taste in my mouth and gives me a bad case of heatburn, nausea, indigestion, upset stomach, and diarrhea! Yes, I just quoted a Pepto-Bismol commercial. LOL!

I agree I might had a problem with a storyline here or there. But under LML I have a problem with a lot more storylines that I had to stop watching Y&R altogether. None of her writing is in history with Y&R.

Edited January 11, 200718 yr by MoTheGreat

I agree I might had a problem with a storyline here or there. But under LML I have a problem with a lot more storylines that I had to stop watching Y&R altogether. No of her writing is in history with Y&R.

Co-Sign.

My interest in Y&R is close to zero these days. And this has never happened before, you could always rely on the show and its overall quality...

You know, there might have been one or two issues that I quibbled over at any given time when Jack Smith or Kay Alden were writing the show, but with LML, I have a whole freaking lgrocery list and she's only been with the show a fraction of the time. No longer do we get carefully paced, character-driven story-telling that hit all of the right beats, with characters we recognize, but this half-baked, fast food crap that just leaves a bad taste in my mouth and gives me a bad case of heatburn, nausea, indigestion, upset stomach, and diarrhea! Yes, I just quoted a Pepto-Bismol commercial. LOL!

I hve no interest in this show. It's boring and the value of the show has gone down a slippery slope.

It's taken me a while to write all my thoughts down on the state of the The Young And The Restless over the last year because I thought Lynn Marie Latham would have opened her eyes to Y&R's strengths and build on it. But I feel that she has lost the show's vision and is turning it into a General Hospital type show that is continually airing shock-value storylines.

The Young And The Restless is about character-driven stories! The first time I watched The Young And The Restless was in 1988. I watched from an on again- off again basis since I was only in elementary school, but in the Summer of 2005 I was hooked and tried to never miss an episode. From then until now I can regergitate A LOT of Y&R history. Even the small stuff. I dare anybody to test my knowledge because I consider myself one of Y&R's biggest fans!

Getting back to my point though, the show's soul is gone. It's not the Y&R that I remember. I simply don't care anymore and I feel I'm not the only one. Core characters such as Jack Abbott are butalized to redeem villan such as Gloria, which by the way is one of the most insulting characters the show has. One today's episode, I almost puked in my mouth when Gloria was reading the riot act to Jack. This is an example of one of my big problems with the show. Villans being the good guys reminds be of General Hospital! Think Sonny and Jason! But remember this is not that show! This show is supposed to be above that. It's about telling stories about character's we care about.

LML take note: This is how we fix The Young And The Restless:

Get rid of:

Amber Moore: She serves no purpose to the show except for LML enjoyed her on B&B. She is an annoying character and her scenes are way too hard to watch.

Gloria Fisher: One of the most vile characters in Y&R history. She is two-faced and hypocritical. Unfortuntely, the writers keep writing her as a victim instead of making her pay for all her misdeeds. She is not an Abbott and I wish either Ashley or Jack eventully get revenge on her.

Kevin Fisher: Also serves no more purpose on the show. Boring since his storyline with Lily when he first came on the show. Also getting really sick of him getting away with everything from corporate espionage to attempted murder right alongside his mother.

Jana: Dead weight

JT Heldstrom: Boring and repetitive since Brittany was on the show.

Brad Carlton: Involved in one of the worst storylines in a long, long time! Also, somehow always comes out on top when he shouldn't.

Victoria Newman: Ruined because of this current storyline. This is not the character who was strong and independent.

Devon Hamilton: Annoying character that hopefully killed Carmen so he can leave the show.

Bring back:

Ashley Abbott: She's been gone like one day and already her presence is missed. She is a core character on Y&R that can only be played by Eileen Davidson. The Abbotts are the most important family on Y&R.

Nina Webster: One of the best character's in the show's history. Definitely could be used in the Katherine/Jill storyline. There is a lot of potential here.

Casey Reid: They should bring back Nikki's sister to be the show's doctor and also become a potential love interest for Jack.

Tricia Dennison: She can come back to wreak havok on the Newman family.

Billy Abbott: Bring him back to restore the Abbott and Chancellor families.

Mackenzie Browning: Needed to fill the void in Katherine's family.

Olivia Winters: Dru needs her sister. They need to address Lil Nate.

Nate Hastings: Needed to replace Devon and also to find out that Malcolm is alive.

Malcolm Winters: They need to have a Nate/Malcolm reunion.

I would like Latham to go back to writing more intelligent stories that take longer than a week to develop!

No more disease of the week!

Learn the history of the show!

Do not let Victor always win! It's not original or interesting!

Write for current viewers and not to grab new ones (Look at ABC Daytime)

Get Michael away for his mother and brother. Both Latham and Smith turned Michael Baldwin into the stupidest character on the show!

Bring back the Abbott family to the forefront.

Give Nikki a real storyline and stop her from following Victor around like Zappato does.

Wrap up the Carmen storyline now! A really bad murder mystery.

Break up Phyllis and Nick and give Phyllis her brain back.

While you're giving Phyllis her brain back, give Sharon's self-respect back as well.

Finish the reliquery storyline and let Don Diamont and Amelia Heinle go!

Bring back Eileen Davidson and give her the storyline of the year.

Explain where Paul's son has been for the last three years.

Give Peter Bergman better material than this. He is clearly the best actor on the show and deserves better than always losing to Victor and Gloria!

Jack Smith may have ruined the show, but not this badly! If changes aren't made I will be gone and so will thousands of other viewers! Bill Bell created the Best Soap in History here and slowly it will be just that, HISTORY!

I have been trying to say something like this for weeks now. I just could never muster up anything because my passion for Y&R has died. The show is horrible. And while I may not agree with everything you said (I like Gloria and Kevin), your post is something I wish I had thought of. You hit that nail right on the head. Eat that, LML

There is no care in storytelling anymore. Its like we're watching an NBC soap but with more beautiful production design. How the [!@#$%^&*] does FauxSheila have Phyllis' voice?!

Why should viewers give a [!@#$%^&*] who killed Carmen when they never gave a [!@#$%^&*] about Carmen in the first place? Why must an overexhausted sense of Jill & Kay's rivalry be given even MORE contrived dynamics just so they can butt heads? Why is Ashley, a core character and one of Bill Bell's most carefully written creations be given the most absurd plot driven-we are wrapping up all the story ends in one episode-goodbye?!

Why why why. Don't get me started on why the hyper and over ambitious Amber would actually come to a non event little place like Genoa City in WISCONSIN for gods sake when she had a pretty good life in LA?!?

I'm a lapsed viewer of this program (maybe an episode every other week, or so), so my investment isn't as much as my other two soaps (AMC, GH) -- but I have to say I was worried for the die hard fans the minute I heard ALL of these changes in writing/production were going on.

It's one thing to bring in a new head writer, or a new producer -- it's another thing when the writing and production team is almost completely revamped. Either a great change is going to happen and send the show to even higher heights, or horrible change is going to happen and send the show into a swirling eddy of unrecognition and unfamiliarity.

And just because I love the drama of this topic, I'm gonna say GET RID OF THE VALLEY GIRL!! Like, she's so yesterday, like, whatever!

If the show is so bad why are the ratings now higher than they have been in over a year????

Here we go again... I'll post my thoughts later

I think it has to do with more of a clash in views. I think it's us longtime fans that see classic Y&R slipping away, whereas LML's new vision is appealing to a new audience.

It's kinda similar to some Days fans. Some are just fans of traditional Days, whereas others prefer what JER did to the show in the 90's. Notice some Days fans are never happy, the same is starting to be apparent in Y&R's audience. Y&R is just starting a new chapter in its history and is appealing to outside audiences, with that changes are being made and traditional fans are not happy.

Edited January 11, 200718 yr by Y&RWorldTurner

Co-sign! Co-sign!

The teens are abominable and uninteresting.

The young adults are non-existant or slumming with the teens.

The adults are embarrassing with incessant itches in their crotches or panties, or making up false family histories for themselves.

The senior citizens are in jail, buried, or should be in jail.

And the stories have no build up, no follow through, and the poorest execution I've seen since JER's second run on Days.

Co-sign! Co-sign!

It's taken me a while to write all my thoughts down on the state of the The Young And The Restless over the last year because I thought Lynn Marie Latham would have opened her eyes to Y&R's strengths and build on it. But I feel that she has lost the show's vision and is turning it into a General Hospital type show that is continually airing shock-value storylines.

I still miss Kathy Foster but Y&R should is still lucky to have top notch writing (dialogue, not plots), direction and acting.

The Young And The Restless is about character-driven stories!

Agreed.

Get rid of:

Amber Moore: She serves no purpose to the show except for LML enjoyed her on B&B. She is an annoying character and her scenes are way too hard to watch.

I agree. I actually was happy to see her come, but I don't like her at all thesedays.

Gloria Fisher: One of the most vile characters in Y&R history. She is two-faced and hypocritical. Unfortuntely, the writers keep writing her as a victim instead of making her pay for all her misdeeds. She is not an Abbott and I wish either Ashley or Jack eventully get revenge on her.

AGREED.

JT Heldstrom: Boring and repetitive since Brittany was on the show.

AGREED. AGREED.

Brad Carlton: Involved in one of the worst storylines in a long, long time! Also, somehow always comes out on top when he shouldn't.

AGREED.

Ashley Abbott: She's been gone like one day and already her presence is missed. She is a core character on Y&R that can only be played by Eileen Davidson. The Abbotts are the most important family on Y&R.

She just left, not now...And if we're bringing back characters then let's go with...

Nina Webster: One of the best character's in the show's history. Definitely could be used in the Katherine/Jill storyline. There is a lot of potential here.

Casey Reid: They should bring back Nikki's sister to be the show's doctor and also become a potential love interest for Jack.

Tricia Dennison: She can come back to wreak havok on the Newman family.

Billy Abbott: Bring him back to restore the Abbott and Chancellor families.

Olivia Winters: Dru needs her sister. They need to address Lil Nate.

Nate Hastings: Needed to replace Devon and also to find out that Malcolm is alive.

Question: Did you only start watching Y&R for the FIRST time in 1998 (depending on month), because then you would have been seeing Kay Alden and Jack Smith's work afterwards...

GET RID OF THE VALLEY GIRL!! Like, she's so yesterday, like, whatever!

the Valley girl is the weakest link on Y&R