Y&R: Why I think the show is great right now

[juniorz1]

And without him there, his staff sent the show to hell IMO. And "the once" was implying that the team is no longer great under Latham, not that something was lost under Smith/Alden.

[Sylph]

So you're telling me what I meant to say?

What can I do, I don't like her. And I think she kept the worse part of that writing team.

[juniorz1]

I'm just saying that's how it came off. I can see why some don't like her- I don't necessarily like how un-Y&R-like the show seems lately. Did anyone else notice that they used music from 'Melrose Place' during JT & Colleen's last sexcapade? I'm not saying the show is perfect under her either, but overall, I much prefer her work to Jack Smith's and to a lesser extent, Kay Alden's.

[Cheap21]

Y&R has gotten slow and boring. I know its traditionally been known for being slow but at least it used to be interesting while going at a slow speed.

Where are they going with Jack and his story? I have absolutely no idea and nothing is happening there. Theres no drama and not much rooting value here.

Nick/Phyllis. Boring. I guess they will factor into Lauren and Michael's story and they will have to bc they have nothing going on for them

Why is Amber on the show? She serves no purpose and is soooo annoying. She brings down her scenes

Im tired of the Carmen murder. Who cares? Just end it already.

The only good story on the show is the Jill/Katherine thing and its about time those two got one

[Sylph]

Yes, I understand.

I think I started to dislike Latham from the moment she was hired because of the way she was hired. Then she started to get rid of all the staff, and the first one she fired was Jim Houghton. That was the first sparkle of dislike since her past with him on KL and so on... Then she was given too much power. Yes, she probably said if John F. Smith could have had it, why can't I? And she has a great agency (Paradigm) who could negotiate that for her. (Yes, she was a show-runner before, I know that).

Then she started making all these silly and out-of-place comparisons with primetime, saying that Y&R should be like 24 and such. What?! She also made some changes in the way the show was directed and thank God she didn't fire that Emmy-winning directing team. No more flower shots.

And the stories... Don't get me started on them: Brad's Jewish past which she wrote because apparently "nothing was known about his past" (?!). The story about Nazis and the way it was executed and introduced was way too anachronistic and so not Y&R, which is primarily a show about business intrigue; some romance may come along with it. She didn't even like the soap, which is evident from her SID interview if you know how to read between the lines, but grabbed the job after too much absence from writing. And I believe she still doesn't like it, and is trying to make it more to her own taste.

Then there were "ailments of the day", another anachronism, with all these cable TV channels, magazines and other possible ways to research a disease — as Mimi Torchin said "it was just like someone was reading from Wikipedia". It was not at all socially conscious or whatever, no matter what she thinks of her Wonderwoman-like storytelling capacities. Then her psychic friend (what?, she consults psychics regularly?!) - before we had a PhD head writer now we have... I won't say.

Unmotivated story pace, bad pace execution, stealing the viewers from ailing ABC soaps (if you look at ratings that is so evident - ABC's fall, hers rise; she couldn't have possibly get back the old viewers who left)... Y&R is a show difficult to love, as Marlena Delacroix said - too idiosyncratic, with characters you get to like after some time. Not immediately.

Don't get me wrong, I like change, I know Alden had her flops (consider that she was solo HW for only a couple of years and had some great stuff in there and CBS should have kept her).

You sould watch British soaps for some time, eg. EastEnders, since it's socially relevant. That is how it's done. Look then at Pauline Fowler's death and the fruitbowl simbol in that story and you'll see how details are so important. That is what I call soap. Still, I'll give her another chance. But I don't think she'll change.

[daysfan]

Y&R may have it's flops but as I have said it's way better than ATWT, AMC, GH, OLTL, or Passions right now.

[crc]

Sylph, I truly enjoy reading your posts. You always make great points that are well thought out and informative.

[juniorz1]

I agree with you there. To me, though Alden wasn't perfect, she did have the impossible job of following Bill Bell. I actually thought her work was more good than bad, though I hated what she did to Katherine/Jill. It was completely out of left field, especially when you consider how long she had been with the show. I wasn't upset when LML got rid of Jack Smith, but I admit to being disappointed that Kay Alden was let go. I think if she remained a co-head with LML, we'd be getting a much crisper Y&R than we're getting right now.

[DruRocks]

Hey Juniorz you actually have it backwards. It was ALL Jack Smith's idea to make Jill and Kay mother and daughter. Kay Alden actually revived the Jill/Kay feud from the ashes.

[juniorz1]

Are you sure about that? I know that Jack Smith is the one who watered down their relationship, but I was positive that Kay Alden was still the headwriter during the Jill is really Kay's Daughter storyline.

[DruRocks]

Nope, Jack Smith boasted with that one. Jack Smith took over in 2002 I believe, after severe backlash of Kay Alden. Jack Smith was in full power by 2003. Explosive this, explosive that.

[sheilaforever]

DruRocks is correct.

Kay Alden was a HUGE Jess Walton admirer. She wrote Jill some of the finest storylines on the show...

She indeed revived the Jill/Kay-feud by Jill having a claim for the Chancellor estate and freeing her of Keith Dennison. Jill & Kay in the attic, the long court proceedings, Jill moving into the Chancellor manse, hiring that comedic housemaid from hell Shirley, driving Kay on the verge of collapse, Kay’s famous mirror scene when she battled her demons, then nearly killed herself on a lonely bridge, became homeless & found Mac...

Just several of the reasons why Kay Alden was a fabulous headwriter and I miss her dearly.

[Sylph]

As for these stories now unfolding... They tend to be a cloying, synthetic lot. Some pivot heavily arround a terrible irony; others feature contrived O. Henryesque twist endings. At once predictable and unbelievable, these stories not only fail to provide a durable showcase for Ms. Latham’s ‘instinctive gifts’ as a storyteller, but they also point up a growing sanctimony and schematism to her writing.

[Pilar]

I'm enjoying it. This show is so much better than the immature BS that abc dishes out talk about unbelievable. At least Y&R doesn't involve every story around a 2-4 characters, or childish couplings. These characters work, have family issues and have a life outside of who's sexing who. The best part is everyone of the actors are extremely talented and it makes the viewer feel like they are peeking in...I think it is the best soap on and gives me what I want in a soap.

After watching AMC from day one and OL over 32 years (I gladly stopped watching both) I appreciate Y&R.