Y&R: How would you improve it?

[DrewH]

It's no secret that a major portion of the viewers are not satisified with Y&R as of late. IMO, The Hack has totally ruined this show and if it weren't for the same actors still being involved in major storylines, I wouldn't even recognize this show. It just doesn't have that classic Y&R feel to it anymore.

Soapsuds just created a ATWT thread like this, so I decided to do one for Y&R. These are a lot of fun. I remember when there would be a DAYS one every week back in Reilly's days (second era).

Have fun!

[DeeeDee]

Fire LML & hire a competent HW like Claire Labine.

[Ryan]

Honestly, Y&R has it's problems, but even in it's worse day it's a hell of a lot better than the 8 other soaps.

[Cat]

This is probably a superficial move, but I would first restore some of the great direction and atmospheric lighting that used to characterize this show and make it look like something out of Primetime. Bill Bell stated when he first created Y&R that he wanted a distinctive lighting code. He wanted characters' faces lit -- so that the audience focused exclusively on them and their emotions -- while leaving backgrounds purposely underlit to highlight the negative space in the picture and deepen a feeling of secrets, shadows, ambiguity... the unspoken.

LML jettisonned all that in order to make Y&R look... generic. WTF?

My next call would be to all the behind-the-scenes vets who dedicated 15+ years of their life to the show and have Y&R running through their veins. Producers, floor managers, consultants, writers, etc. All the ones LML fired. They know this soap inside-out -- their knowledge and experience are invaluable. Not that new blood behind-the-scenes is a bad idea -- on the contrary, every soap needs freshness and new ways of looking at stories in order to keep its audience hooked. But why not have vets and new blood collaborate side-by-side instead of throwing the "old" out with the bathwater?

Third call: to Eileen Davidson, Davetta Sherwood and Victoria Rowell. Please PLEASE come back! If Victoria Rowell wants to contribute on the writing side, then she has a place in the writing pool as far as I am concerned.

[KMan101]

* Jack and Nikki battle it out in politics. Victor uses David to discredit and humiliate Jack and fund Nikki's campaign. Nikki doesn't want Victor's help, so he ends up lending his hand behind the scenes to Jack, causing a huge rift in Nikki and Victor's marriage.

* Daniel becomes addicted to Amber's pornography and it hurts his marriage with Lily. She finds out he's been "seeing Amber" behind her back and dumps him and moves back to Paris, only to return months later, with Davetta Sherwood back in the role.

* Nina and Phillip return as Kay and Jill wait to find out if Cane is Jill's biological son. Turns out the Phillip that is buried IS Jill's son ... but so is Cane. They were non-identical twins separated at birth. Cane and Amber move into the Chancellor mansion and history repeats itself when Amber becomes pregnant and Jill is determined to keep them apart.

* After Jack dumps Sharon to improve his chances in the election, she beds Brad. JT takes photos of them and shows Victoria. JT convinces Vicky to run off with him and months later, Vicky returns in the form of Heather Tom.

* Nick and Phyllis are broken apart when her blackmail scheme of Brad and Sharon comes out. They fight for custody over Summer, sending Phyllis to the breaking point. Danny returns and reaches out to Phyllis, sparking a new romance between the two but good Phyllis is gone and her spark is back. Nick and Nina form a surprising friendship ... could it lead to more?

Meh ... just some out there ideas ... lol. I'd have to really sit down and plan things out.

[DeeeDee]

Amen.

[DrewH]

-Bring back Jack Smith and Kay Alden. Have the two of them be co-head writers. Leave Smith with only one job and that is co-head writer. I think he had too much on his shoulders last time, and that's why it fell apart in people's eyes, not mine, but others. Give Edward Scott (I think?) the executive producer position. Allow Smith and Alden to recruit the old writers back to the show. Writers need to know the history of the show and The Hack's ensemble obviously knows nothing. Just look at the show.

-Go back to those little directing signatures that made Y&R what it was. I'm talking about the flower arrangements as the opening shot, shifting from scene to scene the way they used to, etc. Sure, those little things don't seem important, but once The Hack got rid of them, it changed a lot. It changed the feel.

-Give Jack his heart back. Sure, Jack Abbott's always been a bastard. I mean we're talking about a man that allowed another man to have a heart attack or stroke, whatever it was, pass out on the floor and he just walked over his body. But you knew that even through the horrible things Jack did, he had a heart. I don't see that anymore unless the scene calls for it (plot-driven stories for you). Get Jack the hell away from Sharon. It's gross! I don't want him with Phyllis either. I never liked those two together. I would rather they bring in some new business shark that catches Jack's eye. And can the girl please be older than 40? Thanks.

-Either make Devon gay or bring in a love interest for him. I'm sick of him playing the 3rd or 5th wheel all the time. He's become a distraction, really. I always wanted a Devon and Sierra pairing. Sure, they are probably two of the most boring characters in the show's history, but they were cute together.

-Bring back the Sharon/Nikki rivalry full force. We're seeing little bits of it currently, but I want to see these two cats going at it like they used to. Nikki always sticking her nose up to Sharon, believing that she's below her, when in reality, Sharon practically is a young Nikki.

-End the the Katherine/Jill storyline immediately. Make the whole thing a complete and utter mistake. Phillip Chancellor is really Phillip Chancellor and he's dead. Separate the two for once. Fans don't want to see the two of them attached at the hip. I never had a problem with their mother/daughter relationship. I want some more friction between the two, but it can be done without changing the history of the characters. Bring Chancellor Industries into the fold. Bring Nina and Phillip back. It would be interesting if Katherine left everything to Nina and Phillip rather than Jill. That's the kind of drama I want to see. I want to see the look on Jill's face when she realizes that Katherine has betrayed her by giving Nina everything that she (Jill) deserved. Now, if memory serves me right, Katherine hates Nina as much as Jill, correct? That can easily be changed.

-Break up Brad and Victoria on the first day of the new regime. I don't want Victoria to have to go through another miscarriage just because it will embarrass Amelia Heinle because fans will remember how Heather Tom handled Vicky's first miscarriage. Go through with Victoria's pregnancy, but end her marriage to Brad. Then, we can see a custody battle over the Carlton/Newman baby. We can see Victor doing everything in his power to ensure Victoria gets the baby. It will revive the Victor/Brad feud that has deminished with this horrible union. I've always seen Victoria as a single mother, so that's how I want this to end. Pair Brad up with Sharon. They deserve each other.

-Send Amber back to Los Angeles ASAP! That's all I can say about her. Cane can follow his new bride there. With the new Kay/Jill storyline, he's no longer needed.

-Bring Daniel and Lily's marriage back to the forefront. These two are Y&R's most successful young couple since Nicholas and Sharon. Fans loved them. That love has died down because they have become nothing but a supporting pair for Colleen. That needs to end. I want to see the two of them struggling through married life. We got a little hint of that story back in the Davetta Sherwood days, but it ended. Bring back Daniel's drinking problem. That could be great conflict as Lily knows about this from her dad's alcholism.

-Kill David Chow in a very painful death. I want to watch the bastard die slowly and suffer.

-Go full-force with Colleen's eating disorder storyline. I understand that it's kind of cheesey since Traci also had the same problem, but it was tested that one day and fans took it positively. I think that's a good sign that fans will accept the story and it should be done. Besides, Adrienne Leon can act her butt off so that will defintiely help the story. Keep Adrian around. He's the one and only Hacktastic character I actually enjoy. His judgemental tendencies might be the reasoning behind Colleen's drastic behavior.

-Give Kevin his edge back. I enjoyed this character so much when he was reeling Jana and Colleen. And then that line, when Jana called him at the hospital, was priceless. "Jana, I'm going to find you... I'm going to find you, and when I do, I'm going to kill you!" Classic Kevin Fisher! It's a shame that he's fallen into nothing but the guy behind the Crimson Light's coffee counter. He's become the "Cody" (Brody Hutzler's old character).

-For Christ sakes, give Melody Thomas Scott a meaty storyline! And I'm not talking about a story where she does nothing but stand beside Victor's side. That's not what I want to see. Go back into the character's history and revisit an old storyline if you have to. Have her relapse on pain killers. I understand that it's been done before, but the woman needs story. Give Nikki cancer or a brain tumor. Something where Melody Thomas Scott can act her ass off and show The Hack that she's been underused for years now.

-Make Phyllis the character she used to be. The feisty vixen. She's not a housewife and all the maturity in the world cannot change Phyllis. I'm not buying that garbage.

-Either use Ji Min in a real story, or ship him off back to Asia. He's becoming dead weight and nothing but a stage prop.

-Give Jill a boytoy.

[DeeeDee]

Nope. Katherine & Nina are friends.

[DrewH]

Awesome! Then, a feud wouldn't have to be altared. If Katherine and Nina are friends, then have Kay leave everything to her. Jill would be furious. Why the show chose to bring on Amber instead of Nina is beyond me.

[DeeeDee]

If they really wanted to do this story they coulda made Cane (played by DG) Phillip's non identical twin, brought back Nina, Billy, Mackenzie & Phillip and had Phillip get involved with Katie while Esther sides with her, Nina-Jill join forces against her & Kay attempts to stay neutral.

And that leaves room to eventually bring back Brock, Amanda, Larry, Nina's first son, Ralph, Arthur & Harrison.

[Dr Neil Curtis]

I would drop Amber like a hot potato and grab up someone else from B&B, like Felica Forrester place her in a romance with Paul or John Silva (Yes I would bring him back). I would then move on to having my first big Gala storyline as Gloria throws a party in honor or Katherine Chancellor & John Abbott, and I would bring in big return such as the Brooks Sisters, Brock Reynolds, Snapper, & Greg. During the Gala there is a Blackout and Snapper & Nikki trapped in an elevator and they kiss. Phyllis would return to her coniving ways as Nick leaves her after he learns of her blackmailing Brad & Sharon. Nick finds romances in a much older and mature woman.......Diane Jenkins (Alex Donnelly)!!!

Nikki's sister return town with a secret she is trying to keep from the family, but they soon learn she is married to Cole Howard, causing trouble between her and Victoria. Victoria find new love in Keemo Abbott, who return to town to work for Jabot. Mamie get the Abbott family together (Dina, Jill, Jack, Traci, Billy, Ashley, Gloria, Michael, & Kevin) and reveal to them a very much alive John and they are married!!!! John hired a criminal to take over his life in prison until he was proved innocent!! John is back at Jabot in full action much to Victor's Dismay. Over in LA Ashley get drunk and sleep with Eric Forrester and Stephanie call Lauren over to get revenge on Ashley!!!

Shelia Carter (Kimberlin Brown) "return" to town claiming she never been in Genoa City since the early 90's. Michael & Paul do some investigating and learn that Isabella was actually the one reigning terror on them previously as she had her face fix to look like Shelia, and then to look like Phyllis. Shelia claims she is a new woman and she enters into a relationship with Brad, who she once hated years ago.

As for Nina McNeil (Tricia Cast) why not have her just show up on B&B, because the character is living in LA and write a scandalous Book on Jackie for Stephanie. After writing the story she learn a young man is in Genoa City looking for her, could it be her first son??

[Adam]

I would just shift the focus of the entire show. Like why is Amber a leading character in Genoa City? Since day one she has been in everyone's business and involved in every storyline. I mean the story ideas Latham has are on paper damn goodm the execution of them are flawed and I think we see them as flawed is because she writes Y&R radically different than any previous Y&R writer. Things are inconsistent on a daily basis in terms of storyline and characters. Y&R is no longer a character driven soap opera. I mean to have Carmen Mesta's murder, they portrayed Dru as an out of control borderline psycho. Dru has always been wild... but violent and psychotic? I don't think so.

Despite this new scheme Phyllis is hatching, she has been a POD. This happy go lucky stepford wife act that Latham has her playing is garbage and hard to watch.

Victoria Newman.... is all dough eyed over Bradski.... and even though she is supicious of him, she has let alot of things go. The real Victoria Newman wouldn't be this naive. At least in my opinion.

As Ryan said, Y&R has alot of problems, but is still better than the majority of the soaps on the air on any givend ay, but its quickly heading towards being on par with everyone else. I am just convinced Lynn Marie Latham does not get the show. Her biggest mistake was overhauling Y&R's tight knit writing staff. Anyone who thought the show wasn't going to suffer because of that was naive.

So yeah, I would definately get people in here who know the show and not pimp the newbies nearly as much as Latham is. This Jill/Kay storyline... they are mere supporting players. Its all about Cane and Amber. That's ridiculous. Am I watching a Frons controlled soap? God I am ranting. I am just very disappointed in Y&R. I've always held it more accountable than other soaps because I've always expected much more from them.

[RionPassions]

I'd bring back my favourite characters, Cricket and Danny, reunite them romantically, and put them in a front-burner storyline along with Nina and the real Phillip Chancellor.