Y&R Discussion: Week of April 30th

[sheilaforever]

Eh, I don't know if that that was Dee point or not but to some extent I could agree with her.

First of all, MS is NOT directly responsible for any other cast member losing her job (although in case of VR sth. MUST have taken place behind the scenes à la the infamous Braeden/Bergman fistfight because those two hardly any scenes together out of a sudden...). If that was Dee's point, there totally lacks proof.

BUT Dee made me realize one thing: How has Phyllis - a character without any family backrgound on a show all about families - survived so long and gained such prominence in GC?

Simple answer: She's the last woman standing. Many characters were 'paired' over the years with Phyllis as her sparing partner and few did recover from it storyline-wise. The main victim was Diane Jenkins...

Lauralee Bell was also written into a corner at some point before she opted to leave. As for Patty Weaver and Tina Arnim (who played Sasha if I'm not mistaken) meanwhile were just plot devices for Phyllis (Sasha) or served hardly any purpose before Phyllis.

Victoria Rowell now opted to leave but Dru got burned by the power of Phyllis either way and it was uncertain where her story would have gone. We'll see where Sharon ends up in all of this because, say what you want, the reason why Eileen Davidson got less and less to do was the constant frontrunning role of Michelle Stafford. She has taken a place especially under the current regime of horror which often leaves little space for other female characters her age group. Is Stafford to blame? No.

Still, the writing of this regime reached the point where MS has been Bernard-ized - at least in my opinion. Phyllis is following the road of a very prominent mobster on an ABC daytime serial.

First: she was an underdog, but popular with fans. Then, she got some accolades in form of an Emmy. Needless to say, the role got bigger, much bigger. And now, the character is involved in the most storylines possible.

Too bad, that the shine of Michelle Stafford is glossing off exactly as it did on Maurice Bernard. I always considered her a fabulous talent and great actress. Now, I tend to believe that Phyllis - and the writing - were just made for. She simply fit perfectly, the role was fun&believable and therefore made a mark, also due to the help of her fellow cast member. But for the last 13 months or so Stafford has been a major disappointment for me. Her only good acting moments took place last December when Phyllis and Jack were trapped in the elevator. All the rest, was okay acting but not so rarely even sub-par performances - at least for a two-time Emmy-winner.

Was Stafford somehow stuck in unfavorable material? Yes. But she SHOULD have made more out of it. As actress who really deserves her two trophies she should have the ability to spin full circle. Unfortuntely, she has failed on some occasions which proves to me that Stafford is not as versatile as actress as I thought or wish she were. Great actresses make you like her even when you dislike her character...

Therefore; I think Dee's correct so far that a lot of talent in form of characters has been sacrificed to make room for Phyllis which worked in good times but is no more during less favourable periods. LML has like Guza on GH with Sonny ruined a once rightfully popular character and pushed her "star" into corner she seems often unable to get herself out with acting geniality...

EDIT: Oops, Dee posted at the same time as I did...

[DeeeDee]

THANK YOU, sheilaforever!

[ATWTCarOn4Ever]

MS is a GREAT actress and its NOT her fault that those other actress somehow ended up screwing themselves out of a job. Phyllis is a diva and crucial to Y&R. Its because of her (and the AWESOME rivalry between her and Diana Jenkins) that I even got interested in watching Y&R! Shes no saint and I don't think you'll ever hear anyone say she is. But she is a good person and beside Christine, Victoria, and Dru I really don't care about the other characters you say were "sacrificed" for Phyllis. As for being the victim Phyllis has not always been the victim. If you have a problem with her being a victim I suggest you turn your eyes to SHARON. That bitch has been playing that role for YEARS now and its quite pathetic. Phyllis cries like once in a blue moon. Sharon's been giving us waterworks off and on for several years now. Lets face facts here. I hate Ashley when I first watched Y&R cuz it seemed like she was obsessed with Victor and his magic stick. I didn't really care when Brad slept with Olivia. In fact I was disappointed when he got back with Ashley (this is when I liked Brad) And then Abby being Victors didn't help things. I agree whole heartedly that the character was a joke. Now shes an even bigger joke on B&B. Drucilla is a diva but she was psycho and for years has been putting her nose where it DOES NOT belong. Its fitting that the idiot died defending the, "helpless and weak" Saint Sharon.

Bottom line is that there is no way in hell you can pin all those exits on Michelle Stafford. I think this is just a result of hatred for the character. If not then fine. Either way I still don't agree.

[Juliajms]

If you think MS has enough power to get someone in the Bell family written off the show then I think you are wrong about the amount of power she has. I just don't see how it's her fault that her character has staying power when other don't. If other characters had caught on with the audience the way she did they'd still be on the show, with the exception of the people who chose to leave.

I think what they said was stay in your place actress. They were under no obligation to let her write the show just because she wanted to. If they let another actor or actress do so then I'll agree there might be some bias.

[a2sassy]

I can't see how all those actresses leaving is on Michelle. I think your hatred for the character spills over and skews your view of the actress. No matter how you feel about Phyllis, you can't deny Michelle is one hell of an actress. It's not her fault if the women woking opposite of her aren't up to par. The only woman I saw that could truly hold her own and was on par with Michelle is Victoria Rowell.

As for characters playing the victim, look no farther than Sharon Abbott. For years, NOTHING has been her fault and that's something SC said she wanted to change because she wanted Sharon to take responsibility and get stronger, thus not playing the victim.

[DeeeDee]

Phyllis? NOT crucial to Y&R. At all.

Phyllis cries ONCE IN A BLUE MOON.

Yeah, it's obvious you're a newbie. Which makes sense.

And ROFLMAO@dislikin Phyllis/MS is "hatin" on the character & "either way you don't agree".

That's nice.

[sheilaforever]

This argument is pretty to the extent that of the current fornt-runners (Jack, Sharon, Brad, Fauxictoria, Nick, Phyllis) has been with Y&R for the shortest amount of time. Phyllis was written off the show once before and it survived without any slight bit of problem. No character on Y&R is that crucial for the whole - the current regime just tries to ABC the show with the likes of Phyllis (and admittedly others) taking the places like Sonny Corinthos, John McBain et all have gotten on their shows...

I can only repeat myself; to my understanding Dee did not blame MS per se - see my post above...

[DeeeDee]

Cricket was assasinated prior to her leavin.

Phyllis was allowed to TOTALLY rewrite history to make Cricket & Danny out to be nothin more than BIG MEANIES who stole Daniel from her while she was the poor pwecious wittle victim.

It IS her fault.

Especially since she's done inexplicably WORSE things than pretty much all of those characters combined & yet she's still on the show.

Yet when every other character is written off it's because they're "damaged" or "don't have staying power"

Bull.

They are/were popular & were actresses with their own considerable fanbases but there's not enough room for them to logically be on the canvas with Phyllis The Parasite there.

No.

It was DEFINITELY "Stay In Your Place BLACK GIRL".

Cause there is absolutely NO WAY a WHITE actress of VR's stature would've been treated in that manner.

They sure weren't. But they sure do LOVE those ratings frontburner minority characters bring them.

Yet they can't afford to allow a minority to write for minority characters so they can give an fair representation how they act, speak, etc.

That's the thing, they already have.

[ATWTCarOn4Ever]

Maybe I'm a newbie but that doesn't mean anything. Phyllis to me is a very important character and a main reason why I love Y&R. I'm not saying shes the core of the show and that without her the show would be destroyed and ratings would plummet. Far from it. I'm just saying that for ME I like the show because Phyllis is on it. Just like I use to enjoy Drucilla.

On a side note I don't know where you're getting this whole race aspect thing from. I never heard anything about VR leaving because of race but I do concede that I don't really pay attention to these things. However I don't think MS is responsible for her exit.

[DeeeDee]

Cause Phyllis can't logically remain on the show without any character growth, so other actresses & characters have to go so as to allow Phyllis to remain in the same rut she's been in since she slithered into town just shy of 15 years ago.

Not really. It's actually intertwined. Stafford is a good actress but she's been muggin for 4 years (at the very least) now. And current Phyllis is retroactively taintin MS for me.

She is. But given a combined degree of things it's not enough to make me drink the grape kool-aid.

LMAO. So now the women working opposite her "weren't up to par"?!

God, the excuses will NEVER cease.

AD was a great sparrin partner for her too. But that would mean TPTB would have to write Phyllis as a 40something & not a perennial "kewl" 30something like they so love to do.

Sharon is a HEROINE. That's the very definition of what a heroine is.

No.

"Playing the victim" & bein assertive are two totally different things.

SC wanted to be more assertive & move beyond bein stuck at the ranch.

The whole "playin the victim" thing didn't surface until she was thrown into Phyllis/MS orbit.

[DeeeDee]

Which is perfectly fine.

Fair enough.

It's quite prevelant which makes her particular exit all the more egregious.

Maybe not directly....

[a2sassy]

Boy, that last scene was piss poor at best. Since she's a mother, I wish Amelia would have displayed the fear a pregnant woman fells when she has cramps. Ameila played it as Vicki just stubbed her toe, not a woman fearing she may loose her baby. BRING BACK HEATHER!!!!

[DeeeDee]

Yep.

She sure was & it sure did.

Amen.

Pretty much.

[ATWTCarOn4Ever]

Thanks for the reply and I just want to say that even though we may not agree about Phyllis I do enjoy talking about Y&R with you since its obvious you're a very passionate fan of the show and I really love interacting with true fans. Plus it does sadden me that VR isn't on the show anymore because even though Dru was psycho she still brought a lot of energy and spunk to the show. As a black man I also loved the diversity she brought to the show and her no nonsense down to earth diva talk. She really had some fabulous one liners and I hope they bring the character back in the future. It won't be too difficult since her "death" was so dumb/vague.

I can just see it now...Dru returns and shes ANGRY since Neil and everyone around her has moved on. She swears revenge and acts cold/distant to all of them.

[Ann_SS]

I simply do not agree that MS has that much influence or control over how Y&R is written or how other actresses are treated. If MS and Phyllis does have a crew or posse of rabid fans, then they have met their match in Sharon and Sharon Case and her posse. Sharon is defended and beloved on every soap board that I lurk on.