Most of these are pretty yawnable....some may like what's to come, many others, well... you know

Looks like someone might have been trying to 'off' a Newman when news comes back about the plane crash

Daniel finds himself getting hauled off to jail

Amber's little lies blow up in her face

David's scheming butt keeps plotting to get with Nikki

Nick decides on his place of residence

William keeps dropping hints about Gloria

Kevin goes to great lengths to trap Jana

Noah runs away from home (sometimes I can't stand that kid)

Cane keeps digging into Amber's life

How much more plot-driven can this show get? Everything is completely contrived and boring to me. This show has become such a disappointment.

Edited June 30, 200718 yr by Y&RWorldTurner

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

Another killer? Nice LML. Yet another reason for me not to watch this piece of [!@#$%^&*] show.

WooHoo!!! I can't WAIT to see this piece of sh!t on my screen.

How much more plot-driven can this show get? Everything is completely contrived and boring to me. This show has become such a disappointment.

Agreed...I turn it on and rarely do I pay attention anymore.

WooHoo!!! I can't WAIT to see this piece of sh!t on my screen.

LOL I couldnt have said it better....LOL

You know, at one point I felt for Jerry Douglas, Victoria Rowell, Adrienne Leon and Eileen Davidson. But it looks like they got out at the right time!

Sadly, Eric Braeden, Kristoff St. John, Melody Thomas Scott and other veterans still need to put up with this catastrophe! I'm sad for them.

Thank god I'm no longer watching.

If only some other Y&R pillars could be as lucky as Eileen Davidson who's smoking up the screen on B&B...

Thank god I'm no longer watching.

If only some other Y&R pillars could be as lucky as Eileen Davidson who's smoking up the screen on B&B...

I think I need to switch Bell soaps and watch B&B for a bit. I saw the promo with Ashley and Ridge and I was kinda intrested.

I usually lurk here, and I'm also usually pro-Y&R. I loved with Latham and team did with the show in 2006, and I have felt that the quality falloff (and plot driven problems) of 2007 owe themselves to the departure of SO many legacy staffers...Alden, Smith, Scott, Houghton, Foster, Minnis, Birn, Sussman-Morina and on and on.

That said, reading the responses in this thread just shock me. It feels like you all must not have been watching the episodes of the past week?

I posted this just now at rec.arts.tv.soaps.cbs, and I am copying it here because...well...it would be stupid to try to summarize it again here. Apologies if this is bad form.

I'm not trying to convince anyone here. It's just that I've felt my Y&R has been slipping away...but this last round of shows has reassured me that the good heart is still there.

WHY is the show better? Could it REALLY be Barbara Bloom? Did she listen to her message boards and focus groups and Neilsen ratings? Did SHE intervene? Could the network have made something better? It all seems so unlikely...but man the show has been good lately. Just my opinion of course. I apologize for the length, but you can just skip it :-).

From rec.arts.tv.soaps.cbs (I wrote it).

Well, I'm finally watching the Friday show, and...Oh. My. Goodness! Why didn't you warn me that this was the Emmy show?!?

What an amazing, amazing episode. And, 90% of that falls on Joshua Morrow. How could this himbo that I _hated_ throughout the 90s...calling him unworthy as an actor of being Victor's (cultured) son...have turned into such a fine, natural performer? He is the total package, and I'm almost sorry he came back to Y&R because I kind of see a future for him in features. Another lesson to me not to prejudge.

What stood out? What didn't?

NICK-NOAH

BQ had warned us about this a day ahead, but all I could think of was "What a beautiful, positive, shining little boy". And it is totally clear that Joshua Morrow tapped into his love for his two real sons in that scene. The moist eyes as his son walked in. The wonderment with which he studied this boy--suddenly sprouted before him. The instant father-son play they fell into. The JOY.

Posters on other boards HATE Noah, calling him "gay" and other nonsense. But I just think that little boy is the best casting choice in ages. It's easy for Morrow to love him like a son. He's so positive and exuberant. What a high point in a story that has been so beautifully sad since the plane crashed.

NICK-SHARON

Turning back the hands of time...that was what I said a few days ago...and boy isn't it clear. What I think I'm shocked about is how instantly Morrow tapped into his love for Sharon...and Sharon Case (whom I never felt to be a super strong actress) had a play of emotions across her face that was a wonder to behold. The commercials really played up Morrow's line about "my head understands, but my heart can't catch up"...but for me the line of the day was Nick's gentle plea before Sharon went to leave the first time: "After you're done taking Noah back to Jack's, could you come back to me?" Oh, the LAYERS in that line.

Nick-Phyllis

The key note I picked up here was Phyllis' desperation. And I'm shocked by how little sympathy I have for her (understand, I am a TOTAL Phick fan!)...and how annoyed I am by her self-pity and insecurity. But again Joshua Morrow rocked. He played the scene with an incredulous, searching face, clearly trying to figure out what had happened....and (as Phyllis said) feeling no love for his wife. I give Stafford 100% though, for playing the desperation. She's not afraid to play such an unattractive neediness...

Even then, though, the comedic chemistry that has made Nick and Phyllis gold was just under the surface, and when Phyllis put on her blue hat, I swear Morrow was stifling a laugh.

PHYLLIS-VICTORIA-NIKKI

BRAVO to Phyllis for finally calling the Newman girls on their attitude, and their attitude toward Nick's daughter. "What's WRONG with you?" she cried out...and was asking the question that many of us have had on our minds. Where is this viciousness coming from? And BOY did I hate Nikki and Victoria for their evil meanness, saying that it was Phyllis they hoped Nick wouldn't remember. Karmically, I'm really hoping the Newman girls get it bad!

VICTOR-NICK

With these two men on screen, I realized how much I had missed each. I'm still moved by Braeden's incredible eulogy for Nick. Now, in their reunion, there was no mistaking the quiet love Victor had for his son, and vice versa. Instantly a little playful (the nice father-son dynamic that has been added in the last year or so), underplayed....proof that good acting IS possible on daytime.

VICTOR AND NIKKI

Here are some lines of dialog. They say everything.

V to N, after slugging David: "Stay away from me"

N to V: "Slugging is unbecoming"

N to V: "Nothing scares you more than feelings"

V to N: "Stop your psychobabble"

N to V: "To be with you is to be alone"

V to N: "I don't give a damn what you feel right now"

There are several elements here. FIRST, this means that emotionally the couple is right back where they were during the Bobby Marsino days...Nikki feeling emotionally abandoned, and acting recklessly as a result. She gravitated to Bobby at that time...so it makes sense that maybe the same kind of rough hewn New Yorker is appealing now. I actually like that, because the story is starting to make some sense to me again. SECOND, this coldness...well, it sure reminds me of the climate that evolved between Nick and Sharon after Cassie died. And we all know where that can lead....

VICTOR-JACK

I'm impressed that Braeden allowed a scene to play out where Bergman got the last word...and where Bergman didn't back down. "I've done my part" said Jack, about having won the election. And Victor warned Jack, basically, that a corruption plot is the next beat of the revenge plan. But Jack gave it back...chastising Victor for faking friendship. AND being sure to underline Victor's public humiliation from David. Nice! Maybe these two titans are no longer so unmatched. I'm looking forward to their next chapter together. I hope the residual friendship finds a way of bubbling up from time to time.

Jack as the victor

VICTOR-DAVID

I'm still not into David. But I think the writers are trying to define David a bit more clearly. "I never run away from a fight" he said. Obviously, for the David-Victor feud to have ANY legs, David needs some strength. We'll see. I don't see him as a worthy adversary for Victor.

AMBER-KEVIN

I'm in the minority, but I find the heat that rises off Amber-Kevin to be terrific. It's the best pairing/chemistry either one of them has ever had. "Co-conspirators". "I know you completely, even though I just met you". These words weren't spoken, but they are what I felt as I have watched them together these last few weeks. Like, when Amber disappeared, Kevin IMMEDIATELY knew (his eyes revealed) that Amber had gone to dig up Plum's cash. I hope the writers follow this one, because it could be a pairing for the ages!

BRAD-PHYLLIS

Phyllis to Brad: "Would you like sugar or arsenic in your coffee?" There is definitely a little chemistry there. It is beautiful that karma is biting both of them right now...and they're both being kept apart from aspects of their "family". I think these two wounded souls...both driven at the core by anger and larceny...could really fit together.

But I haven't given up on the return of Phick...the most electric couple EVER to grace Y&R.

VICTORIA-BRAD-JT

I wrote recently that Victoria and Brad at war was the most interesting they've ever been as a couple. But Brad's assertion that if he is the father "I'm raising him" was a beautiful Victor-ish statement. I really, really like that this creative team has given Brad a clear definition. He is a dark, angry, secretive, violent, possessive man...that is the core of him, and his genteel ways and (to some) attractive package can't hide how fundamentally ugly he is. I finally GET Brad...and after 21 years, I'm happy about that.

THE ENDING!!!

Nick looks up and sees Sharon. "You came back". Such quiet gratitude.

And the dialog between the two parents. Anyone who has ever been with a child over a two year span HEARS the complete REALITY of dialog like this: "Superheroes? Everything used to be Pokemon". Oh yeah! Nick, in your lost two years, you've lost so much. And I really, really feel for you man!

Then, of course, the re-grieving. "If I was super I would have been able to save Cassie." So fresh, the pain. "How do you go on?" he asked Sharon. And Sharon had no answers. Just living one moment at a time.

The music that rose up at the end of that (some viewers have been complaining about the new "pop" cues, as opposed to classic instrumental...and even I agree that this is another loss of signature Y&R style...so the show is gradually becoming something quite new) was, in the words of a co-watcher, "inspiring". I thought it was a new age piece (very appropriate for the on-screen healing going on between Nick and Sharon)...but it ended in vocals. It really built the mood. Not bad.

As the fade to black occurred, I was struck with another realization about how beautiful this final scene was.

Picture Nick and Sharon in each other's arms, comforting each other. There was nothing romantic or sexual...just two parents sharing grief.

Finally, finally, finally, this couple was doing what they failed to do (mostly because of Nick) two years ago, when Cassie died. It was the walls between them after Cassie's death that drove them apart...and now those walls were gone. They were grieving with each other as they should have.

In the process, I suspect they corrected a major wrong with each other. And I know both of them have moved on. But I wondered if maybe, just maybe, what was broken between them was now healed...at least at the root. Is it now just a matter of time before they find their way back to one another...repairing their family?

If, as many here speculate, Phyllis and Jack are really the parents of Summer, then you can see a kind of "divine righting" about to take place. Jack is FINALLY his own man, following a course that has nothing to do with his father's legacy. He's FINALLY ready to invest in a family of his own.

Or, if the door between Jack and Phyllis is closed, there are new and intriguing possibilities between Phyllis and Brad.

For the first time in a long time, I'd be happy to see Nick with either of his wives.

Bravo to the writers! The canvas is so much deeper again, and the plots are so much more emotional and reality-based. Here's hoping they can hang on to this. I left Friday feeling very, very hopeful for my Y&R.

I actually love the show. Its still up in the ratings. But it could be better.

General Hospital & DOOL are the best of the year right now. IMO

Edited June 30, 200718 yr by therethan4eva

That said, reading the responses in this thread just shock me. It feels like you all must not have been watching the episodes of the past week?

I quit watching 4 weeks ago and see no reason to change it.

I just watched some episodes from June 2000 - pre-prom of Mac/Billy etc. - when Lauren returned to GC after her 5 yearlong B&B absence - and it could not have been more evident. These were bascially boring episodes but I was so excited to see what happens. There was so much intensity, every character evoked a strong feeling, it just flowed so smoothly.

This is exactly why I had to quit watching the crap LML dishes. She comes up with good episodes every month or so (mostly when her hubby is writing dialogue...) but the rest sucks and most importantly the show as whole SUCKS. So much inconsitency, plot-driven senselessness and the most boring characters/weakest actors drive stories... This is NOT Y&R.

(Of course a lot of shows are very different from what they used to be. But this is no excuse. However, I can watch B&B from 1987, 1997, 2007 - this is a seamless transition. Different stories, different characters (well sort of; some stuffs remains like Brooke/RIdge) but it is the same show.)

I quit watching 4 weeks ago and see no reason to change it. ...This is exactly why I had to quit watching the crap LML dishes. She comes up with good episodes every month or so (mostly when her hubby is writing dialogue...) but the rest sucks and most importantly the show as whole SUCKS. So much inconsitency, plot-driven senselessness and the most boring characters/weakest actors drive stories... This is NOT Y&R.

(Of course a lot of shows are very different from what they used to be. But this is no excuse. However, I can watch B&B from 1987, 1997, 2007 - this is a seamless transition. Different stories, different characters (well sort of; some stuffs remains like Brooke/RIdge) but it is the same show.)

I agree with a lot of your quote here...except :-)

Episodes like last Friday's show me there is still gold in the mud...at every level. On Friday, the actors were stellar (an many of them are still our vets), most of the cast was featured, the rootedness in back-story was strong, and the dialogue was superb. Yet, all of this was wrapped in the "new" packaging (faster scene pacing, multiple sets, different background cues, etc). And this hybrid approach (old plots and characters, new packaging) was very satisfying [not just to me, but, for example, to many usual naysayers on usenet).

Like you, I share the concern that by the next episode we'll be back to plot driven superficiality. This gives me hope, though, that it doesn't always have to stay that way.

I'm having a great deal of hope for the fact that Barbara Bloom helped write an episode this week. It makes me hope that CBS/Sony _see_ the problems they have created, and will reign in some of the wildest plot-driven inconsistency to produce a more balanced, appealing show.

A guy can hope....

I quit somewhere after Jana imprisoned Colleen and Kevin in the freezer and set the place on fire. A few episodes later I saw some episodes and was completely disgusted by what my favorite show turned into. I'm sad to see it like this. They say that it got better when Nick returned home (a few eps ago). But he won't always be like this! Sooner or later, it will turn back into what it was the last few months. I want my old Y&R back! But I don't think I ever will.

I'm still watching, and I agree with you, Mark, that Thursday and Friday's episodes showcased some stellar, exciting stuff. Josh Morrow really impressed me, and I'm not usually impressed by him.

Having said that, I am worried that this is just a brief moment of glory amid a whole lot of slop. Unlike you, I am not a fan of Adrienne Frantz and certainly not here. In fact, I find her character (a newbie in all but name) to be symptomatic of everything that is wrong with Y&R at the moment. Bland, shiny, all baby-voice but no zing.

Y&R has always been about character and motivation and people. Putting aside Nick's amazing scenes with Noah, Phyllis, Victor and, especially, Sharon, all I'm getting is plot, plot, plot. That is Brian S. Frons's speciality at ABC, and look at the way his "teen-demos, flashy stunts" dictates have ruined greats like AMC, OLTL and GH! CBS and its jewel-in-the-crown Y&R should not be aping that formula. It should be setting the standard.