Y&R: 35 (Mostly Glorious) Years!!!

[vetsoapfan]

While many of us agree that the show has taken a serious nose-dive in quality over the last few years, I doubt anyone can deny that, all in all, for the last 35 years, the good has out-weighed the bad. We had the divine William J. Bell in charge for many of those years, and we've had a plethora of wonderful characters and captivating stories to keep us enthralled for decades. Major kudos to all those talented people who contributed to the show's successes!

As someone who began watching the series from day one, I've always had an entrenched fondness for the original characters like the Brooks and Foster families. Can anyone refresh my fading memory about how they were written off?

I know Snapper Foster and his wife, Chris Brooks, moved to England, and I believe Snapper's mother, Liz Brooks, went with them. Leslie Brooks left town on a "concert tour" and never returned. Lorie Brooks went on a "book tour" and never returned (except for a brief visit, to annoy Victor, a few years back). Peggy Brooks went off to Colorado Women's College, and never returned. Brock Reynolds went off to "minister" to the needy. Whatever happened to Stuart Brooks? I never saw him getting written out, so I always assumed he was still in Genoa City, running the newspaper, albeit unseen. What about Greg Foster? He came back a few years ago when Liz was sick, but where was he supposed to have gone in the first place?

Any help or clarification would be appreciated. I miss all my old *friends*, and really wish I could get some episodes from my favorite decade, the 1970s!

[Chris B]

All four Brooks sisters returned for Nikki and Victor's wedding in 1984. You may be able to find those scenes on YouTube. I loved that return and how Bill Bell continued the story for those characters as opposed to them being window dressing for the wedding. Ever since seeing those episodes I've been dying to see more of the 70s when Lorie was running things.

Would be amazing if Sony did a channel like the PGP one starting Y&R from the beginning.

[DaytimeFan]

Aside from the end of Jack Smith's run and the Latham era Y&R has been consistently fantastic.

Katherine Chancellor vs Jill Foster Abbott, does it get any better? I think not.

[Paul Raven]

Stuart Brooks was last seen around the time that Jill was set to marry John Abbott(the first time).Jack went to Stuart hoping that he would speak to John about what a conniving witch Jill was and how,by marrying Stuart,Jill had destroyed his and her mother's lives.

Stuart refused to be a party to this and that was the last he was seen.I mentioned in an earlier post that for the 35th,Stuarts death could be the catalyst to bring the Brooks sisters back to Genoa City.Stuart's and Liz's divorce was never addressed properly.

Greg was recast(badly)with Howard McGillan.He interacted with Jill when she tried to sell the Foster home and again he was never seen again.

This was all around 1982.

I can understand the decision to write off the original characters but the Fosters could have stayed on.Greg had been married only once and Liz was a great supporting character to Jill.At John and Jill's wedding,she bonded with Traci and still had the connection to Katherine.

Greg could have taken on the John Silva role in the 80's(apart from the flirtation with Jill).

Chris and Snapper's daughter Jennifer could have come to Genoa City at some point to stay with Liz and become involved at Jabot(as a model or trainee exec)

Brooks Prentiss could have returne to avenge Victor for stealing his father's company.

[y&r_fan]

What was wrong with the end of Jack Smith's run?

I disagree about LML. I actually liked her better than Bell & Alden.

[YRBB]

And then people make fun of me because I like Alden. (That sounded bitter)

[y&r_fan]

^I like Alden, but she is a MUCH better fit on B&B than she was on Y&R.

[DaytimeFan]

The end of Jack Smith's run was negatively affected by the terminal illness of his son (and of course it would, what an awful thing to happen) It was boring and didn't seem to get anywhere. Kay and Jill fell into the background, Victor and Nikki were sidelined and it became the Nick and Phyllis hour. I didn't even dislike Smith that much, I have sympathy for the horrible strain his son's illness must have had on him, his family and his work, other posters could definitely highlight what else was wrong with him.

I am shocked that you prefer LML to BILL BELL!!!!!! He created the show!!!!! It was his baby for 25 years!!!!! Absolutely shocked...if plot driven, politicized, lighting fast paced, no payoff crap is your thing, I guess LML is your woman. Fine, different strokes for different folks.

And I have to say, I loved Kay Alden's solo run.

[LoyaltoAMC]

I watched the show for many, many years. I would say that through the late 70s, the show was great. It got very stale in the early 80s, and Bell was smart to write out most of the Brookses and Fosters (much in the same way Agnes had decided to write out most of the Tylers and Martins by the early 80s over at AMC). Their stories had really been played out and the show seemed old compared to GH and AMC, which were burning up the ratings at that point. The Abbotts and the Williamses breathed new life into the series, and it was true genious on Bell's part to introduce the Abbotts through the volatile Jill, the one original character he decided to keep. The show took off with the whole Jill/Jack affair, that infamous tape, Katherine's blackmail, and really never looked back. Some other shows might have had more memorable stories IMO, but none of them can hold a candle to Y&R when it comes to overall consistency and respect for its audience. The show definitely lost something when Bell handed the reins over to Kay Alden. Alden is a good writer, but there was just something missing. I think the best post-Bell era was when LML was co-writing with Alden and Smith. I simply loved that short-lived period, before things kind of started to fall apart when LML took over things. Contrary to what many say here, I don't see Griffith/Bell as a great improvement. The show might be a little more Bell-esque in terms of pacing, but I find the stories deadly dull and/or silly and mostly plot driven. We'll see what Bell has up her sleeve now that the writer's strike has ended.

[YRBB]

I think that if Alden had one sperm storyline for each male character on the show every year, she'd still be better than LML. LML is that bad.

[DaytimeFan]

Nail. Head. You Hit It.

PS: I loved the Sperm Storyline. Eileen Davidson told TV Guide that Kay had a 'big plan' long term for the storyline and that, had she not been interrupted by Smith, it would have been great. Also, Alex Donnelly was rivetting during that storyline, her catfight with MTS was fantastic!

[DeeeDee]

Worst. Story. Ever.

[a2sassy]

Got to disagree with you there. It was the worst until LML hit Y&R and suddenly Phillip isn't really Phillip. Or maybe it's Sheila is Pheila...? Colleen is Australian? and the list goes on...

[y&r_fan]

^No, Colleen is not Australian. The actress who plays her is.

[vetsoapfan]

Thank you for the reply, PaulRaven. So I am not going nuts, because what you described was the last I remember of Stuart brooks and Greg Foster, too.

I do wish Bell had continued to weave the original characters into storylines through the 1980s and up until today, but with such a turnover of actors, I understand why he finally decided to move on. Still, it would be nice to see Julianna McCarthy and Robert Colbert return as Liz and Stuart Brooks...perhaps to get into a romantic triangle with Katherine Chancellor!

Greg Foster could easily be brought back; Brock Reynolds, as well, and the Chris/Snapper legacy could be continued through their now-adult daughter Jennifer.

Her being my favorite Y&R character of all time, I'd kill to see Trish Stewart return as Chris Brooks Foster.

Alas, I know this is all wishful thinking. Most soaps have obliterated their roots much worse than Y&R has; at least we still have Jill, Katherine, and the Chancellor set.