I agree, the show is better than it was and is improving. However, it's deeply still in transition and the show even feels like it. However, the stories are getting more of a direction now, things are actually happening for once, and there's a bit of intrigue.

I expect things to be this way until Hogan comes and most of the Latham writers are gone. From what everyone is saying, August and the fall is supposed to be good, we'll have to wait and see I guess.

I am going to approach August from a safe side. I don't want to be too excited about. It's better to just think about the show as it was during the last few months, and then get surprised when things start cooking up in a good way.

The CBS player can be so annoying sometimes. It's weird, sometimes it works perfectly for me, and other times it doesn't seem to work at all.

I got to watch both today's US episode and tomorrow's US episode today.

Thank goodness for those in BC who upload those day aheads fast.

Have you tried it lately? CBS' player is MUCH improved. They did something 1-2 months ago...it is now reliable, you can easily navigate back and forth, and the screen size is much larger. I hope the affiliates don't mind when I say I actually PREFER it to watching on television. (Exception is Y&R, because on my HDTV, Y&R is like a visual feast from heaven)

Listen...I don't want to "go long", but can I please just EFFUSE about Y&R's Wednesday (US) episode for a minute??? I posted something similar on Usenet and I'm cutting down here. But I haven't been this enthusiastic about an episode since 12/26/07, when we started noting instant style changes. The writers are starting to get their mojo, I think.

(Quick ETA here: The credits were: MAB/ Hamner, Bennett&Gottesfeld, Minardi/ Kanelos!!! That means the much maligned Kanelos in the W&D thread (with whom I have no history, but I know she wrote for Port Charles and had a character named after her there) wrote IMO one of the best episodes in a long time!!!)

Not perfect by a long stretch...but energetic, funny, youthful.

1. They didn't waste time on Lily mistrusting Cane. She right away believed him (and he right away knew he had been set up AGAIN--points for remembering what Amber did!)...so this story is going to be something DIFFERENT than a simple obstacle in the company.

2. Chloe, Chloe, Chloe! I have always liked her. I have liked that--from the beginning--she has been playing jealous saboteur...even when we didn't have motivation.

We still don't have motivation...but LIKE WITH SHEILA CARTER...for WHATEVER reason...Chloe is on the insane train! I love it.

3. The boys are back. I always loved Kevin and Daniel. I feel they add a lot to the show. I missed them. I liked their banter and their sexy-time. I liked the Ouija board. I liked when Jana said a "foursome is always more fun", Daniel shouted out "that's what she said". I liked that he and Amber had shirtless sweaty sex. I liked it all.

4. I like that Amber is tortured with guilt. That's the Amber who is fun to watch. Like Phyllis, when she is insecure she is most self-damaging.

5. I like seeing Victor and Paul and JT working together. I can get behind this mystery (the sudden death of the step-daughter). We have seen Victor and Paul rescue Nikki before, so I like seeing those familiar strains. BUT SOMETHING TELLS ME it will work out differently this time, don't you think? I'm starting to think--in light of her new "strength" (not visible today) that NIKKI is gonna kill Chow before this is over.

6. I like Vincent Irizarry. Tortured soul---let me stay away or I am going to kill you too--is very compelling. I'm so sad they squandered him for a year and half, but he is apparently going to go out memorably.

Everyone was in character. The full age range was on the canvas.

It can't be all praise, though. WTF with Karen and Neil???? Early in the episode, when he wanted to offer Tyra a job, she was cold to him. Late in the episode she was rubbing him and saying she "came back for" him. That was a classic LML-mid-episode-shift. But I predict that they're just going to build the Neil-Karen relationship a bit so she will be crushed when he discovers his attraction to Tyra.

A positive production note....I liked how they parked Chloe's car outside of Lily's house, and we saw the front of the house in the darkness. It looked real...way to go Y&R for some nice verisimilitude and primetime quality production values!

Edited July 10, 200817 yr by MarkH

I agree - today's show was awesome. SO many good things I'm excited about happening. Where to begin?

Chloe - she's a devious little witch and i love it. Gloria's shemes got real old so a new vixen is very much needed and Chloe fits the bill. I SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO hope that her "booty-call" is someone we know. My top suspect would be Brad but if they wanted to go for a super-shocker...how bout JT! Plus, since Cane looks like he's going to fire Chloe a lawsuit could be brewing. What doesn't make sense (yet) is that Chloe just set up a whole new working relationship with Lily and Cane - did they make us sit through all that for the whole thing to end? if not, how can they possibly work together?

Victor/Paul/JT - I like this pairing. It makes sense and i cannot wait for the s/l beat when Paul learns about Victor's gripe with Heather and the confrontation between the two. If Nikki were to end up with Paul 9which I'd also like to see), a Newman/Williams feud would be fun. Does Victor even know Heather is Paul's daughter??

Karen/Neil/Tyra/Devon - This is the weak link on the show right now. I know they're setting it up, bit there's nothing interesting at all about this s/l. They can go a lot of ways with this s/l but all paths lead to snooze: Neil sleeps with Tyra, Tyra's ex comes to town and causes trouble for the Winters, Karen and Tyra feud? All boring stuff. They better beef up Karen's character and make her have a soul and some intrigue.

Oh and on the topic of Victor's Magic Sperm - I think that they are going to do a quick throwaway of dialogue to explain this. Vasectomies can cause complications - the most common is a hematoma. The only solution is to reverse the procedure. I think when Nikki eventully finds out, she's going to be the one to say "impossible. not your baby" and so on and he'll say "not that it's any of your business but I had the procedure reversed due to a complication while we were separated, you got that?" and it's done. All the other theories and whispers just seem implausible.

And since no one else says it - I love Y&R, dammit! There's a reason why they're still number 1! And no, my name is not Barbara Bloom

Edited July 10, 200817 yr by Cashton

I'd llike Phyllis gone. Forever.

Praise be and hallelujah!! Preach it!!

And the sooner it happens the better.

I liked Phyllis too on today's Canadian show. I think a Phyllis/Amber rivalry would be fun. I may not like Amber, but I don't think Phyllis is being wasted on her. I much prefer when the vets and younger actors cross paths, so that way it builds history and character ties to the show.

Oh, and I would love to see Chloe file a lawsuit, that would make things very interesting.

Chloe

i hope they keep her around. It can go either way with GH one note psycho or Y&R classic complex girls.

I wonder how long they'll torture us with them.

LOL. Hopefully as long as Nikki and Victor.

Having listened to the interview with Thom Racina I am looking forward to August.

Victor/Paul/JT - I like this pairing. It makes sense and i cannot wait for the s/l beat when Paul learns about Victor's gripe with Heather and the confrontation between the two. If Nikki were to end up with Paul 9which I'd also like to see), a Newman/Williams feud would be fun. Does Victor even know Heather is Paul's daughter??

i couldnt agree more.

i love that victor has teamed up with them to help Nikki. I also cant wait for Paul and Victor to butt heads over Adam/Heather.

i couldnt agree more.

i love that victor has teamed up with them to help Nikki. I also cant wait for Paul and Victor to butt heads over Adam/Heather.

Same thing here. It just shows that somewhere deep inside of that dark soul there is a bit of a feeling left for dear ol' Nikki. And the Heather/Adam thing should be fun...

Nice banner, JackPeyton!

I'm glad my 1,000 post goes to Y&R!

Nice banner, JackPeyton!

thanx!

I hope they recast Phillipe.

I wonder how long they'll torture us with them.

LOL. Hopefully as long as Nikki and Victor.

Having listened to the interview with Thom Racina I am looking forward to August.

Where is Thom's interview? Thanks!

What's the story on Heather's mother? I read that Rebecca Staab was coming on to play her, and I love Staab, but never saw her appearances or heard the backstory. Was it a character that had a history with Paul on-screen previously, or was Heather just made up and written into history after the fact?

Any background on this?

Where is Thom's interview? Thanks!

I conducted an interview with Thom on Monday night. It lasts about an hour. He mentions Y&R a lot during the interview, as well as talks about his time on GH, AW, Santa Barbara and Generations.

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/inthezoneradi...hor-Soap-Writer

What's the story on Heather's mother? I read that Rebecca Staab was coming on to play her, and I love Staab, but never saw her appearances or heard the backstory. Was it a character that had a history with Paul on-screen previously, or was Heather just made up and written into history after the fact?

Any background on this?

I don't know why LML stupidly re-casted the role for a 3 day appearance (although I did like the introduction of Heather, tying her to an existing story), but Cynthia Eilbacher was the original actress.

From Wiki:

In 1979, April Stevens begin to see and have affair with Paul Williams which left her pregnant and Paul he urged April to put the baby up for adoption and he turned his back on her until the baby was in danger of dying. They married in 1981, the baby girl survived who was named Heather, but parental responsibility proved too much for Paul and they divorced and April and her daughter left town.

She'd married Dr. Robert Lynch who died and April made her grand return to Genoa City in 2008, not to long after Paul found out Heather was his daughter.