Y&R: Week of July 28, 2008

[EttaKit]

I feel like Adam and Heather can be like this. I loved them simply talking together at the end of the episode.

Did I miss something? Heather talking about Victoria being upset over the will.

[MTSRocks]

Adam was so condescending at the hospital. Someone should have smacked him! I hope Paris has nothing to do with Victor seeking revenge on some mob boss.

Damn, I'm watching now and Victor is such an ASS.

[dm.]

Even though Adam changed his name back to "Victor Adam Newman," I hope he'll go on using Adam. It would be too confusing if he went by Vic again.

[Roman]

If they were samrt, the would turn Victor's revenge and Jack's mechanations into a huge umbrella story, where the Mob would come after all of their loved ones....

And Jack and Victor would have to work together to protect everyone.

[usetobeasoapfan]

ITA! I can so see this! I sure hope they're going this way!

I'm so excited to see what CBS has in store for us.......................eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

[lmfan]

I can't see Adam and Heather as a Davenport and Furrillo. They don't have the depth or life experience. The actors have good chemistry but aren't exactly strong actors to become anchors of the show. Lauren and Michael started out in a similar way and CLB and TEB are much better actors and look what happened to them in just a few years. They are treated as glorified extras. Likey is the designated stable happy couple on the show. Heather and Adam are just starting out, but I can't see them being anchors of anything played by the current actors.

As far as this storyline. I can't say I was all that moved by Sabrina's death. It was sad, but didn't emotionally connect with me although I do feel for Nikki, Victor and Jill. I think the acting has been very good. The one good thing about these two deaths and that unlike John being killed off there really is a purpose to it. Their deaths have really effected the stories of so many characters and spun them into ways that I can't predict and that is a good thing. Definitely worth killing off two not so popular characters in a slightly contrived way.

[BadZoe]

That will thing has me confused as well. Victoria was upset about not being able to tell Sabrina she was sorry. Is this another of their "this was an off screen moment?" like Victor's Vasectomy? If it is, this show will last in the ratings two weeks. While I don't mind plot twists being kept secret, every day dialogue/show cannon should be shown. To me it seemed like Heather was making up crap to alienate Adam from his half sister. It just isn't something this Victoria, or Heather Tom's Victoria would consider in a time like this. Maybe 6 months after Sabrina's death, if Victor hasn't re-added them to his will, but not now. Victoria still considers Sabrina to be her best friend, even if she is mad at how she went after/seduced her father. I want long term character impact, not money grubbing. Aside from Sabrina's mother, but she should be comic relief.

As for Friday's US show, I really hope they keep VI on as David. That nightmare sequence with Nikki was actually scary (first time for a soap) and I would like to see it continue. Maybe David can drive Nikki back to her addictions from beyond the grave. He along with Victor's hatred could send her right over the edge and win MTS the emmy she has deserved many times over!!

All in all, yay for Y&R trying to write strong female characters. This has been so lacking that the only reason I have remained a loyal viewer is because of habit.

[Queen]

While I DON'T want to see a Sharon/Phyllis feud, I do pray Hogan gives Sharon a backbone. I liked the way she called Phyllis out for supposedly "growing a conscience". More Sharon being assertive like her husband and less being submissive.

[Juliajms]

I agree. I think this story has been good. I do wish that instead of building it for weeks that they had built it for months though. Sudden Impact would have had a much stronger impact if they had done it in February or May of 2009. The pacing is better now than it was under LML, but it needs to be slowed down even more. Sabrinia was in and out of Victor's life way too quickly. This story should have lasted a year minimum. On the other hand, I'm very happy not to hear Sabrina and Victor speaking French anymore. It was a small thing, but it grated on my nerves so much.

[MTSRocks]

Re. Victoria/Heather/the will

I think Heather misheard Victoria talking about Victor's WILL of not giving up on Sabrina, to that of Victor's legal documented will.

[dm.]

People are already bashing Heather all over other boards for being a hypocrite. I don't like that.

[MarkH]

I agree with you on pacing. For example, if Sabrina had been introduced, and had had six months of truly almost-random scenes with Victor...no romance, and a very slowly growing kinship...and maybe if she'd had other stories (like a failed romance or chemistry-free dating), while she provided support to Victoria, we would have grown to know and like her. And then, for the next six months, if the attraction had started to grow AND THEY BOTH FOUGHT IT _because_ of Victoria...that would have let us slowly invest in the relationship AND feel rooting value for the couple BECAUSE THEY WERE FIGHTING IT. After a year of such buildup, I bet the resistance would have been less. Eric Braeden agrees with you on this issue too.

Buy my perspective is different. Between January and June, Y&R lost a REGULAR half-million viewers. Not cool. There was ACTIVE VIEWER TUNE-OUT.

Looking at the message boards, and I'm sure their focus groups said this, there was DISGUST with that pairing (because it had moved too fast, age difference, Victoria's friend, the French). They realized it was beyond repair, but they had to fix it FAST.

What we saw last week was a three part remedy. Part one, excise the "cancer" (kill Sabrina and the baby...the vasectomy mistake had alienated even more viewers). Part two, promote the SH*T out of it, to try to lure back lapsed viewers. Part three, ramp up the story momentum to KEEP the lapsed viewers.

Honestly, I think this is a very smart rescue strategy. I'm with you, though, that if they don't now go for more slow builds, they'll just repeat the mistake.

The other thing is that they have to realize two things: First, it is unlikely they will EVER get their average ratings back up even as high as 4.0, so that should NOT be the goal. Holding on to their 3.5 and not sinking lower for, say, 12 months should be their goal. Second, the show is momentarily pretty plot-driven again (murders and crashes and missing fathers and stock buyups and so forth). That's okay...the show was dull, so it is fine if they need to ramp it up for a while. But the Sudden Impact stunt (and yes, promotionally, it WAS a stunt) is going to create a crack-like addiction to stunts in Barbara Bloom. THIS MUST BE RESISTED.

Because, if you follow the stunts to their conclusion, you'll become a General-Hospital-One-Murder-Every-Month club member, and that actually works for a few years, but it destroys the skeleton of your show, and your committed viewer based and next thing you know...you're in the same toilet as GH is right now.

Maria and Hogan MUST write from a 12-month bible, which they update every 6 months. Barbara Bloom has to leave them alone, and she has to have realistic ratings expectation (i.e., stay at 3.5, with no growth in the young demo). If she accepts these things, she MIGHT be surprised by some growth, but growth should NOT be the goal or expectation.

[Juliajms]

Well, I have to agree. Once it was screwed up, they were wise to fix it as fast as they could. The beauty of the slow build is that it gives you a chance to get out of a story the viewers hate before you commit to a disastrous pairing or story. I'm not saying the show needs to go back to the Bill Bell type pacing. I'm not sure the audience has the patience for that anymore, although I loved it. I think they need to find a middle ground, so that all of the beats of the story are hit and they don't start blowing threw stories as fast as B&B and GH.

[marla0518]

I love the fact that Phyllis "knows" Jack and Phyllis being disapointed in Jack bothers's Jack. Hell his own wife does not know Jack the way Phyllis does, because Phyllis knows how LOW Jack will go and I don't think he has gotten there yet!!!

I love the fact that Nick is seeing his ex-wife for what some of us have seen for years....

Sharon needs to worry about her own moral compass that has not worked since she was a toddler...what's that saying "pot meet kettle" "people who live in glass houses should not throw stones"....

I can not wait for Jack and his little mini me head bobbing bug eyed wife to face the wrath of TGVN....cause you know it is going to happen!!

[Y&RWorldTurner]

Yes, and we know Phyllis is the ideal candidate for "Woman of The Year"

Phyllis has no right to lecture anyone on how they should or shouldn't act.

And Nick is not a businessman, Victoria was always more career oriented than he'll ever be.