Y&R: TV Guide Confirms JG is out and his replacement!

[LondonScribe]

If we had some kind of indication of what was going to happen, we could be better prepared. For example, I remember when Ed Scott joined Days Of Our Lives, one of the actors (may have been Stephen Nichols) commented on the immediate style change. Maybe if one of the actors said something in an interview...

Part of me wants to believe that all Paul Rauch will do is re-enforce Y&R's style and iron out the creases. However, from what we have all learned about the man, he wouldn't be able to resist putting his mark on the show.

I want to be positive about this, but it's almost as if I've been told that Y&R is getting Louise Berridge as the new EP...

[Sylph]

Here's a schocker: I think that piece looked awful. Awful. It was too trashy, too glittery, sets were too small, lighting was too yellowish. Everything with it was just wrong. It looked unnatural.

And P. S. I mentioned Dragon Ball first, Cat. :lol:

[Sylph]

And, by the way, Paul Rauch was a consulting producer. Consulting.

Read about the producers of BN here.

[rangethatrover]

AMEN CAT. I loved when these shows had such a visual and sonic identity in the 80's and 90's ( I am 32 so I did not watch in the 70's)..

Now you have Frons with his ABC shows and their TERRIBLE similar song openings, awful, interchangeable background music (although I have heard some here compliment AMC's)....

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Y&R's visual style (hate the new background music- and even if Rauch doesn't bring back the orchestral themes- I am looking forward to what he does do with the music.)

But he better NOT TOUCH THAT LIGHTING. Period. Lighting- especially in a videotape medium is so very important.

I hope he does update the sets in a classy Y&R way- None of his signature beige, rose, and SALMON colors. This isn't Miami, Paul.

He actually built some great sets on OLTL but the lighting destroyed them. The Holden Towers set was beautiful and I loved Tina's apartment from 86-87. And Dorian's penthouse was very nice.

I did not and do not watch GL but I did watch those outstanding Cynthia Watros scenes in the courtroom- The set was nice, the lighting wasn't.

He likes large sets by the way.

[Cat]

Yeah, I think we do share a lot of the same interests. But I stand by my statement -- i always learn something from your posts.

WashesWhiter (who must be a ghost legend on YouTube by now!) posted two full episodes of LIAMST and I was hooked. Leslie Charleson, so young! Donna Mills playing her crazed ex-nun sister! I noticed the background music on the show was orchestral -- at odds with the organ music of the day.

I sometimes wonder whether Daytime could learn something by studying the budgets and production methods of soaps in, say, Brazil, Australia, the UK, Germany, etc. Then I realize that US salaries are always going to be much higher and that is probably what eats up a chunk of a show's budget.

LOL. The Y&R reaction shot used to be up to 7 seconds long (I counted once). Brenda Dickson's eyes hastily searching for the cue card + reaction shot = me LMAO.

By the way, spasiba for the link. But I don't understand Russian!

Which makes me wonder -- perhaps Paul Rauch does. He is a big fan of opera, after all.

[Sylph]

You have to look at the system of guilds in the US to understand partly the production costs.

Russian? Opera's not really a typically Russian tradition, you know. The first Russian opera was written by an Italian. And the first really Russian opera was by Glinka, of course, in 1836, some 200 years after the first opera ever.

[Cat]

I know that ballet and not opera is Russia's first love (I am a ballet/dance fan). But I do remember seeing some long-ass Russian opera advertised at the Met a while back -- Boris Gudonov? Listen to me, oh so cultured.

Anyway, a lot of Russians have beautiful voices and Anna Netrebko is a rising star. They do have their share of operas and opera singers.

[Sylph]

Yeah, ballet. And in that you're also in agreement with Eric. He adores Tchaikovsky's operas so I presume he likes the ballets, too. But yeah, it must be Boris, Mussorgsky's masterpiece. I don't like it.

Oh, Anna! Yeah, she's a rising star. They have many operas, but because of the language, sometimes problematic librettos etc., they're not performed in the West. I am, for example, a fan of Korsakov's fairy tale operas.

But we're right in off-topic territory! We must go back to Paul Rauch!

[Y&RWorldTurner]

If Rauch's AW and GL were any indication, he seems to like/adore classical orchestral pieces and as mentioned in the interview posted, he's an avid opera fan. Though, he was a fan of some pop pieces that were specifically meant for some of the couples on GL.

Rauch needs to know that Y&R is probably more similar to 70's AW than it is to 80's OLTL or late 90’s GL, as long as he knows that, you shouldn't see too much of a production difference. I say just wait until his first batch of episodes air to pass any judgment. Obviously Rauch's AW wasn't a real indicator of what he would do at OLTL and GL.

I actually thought GL's background music improved a lot under Rauch, it was better than what Michael Laibson liked, but it had a more sensational feel to it.

If you've seen clips of 70's AW, the background music is absolutely stunning and classical. If Rauch produces Y&R in a similar vein, and keeps the trademark lighting in tact, he could work.

Also, Rauch is a hands on producer who likes to give actors rehearsal time and is present at the taping of most scenes. Latham look away rehearsal time and restricted the on-set acting coach. If anything, I expect actor performances to get better.

[Cat]

This is a VERY reassuring post. Thanks, Y&RWorldTurner.

I just get a vision of Guiding Light in the early 90s and feel a sudden urge to grab my sunglasses. I'm willing to swallow my SB-inflected suspicions if it means Rauch enhances the good to Y&R.

[Y&RWorldTurner]

Some clips from 70's Another World, these sets and production values were actually considered innovative for its time. AW was well regarded for its visual look in the 70's. I at least hope that Rauch can apsire to do something similar with Y&R.

[Y&RWorldTurner]

You mean late 90's to 2002 when Rauch was there.

JFP lit GL in her typical dark manner, which actually worked very well for the look GL had in the early 90's. People can hate Jill all they want, but she can produce a classy looking show when she's allowed to, such was GL's look in the early part of the 90's.

[Sylph]

That's just wrong. Why does her GH suck production-wise? Bland sets, terrible costumes? And she is given a lot of power.

Every time you defend her I am downright amazed because — and maybe I am wrong — not so long ago you detested everything she produced.

[Cat]

Is she? At GH, I mean? I'm wondering if her power has not been considerably neutered. Reports of her knitting docilely while Guza ran the production meetings.

Jill's reputation precedes her. I was struck by her look of panic and worry back in 1988 when Santa Barabara won best drama and Bridget Dobson took over the microphone. I was also struck by the love and respect given to JFP by actors that night -- and the glowing tributes about her continue to this day. Yes, I know they are FOJ's but some of them are really well-respected, too.

Of course, you only need ask Alice Barrett, Ellen Parker and Genie Francis about how she treats her non-friends -- and I'm still smarting over the way Genie Francis was turfed out of GH.

I also remember hearing from a GH fan at one of GH's summer events, who happened to get seated next to JFP and spent the next hour talking with her about the show. The Jill she spoke with shattered all her preconceived notions about the misogynistic dragon lady. JFP was low-key, attentive, intelligent and very open to this person's feedback.

I don't know what to think of her. Callous, misogynistic, power-hungry? Or talented, envelope-pushing, cutting-edge producer? Sometimes I hate everything I think I know about her. Other times I worry that I have made some huge mistake, that I have totally misjudged her and wrongly blamed her for Daytime's faults, and that she is not the enemy. I am still undecided about her.

[Cashton]

Personally, i hope he doesn't do any sort of overhaul or rush to make his mark on Y&R. Let Y&R continue to cook like it is and retain it's energy and history.